(via @JimDuncan)

You might know you are in Charlottesville when you read a craigslist ad that required that you only eat vegetarian food.  We know that because we did a post on it and it was actually advertised on the Charlottesville Craigslist.

We can now add “Voted for Obama” to the list of Charlottesville Craigslist Elite (CCE).  For real, check out this Craigslist ad titled “Must Be Awesome:”

Hi!
My roommates and I are looking for a 4th to share a house in Fry Springs (JPA).
We are looking for someone who shares our values:
*Respectful
*Artistic
*Only one of us is vegetarian but we all eat like it.
*Positive
*Voted for Obama
*nonjudgmental. unless you didn’t vote for Obama.
*our DVD collection is full of romantic comedies. But you don’t have to watch them.

We are 2 women and 1 man. 2 of us are UVa employees (1 professor and 1 office drone) and the 3rd is a bank employee. We occasionally have people over but always ask each other first. We’re not partiers, but we are social.

So now it’s cool to discriminate against people who don’t think share your political beliefs?  I guess the hardest part really is sharing artistic values.  Oh the irony of being nonjudgemental unless you didn’t vote for Obama irks me!  This is worse than discriminating against vegetarians, but I guess you probably would really want to live in that house if you were a staunch XXXXXXX supporter, since, you know, they are so nonjudgemental, positive and respectful.

Maybe we can put together a cVillain craigslist housing ad which would include: »Read More

David Witmer wants to bring reduced-cost MRI scans to Charlottesville, but faces a lot of resistance.

When an old friend called me a few weeks ago to talk about bringing an MRI scanner to the Charlottesville area, it initially sounded like a story which was probably better left for the back of the Daily Progress. With all the talk about health care reform, the ever-increasing cost of health care and the fact that, as an entrepreneur, I’ve payed insurance that’s increased 50% in 2 years, I quickly realized that the issue went far beyond a clanking magnetic scanner.  Explanations for increased health care costs are: overuse and misuse of insurance, the cost of treating the uninsured, increased prevalence of malpractice lawsuits, limited supply of health care providers,  low growth in productivity (the ability to efficiently service patients) and more expensive treatments for people who live longer.  Today, this issue has become very local.  We look at how anti-competitive regulation more than doubles the cost for MRI services in Charlottesville.

Dave Witmer’s an orthopedic surgeon who told me several times that “no one is going to like me over there.”  »Read More

A birdie asks…

My parents are coming into town this weekend, and I’d like to take them to a local vineyard for a tour/tastings. Looking for somewhere interesting, reasonably close to campus, and affordable. Ideas?

The long-winded rumors are true… according to C-VILLE, Trader Joe’s is

applying for a liquor license with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The ABC has confirmed that the application was received on May 21…The store will be located on the stretch of land between Hydraulic Road and Greenbrier Drive.

The only gripe: why can’t it be closer to downtown? 

From the City…

At approximately 04:09am on Sunday June 7th , 2009 Charlottesville Police responded to the 700 block of Prospect Ave for a report of shots fired in the area. Upon arrival, officers discovered that several shots had indeed been fired and that several stray rounds struck at least two apartments and one vehicle. One of those rounds that  entered a residence through the exterior wall of a bedroom struck a 14 year old juvenile while asleep in bed. The victim was transported to the University of Virginia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries and is now listed as being in stable condition.
Charlottesville Police are still investigating this incident and request anyone with information to contact Detective Jim Mooney at 434-970-3374 or Crimestoppers at 434-977-4000.

With a newly minted class of well-educated future wage earners, Charlottesville will soon welcome an entirely new populace, one who hasn’t spent a lot of time on the downtown mall, one who will actually know Belmont as more than “isn’t that the place where Mas is” and one who will try to pick up ladies at the bar.

Well, it’s time to educate the graduates to the follies of their ways and supplying them with some suggestions as to how to better spend time in Charlottesville.

»Read More

Tomorrow, Live Arts opens their final production of the 2008-2009 season: Eurydice as told by Sarah Ruhl. The tale of Eurydice and Orpheus is a myth from ancient Greece, originally told by Virgil. Sarah Ruhl is also the author of The Clean House, which played to great success in Live Arts’ 2007-2008 season. Ruhl brings her unique touch of poetry and comedy to her telling of Eurydice, weaving hope with tragedy and exploring the simultaneous tenacity and fragility of memory in the depths of the Underworld across the river Styx. For folks who loved The Clean House or who are fans of quick writing that keeps audiences on their toes, this play is for you. »Read More

Press Release follows…

The third annual LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph is set for June 11, 12, and 13 in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia! Join us for 3 days of peace, love, and photography as we transform historic downtown Charlottesville into a “living image” and celebrate the careers of three legendary photographers: Martin Parr, Gilles Peress, and Sylvia Plachy.
»Read More

Kiplingers has just named Charlottesville the #4 Best Place to Live and Work for 2009.  Why? Because we rock and have “stable” jobs.

Big, stable employers plus the UVA student body add up to paying customers for the small businesses that give Charlottesville its spunk. An eclectic mix of more than 150 shops, galleries and restaurants line the historic downtown pedestrian mall. For example, one-year-old Siips Wine and Champagne Bar has already become a hot spot with its ballroom-dancing and tango nights. Just a block away, Sharon Nichols opened her Dog and Horse Lovers Boutique a year earlier. She chose Charlottesville for her dream store because it’s a “vibrant city surrounded by horse country.”

How’d they decide on the top cities?

Based on the formula, which includes data such as income growth and cost of living, we looked for places with a professional, high-quality workforce that will help generate new jobs and businesses once the recession ends.

Full List after the break…

»Read More

So, on my daily trip to the local websites, I discovered this gem (text added for truth):

The flash thingy refers to “17 comments and counting” on an article discussing the various restaurantama news from the week (escafe rebricking pains and their new chef and the failed proposal for a creole restaurant in Belmont). While the commentary is pretty boring (think basically 3 people discussing Belmont over tea and cookies), it does bring up some interesting issues regarding the the denial of zoning rights for the creol restaurant.  The owners bought a residential property next to a commercial property and hoped to rezone it for restaurant use.

/Either way, C-VILLE, to compare e-penises, we average 35 comments per post.