Grounds swell Officials give UVA props for the North Grounds Connector Road The 1.3 miles of eastbound lanes on the Route 29/250 Bypass between the exits for Route 250 and for Barracks Road are as mundane as roads get around here. Two blue rectangular highway signs indicate food (Taco Bell, Ruby Tuesday’s and Arby’s) and […]
Tuesday, September 21 Water, water everywhere About 75 residents gathered tonight at Monticello High School to hear new RWSA director Thomas Frederick outline five different options for expanding the region’s water supply, including projects to expand local reservoirs, dredge sediment from the South Fork Rivanna reservoir, and pipe water from the James River. This winter, […]
Wheels keep on turning The City tackles traffic from signals to bikes to gnarly street crossings Mixed signals Whenever City and County officials talk about traffic, the message is always an ode to regional cooperation. The traffic problem is bigger than any one jurisdiction, they say, so Charlottesville and Albemarle have to work together for […]
Reflecting the past New African-American newspaper dusts off a 70-year mission When Thomas J. Sellers founded the Reflector, a weekly newspaper for African-Americans published in Charlottesville between 1931 and 1935, he wrote that his aim was not to cover all the news but to "reflect the progress of our community and Race." Seventy years later, […]
Eyes on the prize As they consider housing, libraries and rising costs, can Jefferson School’s guardians stay on task? After a year of meeting several times a month, the Jefferson School Task Force may have to go back to the drawing board. This month, the group is supposed to finish planning for the future of […]
Eyes on the prize As they consider housing, libraries and rising costs, can Jefferson School’s guardians stay on task? After a year of meeting several times a month, the Jefferson School Task Force may have to go back to the drawing board. This month, the group is supposed to finish planning for the future of […]
Room for improvement The City and County thump for tourists, but where will they stay? On August 6, officials from the City, County and Virginia Department of Transportation broke ground on the long-awaited Court Square renovation project, designed to attract tourists to the 150-year-old historic area north of the Downtown Mall. Not discussed that morning […]
It’s a small world The cute Mini Cooper becomes Charlottesville’s pet car du jour It looks at you with the sad eyes of a puppy, its side mirrors like stubby ears yearning to be stroked. It lets out a sigh when you fire the ignition, and whistles as you back out. And you’re hooked. So […]
Be afraid, be very afraid County police flex the military metaphor Albemarle County Police Sergeant Peter Mainzer’s eyes lit up as he gazed on the black weapons issued to the department’s SWAT team––the .40-caliber submachine gun, the heavy bullet-proof vests, gas masks purchased with a Federal Homeland Defense grant. “Most of our operations are to […]
Sounds of silence Hiding from cars and John Ashcroft In the middle of McIntire Park, there’s a cluster of trees where you can settle into the green grass and lose yourself in the sounds of swishing leaves and chirping birds––provided you can sneak past the watchman who insists that stretch of the green space is […]