(December 9, 2009) – Giant Food is hosting the inaugural Charlottesville Stuff-A-Truck food drive on Friday, December 11 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. to help alleviate hunger in the Blue Ridge region this holiday season. … Giant Food Store Giant Food Store Rivanna Ridge Seminole Square 1900 Abbey Road 220 Zan Road Charlottesville, VA 22911 Charlottesville, VA 22901 Founded in 1981, the Food Bank’s mission is to reduce hunger through programs and partnerships which efficiently obtain and distribute nutritious food to people in need in 25 counties and nine cities in northern and central Virginia. … We are excited to partner with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to host the first annual Charlottesville Stuff-A-Truck and encourage every member of the community to participate,†said Robin Michel, president of Giant Food of Landover, Md. … The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank serves more than 25,000 people per month and this inaugural Stuff-A-Truck will provide even more to those in need this holiday season.
Prepping to Sell a House in Charlottesville
It’s Winter, the first week of December here in Charlottesville and I’m starting to get the e-mails and the queries from people who are thinking about putting their houses on the market in Spring. Now, in my mind, the Spring real estate market really starts now and ramps up late January, early February and March is high time in the Charlottesville area match day when the medical residents find out where they’re going to be. It is a huge component of our market. Now is the time to start thinking about it. – Start looking at what your mortgage payoff may be. – Start looking at the projects that you’ve meant to do for the last few years that if you’re going to be selling your house in the Spring really need to be done. – Houses need to be in the closest state of perfection as possible in this market because it’s going to become super competitive come Spring. So if you’re thinking about putting your house on the market in the Spring, start looking at how realtors are marketing homes. … But really it’s a time when you need good, sound, professional advice to help you develop a pricing strategy and a project strategy of things that will bring you the best return on your investment if you’re getting your house ready for the market.
Thanks Albemarle Family Readers
The readers of Albemarle Family magazine (truly one of the best resources for families in the Charlottesville and Albemarle area) voted recently in all sorts of categories. Their inaugural ” Winning Picks for Family-Friendly Fun and Services ” selections covered virtually every segment of the Charlottesville/Albemarle area and economy. … For Favorite Real Estate Company, Nest Realty Group (the firm in which I am one of three partners ) got the nod as #3 . 1 and 2 were Roy Wheeler and Real Estate III respectively. … At the time of voting, we were a six-person firm ( now 8 ) versus 96 and 221 .* 
I was further surprised to have been voted the #3 Realtor by their readers.
Blog Wayback – Is Dr. Seuss from Charlottesville?
This is the story I wrote last year to try to help answer some of the questions : ( source ) It’s that time of the year again – for the past several years around 1 December, the searches start to show up in my blog statistics – “Grinch Charlottesville,” “Is the grinch from Charlottesville, Virginia?” … That particular rumor started in correlation with the rumor that How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ “Hoos down in Hooville” was based somehow on a certain local university’s Hoos down in Hooville. … The fact that the story depicts Hoos/Whos as absolute saints surely didn’t hurt that particular tall tale’s traction with a student body that’s not exactly known for its modesty and perspective. … While killing Charlottesville urban legends – the HooK dispels the one about Rio Road (why the i in Rio pronounced as one says “eye” – l?t -) “Rio,” which means “river” in Spanish, was most likely used as a name for the old mill and bridge on this road because of their proximity to the Rivanna River.
Biscuit Run Development in CharlAlbemarle – DOA?
The news affects everyone in this area – politicians counting on that revenue , homeowners in nearby Mill Creek, Lake Reynovia, Foxcroft, Redfields, Mosby Mountain and other developments as well as any property owner who lived in or visited that part of Charlottesville, transportation plans, One question – how will the Fifth Street/Avon Street development be impacted? The stories today will certainly be augmented by the HooK and C-Ville in the coming days: Huge planned Biscuit Run development in danger – Daily Progress Biscuit Run – an expensive state park – Charlottesville Tomorrow
…This was at the peak of the bubble– the smartest real estate transaction ever completed in this area , and one which allowed other land and home sellers to maintain champagne dreams for years. … March 2006 Biscuit Run Price Tag: $222 Million – cvillenews – March 2007 Hollymead, Biscuit Run Approved – cvillenews- September 2007 Biscuit Run is on hold – January 2009 One of my favorite posts – Struggles with Growth in Charlottesville/Albemarle and Beyond – April 2007 If you really want to educate yourself about Biscuit Run, spend a few hours (or days) in Charlottesville Tomorrow’s archives – podcasts and stories .
Money in Charlottesville and Albemarle Elections
Thanks to VPAP, we know that the Rio District race in which David Slutzky lost to Rodney Thomas cost $150k , the Samuel Miller District race cost nearly $100k, and in the City of Charlottesville with its traditionally non-competive elections cost a mere $20k. It’s a damn shame that local elections cost a quarter of a million dollars.
10 Ways to Go Green in Charlottesville
Lots of folks, apparently: Fifty million American homes are banned from hanging clotheslines on their property.
 Project Laundry List, a clothesline advocacy group, lists the Rosemont Homeowners Association in Ivy, as one local region where the use of clotheslines is banned.
…As childhood obesity rates skyrocket, hoofing it is increasingly regarded as a heroic effort in a region where new development tends to leave kids further from schools, and closer to the candy store. All of this in a world that grows less safe with each passing day. … solar panels , clotheslines, flagpoles (# Barfoot ) … what’s next?