Eramo’s status: Public figurehood will determine how lawsuit plays out

A phalanx of lawyers assembled to argue motions in former UVA associate dean Nicole Eramo’s lawsuit against Rolling Stone, along with plaintiff Eramo herself, August 12 in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville. Eramo’s $7.85 million defamation lawsuit against the magazine, writer Sabrina Rubin Erdley and Wenner Media is scheduled for a jury trial in October, and […]

DBAC meltdown: Downtown business org in disarray; chair resigns

Simmering undercurrents from the parking war between the city and Charlottesville Parking Center over the Water Street Garage have splintered the Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville, whose chairman abruptly resigned August 8 after being told he was illegally elected. The move leaves some members confused about who’s in charge and one who is working to […]

Rescinded: Felons who registered to vote do not pass go

For DeShon Langston, having his right to vote restored—and then unrestored—was like having a really nice dream and waking up to reality. That’s his reaction to a 4-3 Supreme Court of Virginia decision July 22 that the state constitution did not give Governor Terry McAuliffe the authority to restore voting rights en masse, as he […]

CPC floats four parking scenarios

The parking wars have quieted since a judge rejected the Charlottesville Parking Center’s petition for an emergency receiver June 27 and CPC owner Mark Brown decamped to Greece. But here in the dog days of August, CPC general manager Dave Norris, whose June 24 proposal was rebuffed by the city, offers four scenarios for settling […]

Resident won’t take alleged constitutional rights violation lying down

The man who lay down in front of the dais and was dragged out of a City Council meeting June 20 after calling Muslims “monstrous maniacs” has filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming his constitutional rights were violated. Albemarle resident Joe Draego, 64, has been a regular at Charlottesville City Council meetings, voicing his […]

Not black and white: Lee statue evokes deep feelings on racial history

In its first listening session July 28, the City Council-appointed Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces heard from well over 100 citizens, who packed the African American Heritage Center at the Jefferson School to talk about Charlottesville’s painful history. Their responses weren’t always clear-cut as far as the statue of Robert E. Lee was […]

Laufer live from the Democratic National Convention

Ever wonder how delegates at the conventions all seem to spontaneously raise their “Make America First Again” or “Change Maker” signs at the same time? Well, Charlottesville School Board Chair Amy Laufer is attending the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and she clues us in: They get texts telling them what to chant and when […]

VP candidate and convicted murderer in spotlight again

Former UVA student Jens Soering has spent more than 30 years in prison while protesting his innocence. And Tim Kaine, shortly before he left the Governor’s Mansion in 2010, agreed to repatriate Soering to Germany, a move that was immediately overturned by his successor, Bob McDonnell. Now Kaine has been tapped to be the Democratic […]

Political season: Locals head to conventions

  While most of us followed last week’s Republican shindig in Cleveland on TV, several locals were there on the ground. And Charlottesville sent four people to Philadelphia as delegates for the Democratic convention this week. UVA had a major presence in Cleveland with political pundit Larry Sabato and his Crystal Ball team from the Center […]