UPDATED: STAB students praised for presenting to City Council

Three St. Anne’s-Belfield seniors hoped to draw attention to the current positioning of a nearly hidden plaque that commemorates the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Vinegar Hill that was razed by urban renewal in the ’60s. The students presented a petition to City Council February 1. Christopher Woodfolk, 17, says he and his classmates created the […]

Mayor doesn’t rule out condemning Landmark

The skeletal Landmark Hotel officially went from eyesore to public safety hazard last week when a beam went through the roof of next-door CVS. “Debris blew off the building and could have killed someone,” said Mayor Mike Signer on “Wake-Up Call” January 17. The city closed the area around the hotel January 14, and the […]

Signer elected mayor, Bellamy vice mayor

Newly elected Mayor Mike Signer promised respect and results at the first City Council meeting of the year but received a test in maintaining order when he was greeted by protesters and disrupted twice by angry constituents. The council elected another first-termer, Wes Bellamy, vice mayor. Rumors that Signer would be the next mayor were […]

A city divided: Should West Main be rezoned?

Locals voiced concerns about a potential zoning amendment in the plans for West Main Street at a public forum in front of the City Planning Commission and City Council December 8. Amendments to the current zoning laws could include dividing West Main into east and west sections with the bridge by the Amtrak station being […]

Mensch: Former mayor Francis Fife dies at 95

If it seems like Francis Fife has always been an integral part of Charlottesville, for most of the 20th century he was. “It’s hard to imagine a program here he didn’t have a finger in,” says his wife of 33 years, Nancy O’Brien, who was Charlottesville’s first female mayor. She remembers meeting him when he […]

Sage’s grandmother beseeches City Council

A couple of grim anniversaries were noted on September 13: the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 18-year-old UVA student Hannah Graham, and five years since 19-year-old Orange resident Samantha Clarke vanished. Her last known contact was with Randy Taylor, the man convicted in 2014 for the murder of missing teen Alexis Murphy. The grandmother […]