Charlottesville City Council now has a mayor on restriction. Council is made up of five elected equals, with the mayor playing a largely symbolic role, and that was a lesson Mayor Mike Signer appears to have forgotten. On August 30, his fellow councilors held a three-hour closed door meeting to discuss the “performance and discipline […]
Usually it’s hard to squeeze personnel matters discussed in closed session out of city councilors. That’s why the August 25 leaking of a confidential Mayor Mike Signer-written memo to City Manager Maurice Jones demanding explanations of the events leading up to the August 12 hate rally was such a shocker—as was Jones firing back a […]
Walt Heinecke had planned to hold nonviolent direct action training the night before the August 12 Unite the Right rally. Instead, he ended up doing nonviolent intervention and defending UVA students from torch-carrying white nationalists in front of the Rotunda Friday night, running two counterprotests at McGuffey and Justice parks on Saturday, and contradicting in […]
The Charlottesville commonwealth’s attorney today asked a judge to not prosecute a disorderly conduct charge against Unite the Right rally organizer Jason Kessler stemming from the May 14 vigil at Emancipation Park, after torch-carrying white nationalists marched through it the night before. And protester Jordan McNeish, who confronted the “you will not replace us” gang […]
A month ago during the July 8 KKK rally, police were accused of overreacting and escalating things when they deployed tear gas on protesters at an event that was already breaking up. At the August 12 Unite the Right rally, they faced the opposite complaint: That they stood and watched assaults take place. Civil rights […]
Days before the August 12 Unite the Right rally, City Manager Maurice Jones said the city would issue organizer Jason Kessler a permit—for McIntire Park, not for Emancipation Park, the site formerly known as Lee Park where he requested to protest the removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee. And in response, Kessler […]
The man who was convicted of abduction with intent to defile and who spent two-and-a-half years in jail before the alleged victim’s story fell apart filed suit July 14 against the former commonwealth’s attorney who prosecuted him. Mark Weiner, now living in Maryland, filed a civil lawsuit in federal court July 14—exactly two years after […]
As Charlottesville braces for an influx of alt-white nationalists, 43 business owners have demanded the city enforce its regulations for special events, pastors are calling for 1,000 faithful around the nation to stand with them and the Central Library has announced it will close August 12 for the Unite the Right rally in next-door Emancipation […]
John Edward Hall has left a light footprint in the city where he’s lived for 17 years. But despite his lack of public visibility, he’s decided to run for City Council as an independent. Hall, 66, says he’s an inventor, a design engineer and an entrepreneur. He was inspired to run by independent candidate Paul […]
The chief of Wintergreen Fire & Rescue appears unhappy that his bid to provide emergency medical services to Lockn’ this year was not accepted, and he posted a complaint on Facebook July 18 that takes aim at Lockn’ and UVA Health System, the likely new EMS provider. “Unfortunately, the festival has never been profitable and […]