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Charlottesville Tomorrow
Have questions for your Democratic state senate candidates? We’re co-hosting a public conversation with them April 10
The weather is warming, the days are lengthening and election season is ramping up as candidates are emerging and angling for public office. In Charlottesville and Albemarle County, last year’s redistricting means that this election year will be a little different than years prior. For the first time in a long time, everyone in Charlottesville and Albemarle County will be voting for their State Senate representative together. (Save for a small sliver of Albemarle County that is now in the 7th Congressional District.)
Charlottesville’s ‘tooligans’ are teaching people to fix up their homes — and lending out the right tools for the job
Valerie Farrell believes there’s no such thing as enough tools. She said as much last Saturday morning, standing in a corner of a vast multi-use warehouse on Broadway St. with half a dozen screwdrivers in her hands. She looked around at the racks of rakes, shovels and spades. A...
Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents who need help with rent have short windows to apply in early April
Local households that need assistance with rent have two opportunities to apply for help in the coming weeks. Both the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA) and the Albemarle County Office of Housing (ACOH) will open their housing choice voucher program waitlists in April. People have just a few days to apply.
Researchers are still trying to identify the enslaved people buried in unmarked Pen Park graves
For years, Diane Brown Townes has been on the hunt for her ancestors. She joined several historical research committees to uncover her family’s history. But she had yet to discover strong ties within Charlottesville until she saw a picture of her aunt’s house in a presentation from the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society in 2020.
Fry’s Spring is a mostly residential neighborhood that once had an electric streetcar and an amusement park
Every time a rumor circulates around the Fry’s Spring neighborhood, Lorie Craddock hears about it. Her customers at Atlas Coffee Shop on Fontaine Avenue asked for black coffees, oat milk lattes and slices of banana bread — and also for information about the neighborhood: “Is UVA really buying the beach club?” (no); “When will the Jefferson Park Avenue bridge be done?” (2012); or “Is the city bringing back the streetcar?” (unlikely).
Residents rage to City Council on the ‘hidden tax increase’ coming next year
Thus far, it looks like the real estate tax rate in Charlottesville will not increase next year. But tax bills are likely still be going up. The city manager released the draft FY2024 budget in early March proposing $226,239,155 for the next fiscal year. That represents a 6.27% increase from last year’s budget, with no tax rate change proposed. Why? Assessed property values increased a lot last year.
A developer’s proposal could bring a grocery store back to Fifeville
Fifeville needs a grocery store. If there was one thing Planning Commission chair Lyle Solla-Yates learned from an official city plan for the neighborhood’s future, that was it. It could happen in the next few years. A proposal discussed during last week’s Charlottesville Planning Commission meeting puts a supermarket...
City Council will discuss real estate tax rate Monday night
Charlottesville City Councillors will open their annual discussion of the real estate tax rate for the forthcoming fiscal year when they meet tonight, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. This discussion is a public hearing where residents can voice their opinions on the tax rate. Residents can sign up to speak at the hearing at this link.
Starting your summer vegetable garden? Here’s why you might ask a Charlottesville High student for help
Wes Swanson adjusts a pair of plastic sunglasses on a scarecrow. The students wanted it to be more like them, so they dressed it in a hoodie and attached a phone to the arm. The scarecrow’s name is Davis Peter. “I don’t know where they got the name,” said...
Find Charlottesville Tomorrow journalists at two professional conferences this week
Conference-goers, if you’re registered for one of these two events on Thursday, look for Charlottesville Tomorrow journalists!. The Virginia Coalition for Open Government’s annual conference is a day-long series of panels and conversations about expanding access to information about state and local governments, freedom of information, and getting records and data. On Thursday, March 16, registered attendees will meet at the Dairy Market’s Brick Cellar in Charlottesville.
Charlottesville’s only homeless shelter for elderly and seriously ill people is about to close, but construction of the housing that will go up in its place has been postponed
A plan by local nonprofits to transform an old motel into 140 apartments for some of the area’s poorest people has been delayed by at least a year. The problem is the groups are short $3.6 million. About two years ago, in late 2020, five area nonprofit organizations embarked...
Now that City Schools is the sole owner of the local technical high school, officials must figure out how to pay the $5.5 million price tag
Charlottesville City Schools and the City of Charlottesville have yet to figure out how they’re going to pay to own Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center. After months of deliberation, Charlottesville City Schools will be the sole owner of the CATEC, buying out Albemarle County Public Schools, come 2024. The...
Charlottesville City Schools becomes the third district in Virginia to pass collective bargaining
The verdict is in: Charlottesville City Schools will now engage in collective bargaining. The crowd broke out clapping and hugging as City Schools became the third school division in Virginia to pass collective bargaining. “It’s been a journey and I’m really pleased to be a part of it,” said Board...
City Schools naming committee recommends Johnson Elementary School become Cherry Avenue and Burnley-Moran become Blue Mountain
Charlottesville City Schools Naming of Facilities committee has recommended the School Board rename Burnley-Moran Elementary School to Blue Mountain and Johnson Elementary School to Cherry Avenue. The two schools were named after people who led the school division in the early- and mid-1900s. Burnley-Moran is named after Sarepta Moran and...
Charlottesville’s homeless shelter staff say demand for beds this winter is double what they can accommodate
The aroma of cheesesteak subs and onion rings wafted through the rec room of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church on Emmet Street last Wednesday evening. About a dozen people sat around folding tables, talking about how good the food was while watching a basketball game on TV or playing cards.
City Schools wanted to address staffing issues by hiring nonviolent returning citizens. State lawmakers said no
Charlottesville City Schools wanted the Virginia General Assembly to allow it to employ people who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s a decision that could help the community and returning citizens (those who were previously incarcerated), locals who work in reentry programs have said. But, no lawmakers are willing to take it on.
Albemarle County forced to reconsider allowing school workers to collective bargain after more than 100 people descend on meeting
Filadelfia Soto placed a single golden apple on the podium. It’s an award she received last year for her dedication to serving the students she teaches and their families. “This golden apple represents my commitment to do my best,” she said as she raised the apple. “Unfortunately, the working conditions we as educators experience are not supporting the commitment this golden apple represents.”
Listen: With 500 restaurants in a 10-mile radius, Charlottesville chef Atwon Brinson says there has to be a better way to staff them
As far as local celebrities go, Antwon Brinson has solidified his place in Charlottesville in unusual ways. His journey has taken him from fine dining, to training people to work in the restaurant industry to HBO’s “The Big Brunch. He sat down with In My Humble Opinion’s Charles...
A car crashed into her living room — and it was all terribly inconvenient
If you’ve never had your neighbor’s 2003 Ford Taurus station wagon jump a curb and enter your residential living room, let me tell you: it’s disruptive. You’ll definitely have to cancel your meetings for the rest of the afternoon. You remember the Kool-Aid commercials from the...
Four-term School Board member Leah Puryear is Charlottesville’s new City Council appointee
After operating with only four members for more than a month, Charlottesville City Council is officially whole again. Leah Puryear, four-term Charlottesville City School Board member and director of the University of Virginia’s Upward Bound Program since 1982, will begin her appointment on Monday and serve until the end of the year.
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Founded in 2005, Charlottesville Tomorrow is a hyperlocal journalism nonprofit with a mission to expand civic engagement and foster a vibrant, inclusive, and interdependent community.
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