Kickstart

There was a new face on the dais at City Council’s first meeting of 2024.   Natalie Oschrin, a Charlottesville native, ran for council on a platform focused on improving transportation, planning, access to housing, and the relationship between the city and UVA. As she settles into her new role, Oschrin says she’s excited about […]

In brief

In the zone While C-VILLE took a brief break for the holidays, Charlottesville City Council unanimously approved the long-debated zoning ordinance on Monday, December 18.  New zoning has been a hot topic in Charlottesville for months, with hundreds of residents weighing in during the discussion window. Broadly, supporters of the ordinance believe that increasing density […]

Locals act on Gaza conflict

As the number of Palestinian lives lost from the conflict in Gaza climbs to over 20,000, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, voices addressing the crisis are louder than ever. Local activist Jason Crane is one of them. Since October 24, Crane has held a vigil every weekday morning on the corner of Rugby […]

Between the lines

The University of Virginia will reopen Alderman Library on January 8 after nearly four years of renovations. As work continues on the project during the spring semester, the UVA Board of Visitors will also consider renaming the university’s main library ahead of the official grand opening in April. Since closing in March 2020, Alderman Library […]

New year, new process

Now that 2024 is here, one of the challenges for a land-use reporter will be how to cover potential buildings as they make their way through Charlottesville’s new rules for building. City Council adopted a zoning code on December 18 that eliminated most discretionary review of land-use applications.   One day later, Charlottesville’s Board of […]

Censored!

By Paul Rosenberg “We have made the planet inhospitable to human life.” That’s what the lead researcher in Project Censored’s number one story this year said. He wasn’t talking about the climate catastrophe. He was talking about so-called “forever chemicals,” per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), linked to prostate, kidney and testicular cancer and additional health […]

Wrapping it up

With 2024 just around the corner, we decided to take a look at this year’s most popular C-VILLE news stories. Here’s what our readers clicked on the most in 2023, based on Google Analytics. “Afton Mountain’s grand lady,” August 23Written by longtime C-VILLE contributor Carol Diggs, our top news story looked at the future of […]

Driving it home

Sure, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. But along with holiday festivities comes the traffic. Lots of traffic. And while roads will be bumper to bumper in the coming weeks, the Virginia Department of Transportation has a few tips for minimizing your travel stress. According to VDOT, the periods of heaviest traffic will […]

In brief

The Good chair Fifth District Rep. Bob Good was named chair of the House Freedom Caucus on December 11, and will start the job in January. For years, the Freedom Caucus has played a prominent role in congressional politics, including the ouster of former House speaker Kevin McCarthy and the lengthy process to elect a […]

Deal or no deal

By Sofia Heartney The Albemarle Education Association, the union for Albemarle County teachers and staff, has been negotiating for a collective bargaining agreement with the school board since June. Teachers have expressed frustration over being tied to contracts that can be “changed at a whim,” says Vernon Liechti, AEA president and a teacher at Albemarle […]