In the afternoon sun along the Rivanna River Trail, Joshua Ballou paced the edges of the burnt-black patch of public land that used to be his home. The Charlottesville Fire Department responded to the blaze that destroyed Ballou’s shelter late on May 9, at the encampment adjacent to the trail. The fire burned just northeast […]
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information since its original publication. Two weeks after Common House Charlottesville suddenly shut its doors, the social club’s Richmond landlords handed the coworking, dining, and event venue another eviction notice. In an April 28 press release, the owners of 303 W. Broad St., a 1914 brick […]
For five days in mid-April, Charlottesville simmered unseasonably, with highs reaching a record 92 degrees on April 15. But as April 20 rolled into the 21st, the temperature plunged to an equally unprecedented 28 degrees, catching plants at a vulnerable part of their growth cycle, and adding another burden to a tough season for local […]
In early 2016, when Common House Charlottesville was under construction at 206 W. Market St., its roof caved in. Snow dumped by a massive winter storm buckled the structure, threatening to pull down the interior walls. Co-founders Josh Rogers, Derek Sieg, and Ben Pfinsgraff had to supervise a painstaking rebuild prior to the club’s 2017 […]
An estimated 12,000 people lined US 29 North around The Shops at Stonefield on March 28 to say, “No Kings.” On May 1, organizers hope attendees will agree to a few other nos, if only for the day: No work. No school. No shopping. May Day Strong, a nationwide initiative to celebrate workers, decry billionaires, […]
On March 12, the Albemarle County School Board met to vote on changes to its student activities policy, limiting when student groups could host outside speakers, governing how they raised money, and banning groups linked to hate or harassment. Noah Coffin, a Western Albemarle High School senior and president of the school’s conservative Club America, […]
Jeffrey Epstein arrived first. On a bright morning, with temperatures just above freezing, the notorious late pedophile lay face down on the bricks paving Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, one knee bent to kick a foot jauntily into the air. A few minutes later, the custom wooden podium that would support Epstein and his companion rolled into […]
Election season has come early to Virginia, with voting now open for the April 21 referendum on the state’s proposed plan for mid-decade redistricting. Nationally, President Donald Trump and Republican leaders are pushing for what they call stricter election security measures as this fall’s midterm elections approach. Amid all the ballot-box buzz, how safe is […]
This story was updated March 27, 2026, to reflect new information. When the axe fell on Stefan Friedman’s restaurants, their sudden closures left staff and patrons surprised. Ace Biscuit & Barbecue, Omakase Obscura, The Wine Guild of Charlottesville, Vitae Spirits Distillery, and Old Metropolitan Hall—the entire once-bountiful table of Friedman’s company, A Moveable Feast—folded or changed […]
By now, you’ve likely seen them: videos of people in homes like ours, on streets like ours, sobbing, screaming, or silent. Dragged from their cars, their homes, their lives by masked, anonymous men dressed and armed for war. You’ve seen federal agents shoot and kill unarmed Americans, and witnessed federal officials blame those people for […]