Dodging Google? Convicted rapist Jeffrey Kitze’s name change draws attention of victims rights advocates

The man known as the “graduation day rapist” has quietly changed his name, a move that prosecutors and victims rights advocates fear could help a dangerous predator conceal his violent past. On October 28, Buckingham County Circuit Court judge Kimberly S. White approved a second petition by Jeffrey Theodore Kitze to become legally known as […]

A “sophisticated” crime: Rugby Road trio sentenced in fake ID case

Seven months after a fake ID sting turned Rugby Road into a paramilitary zone, complete with armored vehicles and SWAT-attired agents, the three defendants who pleaded guilty to charges relating to the creation and distribution of at least 20,000 fake IDs were sentenced in federal court on Monday, December 16. The admitted “mastermind” of the […]

Education Beat: Officials debate future of Yancey Elementary

Our Education Beat coverage is the result of a partnership with Charlottesville Tomorrow. A year after elected officials charged a citizen work group to find additional uses for the chronically under-enrolled Yancey Elementary School, the group has proposed transforming the Esmont school into an “intergenerational learning center.” On Thursday, the Yancey Workgroup recommended that the school […]

What’s Happening at the Jefferson School City Center?

JABA Busy with Holiday Fun, Gift-wrapping Fundraiser Throughout December, JABA has scheduled several holiday delights for its members. This week, Buford Middle School’s choir sang holiday songs on Wednesday and Tom and Kathy Sendall shared their antique mechanical music makers with JABA members on Thursday morning. “The Sendalls brought music boxes and instruments similar to […]

Once-rejected Arrowhead Farm set to become county nature preserve

Albemarle County officials have accepted a 410-acre land gift they initially rejected, approving a plan to partner with a local nonprofit that will maintain the new southern Albemarle park as a nature preserve and a site to release rehabilitated wildlife. “We’re very, very pleased that the land will be secure under a government agency,” said […]

Ask Betty: Going green, staying warm

Teri Kent runs Charlottesville’s Better World Betty, a non-profit organization and online resource for locals looking to shrink their impact on the environment. Every month, Betty—Kent’s ’50s-housewife-meets-earth-goddess alter ego—answers the most burning eco- questions from our readers about energy use, water, waste and recycling, transportation, and green buying. Q: I’m bad about checking my tire pressure. […]

Call to action: Friends, family of Central Virginia victims come together after Jamisha Gilbert’s death

Three days after the body of 18-year-old Lynchburg teen Jamisha Gilbert was discovered, the families and friends of nine missing or murdered young people from Central Virginia came together on Saturday, December 7, to issue a call for community action. “This is not right!” exclaimed Ronald “B.B.” Shavers, head of the Lynchburg-based nonprofit youth group […]

Education Beat: SOL reform tops schools’ legislative priorities list

Our Education Beat coverage appears thanks to a partnership with Charlottesville Tomorrow.  Officials from Charlottesville and Albemarle schools are hoping their students take fewer standardized tests in the coming years. At recent meetings with the area’s Virginia General Assembly delegation, representatives from both divisions cited reforming the Standards of Learning tests as a priority. Albemarle […]