‘We got a lot of history in there’: The 10th and Grady church tells the story of a city
A crane looms over a huge glass rectangle. The shiny office block, just completed, sits behind Preston Avenue’s old Monticello Dairy factory, where renovation work has been underway since 2018. When the new Dairy Central corner is fully operational next year, the complex will boast state-of-the-art office space, swanky apartments, and a “Brooklyn-based coffee […]
Primary roundup: Dark horse Democrats, and how to vote in a pandemic
Three Marines and a doctor walk into a bar… Cards on the table: It’s going to be difficult for a Democrat to win the race for Virginia’s (heavily gerrymandered) 5th Congressional District. In 2018, on the back of historic turnout and a nationwide blue wave, and running against a Republican who didn’t have an […]
COVID cases soar in Buckingham state prisons; Charlottesville poised for reopening
Correctional facilities, where inmates live in tight quarters, have proven (entirely predictably) to be hotbeds for coronavirus outbreaks. Some jails and prisons in the area have managed to avoid major transmission within their walls—as of May 8, the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail has reported just four cases, all among “support staff” who do not come in […]
Stop and smell the roses: COVID has changed the way we’re relating to nature
Just about everything has changed in the last month—and as our habits have shifted, so has our relationship with the local environment. “People aren’t flying, people aren’t driving,” says Jamie Brunkow, the senior advocacy manager of the James River Association. Those transportation changes have effects for our air and our water. “Typically we think […]
A Ramadan like none before: Local Muslims adapt to a holiday under quarantine
Coping with coronavirus is hard even when you’re surrounded by all your favorite creature comforts. And observing Ramadan, the month-long Islamic holiday that includes fasting during daylight hours, is an arduous task even when there isn’t a pandemic sweeping the globe. This year, the two have coincided. Ramadan began on April 23, and local […]
Furloughed future: In time of turmoil, Daily Progress staffers lean on new union
Local newspapers faced an uncertain future even before coronavirus ground life as we know it to a halt. Now, with events canceled and commerce limping along, advertising revenue has cratered and the industry is in crisis. Over the past month, weeklies and dailies around the country have paused operations or gone dark completely. The […]
Coping with confinement: Stuck inside, senior living residents reflect on crises past
“I was a boy during the Cuban missile crisis, and we felt we were going to be blasted off the face of the Earth,” says David Speedie, who now lives in Westminster Canterbury, a large senior living complex on Pantops Mountain. Though the Cuban missile crisis was shocking, Speedie says it wasn’t as disruptive […]
Busted budget: Schools, housing initiatives among programs affected by coronavirus crash
The City of Charlottesville was almost all the way through the always-laborious yearly budget process when the coronavirus crisis derailed its plans. City Council held an online meeting Monday night—its first meeting in a month—to discuss the city’s deeply uncertain finances. The most recent projections, delivered by City Manager Tarron Richardson, suggest $8.5 million […]
Mourning in isolation: Hospice workers prepare families for grieving in the time of coronavirus
For decades, Betty Pittman was a U.S. history teacher at Lane and Charlottesville high schools. “My mother taught half of Charlottesville,” says her daughter, Cookie Ferrier. But when Pittman was dying, of pancreatic cancer, no one was allowed to visit. While the casualties from COVID-19 continue to mount, the virus is changing even the […]
A ‘Tiger King’ is born: Netflix star Antle started at a rural Virginia yoga commune
Before he was a tiger king, Bhagavan Kevin “Doc” Antle lived in the rolling green hills of central Virginia, at the Satchidananda Ashram, in Buckingham County’s Yogaville. Antle has become an international sensation thanks to his starring role in the Netflix documentary miniseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness.” The show portrays Antle as both […]
Get out of jail virus-free: Coronavirus crisis sees local justice system adopt progressive reforms, for now
Chanell Jackson is home early. The local resident and mother of three had about seven weeks left on her six-month sentence in Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail when she was transferred to house arrest in late March. She’s one of the 61 non-violent offenders who have so far been released with ankle monitors, as the ACRJ […]
Zoomers Anonymous: Addiction recovery groups adapt to a digital world
Normally, Charlottesville’s Alcoholics Anonymous members sit in chairs in a circle. Now, they appear as squares in a grid. Coronavirus has forced much of American life online, and addiction recovery groups are no exception—they’re now holding meetings over Zoom instead of in their usual church basements. But social distancing is a tricky proposition for […]
Whiskey, guns, and SpongeBob: The University of Virginia goes digital
“I’m going to kill a fifth during this lecture,” announced one student, holding a bottle of whiskey aloft as his classmates tuned in for a Zoom meeting of a UVA data science class. “I can hear you,” the professor said back. As coronavirus has swept the nation, universities across the country have had to go […]
Horrible history: New report details racist past, next steps for Charlottesville housing
Charlottesville has an affordable housing crisis: that’s not exactly breaking news. Local activists have been working for years to elevate the issue, and the city government has become more and more responsive. The most recent city budget devotes $31.2 million over five years to various affordable housing initiatives. (The city has announced it will […]
How to take down a statue: Legislature’s busy final days include passage of bill allowing localities to move monuments
On March 7, Virginia’s legislature passed the Conference Substitute to House Bill No. 1537, which will allow localities to control the placement of their war memorials. In other words, our city will soon be allowed to remove the statues of Confederate generals from our parks. After the violence of Unite the Right in August […]
‘A neighborhood thing’: The ghostly past and uncertain future of Woolen Mills Chapel
Down at the narrow end of East Market street, past the eclectic, slanting houses of the Woolen Mills neighborhood, there’s a little white chapel. It’s been there since Christmas of 1887, perched on the bank of the Rivanna River at the very edge of the City of Charlottesville. The history shows: the white paint […]
Dems do battle: Charlottesville heads to the polls for Democratic primary on Super Tuesday
Mike Bloomberg’s Charlottesville campaign office is cavernous—and, on a Wednesday afternoon with the Virginia primary less than two weeks away, totally empty. The ninth-richest man in the world set up shop across the street from Friendship Court, one of Charlottesville’s largest low-income housing neighborhoods, but it doesn’t seem to have led to any foot traffic. […]
Clean up your act: Local environmental groups sound off on Trump’s Clean Water Act rollback
Keeping our waterways swimmable, fishable, and drinkable seems like an uncontroversial goal—but the Trump administration apparently disagrees. Since assuming control, the administration has made a series of efforts to weaken long-standing protections for America’s waterways. Local environmental groups have grave concerns about the potential effects of these suggested laws in Virginia and across the country. […]
Battlefield battles: Proposed African American history museum draws criticism
The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, a historic preservation group that installed a monument to Confederate soldiers in Winchester last year, is now angling for a $1.6 million grant from the state of Virginia for the creation of a different kind of monument—an African American history center. Some local black history organizations have expressed concerns. “We […]
Bounce back: Formerly homeless Charlottesville resident will speak in front of the UN
Gwen Cassady has lived a lot more life than could fit into a half-page newspaper profile. She’s been homeless four times, and spent a period living out of an office on the Downtown Mall. She’s been to 64 countries, as well as a royal Saudi compound, earned two degrees from UVA, and is currently enrolled […]
Funding fight: City and school board struggle with budget as statewide activism gathers steam
“FUND OUR SCHOOLS” read the twinkling electric signs over the Dairy Road footbridge on the evening of January 29. Students, parents, teachers, and activists held the individual letters, making the simple demand that the state devote more money to public education. The message was met with a stream of supportive honks from drivers on the […]
Race-based bias: Consultants demonstrate racist policing, council says study didn’t go far enough
A report from a private consulting firm has concluded that Charlottesville and Albemarle disproportionately arrest black people, and that race-based disparities exist in the treatment of individuals in otherwise similar situations. The report analyzes adult arrest data from the beginning of 2014 through the end of 2016. During that period, more than half (51.5 percent) of […]
Owning it: Housing advocate becomes a homeowner
LaTita Talbert is a single mother of six, a city bus driver, and a commissioner on the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority—and now, she’s a homeowner. On January 25, Talbert’s friends and family gathered in the backyard of the neat gray house on Sixth Street SE that Talbert renovated with Habitat for Humanity, to celebrate. […]
Map quest: Committee seeks to create historically accurate tour of downtown
For years, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and the city’s visitor’s center have been distributing a pamphlet that guides guests on a walking tour of downtown Charlottesville’s historic sites. There’s one problem, though: the map hasn’t been updated in ages. Robert Watkins, the city’s assistant historic preservation and design planner, says the old map is […]
Low pay, little power: Charlottesville mayors have limited authority
Mayor Nikuyah Walker was re-elected on January 6, after a short but intense discussion at a City Council meeting that left part of the new council feeling put out. Two councilors, Heather Hill (who made her own bid for mayor) and Lloyd Snook, abstained from the vote rather than cast their support for Walker. Just […]
Passed down: Descendants of people enslaved at Monticello work to reconnect with their families
“We were scattered all over the country, never to meet each other again until we were in another world,” wrote enslaved laborer Peter Fossett after his family and friends were sold in Monticello’s 1827 and 1829 estate sales. Thomas Jefferson died in debt, and soon after his death his family auctioned off the crops, furniture, […]
A change is gonna come: New Democratic government has big plans, big challenges ahead
“No pipeline.” “Climate action now.” “That awkward moment when you burn your own planet.” On December 6, a crowd of about 70 sign-carrying protesters gathered at Charlottesville’s Free Speech wall to demand the city and state government take immediate action against climate change. Carrying their handmade posters, musical instruments, and reusable water bottles, the activists […]