Blue wave: Dems take General Assembly—but GOP keeps local legislators

Governor Ralph Northam declared Virginia “officially blue” following Tuesday’s election that gave Democrats control of both houses in the General Assembly for the first time in 26 years. And Dems swept Albemarle County, taking the Board of Supervisors, commonwealth’s attorney, and sheriff races. Yet the local House of Delegates races resulted in no upsets and […]

History lesson: Local educators help expand Virginia’s African American history curriculum

Community leaders gathered at the University of Virginia October 28 for the first meeting of the Commission on African American History Education. Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins is among those appointed to the commission, which was established by Governor Ralph Northam. The purpose, says Atkins, is “to recognize that the African American experience […]

Grappling with the past: Historical society struggles to find its way

By Ben Hitchcock “I feel like I’ve been training for this one job for 30 years,” said Coy Barefoot when he took over as executive director of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society in April of 2018. In an interview with ilovecville.com, the local author and media personality expressed his desire to rebrand the organization and […]

Lending a paw: Local groups harness the power of animal therapy

Tamera Mason, an EMT working at Augusta Health’s emergency room in Staunton, lives with a life-threatening medical condition: In July 2015, a yellow jacket’s sting set off an extreme autoimmune reaction that devastated her hormonal systems and caused Addison’s disease, which affects the adrenal glands’ ability to produce cortisol. When Mason’s body goes into Addisonian […]

Back to the drawing board: Protest over City Council revisions to CRB proposal

Nearly two years after appointing the initial Police Civilian Review Board, Charlottesville City Council inched closer to making a permanent oversight board a reality at their October 21 meeting, with a first reading of the CRB’s ordinance and bylaws. But members of the initial CRB were not pleased, saying councilors had severely weakened the proposal […]