For the love of the South

As he prepares to step down, the founder of the Southern Environmental Law Center looks back on three decades of defending the region’s natural treasures   Ambitious and naive. That’s how Rick Middleton describes himself 33 years ago, when he founded the Southern Environmental Law Center, a small nonprofit that would protect the air, the […]

Jeremy and Allyson Taylor’s environmental art approach

When it comes to visual art (paintings in particular), you can’t throw a rock without hitting a pastoral fantasy. Which may be why local artists Jeremy and Allyson Taylor’s reverence for nature comes as such a surprise.  “I definitely go to the grotesque,” Allyson says, “because I find it really beautiful and interesting. And sometimes disgusting and […]

Eaglets’ landing: Nest could slow preservation development

When David Mitchell bought 120 acres 10 years ago off U.S. 250 in Crozet, he wanted to maintain much of its rural character and planned a subdivision with 13 clustered homes, with his own on a 60-acre preservation tract on the banks of Lickinghole Creek Basin. But he wasn’t the only one who found the […]

Smoke in the air

The faint smell of smoke surrounding the city Tuesday morning is coming from two large wildfires in Nelson and Amherst counties, according to Charlottesville Fire Department Chief Andrew Baxter. The situation in Nelson County, referred to as Eades Hollow Fire, is currently consuming between 300 and 500 acres of private land just north of Lovingston, […]

Bellair Bambis: Resident blames UVA for increased deer population

Matt Bowen came upon a juvenile buck “in its last throes” early Sunday morning, September 4, on Canterbury Road in his Bellair neighborhood. He contacted Albemarle County Animal Control to humanely dispatch it, and the next day, found the deer at the same spot, albeit with a bullet hole in its neck. Bowen, a doctor, […]

Point of view: Power line rebuild draws discord

City and county residents heavily criticized Dominion Virginia Power’s plans to rebuild area transmission lines at a recent public hearing, and a Rockbridge County man, who has filed suit against the power company after a similar rebuild in his area, says locals’ concerns are justified. “They marred one of the most beautiful valleys in the […]

UVA students join March on Mansion protest

Four “brides” decked out in distressed wedding gowns joined the March on the Mansion demonstration July 23 to protest Governor Terry McAuliffe’s relationship with the fossil fuel industry. UVA third-year Maria DeHart was one of four women sporting glitzy wedding dresses that were caked in debris, torn and accessorized with chains. They walked in unison […]

Wildfire aftermath: Shenandoah’s path to rehabilitation

By Rebecca Bowyer When a visitor journeys up Skyline Drive and looks out over the portion of Shenandoah National Park recently ravaged by wildfire, black scars, charred trees and the smell of soot linger—but, almost unexpectedly, a majority of the area is green. The Rocky Mountain wildfire was first reported to park officials on April […]

This land is your land: Efforts to save Fulfillment Farms continue

In April, C-VILLE reported on the potential razing of historic buildings at Fulfillment Farms in Esmont. While a demolition permit is currently on file, and the structures could be bulldozed at any time, a group of concerned citizens has come together to make a final plea for preservation. In Thomas Forrer’s will, signed months before […]