After two UVA fraternity brothers decided to express themselves by donning blackface and tennis dresses to portray Venus and Serena Williams at a recent Halloween party, it became clear that many people—on and off Grounds—know little about the region’s painful past regarding race relations and other social issues. Corey D. B. Walker aims to fix […]
In the wake of last summer’s Enron and WorldCom disasters and other corporate malfeasance along the way, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been busy trying to restore investors’ confidence. Their reach has extended to Charlottesville, where SNL Financial, a publishing company covering various financial services sectors, […]
just over the crest of the hill, you see a plume of smoke escape. Instead of the low, familiar, chugging sound, however, you hear infectious music, a sound you haven’t heard before. Slowly Old School Freight Train comes into view—and begins to pick up steam. The band, which is based in Charlottesville, has recently enjoyed […]
Ice, snow and frigid temperatures be damned, 275 well-heeled patrons and artists pile into the stately University of Virginia Art Museum on Rugby Road on Saturday, December 7. Anticipation, tuxes and formal gowns surround the 55 donated pieces to be silently auctioned at “Seeing Double,” the fete sponsored by the Young Friends of the Museum. […]
When Karl Kimbler talks about teaching photography, he means more than explaining what a light meter is. “I think of myself as a social activist, and this is my little contribution,” says the onetime student of sociology. “Instead of being passive receivers, we’ve helped people become active participants in creating visual images.” Amateur photographers from […]
Since Andrew Holden went to jail last month for staging a sit-in at a local hotel, he’s often been asked, “Was it worth it?” Despite suffering from what he calls “the worst medical treatment” he’s ever encountered, Holden says he actually found incarceration liberating. He admits most people won’t understand that feeling, but, he says, […]
Before long, family vacations may take you to the “redeemed” site of a former toxic dump. The unnatural history of such a park won’t necessarily be posted along the trail, either. More likely, the truth will be trapped beneath “cap and cover” vegetation and other peek-a-boo devices. Landscape architect Julie Bargmann refers to that process […]
A serial rapist is on the loose in Charlottesville––police suspect the same man is responsible for at least five sexual assaults in the past six years, including a November 11 attack in the Willoughby subdivision. The violent nature of the attacks has attracted local media, but City and UVA rape counselors say rape, in all its […]
Ashlin and Lloyd Smith, like many Charlottesvillians, are no strangers to the clash between developers and residents. The Smiths are also no strangers to “firsts”: Lloyd was among the earliest members of the Downtown Board of Architectural Review in the late 1960s and Ashlin was one of the founding members of Preservation Piedmont in 1993, […]
About a year ago, John Coleman noticed that the parking spaces outside his business, Central Battery Specialists on Grady Avenue, had been changed. What had previously been all-day free parking now had two-hour time limits. According to the landlord, Ivy Realty and Management, the City had made the change. So Coleman, who has been in […]