Never again

Just over a year ago, the world watched in horror as thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, spurred by former President Donald Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election. Though activists and watchdog groups had warned law enforcement about the attack for weeks, police failed to adequately prepare for the violent mob. […]

Milling it over

Living here, in the shadow of Monticello, you’ve likely heard of Shadwell, the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson. There’s even an historic marker for it, along 250 East, south of Pantops. But next to the marker, all there is to see is rolling pasture and a herd of not-very-historic-looking Black Angus cattle. Two hundred and sixty […]

In brief: City goes dark, new maps approved

In the dark If your power went out during Monday’s snowstorm, you weren’t alone. The storm dumped as much as a foot of snow across central Virginia, and the Virginia Department of Transportation reported that “thousands of fallen trees and downed power lines” led to widespread outages. By mid-afternoon on Monday, more than 31,000 of […]

Second chance

Most of us associate TikTok with teenagers doing goofy dances. Charlottesville native Jesse Crosson, though, is using the platform to talk about something far more meaningful—criminal justice reform. Over the past year, Virginia has passed major legislation, like abolishing the death penalty and legalizing marijuana. Crosson, who was released in 2021 after nearly two decades […]

The ‘Dewberry Serenade’

What traits would you like to see in Charlottesville’s next police chief? What seasonal events are you excited to see return? If you had a warning label, what would it say? These are among this year’s C-VILLE Question of the Week. For most people, the answers to those questions would cover a pretty broad range […]

It’s just clickbait

1. Reparations: Virginia bill would require scholarships for descendants of enslaved laborers (February 17) “This is really just the bare minimum that could be done for a community of people who are responsible for these institutions existing,” said Justin Reid of Virginia Humanities in our most-read story of the year.  2. High hopes: A second-generation […]

What a year

By Ben Hitchcock, Brielle Entzminger, and Kristin O’Donoghue The statues came down  In one hot July weekend, four of Charlottesville’s racist old statues were pulled off their pedestals. The infamous downtown depictions of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were the first to go, wheeled out of town after a 5-0 vote from City Council […]

One brick at a time

The charlottesville region continued to grow in 2021, and both Albemarle County and Charlottesville took several steps forward this year to increase the number of housing units and to improve the certainty of getting infrastructure in place to accommodate a bigger population.  “We continue to see robust building activity, with many projects in varying stages […]

In brief: UVA hires new football coach, county split

Lining it up New congressional map would split Albemarle County Virginia’s 2021 redistricting cycle is nearing a close. Last week, the state Supreme Court-appointed map drawers released drafts of the Virginia Congressional, State Senate, and House of Delegate districts that could go into effect next year. In the past, the party in control of the […]

A seat at the table

Since Virginia lifted its decades-old ban on collective bargaining for public sector employees this year, Charlottesville’s firefighters and bus drivers have urged City Council to pass an ordinance allowing city employees to join a union and negotiate their contracts. Over the summer, the city took initial steps toward bargaining, when council adopted a resolution allowing […]