In brief: Tiki terror, teacher trouble, and more

Statue disposal Many of Richmond’s Monument Avenue Confederate statues are gone, but debate over their removal continues, and people have wondered where the toppled statues are being stored. This week, some sharp-eyed Richmonders noticed a large collection of monument-shaped tarps standing around the city’s wastewater treatment plant. It’s about as close as you can get […]

Lending a hand: Black-owned businesses get some relief

When the pandemic struck, “it was like somebody just snatched a chair from under us,” says Jeanetha Brown-Douglas, owner of JBD Event Catering & Soul Food. “It was like having a business one day, and having no business the next day.” Inspired by her grandmother, Brown-Douglas first got into the food industry nearly 30 years […]

Here to help: Meet some of the people who are getting food to the hungry

In normal times, one in six Charlottesville residents—nearly 8,000 people—lack adequate access to affordable, healthy food. That’s 6 percent higher than the statewide food insecurity rate. And with thousands of citizens newly unemployed due to COVID-19, our food insecurity numbers have significantly increased, exacerbating underlying disparities. Dozens of area nonprofits have been working for years […]

Bond broken: Vet sues investment adviser for allegedly bilking retirement funds

Broker Charles Almy’s wife Katharine was involved in one of Albemarle’s longest—and most bizarre—lawsuits. She sued author John Grisham, St. Anne’s-Belfield development director Alan Swanson, and his wife Donna for emotional distress from accusing her of writing anonymous letters and for going through confidential school files to obtain a sample of her handwriting. Now Almy […]

In brief: No pipeline, name game, and more

Pipeline defeated The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is history. In a surprise announcement on Sunday afternoon, Dominion Power called off the 600-mile natural gas pipeline that would have run from West Virginia to North Carolina. “VICTORY!” declared the website of the Southern Environmental Law Center. The news is a major win for a wide variety of […]

School’s (not) out: City schools debate reopening

As new cases of the novel coronavirus pop up each day, it’s become increasingly difficult for area schools to decide how and when to reopen. And after over five hours of discussion and debate on Monday night, the Charlottesville School Board got no closer to a definite answer. Last week, the district rolled out a […]

On guard: Opposing camps face off as sun sets on Confederate statues

Confederate monuments have toppled across the South since the slaying of George Floyd at the hands of police. In Charlottesville, statues of generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson still stand, and continue to attract nighttime patrols from both statue defenders and opponents. In the wee hours of June 28—three days before a law went […]