The Virginia Department of Transportation has taken plans to build a Western Bypass over Route 29 out of consideration. The decision poses questions surrounding the use of land purchased for the project. Many area residents hope VDOT will sell back the right-of-way for the land to members of the community.
The Charlottesville-based Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression announced nine recipients for the 2014 Jefferson Muzzle awards. The awards, according to the group’s website, “draw national attention to abridgments of free speech and press and, at the same time, foster an appreciation for those tenets of the First Amendment.”
Charlottesville may soon see a large increase in cigarette taxes. City Council convened to discuss the controversial tax, along with the annual budget and appropriations process.
The 3rd Annual Wyland Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation — a month-long competition between communities across the nation to see who achieve the greatest reduction in water and energy consumption — is coming to Charlottesville. The competition will take place through the month of April.
The US Census Bureau released population statistics Thursday that showed growth in Northern Virginia caused much of the increase in Virginia’s population.
The Office of the State Inspector General and State Inspector General Michael Morehart released a report Thursday, having completed an investigation of the stabbing of Sen. Creigh Deeds at his home last November.
On Wednesday, Charlottesville City Council met with the city’s School Board in order to discuss numerous funding issues and the amount allocated to the Board by the Council.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday said Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s approval rating is at 44 percent, with 29 percent disapproval and a 2.7 percent margin of error.
Charlottesville government general job applications will no longer include a question regarding past felonies, officials announced Monday.
Living Wage at U.Va. presented an open letter to the Dining Services Selection committee Tuesday, urging the administration not to sign Sodexo as the University’s new dining contractor.
The Gang Reduction through Active Community Engagement, a local task force, released a report last week finding that there are 183 active gang members in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
On Thursday Virginia Democrats launched a website claiming that Ed Gillespie, the Republican candidate for Virginia Senate, has been inconsistent in his stance on the Affordable Care Act.
Virginia Organizing, a liberal advocacy group, held a rally in nearby Waynesboro Friday encouraging the Virginia state legislature to pass a large expansion of the Medicaid program.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe exercised his right to veto a state bill for the first time Wednesday on House Bill 962. The bill would have clarified existing legislation about guns stored in motor vehicles when the owner does not have a concealed weapons permit. It stipulated that the guns must be in “secured” containers, such as glove compartments or consoles, but not necessarily locked containers. McAuliffe’s objection to the bill was that not requiring the containers be locked was a public safety risk.
The $200 million plan to create the Western Bypass on Route 29 through Charlottesville has been shelved, said incoming Chair of the Route 29 Advisory Board Philip Shucet.
Several environmental representatives held a conference call Thursday to discuss Charlottesville’s carbon footprint-reduction programs. Charlottesville has made great strides in recent years to reduce carbon emissions which contribute to climate change.
Charlottesville City Council held a budget forum Wednesday night to present their proposed city budget for the fiscal year 2015 to the Charlottesville community.
Charlottesville City Council met Monday evening to discuss the proposal for the city’s budget for the fiscal year of 2015. The proposed $150 million budget is 1.65% higher than last year’s, and includes $16.5 million toward the city’s Capital Improvement Program. City Manager Maurice Jones, who presented the budget at the meeting, attributes the proposed increase to a decrease in state funding of city schools.
A new Charlottesville charity plans to build the first long-term shelter for human trafficking survivors in the city by next January.
Following the November tragedy in which Gus Deeds, son of Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, stabbed his father before committing suicide, both the House and the Senate have proposed bills to prevent future incidents. The measures garnered broad, bipartisan support in a series of votes before the legislature left for recess earlier this month.
