UPDATED: No UVA students aboard crashed bus

Virginia State Police have determined that speed was a factor in the November 29 motorcoach accident by an Abbott Trailways driver in North Chesterfield County. The bus, driven by Thomas B. Chidester of Salem, was en route to the University of Virginia around 7:15pm when the driver lost control on the curve of a ramp […]

Unsettled: Syrian refugees and the politics of fear

You know, it takes a special kind of politician to unite elected officials from all points of the political spectrum. When was the last time you can remember a lone figure whose bold actions drew the same response from his own party and his opponents, from liberals and conservatives, and, indeed, from all right-thinking Americans? […]

Horse owner speaks out about neglect at Somerset farm

A stallion of the Lipizzan breed, Conversano II Aloha II, was trained to the highest level in Grand Prix dressage and ridden by owner Jean Thornton for 20 years. That is, until she sold him to Somerset farm owner Anne Shumate, who promised to care for the aging horse while riding him enough to keep […]

John Wayne Jordan escapes by Gator—briefly

John Wayne Jordan, 50, a trustee at the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail, disappeared on a John Deere Gator and was on the lam for about 11 minutes from the time he was reported missing until he was captured November 24. Jordan was working for the Virginia Department of Forestry on Natural Resources Drive and was […]

Machete maelstrom: Mallory can continue to coach

Popular youth coach Joe Mallory, 43, made news earlier this year when the Charlottesville Cavaliers were disqualified from the boys National Travel Basketball Association’s championship tournament for playing a girl on the team. In September, Mallory was in the news again, this time for brandishing a gun near Greenbrier Elementary School. That incident resulted in […]

Unwelcoming cities: Chasm grows in our nation’s reaction to refugees

In the week since terrorists waged the largest attack in Paris since World War II, sympathy to the French has been pretty much universal. To Syrians fleeing slaughter in their country, not so much. On the evening of November 20, two Syrian refugees flew into Charlottesville after Kansas Governor Sam Brownback uninvited them. “That’s so […]

Volunteer core: ‘Tis the season to give back

The holiday season is a time when giving and sharing is on everyone’s mind. And that is especially true of volunteers who give their time and share their skills with numerous organizations in the community year-round. So many organizations rely on volunteers for not only day-to-day upkeep tasks such as touching up paint or mending […]

Virginia band marches to Macy’s for Thanksgiving Day Parade

  This week, families and friends will come together to celebrate Thanksgiving by eating turkey and watching football. For many families, the Macy’s 89th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade will also be on the agenda, and for.Virginia fans, it will be even more exciting. The Cavalier Marching Band will appear for the first time in UVA […]

ABC officials file motion to dismiss Martese Johnson’s lawsuit

Three ABC agents and its director filed a motion in U.S. District Court November 16 to dismiss all seven claims in UVA student Martese Johnson’s $3 million lawsuit stemming from his encounter with agents last March that left him bloody and needing 10 stitches. Johnson alleges false arrest, excessive force, negligence and battery against special […]

Weather-wise, locals are lucking out

While California is experiencing its worst drought in more than a millennium, South Carolina was subject to extreme flooding in October and western wildfires have burned more than 9 million acres of land this year, one group aims to bring forewarning of extreme weather conditions closer to home. Environment Virginia, a research and policy center […]