News

Early season

Early voting in the June 17 Democratic Primary for Charlottesville City Council begins May 2, officially kicking off the city’s experiment with ranked-choice voting. Mayor Juandiego Wade and Vice-Mayor Brian Pinkston are both seeking reelection, but face a challenge from Jen Fleisher for the two available seats. Rather than filling in two bubbles as usual, […]

Catie Ratliff | April 30, 2025

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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

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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

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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

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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

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