In brief: Census data, Delta updates

Make room: City, county see population growth in 2020 Census  It’s not your imagination—it is getting more crowded around here. Charlottesville and Albemarle are both more populous than they were a decade ago, according to newly released census data. The 2020 census was delayed thanks to the pandemic, but the Census Bureau shared its first […]

You’ll never walk alone

This fall, UVA will debut a new app, Rave Guardian, designed to help keep students safe on Grounds.     The app is a one-stop shop that allows users to read safety alerts, locate phone numbers for SafeRide, Dean on Call, and CAPS on Call, submit tips to the school’s Just Report It tip line, […]

State of the union

Despite support from city firefighters and bus drivers, on Monday Charlottesville City Council unanimously voted not to approve the collective bargaining ordinance proposed in March by Greg Wright of the Charlottesville Professional Firefighters Association. Instead, councilors adopted a resolution allowing City Manager Chip Boyles to draft a new collective bargaining ordinance, as Boyles recommended.  “I […]

Accountability approaches

Last Tuesday, Integrity First for America hosted a program to remember August 11 and 12. IFA is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that represents the plaintiffs in the upcoming Sines v. Kessler federal lawsuit, where August 11 and 12 victims are suing the organizers and participants of Unite the Right. The trial will take place […]

In brief: Riggleman’s on committee, VA goes for gold

Riggleman appointed to dig in to January 6  The House of Representatives committee tasked with investigating the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection has hired former Virginia 5th District representative Denver Riggleman as a senior staff member. The Democrats in charge of the committee have been searching for conservatives willing to turn a critical eye to […]

Kicking the can

When the Centers for Disease Control’s eviction moratorium expired on July 31, more than 10 million people across the country were at risk of losing their homes. But on August 3, after  Representative Cori Bush camped out on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in protest for four days, the CDC extended the moratorium until […]

Mask on

On Friday, UVA announced that all students, faculty, staff, and contract workers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, will be required to wear a mask when on UVA property. The policy took effect at the beginning of this week, and the school says it’ll re-evaluate in September. The university made this announcement as cases of the delta […]

On the rise

Thanks to high vaccination rates, coronavirus cases have remained largely in the single digits in the Blue Ridge Health District over the past three months. But in recent weeks, the highly contagious delta variant—which may cause more severe illness than other strains of the virus—has caused cases to spike. On July 26, the district saw […]

In brief: Youngkin declines debate, Good against vax

Youngkin declines debate, again  Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for Virginia governor, declined an invitation to debate Democrat opponent Terry McAuliffe this week. Youngkin and former governor McAuliffe were invited to square off in Hot Springs in an event organized by the AARP. McAuliffe has said he’s up for as many as five debates between […]

Spending money

Virginia received $4.3 billion in federal relief funds as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan package Congress passed earlier this year. That sounds like lot of dough, but this spring, state agencies had a chance to submit requests for how the money might be spent. Those agencies’ requests totaled $18 billion. The General […]