Stepping up: PHAR welcomes a new executive director
For Shelby Marie Edwards, serving her community comes naturally. Edwards grew up watching her mother, Holly Edwards, advocate for low-income residents as a parish nurse for the Jefferson Area Board for Aging and as program coordinator for the Public Housing Association of Residents. Now the younger Edwards is following in those footsteps as PHAR’s new […]
Designed to deceive: Nefarious bail bond company tied to demonstration outside justice center
Around 7pm on November 10, a city resident was surprised to see a cluster of 20 to 30 sign-carrying protesters and a film crew gathered near the Legal Aid Justice Center. While stopped at the traffic light near the LAJC, the resident says an unmasked, college-aged woman approached his car window and asked if he […]
Moving forward: School board votes to continue in-person reopening plans
After nearly six months of remote learning, Charlottesville City Schools is moving forward with its plans to begin in-person classes at the start of the new year. During its virtual meeting last Thursday, the Charlottesville School Board unanimously voted to allow the district’s COVID-19 advisory committee to continue working on its reopening proposal, which received […]
Street smarts: City committee revamps honorary street name policy
Want to take a walk down Black History Pathway? Or maybe Waneeshee Way? Or even Tony Bennett Drive? Soon, you might be able to. These are among the honorary street names that area residents have submitted to the city in recent months. After debating the issue late into the night during several meetings, Charlottesville City […]
Real power: New state law drastically expands CRB’s role
For more than a year, the Charlottesville Police Civilian Review Board and Charlottesville City Council have been locked in a dispute over how much power the recently established law enforcement oversight board should have. But clarity is coming soon, thanks to new legislation from the Virginia General Assembly. Over the course of nearly 12 weeks […]
Stretched thin: Still short-staffed, UVA hospital workers hold out for reinforcements
In May, the University of Virginia Health System sparked public outcry when it placed over 500 employees on furlough, citing millions of dollars in pandemic-related financial losses. Affected staff were out of work for up to three months, and were not paid. Though some feared the staffing cuts would be extended, furloughs—along with pay reductions—finally […]
Still here: Public health experts urge caution as holidays approach
Nationwide, nearly 100,000 new COVID cases were reported last Friday—the most in a single day to this point. And with COVID-19 spreading across the country faster than ever, that number will almost certainly rise. Locally, positivity rate has remained low, currently at just 2.4 percent, said Thomas Jefferson Health District medical director Denise Bonds at […]
Drop it: Belmont residents call it quits on petition against church rezoning
Last fall, a band of city residents stirred up controversy when they filed a petition against City Council, demanding that it overturn its decision to allow a Methodist church in Belmont to build a 15-unit apartment complex, with four to six units set aside for adults with developmental disabilities After a lot of backlash on […]
Campaign pain: Joe Biden talks about Charlottesville a lot. Charlottesville isn’t sure he’s listening.
When Joe Biden announced last year that he was running for president, the first words he uttered were “Charlottesville, Virginia.” The campaign video that followed featured footage of the Unite the Right rally overlaid with a voiceover from Biden, responding to President Trump’s infamous comment: “[You] had people that were very fine people, on both […]
Hard decisions: New learning center comes to Stonefield, as controversy reignites over in-person instruction
Beginning next month, Albemarle County Public Schools will bring kindergarten through third grade students back to classrooms for in-person instruction two days a week. That’s frustrated some teachers who maintain that the safety concerns outweigh potential benefits. Meanwhile, off-site learning centers aim to assist with childcare by hosting virtual learning. As local schools began the […]
Charlottesville Free Clinic finds a new home
For the past 24 years, the Charlottesville Free Clinic has provided no-cost physicals, prescriptions, mental health services, dental care, and more for the uninsured and underinsured from its Rose Hill Drive facility, which it has long shared with the Thomas Jefferson Health District. But in May, the Virginia Department of Health announced it was terminating […]
Uncovered: How racist redlining shaped our urban forest
The trees you see around town are more than just nice to look at. On a hot day, they provide much-needed shade. When it rains, they absorb flood waters. They help filter air and absorb noise pollution, especially when planted near busy streets. And they’ve been linked to reducing stress and anxiety, among other benefits. […]
Generational ties: UVA first-gen students pass down lessons learned
When Andjelika Milicic began looking at colleges, she felt like a lab rat. Her parents, originally from Serbia and Bosnia, did not go to college, and she was the oldest of her siblings, leaving her with no one to guide her through the application process. “I did not know what I was doing whatsoever,” says […]
Read ’em and weep: UVA library employees fear for their safety
Late last month, UVA had to put Clemons Library in time out for bad behavior. The university shut down its largest study area for two hours, in an attempt to air the place out after staff noticed that just 75 percent of students were wearing face coverings. Then, four days later, the same thing happened, […]
Know your rights: Housing activists work to prevent evictions
For months, a state eviction moratorium prevented tenants from being forced out of their homes for not paying rent. But at the beginning of this month, the Virginia Supreme Court declined to extend the ban before it expired September 7, pointing to a new Centers for Disease Control order prohibiting evictions until the end of […]
Class in session: Teachers say in-person learning has been safe for special education
After months of debate, the Albemarle County School Board decided in July to hold the first nine weeks of classes with distance learning for most students. One exception to the mandate was made for students with special needs. The decision immediately stirred up controversy and concern, with many community members believing face-to-face instruction was not […]
Out of dough: BreadWorks shuts down from pandemic losses
After nearly 30 years of serving up sunflower wheat bread, curry chicken salad sandwiches, and other local favorites, BreadWorks Bakery & Deli is shutting its doors this week. Due to a huge drop off in sales, “it’s just not sustainable,” says Charles McElroy, president of nonprofit WorkSource Enterprises, which owns and operates the business. Since […]
Guns down: City gun control ordinance draws fire
In June, the Virginia General Assembly passed a slew of gun control bills, including one that allows cities and counties to prohibit guns on public property. Localities across the state, like Newport News and Alexandria, have since enacted such a ban—and last week, Charlottesville followed suit. Beginning October 1, guns will be prohibited in parks, […]
Digging for truth: Albemarle students put a new spin on geography
For many people, Shenandoah National Park is a great place to hike, camp, bike, and explore. But now, Albemarle’s middle and high schoolers will have a chance to see a different side of the park, and dig deeper into its creation. What happened to the people who once lived there? What are their stories? Can […]
Remembering the forgotten: UVA Memorial to Enslaved Laborers leads calls for change
Elijah. Julia. Sam. I took in every name, and let each resonate within me, as I quietly examined the granite slabs. I saw the name of my brother, then I saw it several more times. If he had been born just over 150 years ago, he could have been enslaved at the University of Virginia, […]
Backed up: As evictions loom, local assistance hotline struggles to meet demand
Nearly three weeks ago, the Virginia Supreme Court granted Governor Ralph Northam’s request for a statewide ban on evictions until September 7. While the order allows eviction cases to still be heard in court—and judgments to be made—tenants cannot be forced out of their homes for not paying rent. As state lawmakers continue to debate […]
Bridging the gaps: New Burley principal has big plans
Kasaundra Blount felt stagnant. She had worked at Armstrong High School in her hometown of Richmond—first as a social studies teacher, then an assistant principal—for several years, and was ready for a new challenge. So she accepted an assistant principal position at Albemarle High School. “There was a lot of conversation going on around makerspaces […]
Unsettled: The Haven, PACEM face challenges housing guests during the pandemic
As the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise in our area, life has become increasingly dangerous for those who do not have a place to call home. To protect these vulnerable community members, local shelters have pivoted from their usual operations and redoubled their efforts over the past several months—but not without challenges. For […]
‘Screaming for help’: Three years later, August 12 victim struggles for support
For Tay Washington, August 12, 2017, started off as a normal day. She ran some errands, and then stopped to see a friend at Friendship Court with her sister. When Washington learned crowds were gathering downtown, she drove over to take a look. “I was amazed by all of the people with their signs,” says […]
Tough call: Albemarle allows in-person learning for select students, while Charlottesville opts for all-virtual reopening
After weeks of discussion and debate, the verdict is in: Charlottesville City Schools will reopen virtually for all students, while Albemarle County will allow a limited selection of students to participate in in-person learning. Both districts finalized their decisions at school board meetings on Thursday. During the division’s virtual meeting, ACPS staff detailed the division’s […]
Imperfect solution: Activists warn that existing social service systems can’t fix problems with policing
Since the violent arrest of an unhoused man on the Downtown Mall earlier this month, Defund Cville Police—along with numerous other activists and community members—have continued to call for the creation of a local mobile crisis unit, which would respond to emergency calls that the police are not equipped to handle. Lori Wood, director of […]
Left out: Albemarle teachers, parents call out inequity in reopening plans
For weeks, Filadelfia Soto—along with hundreds of other teachers in Albemarle County—was left in the dark. She had received emails with “general information about school board meetings,” but nothing about how the school division planned to reopen in the fall, or when teachers could weigh in on the issue. So when division staff rolled out […]