Legendary attorney, Foxfield president Benjamin Dick dies

Stetson-wearing James Benjamin Dick, longtime Charlottesville attorney and colorful president of the Foxfield Racing Association, died August 29 at age 67 in Winchester, the town where he was born. Dick graduated from Virginia Military Institute and served in the Army during the Vietnam War. His penchant for Stetsons started at Fort Leavenworth, where he once […]

Crozet man killed by train

On September 2 around 8:25pm, Albemarle police say a 22-year-old male was hit and killed by a train in Crozet about 100 yards east of Starr Hill Brewery. This man has been identified as Matthew Michael Shannon of Crozet. No criminal activity is suspected, according to police spokesperson Carter Johnson. “We’re coping with family and […]

The sound of Costco: Neighbors fret over unwanted noise

“It’s like a twin-engine plane” is how an Albemarle County resident and local teacher describes the noise that now overpowers the quiet bustle and birdsong of his once-peaceful backyard. Donald Healy and his wife live in a townhome on Commonwealth Drive, behind the recently opened Costco in the Stonefield shopping center. Their home is situated […]

All bark and no bite: Controversial girls soccer match resurfaces

In the summer of 2012, the co-captain of the Fluvanna County High School girls varsity soccer team was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery and given a 90-day suspended sentence for biting an ex-teammate, who was playing for Western Albemarle High School in a heavily anticipated rivalry match. Three years later, New York Times best-selling author […]

#MarteseJohnson: Scarred, still alive and seizing the moment

March 17—St. Patrick’s Day—was a pretty typical day for third-year Martese Johnson at the University of Virginia. A Tuesday, it was one of the heaviest academic days for the media studies and Italian major, and he was in class until mid-afternoon. That evening, “I hung out with friends on the Lawn for a time,” he […]

Where’s the fire, chiefs?

Local fire chiefs were in the news last week. The city hired Henrico County Assistant Chief Andrew Baxter to head the Charlottesville Fire Department, succeeding Charles Werner, who retired after 37 years in the department. Although he’s worked in Henrico since 1995, Baxter has lived in the Charlottesville area for 25 years, and he has […]

No bond for psychic

Sandra Marks, 41, who was known locally for her Readings by Catherine business on U.S. 29 North until she disappeared following a big raid a year ago, made it back to town August 28 for a bond hearing in U.S. District Court. Marks was arrested in New York, and a 34-count indictment accuses her of […]

Police called to Carter Mountain twice last week

Carter Mountain, Charlottesville’s popular site for fall apple picking and barbecue, has become the scene of police investigations for the third time in a year as the latest in a string of strange happenings was reported this past Wednesday. First was the discovery of skeletal remains found August 26 along Route 20 near the I-64 […]

Exempt or not exempt? Judge considers FOIA lawsuit

The Public Housing Association of Residents and local branch of the NAACP passed the first hurdle in their lawsuit against the City of Charlottesville for police records of stops and frisks when a judge refused the city’s request to throw out the suit August 25. The case is also raising questions about how government bodies […]

Courting disaster: Republicans pick a losing judicial fight

In our experience, the current Republican majority in the General Assembly excels at exactly one thing: grandstanding. Not great at legislating, consensus-building or acknowledging basic reality, but boy do they know how to make a ruckus. If the definition of a conservative is, as National Review founder William F. Buckley put it, someone who “stands […]