Grow your own way

Adding a few plants can work wonders for a room. They not only add beauty and charm, but help absorb outside noise, regulate humidity and temperature, and filter the air of common toxins and pollutants. Being around greenery has also proven to reduce stress levels, improve concentration and productivity, and boost your mood. And with […]

A helping hand

Many know the Downtown Mall for its upscale restaurants, high-end boutiques, and luxury apartments. But tucked a few blocks away from the glitz and glamour lies a refuge for those left behind by our city’s prosperity. Located in a 19th-century church on First and Market streets, The Haven has served people experiencing homelessness—as well as […]

Kicking the can

When the Centers for Disease Control’s eviction moratorium expired on July 31, more than 10 million people across the country were at risk of losing their homes. But on August 3, after  Representative Cori Bush camped out on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in protest for four days, the CDC extended the moratorium until […]

On the rise

Thanks to high vaccination rates, coronavirus cases have remained largely in the single digits in the Blue Ridge Health District over the past three months. But in recent weeks, the highly contagious delta variant—which may cause more severe illness than other strains of the virus—has caused cases to spike. On July 26, the district saw […]

New school?

For over a decade, Charlottesville City Schools has been discussing a massive school reconfiguration, which would move fifth graders from Walker Upper Elementary—which houses fifth and sixth grade—down to elementary school, and sixth graders up to Buford Middle School. Walker would then be turned into a centralized preschool with a range of wraparound services. The […]

‘Pandemic of the unvaccinated’

After two months of steady, relatively low numbers of new COVID cases, Virginia is starting to once again see an increase in new cases each day. On July 23, the seven-day average of new cases in the state was 523, the highest since May 15, according to data from The New York Times.  While the […]

Driving it home

For decades, Virginia has had controversial right-to-work laws, which ban employers from requiring union membership. Though supporters of the laws claim they protect the rights of workers and attract businesses, others say they weaken unions, keep wages low, and benefit corporations—Virginia has one of the lowest unionization rates in the country. But under the Democratic […]

Statues fall at last

Elation, joy, frustration, heartache—for community activist Don Gathers, watching the removal of Charlottesville’s Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson statues stirred up a wide range of emotions. “This moment is truly surreal. In spite of everything, I wasn’t sure if we would actually get to this point,” he said on Saturday morning, shortly after […]

Conqueror conquered

One hundred years after being erected on West Main Street, the University of Virginia’s George Rogers Clark statue has finally been taken down.  On Sunday morning, the day after the city took down three other statues, crews began removing UVA’s racist monument at 7:30am. Members of the Monacan Indian Nation and other North American Indigenous […]

Early results

From the very beginning of his campaign, 5th District Representative Bob Good has identified himself as a Trump-loving, Bible-thumping hardcore conservative. He opposes LGBTQ+ equality and abortion rights. He is hard on immigration and asylum seekers. He loves guns and police. Good is now six months into his two-year term. Thus far, the votes he’s […]