Frayser White appears for motions hearing

The man involved in Albemarle County’s first fatal traffic crash of 2016 appeared in Albemarle County Circuit Court on January 30 where a judge denied two motions that would amend his house arrest and suppress evidence collected from his vehicle after the wreck. On March 15, 2016, Frayser White IV crossed double solid yellow lines […]

Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sex with underage student

A former Jack Jouett Middle School teacher pleaded guilty to having sex with someone under the age of consent—a previous student that she admitted to having feelings for at that time, according to the prosecutor. Amelia Tat, accompanied by local defense attorney Andre Hakes, entered a plea agreement, which said she was guilty on two […]

Council chaos: Audience erupts over Confederate statue vote

Charlottesville’s confrontation with its slave-owning past has resulted in difficult discussions since Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy and Councilor Kristin Szakos called for the removal last March of statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson and the renaming of the parks where they reside. At City Council’s January 17 meeting, the debate spiraled out […]

Former Farmington president admits to stealing from widow

The former president of Farmington Country Club, Victor Dandridge III, admits he stole money from his friend’s widow, but quibbles about the amount in a January 6 response to her lawsuit. Dandridge, who also served as president of the Farmington Property Owners Association and the Virginia Athletics Foundation, which raises money for UVA’s athletic scholarships, […]

Historic conservation at center of controversy

A proposed historic conservation district in Woolen Mills has the neighborhood divided. While some residents are pushing for a neighborhood association-requested ordinance that would promise protection of their historic assets, others say the drafted rules concerning additional construction in the area—for both big and small projects—would require them to jump through too many hoops. The […]

Szakos won’t seek third term on City Council

If it seems like we just finished an election, well, we did, but in Virginia, it’s never not an election year. In Charlottesville, the two seats on City Council currently held by Kristin Szakos and Bob Fenwick are up for grabs, and Szakos says she won’t be seeking another term. “Eight years is a long […]

Governor joins call for driver’s license suspension reform

Charlottesville resident Damian Stinnie, 24, grew up in foster care, and in 2013 was diagnosed with lymphoma. That same year, he was convicted of three traffic citations in Henrico and Goochland counties. Unable to pay the resulting $1,002 in court costs and fines with his minimum wage paychecks, Stinnie’s driver’s license was suspended. Although he […]

Former vice mayor, activist Holly Edwards dies

Even before she received a Drewary Brown Memorial Community Bridge Builders award in October, Holly Edwards was known for her care and compassion, and for bringing people who normally didn’t have voices to the table. The former vice mayor and parish nurse for Jefferson Area Board for Aging died January 7 at age 56. Edwards […]

Perriello resurfaces… and wants to be governor

Former congressman Tom Perriello announced his surprise candidacy for governor of Virginia Thursday, upsetting the plans of many leading Virginia Democrats. In a hastily arranged speech at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in downtown Charlottesville, Perriello spoke of how his father first arrived in Virginia. “He grew up in West Virginia, Italian immigrant […]

Chapman passes prosecutorial torch to Platania

Charlottesville’s legal community turned out today for Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania’s official announcement that he wants the job of his boss, Dave Chapman, who will not be seeking a seventh term. Chapman introduced and endorsed Platania, whom he hired in the city prosecutor’s office in 2003. “It’s important to me who’s the next commonwealth’s attorney,” […]