The inside headline for last week’s cover story, “City missteps,” is inadvertently misleading, as it implies that the story contains more criticisms than questions about the city’s Downtown Mall rebricking project. The inside headline should have been the same one that appeared on the cover, “City misstep?”
Pay back: Former Bel Rio owner Jim Baldi sentenced for embezzling
The former Charlottesville restaurateur and accountant who duped clients out of more than $200,000, then went on the run, is likely to remain behind bars for less than three years, a judge ruled in Charlottesville Circuit Court on Thursday, December 5. Fifty-year-old James Kirk Baldi told Judge
Country strong: A reconstructed barn sets the stage for an open kitchen
The view from Ken and Britton Horne’s large living room windows could easily be mistaken for a depiction from the Civil War, with rolling hills spreading out at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, cows slowly ruminating, resting under huge trees, lonely structures in the distance. The
A place in the sun: Installing solar panels isn’t just a fad
Mary Kelly counts on the sun to brighten her days. Not in the way you might think, though. The Charlottesville resident had solar panels installed on her Lexington Avenue home in October and now, sunny days mean she’s whittled her electric bill down to almost nothing. “I’ve been an outdoor
Five finds on Friday: Jason Oliver
On Fridays, we feature five food finds from local chefs and personalities. Today’s picks come from Jason Oliver, Brewmaster at Devils Backbone Brewing Company, which was named Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival. Next
Lip service: Two young sisters prepare to dominate local cosmetics biz
In many ways, Emma Wayne is your average sixth grade girl. She takes dance and gymnastics, focuses on homework, and participates in afterschool activities at Henley Middle School in Crozet. But Emma has an unusual hobby: She runs a business. Emma and her 8-year-old sister, Julia, started Blush
ARTS Pick: Joseph Arthur
Don’t fret if you missed Joseph Arthur’s well-hyped recent album Boogie Christ, because the highly regarded musical talent has just released a follow-up entitled The Ballad of Boogie Christ Act 2. Arthur is a poet, artist, and musician from the Midwest who got his first record deal after
Recipe for success: PB&J Fund gets an upgrade
The idea that eating right is key to healthy, happy kids is not a new one. But cooking right? That’s a different story, and it’s where the PB&J Fund comes in. The local nonprofit gives kids and families access to kitchens where they can learn to plan and prepare nutritious meals and develop
ARTS Pick: Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra and UVA’s University Singers
Concertgoers naughty and nice can catch the holiday spirit when the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra and UVA’s University Singers team up to make the yuletide bright for their ninth annual family holiday concert. Michael Slon conducts a program of familiar festive favorites,
ARTS Pick: Nutcracker Mini-Suite
No need to wait until Christmas Eve for visions of sugarplums to dance in your head. This weekend, Clara and her beloved nutcracker doll take center stage in the Albemarle Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker Mini-Suite. Twenty-four local dancers populate the Land of Sweets for selected scenes from the
Stuck in traffic: A new transportation secretary doesn’t mean the end of the Western Bypass
After election day, many who have watched the decades-long saga of the Western Bypass unfold were quick to predict the project would end up dead in the water. They assumed that the changing of the guard in Richmond and a Democratic sweep locally would spell an end to the controversial road
Film reviews: The rundown on holiday films worth your dough
It’s December, and that means the awards-fodder movies are out. And guess what. Some of them are good! Here’s a list of five movies that range from near-great to head-scratching (but worth seeing) to one guilty pleasure. The Book Thief If Life is Beautiful is absolutely the wrong way to make a
Punch bowl: Dusting off the tradition of the communal beverage
Before the water cooler, there was the punch bowl. The bowl contained the original social medium—a beverage spiked with alcohol—and it brought people together. Groups of people congregated around the bowl, catching up on gossip, making merry, and enjoying one another’s company. Sumerian art
Surge of joy: On Mountain View Street, happiness is a high power bill
Got holiday lights? It’s that time of year, and, according to Dominion Virginia Power, simply lighting a Christmas tree can tack as much as $10 onto a power bill for the holiday season. Jeff Norford’s holiday season power bill jumps a bit more than that. Indeed, perhaps no one in
A Hokie’s view of Hooville on Rivalry Saturday
I can barely feel my toes, and I’m wishing I’d grabbed an extra sweatshirt before leaving the house. I’ve just spent entirely too much money on an 8″ pepperoni pizza and a Diet Pepsi in a souvenir Cavaliers cup I have no intention of keeping, and the November sun is blinding me as I
ARTS Pick: Brooke Annibale
For Nashville-based singer-songwriter Brooke Annibale there was never any doubt that a career in music was in her future. “My family owns a music shop in Pittsburgh,” she said. “I started taking lessons and as soon as I knew enough chords, I started writing songs.” Annibale has four
Apple a day: Health care providers struggle to treat migrant workers
The several hundred migrant workers who flood Albemarle and surrounding counties every apple season have come and gone. But the community of nonprofit health care providers that supports them each season is already thinking about next year. The Blue Ridge Medical Center (BRMC), which provides
Editor’s Note: On the road and back again
Widely interpreted as a metaphor for J.R.R. Tolkien’s personal experience during World War I and afterwards, The Hobbit was originally published in 1937 with the alternative title There and Back Again. A comfortable bourgeois man is vacuumed out of his house into a global struggle between good
Remembering local farmer Richard Bean
Eleven years ago, in the spring, my friend Leslie told me she was going to an organic farm to interview for a job. She’d seen a flyer at Integral Yoga. Did I want to come too and maybe work with her? I asked how much it paid. Five bucks an hour, she said. I laughed […]
The Boomerangers: A new generation is moving back to C’ville to start families and businesses
As a teenager, I couldn’t wait to get out of Charlottesville. I wanted to travel, to prove my independence, and to test myself against challenges my hometown just couldn’t provide. If I didn’t leave right after high school, I reasoned, I might not ever leave. And the last thing I wanted was to
Interview: Rob Barraco discusses Dark Star Orchestra’s grateful groove
Like many Grateful Dead fans, Rob Barraco has been a devoted Deadhead since his teenager years. It’s safe to say the versatile keyboardist has found the perfect gig as a member of Dark Star Orchestra. Since forming in 1997, the lauded tribute act has earned its own legion of fans for spot-on