In brief: Monumental movement, Bloomberg boomtown, Buttigieg’s buddy

Monumental movement in Richmond Bills allowing localities to move or remove Confederate monuments passed through the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates on February 11. The Senate bill passed 21-19, a party-line vote, and the House bill passed 53-46. The bills aren’t law just yet, but their passage represents a significant victory for those who hope to […]

A change is gonna come: New Democratic government has big plans, big challenges ahead

“No pipeline.” “Climate action now.” “That awkward moment when you burn your own planet.” On December 6, a crowd of about 70 sign-carrying protesters gathered at Charlottesville’s Free Speech wall to demand the city and state government take immediate action against climate change. Carrying their handmade posters, musical instruments, and reusable water bottles, the activists […]

Keeping watch: Statue defenders take security into their own hands

Nearly four years after a student’s petition called for their ouster, three years after a City Council vote to remove them, two years after a deadly white supremacist rally in support of them, and months after a judge ruled generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson must stay, Confederate statues continue to roil Charlottesville. In […]

This week, 10/2

A few weeks ago, while driving past West Main and McIntire Road, my 5-year-old daughter peered out the car window and asked who those people were on the statue. “That’s Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea,” I replied. No, she insisted. “There’s only two.” Lamely, I offered the party line: “Well, you can’t see Sacagawea very […]