Much of the frenzied discussion in the wake of the surprise push through by State Senate Republicans of a major redistricting bill on Monday has centered on the new Senate district map, which Democrats say was quietly engineered to hand more victories to Republicans and tilt the body’s now-even power balance to the right. But [...]
George Huguely is appealing his second-degree murder charge, claiming he was denied his right to representation during his trial last February in Charlottesville and citing a number of other objections. The Daily Progress’ Samantha Koon had the story yesterday, reporting that Huguely appears to have hired new lawyers. Attorneys Paul D. Clement of Washington, D.C. and [...]
The surprise redistricting bill Republicans pushed through the Virginia Senate yesterday has raised a lot of questions: Did Governor McDonnell’s office know his fellow party members were plotting a mid-decade overhaul that, if it sticks, would likely hand Republicans a State Senate majority? Could the redistricting stand up in court, considering Virginia’s constitutional restrictions? And where [...]
05/21/2013 8:00 pm Electric Tuesdays The Hot Spot, Waynesboro VA
In order to at least partly fulfill our New Year’s resolution to accentuate the positive, we’d like to start this column with one for the “credit where credit is due” file. While we’re not usually big fans of Governor Bob McDonnell (to put it mildly), there is one area in which he has been a [...]
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. It’s a short week because of MLK Day, so a lot of city and county [...]
The Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down a lawsuit brought by two local gyms challenging the deal between the Piedmont YMCA and the city and county to build a new $14.5 million facility in McIntire Park. The decision means the more than 4-year-old plans for the new Y can now move [...]
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. It’s the time of year when governing bodies put their heads [...]
The Virginia Supreme Court has struck down a lawsuit brought by two local gyms challenging the deal struck between the Piedmont YMCA and the city and county to build a new facility in McIntire Park. YMCA CEO Denny Blank said he was in Richmond for the Thursday ruling. “We’re [...]
The new Jefferson School City Center officially opened its doors to the public on Monday, January 7, kicking off a costly and hopeful experiment to preserve local history and provide services for underserved communities close to Downtown. After a year-and-a-half of renovations, the center is [...]
It’s been quite a while since we’ve checked in with Virginia’s highest-ranking congressional official, U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. But with all of the crazy machinations and momentous decisions roiling the House chamber recently, it’s high time we explored the ongoing adventures of [...]
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. After a holiday hiatus, local governing bodies are getting back to normal [...]
Despite a last-minute flap over cost, Charlottesville and Albemarle are sending staff and elected officials to Austin next month for talks and tours they hope will help city and county replicate some of the Texas city’s economic successes here. But even as details of the trip take shape, some [...]
A human rights commission may be on the horizon for Charlottesville, but exactly how it will function and address local discrimination is still up in the air. The Human Rights Task Force, a volunteer group created to conduct a study and determine whether or not the city needs a permanent [...]
Fair warning: If you count yourself among Virginia’s (quite sizable) contingent of second amendment absolutists, you should stop reading now. As we sit here, furiously writing yet another post-gun massacre column, we’re in no mood to tiptoe around the delicate sensibilities of this country’s [...]
Local governments are repositories for vast amounts of useful information that often never see the light of day. The City of Charlottesville’s new Geographic Information System web viewer changes that. Remember the first time you Google mapped your own house? The city’s GIS viewer works a bit [...]
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. The Albemarle County Architectural Review Board has CANCELLED its [...]
Wow. Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that we were complaining about a dearth of electoral excitement ’round these parts? Well, in a classic case of “be careful what you wish for,” the ink on our last column was barely dry when the Commonwealth’s biggest political players went on a collective [...]
The last time Charlottesville resident Dashad “Sage” Smith talked to his family was Tuesday, November 20, two days before he was supposed to visit his mother’s house in Louisa and surprise his younger sisters for Thanksgiving. He never showed. That weekend, the Huffington Post ran an article [...]
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. The Charlottesville Planning Commission meets from 5:30 to 9:30pm at City [...]
After more than nine months of study and debate, Charlottesville’s Human Rights Task Force decided in a divided vote to recommend the city create a Human Rights Commission with the power to investigate and resolve complaints, but the issue is far from decided. The 10-member Task Force was [...]
Sarah Francisco first came face to face with the aftermath of clear cutting when she was a kid at a summer camp in the George Washington National Forest. On a hike, she came across a swath of what had once been woods. “The forest was gone, and there was just this tumbled array of logs [...]
As the Albemarle County Public School District works to find a short-term fix to overcrowding at two local elementary schools, parents and officials are eyeing a capacity crunch down the line. The writing is on the wall: When the ever-growing classes of school kids across the county hit ninth [...]