On Tuesday, June 13, UVA Associate VP for Business Operations Richard Kovatch stood in front of a somnolent crowd at Newcomb Hall and did his best to make the impending debut of the John Paul Jones Arena a truly seismic event. The numbers were indeed impressive: 366,000 square feet, 15,000-plus seats, 20 luxury suites, 175 TV monitors, 350 restroomsâand all for the low, low price of just $129 million.
Snack attack
Dear Kareem: Ace was only too happy to sink his teeth into your question. Though he is known for getting most of his refined sugars from cocktail mixers, Ace can’t help but give in to his cravings for frosted foodstuffs from time to time. So, rolling up his sleeves, Ace dug right into a heaping plate of truth.
Two Bundoran Farm Developers Killed in Plane Crash
The Bundoran Farm development suffered a tragic loss Wednesday, June 14, when Qroe Companies CEO Robert Baldwin and Regional Director David Brown died in a plane crash around 11:30am. Baldwin, 75, and Brown, 55, were en route
Traffic study underway for biscuit run
On Tuesday, June 13, a sea of people packed the Albemarle Planning Commission meeting. Most were Mill Creek residents fearful of the impact of the proposed Biscuit Run development near Old Lynchburg Road, which has the potential to house 5,000 new lots, and up to 12,000 new residents, on its 1,300 acres.
Man Charged in weekend shooting death
Police have charged 22-year-old Jermaine Leon Thurston of Charlottesville with second-degree murder, malicious wounding and two firearms charges for a shooting that killed a young Charlottesville man.
House recommends $2 million for South Lawn
Earlier this month the U.S. House Appropriations Committee allocated $2 million for a pedestrian bridge to cross Jefferson Park Avenue, part of UVA’s $105 million South Lawn project.
Medicaid recipients must soon prove citizenship
Beginning July 1, federal legislation will require all Medicaid recipients to present identification that proves they are American citizens. But, while the deadline is less than two weeks away, local agencies still have questions about what forms of ID recipients will need to provide.
20 for the moment
Recently at C-VILLE, we’ve been pondering what makes this town exactly the way it is. How can it be so artsy, stylish, community-minded, fast-growing, infuriating and deliciousâall at once? By way of an answerâand after much discussionâwe’ve assembled a list of 20 people that are shaping our community right here and now.
Connie Jorgensen is Opinionated
The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins,
“Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world⦠All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
westhaven Man acquitted of voluntary manslaughter
A Charlottesville Circuit Court jury last week acquitted a 32-year-old man accused in the April 2005 punching death of a Westhaven man.
Supreme court will consider race policies in public schools
Last week the Supreme Court announced that it will hear arguments in a set of cases regarding racially conscious admissions policies in public elementary and secondary schools.
hospitality house needs more space
“They\’re not here to see Monticello,” Kay Ward says of Hospitality House guests. Trauma, sickness and ongoing medical treatment in family members, not history, bring visitors to the UVA Medical Center facility. Demand has become so steep, in fact, that the hospital is soliciting proposals for approximately 9,800 square feet of rentable space to expand the affordable accommodations Hospitality House provides patients\’ family members. Increasingly, outpatients use Hospitality House, as well.
Heritage Rep theatre announces season
While other facilities on Grounds sit half-empty during the summer, the busy bees at Heritage Repertory Theatre (HRT) keep UVA\’s Culbreth building buzzing for six weeks of rotating shows.
A good walk, spoiled
The McIntire Golf Course “clubhouse” consists of a tiny brick bungalow, a small office and a public restroomâoutside, a single picnic table sits on a shaded patio. There\’s a metal door spraypainted: “Honor System 20006 (sic) $5.00 City $5.00 County.” Credit-card-size manila envelopes on a hook, with blue tickets stapled in each corner. A hand-lettered sign: “Put money in the envelope. Take ticket as your receipt. Envelope with money goes in the slot. Thanks!”
What’s In Your Backpack?
What’s in your backpack? I.D., wallet, iPod, Amos Oz’s Tale of Love & Darkness
Jarman’s Gap Widening (Finally) Approved
Whether it’s new homes, widening roads or general urbanization, there’s no denying that Crozet is experiencing some serious growing pains. The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors last week approved a design plan for widening Jarman’s Gap Roadâan important step toward accommodating an expanding population, and giving the County’s Master Plan a much-awaited kick in the pants.
Bagged down
Dear Barry: First off, Ace reminds you that you can always reuse your bags. Shoppers who use their own bags at Whole Foods get a nickel back for each bag they carry (though they are warned not to abuse the systemâso no showing up with 200 bags shoved down your shorts). At Rebecca’s Natural Foods, one worker told Ace that she “always appreciates it” when customers use their own bags.
“In loco parentis,” or just loco?
From the get-go, it was clear that last week\’s Albemarle County School Board meeting would revolve around a single topic: alcohol, kids, and what schools can do when those two volatile compounds mix off-campus.
City, County Approve Ragged Mountain Water Option
It\’s a done dealâexcept for the deal. Both Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors last week approved Ragged Mountain Reservoir as the preferred alternative to meet water needs until 2055. However, the tougher questions about mitigation, money and phasing remain unresolved.
Supes to earn slightly-less-crummy salary
Rarely does someone get to vote on their own salaryâbut on Wednesday, June 7, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors did exactly that when they agreed to raise their yearly compensation to a robust $13,530 from the paltry sum of $13,016. The 3.95 percent boost matched the yearly increase for all County employees.
Play On!
Alex Citron drives around with a bumper sticker that reads “What is Ix?” Well, at the moment, the former Frank Ix & Sons textile mill is 17 acres of mostly dilapidated space along Sixth Street between Elliott and Monticello avenues. But, if all goes as planned, it will soon be home to another Downtown theater group.
As Capshaw-ville Expands, Alt art center seeks New Home
Soon The Jefferson Theater building will become another piece of Coran Capshaw’s empire. And when the theater closes for extensive renovations this summer, there will no longer be room for basement tenants like Better Than Television (BTTV), which must leave by June 30.
BTTV, an all-volunteer “radical” community center, has occupied 2,000 square feet in the basement for approximately one year, where they operate a lending library, a free store, a ‘zine rack, and a stage room for plays, music shows, films and sundry other eclectic projects geared particularly toward teens. Along with Tibetan street vendors who sell their wares outside during the day, BTTV subleases their basement space from a photographer. According to Sam Schuyler, a project assistant with Capshaw’s Red Light Management, that photographer’s lease has recently expired.
looking at Bundoran Developer’s Track Record
Qroe Farms, the company developing Bundoran Farm just south of Charlottesville, positions itself as an agriculture- and environment-friendly developerâone that often sacrifices housing lots in order to preserve surrounding forests, fields, streams and views.