Dog attack witness: Police K9 was “vicious”

Thursday night, a K9 from the Charlottesville Police Department was accidentally released from the back of a patrol car on the 700 block of Prospect Avenue where it bit a 13-year-old girl several times, breaking the skin and requiring stitches, according to Captain Gary Pleasants. “The dog was vicious,” says Bridget Brown Shackelford, a neighbor […]

Higgins refuses to recuse in Jesse Matthew trial

Albemarle Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins rebuffed the arguments of Jesse Matthew’s attorney that she recuse herself from Matthew’s capital murder trial for the slaying of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham because she has a daughter who was a second-year student at UVA like Graham. Defense attorney Doug Ramseur also said because Higgins signed 25 out of approximately […]

New watershed assessment: Still bad, but not as bad

Though the health of the Rivanna River watershed has consistently failed to meet one of five Virginia water quality standards, a new report shows that its conditions are improving. According to David Hannah, the executive director of StreamWatch—a local nonprofit that assesses watershed health by monitoring and testing streams—32 of the 50 assessed streams failed […]

New digs: More construction on West Main

The mixed-use residential complex going up on West Main and 10th streets now has an official name: Uncommon. And the developers have a description of the type of people they hope will live there. “Uncommoners are trendsetters who don’t try too hard,” the development’s website says, but this hip tagline doesn’t describe the planning they’ve […]

Sweet Briar College to remain open after settlement approval

Students, faculty, and supporters of Sweet Briar College are breathing a sigh of relief that the home of the Vixens will stay afloat for at least another year. Following months of uncertainty over the future of the women’s liberal arts college after President James F. Jones announced in March the school would close due to […]

Power plays: 20 local movers and shakers

Power. We know it when we feel it. Sometimes it’s a server who dawdles while taking our order when we’re starving. Or, on a grander scale, it’s the people who hire and fire, who make the decisions that affect people’s lives, both for good or ill, and in at least a couple of cases, even […]

Prosecutorial discretion: Martese Johnson did nothing wrong—nor did ABC agents, says Chapman

Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman spent nearly three hours June 17 presenting almost every scrap of information about Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control agents’ March 18 takedown of UVA student Martese Johnson that left him with 10 stitches on his forehead. The prosecutor, who dropped charges against Johnson June 12, was sympathetic toward both the student […]

Capital indictment against alleged double slayer

The man accused of killing Robin and Mani Aldridge is now charged with capital murder in the commission of a robbery and robbing a residence. On June 18, Gene Everett Washington and his attorney appeared in Charlottesville Circuit Court to learn the additional charges. Investigators believe Washington beat the school teacher and her daughter to […]