Area leaders had an opportunity to get a birds-eye view of their localities on an ecological aerial tour of the Rivanna River watershed this week. On small aircraft flown by volunteer pilots, elected officials and staff followed the Rivanna from its headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains and traveled south to the point of fork […]
Author Archives: Maggie Ambrose
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Volunteers focus on care, conservation of Rivanna River watershed
Nature-minded volunteers worked to improve the Rivanna River in a variety of events around Charlottesville last weekend. More than 100 people came together at river cleanups, a buffer planting, water quality monitoring and educational events. The effort to engage the community in river protection and preservation is part of the Rivanna Conservation Society’s “Go X-Stream […]
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Society kicks off week of watershed events
The Rivanna Conservation Society kicked off their “Go X-Stream” Rivanna River Makeover week with a talk about the Chesapeake Bay Program on Thursday. The director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, Nick DiPasquale, addressed community members with an interest in regional and local water quality issues. DiPasquale talked about the progress of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s […]
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Colonial Auto’s expansion on 29 North hits a roadblock
The Albemarle County Planning Commission put the brakes on a proposal to expand the Colonial Auto Center on U.S. 29 near Rio Road until the fall, the earliest date a land use change could be approved in the Albemarle County’s Comprehensive Plan. While agreeing that commercial use would be acceptable for a 3.53 acre property […]
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Yancey advisory group planning for future school uses & other school news
The funding future for an “intergenerational learning center” at Yancey Elementary is unclear after the Albemarle School Board met last week. “We need to define what the programming for an intergenerational center is to get a better vision of where we take this,” School Board Chair Ned Galloway said. Dr. Bernard Hairston, the Yancey Advisory […]
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Apprenticeship Connections wins community pitch night prize
The third annual Tom Tom Founders Festival began Wednesday with a competition where community members proposed ideas they believe will become the next Charlottesville innovation. After 10 pitches, the audience at The Haven named a group that matches young adults into apprenticeships with professionals as the winner of a $5,000 grant and other assistance toward […]
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Supervisors want clearer picture of school cuts & other school news
Albemarle County’s budget deadline is nearing, but the fiscal waters aren’t becoming any less muddy for the school division. And exactly what the schools plan to cut if their funding request isn’t fully met is what Albemarle Supervisor Liz Palmer wanted to know during a meeting last week. School Board Chair Ned Gallaway said that’s […]
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Future McIntire Skate Park discussed by community, designers
The local skateboarding community has begun sharing its wish lists for a future regional skate park in Charlottesville. At a workshop hosted Tuesday by the city, design firm Stantec picked the brains of more than 60 participants for their feedback and creative ideas. Skateboarders have spent the past year in a temporarily downsized facility while […]
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Crowd-funded pitch alum support festival competition
This week’s third annual Tom Tom Founders Festival kicks off with a crowd-funded pitch competition. Previous winners and contestants say the competition was influential in their work. After what are often lively and creative presentations, audience members vote on their favorite contestant’s pitch with the winner taking home a cash prize. Ten participants have been […]
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Innovations at Monticello High School library recognized
Monticello High School’s library is called the “Learning Commons,” but its name isn’t the only nontraditional aspect of the space. More unique than the inclusive title is that, under the guidance of librarians Joan Ackroyd and Ida Mae Craddock, rethinking the library’s role is changing education at the Albemarle school. “Teachers come down to the […]
