Free air When Ilkhom Muzzafarov and his wife Dilyara, her father, and their oldest son Ilyas arrived in Charlottesville seven years ago, they breathed a sigh of relief. Adjusting to a new climate and jet-lag had replaced police harassment and racial hatred as their immediate concerns. “We’re free here,” he said. “We’re safe. I’m not […]
Albemarle County Supervisor Chris Dumler pled guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery last Thursday, in a bargain with prosecutors that lessened his felony charge to a misdemeanor. After his October arrest for forcible sodomy—a felony punishable by five years to life in prison—the 27-year-old Democrat promised to offer a “vigorous defense.” Albemarle County voters looking forward […]
In a speedy hearing this morning in Albemarle County Circuit Court, Supervisor Christopher Dumler, charged with one count of forcible sodomy, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual battery, a misdemeanor. Shortly after the 27-year-old Scottsville Democrat was arrested last October, he announced that he planned to plead not guilty to the felony charges, […]
Maria Rodriguez, a 25-year-old au pair from Panama, found herself wondering what the heck she was doing here when she arrived in Charlottesville last spring. She knew nobody, and with an English language background limited to written words and no verbal skills, she had to constantly ask her host family to repeat themselves. She felt […]
Albemarle County Supervisor Christopher Dumler, the 27-year-old Scottsville Democrat who will appear in court this Thursday for a preliminary hearing on a forcible sodomy charge brought against him last October, may be facing a similar charge from a second woman. According to a Friday report from CBS19, newly filed court documents reveal a second alleged […]
Each year, the Piedmont Environmental Council tracks and totals the amount of land put into conservation in the region, and while 2012’s year-end numbers were low, the organization says renewed incentives for easement donation could mean it will see an uptick in the amount of land set aside in the coming year. According to PEC, […]
The future of one of Charlottesville’s two clinics offering abortions is in the hands of state politicians, and pro-choice activists and medical professionals across the commonwealth are up in arms. Governor McDonnell quietly signed a bill last month that cracks down on building codes in abortion clinics. The piece of legislation was passed in the […]
John Davis never pictured himself going to the Charlottesville Free Clinic, much less to regularly meet with a therapist. Mental health patients have to conquer society’s stigma and the negative connotations surrounding treatment, and until Davis found himself uninsured and spilling his guts to the Charlottesville Free Clinic’s licensed social worker, he said he never […]
Self-proclaimed tree hugger Martha Orton said she’s had an interest in learning about trees and forest health since her son told her, while on a reforestation trip to India, that “trees all look different when you know their names.” A retired social worker, Orton enrolled in the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards’ 14-week training class in […]
Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority officials weren’t surprised when the city reallocated $400,000 of their redevelopment funds to local nonprofits last week. A cash-strapped agency with a revolving door of leadership for over a decade, the housing authority is unable to use the money this year, and both sides agreed that other organizations with housing […]