Since South Africa reported the omicron variant to the World Health Organization on November 24, this new form of coronavirus has been detected in at least 38 countries. At press time, omicron had not yet been identified in Virginia, but several dozen cases have been reported in at least 17 states, including Maryland, New Jersey, […]
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August, more than 70,000 Afghans have fled to the United States. For weeks, many refugees stayed at temporary resettlement camps located on military bases across the country, as they waited for their immigration processing to be completed. But over the past two months, the federal government has […]
Charlottesville finally removed its statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in July. Since then, the spaces where the racist monuments once stood have been empty, as the city decides what should go there. During a virtual forum hosted by the UVA Democracy Initiative’s Memory Project last week, Black activists Bree Newsome […]
Hattie Billmeier was a little nervous, but excited. She rolled up her sleeve, and in a “split second” it was all over—she got her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. “It felt good,” says Billmeier, a second grader at Venable Elementary School. “It just gives you a little pinch.” Afterwards, Billmeier and her cousins, who […]
Two months after her controversial firing, former Charlottesville police chief RaShall Brackney has filed formal complaints against the city, and is threatening to bring a lawsuit. In complaints submitted to CPD’s human resources department, the local Office of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the NAACP, Brackney—the city’s first Black woman police chief—says […]
“This is very unhealthy in here for all,” reads one letter. “No one deserves this kind of punishment.” In dozens of letters written over a period of months, people incarcerated at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail reported that shoddy COVID containment procedures, poor general hygiene, and strict visitation policies have plagued the facility. These complaints are […]
In August, Charlottesville’s Police Civilian Review Board, a body designed to investigate accusations of police misconduct, approved a new ordinance that expanded its powers. City Council, which began discussing the proposed ordinance last week, will have to vote in favor of it for the CRB to begin its work. In accordance with a new state […]
After months of paying for hotel rooms for people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic, PACEM and the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless were in desperate search of a long-term housing solution. When the Red Carpet Inn off Route 29 in Albemarle County was put up for sale last summer, the nonprofits believed […]
Over half a million Virginians have already cast their ballots in the gubernatorial election. Early voting has been open since September 17, and will close Saturday, October 30. In Charlottesville, as of October 24, nearly 3,600 residents have voted early. About 1,200 cast their ballots by mail, and more than 2,300 lined up at the […]
In addition to electing a new governor and several other local and state leaders, Charlottesville residents will vote for city school board members on November 2. Five candidates are competing for three spots: Strive for College CEO Christa Bennett, real estate agent Emily Dooley, Albemarle County youth entrepreneurship facilitator Dom Morse, school board chairwoman and […]