A few leafy green hemp plants sit on the second-floor windowsills in the Charlottesville Cannabis Club’s lounge. A puffy, white sectional couch fills the center of the room. The high-ceilinged space is a little brighter than the tapestry-draped basement you might expect at a members-only marijuana club, though there’s plenty of evidence that stoners dwell […]
A few leafy green hemp plants sit on the second-floor windowsills in the Charlottesville Cannabis Club’s lounge. A puffy, white sectional couch fills the center of the room. The high-ceilinged space is a little brighter than the tapestry-draped basement you might expect at a members-only marijuana club, though there’s plenty of evidence that stoners dwell […]
By Kristin O’Donoghue UVA’s police force has beefed up its presence on the Corner. The establishment of a new unit—the Community Oriented Policing Squad, COPS for short—comes after a year in which violent incidents around the university have increased. Four COPS officers will patrol the Corner and surrounding areas between the hours of 7pm and […]
More than a month after the firing of Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney, city leadership continues to argue over the decision-making process that led to her dismissal. At Monday’s council meeting, after grilling from city councilors, City Manager Chip Boyles once again offered an explanation for his decision that left some councilors unsatisfied. Though Boyles […]
Last summer, hundreds of people took to the streets of downtown Charlottesville, demanding justice for Black people murdered by police across the country. Many protesters urged the city to drastically reduce the Charlottesville Police Department’s $18 million budget, and reallocate those funds toward community services, including mental health treatment. Thanks to new legislation, a mental […]
Botanical garden plans move forward City Council unanimously approved the lease of city park land to the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont at Monday’s meeting, a significant step forward in the decade-long endeavor to establish a garden in McIntire Park. Formerly called the McIntire Botanical Garden, the garden’s name was changed by the board […]
Call to action Two years ago, Charlottesville City Council committed to cutting the city’s greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Yet to many local climate activists, the city has done very little so far to meet these goals. To push the city government to take immediate, concrete […]
Two distinct factions have emerged in the heated discussion around Charlottesville’s zoning laws. Some city residents say the latest proposed land use map goes too far, and that the construction of apartment buildings and shops would have deleterious effects on what are currently single-family neighborhoods. Others say the map doesn’t do enough to open up […]
By Kristin O’Donoghue Tired of government regulations standing in the way of his wife’s whiskey distillery, Denver Riggleman decided to enter “the belly of the beast” and run for public office. Riggleman hoped to help understand the rule-making processes and regulations that affect small businesses. “We need people who understand how that dance happens,” he […]
McAuliffe and Youngkin take debate stage Gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin butted heads in the 2021 election’s first debate last week. McAuliffe, a longtime Democrat insider who served as governor of Virginia from 2014-2018, stood by his record, while former private equity boss Youngkin styled himself as a businessman who knows how […]
By Brielle Entzminger and Ben Hitchcock Three weeks ago, Charlottesville City Manager Chip Boyles announced that he had decided to fire Police Chief RaShall Brackney. The city will open a national search for the next chief of police, though community members and city councilors alike feel the reasons for Brackney’s dismissal remain murky. And for […]