AltWeeklies Wire
What Charlottesville Businesses and Government Can Do Right Now to Up the Eco Factornew

Is it really time to party? Even in Charlottesville, where people try to live softly, an ever-growing stream of waste can threaten to offset major gains.
C-Ville Weekly |
Andrew Cedermark |
12-09-2009 |
Environment
As Virginia Jail Inmates Prepare for Release, Challenges Aboundnew
Of the roughly 4,800 men who are inmates each year at the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, 72 go through the eight-week Re-entry program. Who gets tapped is mainly a matter of scheduling, but once on the list, they're given a choice: Take the eight-week course, or lose as much as six months time off they've earned for good behavior.
C-Ville Weekly |
Erika Howsare |
09-02-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Swipe Happy: How Paying Tuition With Plastic Can Cost Younew
Since February 2008, University of Virginia students have been able to pay tuitions online through Quik Pay@UVA using an e-check, which drafts money from checking accounts or credit cards. But paying by credit card involves an additional 2.75 percent convenience fee.
C-Ville Weekly |
Caitlin Speaker |
07-15-2009 |
Education
With Media General in Financial Trouble, Could Charlottesvill Lose its Daily Paper?new
Are The Daily Progress' cost-cutting measures an unfortunate example of a community paper suffocating under the weight of its parent company's debts? Or is the paper independently suffering significant revenue declines of its own?
C-Ville Weekly |
Katherine Ludwig |
07-08-2009 |
Media
Underground Petroleum Tanks Mar Virginia Drinking Waternew
Because of population density and geological factors, Albemarle County is particularly polluted by underground gas storage tanks, and the problem of leaking tanks is more widespread than most realize.
C-Ville Weekly |
Erika Howsare |
07-01-2009 |
Environment
Albemarle County School Board May Make Latino Liaison Position Full-Timenew
Up until last month, the Albemarle County school board Latino Center coordinator had reason to think she would be one of those county employees whose positions were terminated due to budget cuts. But at the eleventh hour, the county changed its mind.
C-Ville Weekly |
Chiara Canzi |
06-10-2009 |
Policy Issues
Working the Home Price Reductionsnew

In today’s buyers' market, you hear stories of $500,000 homes selling for as little as $250,000 -- a buyer's jackpot by any standard. Price reductions are everywhere -- so how can a savvy homebuyer make the most of them?
C-Ville Weekly |
Jessie Knadler |
06-10-2009 |
Housing & Development
UVA South Lawn Project Is Ahead of Schedule and on Budgetnew
Since the beginning, the University of Virginia's massive South Lawn project attracted controversy, but nonetheless it has gone ahead as planned. And according to university officials, it's ahead of schedule and on budget.
C-Ville Weekly |
Chiara Canzi |
05-27-2009 |
Housing & Development
Virginia Rep Requests $4M for Blue Ridge Tunnel Projectnew
Plans to convert the Blue Ridge Tunnel into a hiking trail through Afton Mountain may have gotten a boost when Representative Tom Perriello asked the House Appropriations Committee to earmark $4.36 million for the project in fiscal year 2010.
C-Ville Weekly |
Mark Meier |
05-06-2009 |
Housing & Development
Broken Marriage: A Timeline of the Landmark Hotel Tragedynew
Charlottesville's Landmark Hotel started as a $30 million project that even the Board of Architectural Review could love. Now, only Mother Nature is working on the skeletal tower that stands as a sardonic reminder of the times.
C-Ville Weekly |
Will Goldsmith |
04-08-2009 |
Housing & Development
Free Speech Is Unchained with the 2009 Muzzle Awardsnew
Usually it's a good thing to receive a free t-shirt and get your name in the paper, but not if you're a winner of a Muzzle Award from Charlottesville's Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.
C-Ville Weekly |
Wistar Watts Murray |
04-08-2009 |
Policy Issues
Budget Cuts Target Virginia's Neediest Kids...To Save $8 Millionnew
One of the most troubling aspects of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine’s budget proposal is that we do without any state-run emergency mental health beds for those under 18. Both child advocates and mental health watchdogs say this is a terrible idea that will crowd hospitals, correctional facilities and, some worry, morgues.
C-Ville Weekly |
Will Goldsmith |
02-25-2009 |
Economy
Officially and Unofficially, Dialogue on Race Moves Aheadnew

Charlottesville's City Council has committed to spending $10,000 on a community-wide "dialogue on race," and during budget hearings, it will weigh whether to spend up to $50,000 more. But the very idea of a dialogue on race seems to have started one, even before Council has spent a dime.
C-Ville Weekly |
Will Goldsmith |
01-28-2009 |
Race & Class
Wind Turbines Generate More Debatenew
Though the Albemarle County Planning Commission has been debating the addition of a wind turbine ordinance for about eight months, it seems close to formulating a resolution.
C-Ville Weekly |
Shea Connelly |
01-28-2009 |
Environment
Have Our Schools Rushed to Judgment On the Safety of Synthetic Turf?new
Converting grass playing fields to synthetic turf ones has been a growing trend nationwide. But possible health risks have led to debate in many communities. Locally, however, the debate has hardly been fierce.
C-Ville Weekly |
Chiara Canzi |
01-14-2009 |
Environment