Waste not: Passive house movement gaining traction in local market

When Bill Jobes learned about the ultra-high-efficiency building concept known as passive house, “it was love at first sight.” Jobes, CEO of Jobes Builders, has worked in home construction in the Charlottesville area since 1977, when he started apprenticing with Shelter Associates. He’s always been inspired by efficient home design, he said, and not just […]

Dumler issues statement of apology, says he won’t resign

Despite escalating pressure to resign from office—including from all five of his fellow Albemarle County supervisors—embattled Scottsville representative Chris Dumler released a statement today apologizing for his actions and saying he does not intend to step down following his guilty plea on a sexual battery charge stemming from an arrest for forcible sodomy late last […]

City’s marijuana possession ordinance stalls, but debate isn’t over

When the Charlottesville City Council let die a proposed ordinance that would have officially eliminated jail time for first-time simple possession of marijuana in the city last week, it signaled the end of a recent push by would-be reformers to write into law the city’s relatively lenient pot policy. But legal observers say it’s likely […]

Who will try Jim Baldi on embezzlement charges?

Last week, two and a half years after fleeing indictments, former Charlottesville restaurateur and accused embezzler Jim Baldi made his first appearance in local court, but the nature of the charges against him make it difficult to predict what the path forward looks like for the area’s most notorious bookkeeper. Altogether, Baldi, who managed the […]

UVA grapples with how to reform its embattled Honor Code

On February 25, UVA students will vote on what could be the most substantial changes to the University’s much-lauded Honor Code in the 170-year history of the student-policed system, which demands that all Wahoos pledge not to lie, cheat, or steal, and threatens them with expulsion if they’re caught. But the storm of debate over […]

What’s in a comprehensive plan?

Few local government topics are as mired in planning jargon—or more likely to cause eyes to glaze over at public meetings—than the revision of a comprehensive plan, the massive guidance document that lays out broad ground rules for a municipality’s growth and development. “It’s sort of this giant cloud that hangs over the community for […]

Gun shy: Charlottesville, Albemarle confront school safety

Albemarle County School District Assistant Superintendent Matt Haas remembers the day Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people and themselves at Colorado’s Columbine High School in 1999 as a day he knew his job would no longer be the same. A climate of fear was born overnight at the Virginia Beach high school where […]

Judge clears way for Biscuit Run suit to go to trial

The original purchasers of the 1,200-acre Biscuit Run tract just south of I-64 have been battling Virginia’s Department of Taxation for years over a $20 million tax credit claim, and on Tuesday, a county judge denied a challenge from the state, clearing the way for a spring trial date. “It’s wonderful news,” said Craig D. […]