Nearly four weeks in, the federal government remains at a standstill over the president’s maniacal demand for $5.7 billion in American taxpayers’ dollars to erect a giant wall. But local government, at least, is raring to go. “Eighty percent of what we do is not a Republican or Democratic issue,” Republican Delegate Steve Landes tells […]
Charlottesville
400 years: Will this year’s General Assembly make history?
Nothing puts a spring in the step of legislators heading to Richmond to do the people’s business like the fact that it’s an election year, and all 140 members of the General Assembly are up for reelection. Oh, and it’s the 400th year since the colonies’ first legislative body, the House of Burgesses, met in […]
Finding the helpers: Locals offer addiction support
Charlottesville resident Jordan McNeish knows the perils of opioid addiction first-hand. Three years ago, he was on an East Coast road trip with his ex-girlfriend, and the plan was to end up in Maine. But their first stop was Baltimore, to buy heroin. McNeish, 29, says he had gone from using heroin once or twice […]
This Week: 1/2
Although technology may, overall, be destroying our collective attention span, the internet has also brought us new ways of telling stories. And the startling popularity of podcasts is proof that many of us are still hungry for a slower kind of media, one that pauses to examine the esoteric, [...]
Can you hear me now? Local podcasters come in loud and clear
Back in 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared that podcasting was “the next generation of radio.” When the company began supporting podcasts on iTunes that same year (so users could easily download the audio shows onto an iPod, where the name originated), the medium gained steam, and lately [...]
About Last Year: Looking back at 2018 — Photos
As much as we love words, it’s the photographs–and our incredibly talented team of freelance photographers–that really make our stories sing. Here is just a handful of the images that were captured this year.
About last year: Looking back at 2018 — Food
Best new creations When it comes to Charlottesville food and drink, there is no such thing as a bad year. In 2018, MarieBette Café & Bakery unleashed its prezzant, a sorcerous pretzel and croissant hybrid, where buttery, delicate pastry gets an addictive umami boost from a dip in lye. Not [...]
This Week: 12/19
Among the many Christmas rituals going on at this time of year is the Mexican tradition of las posadas (literally, “the inns”), which commemorates Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter in Bethlehem. In the nine nights leading up to Christmas, families, friends, and neighbors go on a candlelight [...]
Fighting fear: Local groups step up to help our community of undocumented immigrants
When Maria Chavalan-Sut talks about her life, she smiles. She laughs. Sometimes she cries. The Guatemalan refugee came to America in 2015 and passed a credible fear interview at the border, meaning ICE believed that she would face persecution or torture if she was sent back to her country. But [...]
Justice: Fields found guilty on all counts in car attack
BY Lisa Provence and Samantha Baars Last Friday evening, almost 16 months after white supremacists invaded our town, many of the same counterprotesters who were there on August 12, 2017, were once again gathered on Fourth Street. It was the spot where James Alex Fields, Jr., a self-proclaimed [...]
Divestment: Charlottesville considers dumping fossil-fuel holdings
In the wake of recent U.N. and U.S. government reports on the catastrophic environmental damage already attributable to climate change, the City of Charlottesville has been challenged to divest from investments in the fossil fuels industry. Local activist Michael Payne proposed several steps [...]
Staying downtown: Albemarle and Charlottesville finally resolve court’s future
After a couple of years of contention over Albemarle County’s threat to move its courts from downtown Charlottesville, elected officials in the two jurisdictions have finally decided to jointly locate their lower courts in a downtown building both localities purchased together in 2005. “We have [...]
Spicing up the menu: A new chef brings new flavors to Zocalo
Zocalo has undergone a number of major changes recently, with owner Ivan Rekosh buying out his longtime partner and then bringing in a new executive chef, Zynodoa’s Josh Hutter, who’s been shaking up the menu with a variety of surprising new offerings. “I’ve been cooking the same food for 15 [...]
Fried fish on the go: A new business takes off
Angelic’s Kitchen On Wheels food truck has taken to the streets, a mere four years since owner Angelic Jenkins began cooking professionally, after her husband urged her to find a hobby other than shopping. “I love cooking for people and always wanted to sell fried fish at a festival,” Jenkins [...]
Mel at Mel’s: Chef Melissa Close-Hart savors a taste of home at Mel’s Cafe
Sometimes the good stuff is hiding right under your nose. For decades, Mel’s Café has sat near the center of town on West Main Street, with a bright blue sign that is impossible to miss. Yet, even some of my most food-loving friends have never set foot in the place. As a longtime fan, this […]
Ticked off: UVA physician connects the dots on a perplexing allergy to meat
Frank Morris had trouble breathing. Victor Taylor woke up in the middle of the night, with “pancake-sized hives.” Author John Grisham’s ears were “really, really itching.” “We got in the car,” Grisham told Allergic Living magazine, “and I was so desperate I stripped down, took off all my [...]
A new spirit for Charlottesville
When Ivar Aass moved to Charlottesville six years ago, he had one purpose in mind: distill high quality spirits. And at Spirit Lab Distilling, the distillery he runs with his wife, he does just that. From a bare bones warehouse facility on 6th St. SE, Aass distills tiny batches of spirits that [...]
![“I don’t care whether a woman has an abortion [or not],” says Amy Hagstrom Miller. “But whatever she decides should be provided with dignity.”
Photo: Amy Jackson Smith](https://www.c-ville.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/180917_Amy-Hagstrom-Miller_01-320x170.jpg)
Slaying shame: Amy Hagstrom Miller wants to change the narrative around abortion
The confirmation of conservative Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has raised fears that Roe v. Wade could be undercut or even overturned. In fact, abortion access has been under attack for decades by restrictive state laws and regulations (more than a thousand restrictions have been passed [...]
Midterm madness: Can the 5th district be flipped?
In any other year, the Republican incumbent in the 5th District would be a shoo-in. But this year, two things make the election something of a horse race: One, Congressman Tom Garrett announced in late May that he would not seek a second term, leaving an open seat without the incumbent [...]
Failing grade: Community responds to ProPublica/NYT piece on racial inequities in city schools
Last week, ProPublica and the New York Times published a scathing indictment of Charlottesville City Schools, pointing out persistent and widening achievement gaps between white and black students. The article also highlighted the overrepresentation of white students in the city schools’ gifted [...]
Want a fun business trip? Become a wine importer
We’d imagine the life of a wine importer to be nothing but romance—all long nights, barrel laughs, and plates of beautiful food in good company. Turns out, we were wrong: It’s better than that. We asked Williams Corner Wine co-founder Nicolas Mestre to recount a recent wine-tasting trip to [...]
Where everybody knows your name: Oakhart Social is a favorite after-hours hang
After a long night of waiting and bussing tables, cooking meals, serving drinks, and washing dishes, most restaurant staffs are usually ready to unwind. But in a town in which the sidewalks tend to roll up after 10 or 11pm, where’s a hard-working, thirsty server supposed to go? A regular haunt [...]
Food stars—they’re just like us!
Around here, the folks cooking your favorite foods are as close to celebrities as some of us get (unless you’re lucky enough to corner Dave Matthews on the mall). So, for this year’s annual Food & Drink Issue, we decided to take a look behind the scenes—beyond your pork belly tacos and pain [...]