Since Virginia legalized marijuana in 2021, laws surrounding the drug have been hazy. Though adults 21 and over can legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to four plants at home, it will not be legal to sell weed until January 1, 2024. State Democrats unsuccessfully tried to speed up that […]
On January 6, the Virginia Department of Education released a revised proposal of the state’s history and social science standards of learning, after previously proposed standards sparked severe public backlash in November. Critics—including educators, activist groups, parents, and Democratic lawmakers—accused Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration of whitewashing history, perpetuating political bias, and teaching historical inaccuracies. In […]
Amidst holiday celebrations, a string of shootings hit the Charlottesville area in December. On December 18 at around 2:20am, the Charlottesville Police Department responded to a shots fired call on the 100 block of 14th Street NW. Officers found a male who had been shot, who was taken to the hospital. Two days later, the […]
Crumbling paint. Exposed pipes. Cracked floors. As I walk through the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, it is clear the 48-year-old facility is in horrible condition. When ACRJ Superintendent Martin Kumer guides me to a cell block in the older section of the jail, built in 1974, my eyes are immediately drawn to the small silver toilets, […]
In April, Khalesha Powell received an important notice: She needed to find a new place for her family to live before her building in the South First Street public housing site is demolished and redeveloped next year. Since then, Powell, a single mother of eight children, says she has applied to live at over a […]
Since former Charlottesville police chief RaShall Brackney’s controversial firing last fall, Captain Latroy “Tito” Durrette has acted as the CPD’s interim chief, while the city searches for the department’s next official leader. At noon on November 28, the city announced the final three police chief candidates: Warrenton Police Department Chief Michael Kochis, Loudoun County Sheriff’s […]
After purchasing the Red Carpet Inn off Route 29 in Albemarle County last March, the Piedmont Housing Alliance renovated the 40-year-old rundown motel, and transformed it into an emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness, thanks to a $4.25 million grant from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. Since the low-barrier shelter—managed by People and Congregations Engaged […]
Before ditching Charlottesville for California last month, former Police Civilian Oversight Board executive director Hansel Aguilar evaluated the board’s long-awaited first case, which concerned the violent arrest of a man experiencing homelessness on the Downtown Mall in 2020. Though the board was initially scheduled to hold a hearing on the case in July, complainant Jeff […]
In Virginia’s state prisons, just about everything costs money, from phone calls to soap to toilet paper. And because incarcerated people make less than 50 cents per hour, they often rely on their loved ones to help them cover prison’s prohibitive costs, putting many families into debt. To alleviate the burden these fees put on […]
Republican Representative Bob Good and his 5th District Democratic challenger Josh Throneburg met for their first and only forum on October 26 at Hampden-Sydney College—after Good refused or ignored multiple debate requests from Throneburg. The two candidates shared their starkly different positions on a string of hot-button national and international issues, including student loan debt, […]