House and home

Charlottesville is getting more expensive, and fast. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the median sales price for a home in the Charlottesville area was $286,000. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the median sales price for the region was $369,000—a 29 percent increase in just four years.  Those rising prices affect everyone in the […]

In brief: Court Square project progresses, UVA pulls paper towels

Squared up Charlottesville’s Historic Resource Committee continues to work toward replacing the Court Square slave auction block marker, which was thrown into a river by a local resident in 2020. During a February 11 meeting, University of Virginia graduate students Jake Calhoun and MaDeja Leverett presented their research on Court Square to the committee. Over […]

Burned out

In January, the highly contagious omicron variant brought coronavirus cases to an all-time high in the Charlottesville area. The Blue Ridge Health District reported over 11,000 new cases and nearly 200 hospitalizations—the largest surge since the pandemic started in February 2020. Over the past few weeks, cases and hospitalizations have significantly declined. On February 13, […]

FOIA showdown

Less than a year after a new Freedom of Information Act law expanded public access to police investigative files in Virginia, Delegate Rob Bell has sponsored a bill that would reverse the reform, citing concern for victims’ privacy.   “There were immediate efforts to access what I would call very private information,” Bell says. He […]

Seeing them off

By Finn Lynch I see a dead body at least once a week.  The decedent in front of me today is an old man who died in hospice care. We have him dressed for viewing in a dark suit and his favorite striped tie. His clothes are a little too big for him now. We […]

In brief: Pipeline delayed, Old Rag hikes price

Pipeline slowed again The Mountain Valley Pipeline has been under construction for more than three years. If and when it’s finished, the pipeline will carry natural gas 303 miles from West Virginia to southwestern Virginia. But the huge fossil fuel project has been met with repeated resistance from regulators since its inception—including just last week, […]

Flood the zoning

By Maryann Xue As Charlottesville continues to search for new ways to address its housing shortage, City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve rezoning for a vacant lot on Nassau Street. The city moved the lot from the R-2U designation, two-family residential, to R-3, the medium intensity residential category. “The purpose of the rezoning is […]

Cops (not) out

After protests over police brutality rocked the nation in the summer of 2020, both Charlottesville and Albemarle ended their school resource officer programs. The districts replaced the officers with care and safety assistants, unarmed adults tasked with building relationships with students, monitoring hallways, de-escalating conflicts, addressing mental health concerns, assisting with security issues, and upholding […]

They want a do-over

The 2022 General Assembly session is in full swing. In November’s election, Republicans flipped the House of Delegates, taking a 52-48 lead after two years in which Democrats controlled all three chambers of government. In recent weeks, GOP House members have worked to undo many of the laws Democrats put into place during their time […]

What is love?

It’s that time of year—Cupid is sharpening his arrowheads and wrapping himself in his very best tunic. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we asked C-VILLE’s freelance writers to tell us about someone, something, anything that they love, in 100 words or less. We think their wide-ranging collection of answers will warm even the bitterest old heart. […]