C-VILLE Writers



A student works in UVA chemistry Professor John Bushweller’s lab, one of many that could see major cuts in federal grant funding due to sequestration. Photo: Christian Hommel

Research on the chopping block as UVA faces sequestration

The University of Virginia expects to lose up to $12 million in research funding in 2013 and could see significant financial aid reductions in the coming years due to sequestration, the massive package of federal spending cuts that went into effect March 1. As the University braces for the effects of the sequester, originally intended [...]

Two men were wounded in an officer-involved shooting at this spot on 2nd Street NW near the Downtown Mall on March 16. Photo by Graelyn Brashear.

Saturday shooting instigated by Elks Lodge fight, warrants show

New details about the Downtown shooting that sent two men to the hospital early Saturday morning—one with a bullet in his abdomen that police believe came from an officer’s gun—were revealed yesterday in search warrants filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court. According to the warrants, Frank D. Brown, 56, of Albemarle, and Leon T. Brock, 22, [...]

Chef Peter Chang and Mary Lee go over the menu during a VIP banquet at Peter Chang's China Grill in Charlottesville last week. Photo: Justin Ide.

Peter Chang sneaks back into town to say ‘thank you’

Very few things about prize-winning Szechuan chef Peter Chang are absolutely clear. He has a Wikipedia page, for instance, but it doesn’t list a birthday. Stanley Tucci is reportedly making a film about his life, but until it comes out, every story about him will likely continue to contain words like ‘elusive.’ In the meantime, [...]

Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo. Photo by Eric Kelley.

Top cop: Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo takes your questions

Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo sat down with C-VILLE to talk about policing priorities— including homelessness—and now he wants to hear from you. Do you have questions for him? Send them to news@c-ville.com. Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo hit the streets of Baltimore in 1982 at the start of city’s crack cocaine epidemic, a newly minted [...]

A rousing, foot-stomping good time is guaranteed when the high-energy percussive dance troupe Step Afrika! performs at the Paramount. Publicity image.

ARTS Pick: Step Afrika!

Stepping it up Combining tradition with youth education, a global vision with local venues, and the visual with the audible, D.C.-based dance group Step Afrika! performs its own distinct fusion of spoken word, clapping, and footsteps. With ears attuned and eyes wide open, performers and fans are united to the beat of these lyrical feet. [...]

A snowy Monte Vista in Charlottesville the morning of Wednesday, March 6. Photo by Graelyn Brashear.

Charlottesville and Albemarle snow closures and conditions

Snow living up to its hype in Charlottesville and Albemarle? Color us surprised. Locals are waking up to between 4 and 6 inches as of 7am, with more heavy, wet snow falling rapidly. According to the National Weather Service, we can expect another 4 to 8 inches during the day today. Road conditions and visibility [...]

The University of Virginia. Photo:  Dan Addison/UVA Public Affairs

News from Grounds: What’s up at UVA this week

It’s been a busy week on Grounds, so we’re offering a look at some of the most interesting news coming out of UVA in recent days. What brings Ellen Degeneres and UVA Law together? A UVA law student made an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show Wednesday, where she was presented with $20,000 in recognition [...]

The grave of Jesse Scott Sammons, a descendant of the Hemings family of Monticello, lies in the path of the proposed Western Bypass. Photo by John Robinson

Should VDOT reroute the Bypass around graves of slave descendants?

Jesse Scott Sammons was born a free black man in 1853, eight years before the Civil War and 10 years before Emancipation. A descendant of Monticello slave Mary Hemings—sister of Sally—Sammons attended what is now Charlottesville’s Jefferson School. He went on to become the first principal of the first high school for African-American students in Albemarle [...]