At a rural Albemarle clinic, two doctors are teaching patients that health is in their heads
When UVA-trained endocrinologist Zachary Bush decided to start his own alternative practice devoted to helping patients lead healthy lifestyles, stubbornness played a big role in where he decided to put it. “I was told it wouldn’t work in rural Virginia,” he said. “People told me, ‘You could start a plant-based diet program in Charlottesville or [...]
Huguely asks state appeals court for new trial
George Huguely is appealing his second-degree murder charge, claiming he was denied his right to representation during his trial last February in Charlottesville and citing a number of other objections. The Daily Progress’ Samantha Koon had the story yesterday, reporting that Huguely appears to have hired new lawyers. Attorneys Paul D. Clement of Washington, D.C. and [...]
Counselors at law: How a network of local attorneys is changing the way we divorce
Years ago, Charlottesville family law attorneys Susan White and Annie Lee Jacobs found themselves on opposite ends of a divorce case. Their clients were very different people—she was an artist, he was a physician—but the ex-couple worked out an agreement across a conference room table instead of in court, and came away feeling like the [...]
Open hearts: Is compassion something you can teach?
When Dorrie Fontaine became dean of UVA’s School of Nursing in 2008, a subtle shift in how nurses were taught to tackle tough situations—the death of a young patient, a family pushing back on end-of-life decisions—was already under way. Toward the end of her tenure, former Dean Jeannette Lancaster partnered with philanthropist Tussi Kluge to [...]
Deeds weighs in on surprise Virginia Senate redistricting
The surprise redistricting bill Republicans pushed through the Virginia Senate yesterday has raised a lot of questions: Did Governor McDonnell’s office know his fellow party members were plotting a mid-decade overhaul that, if it sticks, would likely hand Republicans a State Senate majority? Could the redistricting stand up in court, considering Virginia’s constitutional restrictions? And where [...]
Rob Bell solidifies his platform—and local support—in bid for attorney general
Just over a year after he first announced his bid for Virginia Attorney General, Albemarle Delegate Rob Bell is using the 2013 legislative session as a final chance to shore up his conservative, tough-on-crime credentials, and he’s calling on deep local pockets to help him win the seat currently held by gubernatorial hopeful and fellow [...]
Coran Capshaw married in private ceremony
Charlottesville’s own entertainment emperor Coran Capshaw has tied the knot. Capshaw, 54 and the founder of Red Light Management, married Parke Fontaine Eager, 44, on January 2 in what sources close to the family said was an intimate event at Capshaw’s Crozet home. Little is known about the famously private Capshaw’s bride, who is a [...]
Habitat, partners roll out first plans for mixed-income housing on Elliott
Last spring, the City Council agreed to sell 3.5 weedy acres of former dirt dump next to the Oakwood Cemetery off Elliott Avenue to a development team for $10. The group—made up of Habitat for Humanity and for-profit builders Southern Development and Community Results—would assume cleanup costs for the site, but there was more to [...]
Nearly unanimous: Details of the Supreme Court’s YMCA decision
The Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down a lawsuit brought by two local gyms challenging the deal between the Piedmont YMCA and the city and county to build a new $14.5 million facility in McIntire Park. The decision means the more than 4-year-old plans for the new Y can now move forward, and according to the attorney who argued [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 1/14
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. It’s the time of year when governing bodies put their heads together and review their notes. Albemarle [...]
State Supreme Court rejects suit against Piedmont YMCA
The Virginia Supreme Court has struck down a lawsuit brought by two local gyms challenging the deal struck between the Piedmont YMCA and the city and county to build a new facility in McIntire Park. YMCA CEO Denny Blank said he was in Richmond for the Thursday ruling. “We’re ecstatic,” he said. “This is the best [...]
Row by row: City community gardens get kudos
When the Piedmont Environmental Council kicked off a contest to seek out and recognize the best community gardens in central Virginia last spring, its members weren’t quite sure what to expect. By year’s end, they were holding 22 applications: big plots, small plots, old ones, new ones. The diversity and strong showing, especially from Charlottesville [...]
Off to Richmond: David Toscano on what to expect in 2013 session
Delegate David Toscano left Charlottesville for Richmond and the 2013 legislative session last week, his campaign coffers well padded with the checks of more than 100 supporters who turned out for a fundraising sendoff dinner at Escafé last Thursday. And he carried plenty of requests with him, too. For local government, the asks have ranged [...]
For outdoor enthusiasts, specialized first aid course could be a lifesaver
Matt Rosefsky was on a Washington mountaintop on a 70-mile stretch of trail last September when everything went wrong. One of the group of four he was leading on an excursion with the local Outdoor Adventure Social Club injured his knee and had to slow to a hobble. Another hiker started to get hypothermic as [...]
Austin trip for city and county is on, despite concerns of some
Despite a last-minute flap over cost, Charlottesville and Albemarle are sending staff and elected officials to Austin next month for talks and tours they hope will help city and county replicate some of the Texas city’s economic successes here. But even as details of the trip take shape, some are still concerned it’s a waste of money. [...]
Local officials, state eye the unthinkable as fiscal cliff deadline approaches
Congress has yet to defuse the time bomb it created last year with the passage of the Budget Control Act, a package of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that will propel the country off the so-called fiscal cliff if lawmakers can’t agree on budget reduction measures before the end of the year. With the [...]
Matteus Frankovich reinstates live music at Moto Saloon
Live music has returned to the corner of Market and Meade, and yet another battle over zoning might be brewing at the Black Market Moto Saloon. Two months ago, City Council denied Moto Saloon owner Matteus Frankovich a special use permit that would have given his bar and restaurant music hall status and allowed him [...]
Human Rights Task Force votes 6-4 to recommend Commission with enforcement powers
After more than nine months of study and debate, Charlottesville’s Human Rights Task Force decided in a divided vote to recommend the city create a Human Rights Commission with the power to investigate and resolve complaints, but the issue is far from decided. The 10-member Task Force was established earlier this year to investigate whether [...]
Forest focused: SELC attorney works to protect public lands
Sarah Francisco first came face to face with the aftermath of clear cutting when she was a kid at a summer camp in the George Washington National Forest. On a hike, she came across a swath of what had once been woods. “The forest was gone, and there was just this tumbled array of logs [...]
County schools look ahead to looming crowding issues
As the Albemarle County Public School District works to find a short-term fix to overcrowding at two local elementary schools, parents and officials are eyeing a capacity crunch down the line. The writing is on the wall: When the ever-growing classes of school kids across the county hit ninth grade, the county will face costly [...]
Rivanna Solid Waste Authority faces changes as county makes plans to scale back support
The Rivanna Solid Waste Authority is at a crossroads. The joint agency was set up 22 years ago to oversee trash disposal and recycling in Charlottesville and Albemarle, but because of heavy competition among private haulers and a steady decrease in trash tonnage, the RSWA’s transfer facility in Ivy can no longer pay for itself. [...]
Charlottesville’s Facebook page goes viral
Every marketing firm and tourism board in the country is searching for social media’s magic bullet, and the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau might have found it. With a small budget and a young social media coordinator’s instinctive touch, the CACVB’s Facebook page has shot to the top of national user engagement ratings. John [...]
International students share Thanksgiving with local families
Martha Wood knows what it’s like to be young and far from familiar ground. A military kid, she and her siblings spent part of their youth in post-World War II Japan. The early exposure to a culture vastly different from their native one influenced them deeply. “It was quite an education for all of us,” [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 11/26
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. The Rivanna Solid Waste Authority Board meets from 2-3pm Tuesday at its headquarters at 695 Moores Creek Lane. [...]
For farmers, crop-hungry stink bugs are more than irritating houseguests
To most of us, they’re just a nuisance: smelly, persistent pests that creep and buzz their way into our homes and go crunch in the night. But for farmers in Virginia and a growing number of states, the brown marmorated stink bug is a thing to fear. An invasive species from East Asia that first [...]
Criticism of TJPDC over $500,000 grant mix-up continues
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission executive staff has come under fire after a scathing internal report by a committee of its own board members revealed a $500,000 budgeting error on a project funded by a Department of Housing and Urban Development grant, and county and city officials are now calling for more oversight of [...]
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. Cider celebration: The first-annual Virginia Cider [...]