Developer looking to outdo the Terraces
Four Seasons protests VDOT's Wavy Paving Job
A few weeks ago, Susan Marcell returned from vacation to find that her neighborhood roads had been re-surfaced. “It’s uneven, it’s got ridges all over it, it’s still kicking up pieces of tar under cars,” says Marcell. “There are whole sections that have been missed or that are miscolored. I can’t believe this is always what happensâbut if it is, we’ve got a problem.”
Weed set to beat Ewert
Local Dems are not heeding Democratic Congressional hopeful Bern Ewert\’s advice: Don\’t “gamble away this golden opportunity to beat [Republican incumbent Virgil Goode Jr.] with a fifth run for public office by Al Weed.” The delegates in the Fifth District have, it seems, done just the opposite.
Who paid for your City Councilors?
The table below shows the biggest donors to the three City Council candidates. As you can see, the local Democratic party keeps their candidates flush, while Republican candidate Rob Schilling had to beat the bushes slightly farther afield. Developers, as usual, constitute the largest local donors. Voters hit the polls before press time.—John Borgmeyer
Capshaw to buy Jefferson Theater
A change can do a body good. And a refreshing change is what Hawes Spencer hopes will come to the mixed-use Jefferson Theater building, the Downtown stalwart and second-run movie palace, now that he is selling it to local megadeveloper Coran Capshaw.
The greening of nuclear power
Pure white clouds float through a blue sky; pine-covered mountains cast their emerald reflections across a clear lake; a child’s muddy hands cradle the precious root ball of a tiny tree.
This is the new face of nuclear power.
The images appear against a green-and-purple background on the website for the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition. Scroll down, and there’s the smiling faces of Christine Todd-Whitman, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and…
Teed Off
By C.J. Sullivan and Dave Hollander
A “friendly” query
Dear Georgette: What, you don’t think the Paramount is friendly? You got some kinda problem with the Paramount that Ace needs to fix for you? Like maybe with a fat punch to the schnoz?
Local Muslims petition City
A local Muslim group is petitioning Charlottesville\’s Board of Zoning Appeals to make an exception to City zoning codes for the construction of a new mosque.
Gay marriage is a civil rights issue
The most common argument to support the legal defining of marriage as a union between a male and female is that of tradition. As marriage has always been characterized this way, so should it always be, claim its supporters. This argument assumes that a male and a female create the most stable union that society […]
Monticello opens Montalto to public
On a recent sky-blue spring day Monticello hosted a gaggle of reporters atop Montalto, the mountain across from Monticello that the Thomas Jefferson Foundation snatched from the poised paws of hovering developers last year when the property came up for sale. The occasion for mountaintop sunning? On May 1, twice-daily tours of the property began, continuing whenever the weather is fine through October.
Exploring the nature of evil
Jennifer L. Geddes, an associate professor of religious studies and co-program director at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at UVA, is currently researching a book titled The Rhetoric of Evil, How People Think and Talk about Evil. Her work has been gaining national notoriety at a time when politicians and cable news personalities increasingly use “evil” to describe everyone from murderous despots to members of Congress. We asked Geddes why we should think twice before declaring something “evil.” Here\’s some of what she had to say.âJay Neelley
Hoos news gets serious
The recent “living wage” activities attracted boatloads of local media attention, but one special report you probably haven’t seen is creating a buzz around campus.
New faculty tomes hit the shelf
O.K., it\’s nearly summertime, but that doesn\’t mean you should let your brain rot for three months. Keep the academic vibe alive by digging into these books from UVA faculty, ready just in time for the dog days.âEsther Brown
Friendship Court assault believed to be gang-related
Friends can sometimes turn against each other at the slightest provocation. A 15-year-old Albemarle County student learned this cruel truth the hard way while walking near Friendship Court late Friday, April 21.
Washington seeks Payback
Earl Washington, Jr. came within nine days of state-sanctioned deathânow he\’s looking for some compensation. Proceedings in a federal civil suit began in Charlottesville last week, pitting Washington against the estate of Curtis Lee Wilmore, the investigator who produced a false confession from Washington in 1983 for the rape and murder of Rebecca Lynn Williams. Washington\’s lawyers charge that Wilmore violated questioning procedures by feeding their client details that led to a false confession.
Crawford Case Delayed
The trial of Dale Anthony Crawford, a former Manassas car salesman, was scheduled to start May 1. However, a last-minute crisis will leave Crawford awaiting trial a little longer. Crawford’s defense attorney Liz Murtagh was diagnosed with a serious illness April 26; the trial will be rescheduled next week once Murtagh knows the course of her treatment.
Police rescue elderly couple
Getting lost sucks. Imagine how much worse it is when you\’re in your 80s, it\’s pouring rain and you\’re in the middle of the woods 220 miles away from home.
Swedish invasion
Dear Crank: Tell me about it! It seems that everywhere that Ace goes, there’s a boxy, earth-toned Scandinavian baby wagon blocking his path. Unfortunately, due to ongoing court proceedings, Ace is not at liberty to reveal the exact make and model of the Acemobileâbut you can rest assured that it is nothing as safe, staid and boring as a Volvo. (Nor does it do Volvo-esque things such as start consistently, or reach speeds in excess of 50 mph). But, for whatever reason, it does seem that Charlottesvillians love their Volvos, and it’s not a trend that looks likely to end any time soon.
When, oh Lord, when?
As one whose lack of religious fervor long ago reached the chronic stage, I often find myself pondering an unlikely question. “When, oh Lord, when?” I am not asking for any particular personal favor from one capable of granting it but, rather, expressing simple wonderment. The kind of wonderment prompted by the quiescence of the American people. A quiescence that accepts a torrent of outrageous conduct on the part of the Bush administration.
Spare some change?
There’s a classic New Yorker cartoon that depicts a group of explorersâbackpacks and machetes in handâcoming across a small spring in the middle of nowhere. It’s flowing with money, a geyser of bills spouting up from the center. “By God, gentlemen,” says the lead explorer to his hapless followers, “I believe we’ve found it-he Fountain of Funding!”
Major retail headed to Fifth Street
Last week, urban planner Frank Cox said that soon he will introduce plans for a major shopping center to be built between Fifth Street and Avon Street Extended, just north of Interstate 64.
Meet your city council candidates
Charlottesville voters will pick two new City Councilors on Tuesday, May 2