Robert Davis’ mother killed in head-on collision

The mother of Robert Davis, who spent 13 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit and who got an absolute pardon from the governor before Christmas, died in a collision with a tanker truck Thursday morning in Augusta County. Sandra M. Seal, 57, of Crimora, was traveling on U.S. 340 just before 11am when […]

New program guides homeless in starting their own businesses

Becky Blanton became invisible 10 years ago. She shared her story—how she went from working as a newspaper editor to living out of her van and eventually identifying as homeless—with her fellow entrepreneurs in a Community Investment Collaborative program in the fall of 2015. CIC runs a 16-week program for local entrepreneurs in Charlottesville, as […]

Governor joins call for driver’s license suspension reform

Charlottesville resident Damian Stinnie, 24, grew up in foster care, and in 2013 was diagnosed with lymphoma. That same year, he was convicted of three traffic citations in Henrico and Goochland counties. Unable to pay the resulting $1,002 in court costs and fines with his minimum wage paychecks, Stinnie’s driver’s license was suspended. Although he […]

In brief: 5-star dreams, bathroom fears and more

Unlike NC… Governor Terry McAuliffe signs an executive order at UVA January 5 that prohibits state contractors from discriminating against gay and transgender people, and notes that the Tar Heel State has lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of its bathroom bill. Delegate Bob Marshall immediately filed a bill prohibiting such nondiscrimination. Lieutenant guv […]

Former vice mayor, activist Holly Edwards dies

Even before she received a Drewary Brown Memorial Community Bridge Builders award in October, Holly Edwards was known for her care and compassion, and for bringing people who normally didn’t have voices to the table. The former vice mayor and parish nurse for Jefferson Area Board for Aging died January 7 at age 56. Edwards […]

Huguely’s wrongful death trial postponed

Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Rick Moore has granted a motion to continue the trial date in the $30 million civil suit against former UVA student George Huguely for the wrongful death of his on- and off-again girlfriend, Yeardley Love, whom he was convicted of murdering in February 2012. The nearly three-week trial is now set […]

Perriello resurfaces… and wants to be governor

Former congressman Tom Perriello announced his surprise candidacy for governor of Virginia Thursday, upsetting the plans of many leading Virginia Democrats. In a hastily arranged speech at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in downtown Charlottesville, Perriello spoke of how his father first arrived in Virginia. “He grew up in West Virginia, Italian immigrant […]

Chapman passes prosecutorial torch to Platania

Charlottesville’s legal community turned out today for Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania’s official announcement that he wants the job of his boss, Dave Chapman, who will not be seeking a seventh term. Chapman introduced and endorsed Platania, whom he hired in the city prosecutor’s office in 2003. “It’s important to me who’s the next commonwealth’s attorney,” […]

UPDATED Akins revisited: New reward in county’s coldest case

  Nearly 54 years ago, Charlottesville was rocked with the bizarre death of high school football star Pat Akins, 19, whose body was found under a red Triumph TR3 after purportedly having been dragged 12 miles from Crozet. Today his Rock Hill Academy classmate Jimmy Dettor is offering $20,000 for information leading to resolution of […]

Foreign laborers: Trump not the only vineyard hiring

President-elect Donald Trump made stopping illegal immigration a cornerstone of his campaign. Legal immigration, however, is another matter, and son Eric Trump’s winery has filed a request with the U.S. Department of Labor to hire six foreign workers to prune grapevines. Trump Vineyard Estates isn’t the only local winery importing laborers on an H-2A visa. […]