Drug court offers felons an alternative

“How are you doing?” Rarely does a judge speak in such a convivial manner to a perpetrator, but that’s exactly what happens every Thursday morning in Charlottesville-Albemarle Drug Court, a treatment and rehabilitation program for nonviolent felons who are also addicts.

Retiring Judge Peatross over the years

A group of local attorneys know him as Judge Paul M. Peatross inside the courtroom. But they also know him as “Mac” from the golf course, the high school basketball court, the campus and the fraternity house. Peatross announced in November that he will retire next year. Now, Peatross’ colleagues and friends speak out on […]

Gadfly Debbie Wyatt to retire

When she was in the third grade, Debbie Wyatt heard about the firing of an old man from her neighborhood A&P store. This was more than 40 years ago, long before age discrimination laws took hold.

Gay marriage advocates march on

Virginia voters just passed an amendment to the State Constitution restricting marriage to the “union between one man and one woman” and banning civil unions. It’s a defeat for gay marriage advocates, but some choose to see a silver lining. “We always knew the work needed to continue,” says Dyana Mason, executive director of Equality […]

City maintains good credit

As City Council begins considering the new budget for Fiscal Year 2008, one theme that sticks from the current budget is how to maintain existing facilities and build new ones in the face of rising construction costs and fluctuating revenues. At an October 2 City Council meeting, Councilor Julian Taliaferro said, “We have to find […]

City and County cooperate for transit

The City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County aren’t particularly well known for playing nice in the sandbox of Central Virginia (at least on some issues), but the two governments have decided that if they want working mass transit-he kind more commuters will actually use-hey should collaborate.

Jefferson School delays irk locals

Standing at a podium facing City Council, Charlottesville resident Ida Lewis unfurled a neatly folded set of papers and began to read. “I am here again to voice my concern for the progress of historic Jefferson School,” said Lewis early in the November 20 council meeting. She was far from the only one to express […]

Commission discusses future of Pantops

Go east on the 250 Bypass, cross the Rivanna River, and you’re in what’s known as Pantops, a tangle of retail including the aging Food Lion shopping center, several car dealerships, a newer shopping center anchored by Giant, and what will be the new Martha Jefferson Hospital. The development at Pantops follows the conventions one […]

Red Dirt Alert!

Among the restaurants and shops of W. Main Street, one address sticks out like a sore thumb: 858-860 W. Main, a muddy lot next to the Hampton Inn. Although the trucks, steel beams and construction fencing make the lot look like the burgeoning site of some mixed-use condo and retail building, the space is currently […]