Robert Tracci won’t officially take the job as Albemarle’s top prosecutor until January 1, but he was in court December 17 to be sworn in, an oath Judge Cheryl Higgins requested he take a second time because she had instructed him to say “fairly and impartially perform the duties” rather than “faithfully and impartially.” Republican Tracci […]
More than a decade after a 2003 study determined the Belmont Bridge was deteriorating and needed to be replaced, and more than six years after a company was chosen to design the bridge and whose vision was resoundingly rejected by the community, Charlottesville is again seeking bids to design the bridge. A warning to any […]
Nelson County’s Route 151 in the Rockfish Valley has been called the “Napa Valley of the East Coast.” But some residents fear that appellation will change with the newest development on its scenic byway: a massive 84,000- square-foot ammunition and firearms distribution warehouse that has an indoor firing range. Neighbor Harold McCauley says he received […]
You can never really have too much canopy. That’s why around 20 volunteers were in the median of Route 20 near Interstate 64 on a toasty December 12, digging compacted soil and planting nine swamp white oaks, part of a plan to forest the median with white oaks, tulip poplars and Kentucky coffee trees. The […]
The future of journalism is a perennial concern for those who work for—and love—newspapers, so the chance to hear former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson and former New Republic editor Franklin Foer report from the frontlines following their highly publicized 2014 ousters drew around 100 local print-media-lovers to UVA’s Harrison Auditorium December 3. […]
The Jesse Matthew hearing December 7 was the last court appearance in the charges stemming from the murder and abduction of UVA student Hannah Graham for outgoing Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford, and the man who defeated her in November and will take over the capital case, Robert Tracci, was in the Albemarle courtroom. Tracci hugged Gil […]
Within a few days, Colorado Springs and San Bernadino became the scenes of the most troubling trend in America: The mass murders of unarmed citizens by gun-wielding killers. The day after Syed Farook, aided by his wife, Tashfeen Malik, mowed down 14 of his coworkers at a holiday party, the U.S. Senate blocked legislation to […]
How many cops does it take to check on a man when his employer is concerned that he hasn’t shown up for work? At least a dozen, by Benjamin Marshall Burruss’ estimate. According to his November 19 lawsuit filed in federal court, Albemarle County Police held Burruss for two hours in his truck after he […]
When City Council meets for the first time January 4, the five councilors will vote for a new mayor, which typically is already a done deal, and rumor is Mike Signer, incoming city councilor, has the three votes necessary to secure the mayorship. Signer, understandably, declined to confirm he has the job in the pocket, […]
William Everette “Billy” Mays, the Nelson sheriff’s office investigator who led the Alexis Murphy missing teen case, was indicted on two counts of election fraud November 24. Mays ran for sheriff and lost to David Hill in the November election. Both men were the subjects of Virginia State Police investigations after a private citizen complained […]