Edging closer: Atlantic Coast Pipeline gets state go-ahead

Earlier this month, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued the final state approval needed to begin construction on the $6 billion, 600-mile, 42-inch diameter Atlantic Coast Pipeline planned to slice through Nelson County on its way from West Virginia to North Carolina, leaving only one more federal hurdle. Massive opposition to Dominion Energy’s pipeline […]

The burning

A mortgage burning is a 20th-century ritual that doesn’t occur much anymore, partly because few Americans stay in their homes long enough to pay off a mortgage. That’s not the case for Mt. Zion First African Baptist Church, which has been around since 1867 and torched its deed of trust October 28. When the historic […]

Midterm madness: Can the 5th district be flipped?

In any other year, the Republican incumbent in the 5th District would be a shoo-in. But this year, two things make the election something of a horse race: One, Congressman Tom Garrett announced in late May that he would not seek a second term, leaving an open seat without the incumbent advantage. And two, Donald […]

False imprisonment: County settles lawsuit against five cops

Benjamin Burruss sat in his car in the Comfort Inn parking lot surrounded by Albemarle police. His employer had asked police to check on him when he didn’t show up for work. Burruss told the officers he did not intend to harm himself or anyone else, and the 12-gauge shotgun in his backseat was for […]

Another name change? Albemarle school board confronts racist past

“White parents would not permit their children to receive instruction from inferior Negro teachers—and they were inferior.” These recently resurfaced words, which originally appeared in a July 1, 1956, article titled “Virginia’s Creeping Desegregation: Force of the Inevitable” in Commentary Magazine, were said by Dr. Paul Cale, the longest-serving Albemarle County schools superintendent, and the […]

Failing grade: Community responds to ProPublica/NYT piece on racial inequities in city schools

Last week, ProPublica and the New York Times published a scathing indictment of Charlottesville City Schools, pointing out persistent and widening achievement gaps between white and black students. The article also highlighted the overrepresentation of white students in the city schools’ gifted program, and made a general case that the needs of black students and […]