“Frankly, I’m trying to keep an open mind on it,” Taliaferro said.

Helen Flamini stood on patches of snow on the east side of McIntire Park and described her vision, turning putting greens and flags into tree-lined trails along the park’s hilly terrain.

A group that has been striving to stop construction of the Meadowcreek Parkway has filed suit in Charlottesville Circuit Court to try to put an end to the project.

Martin Horn Inc., a longtime local general contracting company, on Thursday received the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s highest award for corporate citizenship.

“It ain’t over yet,” said John Cruickshank, head of the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club and a member of the Coalition to Save McIntire Park.

When Charlottesville has attempted to have conversations about race in the past, they were incited by specific incidents and, as such, were short lived.

Albemarle County is considering an initiative to save the county money by encouraging employees to retire early.

As the Meadowcreek Parkway moves from being a decades-old planning concept into an actual road, some in the area are not wasting time in considering its official name.

As Albemarle County officials brace for new state transportation revenue projections, due out Thursday, signs point to a scenario where localities will have limited transportation funds for years to come.

Albemarle County Supervisor David L. Slutzky speculated that bids for the Meadowcreek Parkway came in lower than expected because the economic downtown has left contractors “hungrier” for projects.

“Bare-bones” is the word being used within the walls of City Hall to describe Charlottesville’s proposed Capital Improvement Program for the upcoming budget.

The steep decline in suggested funds for some of the city’s most expensive projects is the latest demonstration of the difficult economy and trying budget times the city government is facing. This year, $29.3 million was allocated for the CIP. In fiscal 2008 and 2007, the amounts were $21.3 million and $12.6 million, respectively.

For now, local government officials have all jumped on the bandwagon: There’s no need to forge ahead with the Eastern Connector.

Albemarle County planners recommended no changes to the county’s six-year priority list for secondary road improvements.

Plans for the Meadowcreek Parkway are becoming more concrete, but some Charlottesville residents are doing everything in their power to stop the controversial route from being built.