None in the chamber: Charlottesville’s search for a city manager has gotten messy
One of the keys to stabilizing a floundering city government is to hire a strong and competent chief executive. But in order to attract a high-quality city manager, you need a government that isn’t floundering. That’s the paradox facing the Charlottesville municipal government at this moment. In September, City Manager Tarron Richardson resigned after less […]
‘A waste of lives’: Charlottesville commonwealth’s attorney candidate hopes to fight mass incarceration
Last month, Charlottesville public defender Ray Szwabowski announced his campaign for commonwealth’s attorney. Current Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania was elected in 2017 and has not announced if he’s running for re-election. If Platania runs, the two will face off in a Democratic primary in June, a year after a summer in which nationwide protests once […]
True believer: We read Denver Riggleman’s Bigfoot book so you don’t have to
Congressman Denver Riggleman’s new book, Bigfoot…It’s Complicated, begins with a chapter called “A Discussion on Simian Genitalia.” In other words, Riggleman, who was accused of enjoying “Bigfoot erotica” during his 2018 congressional campaign, is leaning in. Riggleman defeated Democrat Leslie Cockburn in 2018 despite the Bigfoot story, but will leave Washington having served just one […]
Looking sharp: Preservation group catalogs the area’s midcentury modern architecture
Have you ever spotted the peacocks on the Downtown Mall? Once you know where to look, you can’t miss them. They’re staring down from tiles near the second-floor windows above Snooky’s Pawn Shop, their teal tail feathers splayed in semicircles. The storefront once belonged to Levy’s department store, which is why the façade is clad […]
Holding court: Auction block memorial remains in flux as descendant engagement process continues
Late on a rainy night in February, the plaque marking the location where enslaved people were bought and sold in Court Square disappeared. Shortly after, area activist Richard Allan came forward as the culprit, saying he removed the marker—and threw it in the James River—because it was an insufficient remembrance of the horrors that had […]
Webb wanes: Democratic candidate comes up short in red district
President-elect Joe Biden swept to an easy victory in Virginia last week, carrying the state with 53.9 percent of the vote to Donald Trump’s 44.2 percent, according to data from the Virginia Department of Elections. In the 5th Congressional District, Democrats weren’t so successful. Dr. Cameron Webb, UVA’s Director of Health Policy and Equity, fell […]
Forest fracas: Activists and lawyers continue pipeline fight in western Virginia
In July, the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline was canceled, sending shock waves through the energy industry and sparking jubilant celebrations from activists who had spent years fighting the project. There’s no rest for the weary, though. Further west, a little deeper into the Appalachian hills, another fight rages on. The Mountain Valley Pipeline, if completed, […]
History course: Unmarked graves, likely belonging to enslaved, found in Pen Park
Tucked behind Meadowcreek Golf Course in Pen Park, just a few yards from where pink-shirted golfers putt the afternoon away, there’s a small, old, weatherbeaten cemetery. The Gilmer, Craven, and Hotopp family plots are indicated by low stone walls and rusted fencing. Inside the cemetery, a few dozen faded and worn graves stand askew among […]
Flip the script: In conversation with Cameron Webb
In 2016, Donald Trump won Virginia’s 5th Congressional District by 11 percentage points. Two years later, as a blue wave saw Democrats pick up 41 House seats nationwide, Republican Denver Riggleman beat Democrat Leslie Cockburn by 7 percent. Virginia’s 5th District runs from Fauquier County to the North Carolina border. The huge district encompasses the […]
This week 10/21: Support local journalism. Become a C-VILLE member.
Support local journalism. You’ve probably heard that recently, likely in conjunction with the phrase “now more than ever,” or “in these times.” Maybe you’ve said it yourself. Well now’s your chance! C-VILLE is free on newsstands and costs nothing to read online, and that’s not changing. But we’re kicking off a fantastic new membership program […]
Ballot breakdown: Get to know what’s on the ballot before casting your vote
Early in-person voting began in Virginia on September 18. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, more than 1.4 million Virginians have already cast their vote or requested a mail ballot. Still, there are plenty of us who haven’t voted yet. If you’re unsure what you’ll see when you stop by the registrar’s office or […]
Party lines: A close look at the controversial gerrymandering amendment that could define a decade of Virginia politics
“As early as the middle of the seventeenth century, the government of Virginia was a government of the tobacco planters, by the tobacco planters, and for the tobacco planters. Restrictions on the suffrage and distribution of representative seats secured their political dominance,” writes historian Brent Tarter in his 2019 book Gerrymanders. Four hundred years later, […]
On the record: Departing City Manager Tarron Richardson reflects on his tumultuous tenure
“What’s been the hardest part of this job?” is, to outgoing Charlottesville City Manager Dr. Tarron Richardson, “a loaded question.” The city’s top executive tendered his resignation on September 11, and will finish his time at City Hall on September 30, after 16 months at the helm. (For reference, the three city managers before Richardson […]
You’re kidding: Despite objections from all corners, UVA is bringing students back
Against the advice of pretty much any person, group, or institution that’s decided to weigh in on the topic, UVA is sticking to its plan to hold in-person classes, the school confirmed on Friday. Though many upperclassmen have already settled in to their off-campus apartments, the decision means that hordes of first-years will move […]
Deep memories: Hundreds of unmarked graves found in historic Black cemetery
Around the gentle, grassy slope, under the shade of old trees, stone markers are scattered here and there. Some are arranged in neat rows, some stand alone. A few are shining, new, and sturdy. Many are little more than half-buried shards of stone poking out of the soil. All told, there are around 140 […]
Reopening rage: Orange County’s plan for in-person class draws fear, anger, resignations from teachers
“Morale is at the lowest level it’s ever been,” says one Orange County public school teacher. “You walk down the hallway and everybody is banging their heads against the wall because we’re just so frustrated.” “The most appalling part of this,” says another teacher, “is that there’s so many things that they haven’t thought about.” […]
Aiming high: Jennifer Carroll Foy wants to fight for the little guy
Jennifer Carroll Foy announced her 2021 gubernatorial campaign in late May—the first candidate to do so in this cycle. Carroll Foy grew up in Petersburg, attended the Virginia Military Institute, and in 2017 became the first public defender ever elected to the Virginia general assembly. This session, she led the charge for Virginia’s passage of […]
Reb on the run: Albemarle County votes to remove courthouse statue; Lee still stands
Last Thursday, six days before the third anniversary of the Unite the Right rally, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted 6-0 to remove the statue of a Confederate soldier, known as “Johnny Reb,” which stands outside the county courthouse. The Board of Supervisors vote comes after the newly Democratic Virginia legislature narrowly passed laws […]
‘Our streets’: New activist committee hosts Black Joy Fest
A chorus of “We gon’ be alright” bounced out of DJ Flatline and DJ Double U’s speakers, signaling the beginning of Saturday’s Black Joy Fest. The festival was the first event hosted by the newly formed Charlottesville Black Youth Action Committee. Young people tossed beanbags back and forth at a set of Dallas Cowboys cornhole boards. […]
Running for governor: Jennifer McClellan wants to hear your perspective
In June, State Senator Jennifer McClellan announced her candidacy for governor of Virginia. McClellan is a 14-year veteran of the Virginia legislature who grew up in Petersburg. In this year’s session, she was a sponsor of significant clean energy and abortion access bills, as well as Virginia’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. If elected […]
This week, 7/29
Last month, I was lucky to be able to head for the hills with two old friends—we spent a long weekend hiking and camping on the Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia. We’re all amateur campers. From the top of a mountain, we marveled at a far-off hailstorm, only for it to sweep over us and […]
Pipeline voices: Activists look back on a historic victory
On July 5, Dominion Energy abruptly canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, an $8 billion project that would have carried natural gas 600 miles from West Virginia to North Carolina. Environmental activists of all persuasions spent six years fighting the project before finally prevailing over the gigantic power corporation. As the victory set in, C-VILLE caught […]
This week, 7/15
The main character in the story on page 10 of this week’s paper doesn’t have a name. He doesn’t have a face. Shortly after a video of the brutal arrest of Christopher Gonzalez was posted on Instagram July 8, the Charlottesville Police Department released 17 minutes of body camera footage of the incident. Since arriving […]
Use of force: Violent arrest of homeless man on Downtown Mall concerns activists, experts
“If you can stay off the Downtown Mall and I don’t see you again, then I won’t take you,” said the Charlottesville police officer. “That’s not going to happen,” said Christopher Gonzalez, who had been lying on his back on the mall outside CVS. It was 5:30pm on Wednesday, July 8. The sun was shining. […]
Factory-made: Brewery, restaurant, café hint at the future of Charlottesville’s woolen mill
Charlottesville’s old woolen mill, peering over the Rivanna River on the town’s eastern edge, had been gathering dust for years. Now, the rubble has been cleared, and it’s time to drink beer. In 2018, app development company WillowTree began a $25 million overhaul of the building. WillowTree’s employees will move into their 85,000-square-foot offices […]
This week, 7/1
A month ago, George Floyd was murdered by the police. Since then, Damani Harrison has led a group of artists “coming together to speak truth to power” in the multimedia “One for George” project—our cover story this week. Also in this week’s issue: The Charlottesville police department has been harming Black and brown people for […]
Leaving a mark: Police department out for arrests after protesters spray paint street
Arrest warrants were issued for six people accused of spray painting the street outside the Charlottesville Police Department over the last two weeks. Police say the demonstrators “vandalized the streets and the sidewalks with cruel, threatening, and hate-filled language.” The first four charges, announced in a June 25 press release, concerned paint on the sidewalk […]