C-VILLE Weekly | July 31 - August 6, 2024

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

V.36, No. 31

FEATURE 18

Bridging gaps

Two decades—and many debates—later, the Belmont Bridge welcomes walkers, bikers, and vehicles alike.

NEWS 9

10 The public responds to Charlottesville Parks & Recreation’s master plan.

11 Governor Youngkin appoints Meg Bryce to Virginia Board of Education.

13 Real Estate Weekly: Neighboring businesses of the now-finished Belmont Bridge look to the future.

CULTURE 25

26 Stages: The Mountain Goats revives its catalog across themes and decades.

27 Pages: With his debut Oil Cities, Henry Alexander Wiencek adds to his family’s bibliography.

28 Extra: Local talent finds a national stage. 29 Galleries: What’s on view this month.

Sudoku

Crossword

Free Will Astrology

38

Question of the Week

Correction

In last week’s cover story, “Good as gold,” we incorrectly listed Mia Abello as a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Abello is on the U.S. Women’s National Field Hockey Team.

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EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Caite Hamilton editor@c-ville.com

CULTURE EDITOR

Tami Keaveny tami@c-ville.com

NEWS REPORTER

Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

CM Turner arts@c-ville.com

COPY EDITOR Rachel Cressell

EDITORIAL INTERN

Ella Powell

CONTRIBUTORS

Rob Brezsny, Dave Cantor, Matt Dhillon, Carol Diggs, Shea Gibbs, Claudia Gohn, Mary Jane Gore, Maeve Hayden, Andrew Hollins, Erika Howsare, Justin Humphreys, Matt Jones, Sarah Lawson, Erin Martin, Kristin O’Donoghue, Lisa Provence, Sarah Sargent, Kristie Smeltzer, Jen Sorensen, Susan Sorensen, Julia Stumbaugh, Courteney Stuart, Paul Ting, Sean Tubbs

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Gamechangers Gamechangers Gamechangers

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Join us for a gathering to celebrate the relationships built and collective impact made through communityfocused partnership.

Thursday, August 1, 2024

5:30 - 8PM, Ix Art Park

Food provided by Pearl Island

Music by the award-winning Albemarle High School Jazz Ensemble Scholarship awardees will be announced!

RSVPbyemailtoinfo@cityofpromise.orgbyTuesday,7/30

Hello, Charlottesville. Thank you for reading C-VILLE Weekly.

If there’s one thing I know from having worked at C-VILLE for 17 years, it’s that, bless our hearts, Charlottesvillians love to complain about traffic. And traffic-related construction projects. And construction projects that delay traffic. I was reminded of that last week when, in preparation for this week’s cover story, I posed a question to readers: What do you think of the Belmont Bridge redo? It didn’t take long for the responses to roll in (read a selection of them on page 38, and follow us on social media to see the rest) and, like the bridge itself, there were highs and lows.

But let’s give credit where credit’s due: Though the project took 21 years from inception to completion, as development nerd (don’t worry—he said I could call him that!) Sean Tubbs notes in the story, it’s thanks to the ideas and opinions of the public that it includes some of its most notable features, like a new staircase that leads from bridge-level to Water Street and the city’s first protected bike lane. The squeaky wheel, as they say, gets the grease, and there were plenty of squeaky wheels throughout the bridge’s history—for better or for worse.

Slide into the story on page 18 for the full picture, then read Tubbs’ real estate column (p.14) for what effect the bridge construction had on nearby businesses.

Caite Hamilton

“I think it’s kind of cool because the little kids—they’ll watch the Olympics on TV, and they’ll be like, ‘Wow, I want to be like that.’ And then, the very next day, they get to swim where an Olympian trains, so I feel like that’s kind of a cool experience for them.”

—Cavalier Aquatics swimmer David King in a Daily Progress story on Jefferson Swim League’s end-of-season championships

NEWS

IN BRIEF

COVID outbreak

Four residents and one employee of the Charlottesville Salvation Army, the city’s only year-round homeless shelter, have tested positive for COVID in the past week. Arrangements have been made for COVIDpositive residents to quarantine in hotel rooms. If the spread continues, the shelter’s soup kitchen may have to switch to only providing take-out meals. Luckily, no further cases of the virus have been identified following consistent testing of residents and staff. Last year alone, the Salvation Army served more than 60,000 meals and provided accommodations for 15,000 guests.

Swimming in silver

University of Virginia swimmers Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass helped lead Team USA to an Olympic silver medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on July 27, setting a new American record of 3:30.20. After achieving an Olympic record in the 100-meter butterfly during semifinals, Walsh took home silver in the event on July 28, with teammate Torri Huske winning gold. As of press time, Walsh will compete in the 100-meter freestyle on July 30, with the event final set for July 31. Two-time Olympian Douglass will dive back into the pool for the 200-meter breaststroke on July 31.

Shooting at Holly’s

CPD seeks assistance locating suspects and a vehicle (believed to be a mid-2000s Honda Accord) involved in a shooting that occurred at Holly’s Diner on July 23 around 11:22pm. Holly’s Diner hosts karaoke every Tuesday night, an event that draws consistent crowds. One person was shot but is expected to recover with minimal injuries.

Moving forward

After meeting with current residents of Carlton Mobile Home Park, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville announced it is working to secure financing to place an offer for the property in a July 26 press release. Habitat has until August 6 to make an offer on the park, or the sale of the land on which it is sited to an unknown, third-party buyer for $7 million can proceed.

Opened in the 1970s, Carlton Mobile Home Park houses approximately 60 families. If the sale of the property goes through and tenants are served eviction notices, displaced residents will be faced with the extremely difficult task of finding comparably priced affordable housing.

According to Habitat, lot rates at CMHP currently range between $375 and $450 per month. There are currently no units available at or near that rate in the Charlottesville area in any online listings.

Habitat, Piedmont Housing Alliance, and the Legal Aid Justice Center began pursuing a potential partnership with residents immediately after tenants received notice of

the anonymous offer on June 7. More than 40 percent of residents signed a petition indicating their support for Habitat placing an offer on CMHP, exceeding the 25 percent margin legally required.

Residents confirmed their interest in Habitat purchasing the park in a meeting with all three nonprofits. Based on the community conversation, Habitat and partners agreed to keep CMHP a mobile home park for at least three years while considering future plans and to cap annual rent increases at either five percent or $15 monthly, whichever is less.

Under Virginia law, manufactured home park owners must provide tenants with notice of a purchase offer at least 60 days before the potential closing date. The owner must consider any additional offers to purchase made by “an entity that provides documentation that it represents at least 25 percent of the tenants with a valid lease.”

Park owners do not have to consider offers made after the 60-day window.

It is currently unclear if the owners of CMHP were intending to sell the park

when they received the anonymous offer. However, Virginia law requires park owners to provide tenants with a 90-day notice of any potential listings or sale. The 60-day window provided to residents indicates the anonymous offer was made without a listing or prior intent to sell.

As the August 6 deadline for Habitat to make an offer quickly approaches, the group and its partners are focused on financing.

“This is, admittedly, one of the most challenging efforts we’ve ever been involved in given the timeline imposed upon the process,” said Habitat President and CEO Dan Rosensweig in the release. “We and our partners feel deeply that, given the enormous stakes for the families, we have a moral and ethical imperative to do everything we can to prevent displacement.”

In a comment via email, Habitat Communications Manager Angela Guzman shared that PHA has taken the lead on procuring funds for the offer. “They have narrowed conversations down to a couple of lenders,” she says. “Funding seems to be lining up.”

Swimmer Gretchen Walsh helped Team USA earn the silver on July 27.

must consider counter offers.

IT’S COMING

NEWS

In the weeds

Charlottesville seeks public input on parks’ plan

By Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com

The Charlottesville Department of Parks & Recreation is currently gathering community feedback and input as it develops a master plan for the future of the city’s public spaces. As part of the master plan—which will guide the department for at least the next 10 years—the city is examining current and emerging community needs through a closer look at four parks: Court Square Park, Market Street Park, Tonsler Park, and Washington Park.

Since last November, the city has been collecting public comment through consultant groups Kimley-Horn and PROS Consulting. Online engagement with the project has been promising, with 973 surveys completed on the project website and 545 comments made through the interactive map feature as of July 29.

Each park-specific survey asks respondents to share how often they visit the park and their thoughts on the park’s cleanliness, safety, and potential amenities. Specific features mentioned in the form include food carts, art exhibits, vendors, public art, historic markers and displays, public games, water features, and native plants. There is also a space for more in-depth comment on both the surveys and the map feature.

According to Will Bassett, Parks & Rec business manager and one of the project managers for the master plan, the most filled-out park-specific survey so far is for Booker T. Washington Park, with 121 submissions.

While the city and consultants anticipated significant public engagement at city council’s input session on Market Street Park and Court Square Park on July 15, extremely low turnout prompted a second event to be held at CitySpace on July 29.

The parks are the former sites of the Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson statues, respectively, and gathered national attention during A12. Both sites were originally segregated.

Andrea Douglas, executive director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, was the only participant in the city council session who commented on the parks, updating council on the Swords Into Plowshares project.

(Another woman mistakenly attended believing the comment session was for Parks & Rec more broadly, asking for shades for the pickleball courts at Carver and Keys recreation centers.)

Despite the lack of public participation at the council meeting, councilors gave their thoughts on the parks and the broader master plan.

“Two paths for these two parks [Market Street Park and Court Square Park]: One is these could be parks that are pretty standard and could be [parks] that [exist] in most any city in the country. Or two, they could be defining public spaces that engage thoughtfully with local history,” said Councilor Michael Payne.

“Both of these parks have a lot of pain associated with them,” said Vice Mayor Brian Pinkston. “How we honor that history and how we honor the events of a few years ago and do so in a way that’s honest and authentic to who Charlottesville is— particularly since there will be a lot of other people who want to write narratives about what happened in those parks—I think it’s going to be really important.”

The meeting about Market Street Park and Court Square Park on July 29 garnered more participants than that on July 15, but attendance of the in-person input session was still sparse. Six constituents were in attendance, with one member of the Parks & Rec advisory board also speaking in his capacity as a city resident.

Attendees largely agreed that the master plan should aim to bring people together in the parks, though there were some differing opinions on what design choices best facilitate gatherings. Topics of discussion included the history of the parks, safety improvements, tree cover, accessibility, and potential community engagement.

Frank Bechter, a local musician, floated the idea of Market Street Park as a living monument, focusing on the potential community engagement brought through plantings and rotating events. “Various kinds of plants, flowers—all kinds of people are interested in that and are gardeners,” he said. “There could be community engagement between the city and interested lovers of green.”

Alex Joyner, pastor at Charlottesville First United Methodist, spoke about acknowledging the parks’ histories and driving engagement in the spaces. “I think some kind of historical recognition is probably good,” he said. “I’d just like to see events that bring the community together happen in that space.”

“I’m going to take issue with ‘that park has a lot of history,’” said Genevieve Keller, a current member of Charlottesville’s Historic Resource Committee. “I’d say that park only has a recent history. The most significant thing that ever happened at that park happened in 2017 and before that, it was a very passive park … I mean, [the Lee statue] was there, people knew, and people reacted to it in their own ways. … It really was a successful event space.”

“I’m sure there were people who did not feel welcome there for a variety of reasons, but it really did serve as that kind of informal community gathering place,” said Keller. Public surveys for the Parks & Rec master plan are open until August 25. For more information about the project or to participate in the survey, visit charlottesville. gov/1742/Parks-Recreation.

“Both of these parks have a lot of pain associated with them. How we

honor

that history and how we honor the events of a few years ago and do so

in

a way that’s honest and authentic to who Charlottesville is … I think it’s going to be really important.”

BRIAN

PINKSTON, VICE MAYOR

Participants at the July 29 input session advocated for the reinvigoration of Market Street Park as a gathering space.

STAFF PHOTO

NEWS

Board games

Meg Bryce appointed to Virginia Board of Education

By Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com

Former Albemarle County School Board candidate Meg Bryce was appointed to the Virginia Board of Education by Gov. Glenn Youngkin on July 24.

As a member of the VBOE, Bryce is now one of the top education officials in the state despite losing her previous bid for public office. In addition to her appointment to the state board of education, she is also a part-time psychology instructor at the University of Virginia.

While it was officially a nonpartisan race, Bryce ran on a conservative platform in her campaign for the Albemarle County Public Schools at-large seat last fall. Beyond her platform—centered on improving academic standards and strengthening parental rights— the newly appointed board member also caught media attention as the daughter of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Bryce received significant criticism for running for the school board despite having pulled all of her children from public school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After one of the most expensive school board elections in history, Bryce ultimately lost the election to opponent Allison Spillman, receiving only 37.56 percent of the vote. Spillman won the seat, but with her appointment to the VBOE, Bryce is now the one with greater influence over local and state education policy.

“The governor’s office reached out to ask if I would be interested in serving, and I gladly accepted. The Board of Education has been focused on the issues that matter so much to me and to other [Virginia] families—accountability, transparency, and excellence in education,” Bryce told CVILLE in a comment via text. “It is a privilege to be a part of those efforts.”

For Spillman, Bryce’s appointment comes as a disappointment, but not a surprise.

“The voters of Albemarle County overwhelmingly voiced their support of public education this past November when they elected me to the school board,” said Spillman via email. “In spite of the Youngkin administration’s continued efforts to weaken public education in the Commonwealth, I will continue to fight for all the students and teachers of Albemarle County.”

Other local representatives have also publicly expressed concern over Bryce’s

Albemarle County School Board, Meg Virginia Board of Education on July 24.

appointment, including Dels. Amy Laufer and Katrina Callsen.

“You know what’s easier to win than an Albemarle County School Board seat? An unearned appointment to the State Board of Education from Gov. Youngkin,” posted Callsen on X/Twitter on July 24.

Both Laufer and Callsen have indicated they will oppose Bryce’s appointment when it comes before the General Assembly in 2025. In the interim, Bryce has started her term on the board, attending her first meet ing shortly after her appointment.

In her first meeting with the VBOE, Bryce indicated her support for changing the state’s accreditation regulations.

“One policy that I believe will be instru mental moving forward is the School Per formance and Support Framework,” Bryce said. “The Framework will be a powerful tool to identify the schools that are excel ling so that we may learn from their best practices, but also the schools that are struggling so that we may get them the support that they need. I believe it will go a long way in providing the best possible education to every student in [Virginia].”

The VBOE will reconvene for a special meeting on August 28.

“The Board of Education has been focused on the issues that matter so much to me and to other [Virginia] families—accountability, transparency, and excellence in education. It is a privilege to be a part of those efforts.” MEG BRYCE, VIRGINIA BOARD OF EDUCATION

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Around the bridge

Businesses near the muchdebated Belmont Bridge hopeful for a comeback

By Sean Tubbs

Both Project Gait-Way and the Belmont Vortex created ways for planners to dream up ideas for the urban landscape around Avon Street. Since 2011, there have been many transformations while the new bridge and street layout awaited construction.

In December 2014, what had previously been used as a hair salon and then a small grocery store became one of the area’s most sought-after restaurants: Lampo Neapolitan Pizzeria. The previous June, the owners of Lampo had used a crane to lower a three-ton oven from Naples into their space at 205 Monticello Rd.

At least one exhibition on potential options was held next door in the space formerly occupied by the Bridge Performing Arts Initiative. The creative center moved to the Downtown Mall last year after Lightning Properties, the real estate umbrella of Lampo and Bar Baleno, bought both properties for $800,000 in April 2022 to allow for expansion.

Lampo reopened after the pandemic in August 2022 while construction of the bridge was underway.

“Finally feels like things are back to normal,” says Lampo co-owner Loren Mendosa. “The bridge was certainly a pain, but now that it’s done we’ve noticed a bit of an uptick.”

In 2016, Charlottesville said goodbye to Spudnuts, a beloved purveyor of potatoflour donuts at 309 Avon St. that had been in business since 1969. Tomas Rahal, a former chef at Mas Tapas, took over the space in 2017 with Quality Pie. During construction of the bridge, Rahal took the city to task for not doing enough to support local businesses in the face of the disruption. He preferred the underpass option.

“The roadway, not a bridge at all, serves as a visual scar across our viewscape, instead of healing the rift between north Downtown and Belmont,” Rahal says. “They have cleaned up most of their mess, [but] the damage to us was deep, persistent, long-lasting.”

Located one block to the north at 403 Avon St., Fox’s Cafe closed during the pandemic, and the building and two adjacent lots were purchased for $1.4 million in February 2023. There are currently no plans filed to redevelop the site except for an application for a building permit for a new alcove. Daddy Mack’s Grub Shack food truck currently operates from the site.

Across the street at 405 Avon St. and 405 Levy Ave., the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority

its maintenance division on 1.1 acres now owned by the City of Charlottesville. The CRHA adopted a master plan in the summer of 2010 that called for the former auto service station to become a new apartment building with affordable units. That never happened— in part because of opposition from Belmont residents. The nonprofit Community Bikes occupied the site for many years before the CRHA began to use the property.

Earlier this year, several Belmont residents also opposed the notion of the city purchasing the property for a potential homeless shelter, while others welcomed that possibility. In January, City Manager Sam Sanders recommended that $4 million in leftover federal COVID-relief funds be used to buy the land and to allow CRHA to remain as a tenant while determining the property’s potential future. Afton Schneider, the city’s communications director, said there are no plans that can be shared with the public at this time.

There are also no redevelopment plans filed for 310 Avon St., a property under the single ownership of Avon Court LLC, which formerly housed the original location of Better Living and an old lumber supply warehouse. That building was demolished in late 2009, leaving other commercial properties on the site. One of them was the original home of Champion Brewing Company, which opened in the fall of 2012 and closed at the end of June 2023. The construction of the bridge created new ways to get to 100 and 110 Avon St. just to the south of Lampo. The building at 100 Avon St. changed hands in December 2020 for $4.5 million, and the new owner renovated the existing structure to add several apartments. A site plan for an additional four-story building has been approved, but the units have not yet been built.

Tomas Rahal, who favored an underpass instead of a bridge, took over the former Spudnuts building in 2017 after the donut shop shuttered in 2016.

EDGEMONT

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 15 miles south of Charlottesville, is this rare 572-acre historic estate whose design is reputed to be the only remaining private residence attributed to Thomas Jefferson. $15,000,000 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700 www.HistoricEdgemont.com

KESWICK

Stately Colonial on 1.37 acres with abundant light & golf course views. Professionally landscaped for privacy. Ideal for entertaining with spacious kitchen, dry bar butler’s pantry, formal dining. Library with custom bookshelves & fireplace. Primary BR with en-suite & walk-in closet. MLS#655210

$1,975,000 Mark Mascotte, 434.825.8610

FREE UNION PARCEL

42 acre tract on Wesley Chapel Road with the right to be divided into two 21 acre parcels. Big views with clearing towards the Blue Ridge. Stream frontage on Burruss Branch. Old logging road recently cleared for easy access. MLS#647055 $799,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124

BAILEY’S QUARTERS

One level living with full basement, two acres and a spectacular view of Buck Mountain and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Home is 10 miles northwest of Charlottesville near Free Union. MLS#654595

$525,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 or Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455

BENTIVAR MANOR

Exquisite brick home on 88 acres less than 5 miles from city limits. Residence is in excellent condition, 7-BR & 11,000+ sf. Property is a mix of pastures & woods with long frontage on the Rivanna River, & miles of trails. MLS#652353 $4,875,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 or Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455

HISTORIC STAUNTON

Meticulously renovated National Historic Register home, blending modern amenities with remarkable charm. 5-BR with tall ceilings, hardwood floors, stained glass windows, and trim. Quartz kitchen, magnificent primary suite, terrace apartment. MLS#653080 $1,295,000 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700

NEWPRICE

CARRSBROOK

This family friendly home has been thoughtfully updated with a blend of style and comfort for modern living. Spacious with 5 bedrooms, dual purpose main floor bed or office with adjacent full bath, 3 full baths, living room and den, plus 3 season sunroom. MLS#654829 $685,000 Jeremy Fields, 434.270.1220

COUNTRY GREEN RD

Modern living at a great value! Open-concept living on first floor w/bright great room, oversized kitchen, dining area and half bath. Upstairs, enjoy a primary BR with en suite, 2 additional BRs, full bath, and stackable washer/dryer. 2 off-street parking spots. Easy access to local amenities. MLS#654818

$434,900 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

FIELDS

OF BOAZ

A country French estate on 24 acres 6 miles from the University of Virginia. Timeless charm and modern luxury with soaring ceilings, spacious primary suite, home office, wine cellar, guest quarters, and private pond. MLS#652608

$3,995,000 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700

NEWLISTING

CROZET

Quality-built residence, c. 2017, minutes from shopping, Western Schools, and Blue Ridge Mtns. Features a spacious main-level master suite, high ceilings, gourmet kitchen, screened porch, and 2-car garage. In a great established neighborhood with Blue Ridge views. MLS#655239 $989,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 or Will Faulconer, 434. 987.9455

KESWICK ESTATE

Discover Keswick Estate, a gated community near Keswick Hall, offering a 2.10± acre building site harmonizing country life and resort living in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Create your dream home close to golf, dining, tennis, and more. MLS#650785 $470,000 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700

FRAYS GRANT

Just outside Charlottesville near Earlysville. This 21 acre lot is situated at the end of a culde-sac that provides privacy and a quite setting among towering hardwoods, and is convenient to CHO airport and ample shopping of various kinds. MLS#640231 $269,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 or Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455

11 ROSALYN WAY 3590 PINEWOOD DR

By Sean Tubbs

Photos by Stephen Barling

er under

A brief history of the twodecade process to replace the Belmont Bridge

OOn a warm morning in late June, City Manager Sam Sanders presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Belmont Bridge, a $38 million project that for a time served as another chapter in Charlottesville’s resistance to infrastructure for motorized vehicles.

“There are many who didn’t believe that this would actually happen,” Sanders said to a crowd assembled at the top of a new staircase that leads from bridge-level to Water Street. The western side of the bridge features the city’s first protected bike lane and the new bridge is much shorter at 236 linear feet.

None of those features would likely be present if not for pushback from those in the community who felt Charlottesville deserved more than just a standard replacement.

“We tend to get stuck on things and I want to get unstuck on things,” Sanders said.

Now that vehicles are rolling across the bridge and people are able to use sidewalks on both sides, reviews are mixed for the project, which still has remaining items waiting to be completed.

“It’s a vast improvement, but for all the time, angst, and money that went into getting it built, it’s a bit of a let-down,” says Carl Schwarz, a city planning commissioner who was on the Board of Architectural Review when that body approved the bridge design.

The story of the Belmont Bridge is one of what might happen when public expectations are raised much higher than what the constraints of a local government can provide.

Almost 21 years and several city managers before the ribbon was cut, the Charlottesville City Council learned of the need for $1.6 million in repairs to a 440-foot-long bridge built in 1962 that carried Virginia Route 20 across the railroad tracks. This section of the roadway, also known as Avon Street, is considered a primary road by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The minutes of the September 15, 2003, council meeting indicate the direction the city would eventually take. The mayor at the time was Maurice Cox, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Architecture and a vehement opponent of what became known as the John W. Warner Parkway.

“Mr. Cox said the Belmont Bridge is not very friendly and the best solution may not be just to replace what is there,” reads the official record of the meeting. “He asked if there is a margin to make it more attractive and pedestrian friendly.”

Cox’s desire for a replacement did not immediately take hold, and Council held a public hearing in May 2005 for an appropriation of $1.46 million in funds for bridge repairs. Jim Tolbert, Charlottesville’s planning director at the

time, said VDOT asked the city to consider a replacement due to quickly deteriorating conditions, but the official plan was still to repair.

A year later, crews installed plywood underneath the bridge deck to prevent concrete chunks from falling on vehicles in the city-owned parking lots below.

In April 2009, Tolbert told Council that VDOT estimated a replacement would cost $9.2 million and construction would not happen until 2014 at the earliest. The now-shuttered architecture and design firm MMM Design was selected to develop construction documents in part because of its work in overseeing the controversial reconstruction of the Downtown Mall that was underway that year.

To pay for the replacement project, the city set aside a portion of funding received each year from VDOT and had $4.4 million reserved by May 2010. Unless the city decided to use more of its own funding, construction of the replacement wouldn’t begin until 2018.

MMM Design formally kicked off the public phase of the project in November 2010 with a presentation in CitySpace, and by this time, the city had saved up $5.3 million. Around the same time, the city had closed the eastern sidewalk to foot traffic due to a deteriorating sidewalk.

The presentation was intended to gather feedback from the community about what it wanted to see in a bridge design. Joe Schinstock, MMM’s project manager, even suggested there might be room for a pocket park on the bridge itself.

Two months later, the city was forced to transfer some of the funding it had saved up for the Belmont Bridge to replace another deteriorating railroad bridge that carried Jefferson Park Avenue Extended over a different set of railroad tracks.

Council voted 3-2 in April 2011 to spend $14,000 on permanent fencing on the Belmont Bridge’s eastern sidewalk, with two councilors asking for repairs to open the walkway to pedestrians as soon as possible. Those repairs were not made and the black fence stood until the eastern span of the bridge was replaced.

Over the course of 2011, MMM Design held many meetings with various stakeholders. The now-defunct Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville wanted an easy way for people from Belmont to access the Downtown Mall and prioritized pedestrian connectivity over bike lanes. The cyclists and walkability activists wanted vehicular activity to be secondary to non-motorized transport.

An initial design shown to Council in September 2011 showed sidewalks on both sides of the bridge, three lanes for vehicular traffic, and bike lanes on each side.

At the same time, VDOT’s cost estimate for the bridge replacement went up again from $9.2 million to $14.5 million due to a variety of inflationary

factors. All estimates assumed the city would stay within the footprint of the existing bridge to avoid purchasing additional land. Studying the environmental effects on more rights of way could result in further delay.

Before the design process was over, several Belmont residents approached the Board of Architectural Review in September to critique the process. That included filmmaker Brian Wimer, who launched a contest outside official channels that challenged the very need to build a bridge at all. Wimer described this process as “creative protest.”

“Community members aren’t just waiting for results,” reads a press release from Wimer in late November 2011. “They hope to get the results themselves, even if it means finding a new design team. The solution: Project Gait-Way— an unsanctioned $1,000 design competition for the Belmont Bridge to create ‘an iconic, pedestrian-centric, bike & auto friendly gateway bringing Charlottesville into the next era of world-class cities and communities.’”

Such design contests were not unheard of during this era. In 2006, City Council funded a competition to reimagine two surface parking lots on Water Street. Both remain undeveloped with no plans on the horizon.

Court of public opinion

In January 2012, Wimer asked Council for $2,000 for the contest he was launching—Project Gait-Way—that would prioritize how the bridge improved the experience for humans rather than vehicles. Wimer’s advocacy led to the project being put on hold, and Council agreed to pay Wimer the funds to help cover the cash prize.

“Ultimately, we didn’t get an artful or very imaginative bridge,” says Wimer, who now splits his time between Charlottesville and Costa Rica. “But I think we nudged the process to try harder.”

UVA’s School of Architecture got involved in February 2012, with 29 teams of students entering the Project Gait-Way contest in what became known as the “Belmont Vortex.” In front of a crowd of students assembled in Culbreth Theatre, Wimer suggested the railway tracks would no longer be necessary as the country moved away from coal.

Those tracks are now owned by the Virginia Passenger Railway Authority and are seen as part of a future east-west service between Richmond and Charlottesville.

A design called “Belmont Unabridged” swept the competition. It envisioned no bridge at all in favor of an at-grade railway crossing. One of the team’s faculty advisors was Daniel Bluestone, a former architecture professor at UVA, who urged students to push back on automotive culture.

By this time, Cox had left Charlottesville to work as design director for the National Endowment for the Arts. He suggested to Council that the city apply for a $150,000 grant from a program he helped create called “Our Town.” The funding would pay for a study of how a new connection tied to arts and culture could transform the surrounding area.

A divided Council rejected the idea in part due to timing and the unlikelihood of either VDOT or CSX Transportation accepting the idea of no bridge. Instead, the idea was floated to spend $150,000 on further planning of the area around the bridge, while MMM continued to work on a new design with input from the contests. That funding would end up being used for a different project known as the Strategic Investment Area. (Despite winning an award from the Congress for New Urbanism in 2018, none of the SIA’s signature ideas would be implemented.)

Mo’ money, mo’ problems

By May 2012, Sean Connaughton, Virginia’s secretary of transportation, had arranged to fully fund the $14.5 million price tag for the bridge alongside funding for the Western Bypass, another controversial road project that would ultimately remain unbuilt. The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved the funding for the Belmont Bridge, but Council remained divided about how to proceed.

By that summer, Siteworks Studios had been hired as a subcontractor who would work on its own set of designs parallel to MMM. In December, the Siteworks team, including architect Jim Rounsevell, unveiled a proposal for Avon Street to go 25' under the railroad tracks in an underpass rather than a bridge in order to allow the surrounding area to be developed. Siteworks hired a construction firm to produce a cost estimate of $17.3 million—higher than the $14.5 million the city had reserved for a bridge replacement.

In January 2013, the now-defunct Place Design Task Force, which had been created to provide advice to Council on how to proceed with urban infrastructure, recommended the underpass option, though they also acknowledged it would be prone to flooding and may be unwelcoming to pedestrians.

In a memo, they also declared what kind of a bridge they wanted.

“Attention to appropriate lighting, pedestrian walkway design, railings, and bike travel lanes will ensure that the bridge scheme serves the community as safely and appropriately as possible,” reads the memo.

In September 2013, a firm hired by the city put the cost estimate for the bridge at just under $15 million and the estimate for the underpass at $27.3

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

The new Belmont Bridge features a staircase that leads from bridge-level to Water Street, as well as the city’s first protected bike lane on the western side of the structure. The replacement is also much shorter at 236 linear feet.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

million. That same month, Council directed staff to pursue an “enhanced bridge” but did not eliminate the option of an underpass. Rounsevell launched a crowd-funding campaign to further develop the concept, which he said would build “on the success of the Downtown Mall.”

“We are hoping to also develop a market study of the immediate area similar to what was done for the [High Line] in New York,” reads the campaign’s description. “We suspect that removing a 34-foot high bridge is a superior economic alternative.”

Three bridge options developed by MMM Design were shown side-by-side with Rounsevell’s underpass at meetings in the spring of 2014. Finally, on July 21, 2014, Council voted 4-1 to proceed with the “enhanced” option presented by MMM. Council member and architect Kathy Galvin voted against the motion and said instead the city should hire a new firm from scratch.

Three months later, Galvin would get her way when MMM Design went out of business and could not complete their work. By this time, Bob Fenwick had been elected to Council after running a campaign in which he insisted the bridge could be repaired rather than replaced. Fenwick said he was not interested in any of the amenities associated with the enhanced bridge and tried to get Council to follow along.

Tolbert left city government and Charlottesville in February 2015 before finalizing the process to begin the bridge design all over again. That would fall to his successor, Alex Ikefuna. By the time a request for proposals was issued, the bridge’s sufficiency rating as measured by the Federal Highway Administration had dropped to 40.8 in 2015 from 47.6 out of 100 in 2012. At that time, VDOT’s cost estimate for the bridge remained at $14.5 million but would soon increase to $23 million due to inflation. To fill the gap, Council voted to seek revenue-sharing funds from VDOT that required a dollar-to-dollar match from the city government.

The firm Kimley-Horn was hired for $1.98 million in late 2016 to resume the design work after a long period of negotiations. Its task was to complete construction documents by March 2018, which would include a plan for how to redesign the street network around the bridge. Design specifications included one lane of vehicular traffic in each direction and a 25 mile per hour speed limit.

Meanwhile, the western sidewalk was closed in early 2017 after it, too, had deteriorated. One of the existing southbound lanes was converted for bike and pedestrian use.

Reviews for the completed $38 million Belmont Bridge project, which still has remaining items waiting to be finished.

When Kimley-Horn took over, project manager Sal Musarra said the process would build off of what had come before but would not seek to build consensus.

To pay for their share, Council began setting aside local money in the capital improvement program, beginning with an allocation of $4.5 million in Fiscal Year 2018. There was another $5 million in FY21, even with the budget uncertainties introduced by the pandemic that year. Another $2.5 million was set aside in FY22. These allocations totaled $12 million in local funds toward the project—almost a third of its projected cost.

By the time Council approved a design in July 2018, the cost estimate had risen to $24.8 million. Council held a final public hearing on spending money on the project in August 2020; the cost estimate had grown to $31.1 million. The amount would rise slightly due to supply-chain issues that increased the cost of materials.

Caton Construction won the award to build the bridge, which contains many of the elements of the enhanced design from MMM. At the ribbon-cutting, Steven Hicks, the city’s public works director, said the final product accomplished many of the city’s goals.

“We created an innovative and architectural design and the bridge has separated pedestrian, vehicle, and bicycle lanes,” said Hicks. “Two 11-foot travel lanes, one in each direction. Seven-foot bike lanes and 10-foot pedestrian lanes. And we preserved the views to the mountains and of the railroad tracks.”

Former Councilor Galvin says she felt the process and design overseen by Kimley-Horn were good and said the work of the Belmont Vortex introduced ideas that would never have been considered otherwise.

“Some of the ideas were just too expensive and not practical from an engineering standpoint,” Galvin says, adding she is glad the project was completed, unlike a new streetscape on West Main Street that Council canceled in 2022 to free up money for the expansion of Buford Middle School.

As this is Charlottesville, the Belmont Bridge and so many others will continue to be debated.

Wimer calls the creative protest from a dozen years ago “future-bending” in that it helped create a “slight improvement” over what he had seen.

“For what it’s worth, I still favor an at-grade solution,” Wimer says. “The ‘no-bridge’ design that won the juried and the public vote.”

Schwarz said the design concept was executed in a poor manner, but he admits the bridge is now safer for pedestrians.

“But is it the gateway to downtown that we should be proud of? Let’s give it a few years and see how it ages.”

CULTURE

FRIDAY 8/2

SATURDAY 8/3

BREAKING A BEASTLY SPELL

DMR Adventures, a performing arts center for kids, has been making magic since 2009. This summer’s production of Beauty and the Beast JR. features 80 children performing in a downsized adaptation of the fan favorite Disney Princess movie. Join the French soirée to sing “Be Our Guest” along with lively Lumiere and timely Cogsworth, and learn the importance of inner beauty through this tale as old as time. $15–25, 2pm and 7pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

GOLDEN STATE WORRIERS

A soulful folk pop artist from Northern California, Brett Dennen began his musical journey as a youth at Camp Jack Hazard. He now shares his passion for song and conservation during his own outdoor weekend retreat (Camp Dennen), among other initiatives. Inspired by ’70s icons Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Paul Simon for their melodic tunes and activism, Dennen dives deep into social issues through lyrics and storytelling that turn the personal political. Throughout the solitude of the pandemic, opener Langhorne Slim combated anxiety by composing music, breaking through his writer’s block to pen a series of songs that launched him onto a road of recovery and now a cross-country tour. $35–65, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com

THURSDAY 8/1SATURDAY 8/3

THEY HAD US AT FUNNEL CAKE

Come poke around at the Albemarle County Fair where animals, agriculture, crafts, and live music provide entertainment over three days. Get in a country mood with a performance by Tommy Wood, and line up for eats at one of the many food trucks or stands (because what’s a fair without funnel cake?)! Flaunt the best pick from your summer garden at a giant sunflower competition and make new friends among bunnies, goats, pigs, and more in the barn. Other events include demonstrations that highlight the history and culture of rural central Virginia. Prices and times vary. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. albemarlecountyfair.com

CULTURE STAGES

The Mountain Goats with Field Medic

The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle may have published several novels, served on the board of Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL), hosted a podcast about his music, and acted in an episode of “Poker Face,” but none of these achievements compare to his stature as a singer-songwriter.

The New Yorker called Darnielle music’s “best non hip-hop lyricist,” and he’s proven it time and again with a dizzying array of songs. Past Mountain Goats albums have themes that range from pro wrestling to Dungeons & Dragons. The band’s latest, Jenny from Thebes, is a rock opera and a sequel to its 2002 album, All Hail West Texas

“If we’re going to do a sequel to a record that was recorded almost entirely on a boombox, why not do the opposite and make it as big as possible?” Darnielle asks in the band’s publicity bio.

Darnielle formed the band as a solo project in 1991 in Claremont, California, but the lineup has changed a number of times over the years. Now based in Durham, North Carolina, The Mountain Goats have released 22 albums in addition to several EP releases and compilations.

The Mountain Goats’ setlists are known to differ at every show, opening with unique songs each night—maybe one from 1994 or something recently composed, with few songs overlapping from night to night. There’s no shortage of back catalog for the band to pull from, yet it commits to reinventing old songs, even going back to early lo-fi cassette-only releases.

The band’s 2024 tour features Darnielle at the piano, then moving to the guitar, intermingling rockers and stripped-down songs from different eras.

“This Year,” with its painfully timely refrain, promises “I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.” (Look up The Mountain Goats’ performance of the song on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where Colbert himself joins the band.) The evening typically ends in a rousing singalong of “No Children,” with fans singing “I hope you die / I hope we both die” together in jubilation.

The camaraderie is part of the joy of a Mountain Goats live show, where you’ll find endless clever turns of phrase, a few history lessons, and a gutting vulnerability where you expect to find it least.

The Jefferson Theater August 6

Wednesday 7/31 music

Berto and Matt. Latin guitar night. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 201 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com

Karaoke. Downtown C’ville’s longest-running karaoke party. Hosted by Jenn Deville. Free, 9pm. Rapture, 303 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. rapturerestaurant.com

Karaoke. Sing your heart out at Fiorano Karaoke. Easy sign-up and a booming sound system. Free, 9pm. Fiorano Restaurant and Bar, 5924 Seminole Trail Ste. 101, Barboursville. fioranomediterranean.com

Mike Rosensky Trio. Live jazz every Wednesday. Free, 8pm. Miller’s Downtown, 109 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. millersdowntown.com

Open Mic Night. Open to all musicians, poets, and everyone in between. Hosted by Nicole Giordano. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St.

classes

Paint + Sip. Learn a variety of techniques and skills to render a “Blue Ridge starry nights” scene. One drink included for this special versatile design. $45, 6pm. Pro Re Nata, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. prnbrewery.com etc.

Beverly Hills Cop Detroit cop Eddie Murphy investigates the murder of a friend in La La Land in one of the most popular comedies of the ’80s. $10, 7:15pm. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

Bingo. Free to play, fun prizes. Free, 6pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] in Cinemas Blackpink’s Born Pink tour that captivated the world comes to the big screen, celebrating the group’s 8th anniversary since their debut. $15, noon. Regal Cinema Stonefield, 1954 Swanson Dr. regmovies.com

SuperFly Run Club. Run around the city, then enjoy $5 pints. Raffles and exclusive merchandise to be earned. Free, 6pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com

Thursday 8/1 music

Berto and Vincent. Join Berto and Vincent for a night of wild flamenco rumba and Latin guitar. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall.

Day of the Dead All Stars. Celebrate Jerry’s birthday with Charlottesville’s Grateful Dead supergroup playing Dead tunes and Jerry jams. Free, 10pm. Rapture, 303 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. rapturerestaurant.com

Jam with Steve Lanza. Steve hosts a gathering where you are invited to come and play along. Free, 8pm. Fiorano Restaurant and Bar, 5924 Seminole Trail Ste. 101, Barboursville. fioranomediterranean.com

Karaoke. Sing Karaoke with us at FIREFLY Restaurant + Game Room every Thursday. Free, 8pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com

Matthew O’Donnell. “The Blue Ridge Bard” is a cornerstone of the C’ville music scene. Free, 7:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com

Michael Tice. Enjoy live tunes with food and drink specials in addition to the regular menu. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com

Bomar and Ritter. Enjoy live tunes with your wine, cider, and beer along with a full menu of food options to choose from. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com

Brett Dennen. Brett Dennen is a soulful storyteller and vibrant folk-pop virtuoso. With Langhorne Slim. $35–50, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com

Chickenhead Blues Band. Charlottesville’s premier boogie woogie beat, rhythm and blues dance band. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St.

Fridays After Five: Yarn. Live music from Grammy-nominated, Brooklyn- and Raleigh-based Americana band. With Valerie McQueen. Free, 5:30pm. Ting Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. tingpavilion.com

Hard Swimmin’ Fish. Twisted vintage roots music from Hard Swimmin’ Fish, playing their final performance at Glass House. Free, 6pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

Josh Mayo and The House Sauce. C’ville favorite Josh Mayo performs with a rotating cast of familiar faces. Free, 8pm. Vision BBQ & Catering, 247 Ridge McIntire Rd. visionbbqcville.com

Karaoke. The Friday Night Edition. By popular demand, we’re throwing our weekly karaoke party to kick off the weekend. Free, 10pm. Rapture, 303 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. rapturerestaurant.com

Karaoke. See listing for Wednesday, July 31. Free, 9pm. Fiorano Restaurant and Bar, 5924 Seminole Trail Ste. 101, Barboursville. fioranomediterranean.com

Ken Matthews. Friday night out at DuCard Vineyards with music by Ken Matthews. Free, 5pm. DuCard Vineyards, 40 Gibson Hollow Ln., Etlan. ducardvineyards.com

Septic Vomit Gore. We will have four different death metal bands performing back to back—and barbecue. Free, 8pm. Ace Biscuit & Barbecue, 600 Concord Ave. Sisters & Brothers. One set of Jerry Garcia Band and one set of Grateful Dead tunes. Opening acoustic set by Oregon State Penitentiary. $12–40, 8pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com

Erin Lyndal Martin

The Wavelength. Vintage rock and jazzy blues vibrations from staples of the C’ville music scene. Free, 6:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com

stage

The 39 Steps The Virginia Theatre Festival presents this hilarious and high-octane take on the classic Hitchcock whodunit. $15–35, 7:30pm. Ruth Caplin Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu

words

Rare Book School Lecture. Collecting Daily Life in Early American Manuscripts. Ashley Cataldo—Curator of Manuscripts, American Antiquarian Society—will situate the collecting of early American manuscripts of daily life in the longer tradition of collecting manuscript Americana. Free, 5:30pm. Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at UVA, 160 McCormick Rd. small.library.virginia.edu

Palmyra: Queer Folk. Folk trio Palmyra performs with Philadelphia’s queer Americana heartbreaker Brittany Ann Tranbaugh and Richmond’s The Great Beforetimes. $15–18, 8pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com

stage

The 39 Steps See listing for Wednesday, July 31. $15–35, 7:30pm. Ruth Caplin Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu etc.

Albemarle County Fair. This fun and festive “Old-Time Country Fair” is a three-day agricultural celebration full of exhibits, events, and entertainment for the entire family. $5, 4pm. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org

Friday 8/2

music

Blackwood Station. Blackwood Station’s debut at Dürty Nelly’s. RVA folk-rock, psychedelia, and jams. Free, 8pm. Dürty Nelly’s, 2200 Jefferson Park Ave. durtynellyscville.com

The Shacktones. The Shacktones play mostly blues and blues-rock with some Americana, country, and roots-rock mixed in. Salty Bottom Blue serves up their own Chesapeake Bay oysters on the half shell or grilled. Free, 6pm. Chisholm Vineyards at Adventure Farm, 1135 Clan Chisholm Ln., Earlysville. chisholmvineyards.com

stage

The 39 Steps See listing for Wednesday, July 31. $15–35, 7:30pm. Ruth Caplin Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu

words

Friday Night Writes. An open mic evening for emerging writers to perform their short stories, poetry, and music. Performers are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early for sign ups. Free, 7pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. newdominionbookshop.com etc.

Albemarle County Fair. See listing for Thursday, August 1. $5, 10am. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org

Puzzle Crawl. This puzzle crawl takes you to the breweries on Preston Avenue. Crack codes, solve puzzles, and enjoy some of Charlottesville’s best beers along the way. $15, all day. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. puzzledbee.com

Saturday 8/3

music

Ashes Reign. With Diseased Earth and Fatehaven. Presented by South of Heaven. $12–40, 8pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com

Bailey Hayes. Come on out to DuCard, sit by the stream, and enjoy the afternoon with music by local singer-songwriter Bailey Hayes. Free, 2pm. DuCard Vineyards, 40 Gibson Hollow Ln., Etlan. ducardvineyards.com

Berto and Vincent. Join Berto and Vincent for an afternoon of wild flamenco rumba and Latin guitar. Free, 2:30pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

Berto Sales. Sounds of Brazil, Spain, and Latin America with Berto Sales. His unique fingerpicking style and contagious energy will have you tapping your feet. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavernandgrocery.com

Goth Takeover. Come dance and celebrate all things spooky. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St.

Michael Mulvaney with Silent George. Enjoy live tunes with your wine, cider, and beer along with a full menu of food options to choose from. Free, 1pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwood farmandwinery.com

Mike Burris Band. A fantastic can’t-miss evening. The Mike Burris Band plays “country-tinged roots rock” with a nod to Texas blues and a good pop hook. $10, 7pm. Batesville Market, 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. batesvillemarket.com

Sue Harlow. Sue Harlow is an Americana-folk singer-songwriter whose haunting vocals delve into the depths of what makes people real. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com

Tara Mills Band. Join us for upbeat and fun bands every Saturday night. Gather your friends and family and enjoy live music that you’ll want to dance to. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com

dance

’80s Dance Party. ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s tunes to get you busy on the dance floor. Free, 9pm. Fiorano Restaurant and Bar, 5924 Seminole Trail Ste. 101, Barboursville. fiorano mediterranean.com

Hot in Herre: 2000s Dance Party. Hot In Herre DJs have no shame about musical guilty pleasures. Neither do you. Don’t even deny it. Ages 18+. $15–20, 9pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com

stage

Beauty and the Beast JR “Be Our Guest” as over 80 students from DMR Adventures bring Disney’s Beauty and the Beast JR to the stage—an enchanting adaptation of the award-winning film and stage play. $15–25, 2pm and 7pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

The 39 Steps. See listing for Wednesday, July 31. $15–35, 2pm and 7:30pm. Ruth Caplin Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama. virginia.edu etc.

Albemarle County Fair. See listing for Thursday, August 1. $5, 10am. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org

CULTURE PAGES

Historical interest

Writerly family produces another author

By Lisa Provence arts@c-ville.com

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree—or, in this case, the trees. Henry Alexander Wiencek has followed in the footsteps of his parents, Charlottesville writers and historians Donna Lucey and Henry Wiencek, with his own book, Oil Cities: The Making of North Louisiana’s Boomtowns, 1901-1930, published by the University of Texas Press in May.

The younger Wiencek, 38, was more interested in fiction than nonfiction while in high school at Tandem Friends. “In fact, I found history boring, but as I got older, I realized I have the same bug for it as my folks,” he says in a phone interview from Los Angeles, where he lives.

White immigrants flocked to Louisiana to work. “I was really amazed that a small corner of Louisiana that had nothing going on before 1904 managed to attract people from all over the world,” he says.

Contemporary accounts made the area seem like a “weird, scary, bad place to live,” Wiencek explains, a “landscape devastated” by oil drilling, with fires burning and oil running into creeks. He didn’t expect the fond memories found in oral histories from those who lived in the boomtowns. One remembered emerging from a lake covered in oil. “They had the attitude, ‘It’s fine, I still ate the fish in the lake,’” he recounts.

In the ensuing 100 years, it seems to Wiencek that northern Louisiana, with its large percentage of Black citizens, has reverted to what it was like in 1900: poor, sparsely populated farmlands.

Among his father’s books are The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White and Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves. Lucey’s books include Sargent’s Women: Four Lives Behind the Canvas and Archie and Amélie: Love and Madness in the Gilded Age Wiencek was doing research for his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin when he ran across documents about how Standard Oil was building pipelines “through the swamp” in segregated northern Louisiana in the early decades of the 20th century.

Caddo Parish, known as “Bloody Caddo,” was part of the boom. During the Jim Crow era, it ranked second nationally in the number of lynchings, according to the Equal Justice Initiative. “That was an intersection of the old South and the new industrial economy,” Wiencek says. “I was really interested in how those two forces collided.” He found photographs of boomtowns that have entirely vanished and wanted to know why they were so ephemeral. “It’s important to understand that people made a huge amount of money,” he says. “If it didn’t create permanent communities, where did it go?” Hint: Nearby Shreveport was a major beneficiary, while many Black residents were shut out of the boom.

In a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on gerrymandering in Louisiana, Wiencek’s research played a role. “The Louisiana state house created voting districts to dilute the power of Black voters in northern Louisiana,” he says. His dissertation was used to argue that the former oil fields held an important Black community that shouldn’t be broken up. The court ruled for a second Black-majority district.

Lucey didn’t really expect her son to become a writer, especially after he saw “the crazy lives we’ve had” as writers, she says. She credits a teacher at Tandem for sparking his interest in history, and he credits an adviser at UT for her guidance and for pushing the publication of his dissertation.

Young Wiencek appreciates the advice he got from his parents, although he says he didn’t send them pages to edit. “I didn’t want to have a situation where there were too many cooks in the kitchen,” he says. But for research and tracking down resources, they were experts.

And of course they’re “bursting with pride,” says Lucey, “knowing how hard it is to write a book.”

“I was really amazed that a small corner of Louisiana that had nothing going on before 1904 managed to attract people from all over the world.”

Charlottesville’s Henry Alexander Wiencek, pictured with his parents, captures an ephemeral period of historical significance in his debut Oil Cities: The Making of North Louisiana’s Boomtowns, 1901-1930.

SUPPLIED PHOTO

CULTURE EXTRA

North Garden delights

New postage stamp series features the work of two local residents

By Carol Diggs

Whether you keep a roll of Forever stamps in your desk just in case or you believe that a handwritten thank-you note or birthday card is still de rigueur, postage stamps continue to be part of our lives. Every year, the United States Postal Service strives to highlight this country’s history, arts, and culture with stamps that are beautiful, historical, educational, and diverse.

Along those lines, this year central Virginia has scored a three-pointer: One of the newly issued stamp series for 2024 features a local species, a local photographer, and a local graphic designer.

The four-stamp series, called “Garden Delights,” shows ruby-throated hummingbirds doing what they do best—hovering next to the flowers they are feeding on like tiny jeweled helicopters. (If you have ever been close enough to a feeding hummingbird, you know the soft whirring sound those hard-working wings make, pumping in an invisible blur. No wonder these tiny birds have to feed constantly!)

The images are the work of wildlife photographer Ben King, who grew up in North Garden just south of Charlottesville and lived there until this spring. For King, photography is an avocation—“It’s a way to share things that brought me joy with other people,” he says. As a nature-lover and a recently retired professional cyclist, his online portfolio contains many stunning landscapes from here and around the country—but it’s overwhelmingly full of the wildlife that he loves to capture, from majestic raptors to humble insects.

When he was contacted about using his hummingbird photographs for a stamp series, it was “an exciting surprise,” King recalls. “Hummingbirds are common, but there’s

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

Saturday 8/3

Arts and Crafts Fair. Local artisans sell hand-crafted goods such as gourd art, pottery, mosaics, jewelry, leather crafts, woodwork, woven baskets, rugs, and more. Free, 9am. The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Blvd. thecentercville.org

Monday 8/5 music

Berto and Vincent. Come join us for an evening of Spanish rumba and Latin guitar with Berto Sales and Vincent Zorn. Free, 6:30pm. South and Central Latin Grill, 946 Grady Ave., Ste. 104. southandcentralgrill.com

something magical about them—a sense of wonder.” The photos all show female birds— delicate and delightful, although they lack the male’s distinctive iridescent red throat feathers. And the light has to catch a male’s throat feathers at the perfect angle, or that area merely looks dark.

Just as photographer King has to compose his shots, turning his photographs into a work of graphic art requires a designer—in this case, another North Garden resident, Greg Breeding. Breeding, who runs his own independent design firm called the Journey Group in Charlottesville, is one of four art directors who work for USPS. While the ideas for new series come from all over the country (USPS encourages public input), the chosen subjects have to work as stamps— making an impact as small graphics while still containing the necessary information.

Breeding’s challenge combines gaining familiarity with the subject, searching for the appropriate artist, and coordinating the process from design through production to launch. It’s a process that can take years. Distilling a series down to a number of images (from four to 12) can be daunting—especially when Breeding has worked on subjects as diverse as religious Christmas imagery, heritage American farm breeds, the Harlem Renaissance, espresso drinks, and Buzz Lightyear. Sometimes he’s even part of the series’ launch as well—for this year’s “Dungeons and Dragons 50th Anniversary” series kick-off at Gen Con Indy 2024, Breeding was available for autographs.

Luckily, ruby-throated hummingbirds don’t have conventions. Every summer, they magically appear to visit at our feeders or in our back gardens.

This story originally ran in Abode magazine.

Dog Days of Summer Bark Market. Join us for a pop-up dog adoption event. Featuring Squishy Face Crew Animal Rescue, Pepper Stone Pottery, and FreetoFeet popup shops to grab some essentials for your new family member. Free, noon. Oakencroft Farm and Winery, 1455 Oakencroft Circle. oakencroftfarm.com

Puzzle Crawl. See listing for Friday, August 2. $15, all day. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. puzzledbee.com

Storytime. Featuring readings from recent storybooks and the classics kids know and love. Rain or shine. All ages welcome. Free, 11am. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. newdominionbookshop.com

Sunday 8/4 music

Caroline Vain. Caroline Vain is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist combining her experience as a fiddle player with indie-rock elements. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com

Davis Bradley Duo. Join us at DuCard for rhythm and views from the foothills of the Blue Ridge with live music by local singer-songwriters Kathy Davis and Bradley Bishop. Free, 2pm. DuCard Vineyards, 40 Gibson Hollow Ln., Etlan. ducardvineyards.com

Jon Spear. Local singer-songwriter Jon Spear plays a solo acoustic set of folk, oldies, and more. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

Matty & Mirabelle Metcalfe. Enjoy one of our favorite musicians—the talented Matty Metcalfe—with his daughter Mirabelle. He plays just about every instrument but shines on the accordion. Free, 1pm. Chisholm Vineyards at Adventure Farm, 1135 Clan Chisholm Ln., Earlysville. chisholmvineyards.com

Michael Johnson. Dinner as usual with some live music added for your enjoyment. Feel free to sit back, listen to the music, and relax. Free, 1pm. Fiorano Restaurant and Bar, 5924 Seminole Trail Ste. 101, Barboursville. fioranomediterranean.com

stage

The 39 Steps See listing for Wednesday, July 31. $15–35, 2pm. Ruth Caplin Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu etc.

Paint by Numbers. Join us for a self-guided paint-by-number session to explore your creative side at your own pace. $20, 1pm. Cake Bloom, 705 W. Main St. cakebloom.com

Paramount On Screen: Blazing Saddles Ribald, tasteless, and hilarious … this classic spoof of the Western genre by director Mel Brooks pokes fun at everyone and everything. $9, 2pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

Puzzle Crawl. See listing for Friday, August 2. $15, all day. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. puzzledbee.com

Xanadu Brunch. Olivia Newton-John shines (literally) in the ultimate ‘80s musical fantasy, which mixes big-band, New Wave, roller disco, and effervescent ballads. $10, 11:30am. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Fifth Street Station. drafthouse.com

Betty Jo’s Boogie Band. Live boogie band with a horn section and all. Free, 7:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com

DG3. Gin and jazz series welcomes trio playing modern takes on classics and standards. Free, 5:30pm. Oakhurst Inn, 100 Oakhurst Cir. oakhurstinn.com

dance

Salsa Dance Night. DJ Rafa will be spinning the latest in salsa and Latin-inspired dance cuts in the dance floor area of the bar. Come feel the heat and move. Free, 9pm. Fiorano Restaurant and Bar, 5924 Seminole Trail Ste. 101, Barboursville. fioranomediterranean.com

classes

Create and Play Mondays. Come have unstructured fun with toddler-friendly art projects and sensory trays. Pre-registration is requested. $12, 11:30am. Rose’s Inspiration Station, 2025 Library Ave., Crozet. piedmont placecrozet.com

Tuesday 8/6 music

Karaoke. Sign up and sing your favorite songs. Hosted by Thunder Music. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St. Open Mic Night. Bring your songs, poems, jokes, or words to SuperFly Brewing Co. Free, 7:30pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com

Ragged Mountain String Band. Live bluegrass. Free, 7:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskey jarcville.com

The Mountain Goats. Touring in support of the new album Jenny from Thebes. With Field Medic. $45–65, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com

Vincent Zorn. Vincent Zorn performs solo wild flamenco rumba. Must say “olé!” Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com

words

Saving Dark Skies. A free presentation by the Piedmont Master Gardeners on light pollution and how to reduce it. Save the disappearing darkness. Free, 6:30pm. The Center, 540 Belvedere Blvd. thecentercville.org

classes

Paint + Sip. Learn a variety of techniques and skills to render a “field of fireflies” scene—a summer favorite. $38, 6pm. Starr Hill Downtown, 946 Grady Ave. Ste. 101. blueridgebrushes.com

etc.

Geeks Who Drink Trivia. Good trivia, good times. Free, 7pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com

Music Bingo. Prizes to be won. Hosted by King Trivia. Free, 7pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com Poker Night. Test your luck and skill at our hold’em poker night. Free, 7pm. Fiorano Restaurant and Bar, 5924 Seminole Trail Ste. 101, Barboursville. fioranomediterranean.com

Local photographer Ben King and graphic designer Greg Breeding combine talents in a series of US Mail stamps featuring hummingbirds.

BEN KING

CULTURE GALLERIES

August Exhibitions

The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. Photographs by Ray Mishler, mixed-media works by Renee Blue O’Connell, and oil paintings by Barbara Trovillo. Through August 30.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. “Bellair: Making Visible the Invisible,” plein air landscape paintings of a local farm over the course of a year by Raymond Berry. Through August.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Celebrating the Ordinary,” explorations of the everyday by photographer and encaustic artist Gail Haile. Through August. Meet the artist event August 17th, 11am-1pm. “Romancing the Mud,” stoneware and terracotta works by self-taught ceramicist Mary Hadden. Through August.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Illuminating the Path,” a solo exhibit exploring the symbolic power of light and the artist’s personal journey of purpose by sculptor and painter Flame Bilyue. August 2-September 4. First Fridays opening reception at 5pm.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies” features an immersive multichannel video installation. Through January 26, 2025. “Celebration” features works by five African American artists highlighting the ways these artists honor history, culture, and heritage through various media. Through January 5, 2025. The museum will be closed through August 2 for exhibition changeover. Second floor galleries remain closed through August 30.

Ix Art Park 522 2nd St. SE. “The Looking Glass,” an immersive art space featuring a whimsical enchanted forest and kaleidoscopic cave. Ongoing. “Art Mix at Ix,” a fun night of painting, live music, and cocktails at the outdoor art park. Paint and Sip with guest artist Blue Ridge Brushes. First Fridays, 6pm. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. “Shifting Ground: Prints by Indigenous Australian Artists from the Basil Hall Editions Workshop Proofs Collection,” curated by Jessyca Hutchens, featuring work by 22 Indigenous Australian artists. Through October 6. “Our Unbroken Line: The Griffiths Family,” screenprints on textiles, ceramic works, and paintings curated by Dora Griffths. Through December 8.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 4th St. NW. “Haiti Across the Water,” recent works that critically consider history, migration, white supremacy, and the lives of Black males by Nic(o) Brierre Aziz. Through August.

Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Influence + Conversation,” interdisciplinary works by Barbara Campbell Thomas and Isabelle Abbot. Through August 25. Luncheon and artist talks with Barbara Campbell Thomas and Isabelle Abbot on Sunday, August 4 at 12:30pm.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the First and Second Floor Galleries, the annual “All Members Summer Show” fea-

turing current work from renting and associate members. In the Smith Gallery, “In A Different Light,” photographs by Russell Hart. Through August 18.

The Paramount Theater 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. The Third Street Box Office Project. “Shadows of the Past,” a mixed-media exhibition by Tobiah Mundt. Through August 20. “Ascending Light,” an exhibition by Nick Brinen. August 27-September 17.

The PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. The 2024 Student Art Exhibition, celebrating the accomplishments of student artists from the latest academic year. Through September 7.

Quirk Gallery 499 W. Main St. “Funny Money,” an exhibition of Stacey Lee Webber’s found-object based works that are haunting celebrations of liberty and labor, curated by Diana Nelson. August 2-September 29. First Fridays opening reception at 5pm.

Random Row Brewing Co. 608 Preston Ave. “Inside/Outside: Flowers in the Window,” recent paintings by Randy Baskerville. Through August.

Ruffin Gallery UVA Grounds, Ruffin Hall, 179 Culbreth Rd. “The Threat, The ,” installation, sculpture, and performance works by Conrad Cheung and The Institute for Improvisational Infrastructures. August 30-October 4. Opening reception August 30, 5-7pm.

Studio Ix 969 2nd St. SE. “More Echo,” featuring new works by Thomas Dean including screenprints on paper and wood and collage images. Through September 1.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charlottesville 717 Rugby Rd. “Landscapes of Peace,” paintings by Kathleen Hutter. Through August.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Amigxs Gringxs,” a group exhibition featuring artists of many diasporas looking at their complex relationships with immigration/migration, colonization, cultural heritage, and trans border/cultural identities. Through August 2.

Jan Griffiths at Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA

Gulumbu Yunupingu at Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA

Gail Haile at Crozet Artisan Depot

Renee Blue O'Connell at The Center at Belvedere

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE GALLERIES AND/OR ARTISTS

You can do this: even light exercise has big benefits

We’ve all seen the articles and studies showing us that exercise is essential to healthy aging, along with photos of older people hiking in the mountains, riding their bikes, doing laps in a pool, or some other vigorous kind of activity. But what about people with disabilities, chronic health conditions, or other challenges? What about those who might feel intimidated or discouraged by those kind of images of aging? Or people who have lived a sedentary life for so long that it seems too difficult to change? Should they just give up?

A study/survey released in June shows that even slight changes in the way we move around can have significant benefits and that we don’t have to become hikers or runners to take advantage of them.

“These findings indicate that physical activity need not be high intensity to potentially benefit various aspects of health, which have especially important public health implications as older people tend to have limited physical ability to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity,” Molin Wang, an associate professor in epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an author of the study, told the Washington Post recently.

The study/survey tracked nearly 50,000 women (from a Harvard School of Public Health Nurses’ Health Study) for 20 years and found that replacing sedentary behaviors, like watching TV or sitting at your desk in an office, with even lightest physical activities, like standing, walking, or doing chores at home, improved overall health substantially. In fact, researchers even found that replacing sedentary behaviors with sleep resulted in better health outcomes. What’s more, health was affected by where people were being sedentary and what they were doing. For example, sitting and watching TV leads to greater health risks than

Charlottesville families have trusted Our Lady of Peace for over 30 years. Discover our inspired lifestyle for yourself!

Welcoming new residents!

What Residents Are Saying

“Here I feel

respected, and not alone.” Barbara Allison, Our Lady of Peace Resident

writing or reading

on a couch is worse than sitting in an office.

While not groundbreaking, the study reinforces the idea that we don’t have to climb mountains or be runners to enjoy the benefits of physical activity. And for many of us -- in Virginia, 2.1 million adults (more than 1 in 3) have prediabetes, and 90% don’t know they have it --- it could be essential in avoiding serious health problems.

That’s the idea behind JABA’s Active Living Every Day (ALED) program, an evidence-based program that encourages physical activity among their community center members. JABA has a Healthy Steps program, which is more like an exercise class, done with music for people of all fitness levels, but ALED focuses on identifying and overcoming barriers to exercise, increasing self-confidence, creating realistic goals and rewards, developing social support, and building more physical activity into daily activities. Studies show that ALED significantly increases moderate to vigorous physical activity and total physical activity, decreases depressive symptoms and stress, increases satisfaction with body appearance and function, and can reduce weight.

Another one of the study’s authors put it bluntly.

“If you replace sedentary behaviors with any activities, I mean, even light physical activities, like standing or walking around, or doing household chores, it’s better than just being a couch potato for an extended period of time,” said Frank Hu, professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. So get moving!

David McNair handles communications, media relations, and social media efforts for JABA.

Charlottesville’s premium in-home care provider

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sitting and

a book, and sitting at home

PUZZLES

SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

#1

A quiet spell

BY MATT JONES

ACROSS

1. Bottle of whiskey

6. Bob’s “The Price is Right” successor

10. Fier y gemstone

14. College founder Yale

15. Took a Lyft, perhaps

16. Sugar source

17. *”I’m headed onst age,” or an introduction to the first letter?

19. Fish in a can

20. Broccoli part

21. Hydrogen and oxygen, e.g.

22. *Tagline for hopeful lottery winners, or a question of the second letter?

26. Gave a big smile

27. Not that frequent

28. Choir section

29. Book in many a hotel room

31. Progressive spokescharacter

34. Treble, e.g.

35. *Mount in Exodus, or write down the third letter?

36. Like some news days

37. Boxing wins, briefly

38. “The Big Sick” actress Zoe

39. Whatsoever

40. Kingly title

41. Escargot

42. *Of change, or the segue to the fourth letter?

47. “___ in Toyland”

48. Bitter feeling

49. Together, on sheet music

50. *Executed perfectly, or closed with the last letter?

55. Abilit y to charm, slangily

56. Stink bug’s defense

57. Rainforest vine

58. Tailor’s concern

59. Facebook’s parent company

60. Slip-up

DOWN

1. Disgusted utterance

2. Spot in the Seine

3. Pacific Northwest tree

4. Words before “All Fears” or “its parts”

5. Moves fast

6. In a boring way

7. Mid-1990s animated wallaby on Nickelodeon

8. School-based URL ending

9. Little, in Glasgow

10. Pump reading

11. Remote function?

12. Architectural addition

13. Slightest amount

18. Anti-D.U.I. org.

21. “Chicago” actor Richard

22. Quartet member

23. Hall’s erstwhile songwriting partner

24. ___ Decay (cosmetics brand)

25. South Pacific island

26. Returned

29. “Carmen” composer

30. TV chef Garten

31. Thrash about

32. Ice ___ (popsicle, in the U.K.)

33. Head-turning birds

35. Draped garment

36. Stuffy atmosphere

38. “Best ___” (longtime MTV Movie Award category)

39. French author ___ France

40. “Gesundheit” precursor

41. Unsettled state

42. Letter-shaped ski lifts

43. Spokes of a circle

44. Full of activity

45. Fails to be

46. Puccini performance

50. Actor DeLuise

51. Literar y tribute

52. Street sealer

53. Ambient composer Brian

54. Canal site

The Biggest Cville Sabroso Festival Ever!

Now at Ting Pavilion, this year’s family-friendly Sabroso will be 9 hours of music & dancing, twice as many food and artisan vendors as last year… twice as much fiesta fun! Come celebrate, and discover more about, the rich cultural heritages of our Latin American friends and neighbors from 20+ countries. Purchase your tickets in advance (kids are free).

Scan for tickets+info

Booths to show or sell your products & services

Your ad in the Event Guide every attendee receives Acknowledgement by name and organizational logo in the Festival’s promo materials & media releases

Speaking and photo opportunities

VIP-area Seating

By Rob Brezsny

By Rob Brezsny

Virgo

Virgo

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Friedrich August Kekulé (1829-1896) transformed organic chemistry with his crucial discovery of the structure of carbon-based compounds. He had studied the problem for years. But his breakthrough realization didn’t arrive until he had a key dream while dozing. There’s not enough room here to describe it at length, but the image that solved the riddle was a snake biting its own tail. I bring this story to your attention, Virgo, because I suspect you could have practical and revelatory dreams yourself in the coming weeks. Daydream visions, too. Pay attention! What might be your equivalent to a snake biting its own tail?

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Babylonia was an ancient empire located in what’s now Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Among its citizens, there was a common belief that insomnia was the result of intrusive visitations by ancestral spirits. Their urge to communicate made it hard for their descendants to sleep. One supposed cure was to take dead relatives’ skulls into bed, lick them, and hold them close. I don’t recommend this practice to you, Virgo. But I do advise you to consult with the spirits of deceased family members in the coming weeks. I suspect they have a lot to tell you. At the very least, I hope you will explore how you might benefit from studying and pondering your ancestors’ lives.

Libra

Libra

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran tennis player Naomi Osaka is one of the highest-paid women athletes ever. She is also a staunch political activist. That blend of qualities is uncommon. Why do I bring this to your attention? Because now is an excellent time to synergize your pragmatic devotion to financial success with idealistic work on behalf of noble causes. Doing both of these activities with extra intensity will place you in alignment with cosmic rhythms— even more so if you can manage to coordinate them.

Scorpio

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Please don’t succumb to numbness or apathy in the coming weeks. It’s crucial that you don’t. You should also take extreme measures to avoid boredom and cynicism. At this particular juncture in your amazing life, you need to feel deeply and care profoundly. You must find ways to be excited about as many things as possible, and you must vividly remember why your magnificent goals are so magnificent. Have you ruminated recently about which influences provide you with the spiritual and emotional riches that sustain you? I encourage you to become even more intimately interwoven with them. It’s time for you to be epic, mythic, even heroic.

Scorpio

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio actor Sally Field told a story about an agent who worked for her early in her career. In those formative years, all her roles were on TV. But she aspired to expand her repertoire. “You aren’t good enough for movies,” the agent told her. She fired him, and soon she was starring in films. Let’s make this a teaching story for you, Scorpio. In the coming months, you will be wise to surround yourself with influences that support and encourage you. If anyone persistently underestimates you, they should not play a prominent role in your life’s beautiful drama.

Sagittarius

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): One Sagittarius I know is building a giant sculpture of a humpback whale. Another Sagittarius is adding a woodshop studio onto her house so she can fulfill her dream of crafting and selling fine furniture. Of my other Sagittarius acquaintances, one is writing an epic nar-

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Historically, August has brought many outbreaks of empowerment. In August 1920, American women gained the right to vote. In August 1947, India and Pakistan wrested their independence from the British Empire’s long oppression. In August 1789, French revolutionaries issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document that dramatically influenced the development of democracy and liberty in the Western world. In 1994, the United Nations established August 9 as the time to celebrate International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In 2024, I am officially naming August to be Scorpio Power Spot Month. It will be an excellent time to claim and/or boost your command of the niche that will nurture your authority and confidence for years to come.

LeoLeoFREE WILL ASTROLOGY

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

(July 23-Aug. 22): I love the fact that Antarctica doesn’t belong to anyone. Thirty nations have research stations there, but none of them control what happens. Antarctica has no government! It has a few laws that almost everyone obeys, like a ban on the introduction of non-indigenous plants and animals. But mostly, it’s untouched and untamed. Much of its geology is uncharted. Inspired by this singular land, I’d love for you to enjoy a phase of wild sovereignty and autonomy in the coming weeks. What can you do to express yourself with maximum freedom, answering primarily to the sacred laws of your own ardent nature?

(July 23-Aug. 22): Astrologer Chris Zydel says every sign has superpowers. In honor of your birthday season, I’ll tell you about those she attributes to you Leos. When you are at your best, you are a beacon of “joyful magnetism” who naturally exudes “irrepressible charisma.” You “shine like a thousand suns” and “strut your stuff with unabashed audacity.” All who are lucky enough to be in your sphere benefit from your “radiant spontaneity, bold, dramatic play, and whoo-hoo celebration of your creative genius.” I will add that of course you can’t always be a perfect embodiment of all these superpowers. But I suspect you are cruising through a phase when you are the next best thing to perfect.

Sagittarius

rative poem in Greek, another is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Northern California to the Columbia River in northern Oregon, and another has embarked on a long-postponed pilgrimage to Nigeria, the place of her ancestors’ origin. Yes, many Sagittarians I know are thinking expansively, daring spicy challenges, and attempting fun feats. Are you contemplating comparable adventures? Now is an excellent time for them.

Capricorn

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): August is Save Our Stereotypes Month for you Sagittarians. hope you will celebrate by rising up strong and bold to defend our precious natural treasures. Remember that without cliches, platitudes, pigeonholes, conventional wisdom, and hackneyed ideas, life would be nearly impossible. JUST KIDDING! Everything I just said was a dirty lie. Here’s the truth. August is Scour Away Stereotypes Month for you Sagittarians. Please be an agent of original thinking and fertile freshness. Wage a brazen crusade against cliches, platitudes, pigeonholes, conventional wisdom, and hackneyed ideas.

Capricorn

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’re never too old or wise or jaded to jump up in the air with glee when offered a free gift. Right? So I hope you won’t be so bent on maintaining your dignity and composure that you remain poker-faced when given the chance to grab the equivalent of a free gift. I confess I am worried you might be unreceptive to the sweet, rich things coming your way. I’m concerned you might be closed to unexpected possibilities. I will ask you, therefore, to pry open your attitude so you will be alert to the looming blessings, even when they are in disguise.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): When I opened my fortune cookie, I found a message that read, “If you would just shut up, you could hear God’s voice.” In response, I laughed, then got very quiet. I ruminated on how, yes, I express myself a lot. I’m constantly and enthusiastically riffing on ideas that are exciting to me. So I took the fortune cookie oracle to heart. I stopped talking and writing for two days. I retreated into a quiescent stillness and listened to other humans, animals, and the natural world. Forty-five hours into the experiment, I did indeed hear God’s voice. She said, “Thanks for making space to hear me. I love you and want you to thrive.” She expounded further, providing me with three interesting clues that have proved to be helpful in practical ways. In accordance with your astrological omens, Capricorn, I invite you to do what I did.

Aquarius

Aquarius

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Scientists at the University of California, Irvine devised a cheap and fast method for unboiling an egg. Their effort wasn’t frivolous. They were working with principles that could be valuable in treating certain cancers. Now I’m inviting you to experiment with metaphorical equivalents of unboiling eggs, Aquarius. You are in a phase when you will have extra power to undo results you’re bored with or unsatisfied with.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A friend of a friend told me this story: One summer day, a guy he knew woke up at 5am, meditated for a while, and made breakfast. As he gazed out his kitchen window, enjoying his coffee, he became alarmed. In the distance, at the top of a hill, a brush fire was burning. He called emergency services to alert firefighters. A few minutes later, though, he realized he had made an error. The brush fire was in fact the rising sun

Your key words of power will be reversal, unfastening, unlocking, and disentangling.

Pisces

lighting up the horizon with its fiery rays. Use this as a teaching story in the coming days, Aquarius. Double-check your initial impressions to make sure they are true. Most importantly, be aware that you may initially respond with worry to events that are actually wonderful or interesting.

Pisces

(Feb. 19-March 20): Every week, I imbibe all the honey from an eight-ounce jar, mostly in my cups of hot tea. To create that treat for me, bees made a million visits to flowers, collecting nectar. I am very grateful. The work that I do has similarities to what the bees do. I’m constantly gathering oracular ideas, meditating on the astrological signs, and contemplating what inspirational messages my readers need to hear. This horoscope may not be the result of a million thoughts, but the number is large. What’s the equivalent in your life, Pisces? What creative gathering and processing do you do? Now is a good time to revise, refine, and deepen your relationship with it.

Aries

(Feb. 19-March 20): At least a million ships lie at the bottom of the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers. Some crashed because of storms, and others due to battles, collisions, or human error. A shipwreck hunter named Sean Fisher estimates that those remains hold over $60 billion worth of treasure. Among the most valuable are the old Spanish vessels that sank while carrying gold, silver, and other loot plundered from the Americas. If you have the slightest inkling to launch adventures in search of those riches, I predict the coming months will be an excellent time. Alternatively, you are likely to generate good fortune for yourself through any version of diving into the depths in quest of wealth in all of its many forms.

Aries

(March 21-April 19): Legend tells us that the first person to drink tea was Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BCE. As he lounged outdoors, tree leaves fell into his cup of water and accidentally created an infusion. Good for him that he was willing to sample that accidental offering. It took many centuries, but eventually tea drinking spread throughout the world. And yet the first tea bag, an icon of convenience, didn’t become available until 1904. I don’t expect you will have to wait anywhere near that long to move from your promising new discoveries to the highly practical use of those discoveries. In fact, it could happen quickly. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to ripen your novel ideas, stellar insights, and breakthrough innovations.

Taurus

Taurus

skills with joy and vigor. I hope you will devote yourself to becoming even more masterful at activities you already do well. I hope you will attend lovingly to details and regard discipline as a high art—as if doing so is the most important gift you can give to life. To inspire you in these noble quests, I offer you a quote by stage magician Harry Blackstone Jr.: “Practice until it becomes boring, then practice until it becomes beautiful.”

Gemini

(April 20-May 20): The star that Westerners call Arcturus has a different name for Indigenous Australians: Marpeankurrk. In their part of the world, it begins to rise before dawn in August. For the Boorong people of northwest Victoria, this was once a sign to hunt for the larvae of wood ants, which comprised a staple food for months. I bring this up, Taurus, because heavenly omens are telling me you should be on the lookout for new sources of sustenance and fuel. What’s your metaphorical equivalent of wood ant larvae?

Gemini

(May 21-June 20): Wohlweh is a German word that means “good pain” or “pleasurable pain.” It might refer to the feeling you have while scratching a mosquito bite or rubbing your eyes when they’re itchy from allergies. But my favorite use of the word occurs when describing a deep-tissue massage that may be a bit harrowing even as it soothes you and provides healing. That’s a great metaphor for the kind of wohlweh I expect for you in the coming days. Here’s a tip: The less you resist the strenuous “therapy,” the better you will feel.

Cancer

(May 21-June 20): Seventy percent of the world’s macadamia nuts have a single ancestor: particular tree in Queensland, Australia. In 1896, two Hawaiian brothers took seeds from this tree and brought them back to their homestead in Oahu. From that small beginning, Hawaiian macadamia nuts have come to dominate the world’s production. I foresee you soon having resemblances to that original tree, Gemini. What you launch in the coming weeks and months could have tremendous staying power and reach far beyond its original inspiration.

Cancer

(April 20-May 20): I hope that in the coming months, Taurus, you will be refining your

(March 21-April 19): One meaning of the word “palette” is a flat board on which painters place a variety of pigments to apply to their canvas. What would be a metaphorical equivalent to a palette in your life? Maybe it’s a diary or journal where you lay out the feelings and ideas you use to craft your fate. Perhaps it’s an inner sanctuary where you retreat to organize your thoughts and meditate on upcoming decisions. Or it could be a group of allies with whom you commune and collaborate to enhance each other’s destinies. However you define your palette, Aries, I believe the time is right to enlarge its size and increase the range of pigments you can choose from.

(June 21-July 22): I earn my living as a writer now, but for many years I had to work at odd jobs to keep from starving. One of the most challenging was tapping the sap of Vermont maple trees during the frigid weather of February. Few trees produce more than three gallons of sap per day, and it takes 40 to 50 gallons to create a single gallon of maple syrup. It was hard work that required a great deal of patience. According to my analysis, you Cancerians are in a metaphorically comparable situation these days. To get the good results you want, you may have to generate a lot of raw material—and that could take a while. Still, I believe that in the end, you will think the strenuous effort has been well worth it.

(June 21-July 22): Ketchup flows at about 0.03 miles per hour. In 35 hours, it could travel about a mile. I think you should move at a similar speed in the coming days. The slower you go, the better you will feel. The more deeply focused you are on each event, and the more you allow the rich details to unfold in their own sweet time, the more successful you will be at the art of living. Your words of power will be incremental, gradual, and cumulative.

July 31 –August 6, 2024

Expandedweeklyaudiohoroscopesanddailytextmessagehoroscopes:RealAstrology.com,(877)873-4888

Expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text message horoscopes: RealAstrology.com, (877) 873-4888

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For more details see https://jobs.virginia.edu/us/en/job/R0062535/ Assistant-Director-Research-Infrastructure-for-Business-Administration

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LEGALS

ESTATE OF JOAN A. HAMILTON

NOTICE OF TAKING OF DEBTS AND DEMANDS

At the request of the Executor, I appoint Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., as the time and my office at 420 Park Street, Charlottesville, Virginia, as the place for receiving proof of debts and demands against the decedent or her estate. Dated this 23rd day of July, 2024.

Edward H. Bain, Jr. Assistant Commissioner

of Accounts Circuit Court for Albemarle County, VA

FORECLOSURE SALE OF VALUABLE REAL ESTATE AT PUBLIC AUCTION

A 3 Bedroom, 1 Bath Home on 1.41 Acres 1160 Loring Run, Charlottesville, VA

Albemarle County Parcel Tax Map No. 06200-00-00-00600

SALE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2024 AT 11:00 A.M. AT THE ALBEMARLE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURTHOUSE LOCATED AT 501 E. JEFFERSON STREET, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA

In execution of a Second Lien Deed of Trust, being dated February 28, 2024, and recorded on February 29, 2024, in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court in Albemarle County, Virginia (the “Clerk’s Office”), as Instrument No. 202400001496 (the “Deed of Trust”), the undersigned as Trustee under said Deed of Trust, will offer for sale at public auction the parcel listed below:

All that certain lot or parcel of land, with the improvements thereon, situated on Loring Run, previously known as Free State Road in Albemarle County, Virginia, containing 1.41 acres, more or less, further known as Albemarle Tax Map Parcel 06200-00-00-00600

BEING the same property conveyed to Grantor by Deed of Gift from Anderson D. Lohr and Ida Pearl Lohr also known as Pearl F. Lohr dated September 8, 2020, and recorded September 9, 2020, in the aforesaid Clerk’s Office as Instrument No. 202000012269. (the “Property”).

TERMS OF SALE: A bidder’s deposit of the greater of $20,000 or 10% of the winning bid, shall be paid at the sale by cashier’s check made payable to Bidder (to be assigned to Trustee if Bidder is successful), with the balance upon delivery of a trustee’s deed within 30 days of sale. If the initial deposit is less than 10% of the winning bid, then the successful bidder’s deposit MUST be increased to 10% of the winning bid by cashier’s check or wired funds within three (3) business days. Settlement shall be held within 30 days after the date of sale unless otherwise postponed at the sole discretion of the Trustee. Sale is subject to the covenants, conditions, restrictions, rights of way, and easements, if any, contained in the deeds and other documents forming the chain of title to the property. Property is sold “AS IS, WHERE IS,” “WITH ALL FAULTS” and “WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTIES.”

TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE WITH RESPECT TO SETTLEMENT. The deposit shall be applied to the credit of successful bidder at settlement; or, in the event of failure to complete settlement within the time set forth after the date of sale, in accordance with the terms of sale, the deposit shall be forfeited and applied to the costs of sale, including Trustee’s fee, and the Property shall be resold at the cost and expense of the defaulting Purchaser. Risk of loss or damage to the Property shall be borne by successful bidder from the time of auctioneer’s strike down at the sale. Purchaser shall pay all settlement fees, title examination charges, title insurance premiums, and recording costs. Current real estate property taxes will be prorated at closing as of date of sale. Rollback taxes, if any, will be the responsibility of the Purchaser. Pursuant to Va. Code 55.1-321(A.2), any purchaser at the foreclosure sale will be required to certify that within 90 days of the sale, they will pay any liens on the Property recorded prior to the Deed of Trust.

THE TRUSTEE RESERVES THE RIGHT: (i) to waive the deposit requirements; (ii) to extend the period of time within which the Purchaser is to make full settlement; (iii) to withdraw the Property from sale at any time prior to the termination of the bidding; (iv) to keep the bidding open for any length of time; (v) to reject all bids; and (vi) to postpone or continue this sale from time to time, such notices of postponement or setting over shall be in a manner deemed reasonable by the Trustee. Announcements made on day of sale take precedence over all other advertised terms and conditions.

FOR INFORMATION SEE: www.fplegal.com/foreclosures

Flora Pettit PC, Trustee Nancy R. Schlichting

lmg@fplegal.com

What do you think of the Belmont Bridge redo?

I like the design on and under the bridge, the protected lanes, and the accessibility to the pavilion. I wish the taggers would stop painting underneath.There’s nothing artistic about it — it’s just destructive.

@CVILLEDANA/INSTAGRAM

Nothing could better summarize the clown show that is Charlottesville than this bridge.

ERIC WALDEN/FACEBOOK

I was excited about the design and thought that Kimley Horn did a great job of listening to everyone and creating something we could be proud of. My excitement has turned to frustration, disappointment and anger. The execution and construction of it has been awful.

SHANNON CONNORS/EMAIL

What Contractor Built that Bridge

MATTHEW SISSONS/FACEBOOK

I’d like to be able to bike over the bridge and not encounter Public Works vehicles parked in the bike lanes.

@JENQUOTIDIAN/INSTAGRAM

All that construction and work and no new lanes were added… and the bike lane just stops abruptly at the end of the bridge. So what the renovation even for?

@BRIANSCHORNBERG/INSTAGRAM

I’ve lived here since 2005 and barely remember a time when sidewalks on both sides of the bridge were open. It’s a vast improvement, but for all the time, angst, and money that went into getting it built, it’s a bit of a let down. It’s like the design team and the construction contractor stopped caring. The design concept sold to the public became a clunky reality, and the workmanship is sloppy. I’m g rateful it’s done, and safety and connectivity are significantly improved, but is it the gateway to downtown that we should be proud of? Let’s give it a few years and see how it ages.

CARL SCHWARZ/FACEBOOK

Nice for pedestrians, ok for bikes, giant step back for vehicles.

@BWAGNER/X/TWITTER

It is not at all what I expected from the renderings. Big let down but I’m glad it’s done

JEN FARIELLO/FACEBOOK

I like the design with friendly bike lanes, and it will look better once the trees are more mature, but I wish the areas on both sides of the bridge had better bike lanes so that it was less dangerous for them coming off of the bridge. Lanes and crossings are clearly marked, sidewalks are wide, all good things.

KEVIN HIRST/FACEBOOK

INTO THE

Mystic

Take heed

This is a private event for winners, runnersup, sponsors, staff, and guests—no tickets will be sold in advance or at the gate. And no imps admitted— you must have an Eventbrite invite with a unique QR code to enter!

Sponsors...

We look forward to celebrating the city’s most captivating players on a magical summer night we’ll not soon forget, where ancient myths come to life, and a world of legend and lore unfurls before your eyes. A limited number of corporate and individual sponsorships are available. Email advertising@c-ville.com for details.

Awesome August Sale

AUGUST 1ST - 31ST

PRODUCE

Organic Local Summer Squash

$2.99/lb

Organic Local Cherry & Grape Tomatoes

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Local Jumbo Red & Orange Watermelons

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BULK

Golden Temple Granolas

$4.99/lb (SRP $7.99)

Organic Raw Almonds

$9.99/lb (SRP $17.99)

Organic Walnuts

$11.99/lb (SRP $14.99)

GROCERY

Santa Cruz Lemonade

$3.39 (SRP $4.49)

GoMacro Bars

$3.99 (SRP $4.79)

Jolly Llama Ice Cream Sandwiches 25% Off