Charlottesville Tomorrow focuses on the people in our communities who are most impacted by the issues we cover. So, as the Trump administration makes unprecedented and quick changes to the federal government, we are putting our resources toward the tangible impacts of new federal policies in central Virginia.
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- Here’s how to tell us about the impact of changes in the federal government or connect with us on Signal
- Read our latest reports
- Find answers to your questions about our journalism
- Find a few other places to get news and information
Read our latest reports related to changes in the federal government
An Albemarle County farm joined over 100 others in a multimillion project to study how to stabilize farm labor — then the USDA cut research funding
After the Trump administration canceled a UVA research project, farmers and experts say a rare chance to evaluate farm labor reforms may be lost.
Charlottesville City Council votes to help close a crucial funding gap for 501 Cherry Ave. mixed-use development
Without the additional funding, the project — which includes 71 low-cost apartments, space for the Music Resource Center, and space for a possible neighborhood grocery store — would have unraveled, Piedmont Housing Alliance CEO Sunshine Mathon told the Council.
Who does — and doesn’t — count when it comes to experiencing homelessness
Local service providers faced treacherous weather conditions during this year’s federally mandated count of how many people are homeless on a single night in January. But the government’s narrow definition of homelessness leaves many people out.
With federal funds in limbo, the City of Charlottesville approves stopgap funding to keep previously unhoused community members in their homes
The $234K in approved funding will cover expenses for local permanent supportive housing residents — many of whom are elderly or have disabling conditions — for the next six months.
Proposed changes to federal housing programs could put formerly homeless community members back on the streets
Local service providers are trying to figure out how to keep people housed if federal funding doesn’t come through. “We’re all scrambling,” said Shayla Washington.
A timeline of UVA under the Trump administration
Beginning with Department of Justice investigations that led to the ouster of President Jim Ryan in the summer of 2025, UVA has experienced unprecedented levels of federal government intervention.
The federal government rejected their highly praised grant. The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center is pushing forward anyway
The National Endowment for Humanities did not explain the rejection, but the Trump administration is flagging words like “inclusion,” “injustice,” “segregation,” “subsidized housing” and “Black.”
The federal government shutdown is over. Now what?
Some local SNAP recipients are receiving a portion of their normal benefits, Charlottesville’s Department of Social Services said.
Virginia launches new emergency food assistance program amid federal shutdown
SNAP recipients will receive weekly assistance from the state starting in November until the federal government reopens.
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We are grateful that so many people in our communities are reaching out — please know that we read all of your messages. We want to know how you and your communities are working together to respond to what’s coming from the White House. We want to know how these changes are affecting your life, work or organizations that you are part of — good or bad.
If you want to tell us about something you are seeing happen where you are, here’s a form to help. If you feel comfortable filling it out, this will really help us report faster on the issues that matter to you.
Help Charlottesville Tomorrow report on how changes in the federal government are affecting you and your community
Your survey responses are stored securely and are shared only with our newsroom team. We don’t collect IP addresses, ensuring your anonymity. Access to submissions is limited to authorized personnel, and data is not shared with third parties. We maintain regular security updates to protect your information.
Prefer to leave us a voice message or send a text?
Call (434) 218-3649 and give us as much information as you can in your message. You can also reach our newsroom on Signal at (434) 218-3649 or @cvilletomorrow.05. Signal is a chat and voice app for your smartphone that has end-to-end encryption and is run by a nonprofit organization. Here’s more about why encryption is helpful, from Reporters Without Borders.
Would you like to tell your own stories?
We’re working with our partners in Charlottesville Inclusive Media to give more people space to share how things look from their point of view. Here’s First Person Charlottesville’s callout for your stories about changes in the federal government.
Your questions about our coverage of changes in the federal government
Here are some frequently asked questions about our approach to covering the Trump administration and changes in the federal government.
There are a few reasons you might not see a news report on our website, even though you’ve told us it’s important to you. We get a lot of tips, questions and rumors that we are trying to track down. This work takes time. While there are many things people know about what is happening, there are fewer people who want to talk about those issues publicly. Also, many of the federal actions will take time to be felt at the local level, and might not be felt before they are changed or halted in the courts.
Sometimes there are important issues that we simply cannot cover. Like many other civic institutions in our area, we have a team of people who work very hard! But our resources are limited, so we make tough choices every day about how to focus our time. Sometimes, we choose to share reports from other news outlets rather than repeat their good work.
We know we can’t cover every story that’s important to you, and that there aren’t enough independent journalists in our region to do so. That said, we rely on the communities we serve to help us grow so that we can cover more. As a nonprofit news organization, we are fiercely independent in our editorial decisions (here is our editorial independence policy). We are, however, community-driven and rely on your support to grow our newsroom to meet your needs best we can.
In order to validate and understand what is happening, we seek documentation, on-the-record sourcing, and directly connecting with those most impacted by the issues we cover. Part of the reason this work takes time is because we take care with the information we publish, and work hard to earn your trust. We’d love to talk to you more about how we do our journalism. Find a time with our Editor-in-Chief here.
We know many folks are following some great national and state-level coverage. We won’t repeat their work. You will, from time to time, find links to their work in our newsletters and reporting. We are focusing our resources on the Charlottesville and Albemarle County area and the counties that surround it.
We agree! In the areas that we cover, we will keep covering important issues that are not related to the Trump administration. These are decisions about our editorial resources that we make every day, guided by what we understand is most important to you.
If possible, please encourage people who have been directly impacted by the federal government’s changing policies to reach out to us directly. And if that’s not possible — we know that this might be sensitive information — feel free to fill out the form with what you can tell us.
To grow our news coverage, we are growing our team that produces it. But it won’t happen overnight. We are seeking greater investments from our community to help get you important information and reports. If you are ready to join as a supporter, there is no better time than the present. If you are already a supporter, thank you. If you have capacity to increase your investment in reporting on our communities, please consider setting up an additional one-time gift or a recurring monthly donation. Reach out to Chief Sustainability Officer Michaux Hood mhood [at] cvilletomorrow.org to talk about major gifts, sponsorships or other ways to support Charlottesville Tomorrow.
Other places to get news and information about changes to the federal government
There are many places to get high-quality information about the state and federal government. This is by no means comprehensive, but here are some newsletters and places to subscribe for free that our newsroom has found helpful.
The Associated Press is thorough, timely and persistent in its coverage of the White House.
The Logoff, a daily newsletter from Vox, helps us stay informed, but not overwhelmed.
A daily newsletter from NOTUS, produced by the Allbritton Journalism Institute, has localized reporting and analysis.
Documented’s newsletter has high-quality information for immigrants. It’s based in New York, but has good explanations of current policies and impacts for immigrants (and their families, employers, neighbors — basically everyone).
Like television or video news? PBS Newshour is on your VPM station and is streaming online.
Support this work
Our urgent need for high quality, local information is only growing as things change rapidly. Let’s build up free-to-access information for and about the people here in central Virginia who are most impacted by changes in the federal government. You can support this work immediately with your one-time gift, or with a sustaining monthly donation. To find out more ways to sponsor this work through your individual investment or through a business or nonprofit partnership, reach out to mhood [at] cvilletomorrow.org.
