General Assembly debates bills to thwart immigration enforcement abuses in Virginia

Amid a nationwide reckoning with Trump-era immigration policy, the Virginia General Assembly is weighing a slate of legislation regulating immigration enforcement in the Commonwealth. Charlottesville representatives are among those championing the legislation, including Del. Katrina Callsen and Sen. Creigh Deeds. Both legislators cite ICE detentions in the Albemarle County Courthouse last April as the impetus. […]

Money moves

It’s a big week for money in Charlottesville, with City Council appropriating more than $1 million, and the school district’s draft budget totaling almost $130 million. At its February 2 meeting, City Council focused on funds in the current budget rather than FY27, making two major appropriations to Piedmont Housing Alliance initiatives. The largest allocation, […]

Council supports several requests for affordable housing interventions

In its efforts to increase and preserve Charlottesville’s affordable housing, City Council took a first look at several requests on January 20 before its scheduled approval votes on February 2.  One request asks for a note guaranteeing $3.77 million for a partnership between the Piedmont Housing Alliance and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville to […]

City of Promise takes a nontraditional approach to public education funding 

With the Virginia legislature and governor teed up, City of Promise Executive Director Price Thomas says now is the time to take “big swings” in public education. Founded in 2010, the Charlottesville nonprofit aims to tackle generational poverty by improving education outcomes through social interventions. Charlottesville students spend more than four times as many hours […]

Looking deeper into a Charlottesville business fulfilling ICE contracts

A recent map of federal contractors working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement included one company from Charlottesville, drawing local attention on social media amid ICE’s brutal actions in Minneapolis and other American cities.  On January 16, the news site Sludge mapped every U.S. company that has begun or expanded contracts with ICE since President […]

Decision deferred on Belvedere proposal to add 128 more units

As one of her first acts in office, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order to create a task force to recommend ways to reduce barriers to building houses. “Slow permitting, outdated zoning, labor shortages, and paper-based processes are driving up costs and delaying housing across the Commonwealth,” reads the order to create the Commission […]