Former Farmington president admits to stealing from widow

The former president of Farmington Country Club, Victor Dandridge III, admits he stole money from his friend’s widow, but quibbles about the amount in a January 6 response to her lawsuit. Dandridge, who also served as president of the Farmington Property Owners Association and the Virginia Athletics Foundation, which raises money for UVA’s athletic scholarships, […]

Szakos won’t seek third term on City Council

If it seems like we just finished an election, well, we did, but in Virginia, it’s never not an election year. In Charlottesville, the two seats on City Council currently held by Kristin Szakos and Bob Fenwick are up for grabs, and Szakos says she won’t be seeking another term. “Eight years is a long […]

Robert Davis’ mother killed in head-on collision

The mother of Robert Davis, who spent 13 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit and who got an absolute pardon from the governor before Christmas, died in a collision with a tanker truck Thursday morning in Augusta County. Sandra M. Seal, 57, of Crimora, was traveling on U.S. 340 just before 11am when […]

Governor joins call for driver’s license suspension reform

Charlottesville resident Damian Stinnie, 24, grew up in foster care, and in 2013 was diagnosed with lymphoma. That same year, he was convicted of three traffic citations in Henrico and Goochland counties. Unable to pay the resulting $1,002 in court costs and fines with his minimum wage paychecks, Stinnie’s driver’s license was suspended. Although he […]

Former vice mayor, activist Holly Edwards dies

Even before she received a Drewary Brown Memorial Community Bridge Builders award in October, Holly Edwards was known for her care and compassion, and for bringing people who normally didn’t have voices to the table. The former vice mayor and parish nurse for Jefferson Area Board for Aging died January 7 at age 56. Edwards […]

Chapman passes prosecutorial torch to Platania

Charlottesville’s legal community turned out today for Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania’s official announcement that he wants the job of his boss, Dave Chapman, who will not be seeking a seventh term. Chapman introduced and endorsed Platania, whom he hired in the city prosecutor’s office in 2003. “It’s important to me who’s the next commonwealth’s attorney,” […]

UPDATED Akins revisited: New reward in county’s coldest case

  Nearly 54 years ago, Charlottesville was rocked with the bizarre death of high school football star Pat Akins, 19, whose body was found under a red Triumph TR3 after purportedly having been dragged 12 miles from Crozet. Today his Rock Hill Academy classmate Jimmy Dettor is offering $20,000 for information leading to resolution of […]

Foreign laborers: Trump not the only vineyard hiring

President-elect Donald Trump made stopping illegal immigration a cornerstone of his campaign. Legal immigration, however, is another matter, and son Eric Trump’s winery has filed a request with the U.S. Department of Labor to hire six foreign workers to prune grapevines. Trump Vineyard Estates isn’t the only local winery importing laborers on an H-2A visa. […]

Freelance tax: County expects to rake in $11 million

Since C-VILLE wrote about Albemarle County now retroactively demanding $50 business licenses—for the past five years—from freelancers who didn’t know they were businesses, surprised writers chief among them, we’ve learned that the county expects to bring in over $11.3 million in revenue, which will more than cover the $123,000 cost to hire two auditors. However, […]

Kessler petitions to remove Bellamy from City Council

Jason Kessler, the previously unknown writer who last month exposed Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy’s racist and vulgar tweets from before he was elected, is now collecting signatures to remove him from office. He’s also made a video that elucidates some of his concerns about issues affecting white Americans. “I’m closing in on a hundred,” says Kessler […]