'Lethal' year: Ex-mayor Cox back in town

Maurice Cox may have just returned from a year at Haaavad, but don't expect to see him "pahking" his "cah." The former mayor, who returned to town with his family on July 4, is still a bicycle commuter who says Boston architecture has inspired him to push for "nuanced" development here in Charlottesville.

"I'm going to continue to change this town bit by bit," Cox says with a grin, citing the development of West Main Street as a pet project.

Cox says he and the nine other architects accepted for Harvard's prestigious Loeb Fellowship took classes (and taught classes) in Cambridge. The energy and creativity among his Loeb colleagues, all "at the top of their game," Cox says, were so intense that he jokingly calls it "lethal."

Now that he's home, Cox says that pent-up energy must find a local outlet.

"The caliber of development and the quality of life [in Boston]," he says, "is something I hope I've brought back with me."

Cox is back!
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER