Nearly two years ago, Virginia became the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. Before then, the commonwealth had executed over 1,300 people—more than any other state. As the head chaplain on Virginia’s death row, Reverend Russ Ford ministered to men sentenced to capital punishment throughout the 1980s and ’90s, and walked 28 of […]
Nearly two years ago, Virginia became the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. Before then, the commonwealth had executed over 1,300 people—more than any other state. As the head chaplain on Virginia’s death row, Reverend Russ Ford ministered to men sentenced to capital punishment throughout the 1980s and ’90s, and walked 28 of […]
Controversial conservative businessman Bert Ellis has been confirmed to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors. On February 7, the Virginia Senate struck down a resolution brought forth by state Sen. Creigh Deeds to remove Ellis’ name from the final list of appointees. Democratic state Senators Lynwood Lewis and Chapman Petersen rejected the resolution alongside […]
Since the fall, Charlottesville and Albemarle County have seen a significant spike in shootings—several involving juveniles. On January 23, a male juvenile was injured in a shooting in the area of Sixth and Garrett streets. Three months earlier, Charlottesville police arrested three teenage boys, ages 14 to 17, in connection with an October 15 Omni […]
The Charlottesville Climate Action Plan is 97 pages long and chock-full of graphs, charts, and infographics. While the plan will affect everyone who lives in the city, the document can hardly be considered digestible for the average resident. On February 8, the Piedmont chapter of the Virginia Sierra Club attempted to rectify this. The nonprofit […]
The draft zoning map for Charlottesville points the way to a dense future for the city, all in the name of providing affordable housing. But the existing zoning still provides opportunities for additional residential density for those who can pay for it. Sometimes that means removing houses. For example, a house built in 1893 […]
Video games are complicated. Even a game as deceptively simple as Pac-Man is composed of a delicate concoction of level design, character art, artificial intelligence, and audio/video signals, all powered by lines upon lines of code. Today, the biggest games inthe industry, which draw revenue eclipsing Hollywood blockbusters, take years to develop and can involve […]
Council finalists share priorities After 20 residents applied to fill Sena Magill’s seat on Charlottesville City Council, the current councilors trimmed the list to six finalists: former IX Art Park Foundation director Alex Bryant, former Charlottesville School Board member Leah Puryear, wedding sales manager Natalie Oschrin, city school board member Lisa Larson-Torres, and former councilors […]
Six months after UVA Student Council’s executive board called for the immediate resignation of Bert Ellis, one of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s first four appointees to the UVA Board of Visitors, the controversy has reached the Virginia General Assembly. On January 31, a resolution brought forth by state Sen. Creigh Deeds to remove Ellis’ name from […]
“We want to not have data like this,” Katina Otey said candidly at the February 2 Charlottesville School Board meeting. The chief academic officer’s presentation on student conduct revealed a troubling trend. “A majority of [conduct violation] incidents were committed by Black students,” she said. “And male students.” Seventy-seven percent of students suspended in Charlottesville […]
How much do I want fried chicken? That question haunted me. It began as a simple test of endurance: How long was I willing to sit in traffic to get lunch? But as I initiated that test again and again, at different hours and on different days, the question began to transform—to molt, much like […]