Attend a community meeting on Thursday, Jan. 22 to give feedback on possible changes to the Ridge/McIntire/West Main intersection.
Category: Our neighborhoods
We cover the physical landscapes of Charlottesville and surrounding counties and how things change. We help you understand how history has shaped our city, and how our choices today will affect the future.
Posted inHealth and safety
How Virginia’s re-entry system fails formerly incarcerated women — even when they do everything right
Jessica Cook, a single mother from Charlottesville, did everything the court asked. Her life shows how fragile “success” can be after incarceration for women.
Posted inOur neighborhoods
City Councilors echo residents’ concerns about new AI-powered parking system in downtown Charlottesville garages
“I do not like the idea of an unknown national company having information, photos of my car, me in my car, my credit card info, and other details that I don’t know about,” one resident said.
Posted inHow we learn
Albemarle County students struggle with overcrowded schools while officials try to find a way forward
“Hallways are packed, classrooms are crammed. During lunch, many students, especially underclassmen, who aren’t allowed to leave campus, have nowhere to sit,” said Indigo Mathon, a senior at Albemarle High School.
Posted inOur neighborhoods
A vigil at The Haven commemorated community members whose lives were cut short by homelessness in 2025
“Each name we read and remember today represents a life,” Shayla Washington, executive director of the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, said in her opening remarks on Thursday, Dec. 18. “A person who laughed, hoped, struggled, and mattered.”
Posted inFirst person
With the season’s first snow came hateful speech for this Charlottesville resident
Brianna Patten writes about why she doesn’t trust the institutions meant to protect us — and what she worries about for the future.
Posted inOur neighborhoods
Two of the city’s largest parking garages are now using artificial intelligence to recognize your car
The city and the new operator, Metropolis, promise a smooth experience from the technology, but customers in other cities have filed class-action lawsuits over the system.
Posted inOur neighborhoods
Louisa’s Bright Hope Baptist Church earns historic recognition after community members pitched in with research
Several church and community members credit the late Gloria Gibson, a community leader in central Virginia, for helping Bright Hope earn the historic landmark designation.
Posted inOur neighborhoods
Fifeville moves one big step closer to having a community-owned grocery store, and it wants the city’s help
Plans are moving ahead for a mixed-use development in Fifeville that will include a grocery co-op and low-cost housing, but residents need city funding to get the project to the finish line.
Posted inOur neighborhoods
From bake sales to big checks, this is how the tiny town of Gordonsville raised millions for a new swimming pool and park
Along the way, the project pushed Gordonsville to reckon with the pool’s segregated past — and gave the town a chance to rebuild something more inclusive in its place.
