Masked up On May 26, Governor Ralph Northam declared that all Virginians 10 years and older must wear masks while in public indoor spaces, including retail stores, buses, and restaurants (when you’re not eating, of course). Some have wondered how business owners would enforce such a rule with recalcitrant customers, and Tobey’s Pawn Shop owner […]
Masked up On May 26, Governor Ralph Northam declared that all Virginians 10 years and older must wear masks while in public indoor spaces, including retail stores, buses, and restaurants (when you’re not eating, of course). Some have wondered how business owners would enforce such a rule with recalcitrant customers, and Tobey’s Pawn Shop owner […]
Developer Keith Woodard has abandoned his plan to build a $50 million castle of downtown luxury condos and retail space on a city-owned Water Street parking lot. “The project was a tremendous undertaking, and over time, the process of obtaining the necessary approvals became very difficult and at times adversarial, causing continual delays and uncertainty,” […]
Rebranding hate If the #cvillestandsforlove looks familiar, like the “Virginia Is For Lovers” logo, for instance, that’s because Susan Payne, wearing her chair-of-the-Virginia-Tourism-Corporation-board hat, created the hashtag using the state’s 50-year-old iconic logo. “It’s the same family,” says Payne. “And it’s all free. No city money is being used.” According to Payne, Governor Terry McAuliffe […]
Payne, Ross closing When politicians need flack assistance stat, there’s one number they call: Payne, Ross and Associates. And around the beginning of the new year, Charlottesville’s public relations institution will close its doors after almost 35 years. “It’s a new vision,” says principal Susan Payne. Partner Lisa Ross Moorefield says the closing is a […]
City Council unanimously passed a resolution June 6 authorizing City Manager Maurice Jones to make an offer to buy the parking spaces owned by Charlottesville Parking Center in the Water Street Garage. Both the city and CPC owner Mark Brown have said they are in talks to resolve issues that led to the entities suing […]
The Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville said in April it wasn’t taking sides in the parking wars fueled by litigation between the city and Mark Brown, owner of the Charlottesville Parking Center. That course changed when Violet Crown hired public relations firm Payne Ross, also a DBAC member, which circulated a petition calling for the […]