Toscano resigns, reconsiders House minority leader position

Delegate David Toscano made two surprise announcements within two days. On November 12, he sent an e-mail to the Democratic caucus in the House of Delegates saying he was stepping down as minority leader. One day later, he says he changed his mind “when my cell phone blew up with caucus members and federal and […]

There’s hope yet for the pedestrian bridge over 250

Though building a pedestrian bridge over Route 250 at Rolkin Road may not be the Albemarle Board of Supervisors’ first priority, the proposal hasn’t gone unnoticed. With about 350 to 400 names on petitions advocating for the bridge and a large showing of supporters at the November 11 meeting, Pantops Community Advisory Committee member Diane […]

Lightning fast: Ting’s grand plans to expand

Just five months after Ting launched its high-speed Internet network in Charlottesville, the company has given almost half the city access to the gigabit. Ting describes the gigabit as “lightning fast” (gigabit refers to a speed of one gigabit per second, and one gigabit equals 1,000 megabits), and its network requires not just stringing cables up […]

PCA executive director exits after less than a year

On Tuesday, November 10, Piedmont Council for the Arts announced that executive director Gram Slaton will leave his current position effective November 15. The PCA Board of Directors hired Slaton in January. In May, Slaton was quoted in C-VILLE Weekly, saying that he hoped to avoid “constantly losing all institutional knowledge” through staff turnover at PCA. He also proposed a […]

Garage closing thwarts parking, delays TEDX

Commuters into downtown Charlottesville found streets backed up and parking even more difficult than usual Friday morning, thanks to the Market Street Garage being closed for maintenance, and the Water Street Garage selling 150 parking vouchers for TEDx attendees. Streets around the Water Street Garage were particularly clogged. Bob Stroh, parking center general manager, had on […]

It’s a wash: Nothing has changed, yet everything’s different

Well, as we predicted right before the voting commenced, Virginia’s latest round of elections ended up almost exactly where it began, with the Republicans holding a one-seat majority in the state Senate and a two-thirds majority in the House of Delegates. Despite a flood of advertising (much of it funded by outside interest groups), Democrats […]

Settlement nearly reached for Fluvanna prisoners

“It’s nasty—it had feces on the wall,” testified an inmate at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women during a November 9 settlement hearing. “It had blood,” she added, describing a trip to the prison infirmary. Cynthia Scott, 46, is one of five female prisoners who filed suit against the institution for insufficient medical care in […]

Local veteran competes for CNN Hero status

A local veteran has already been awarded $10,000 in a CNN Heroes competition, but as a finalist for Hero of the Year, he could win an extra $100,000. And he needs your vote. Sean Gobin, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, was honorably discharged in March 2012 after serving 12 years. Feeling the wages of […]