Update: Culpeper mosque case headed to mediation

Following a March 22 hearing in U.S. District Court, the County of Culpeper and the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to mediation in the suit the DOJ filed alleging county discrimination against the Islamic Center of Culpeper when it requested a sewage permit for a mosque that was normally granted to churches. The Islamic Center, which […]

Rob Vaughan puts the ‘human’ in humanities

In a parallel universe, Rob Vaughan would probably have been an assistant English professor somewhere—“not here, because no one gets to stay,” he says. Instead, when then-UVA President Edgar Shannon gave him a call in 1974, Vaughan ended up launching the largest state humanities organization in the country, and a five-month gig stretched decades. After […]

‘Life-changing’: Medical marijuana inches toward desperate families

Within the next few years, three Charlottesville families will be able to legally obtain the cannabis oil extract that eases the seizures of their children with debilitating intractable epilepsy, thanks to unanimous approval in the General Assembly in February, passing even the usually marijuana-averse House of Delegates 99-0. Good news, right? Yet none of those […]

The unmasker: Nikuyah Walker makes independent bid for City Council

In her run to sit on the other side of the City Council dais she’s often stood before, Nikuyah Walker won’t be touting Charlottesville as a world-class city. Instead, her theme of “unmasking the reality” acknowledges the duality of a town that draws the wealthy and well-educated, yet is unaffordable for many of its citizens, […]

In brief: Library shocker, UVA’s $9 million plane and more

Busy as a bookworm Here in the digital age, one relic from our printing-press past is defying obsolescence: the library. The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library saw its busiest year ever in 2016, with its newest Crozet and Northside libraries contributing to the boom, according to director John Halliday. It’s not just books that account for the […]

Pasta supper surprise: Protest interrupts Dem dinner party

Gubernatorial candidates Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello and three lieutenant governor hopefuls were in town over the weekend for the Charlottesville Democratic Party’s 17th annual pasta supper and auction. New on this year’s menu was an Atlantic Coast Pipeline protest in which seven sign-carrying UVA students took the stage to demand that the candidates oppose […]

Legal front: Lawsuit filed to halt removal of General Lee statue

Nearly a dozen citizens filed a not-unexpected lawsuit and an injunction today in Charlottesville Circuit Court to stop the removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee and any further tampering with Lee and Jackson parks, both donated by Paul Goodloe McIntire. The plaintiffs include descendants from the park donor and the sculptor, as […]

Where’s Tom? The case of the missing congressman

Craig DuBose made his appointment February 1 to meet with Congressman Tom Garrett in the congressman’s Charlottesville office March 6. Heather Rowland made hers February 10. Both constituents called to confirm their appointments before showing up at Garrett’s Berkmar Crossing office, and both were dismayed to learn Garrett wasn’t there. “I was disappointed,” says DuBose, […]

Is Hedgerow a no-go? County pushes for biking park that bikers don’t want

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has made it clear that, though Charlottesville’s City Council has voted to allow mountain biking at Ragged Mountain Natural Area—a city-owned park located in the county—they don’t like it one bit because county regulations prohibit activities like biking that could pollute the reservoir. As an alternative, the supes are […]

Bummer crop: Warm temperatures worry farmers

Last month was the warmest February on record with an average temperature of 47.7 degrees, based on numbers from the McCormick Observatory dating back to the 19th century. While many are happy to ditch their winter coats early, a nice day this early in the season is a nightmare for some farmers. “It’s really going […]