With a whimper: Piedmont Council for the Arts pulls the plug

One week after issuing a report on the economic contribution of the arts in August, the Piedmont Council for the Arts, which commissioned the study, closed its doors after 38 years. Only months earlier it had renovated space in York Place and hired a new executive director, the latest in a string of leaders over […]

Fourth Street reopens as permanent memorial is discussed

The swath of flower bouquets and candles that once laid across Fourth Street in remembrance of Heather Heyer has been cleared, and the road was reopened on September 9. The Downtown Mall crossing had been closed since August 12, when the driver of a Dodge Challenger plowed into a crowd of people at the intersection […]

‘Back to the shadows:’ Community responds to DACA repeal

“What do we want?” shouts UVA fourth-year Jacqueline Cortes in a red rain coat to a crowd of nearly 300 students and faculty members. “JUSTICE,” they echo. “When do we want it?” “NOW!” “If we don’t get it…” she says, and they answer, “We shut it down!” Cortes, a biology major and Spanish language minor, […]

Do Robert’s Rules of Order mask white supremacism?

After City Council’s chaotic August 21 meeting where outraged attendees commandeered the meeting to vent about the deadly Unite the Right hate fest, many have suggested that trying to immediately conduct business as usual probably wasn’t the best idea, and that a wounded citizenry needed a chance to vent its hurt, anger and frustration. At […]

In brief: Feeding hungry bellies, prison censorship and more…

The fight against hunger September is Hunger Action Month, when people across the nation raise awareness for empty bellies by supporting the country’s network of food banks. Locally, we have two main groups fighting the good fight—the Emergency Food Network and the Thomas Jefferson Area branch of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Here’s a […]

Woodshed moment: Councilors rebuke and restrict mayor

Charlottesville City Council now has a mayor on restriction. Council is made up of five elected equals, with the mayor playing a largely symbolic role, and that was a lesson Mayor Mike Signer appears to have forgotten. On August 30, his fellow councilors held a three-hour closed door meeting to discuss the “performance and discipline […]