Catie Ratliff, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

News

Local LGBTQ+ organizers are moving full steam ahead on a Queer community center

The Rivanna Area Queer Center, or RAQC (pronounced “rack”), has been a months-long labor of love for area organizers. And while the LGBTQ+ community center isn’t set to open until later this spring, the space at 801 W. Main St. is quickly taking shape, entirely through the work of volunteers. Charlottesville has a myriad of […]

Catie Ratliff | April 23, 2025

News

Collective bargaining is a step in the right direction, but not a fix-all for the city’s transit employees

Charlottesville was one of the first municipalities in Virginia to adopt a collective bargaining ordinance, and its unions are some of the first to navigate what it means to have an agreement post-ratification process. The contracts have been a success in many ways, but members of the Amalgamated Transit Union say there’s still work to […]

Catie Ratliff | April 23, 2025

News

IMPACT places focus on housing and transportation

More than 1,100 organizers with Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together turned out to its annual Nehemiah Action on April 8. This year’s gathering focused on housing and transportation in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Affordable housing is a longtime priority for IMPACT, with efforts dating back to 2016, according to the organization’s website. The […]

Catie Ratliff | April 16, 2025

News

New executive order allowing logging could affect area forests

An April 3 memo from United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins designates 112,646,000 acres of national forest lands as an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “emergency situation.” The directive, which comprises 59 percent of all National Forest Service lands and includes most of the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, allows for expanded […]

Catie Ratliff | April 16, 2025

News

Charlottesville City Council approves $265+ million budget for FY26

In a special, single-item meeting on April 14, Charlottesville City Council unanimously adopted a $265,248,446 budget for FY26. While councilors voted on the budget less than 30 minutes into the session, the final budget is the culmination of months of work and conversations between city leadership and local organizers. The sky-high total comes in at […]

Catie Ratliff | April 15, 2025

News

UVA issues new alerts to international community

The University of Virginia has issued updated guidelines and recommendations to international students, following the revocation of at least one student’s visa by the Trump administration. In an April 4 email with the subject line “A Message to UVA’s International Community,” UVA’s Global Affairs Office shared that “one current student’s visa has been canceled,” and […]

Catie Ratliff | April 9, 2025

News

2025 Dogwood Festival dropped

The 2025 Charlottesville Dogwood Festival has been cancelled. Organizers hope to bring the celebration back in 2026, but the future of the 76-year-long tradition is murky. Founded as the Apple Harvest Festival in 1950, the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival got its current moniker in 1958. Beyond the name change, the festival has seen a multitude of […]

Catie Ratliff | April 9, 2025

News

Charlottesville is gearing up for its first election using ranked choice voting

Charlottesville’s experiment with proportional ranked choice voting is swiftly approaching, with the Democratic primary for City Council set for June 17. The new (to Charlottesville at least) voting system was adopted on a trial basis in a 4-1 split vote by City Council on September 3, 2024. In the months leading up to the primary, […]

Catie Ratliff | March 28, 2025

News

UVA releases heavily redacted reviews of 2022 shooting on Grounds

On March 21, the University of Virginia released the long-promised external reviews of the November 13, 2022, shooting that killed students Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, Jr., and D’Sean Perry. The findings of the two reports provide limited insight into the murder of the three UVA football players and Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr., the gunman. Rather […]

Catie Ratliff | March 26, 2025

News

UVA hires Ryan Odom to lead men’s basketball team

The University of Virginia men’s basketball team welcomed Ryan Odom, its new head coach, to John Paul Jones Arena on March 24. Odom is no stranger to Charlottesville or UVA basketball, having served as a ball boy for the Cavaliers during his father’s time as assistant coach from 1982 to 1989. He credits his dad, […]

Catie Ratliff | March 26, 2025