In session: The General Assembly gets back to work

Seriously, of all the General Assembly legislative sessions we’ve covered, this has got to be the weirdest one yet. And if there was one moment that perfectly encapsulated the off-kilter nature of the proceedings, it happened during the annual Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast, which is traditionally held on the first day of the session. When the […]

Man found dead on Route 29 believed to be victim of hit-and-run

Virginia State Police say they believe the man found dead on U.S. 29 in Ruckersville earlier this week was a victim of a hit-and-run, and are asking for help from the public in their investigation. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 3:51am Tuesday, January 20 of a body just north of […]

Of cops and cameras: Body cams imminent for Charlottesville police

Even before a police officer’s fatal encounter with an unarmed teen in Ferguson last summer, the Charlottesville Police Department had already budgeted for body-worn cameras for its officers, a move that has gained widespread support—except, perhaps, from the officers themselves. City Police Chief Tim Longo got $450,000 in the fiscal year 2014 budget for the […]

99 problems that could lead to DNA collection

Extending DNA collection to include convictions of misdemeanors seems to enjoy bipartisan support, but two local delegates are carrying separate bills with different visions of how to expand the DNA databank. House Minority Leader David Toscano (D-57th) was the first to answer Albemarle Sheriff Chip Harding’s call for misdemeanor DNA collection after the abduction of […]

Dominion withdraws some suits, but forges ahead with pipeline plans

Dominion Resources has dropped 14 lawsuits against Nelson County landowners it says it sued in error, but dozens more suits over the company’s right to survey land for its proposed 550-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline are going ahead as many residents continue to voice their opposition. Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said Friday, January 16, that the […]

‘Smells and bells’ empty Wells Fargo building

The Wells Fargo building on the Downtown Mall was evacuated around lunch time Monday because of smoke on the seventh floor. A locked-up motor in a mechanical room on that floor caused the alarm, according to Charlottesville Fire Department Battalion Chief W. A. Hogsten. Even though the ladder truck was extended to the top floor, […]

Holdout fraternities sign new rules agreement with UVA

The two UVA fraternity chapters whose national organizations issued statements earlier this week saying they wouldn’t sign a new rules agreement with the University have capitulated, according to a recent news release. UVA’s Kappa Alpha Order and Alpha Tau Omega fraternities have signed a new Fraternal Order Agreement, or FOA, which defines the frats’ relationship with the […]

To drip or not to drip: Old-school advice in new-construction apartments?

Anton Largiader lives down the road from Treesdale Apartments on East Rio Road. He watched the 88-unit affordable housing being built in 2009, and when he saw a “freeze warning” sign in December—before temperatures plunged in January—advising tenants to leave their faucets dripping, “I was astonished,” he said. “This is like out of the ’70s.” […]