First there was Trader Joe’s at Stonefield. Then came Fresh Market at Albemarle Square. Word that a Wegmans is coming to Fifth Street set foodie hearts aflutter when it was announced in 2012. In what has become a veritable parade of grocery stores marching into Charlottesville, the new ones just keep on coming. The latest […]
Business
Transportation secretary named, Landmark blighted, UVA prof indicted: News briefs
Check c-ville.com daily and pick up a copy of the paper Wednesdays for the latest Charlottesville and Albemarle news briefs and stories. Here’s a quick look at some of what we’ve had an eye on for the past week. McAuliffe names Republican Bypass supporter as transportation secretary Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe has announced his pick for […]
Whole animal butcher shop aims to increase accessibility of local food
Ben Rindner is standing over one side of a freshly slaughtered pig. In front of him, running left to right along the butcher block at JM Stock Provisions & Supply, is the animal’s bisected backbone. Below that are loins and chops, shoulders and shanks, meaty muscles tucked into the carcass’s cross-section among organs, bones, ligaments, […]
Factory shuttered, yearbook revived, Austin club scene invaded by C’ville investors: News briefs
Check c-ville.com daily and pick up a copy of the paper Wednesdays for the latest Charlottesville and Albemarle news briefs and stories. Here’s a quick look at some of what we’ve had an eye on for the past week. Charlottesville factory closes, leaving dozens out of work More than 40 locals are [...]
Curtains for Carmike: Last non-Regal theater in the area to close
Another one bites the dust. By the time the week is out, the number of moviehouses shuttered since the arrival of the Regal 14 at Stonefield will be up to three, as Carmike Cinemas closes its six-screen theater in the Gardens Shopping Center on Route 29. As a result of the closure, [...]
Ix fix: Downtown property gets a drive-through makeover
That “dead end” sign posted at the Second Street SE entrance to the Ix building off Elliott Avenue? Ignore it and come on through! The 17-acre commercial property two blocks south of the Downtown Mall, bordered by Elliott and Monticello avenues, is now an owner-sanctioned shortcut that can help [...]
Tomtoberfest pushes town-gown innovation with a light heart
The Tom Tom Founder’s Festival is headed back to school. Paul Beyer is getting ready to launch the second annual Tomtoberfest, the smaller autumn sister of the spring music and innovation showcase he created in 2012 in the image of Austin’s SXSW. This year’s fall fest [...]
Can social entrepreneurs close the local income gap? Toan Nguyen thinks so.
What does a middle-class mother of three who produces freshly-made tomato sauce have in common with a man who paints houses and has tiptoed the poverty line for years? Elizabeth James and Terry Lee Jones both love what they do and have the drive to run their own business, but they needed a leg [...]
Local Food Hub helps small farmers prep for big changes to food safety laws
The first major update to food safety regulations since the 1930s is coming down the pike for America’s farmers, and the impacts could be big for produce growers—including those in Central Virginia. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) puts what was previously a voluntary and [...]
Apartment city: How a wave of new projects is increasing density in Charlottesville
The residential development trend in Charlottesville can be summed up in two words: high density. There are more than 1,100 apartments either newly opened, under construction, or being planned in the city, and September will be a big month for a number of developments set to go before the City [...]
Construction, housing market growth signal local economic health
When it comes to the local economy, the good omens are stacking up. Recent analyses from the city and an area realtor’s association show that total construction value in the city reached an all-time high in 2012, and the volume and value of home sales is showing sustained growth. And while [...]
Labor pains: How a local case helped resurrect Virginia’s labor investigations
Last week, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry made a small change to its website: It added a link to a downloadable wage claim form, something that had been missing since the state slashed DOLI’s budget and eliminated six wage theft investigators from its Wage and Hour Department [...]
Bank robberies, home invasions, and new traffic laws: News briefs
Check c-ville.com daily and pick up a copy of the paper Tuesday to for the latest Charlottesville and Albemarle news briefs and stories. Here’s a quick look at some of what we’ve had an eye on for the past week. Bank robbery suspect nabbed The man police say robbed a Downtown bank during last [...]
Councilors say city utility fees are becoming too big a burden for residents
The Charlottesville City Council adopted rates for the city’s three public utilities for the coming fiscal year last month, and the numbers weren’t dire: Water and wastewater rates are up, but they’re offset by a slight drop in gas prices. But two Councilors still aren’t content. Dave Norris [...]
WNRN co-founder Mike Friend sues station for commission
Twenty years after creating the nonprofit that launched independent community radio station WNRN, station co-founder Mike Friend is suing his former employer for unpaid sales commissions. Filed on March 15, 2013, the suit claims WNRN refused to pay Friend commission for advertising sales. The [...]
As Halsey Minor files for personal bankruptcy, former Landmark creditors get long-awaited payout
Former CNET CEO and would-be hotelier Halsey Minor filed for personal bankruptcy in Los Angeles County last week, just days after a federal judge’s order in a Virginia bankruptcy court ended a long battle over debts owed to Minor’s former Landmark Hotel contractors. Minor, a Charlottesville [...]
Lift every voice: Andrea Copeland reflects on struggles and successes
Andrea Copeland needed a break. For almost a year, she had been working full-time at the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce while running her own video production company, Positive Channels, in her free time. “I felt like I needed to get out of town,” she said during a May 21 [...]
Toan Nguyen’s C’ville Central gives small business owners a leg up
The movement to buy local is growing beyond homemade jam and freshly picked tomatoes at the City Market. It could be the key to solving the city’s growing poverty problem. The goal of fledgling corporation C’ville Central, the latest brainchild of C’ville Coffee owner Toan Nguyen, is to connect [...]
Manslaughter charge, Coke building off the market again, and more on the Bypass: News briefs
Check c-ville.com daily and pick up a copy of the paper Tuesday to for the latest Charlottesville and Albemarle news briefs and stories. Here’s a quick look at some of what we’ve had an eye on for the past week. Manslaughter charge in Semester at Sea death Police in Dominica have arrested a man [...]
Thomas Jefferson Foundation receives annual tourism award
A crowd of about 100 gathered at Trump Winery yesterday evening to wine and dine, enjoy the view of the vineyard, and watch the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB) present the annual Tourism Achievement Award. Executive Director Kurt Burkhart presented the top honor [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville and Albemarle the week of 5/6?
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 in the comments section. The Charlottesville City Council meets Monday, May [...]
Tourism, tech, and the race to brand Charlottesville
At the start of the Tom Tom Founders Festival two weekends ago, a crowd filled The Haven on First and Market to rehash a question that Charlottesville loves to ask, but rarely manages to answer: Who are we? The “Aspen vs. Austin vs. Arlington” debate pitted several concepts of place against one [...]
Big bang theory: Residents say blasting for critical airport project is damaging properties
“That’s a beautiful view,” Melanie Crawford said, staring out the windshield of a white pickup truck that had just come to a stop in the red dirt at the end of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport runway. She wasn’t looking at the Blue Ridge in the distance, but at the earth-moving activity in [...]