Just over a year after he first announced his bid for Virginia Attorney General, Albemarle Delegate Rob Bell is using the 2013 legislative session as a final chance to shore up his conservative, tough-on-crime credentials, and he’s calling on deep local pockets to help him win the seat currently held by gubernatorial hopeful and fellow [...]
Government & Courts
Profiles in cowardice: Our dissembling General Assembly
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 [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 1/21
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 meetings are [...]
Jim Waive
06/19/2013 8:00 pm Jim Waive Blue Moon Diner, Charlottesville
City Council steers public redevelopment money to nonprofits
Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority officials weren’t surprised when the city reallocated $400,000 of their redevelopment funds to local nonprofits last week. A cash-strapped agency with a revolving door of leadership for over a decade, the housing authority is unable to use the [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 1/14
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 [...]
State Supreme Court rejects suit against Piedmont YMCA
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 [...]
House intrigue: Eric Cantor goes his own way, again
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 [...]
Off to Richmond: David Toscano on what to expect in 2013 session
Delegate David Toscano left Charlottesville for Richmond and the 2013 legislative session last week, his campaign coffers well padded with the checks of more than 100 supporters who turned out for a fundraising sendoff dinner at Escafé last Thursday. And he carried plenty of requests with him, [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 1/7
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 [...]
Austin trip for city and county is on, despite concerns of some
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 [...]
Time to talk about gun laws
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 [...]
Charlottesville’s new GIS viewer makes it easier to search property data
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 [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 12/17
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 [...]
Cuccinelli vs. McAuliffe for governor—can we really be that lucky?
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 [...]
Matteus Frankovich reinstates live music at Moto Saloon
Live music has returned to the corner of Market and Meade, and yet another battle over zoning might be brewing at the Black Market Moto Saloon. Two months ago, City Council denied Moto Saloon owner Matteus Frankovich a special use permit that would have given his bar and restaurant music hall [...]
The search for Dashad “Sage” Smith continues
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 [...]
What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 12/10
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 [...]
Bill roundup: A look at Virginia’s upcoming legislative session
Virginia’s 2013 legislative session kicks off in just over a month, and a flurry of bill introductions—and promises of introductions—has started the wheels of political coverage turning in the Commonwealth. Here’s a roundup of some of the most talked-about items set to be addressed [...]
Forest focused: SELC attorney works to protect public lands
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 [...]
County schools look ahead to looming crowding issues
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 [...]
Search continues for missing 19-year-old Dashad “Sage” Smith
Latasha Grooms was surprisingly calm and collected last Saturday when she and at least 80 other Charlottesville residents gathered to conduct a search for her 19-year-old son, Dashad “Sage” Smith. The transgender teenager went missing the day before Thanksgiving, and was last seen near the 500 [...]
Former Scout Leader charged with forcible sodomy faces bond hearing
Police say the former Boy Scout leader they arrested yesterday for allegedly sodomizing a boy in his troop several years ago could be at the center of more charges. The Albemarle County Police Department arrested David Brian Watkins, 49, of Keswick, for forcible sodomy Wednesday, saying the [...]
















