America’s culture war is running right through central Virginia’s schools

On September 28, 2021, former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe said something during the second gubernatorial debate that would spark a movement of conservatives in the state: “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” The Hill would later describe McAuliffe’s statement as “deserving of a top listing in the Hall of […]

Listen to this

By Tami Keaveny, CM Turner, and Ella Powell Charlottesville is a city of music fans and aficionados. We have an abundance of sonic riches in the national tours that touch down at our venues, and we’ve built a few careers here as well (looking at you, jam daddy DMB). There’s a lot of talk about […]

Summer internship program gets city kids hands-on with the great outdoors

On the last Monday in July, in the fields behind the Fifth Street Starbucks, a crew of sweaty high school kids is taking a mid-morning break, swigging energy water and snarfing down bags of chips (after working outside all morning, they need the salt). Their blue T-shirts say “Trailblazers.” And that’s what they are—pioneers in […]

A brief history of the two-decade process to replace the Belmont Bridge

On a warm morning in late June, City Manager Sam Sanders presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Belmont Bridge, a $38 million project that for a time served as another chapter in Charlottesville’s resistance to infrastructure for motorized vehicles. “There are many who didn’t believe that this would actually happen,” Sanders said to […]

21 local athletes head to Paris to compete for the gold

The highly anticipated 2024 Paris Olympics kicks off July 26, with opening ceremonies officially starting at 1:30pm eastern daylight time. While the actual competition is an ocean away, Charlottesvillians will see several familiar faces representing Team USA and other countries on their small screens. Equestrian Local equestrian Will Coleman is returning to the games for […]

Louisa’s Twin Oaks commune recovers from devastating 227-acre fire

Deep in the Louisa backwoods, Twin Oaks sits on a dirt road that runs behind the ancient Yanceyville Mill on a 450-acre property unlike any in the area. Dotted by rustic two- and three-story dormitories with names like “Tupelo,” named for a type of tree, “Degania,” after a socialist Zionist kibbutz, and “Zhankoye,” an old […]