In 2013, City Council candidates in the Democratic primary spent an average of around $2,500. In this year’s June primary, that average number soared to nearly $19,000. And the surge in spending is causing some concern. “I am worried the cost is going up and will discourage people from running,” says Mayor Satyendra Huja, who […]
In 2013, City Council candidates in the Democratic primary spent an average of around $2,500. In this year’s June primary, that average number soared to nearly $19,000. And the surge in spending is causing some concern. “I am worried the cost is going up and will discourage people from running,” says Mayor Satyendra Huja, who […]
It’s a Friday morning in late June, and Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford is sitting on the patio at Java Java Coffee Shop on the Downtown Mall, a few blocks away from the courtroom where, in a hearing a day earlier, Albemarle Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins declined to recuse herself from the Jesse […]
The controversial development that puts a Fairfield Inn on the corner of Ridge Street and Cherry Avenue, nixed by the Planning Commission 5-0 and rejected by more than 500 petition-signing residents, got a 3-2 go-ahead from City Council July 21. The Southern Development project was in front of council a few weeks ago, and a […]
If you’re like us, you spend at least a few minutes every day thinking “What’s good ol’ Jim up to these days?” Jim being, of course, former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore, the visionary leader who won the commonwealth’s highest office by promising to eliminate Virginia’s much-hated car tax. While governor, as everyone knows, he not […]
Local realtor and Ivy resident Andrew Middleditch, 55, was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence July 13, a charge stemming from a May 25 crash in which Lonnie Wycliffe Branham, 78, was killed on Barracks Road. Middleditch previously had been charged with a DUI, his second. He was released from Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional […]
As features editor for Zimbabwe’s largest daily paper, The Herald, in the capital city of Harare, Roselyne Sachiti doesn’t shy away from tough stories, even if they place her in danger. The 33- year-old journalist has gone undercover to investigate the smuggling of clothes into her country, an episode that found her temporarily locked in […]
Are representatives from an out-of-state hospitality company trying to poach some of Charlottesville’s most talented restaurant staff? According to local restaurant owners, the answer is yes. According to the out-of-state guys, the answer is hmmm, well, that wasn’t their intention and they’re sorry for the misunderstanding. Will Richey, owner of The Whiskey Jar, The Alley […]
Minutes before top Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s helicopter landed on the grounds of the Trump Winery in southern Albemarle County on Tuesday, July 14, a soft breeze rustled the grapevines on the 1,300-acre estate and, in an occurrence that might have seemed eerily symbolic to some of Trump’s critics, the American flag flanking […]
Robert Tracci’s first job out of law school was in Congress as counsel to a House committee. He worked in the Justice Department in Washington in 2006, and was a federal prosecutor in Charlottesville two years later. Despite the glittery resume, some Democrats are asking if the Republican candidate for Albemarle commonwealth’s attorney, challenging incumbent […]
The darling of 21st-century community design is the “planned unit development,” which typically combines commercial and residential for high-density, pedestrian friendly living. So when the developer of the already controversial William Taylor Plaza PUD told City Council July 6 there was no requirement for a residential component, councilors put the brakes on a rezoning amendment […]