Cider Makes a Comeback

By Ken Wilson –  It was a staple of the Colonial diet, the most common drink in 18th and early 19th century America. Thomas Jefferson grew two varieties of apples, Hewes’ Crab and Taliaferro, especially suited for making it, and served it with the main course. And then, on American shores, it all but disappeared. […]

Up Close and Personal: The 2017 Virginia Festival of The Book

By Ken Wilson –  Up and down Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall on a recent Saturday morning, the literati were looking. At New Dominion Bookshop, the oldest bookstore in town, dating back to 1924, a woman was checking out the Lit Crit section.  At the Blue Whale, where original prints, antiquarian maps, and rare volumes sit alongside […]

Curb Appeal Sets Homes Apart

By Marilyn Pribus –  You’ve probably heard the term “curb appeal” that often hovers over discussions of the marketability of a property, but just what is it? “Curb appeal is an individual preference,” declares REALTOR® David Sloan of Sloan Manis Real Estate in Charlottesville, “but I think of a home that is well-landscaped, with a […]

2017 Spring Real Estate Market Expected to be Brisk

By Celeste M. Smucker Local REALTORS® and national economic forecasts predict a healthy 2017 real estate market. Senior Economist Joe Kirchner at Realtor.com predicts the 2017 market will be characterized by increases in both homes sales and prices, though at slower rates than experienced in the last two years.  A possible damper on sales is […]

Entrepreneurs Thrive in Charlottesville

By Marilyn Pribus “Charlottesville is a unique place,” declares Payam Pourtaheri, a co-founder of AgroSpheres, one of the many new businesses born right here where he says the entrepreneurial spirit is very strong. “There’s the feeling we’re all in this together. Everyone is supportive—you reach for help and it’s there. There are so many successful […]

Second Wind: Why Seniors Love Central Virginia

“Growing old,” so the saying goes, “is not for wimps.” Every stage of life brings unique challenges, it’s true, but every stage offers unique opportunities as well. Central Virginia seniors know about the opportunities at their time of life—do they ever. Let’s note just a few of the things they have time to enjoy around […]

Landes’ surprise: Move to thwart revenue sharing catches locals unaware

Albemarle hates it and Charlottesville loves it. But neither jurisdiction saw Delegate Steve Landes’ budget amendment coming that could scrub a 1982 agreement in which Albemarle pays millions every year to Charlottesville for the privilege of not being annexed—even though the General Assembly put a moratorium on annexation in 1987. “The county was only recently […]

Charlottesville’s Commercial Real Estate Market Rocks

The outlook for commercial real estate in the Charlottesville area remains strong according to local agents who cite declining vacancy rates and robust activity throughout the region. While demand is especially high in the downtown area, we are seeing growth in the commercial market all over town and in every sector from retail and office […]