In 1985, the sociologist Robert Bellah and four of his colleagues wrote about a “crisis of civic membership” in America. The people they interviewed were engrossed in their private lives and increasingly reluctant to get tangled in their local... More

Claudia Elzey

Since opening in the Jefferson School City Center in January, the Vinegar Hill Café has blossomed into a cheerful bistro loved by regulars for its artisan sandwiches, fresh-baked pastries and burgers made from beef from grass-fed cattle. But soon,... More

Claudia Elzey

For 20 years, Charlottesville and Albemarle County relied on a public agency, the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, to manage their recycling and trash disposal. But in 2010, the city dumped the agency in favor of Peter van der Linde’s... More

Claudia Elzey

Although Albemarle County has regulated building on steep slopes since 1980, county officials said nearly every request for a waiver to disturb the land has been approved. In an effort to streamline development in the county’s urban area, an... More

Claudia Elzey

TED Talks — 18-minute speeches in which celebrated innovators and thinkers share their greatest ideas — have become a global phenomenon and attract online audiences of several million. In November, the talks will get a local twist when Charlottesville... More

Claudia Elzey

An Albemarle County supervisor is urging residents to opt out of a Virginia Department of Transportation herbicide spraying program after the public raised concerns last year. VDOT plans to treat rural roadsides with Krenite S between Aug. 26 and... More

Claudia Elzey

The goal is the same: to supply low-income families with fresh, healthy, locally grown food. But the routes two Charlottesville nonprofit groups are taking to reach that goal differ. The Urban Agriculture Collective manages three city gardens in which... More

Claudia Elzey

Jane D. Dittmar, the Democratic Party’s candidate for the Scottsville District seat on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, held her official campaign announcement on Wednesday. A special election on Nov. 5 will decide the successor to former Scottsville Supervisor... More

Claudia Elzey

After 38 public meetings, countless hours of staff work and three different drafts, the Albemarle County Planning Commission on Tuesday concluded its review of the county’s comprehensive plan. “If you feel tired, there’s a reason,” Elaine Echols, Albemarle County... More

Claudia Elzey

Are Charlottesville’s pedestrians “strong and fearless”? Are its bicyclists “enthused and confident”? Or are narrow sidewalks, missing bike lanes, and rolling hills holding them back? Those are some of the questions asked in a new online survey meant to... More

Claudia Elzey

The region’s Long Range Transportation Plan identifies all the major transportation projects for which Charlottesville and Albemarle County can receive federal funding. But with only months to go before the plan must be completed and adopted, local officials and... More

Claudia Elzey

Forty years after its founding, the Charlottesville City Market is thriving. Market days regularly draw more than 5,000 shoppers, and farmers agree that the market is by far the most profitable of any in the region. Yet it takes... More

Claudia Elzey