Education or advocacy? NOW sex-ed exhibit spawns library controversy

The display case near the entrance of the Central Library holding a coat-hanger necklace, birth control pills and condoms had gone unremarked upon since it went up April 1. Three weeks later, it captured the attention of a local library user who said it was inappropriate for children and advocated abortion in a publicly funded […]

City’s job training program eyes expansion after early successes

Last year, George Davis was struggling to make ends meet. The 47-year-old was working as much as possible as a private home care attendant, landscaper and maintenance man. But the work wasn’t steady, and he didn’t always get his paychecks on time. “The money wasn’t what I needed to sustain my rent or food costs,” […]

Judge blocks Sweet Briar from selling off assets for six months

An Amherst County judge ruled Wednesday that Sweet Briar, whose board wants to close the women’s college, may not sell any assets for six months. The move provided a partial win in a student-based lawsuit to halt the closing, but the plaintiffs said there was cause to celebrate. “This was a huge victory,” said attorney Elliott […]

Book purge? Alderman renovation foments faculty fear

The University of Virginia’s main research library, built in 1938, has never had a major renovation. And when funding for such a project comes through, some faculty fear 2 million of Alderman’s 3 million books will be shipped to the Ivy Stacks, off-campus storage on Old Ivy Road, never to return. English professor David Vander […]

Rescinded: Meeks booted from Scottsville ARB

Steven G. Meeks is president of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. He’s Albemarle’s elected rep on the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District. And until April 20, he served on Scottsville’s Architectural Review Board. That’s when Scottsville Town Council unanimously voted to rescind his appointment to the ARB because a house he managed in […]

Faculty jumps into Sweet Briar legal fray as school remains defiant

A group of 55 Sweet Briar faculty members has filed yet another lawsuit attempting to block the planned closure of the 114-year-old college, claiming breach of contract. But the school’s leaders have fired back with a legal memorandum opposing the suit—the third filed against the school in a month—and have accused the faculty of trying […]

Trump to turn Albemarle House into luxe bed and breakfast

When Donald Trump and his son Eric bought former billionaire Patricia Kluge’s 45-room mansion in 2012, completing a $12.7 million takeover of her 776-acre county estate, the younger mogul hinted it could become a boutique inn for the adjacent Trump Winery. Now those plans are coming to fruition as the Trump Hotel Collection prepares to […]

Deluxe lodgings: Two West Main hotels set to open this year

Two upscale hotels are under construction on West Main Street, and rather than creating an oversupply of hotel rooms, tourism officials say they will hardly make a dent in prime season demand. This summer, the former Red Roof Inn on the Corner will unveil itself as Graduate Charlottesville, part of a new chain hitting college-town […]