Like a voter, for the very first time

Do you remember the first time you voted? Were you excited? Unenthusiastic? A little scared? As this election grows more dramatic and November 8 gets closer, first-time voters are running out of time to make up their minds. The University of Virginia hosted both presidential and vice presidential debate viewings with turnouts of about 300 […]

Take a hike: Locals share tales from the trails

Early-morning light catches a tinge of red on the edges of the maple leaves. The air is crisp after a cold fall night in early October. Chris Saunders steps onto the Blackrock Summit Trail with the confidence and speed of someone who has been there before. “I’ve hiked it five or six times,” he says. […]

Day 2: Eramo takes stand in suit against Rolling Stone

It was a courtroom with tears shed on both sides of the aisle. The defamation trial pitting former University of Virginia dean Nicole Eramo against her portrayal by Rolling Stone magazine’s Sabrina Rubin Erdely got into full swing Tuesday with both women crying at the federal courthouse. There was even talk of past tears, such as […]

‘Free me:’ Silva sentenced for standoff

  Social media celebrity Bryan Silva, who prompted the first SWAT standoff of the year, was sentenced to one year and nine months of jail time October 18 in Charlottesville Circuit Court for possessing and brandishing an illegal firearm and disobeying the court. Silva’s attorney, John March, asked for a lesser sentence, arguing that the […]

Campaign trail: Spy center backs off Trump sign ban

Mike Sienda already felt aggrieved when his boss at the National Ground Intelligence Center’s Rivanna Station told him in early September to not show up on grounds with his giant Trump-Pence signs on the side of his box truck. When he was told he couldn’t park on the federal property with a smaller Trump 2016: […]

Day 1: Jurors selected in Eramo v. Rolling Stone defamation trial

Nearly two years after Rolling Stone put UVA in the national spotlight with an article called “A Rape on Campus,” 100 potential jurors crammed into U.S. District Court October 17 for the start of a 12-day trial to determine whether the magazine, reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely and Wenner Media LLC defamed former UVA associate dean […]

Activist calls for boycott of City Council

JoAnn Robertson has had enough. She was appalled at conditions facing elderly and disabled residents at Crescent Halls who spent the summer without air conditioning. Now she’s calling for a boycott of City Council in protest of its new public comment rules that went into effect in February—and that already have drawn a lawsuit. At […]

I spy: Changes in local police surveillance

When photos of Danville police popping the hoods of their patrol cars spread on social media last month, so did speculation that it was being done to shield dash cams from filming officers’ interactions with civilians. While that city’s department explained that their cars have had a continual issue with overheating and it has vowed […]

House calls: Finding shelter for local homeless vets

It’s been almost one year since Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Virginia was the first state in the U.S. to functionally end homelessness among veterans—and while it may not seem that way when residents drive through Charlottesville and see people begging, evolving housing programs are having positive effects on the city and surrounding counties. Partnerships […]

In brief: Angry administrator, unwise Facebooking and more

Rolling Stone cries foul Days before UVA former associate dean Nicole Eramo’s 12-day defamation trial is set to begin October 17, the magazine accused her of improperly releasing video depositions to ABC’s “20/20” to air October 14, and sought relief in an emergency motion. The judge ruled October 11 that Eramo can’t use leaked videos […]