This Week 1/23

“If Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence,” my 7-year-old asked me the other day, “why did he have slaves himself?” The notion that “all men are created equal” was a radical and noble idea, and it still is, if you take “men” to mean “human beings.” But back then, as I struggled to explain […]

YOU issue: Ag tax break

Here’s what readers asked for: Each year Albemarle County forgoes about $20,000,000 in taxes on land use parcels, but the exact figure is not known to the public since the amount is not carried as a line item in the budget and there is no public discussion as far as I can determine.—Harold Timmeny Land […]

New venture: Riverbend dips into public housing

Music and real estate mogul Coran Capshaw’s Riverbend Development, known for 5th Street Station, the Flats, and City Walk, among many other projects, is now aligning itself in a different direction: a partnership with Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority to build new public housing for residents of the crumbling Crescent Halls. Riverbend and the nonprofit […]

Pantops gets new rescue station—finally

Growth area Pantops, with its increased density and worsening traffic, has long needed a fire and rescue station, and one has been on the books maybe dating back to Thomas Jefferson, joked Albemarle Fire Rescue Chief Dan Eggleston at the official opening May 7 of Pantops Public Safety Station No. 16. Certainly the station has […]

City Council approves bigger West2nd

During yet another out-of-control City Council meeting on April 2, Mayor Nikuyah Walker cleared the chamber and councilors reconvened after a closed session to seek legal advice on how to maintain order. Nearly two hours into the meeting, councilors began to address the city’s business, and by 10pm approved by a 4-1 vote a special […]

Vertical horizon: Apex helps Charlottesville ‘grow up’

Members of a local upscale fitness club will soon be looking for a place to park. Apex Clean Energy—a company devoted to developing, constructing and operating wind and solar power facilities—announced plans March 1 to build a new headquarters on Garrett Street to house its 170 local employees who are currently spread out among three […]

West2nd smackdown: Council rejects permit despite meeting city requirements

When Mayor Nikuyah Walker chaired her first City Council meeting February 5, citizens got to see how previously out-of-control meetings would be run under a new regime—and learned that  the heckling continues both for councilors and for the West2nd developer seeking a special use permit that was rejected for reasons that had little to do […]