Author: David McNair
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Ununite the Right: Charlottesville responds by taking names and…(Updated)
Charlottesville has responded to summer of 2017’s deadly rally by going after the nazis and white supremacists, one by one, who thought it was a good idea to come here. As a result, the list of those facing criminal charges, jail time, lawsuits, job losses, and being ostracized by their own families and communities keeps…
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Responding to A12: DTM public art prize draws entries from around the world
After the events of August 12 last year, Bushman Dreyfus Architects sought to address the idea of monuments and memorials in contemporary civic life by creating the BDA Prize design and ideas competition, inviting architects, artists, and designers to come up with works of public art or architecture that would address some of the many…
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Talk of DTM decline and demise a familiar story
Once again, there’s been talk about The DTM’s decline and possible demise…about how economic circumstances, recent events, development, and alleged city planning bungling is hurting the downtown mall area. After writing about The DTM for a number of years, one thing I’ve noticed is that it’s decline and demise as been predicted pretty much since…
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Blackbird singing in Charlottesville
Following comments that our new Mayor Nikuyah Walker made on The View recently, there’s been a lot of pushback on the idea that Charlottesville has a race problem, and that our community was “ripe” for what happened on August 12, as Walker said. Some local observers have criticized Walker, have pointed out that most of…
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Park & Hide: Downtown parking meter program halted, but downtown parking problem remains
While many people and businesses are happy that the parking meter program downtown has been suspended, everyone seems to have forgotten why it was implemented in the first place: to reduce congestion downtown and make it easier to find a place to park. As a 2008 downtown parking study determined, parking availability wasn’t necessarily the…
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State Investigation of August 12 in Charlottesville cites miscommunication
From the State investigation into the events of August 12: “…James W. Baker, a consultant with the International Association of Chiefs of Police who led the review, said state police and local police each had their own response plans, which should have been unified before the event. Baker said that despite collaboration and meetings in…
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Unmasking the Illusion: is Charlottesville finally “woke” when it comes to discussing race and history?
Newly elected Charlottesville City Councilor Nikuyah Walker’s campaign slogan “Unmasking the Illusion,” no matter what you think of it, was a brilliant one, an antidote to “Make America Great Again” if ever there was one. When it has come to discussing race and history in Charlottesville, the tendency has always been to intellectualize it, to…
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On day of “crying nazi” hearing, knitted “kudzu” shroud covers Court Square statue
Before sunrise this morning what looked to be a shroud of kudzu covered the Confederate Statue Memorial in front of the Albemarle County Courthouse, the result of a “guerrilla knitting” effort to send a message about Confederate statues on the day “crying nazi” Christopher Cantwell is scheduled to have his first preliminary hearing. The “guerrilla…
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Independent candidate Nikuyah Walker wins seat on Charlottesville City Council
For the first time since 1948, an independent candidate, Nikuyah Walker, won a spot on Charlottesville’s City Council last night. More importantly, perhaps, an independent candidate who happens to be an African-American woman won a spot on Charlottesville’s City Council for the first time since Charlottesville became a town.
charlottesvilledtm.com 