Tarps off: Statue lawsuit looks headed to trial
In the latest court hearing on the lawsuit stemming from City Council’s vote a year ago to remove the statue of General Robert E. Lee, the tarps covering Lee and his Confederate general buddy, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, weren’t the main reason for the court date. But the judge’s ruling that the shrouds must come down […]
Punitive damages: Huguely must reveal trust funds to estate of Yeardley Love
Nearly eight years after a UVA fourth-year died at the hands of her on-again off-again boyfriend a couple of weeks before graduation in 2010, lawyers representing the family of Yeardley Love were back in court February 22, and a judge granted their motion to compel George Huguely to reveal any trust funds to which he’s […]
DOA: Gun safety bills die in subcommittee
Andy Goddard has been going to the General Assembly since 2008, the year after his son was shot four times in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. In his 11th year monitoring the legislature and how it deals with mass murders and guns, not much has changed. “It’s the same old thing,” says Goddard, who’s the […]
Steven Meeks has left the building
The controversial president of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society abruptly resigned February 11 after cleaning out his office in the city-owned McIntire Building. In a “hastily written note,” says Will Lyster, a historical society director, Steven G. Meeks resigned from the organization he’s headed for about a decade. The board asked Lyster to step in […]
First brush with the law: Know your rights when encountering police
Let’s just go ahead and get the obligatory warning out of the way: Don’t do illegal stuff. But we know that some of you will, and when you encounter police, at least be aware of your rights so you don’t get yourself in more trouble than you’re already in. For legal advice, we consulted attorney […]
High school beat: Newspaper editors share the real stories
What’s it like to be a teenager in 2018? We figured nobody’s better plugged in than newspaper editors, so we checked in with the editors at Charlottesville High and Western Albemarle, as well as a CHS junior. Here’s what we learned about the differences between city and county schools—and what they have in common. Olivia […]
Traumatized teens deal with aftermath of horrific events
Young people in Parkland, Florida, are dealing with an unspeakable act that killed 17 people and destroyed countless lives and feelings of safety in their daily routines, much like what students in Charlottesville had to cope with at the beginning of the school year after the August 12 white supremacist invasion left three dead and […]
Danger zone: Mom on a mission after soccer practice sends son to E.R.
Patrick Clancy, his brother Ryan and nine other teens went to an 8am soccer practice at Monticello High School on an artificial turf field July 21, the second day of a National Weather Service heat advisory. The two-hour practice ended around 10am, when the heat advisory officially kicked in. By 11:30am, Patrick was in the […]
West2nd smackdown: Council rejects permit despite meeting city requirements
When Mayor Nikuyah Walker chaired her first City Council meeting February 5, citizens got to see how previously out-of-control meetings would be run under a new regime—and learned that the heckling continues both for councilors and for the West2nd developer seeking a special use permit that was rejected for reasons that had little to do […]
Mourning period: Judge considers whether Confederate statue tarps are temporary
Over the weekend, unknown persons three times did what plaintiffs in a lawsuit against City Council want done: removed the tarps covering statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Almost exactly a year after City Council voted 3-2 to remove the statues on February 6, 2017, Judge Rick Moore heard a motion […]
Time Disposal employee killed in Crozet train crash
More details on the January 31 fatal collision of an Amtrak train carrying Republican congressmen and a Time Disposal garbage truck at a railroad crossing in Crozet were released Thursday, and the National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator says the agency is aware of reports of issues at the crossing at Lanetown Road. Christopher Foley, […]
Amtrak train and garbage truck crash in Crozet
An Amtrak train carrying GOP congressmen bound for the The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia hit a garbage truck at Lanetown Road in Crozet around 11:20am today. One person is reported dead, according to NBC29, and UVA says three people have been transported to its hospital, one in critical condition. Amtrak says two passengers and […]
Locals hire attorney, challenge Optima premiums
After Charlottesville earned the dubious distinction of having the most expensive health insurance premiums in the country, some of the area residents who couldn’t afford to pay $3,000 a month formed Charlottesville for Reasonable Health Insurance and retained a lawyer who’s made a career out of keeping insurance companies honest. Washington, D.C., attorney Jay Angoff […]
Kessler perjury trial will remain in Albemarle
Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler was in Albemarle Circuit Court today with a one-inch-thick motion to move his March 20 perjury trial out of this area, claiming the dozens of news stories included in the motion “demonized” him and made it impossible to get a fair trial here. His attorney, Mike Hallahan, argued that […]
UPDATE: Auction postponed for Waterhouse condos
The foreclosure auction of four Waterhouse condos scheduled for Monday, January 29, was canceled, and trustees for the sale are mum about why. Isak Howell is named as a substitute trustee on the legal notice that ran in the Daily Progress, but the phone number listed is for a Roanoke law firm that says he […]
The Charlottesville 5: More petitions to remove city councilors
It’s extraordinarily hard to remove an elected official from office in Virginia, especially if she hasn’t been convicted of smoking pot, sexual battery or a hate crime, the offenses spelled out in state code. Nonetheless, for the second time in a year, petitioners are trying to remove a city councilor—or in this case, three city […]
Climate change: All quiet on the council front
The second City Council meeting of the new year on January 16 was markedly different from council meetings of the past year: no interruptions, no yelling and no profanities, behavior that suspended 2018’s first meeting two weeks ago. Newly elected Vice-Mayor Heather Hill ran the meeting in the absence of Mayor Nikuyah Walker, who was […]
Kessler harassment charge dropped
A charge against white-rights provocateur Jason Kessler for posting online the address of activist Emily Gorcenski was dismissed January 18. “The victim brought information to us that made her believe Mr. Kessler was not the person who posted information about her,” said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina Antony. She said the case remains under investigation. Outside […]
Dire straits: Business association wants $250,000 for mall recovery
The Downtown Mall is not faring well, at least according to the Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville, which wants the city to pump up the maintenance and provide DBAC with $250,000 for advertising, staff, rent and holiday lighting. Business in the entire city of Charlottesville dropped $14 million—nearly 12 percent—in September, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber […]
And many happy returns
Indivisible Charlottesville threw an early retirement party January 11 for Republican Congressman Tom Garrett, who has not been popular with many of his Democratic constituents here. Ken Horne had a card for Garrett that listed the top five reasons he should retire, including the prediction that he would be fired anyway in this year’s midterm […]
Charges dropped for mask-wearing protesters at KKK rally
Three people charged with wearing a mask at the July 8 KKK rally in Justice Park were in Charlottesville General District Court today, where the prosecution dismissed their felony charges because tear gas used by police could have been a factor in why they covered their faces. Diego Trujillo, from Charlottesville, Sarah Barner from Waynesboro […]
Shifting ground: What to expect in this year’s General Assembly session
If you thought 2017 was a year like no other, well, 2018 will likely continue to ride the tide of the unprecedented, at least according to what we’ve seen in the new year’s first week. The General Assembly begins its session January 10 with a tsunami shift from last year’s seemingly unbreachable 66-34 GOP majority. […]
Tuel Jewelers owner dies
Frances Elizabeth Gibson Loose, who bought Tuel Jewelers in 1975 and who worked in the store for 65 years, passed away January 5 at age 86. She was a familiar sight on the Downtown Mall, always professionally dressed for work, even in recent years, when her daughter Mary Loose DeViney pushed her to the store […]
Independent Nikuyah Walker elected first black female mayor
The first meeting of the new City Council January 2 went into uncharted territory with formerly behind-the-scenes decisions—the new mayor and vice mayor—made publicly, and for some on the dais, uncomfortably. New councilors Nikuyah Walker and Heather Hill were elected mayor and vice mayor, respectively, while the airing of the grievances allowed some rebukes […]
Fast track: Faculty and students want in on Alderman renovation planning
UVA has long desired a makeover of its 1937 research library, and with General Assembly funding for the $160 million project likely in 2018, plans are surging ahead—leaving some faculty and students uneasy about whether Alderman’s 2.5 million book collection will make it back to the library once renovations are complete. And while plans are […]
Crying fowl: New YMCA threatens birds, says teen advocate
On the treadmill at the Brooks Family YMCA, it almost feels like you’re outside running, thanks to an expanse of glass looking into the woods of McIntire Park. And that expanse of glass has taken out a tufted titmouse, a dark-eyed junco, a hermit thrush, a cedar waxwing and a white-throated sparrow, according to Charlottesville […]
Unfriended: Garrett staffer calls cops on constituent
Craig DuBose likes to let his 5th District congressman know how he feels about issues, and he regularly posts comments on Tom Garrett’s Facebook page—until he discovered he’d been blocked December 7. DuBose says he called Garrett’s Washington office the next day, and was transferred to communications director Matt Missen, who told him he’d violated […]