Out and proud

Despite a nationwide decrease in corporate support for Pride events, local celebrations will feature more vendors than ever before, according to Nick Hutchins, president of Charlottesville Pride. Nearly 80 vendors will be at the 2025 event—which kicks off at 12:30pm on Saturday, September 6, at the Ting Pavilion.  “This festival … has just seen such […]

How aggressive immigration policy undermines due process rights in Charlottesville, and the entire country

In late April, three plainclothes federal agents swept into Albemarle County General District Court, and carried out some of the Trump administration’s earliest-known local courthouse detentions. There, in front of stunned witnesses, agents detained Teodoro Dominguez-Rodriguez and Pablo Aparicio-Marcelino, who had each appeared in court while facing separate criminal charges. The sudden arrests—and the failed […]

Downtown Mall toy store Alakazam announces closure

After 20 years on the Downtown Mall, Alakazam Toys will close its doors. An official closing date had not been announced at press time. Ellen Joy, who took over Alakazam in March 2019, shared the news in an August 23 social media post. “In a world that can often feel challenging, I’ve always believed in […]

Glenmore house explodes after suspected natural gas leak 

A house explosion at 2331 Ferndown Ln. shook Keswick’s Glenmore neighborhood on August 19. One person was killed and another is recovering at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Evans-Haynes Burn Center. The blast, caused by a suspected gas leak, leveled a large two-story home with a basement, and scattered debris—including insulation, bricks, and wood—across adjacent properties. Area […]

City awaits new charging plan as EVgo shutters most of its local stations

Electric vehicle ownership is on the rise in Charlottesville. But despite the increased demand for public charging stations, two of three EVgo locations in the city have been decommissioned.   After quietly disabling the Barracks Road Shopping Center and Water Street parking garage locations weeks ago, EVgo confirmed their removal through the company’s EVgo ReNew […]

The latest on spotted lanternflies, and a recently arrived invasive insect

July has brought more than scorching temperatures and humidity to Charlottesville. There has also been a sharp increase in spotted lanternfly sightings. First found in the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014, the spotted lanternfly is an invasive species from Asia. How the insect arrived in the country is unknown, but it likely entered on […]

Is the Charlottesville area prepared for a major flood?

Flash flooding has been in the headlines for nearly two weeks, following the catastrophic Guadalupe River flood in Texas earlier this month. The Texas tragedy, while thousands of miles and decades apart, is a stark reminder of the 1969 Hurricane Camille floods—with the overnight arrival of flood waters, high death tolls, and failures of emergency […]

The latest and largest changes coming to area traffic

Summer’s off to a blazing start, and transit crews have hit the road, working on projects in and around Charlottesville. From initiatives already underway to those a few years from breaking ground, C-VILLE put the pedal to the metal to find out what’s happening on area roadways (and one new pedestrian bridge).  Bridging the gap  […]