YOU Issue: Foster care isn’t all about adoption

Here’s what readers asked for: I would love to see an article about the changing shift in philosophy regarding foster care, as well debunking common misperceptions. —Marnie Allen A common misperception about children in foster care is that the goal is to get them adopted. But Alicia Lenahan, the president of Piedmont CASA, says reunifying […]

YOU Issue: We wish we had a better Dewberry update

Here’s what readers asked for: Landmark Hotel…I would like to see someone address each City Council meeting with the question, “What have you done this week to move this project forward?”—Ida Simmons Ah, the Dewberry Hotel. Somehow we knew there’d be inquiring minds, and while there’s not much new to report, we can tell you […]

YOU Issue: Single-stream recycling

Here’s what readers asked for: I’ve heard that it’s all a sham and it all just goes into a landfill, that the processes are super inefficient compared to regular recycling programs. I know many folks who don’t bother recycling at all because they don’t believe the city separates the recyclables from the garbage.—Kathleen Herring By […]

YOU Issue: Charlottesville leads in income inequality

Here’s what readers asked for: I would like to see a series of articles addressing the economic gap in our town and area.—Mo Nichols By Jonathan Hanes Income inequality has reached massive levels over the past few decades, as wages for poor and middle-class Americans have stagnated while those for top earners have skyrocketed. And […]

YOU Issue: Recess report

Here’s what readers asked for: What the hell happened to recess in our schools?—Rebecca Coleman Cooper After her daughter had recess time taken away twice for talking during class, local mom Christa Bennett started a petition to end this punitive practice in city schools. And she thought it had worked. The city’s school board approved […]

YOU issue: Who’s in jail?

Here’s what readers asked for: Pick one day and find out in Charlottesville and Albemarle County the name of everyone locked up in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail on that day, the reason they are there, and their anticipated release date.—Catherine Wray With close to 500 inmates in the regional jail, we pretty quickly nixed the […]

YOU issue: Criminalization of poverty

Here’s what readers asked for: I’d like to suggest a piece on the criminalization of poverty (which is essentially what is happening to people who are incarcerated and are low-income), and a look at what we do at the Fountain Fund, where we provide low-interest loans to the formerly incarcerated to help them get their […]

Day 1: Seating a jury in the James Fields trial

Lawyers for James Alex Fields, 21, the Ohio man charged with the first-degree murder of Heather Heyer and accused of plowing his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of demonstrators on Fourth Street August 12, 2017, suggested he may argue self defense in early questioning of potential jurors. Fields, a self-described neo-Nazi, is also charged with […]

Faculty Senate pushes back against Board of Visitors

By Jonathan Haynes The University of Virginia Board of Visitors riled the Faculty Senate last June when it decided to extend the term of incumbent faculty representative Mimi Riley for another year without consulting the senate. The faculty rep is a non-voting member who sits in on closed-door meetings and presents faculty perspectives to board […]