Judge-ment day: Downer tells all about sitting on the bench

Judge Bob Downer knows something about what it’s like to appear before a judge as a defendant. He’s been there. And it’s a story he’s told in court. As a UVA graduate in 1970, Downer and some frat brothers, clearly under the influence of that era’s Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, decided to swipe […]

The fine print: Daily Progress subscription prices skyrocket

Print is dead. Print is dying. Newspapers are “toast.” We’ve all heard some iteration of this, and it makes print journalists think about jumping ship. But as more media becomes concentrated online, and local and national newspaper prices soar to make up for a loss in advertising revenue, at least one media expert is encouraging […]

Local races: Your primary guide

Primary day is June 11, and there’s more on the ballot than the 57th District race between Kathy Galvin and Sally Hudson.  If you live in the city, the three people who win the Democratic nomination will likely be the ones to fill the three empty seats on City Council in November because of the […]

A12 plan: Judge rules state police must release it

More than a year and a half after a freelance reporter requested the Virginia State Police and the Office of Public Safety turn over its Unite the Right public safety plans, a judge ruled today that it’s time for the state to cough them up—although with some confusion about redaction and release. Natalie Jacobsen worked […]

New wave: Two women, two generations head into the 57th primary stretch

The reliably Democratic 57th District rarely makes for an exciting horse race. Once a delegate, always a delegate, as David Toscano and Mitch Van Yahres before him proved, each easily holding on to the seat representing Charlottesville and the Albemarle urban ring as long as he chose. Not this year. Newcomer Sally Hudson upended the […]

Unstellar moments: History of blackface at UVA

By Shrey Dua Just months out from the blackface scandal that rocked Virginia’s Democratic leadership and threatened Ralph Northam’s governorship, all of 10 people showed up May 15 to learn about UVA’s history of blackface. At a talk that was one of several held last week as part of the city’s Unity Days series on […]

Affordable option? Church apartments could be a godsend

When a church in the Belmont neighborhood proposed converting underused space into 15 apartments, with a third of them specifically for people with disabilities, some community members were quick to call it a development idea that they could finally get behind. Others? Eh, not so much. “Public feedback has not been supportive,” planning commissioner Lyle […]

Last call for U-Hall

By Carroll Trainum On Thursday, May 16, at least a hundred people stood in line at the demolition site of University Hall—the former hub of UVA basketball—to get a brick. They all had their own memories of U-Hall, known to some as “the house that Ralph built,” and they wanted a piece of history. I […]

Now what? UVA-community working group outlines priorities

By Ali Sullivan After four months of surveys, conversations, community gatherings and focus groups, the committee formed by University of Virginia President Jim Ryan to evaluate the relationship between the university and the surrounding community released its final report in February. UVA faculty members, a UVA law student, and Charlottesville community leaders comprised the 16-member […]