Charlottesville pledges to restore new zoning code

The City of Charlottesville has stopped taking any applications for new development while officials figure out how to move forward after its zoning code was thrown out by Judge Claude Worrell on June 30 for a technical error.  On July 1, the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services let builders and developers know that all […]

Democratic candidates make pitch to area voters after state primaries

The Span Virginia Bus Tour drew a capacity crowd at Eastwood Farm and Winery on Tuesday, June 24, to bolster support for a united Democratic ticket. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger was joined by Ghazala Hashmi and Jay Jones, the party’s nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general, respectively, along with other Democratic candidates for […]

How—and why—Indivisible Charlottesville is demonstrating for democracy

From information sessions to the almost 7,000-person No Kings Day protest on June 14, Indivisible Charlottesville is bringing together people from across the region in its pro-democracy, anti-Trump activism. Since inauguration day, nationwide protests have been a frequent occurrence during the Trump administration. Many of these planned area demonstrations, including Hands Off and No Kings […]

Then there were two

Primary results are in, setting the ballot for November’s general election. In Charlottesville’s Democratic City Council primary, Vice Mayor Brian Pinkston was unseated by political newcomer Jen Fleisher. The election was the city’s first ranked-choice-voting election, where voters were able to rank candidates in order of preference. To win a spot in the two-seat race, […]

How a former Culpeper County ‘MAGA sheriff’ got a presidential pardon

While running a contested race for sheriff of Culpeper County in 2023, Scott Jenkins was looking to “fill the war chest,” according to a federal indictment.  To do this, he accepted at least $75,000 from northern Virginia businessmen to be appointed auxiliary sheriff’s deputies, and helped one wealthy felon get his gun rights restored, despite […]

No Kings Day rally draws thousands

Charlottesville joined thousands of cities nationwide with a June 14 No Kings Day rally that saw about 6,800 people protesting along US 29 by The Shops at Stonefield. No Kings Day coincided with a military parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. Millions of Americans participated in […]

GOP megabill could cost Virginia billions in lost clean energy projects

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 22 includes provisions that could jeopardize billions of dollars in Virginia green energy projects.  Charlottesville-headquartered Southern Environmental Law Center reports federal agencies have put more than $5 billion into 350 clean energy projects in the commonwealth since the passage […]

Mind on the money

Charlottesville City Council delayed its anticipated June 2 vote on a multimillion dollar surplus allocation, rescheduling the vote to allow for a second public hearing. City Manager Sam Sanders announced the allocation will total $8.69 million, down from the $12 million previously discussed. The reduction was partially prompted by recent federal government action, namely the […]

The right (of) way?

Charlottesville Police arrested local pedestrian activist Kevin Cox on May 21, four days after he used spray chalk to create a makeshift crosswalk at the intersection of Elliott Avenue and Second Street SE. Calls for a permanent marked crossing at the intersection picked up last October following the death of Mamawa Simai, who died after […]