CVILLE Weekly | January 1 - 7, 2025

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

READ LOCAL. WEAR LOCAL.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Charlottesville’s News & Arts Weekly CIRCULATION: 20,000 WEEKLY

P.O. Box 119

Charlottesville, Virginia 22902

Patterns of omission

NEWS

9 10 Habitat for Humanity gets large HUD grant. 11 Recently elected county school board member dies suddenly 12 Real Estate Weekly: BAR requests updated design for affordablehousing project.

CULTURE 21

22 Last Look: “Holly Wright: Vanity” at The Fralin.

All You Can Eat: Veritas celebrates family and Southern cuisine 25 Galleries: What’s on view this month.

Sudoku

Crossword

Free Will Astrology

Coming next week: an allnew, redesigned C-VILLE!

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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

Susan Sorensen

NEWS INTERN

Merrill Hart

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, Julia Stumbaugh, Courteney Stuart, Paul Ting, Sean Tubbs

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

ART DIRECTOR

Max March max@c-ville.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Tracy Federico designer@c-ville.com

ADVERTISING

advertising@c-ville.com

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Brian Hrozencik brian@c-ville.com

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Stephanie Vogtman

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Gabby Kirk gabby@c-ville.com

Sarah Smith sarah@c-ville.com

Candace Stevens candace@c-ville.com

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Faith Gibson ads@c-ville.com

BUSINESS

PUBLISHER

Anna Harrison anna@c-ville.com

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Debbie Miller debbie@c-ville.com

A/R SPECIALIST

Nanci Winter (434) 373-0429

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Billy Dempsey circulation@c-ville.com

C-VILLE HOLDINGS, LLC

Bill Chapman, Blair Kelly

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MEMBER Virginia Press Association

Local Author

William A. James, Sr. has done it again.

HIS NEWEST BOOK IS...

LUCY CAT IN A CAT BOOK, is primarily for children five to eight years old kindergarten through third grades. It’s main focus Is on getting children to relate to each other in a positive manner regardless of their cultural and diverse origins. The Book consists in two parts: One is pictorial-cartoon depictions showing how Lucy Cat is able to befriend everyone around her in a very convivial manner.

The Second part is Lesson Planning Suggestions giving the Teachers or Instructors ideas about how to reinforce the messaqe each cartoon presents.

Twelfth Night in Italy Monteverdi, Corelli, Scarlatti, Vivaldi

— Preconcert talk by Peter Walker 30 minutes before each performance — Fri., Jan 3, 7:30p @Trinity Episcopal, Staunton Sat., Jan 4, 4:00p @Emmanuel Episcopal, Greenwood (Crozet) Sun., Jan 5, 4:00p @Grace Episcopal, Keswick (C’ville)

Three Notch’d Road celebrates Twelfth Night with the sounds of an Italian Christmas. Led by guest Artistic Director Peter Walker, the program will feature soprano Addy Sterrett and include beloved shepherds’ carols and folk music from Italy, along with art music in the pastoral style by Corelli and Scarlatti. Also on the program are works by Monteverdi, Pandolfi, and Flecha, and Vivaldi’s virtuosic “La Folia” for two violins.

Tickets online or at the door: $30, youth/students free 434.409.3424 www.tnrbaroque.org

OTHER BOOKS BY JAMES ARE:

In, A MURDER ON FIFTH AND DICE AND THE RUIN OF FIFEVILLE, James shows how drugdealing and gang violence led to the condemnation, demolition, and gentrification of Fifeville. It is a Sequel to his IN THE STREETS OF VINEGAR HILL, 2007. (He is writing a play based upon this latest Book)

In, HARD TIMES AND SURVIVAL: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN AFRICANAMERICAN SON, James relates His Story and the Reader learns what He means when He Says: “Do not GiveIn to Adversity, but overcome it by Steady and Constant Perserverance.”

IN THE STREETS OF VINEGAR HILL, James reveals how fear and misunderstandings caused The Charlottesville City Council to condemn and Demolish a 20 Acre Tract (30 Black businesses and 600 residents) from the Downtown area from 1958-1964.

Local Author

William A. James, Sr.

Call or Write, William A. James, Sr. 434-985-8987 PO Box 6991, Charlottesville, VA 22906 Wjpublications@aol.com

BOOKS SOLD AT:

The University of Virginia Bookstore

400 Emmet Street, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (on UVA Grounds).

Patsy Goolsby, Manager, 434-924-1075 | bookshop@virginia.edu 2nd Act Books 214 East Main Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Daphne Spain, Owner, 434-202-0754 | daphnespain@gmail.com

Amazon.com

SERENITY RIDGE RETREAT CENTER

Ancient Te ac h ings for Modern Times

JANUARY 9 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

J oin us for a dharma talk and guided meditation with Geshe Yungdrung G yatso at the Jefferson Library, downtown Charlo ttesville

See our 2025 programs and retreats SERENITYRIDGEVA.ORG

THIS WEEK

Hello, Charlottesville. Thanks for reading C-VILLE Weekly.

I’ve never been one to worry about making resolutions (as an extremely clever 20-something, I used to say, “I resolve not to have any!”); I find the pressure of that commitment too much to bear. But as a writer, I think choosing a word to guide me through the impending year is a much more approachable practice— transformation, joy, and abundance have shepherded me in the past. As of this writing, I’m still looking for my own 2025 word, but I have one for C-VILLE: evolution.

We spend a lot of time talking about what our paper will look like in the next five, 10, 35 years—and how to make sure we’re still here in 2060. On a micro level, we decided that means a full redesign of the paper (check back next week!), a refresh of c-ville.com (ditto!), and a donor campaign to support both of those changes as well as additions to our staff.

1.1.25

On a macro level, it means a continued commitment to covering Charlottesville’s most important stories. You’ll find C-VILLE’s mission statement—”Through our distinctive coverage, we work to spark curiosity and enable readers to engage meaningfully with their community.”—on the new site. We worked last year to make sure it communicated how we view our role in the local news landscape, and going forward we’ll use it as a kind of filter to decide how to focus our column inches.

This week’s feature (p.15) from Project Censored, a nonprofit that promotes media literacy and critical thinking, is the perfect illustration of the vitalness of our work. Each January, we reprint the organization’s annual list of the most-censored stories of the previous year, illuminating “issues that the establishment press have obscured and rais[ing] voices that corporate media have throttled.” As far as evolutions go, it feels like the right jumping-off point for another new year.

Gail South, AAMS™ Financial Advisor

202 East High St Charlottesville, VA 22902

434-977-0753

“forget flying or invisibility, if i’m choosing superpowers i’d pick the ability to instantly view any government document. i don’t want to wait between 2 and 48 months to find out you claim there are no responsive documents. i have a fleeting curiosity RIGHT NOW.”

—Local independent journalist and podcaster Molly Conger in a December 30 post on Bluesky.

NEWS

IN BRIEF

Lace up

After the Main Street Arena closed in 2018, ice hockey and skating fans wondered when central Virginia would get another ice rink. This winter, Charlottesville-based Project Phoenix announced plans to request a permit for an indoor rink in Ruckersville. Its grand opening is years in the future, but the team has already acquired land off 29 North and hopes to see zoning approved.

Remembering Sandy McAdams

Shelter loading

Plans surrounding a low-barrier shelter in Fifeville are still up in the air, City Manager Sam Sanders confirmed at City Council’s final meeting of the year. The proposal to convert Cherry Avenue’s Salvation Army store elicited pushback from some residents who suggested the shelter should instead open on Ridge Street. Sanders will take questions at a January 9 neighborhood meeting.

Suit and tied

Eljo’s Traditional Clothes, a menswear store founded by two UVA students in 1950 and currently owned by Myles Thurston, will soon change hands. While Thurston has not yet announced who purchased the business, ownership will officially switch over February 15. In the meantime, shoppers in search of a discount can enjoy up to 50 percent off Eljo’s inventory.

Spending time

In a belated Christmas gift, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced December 26 that eight Charlottesville-area events and festivals would receive more than $70,000 in grants. Over $800,000 in funds statewide, and roughly $4.8 million in matching publicprivate donations, were awarded as part of the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s special events and festivals sponsorship program. Among those receiving funds are the Tom Tom Festival, Foxfield Spring Races,

Sandy McAdams, founder of C&O Restaurant and Daedalus Bookshop, died December 21 due to complications from multiple sclerosis. He was 82.

When McAdams arrived in Charlottesville in 1974 with 20,000 books in a railroad car, he found a permanent home for his collection on the corner of Market and Fourth streets. Many locals recognize McAdams as one of the Downtown Mall’s founding fathers, thanks to his vision for revitalizing Main Street.

From the bookstore to a brief stint running an alternative newspaper in the ’70s to his time on the Live Arts theater board in the ’90s, McAdams made his mark on Charlottesville’s arts and culture scene.

In a 2015 C-VILLE article on the creation of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall scene, C&O Restaurant co-owner Philip Stafford recalled meeting McAdams at Daedalus: “I can picture this pretty well to this day—this sort of eccentric-looking guy walked up to me with a beard down to his waist, and sort of put his face up to me and said ‘What do you want?’ I said ‘I’m looking for this book The Art of Seeing by Aldous Huxley,’ and he said ‘It’s right over your shoulder.’”

chased the bookstore in late 2023. After McAdams’ passing, the store shared images of him working in his favorite place over the years—flipping through a book in one photo, deep in thought in another.

McAdams and Stafford eventually sold the C&O in 1984, but the French restaurant has retained its place as one of Charlottesville’s most popular fine dining spots. Daedalus also remains a testament to McAdams’ impact on downtown Charlottesville, and will continue operating under Jackson Landers, who pur-

Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival, IX Art Foundation’s Fae Festival, and Winter Wander at the Boar’s Head Resort. The program is part of a larger effort to increase overnight tourism and visitor spending in the commonwealth.

“This year’s grant recipients have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to growing their event footprint, increasing visitation, and enhancing the visitor experience in 2025,” said Youngkin

“Sandy always gifted a book to my children, without fail, every time we were in the shop,” one person commented on the post.

“It was a treat to know him.”

McAdams is survived by his wife, Donna, two daughters, and two granddaughters. Instead of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to Live Arts.

in a press release announcing the grants. “By leveraging these funds, we aim to attract even more visitors, showcase the unique charm of our communities, and reinforce Virginia’s reputation as a premier destination for memorable events and festivals.”

Visitor spending in Charlottesville and Albemarle County for 2023 totaled just under $1 billion, an increase of almost 6 percent compared to 2022.

Former Daedalus Bookshop owner Sandy McAdams passed away on December 21.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin awarded eight area events and festivals more than $70,000 in grants.

Fresh federal funds

HUD awards Habitat almost $30 million for redevelopment of Southwood

By Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville ended 2024 on a high note, receiving a $29.1 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on December 19. The grant to Habitat was the second largest awarded by HUD, which gave more than $225 million to 17 organizations across the country.

“Every Virginian deserves access to safe, affordable housing,” said Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner in a press release celebrating the grant. “We are glad that this federal funding will help support homes and communities in Charlottesville, and we will keep working to support housing accessibility throughout the Commonwealth.”

The almost $30 million grant will support Habitat’s work at Southwood, a mobilehome community just outside of Charlottesville that’s undergoing resident-led redevelopment. According to the nonprofit’s President and CEO, Dan Rosensweig, the money will help with projects including work on Hickory Street and core utilities.

“It’s also funding things that were things we had hoped for but hadn’t necessarily planned for because there wasn’t funding for it,” he says, mentioning the potential construction of a community center, credit union, and health care facility. “That’s all stuff that we had sort of dreamed of, but without this funding, it wasn’t necessarily part of the program.”

Work at Southwood is expected to total more than $500 million, with an antici-

pated completion in 2037. The redevelopment has prioritized not displacing residents, and will add more than 500 new affordable housing units to the Charlottesville area over time.

“As opposed to the fairly standard hodgepodge of funding that’s available, getting a large grant like this allows us to plan, to be more efficient, to know that we’re doing something within a certain time frame, so that we can give residents advance notice,” says Rosensweig. “It’s really a game changer in terms of our ability to plan.”

While the $29.1 million HUD grant is a major boon for the nonprofit, Habitat will still need support from local groups and government in its work on the redevelopment. “We still need all of the funding sources that we had [previously projected],” says Rosensweig. “We still are going to need some local funding from the county, although potentially not quite as much.”

Habitat has a busy year ahead with both new and ongoing construction, including work on Village 3 of Southwood— the first portion of the old mobile-home park to be redeveloped—slated to resume soon. The nonprofit expects to work on around 70 homes in 2025, in Southwood and other communities in the area.

In addition to its work at Southwood, Habitat will also focus on building relationships with residents of Carlton Mobile Home Park this year. The nonprofit purchased CMHP in September 2024 after joining Charlottesville City and Piedmont Housing Alliance to prevent the displacement of approximately 200

people. Habitat has expanded its staff to support the large-scale community engagement efforts at both Southwood and CMHP, which will remain a mobile-home park for three years before undergoing redevelopment.

“We didn’t want to rob from Peter to pay Paul,” says Rosensweig. “We were able to hire a property manager specifically for Carlton and expand our community engagement staff a little bit so that we can work in Southwood and Carlton, without compromising any of the work that we do.”

Looking ahead, Habitat and other affordable housing advocates are anticipating potential impacts to funding under the Trump administration and Republican control of Congress.

“The incoming administration had talked about housing … in a little bit more vague way,” says Rosensweig. While he says Habitat and other affordable housing advocates are unsure of what to expect, there is some optimism surrounding preferential tax treatment of investments for communities like Southwood, given support for opportunity zones by HUD secretary appointee Scott Turner.

Still, there’s a lot of uncertainty and doubt surrounding the availability of future federal funds for affordable-housing programs.

“It’s going to require the local philanthropic community to continue to step up and support us and other housing providers,” says Rosensweig. “Local [and] state governments are going to probably need to … pull a little bit more of the freight than they had before.”

The first group of residents moved into newly built homes in Southwood, (pictured in the rendering above) in late summer of 2023

Learned legacy

County school board member Chuck Pace dies weeks after election

By Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com

Just six weeks after winning election to the Albemarle County School Board, lifelong local educator Charles “Chuck” Pace died at the University of Virginia Medical Center on December 18 at the age of 64 following complications from kidney disease.

A graduate of Charlottesville High School, Pace returned to the area to teach science at Albemarle High School in 1986. He met his wife, Anne Marie Belair, when she was a student teacher at AHS.

After more than 30 years as an educator, Pace retired as chair of the science department at the Blue Ridge School in 2022. A year into his retirement, he resumed his work in education when he was appointed to the Rio District school board seat vacated by now-Del. Katrina Callsen.

First appointed to the board in December 2023, Pace was sworn in as the Rio District’s elected representative a week before he died.

“In his last year, he embarked upon one of the proudest accomplishments of his life. Everything he had learned from teaching, coaching, and parenting came together to guide him through his time on the Albemarle County School Board,” reads Pace’s obituary. “Visiting schools, meeting with teachers and students, and even digging deeply into policy and budgeting brought him tremendous joy.”

On the memory wall associated with Pace’s obituary, a former student wrote that he shared a sandwich with her when she didn’t have lunch, and that he inspired her own 33-year career in health care.

In a social media post announcing Pace’s passing, ACPS Superintendent Matthew Haas and members of the school board shared memories and celebrated the former teacher. “A week and a half before he died, he and I were discussing possibly scheduling a meeting during the holiday break,” said board Chair Judy Le.

“I grumbled at it; he said, ‘I’ll be there, and I’ll be happy to be there with all of you.’ … His purpose in serving is, and will always be, inspiring.”

Numerous colleagues celebrated Pace’s dedication to education and the community, with school board Vice Chair Kate Acuff describing him as “an exceptional person” and “one of the hardestworking school board members” despite his health challenges.

Pace was first diagnosed with kidney disease in 1995, and received a successful kidney transplant in 2002.

Following his death, the school board is expected to appoint a representative to serve until the November 2025 election.

Applications for the position had not been opened at press time.

In an emailed comment, former school board opponent and friend Jim Dillenbeck told C-VILLE, “I was saddened to hear of Chuck’s passing a few weeks ago. He was a good man and a hard-working educator and advocate for public schools.” Dillenbeck did not specify if he would apply for the position or run for the seat again in 2025.

Lifelong educator Chuck Pace, 64, died unexpectedly on December 18 at UVA Medical Center.

Annie Gould Gallery

Less donut

BAR wants updated design for affordable-housing project

By Sean Tubbs

The developers of a proposed sixstory building at the corner of Wertland and 10th streets returned to the Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review in December to get additional feedback.

“A development team consisting of Preservation of Affordable Housing, National Housing Trust, and Wickliffe Development Consulting was chosen by the UVA Foundation to be the developer of affordable housing on this two-acre site,” said J.T. Engelhardt of the National Housing Trust.

This is one of three affordable housing projects proposed for land donated by the University of Virginia and the only one in Charlottesville. The others are in Albemarle County on 12 acres off of Fontaine Avenue and at the North Fork Discovery Park near Charlottesville Albemarle Airport.

The project is within an architectural design control district, thus the BAR has to grant a certificate of appropriateness before the project can proceed.

The city also has to approve a site plan by March 20 in order for the project to be eligible to apply for the low-income housing tax credits required to subsidize the rent for 180 units. Neighborhood Development Services staff denied approval in December, but that is a routine step in the application process. Site plans must be granted if all of the technical requirements have been met.

The Wertland building will include a range of affordability levels from 30 percent of the area median income to 80 percent, but the exact mix is not yet known. Under the new zoning, the project could be as high as 11 stories, but Liz Chapman, an architect with Grimm + Parker, said that

would require steel construction, which is much more expensive.

“We’re trying to stick with wood construction because that’s what the tax credits will bear,” said Chapman.

The square building would include an interior courtyard built above an 83-space parking garage. One BAR member likened the design to a donut.

“The donut feels very, you know, monolithic, very fortress-like,” said David Timmerman. He suggested finding a way to allow people to be able to see inside the courtyard.

Another member of the panel said the long stretches of buildings on 10th and Wertland streets were repetitive and looked too much like a nearby structure on West Main Street.

“I think we all can recognize that [student housing center The Standard at Charlottesville] is pretty unsuccessful as a streetscape experience,” said Carl Schwarz, a planning commissioner who also sits on the BAR. “I’m traumatized from the Standard. It’s done so badly.”

Other BAR members had specific comments about what kinds of street trees they wanted to see.

Engelhardt said he would incorporate the feedback and return with an updated design, but pointed out there are a lot of requirements that present many challenges.

“We’re struggling with trying to manage the constraints and really try[ing] to design a building that we can all be proud of and that you guys would approve, and it is a struggle,” Engelhardt said.

Another struggle may be securing the low-income housing tax credits from a state agency called Virginia Housing. There will be several other applications this year and the process is competitive.

A proposed six-story building at the corner of Wertland and 10th streets feels monolithic, says the city’s Board of Architectural Review.

GRIMM+PARKER

$10,800,000 | MLS 659320 | Keswick, VA Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250 Jim Faulconer 434.981.0076 jfaulconer@mcleanfaulconer.com

$15,000,000 | MLS 576150 | North Garden, VA Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700

$3,450,000 | MLS 658352 | Charlottesville, VA Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455

$1,899,000 | MLS 659462 | Charlottesville, VA

$679,000 | MLS 659592 | Charlottesville, VA Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

$4,875,000 |

$2,399,000 | MLS 659475 | Charlottesville, VA

$1,565,000

$598,000 | MLS 655171 | Charlottesville, VA Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

652353 | Charlottesville, VA

434.981.0076

$1,950,000 | MLS 658780 | Esmont, VA

$1,195,000 |

$470,000 | MLS 650785 |

LOCUST AVENUE

Charming 1929, classic brick home located in north downtown. Tastefully renovated and updated without losing the original character. 9’ ceilings, built-in bookcases, beautiful woodwork, trim and crown Professionally landscaped yard with mature plantings offers room for relaxation, play, and entertaining. Private, off-street parking. Walkable community with wide streets and sidewalks. Quick access to major roadways, UVa and Downtown. Recent upgrades include: new roof 2022, replacement windows, renovated bathrooms, exterior painted 2022, and new Plantation shutters $899,900

STONEY CREEK DRIVE

Fabulous home in Mill Creek South. Set on an elevated lot with a fenced, flat backyard. Unique floor plan includes a first floor primary suite with a walk-in closet; a half bath and a laundry room. The living room features a masonry, gas fireplace. The bright kitchen opens to both the living room and dining room. 3 nice sized bedrooms on the second floor. Property includes a large storage shed. Located near Biscuit Run State Park $499,000

CALL SHARON

Over 25 years of Real Estate experience. email: callsharon.today@yahoo.com cell: 434.981.7200

State of the free press 2025

The story being censored could be yours (whether you know it or not)! By Paul Rosenberg

With any list, there’s a natural tendency to look first at No. 1, and neither I nor Project Censored would discourage you from doing that, when it comes to its annual list of the top-censored stories of the year. This year, the top story is about workplace deaths and injuries—with striking racial disparities, particularly for much-maligned foreign-born workers. Injury rates for Southern service workers—predominantly Black—are especially alarming, 87 percent in one year, according to one poll. Sensationalized deaths and injuries make the news all the time, but workplace deaths and injuries (nearly 6,000, and 2.8 million respectively in a year) are another matter altogether. They’re a non-story, even when advocates strive to shine a light on them.

But this pattern of what’s deemed newsworthy and what isn’t leads to a deep point. In the introduction to the list, Project Censored Associate Director Andy Lee Roth wrote that “readers can only appreciate the full significance of the Project’s annual listing of important but underreported stories by stepping back to perceive deeper, less obvious patterns of omission in corporate news coverage.” And I couldn’t agree more. This has always been a theme of mine as long as I’ve been reviewing its lists, because the patterns of what’s being blocked out of the public conversation are the clearest way of seeing the censoring process at work— the process that Project Censored founder Carl Jensen described as “the suppression of information, whether purposeful or not, by any method … that prevents the public from fully knowing what is happening in its society.”

It’s not just that somehow all the news assignment editors in America overlooked this or that story. Where there are

patterns of omission so consistently, year after year, they can only be explained by systemic biases rooted in the interests of particularly powerful special interests. What’s more, in addition to patterns of omission in the stories as a whole, one can also find intersecting patterns within individual stories. The above description of the top story is an example: race, class, region, citizenship status, and more are all involved.

The point is, as you do more than just simply read these stories—as you reflect on them, on why they’re censored, whose stories they are, what harms are being suffered, whose humanity is being denied—you will find yourself seeing the world more from the point of view of those being excluded from the news, and from the point of view that you’re interconnected with them at the least, if not one of them too.

STATE OF THE FREE PRESS 2025

done. There was a story on the Minnesota findings by FOX in Minneapolis-St. Paul the month the report was released. And a full story on Green Bay ABC affiliate WBAY on April 12, 2024, “as part of its coverage of ‘Work Zone Safety Awareness Week,’” Project Censored reported.

“Corporate coverage of the conflict between the USSW and S.C. OSHA has also been scant,” it noted. While independent, nonprofits like D.C. Report, “have consistently paid more attention,” there were but

two corporate examples cited covering the second action: Associated Press and Bloomberg Law, but neither addressed the issue of racial disparities.

In conclusion, according to Project Censored, “The corporate media’s refusal to cover the harsh realities of workplace deaths and injuries—and the obvious racial disparities in who is hurt and killed on the job—makes the task of organizing to address occupational safety at a national level that much more difficult.”

Many more minorities killed and injured on the job

Working in America is becoming more dangerous, especially for minorities, according to recent studies reported on by Truthout and Peoples Dispatch, while the same isn’t true for other developed nations.

Workplace fatalities increased 5.7 percent in the 2021-2022 period covered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or BLS’s Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Tyler Walicek reported for Truthout. “Nearly 6,000 U.S. workers died on the job,” he wrote—a 10year high—while “a startling total of 2.8 million were injured or sickened” according to another BLS report.

workers worried about their personal safety on the job, most believe that their employer prioritizes profit over safety, most do not raise safety issues for fear of retaliation, and the vast majority (72 percent) believe that their employer’s attitude ‘places customer satisfaction above worker safety.’”

The racial disparities were sharp. The average workplace death rate was 3.7 deaths per hundred thousand full-time workers, but it was 24.3 percent higher (4.6 deaths) for Latinx workers and 13.5 percent higher (4.2 deaths) for Black workers. The majority of Latinx deaths (63.5 percent) were of foreign-born workers, and 40 percent of those were in construction. “It’s not hard to imagine that communication lapses between workers on an active construction site could feasibly create dangerous situations,” Walicek said. Transportation incidents were the highest cause of fatalities within both groups. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals were second highest for Black workers, for Hispanic or Latiné workers it was falls, slips, or trips. Black people and women were particularly likely to be homicide victims. Black people represented 13.4 percent of all fatalities, but 33.4 percent of homicide fatalities—more than twice the base rate. Women represented 8.1 percent of all fatalities, but 15.3 percent of homicide fatalities—a little less than twice the base rate.

The non-fatal injury rate for service workers in the South, particularly workers of color, is also alarmingly high, according to an April 5, 2023 report by Peoples Dispatch summarizing findings from a March 2023 survey by the Strategic Organizing Center or SOC. The poll of 347 workers, most of whom were Black, “found that a shocking 87 percent were injured on the job in the last year,” they reported. In addition, “More than half of survey respondents reported observing serious health and safety standard [violations] at work,” and “most

“Compared to other developed countries, the United States consistently underperforms in providing workers with on-the-job safety,” Project Censored said. “Walicek argued that this is a direct consequence of ‘the diminution of worker power and regulatory oversight’ in the United States.” U.S. workplace fatality rates exceeded those in the U.K., Canada, Australia and much of Europe, according to a 2021 assessment by the consulting firm Arinite Health and Safety, Walicek reported.

“Workers are increasingly organizing to fight back against hazardous working conditions,” Project Censored noted, citing a civil rights complaint against South Carolina’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration or S.C. OSHA filed by members of the recently formed Union of Southern Service Workers “for failing to protect Black workers from hazardous working conditions,” as reported by the Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina. The USSW complaint alleged that “from 2018 to 2022, S.C. OSHA conducted no programmed inspections in the food/beverage and general merchandise industries, and only one such inspection in the food services and warehousing industries.” On April 4, 2023, when it filed the complaint, USSW went on a oneday strike in Georgia and the Carolinas, to expose unsafe working conditions in the service industry. It marked the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination while supporting a sanitation workers strike in Memphis, Tennessee. Then on December 7, USSW sent a petition to federal OSHA requesting that it revoke South Carolina’s state OSHA plan “because the Plan has failed to maintain an effective enforcement program.”

Neither the BLS findings nor the conflict between the USSW and S.C. OSHA has received much corporate media coverage. The BLS fatalities report was released in December 2023, with no U.S. daily newspaper coverage when Project Censored’s analysis was

‘Vicious circle’ of climate debt traps world’s most vulnerable nations

Low-income countries that contributed virtually nothing to the climate crisis are caught in a pattern described as a “climate debt trap” in a September 2023 World Resources Institute report authored by Natalia Alayza, Valerie Laxton, and Carolyn Neunuebel.

“After years of pandemic, a global recession, and intensifying droughts, floods, and other climate change impacts, many developing countries are operating on increasingly tight budgets and at risk of defaulting on loans,” they wrote. “High interest rates, short repayment periods, and the coexistence of multiple crises (like a pandemic paired with natural disasters) can all make it difficult for governments to meet their debt servicing obligations.”

“Global standards for climate resilience require immense national budgets,” Project Censored noted. “Developing countries borrow from international creditors, and as debt piles up, governments are unable to pay for essential needs, including public health programs, food security, and climate protections.”

In fact, The Guardian ran a story describing how global south nations are “forced to invest in fossil fuel projects to repay debts,” a process critics have characterized as a “new form of colonialism.” They cited a report from anti-debt campaigners Debt Justice and partners that found “the debt owed by global south countries has increased by 150 percent since

2011 and 54 countries are in a debt crisis, having to spend five times more on repayments than on addressing the climate crisis.” Like the climate crisis itself, the climate debt trap was foreseeable in advance. “A prescient report published by Dissent in 2013, Andrew Ross’s Climate Debt Denial, provides a stark reminder that the climate debt trap now highlighted by the World Resources Institute and others was predictable more than a decade ago,” Project Censored said. But that report highlighted much earlier warnings and efforts to address the problem.

The concept of an ecological debt owed to the global south for the resource exploitation that fueled the global north’s development was first introduced “in the lead-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,” Ross reported. Subsequently, “The Kyoto Protocol laid the groundwork for such claims in 1997 by including the idea of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ among nations, but climate activists did not fully take up the call for debt justice until the Copenhagen summit in 2009.” Prior to that summit, in 2008, NASA climatologist James Hansen estimated the U.S. historical carbon debt at 27.5 percent of the world total, $31,035 per capita.

While a “loss and damage” fund “to assist developing countries that are particularly vul-

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

nerable to the adverse effects of climate change” was established at the 2022 Climate Summit, its current commitments ($800 million) fall far short of the $100 billion more each year by 2030 that the 14 developing countries on the fund’s board have argued for. Some estimates place the figure much higher, “at around $400 billion,” according to a Euronews story last June.

The climate debt trap “has received limited news coverage,” Project Censored noted. Aside from The Guardian,“indepen-

dent news coverage has been limited to outlets that specialize in climate news.” Neither of the two corporate media examples it cited approached it from debtor countries’ point of view. In May 2023, Bloomberg’s “analysis catered to the financial interests of international investors,” while a December 2023 New York Times report “focused primarily on defaults to the United States and China, with less focus on how poorer countries will combat defi cits, especially as climate change escalates.”

The Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission announces its 2025 grant award opportunity!

The Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission intends to support up to four partners to provide a funding grant for each campaign for up to $2,500.

How to apply: www.cvillesistercities.org

Or Please email to the attention of the Grants Committee Chair

hayesk@charlottesville.org

Deadline to apply: January 15, 2025

Saltwater intrusion threatens U.S. freshwater supplies

Sea-level rise is an easy-to-grasp consequence of global warming, but the most immediate threat it poses—saltwater intrusion into freshwater systems—has only received sporadic localized treatment in the corporate press. “In fall 2023, saltwater traveling from the Gulf of Mexico up the Mississippi River infiltrated the freshwater systems of the Delta region, contaminating drinking and agricultural water supplies as well as inland ecosystems,” according to Project Censored. “This crisis prompted a scramble to supply potable water to the region and motivated local and federal officials to issue emergency declarations.”

While outlets like Time, CNN, and CBS News covered the saltwater intrusion at the time, they “focused almost exclusively on the threat to coastal Louisiana,” but “a pair of articles published in October 2023 by Delaney Nolan for The Guardian and [hydrogeologist] Holly Michael for The Conversation highlighted the escalating threat of saltwater intrusion across the United States and beyond.”

“Deep below our feet, along every coast, runs the salt line: the zone where fresh inland water meets salty seawater,” Nolan wrote. “That line naturally shifts back and forth all the time, and weather events like floods and storms can push it further out. But rising seas are gradually drawing the salt line in,” he warned. “In Miami, the salt line is creeping inland by about 330 feet per year. Severe droughts—as the Gulf Coast and Midwest have been experiencing this year—draw the salt line even further in.”

“Seawater intrusion into groundwater is happening all over the world, but perhaps the most threatened places are communi-

ties on low-lying islands,” such as the Mar shall Islands, which are “predicted to be uninhabitable by the end of the century,” Michael wrote. Here in the U.S., “Experts said the threat was widespread but they were especially concerned about cities in Louisiana, Florida, the Northeast, and Cal ifornia,” Nolan reported.

“Fresh water is essential for drinking, irrigation, and healthy ecosystems,” Mi chael wrote. “When seawater moves inland, the salt it contains can wreak havoc on farmlands, ecosystems, lives, and liveli hoods.” For example, “Drinking water that contains even 2 percent seawater can in crease blood pressure and stress kidneys. If saltwater gets into supply lines, it can corrode pipes and produce toxic disinfec tion by-products in water treatment plants. Seawater intrusion reduces the life span of roads, bridges and other infrastructure.”

While Time, CNN, and CBS News fo cused narrowly on coastal Louisiana, Proj ect Censored noted that some news outlets, “including FOX Weather and Axios” mis reported the threat as “only temporary rather than a long-term problem.” More generally, “corporate media typically treat saltwater intrusion as a localized issue af fecting specific coastal regions,” they wrote.

“Aside from a brief article in Forbes ac knowledging the growing problem for coastal regions in the U.S. and around the world, corporate media have largely resisted portraying saltwater intrusion as a more widespread and escalating consequence of climate change.”

Amish made dining Furniture. Great selection in stock, or special order at no extra charge

STATE OF THE FREE PRESS 2025

Natural gas industry hid health and climate risks of gas stoves

While gas stoves erupted as a culture war issue in 2023, reporting by Vox and NPR (in partnership with the Climate Investigations Center) revealed a multi-decade campaign by the natural gas industry using tobacco industry’s tactics to discredit evidence of harm, thwart regulation, and promote the use of gas stoves. While gas stoves are a health hazard, the amount of gas used isn’t that much, but “house builders and real estate agents say many buyers demand a gas stove,” which makes it more likely they’ll use more high-volume appliances, “such as a furnace, water heater, and clothes dryer,” NPR ex-

On the first national Election Day after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, PlanC, a nonprofit that provides information about access to the abortion pill, posted a TikTok video encouraging people to vote to protect reproductive rights. Almost immediately, its account was banned. This was but one example of a worldwide cross-platform pattern. “Access to online information about abortion is increasingly under threat both in the United States and around the world,” the Women’s Media Center reported in Novem-

ber 2023. “Both domestic and international reproductive health rights and justice organizations have reported facing censorship of their websites on social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok as well as on Google.” The governments of South Korea, Turkey, and Spain have also blocked the website of Women on Web, which provides online abortion services and information in over 200 countries. At the same time abortion disinformation, for fake abortion clinics, remains widespread.

plained. “That’s why some in the industry consider the stove a ‘gateway appliance.’”

In a series of articles for Vox, environmental journalist Rebecca Leber “documented how the gas utility industry used strategies previously employed by the tobacco industry to avoid regulation and undermine scientific evidence establishing the harmful health and climate effects of gas stoves,” Project Censored reported.

“The basic scientific understanding of why gas stoves are a problem for health and the climate is on solid footing,” she reported. “It’s also common sense. When you have a fire in the house, you need somewhere for all that smoke to go. Combust natural gas, and it’s not just smoke you need to worry about. There are dozens of other pollutants, including the greenhouse gas methane, that also fill the air.”

The concerns aren’t new. “Even in the early 1900s, the natural gas industry knew it had a problem with the gas stove,” Leber recounts. It was cleaner than coal or wood—it’s main competition at the time, “but new competition was on the horizon from electric stoves.” They avoided scrutiny for generations, but, “Forty years ago, the federal government seemed to be on the brink of regulating the gas stove,” she wrote. “Everything was on the table, from an outright ban to a modification of the Clean Air Act to address indoor air pollution.” The gas industry fought back with a successful multiprong attack, that’s being mounting again today, and “Some of the defenders of the gas stove

“Women’s rights advocacy groups are calling the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade the catalyst for the suppression of reproductive health information on social media,” Project Censored said. “Hashtags for #mifepristone and #misoprostol, two drugs used in medical abortions, were hidden on Instagram after the Dobbs decision, the WMC reported,” as part of a wider pattern.

Within weeks of the decision, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote to Meta, Ars Technica reported, questioning what the company was doing to stop abortion censorship on their platforms. “The senators also took issue with censorship of health care workers, Ars Technica wrote, “including a temporary account suspension of an ‘organization dedicated to informing people in the United States about their abortion rights.’”

“U.S. state legislatures are currently considering banning access to telehealth abortion care,” according to Project Censored. “Furthermore, CNN reported that ‘at the end of 2023, nine states where abortion remained legal still had restricted telehealth abortions in some way.’”

There are similar censorship problems with Meta and Google worldwide, according to a March 2024 report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate and MSI Reproductive Choices, which provides contraception and abortion services in 37 countries. This sparked a Guardian article by Weronika Strzyżyńska. “In Africa, Facebook is the goto place for reproductive health information for many women,” MSI’s global marketing manager, Whitney Chinogwenya, told The Guardian. “We deal with everything from menopause to menstruation but we find that

are the same consultants who have defended tobacco and chemicals industries in litigation over health problems.”

Documents obtained by NPR and CIC tell a similar story. The industry “focused on convincing consumers and regulators that cooking with gas is as risk-free as cooking with electricity,” they reported. “As the scientific evidence grew over time about the health effects from gas stoves, the industry used a playbook echoing the one that tobacco companies employed for decades to fend off regulation. The gas utility industry relied on some of the same strategies, researchers, and public relations firms.”

“I think it’s way past the time that we were doing something about gas stoves,” said Dr. Bernard Goldstein, who began researching the subject in the 1970s. “It has taken almost 50 years since the discovery of negative effects on children of nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves to begin preventive action. We should not wait any longer,” he told NPR.

“By covering gas stoves as a culture war controversy, corporate media have ignored the outsize role of the natural gas industry in influencing science, regulation, and consumer choice,” Project Censored noted. Instead, they’ve focused on individual actions, local moves to phase out gas hookups for new buildings and rightwing culture war opposition to improving home appliance safety and efficiency, including the GOP House-passed Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act.

all our content is censored.” She explained that “Meta viewed reproductive health content through ‘an American lens,’” The Guardian reported, “applying socially conservative U.S. values to posts published in countries with progressive policies such as South Africa, where abortion on request is legal in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.”

Abortion disinformation is also a threat— particularly the promotion of crisis pregnancy centers that masquerade as reproductive health-care clinics but discourage rather than provide abortion services. WMC reported on June 2023 CCDH report which “found that CPCs spent over $10 million on Google Search ads for their clinics over the past two years.” Google claimed to have “removed particular ads,” said Callum Hood, CCDH’s head of research, “but they did not take action on the systemic issues with fake clinic ads.”

“Women’s rights organizations and reproductive health advocates have been forced to squander scarce resources fighting this sort of disinformation online,” Project Censored noted. This has gotten some coverage, but “As of June 2024, corporate coverage of abortion censorship has been limited.” The sole CNN story it cited ran immediately after the Dobbs decision, before most of the problems fully emerged. “There appeared to be more corporate media focus on abortion disinformation rather than censorship,” Project Censorship added. “Independent reporting from Jezebel, and Reproaction via Medium, have done more to draw attention to this issue.”

Paul Rosenberg is a California-based writer/ activist, senior editor for Random Lengths News, and a columnist for Al Jazeera English and Salon.

CULTURE

SUNDAY 1/5

MORNING MOVIE

Take in the tale of New York City socialite Holly Golightly and her romantic escapades with a Breakfast at Tiffany’s Brunch. Revel in the swinging early-’60s styles in Truman Capote’s classic adapted for the screen, starring the often-imitated-but-never-replicated Academy Award-winner Audrey Hepburn. Choose from an array of movie-themed brunch specials and cocktails to pair with the screening, and ruminate on the mores of a bygone era: Is marrying for money or love the right move? Do pets need names? Who thought casting Mickey Rooney was a good idea? $10, 11am. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

SATURDAY 1/4

HOOS BA(W)LLIN’

FRIDAY 1/3– SUNDAY 1/5

BELLISSIMO BAROQUE

Three Notch’d Road Baroque Ensemble extends the holiday season with the sounds of an Italian Christmas during performances in Staunton, Greenwood, and Keswick. Twelfth Night in Italy brings together the music of Corelli, Flecha, Monteverdi, Pandolfi, Scarlatti, and Vivaldi under guest Artistic Director Peter Walker. Hear shepherds’ carols and folk music, as well as art music in the pastoral style, with featured soprano Addy Sterrett. Each performance includes a pre-concert talk by Walker. $30, times and locations vary. tnrbaroque.org

It’s been a tough start to the season for UVA men’s basketball. Following the unexpected departure of longtime head coach Tony Bennett, the Cavaliers have been defeated by every ranked opponent they’ve played under interim Head Coach Ron Sanchez. The good news? Tickets to watch the team are now more widely available, and there’s still a (slim) possibility the Hoos can go dancing in the NCAA tournament come March. UVA will have an opportunity to bolster its odds of making March Madness a reality when it takes on Louisville in upcoming ACC conference play. Ticket prices vary, 4pm. John Paul Jones Arena, 295 Massie Rd. virginiasports.com

CULTURE LAST LOOK

Ephemeral forms

Holly Wright ruminates on the human body in The Fralin’s exhibition

By CM Turner

With three series of black-andwhite photographs depicting various aspects of the human form, “Holly Wright: Vanity” brings themes of corporeality, communication, and mortality into focus. Wright, who taught photography at UVA for 16 years and helped build the university’s museum collection of photo-based works, presents lyrical and contemplative images in her first solo show at The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia.

In the “Vanity” series, Wright offers tightly cropped closeups of her own hands. The photos depict fragmented forms in soft focus. Ridges of fingerprints and folds of flesh allude to the haptic—to touching and being touched. In the “Poetry” series, Wright brings forth a study of the mouth of her Pulitzer Prize-winning husband. Composed in the tradition of photographer Eadweard Muybridge to show sequential motion, more tightly cropped images create a visual rhythm within the picture plane and the installation itself. Where the “Vanity” series is installed in a straight line, creating a syncopated kind of visual rhythm, “Poetry” is installed at varying heights, in mimicry of the rise and fall of human speech. We see the shape of the mouth change, illustrating an expression of words that are absent.

In place of the sonic reality of the poetry, the viewer is prompted to fill in the gaps.

Wright’s “Final Portraits” series represents the most affective and impactful works in the exhibition. Alluding to funerary scenes, the set of eight portraits asks how each sitter would face death as captured in the act of an imagined final photograph. The viewer is immediately implicated in the series through scale. Presented in life-size prints, the subjects

Wednesday 1/1

Happy New Year!

Thursday 1/2

music

Brian Franke. Independent award-winning singer-songwriter and cover artist. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com

Jazz Jam Session. Groove to informal jazz stylings of local musicians or bring your own instrument to join the fun. Free, 6pm. The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Blvd. thecentercville.org

etc.

Beer and Bingo. Try your luck at a few rounds of bingo to win prizes from local businesses. $10–15, 5pm. The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Blvd. thecentercville.org

Veritas Illuminated. A walking light trail winding through the Veritas grove and vines. $10–15, 5:30pm. Veritas Vineyards and Winery, 151 Veritas Ln., Afton. veritaswines.com

Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. Like an escape room but at a winery. Crack codes and unravel riddles while sampling Charlottesville’s best wine, beer, and cider. Play when you want and go at your own pace. $15, available noon–8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com

Friday 1/3 music

Art ‘n’ Jazz. An art exhibition paired with a jazz concert. Featuring local artists Katie Kirst and WAHS art instructor Adam Reinhard, plus jazz fusion quintet GootGenug. Free, 6pm. Mudhouse Coffee Crozet, 5793 The Square, Crozet. Greg Ward & The Dubsettors. An acoustic reggae party featuring covers and originals. Free, 6pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

classes

stare out at the audience, acknowledging that death will come for us all, and asking how each of us will face it. The images are simultaneously arresting and somewhat comforting. The subjects express palpable aspects of agency, even in the face of the inevitable. Apparel, adornments, and postures all speak to how we see ourselves, and how we want to be remembered when we’re gone.

Of the eight images included in “Final Portraits,” four feature couples—including the artist and her husband—underscoring that some will greet the end alone, and others together. The youngest subject, Wright’s son, shown grasping a repeating rifle with a hunting knife and hatchet affixed to a belt at his waist, conveys a kind of subdued surprise. A young woman in cowboy boots expresses a form of defiance, arms crossed, eyeing the camera lens suspiciously. The backgrounds of the portraits include grass, asphalt, and bedding, conjuring connections to earthen soil, artificial rigidity, and the comforts of home.

The series presents ruminations on mortality, but also of time, appearance, and what it means to inhabit a body, if even for a brief time. Good art can make us think, feel, confront uncomfortable truths, or turn away— Wright’s work asks all of this from the viewer, presenting an exercise in ephemeral awareness as we enter a new year.

Code LEGO Robots. Learn to code LEGO Robots using word blocks in LEGO Spike with the First Tech Challenge Team, and get a chance to drive a First Tech Challenge Robot. Ages 7–14. Registration required. Free, 2:30pm. Central Library, 201 E. Market St. jmrl.org

Crafternoon. Come to the library to relax and craft. This month features glass painting. Ages 13–18. Registration required. Free, 2pm. Crozet Library, 2020 Library Ave., Crozet. jmrl.org etc.

Trivia with Olivia. Get the weekend started. Prizes to be won and fun to be had. Free, 6–8pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com

Veritas Illuminated. See listing for Thursday, January 2. $10–15, 5:30pm. Veritas Vineyards and Winery, 151 Veritas Ln., Afton. veritas wines.com

Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, January 2. $15, available noon–8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com

Saturday 1/4

music

Cake Fight. A little modern pop, a little classic rock, and a little of everything in between. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com

“Holy Wright: Vanity,” curated by Hannah Cattarin and M. Jordan Love, remains on view through January 5.

STAFF PHOTO

STAFF

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Jon Spear. A blend of original songs, oldies, folk, acoustic blues, fancy fingerpicking, and more. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com

Josh Mayo and Friends. Fantastic originals and classic rock covers. Free, 8:30pm. Vision BBQ & Catering, 247 Ridge McIntire Rd. visionbbqcville.com

Sue Harlow. Deeply emotive, heart-touching songs that lay down the essence of acoustic Americana folk. Free, 12:30pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com

Three Notch’d Road Baroque Ensemble. Celebrating Twelfth Night with the sounds of an Italian Christmas, including beloved shepherds’ carols and folk music from Italy, along with art music in the pastoral style by Corelli and Scarlatti. $30, 4pm. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 7599 Rockfish Gap Tpk., Greenwood. tnrbaroque.org

classes

Crochet for Beginners. Join Emma as she teaches you the basics of crochet. Leave with a bamboo crochet hook and a small crocheted washcloth. Ages 12+. $25, noon. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com

Watercolor Workshop Series: Fundamentals. Introducing students to the basic materials and techniques of watercolor painting. Ages 15+. $35, 2pm. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com etc.

Downtown Holiday Express. Take a merry trip around downtown to enjoy the festive sights. You may even spot one of Santa’s hiding elves. Pick up and drop off next to the fountain at Central Place. Free, 10am–2pm. Downtown Mall. friendsofcville.org

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

Veritas Illuminated. See listing for Thursday, January 2. $10–15, 5:30pm. Veritas Vineyards and Winery, 151 Veritas Ln., Afton. veritas wines.com

Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, January 2. $15, available noon-8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com

Sunday 1/5 music

Calie Garrett and Gary Green. Soulful piano-based singer-songwriter Calie Garrett and harmonica wizard Gary Green perform. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com

Three Notch’d Road Baroque Ensemble. Celebrating Twelfth Night with the sounds of an Italian Christmas, including beloved shepherds’ carols and folk music from Italy, along with art music in the pastoral style by Corelli and Scarlatti. $30, 4pm. Grace Episcopal Church, 5607 Gordonsville Rd., Keswick. tnrbaroque.org

Travis Elliott & Tucker Rogers. A fresh and improvised setlist of acoustic music. Free, 7:30pm. Vision BBQ & Catering, 247 Ridge McIntire Rd. visionbbqcville.com

classes

Art For The Soul. Offering a peaceful sanctuary for exploration and expression. Each session includes guided breathing, tea, and an artistic project designed to inspire and challenge. This month: the art of journaling. $25, 4pm. Pikasso Swig Craft Bar, 333 Second St. SE. pikassoswig.com

At the table with Veritas

A supper series and celebration of Southern foodways

By Sarah Golibart Gorman

When my husband and I arrived at Veritas Vineyards and Winery for the final Supper Series and Harvest Celebration in mid-October, I thought I’d prepared him for the evening. But as we approached a sea of round tables set for family-style dining, he was visibly horrified—visions of passing dishes and making small talk with strangers clearly dancing in his head.

As we mingled in the tasting room, the sun dipping behind the Blue Ridge Mountains, the mood began to shift. With each bite of Chef Andy Shipman’s hors d’oeuvres—a crispy buttermilk fried-chicken slider on a Martin’s roll, slathered with Duke’s mayonnaise and tangy smoked kraut—we began to feel at home.

“Family-style is the format that not only works the best, but I think people enjoy it more,” Shipman later explained. “It forces you to talk to your neighbor, talk to someone you don’t know. The communal nature of the dinner—I think people really enjoy that.”

And Shipman was right. By the time we reached our table and passed the first platter of aromatic garlicky green beans, all fears had dissolved. That sense of comfort isn’t accidental; it’s integral to the Veritas experience.

“When you’re here, you’re family” may be a slogan for a familiar Italian chain, but at Veritas, it’s literal. The winery, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024, remains a true family-run operation. Founders Andrew and Patricia Hodson planted the vineyard’s first vines, and today, their children bring that vision to life: Emily Hodson is the head winemaker, George Hodson serves as CEO, and Chloe Watkins completes the family affair as project manager.

The familial spirit even extended to the menu, crafted by Shipman with his own family memories in mind. Drawing inspiration from his mother’s classic pot roast, Shipman elevated nostalgia by marinating Seven Hills short rib in Veritas claret and RC Cola—a nod to when his dad brought home the coveted soda. For an extra layer of influence, he credited his college friends’ study abroad experience in Spain—they were all drinking kalimotxos, a blend of cola and red wine. The result? A kalimotxo pot roast that was tender, savory, and bursting with flavor, paired perfectly with Veritas’ 2013 petit verdot.

This year’s harvest, completed on the very day of our dinner, brought in 300 tons of grapes in just seven weeks—a record-breaking timeline. Winemaker Emily Hodson explained that the unusually compressed harvest was the result of a hot, dry growing season abruptly concluded by Hurricane

Francine, which was followed closely by the catastrophic Hurricane Helene.

Veritas Vineyards and Winery doesn’t shy away from frank discussions about how climate change is reshaping the wine industry.

In an August 2023 blog post, Andrew Hodson wrote, “Bottom line on climate change affecting our weather—it’s hot already, and it is going to get hotter and inevitably wetter.” His prediction rang true.

Such extremes have forced Veritas to adapt. Emily has been a driving force behind research initiatives to address these challenges, including a collaboration between the Virginia wine industry and the USDA. The winery’s work focuses on breeding disease-resistant grape varieties better suited to the region’s increasingly unpredictable climate.

George, who serves as president of the Virginia Wineries Association and vice chair of the Virginia Wine Board, is passionate about strengthening the regional food system. While his sister specializes in the science, George focuses on fostering collaboration among producers, chefs, and wineries.

“I would love to get to a place where the food and wine community is almost inseparable,” George shared. “It’s about making sure our food producers, our chefs, and our wineries are all talking, growing, and col-

laborating. My mantra is always a rising tide floats all boats.”

Veritas’ 2025 Supper Series will bring this vision to life with a foodways focus, pairing regional chefs with local producers to celebrate the interplay of Southern food and wine. “There are so many people in our region doing innovative and interesting things in Southern food,” George said. “We want to bring in folks who are exactly that.” He hinted at future collaborations with the Trainum family of Autumn Olive Farms and their heritage pork, the Walker family of Smoke in Chimneys and their spring-raised trout, the team at Seven Hills Food, and others.

Each supper will reflect the unique personality of its chef or producer, from the menu to music. George recalled a memorable September dinner featuring Canadian chef Michael Hunter, where the culinary experience was paired with Wu-Tang Clan chamber music.

This creative approach invites diners to connect more deeply with the people and stories behind their meals. “We want to give chefs and producers the freedom to make each night their own,” George emphasized. “It’s about celebrating their craft, creativity, and the connections we all share.”

As part of its ongoing supper series, Veritas invites chefs adept in Southern cuisine to create dinners paired with the vineyard’s award-winning wines.

TYLER DARDEN

CULTURE THIS WEEK

Three Notch’d Road Baroque Ensemble

Galaxy Jewelry. Make your own out-ofthis-world accessories. Come play with glass cabochons and nail polish and create your own necklace and earrings. Ages 12+.

$35, noon. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com

Vision Board 2025. Set your goals and intentions for 2025 with a vision board. Through a process of guided relaxation, journaling, and collage you will have the opportunity to explore what wants to be known. Ages 15+.

$25, 2pm. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com etc.

Music Bingo. Match the songs to the titles on your card. Fun for all. Free, 2pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com

Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, January 2. $15, available noon–8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com

Monday 1/6 music

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 spins 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

Day-Off Camp: Pioneer Day. Travel back in time for some old-fashioned fun, creativity,

and adventure. Join us as we churn butter, weave crafts, and play pioneer games that bring history to life. Registration required. $65, 9am. Virginia Discovery Museum, 524 E. Main St. vadm.org etc.

Genre Club. Similar to a book club except you get to talk about all formats of materials. Share your favorite book or movie with others. January genre: realistic fiction. Ages 13–18. Registration recommended. Free, 2pm. Crozet Library, 2020 Library Ave., Crozet. jmrl.org

Trivia on Tap. Five rounds of themed trivia for teams of up to six competitors. Hosted by Olivia. Reservations recommended. Free, 7pm. Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen & Brewery - Charlottesville, 520 Second St. SE. threenotchdbrewing.com

Tuesday 1/7 music

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

classes

Drop-In Still Life and Watercolor Sessions. Providing all the supplies you need to take a relaxing and creative break in your day. Feel free to bring objects you’d like to draw and any supplies you’d like to use. $5, noon. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com etc.

Music Bingo. SuperFly Music Bingo is back and better than ever. Unique playlists and prizes to be won. Free, 7–9pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superfly brewing.com

The Run Club. Meet at Decipher, do a 5K run, then drink beer. $1-off pints for runners. Free, 6pm. Decipher Brewing, 1740 Broadway St.

CULTURE GALLERIES

January Exhibitions

Botanical Fare Restaurant 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Recent Landscapes in Oil,” paintings by Randy Baskerville, presented by the BozART Fine Art Collective. January 6–March 3.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. In the micro gallery, “Still Life with Uncertainty,” paintings by Richmond-based artist Sally Bowring. Through February. In the Great Halls of Vault Virginia, “Kinship,” a photo journalist’s documentary on the contrasts of urban culture and politics in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Through March. Both shows open January 4.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. Floral paintings by Saylor Swift Denney and glass marbles, beads, and sculpture by Carol Sorber. January 18–February 28.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. The annual studio sale, offering select works at lower prices in support of Virginia artists. January 3–31. First Fridays reception with artists 4–6pm.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies” features an immersive multichannel video installation. Through January 26, 2025. “Structures,” a selection of 20th- and 21st-century works exploring the ways that art can speak to or question the formal, physical, environmental, social, and institutional structures of our world. Through July 20, 2025. “Celebration” features works by five African American artists highlighting the ways these artists honor history, culture, and heritage through various media. “Vanity,” black and white photography by longtime UVA arts instructor Holly Wright. “Conversations in Color,” new print acquisitions curated by M. Jordan Love. All shows run through January 5, 2025 unless otherwise noted.

The Gallery at Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Journey from Grief to Art to Growth,” works by Colleen Rosenberry. January 3–February 2. Opening reception January 3, 5–7pm. Artist talk January 23, 5–6pm.

Hello Comics 211A W. Main St, Downtown Mall. “Picture Show,” a cash and carry show of original drawings and digital prints by Todd Webb. Through January 8, 2025. Additional works available at Hello Comics Uptown location.

IX Art Park 522 Second St. SE. “The Looking Glass,” an immersive art space featuring a whimsical enchanted forest and kaleidoscopic cave. Ongoing.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA 400 Worrell Dr. Part two of “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. “Milpa: Stop-motion animation by Spinifex artists,” animated films. Both shows run through March 2.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “Pride Overcomes Prejudice,” exploring the history of peoples of African descent in Charlottesville. Ongoing.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Smith Gallery, “Womanhood,” photographs by Benita Mayo. In the First and Second Floor Galleries, the “New Member Show,” featuring works by 18 artists recently selected for membership. In the Associate Gallery, “New Work,” featuring artwork from associate members. First Fridays reception 5:30–7:30pm.

New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. In the Welcome Gallery, “Of the Earth,” abstract landscape paintings and works on paper by Christen Yates and wall-hung sculptures by Jacqui Stewart Lindstrom. Through January 16.

Phaeton Gallery 114 Old Preston Ave. In the Lobby Gallery, “The Living Canvas,” a new series of oil paintings that explore the human body and the dynamic movement of

muscles by Julia Hebert. January 3–February 2. First Fridays reception 5–7:30pm.

The PVCC Gallery V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. “Process=Progress: Peeking Behind the Curtain of Creativity.” Through January 18.

Ruffin Gallery UVA Grounds, Ruffin Hall, 179 Culbreth Rd. “A Continuous Storyline: Four Decades of UVA Painters,” curated by Megan Marlatt. Featuring paintings and sculpture by John Arnold, David Askew, Gina Beavers, Jackson Casady, Tori Cherry, Maggie King Johns, Matt Kleberg, and Phượng Duyên Hải Nguyễn. January 6–February 14. Exhibition reception and retirement celebration for Megan Marlatt January 31, 5–7pm.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “That Feels Good! Labor as Pleasure,” an interdisciplinary group show of local and national artists curated by Francisco Donoso. In the Dové Gallery, “Hannah Diomataris: Sticker Work,” hand-

cut sticker compositions by Richmond-based artist Hannah Diomataris. Both shows run through January 24. Artists in Conversation talk with Hannah Diomataris and Leigh Suggs, January 18, 10:30–11:30am.

Visible Records 1740 Broadway St. “Direct Sow,” interdisciplinary works by Visible Records studio members Morgan Ashcom, Rebecca Belt, Anna Hogg, Jeremy JeanJacques, Sean Lopez, Will May, Kweisi Morris, Phượng-Duyên Hải Nguyễn, bryan ortiz, Peter Russell, Anik Sparman, Jackson Taylor, Maria Villanueva, Natasha Woods, and Elena Yu. Through January 25.

Waxwing Art Works 416 W. Main St., inside the Main Street Market Building. “The Drawing Show,” featuring works in graphite, ink, and charcoal by Baylor Fuller, Marni Maree, Amy Shawley Paquette, Joe Sheridan, Coleman Simmons, Dana Wheeles, and others. January 9–February 8. Opening reception January 9, 5–7pm. Free drawing media demonstration, January 24, 2–4pm.

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE GALLERIES AND/OR ARTISTS

Maggie King Johns at Ruffin Gallery

Ted Hardin at Chroma Projects

Benita Mayo at McGuffey Art Center

SUDOKU

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

#1

#3

BY MATT JONES

ACROSS

1. Online “where is this?” game with notables called Rainbolt and Blinky

10. “Sk8er ___” (2002 single)

13. Takes a sudden lead

15. 911 responder

16. Misrepresented a public campaign as fully authentic

18. Mauna ___

19. Nijinsky negative

20. Barney Gumble quote after abstaining from (and then drinking) alcohol, prepping for a space mission

22. Channel with a “Noir Alley” feature

23. Like elements past #92 (all unstable and prone to decay into other elements)

26. Places to check out?

28. Company that sometimes outranks Microsoft and Apple as the world’s most valuable

29. It may contain a radio and non-perishables

32. Otherworldly

33. ___ Lingus (Ryanair competitor)

34. They make feudal attempts?

38. Singer and then some

41. Elite squads

44. Butt: var.

45. TV spots for Fred Meyer (as opposed to, say, Wal-Mart)

48. Not-so-peaceful feeling

49. Phone tree start

50. Bioengineered foods, briefly

51. Boston’s Bobby

52. Places of protection

56. Lil ___ Howery (actor in 2025’s “Dog Man”)

57. Go from the ocean back to clouds, maybe

58. “Madden NFL 25” stats

59. Like insects

DOWN

1. Singer-songwriter Phillips (namesake of a “Buffalo” band)

2. Start of a happy-go-lucky saying

3. Fictional month in a 1977 Dr. Seuss title

4. Goldfinger portrayer Frobe

5. Org. associated with Bob Hope for 50 years

6. Put away

7. ___ mai (dumplings)

8. Canary’s European cousin

9. Rapid transits?

10. Show compassion

11. Subtitle of 1978’s “Damien”

12. Lake at the head of the Mississippi

14. Prove false

17. They give it a whirl

21. Skiers’ leg coverings

23. Strict parents (as popularized by a 2011 book)

24. “The Pioneer Woman” host Drummond

25. “Simple!”

27. The world’s third most populous island

30. Animator’s unit

31. Northern California town that used to have a palindromic bakery

35. Setting up traffic lights again, maybe

36. Norwegian Sea islanders (if you spell it with the ligature)

37. About to burn out

39. Looms

40. Lasso or Leo

41. Military building

42. Became weepy, with “up”

43. Some 2010s Gen Z fashion denizens (inspired by anime and mall goth)

46. One-third of “Six”?

47. Susan who lent her surname to nominees who finally win

50. “Whose Line” regular Proops

53. ___ screen (lab test for poisons)

54. Cornhusker’s sch.

55. Edmondson of “The Young Ones,” familiarly

By Rob Brezsny

Saggitarius

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’re the most pragmatic sign of the zodiac and are most highly skilled at getting constructive things done. It’s also true that you thrive on organizing the chaotic details of our messy world into smooth-functioning systems. But I periodically need to remind you that these superpowers of yours require you to nurture a vigorous and rigorous imagination. All of what you ultimately accomplish originates in the fantasy realm. This will be especially crucial for you to keep in mind during 2025.

Aquarius

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The “Mona Lisa” is a world-famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Beneath its visible surface is evidence that the artist reworked it extensively. There are at least three earlier versions with different facial features. In one, the figure has eyebrows and is wearing hairpins and a headdress. These details were scrubbed out of the image that now hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris. I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because I suspect you have been engaged in a comparable process as you have worked on your labor of love. In my reckoning, you’re finished with your false starts, practice runs, and dress rehearsals. In the coming months, you can make excellent progress toward ripening and culminating your creation.

Pisces

(Feb. 19-March 20): Ancient Greek literature references a drug called nepenthe. Anyone who ingested it would forget memories that stirred pain and sorrow. Many of us modern people might consider taking such medicine if it were available. But let’s imagine a very different potion: one that arouses vivid memories of all the wonderful experiences we have been blessed with. If there were such a thing, I would recommend that you sample it frequently in the months to come. That’s because your relationship with the good parts of your past will be especially useful and inspirational. In fact, drawing on their power will be instrumental in helping you create your best possible future.

Aries

(March 21-April 19): There are experiences, people, and places that can either be good

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Capricorn

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): To symbolize your destiny in 2025, I drew a Tarot card. It was the 9 of Cups. Here’s my four-part interpretation: 1. Sometime soon, you should identify your top desires and ruminate about how to express them in the most beautiful and fulfilling ways possible. 2. Take a vow that you will shed half-hearted, insecure approaches for bringing them to fruition. 3. Be uninhibited about seeking not just a partial but a complete version of each fulfillment. 4. Figure out which allies you will need in your life to manifest the happiest and most meaningful outcomes.

for you or bad for you. Which way they tilt at any particular time may depend on your mood or their mood or forces beyond your immediate control. An example for me is social media. Sometimes it’s a mediocre drug that dulls my sensibilities and aggravates my fears. On other occasions, it brings rich new connections and teaches me lessons I’m thrilled to learn. What about you, Aries? In my astrological view, 2025 will be a time when you will be wise to re-evaluate and redefine your relationships with these paradoxical resources. If there are some whose influence is far more likely to be bad than good, consider ending your bond. For those that are equally bad and good, do what you can do to enhance the goodness.

Taurus

(April 20-May 20): Taurus supermodel Linda Evangelista has supreme levels of self-esteem. At the height of her career, she bragged that she got out of bed each morning with the intention of earning no less than $10,000 in the coming day. I’m not advocating that you be equally audacious in your expectations during 2025, dear Taurus. But it’s reasonable for you to adopt at least a measure of Evangelista’s financial confidence. According to my analysis of your destiny, cosmic rhythms will be conspiring to open up economic opportunities for you.

Gemini

(May 21-June 20): In 2025, dear Gemini, I invite you to make ample use of at least five of the following 11 tactics: 1. Shatter the molds. 2. Defy the conventions. 3. Challenge the norms. 4. Redefine the boundaries. 5. Disrupt the status quo. 6. Defy old rules and create new ones. 7. Go against the flow and against the grain. 8. Bushwhack through frontiers. 9. Dance to unfamiliar rhythms. 10. Search for curious treasures. 11. Change the way you change.

Cancer

(June 21-July 22): Good advice for the first half of 2025: 1. Lose your respect for tangled complications that have begun to rot. 2. Keep some of your necessary protective defenses, yes, but shed those that no longer serve you and are weighing you down. 3. Bury a broken-down dream to make room in your heart for a sweet new dream. 4. Scour away as much resentment as you can. 5. Sneak away from people and situations that are far too demanding. 6. Discard as much as you can of what’s inessential, unhelpful, and defunct. 7. Don’t make a radical break for freedom yet, but begin plotting to do so by your birthday.

Leo

(July 23-Aug. 22): The coming months will be an excellent time to dream up bigger, better, more original sins and seek out wilder, wetter, more interesting problems. You should experiment with being naughty and even sweetly wicked as you uplift your spirit and deepen your love for life. You are being invited by your future self to experiment with daring departures from tradition that bring you exciting challenges. Dear Leo, my wish for you in 2025 is that you will be cheerfully courageous (not belligerently courageous) as you become both smarter and wiser than you have ever been before.

Virgo

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Aztecs were originally known as the Mēxihcah people. Before they forged an empire, they were semi-nomadic tribes. But even then, early on, they were guided by a prophecy that they would eventually settle permanently in a place where they found an eagle roosting on a cactus holding a snake in its talons. In 1325, wanderers spied this precise scenario on a small island in Lake Texcoco. Soon they began to

construct the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of their future kingdom. I bring this true myth to your attention, Virgo, because I want to invite you to formulate a similar prophecy in 2025—and then fulfill it. Your personal empire is primed for expansion and consolidation.

Libra

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): As 2025 unfolds, your burdens will grow lighter, and your duties will become more interesting. Joyless missions and trivial hopes will be increasingly irrelevant and easy to relinquish, opening up opportunities for fresh assignments that motivate you to play more and to work smarter rather than harder. During the coming months, dear Libra, I predict you will be basking in extra good karma and tapping into more fertile mojo than you have in a long time. Would you like more freedom than ever before? It’s yours for the plucking.

Scorpio

(Oct. 23-Nov.21): Painter P. K. Mahanandia is well-known because of his fine art. He is even more famous for an amazing adventure he had in the name of love. It’s a long story, but his wife was living in her native Sweden while he was stuck in his native India. Mahanandia was still at an early stage of his career and couldn’t afford to fly by plane. Instead, he bought a used bicycle and headed west, covering about 27 miles per day. He pedaled through Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey until he arrived in Europe 127 days later. He had raised money by drawing portraits of people he met along the way, so he had enough to travel by train the rest of the way to Sweden. I’m thinking you may have an epic romantic adventure yourself in 2025, Scorpio. Maybe not quite as extreme, but very interesting.

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

Friday

LEGALS

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

Commonwealth of Virginia VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Charlottesville Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re: Z.D. (DOB 2/1/2007)

The object of this suit is to terminate the parental rights in Z.D. (DOB 2/1/2007)

It is ORDERED that the defendant Patricia Dillard, appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before January 24, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.

12/5/2024

Areshini Pather DATE JUDGE

THE HOTSEAT

Asked and answered

We’ll put just about anyone in The HotSeat—visiting performers, interesting professionals, local tastemakers—as long as they don’t mind answering a few of our hard-hitting questions (asking about a go-to Bodo’s order is the height of journalism, folks). Here are a few of our favorite answers from 2024.

Grad student/lecturer

Chandler Jennings

Most embarrassing moment: A few years ago, I ran into an acquaintance from high school. We chatted for a bit, and then she kind of waved goodbye at me. I didn’t realize that it was a wave and reached out and clasped her hand, interlocking fingers, and we kind of rocked them back and forth for a sec before I disentangled and ran away.

Actress/musician

Schuyler Fisk

Best advice you ever got: “You meet the same people on the way up that you meet on the way down.”—My mom [Sissy Spacek]

Podcast hosts Mendy St. Ours and Bree Luck

How did you settle on “Well, That Was Awkward” as a title and concept?

Mendy: Pretty much every day, people tell us about something awkward in their lives.

Sometimes it’s a small story—like going to a PTA meeting with your skirt tucked into your drawers—or a BIG story, like your ex showing up at your wedding with a clown nose on. Bree: That happened to me.

Local Girl Scouts Penny (age 10) and Beatrice (age 10)

What’s something about Girl Scouts that people would be surprised to learn?

Penny: We learn knife skills. Most embarrassing moment: Beatrice: When I accidentally said “farted” in front of the class instead of “started.”

Trivia host and Monticello tour guide Olivia Brown

If you could be reincarnated as a person or thing, what would you be? I think I’d like to be a millennial’s house plant.

Just put me in a nice sunny spot, doted on day in and out, happily growing.

Charlottesville Ballet teacher Izabelly Gleed

What have you forgotten today? To buy eggs at the grocery store—I was too focused on planning my ballet classes!

Virginia Film Festival

Artistic Director Ilya Tovbis

Why is supporting the arts important? Especially in our ever-more polarized society, I believe the arts are our best, most honest, and most direct way of connecting to, and understanding, those different from ourselves.

Comedian Brian Regan

What’s something about your job that people would be surprised to learn? I’m not funny every waking moment. And I’m not funny at all when I’m asleep.

Writer, organizer, director

John Gibson

Favorite Charlottesville venue: Various basements, leaky warehouses, overgrown gardens, and fire traps, all long since condemned or torn down, replaced with things fancier, safer, and saner.

Musician Robert Earl Keen

Proudest accomplishment: Proudest accomplishment objectively is my two daughters. My oldest—when she was 5—she won the Miss Apple Dumpling Beauty Contest. It knocked me out of my chair and I was so proud.

Theater Director Bob Chapel

Favorite curse word? Or favorite word: (I’m) Sorry.

TUESDAY 02.11.25 • 7:30PM

Jack & Wendy Brown

Patti Cary & Todd Stansbury

Pam & Frank Edmonds

Susie Morris

This beautiful city has kept us up and running through advertising support since 1989, but now we also need you, readers of the free word, to help us keep telling local stories. If free, independent news is important to you, please consider a gift of $35 to keep the lights on—in our office, sure, but also the light we will continue to shine into every corner of Charlottesville. Depending on the size of your gift, you could receive a digital copy of C-VILLE every Tuesday evening (before it hits stands Wednesday), a tote bag, and two invites to the Best of C-VILLE party in August 2025. Support the work of C-VILLE Weekly.

New Year’s SALE

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