Militia madness: City files suit against August 12 participants

  Exactly two months after the summer’s Unite the Right white nationalist rally that left three dead and many injured, a legal group has filed an unprecedented complaint on behalf of Charlottesville, local businesses and neighborhood associations that could prohibit “unlawful paramilitary activity” in the city. Lawyers with the University of Georgetown Law School’s Institute […]

Land banking: Mystery of Waterhouse revealed

The reason prime real estate continues to sit empty on the top two floors of architect Bill Atwood’s eight-story mixed-use Water Street building is a topic of frequent speculation for downtown real estate watchers. Were the top floor units too expensive? Is the building structurally sound? Is it the $272,000 mechanic’s lien? No, yes and […]

City responds to weekend tiki torch rally

“The so called ‘alt-right’ believes intimidation and intolerance will stop us from our work,” says Mayor Mike Signer in an October 8 press release after about 40 white supremacists held another torch-lit rally in Emancipation Park. “They could not be more wrong. We must marshal all our resources, legal and otherwise, to protect our public […]

‘Trash bags’ can stay: Statue lawsuit moves forward

In the case of whether the city’s longstanding General Robert E. Lee statue should remain on its feet, a judge ruled October 4 that a lawsuit protecting it can go forward, and the black shrouds temporarily draped over Lee and his buddy, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, can also stay. In Charlottesville Circuit Court, S. Braxton Puryear—one […]

Meme-able Magill: August icon recovers, keeps fighting back

During the August weekend that scarred Charlottesville, one man was in the thick of the major events, and became both a casualty and a meme of resistance to hate. That man was Tyler Magill: a UVA alum, longtime WTJU DJ once known as the Velvet Facilitator and a local fixture in the community. Before hundreds […]

In brief: New digs, conflicting accounts and an alleged face-puncher

Because no one can afford a house in this town Over the summer, we wrote about 15 housing and hotel projects on our radar, but in the blur of bulldozers and Tyvek coverings surrounding Fifth Street, we missed one. Almost directly across from the Albemarle County Office Building (and the police station—yikes!), 5th Street Place […]

Not partners: Heaphy promises ‘arm’s length’ investigation

When City Manager Maurice Jones introduced the man hired to investigate the events of Charlottesville’s summer of hate, he listed former U.S. attorney Tim Heaphy’s “critical eye,” his experience with law enforcement and investigations, and then he described the city as “partnering” with Heaphy. Heaphy immediately took some trouble to distance himself from the perception […]