Mandatory reporting bills targeting campus sexual assault scrutinized

There was one big trending topic heading into this year’s state legislative session, thanks largely to events that unfolded in Charlottesville. The death of UVA second-year Hannah Graham, allegedly at the hands of a man who left two Virginia schools under suspicion of sexual assault, and the explosive if now discredited Rolling Stone story on […]

Jesse Matthew indicted on murder charge in Hannah Graham case

Jesse Matthew, the man charged in the abduction last fall of UVA student Hannah Graham, has been indicted for Graham’s murder, Albemarle Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford announced at a press conference February 10. Matthew was indicted February 2 on first-degree murder, abduction and reckless driving charges in connection with Graham’s death, Lunsford said. He has […]

Landes challenger Angela Lynn announces run

White Hall resident Angela Lynn knows she’s got an uphill battle challenging Republican Delegate Steve Landes for the 25th District seat, which he’s held since 1996. Most of the district is in more conservative Augusta and Rockingham counties, with a chunk of western Albemarle thrown in. It was the gerrymandering of the district that played […]

The Airbnb question: City struggles to regulate short-term lodging industry

Unregulated short-term lodging is a booming business in Charlottesville, but as more and more locals rent out rooms and houses to guests on sites like Airbnb, city officials are increasingly anxious to get rules on the books and find a way to make hosts pony up for required taxes and fees. Charlottesville’s Department of Neighborhood […]

Anticipation: Local author predicted another Harper Lee book

Charlottesville writer Charles Shields was not surprised to learn that more than 50 years after the publication of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird, a second novel has been discovered and will be published this summer. “I knew of its existence,” said Shields, who wrote Mockingbird, an unauthorized biography of Lee, in 2006. […]

UVA sorority sister: Why I quit

Last week UVA’s Greeks showed up on the national news once again, this time thanks to a decision by sorority leaders to ground their UVA chapters on Boys’ Bid Night, a men’s pledging celebration and one of the biggest party nights of the year. The mandate infuriated sorority members at the University. Simmering discontent over […]

Meadow Creek Parkway, Bypass interchange to open Thursday

The last part of the Meadow Creek Parkway, a controversial road that’s been on the books for decades, will open to traffic on February 5. The interchange at the U.S. 250 bypass will connect with McIntire Road Extended, Charlottesville’s portion of the parkway, which was completed in August 2013. That section goes up to Melbourne […]