Category: Politics
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“Skill Machines” Company drops lawsuit against Charlottesville Commonwealth Attorney
Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph Platania announced today that Queen of Virginia, the company that operates what they call “skill-based entertainment machines” across Virginia, has dropped its lawsuit against him. Back in June last year, Platania banned the machines in Charlottesville, the first prosecutor in the state to do so, and Queen of Virginia responded by suing…
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Title IX Remix: will new rules on sexual harassment & assault investigations serve justice?
Eight months ago I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the US Department of Education for information about a Title IX investigation that was opened at the University of Virginia on April 19, 2019, thinking it might provide information and insight about a process often shrouded in secrecy. Last week, I received…
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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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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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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.
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Rush Job? Planned City Manager review ahead of August 12 investigation causes concern
By David McNair According to Charlottesville City Councilor Bob Fenwick, a decision on whether or not to extend Charlottesville City Manager Maurice Jones’ contract is “underway now” and “might be done by the next Council meeting.” That news has apparently caused some concern in the community, as Tim Heaphy, the former U.S. Attorney for the…
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The Lee Statue in Charlottesville: from Tulips to Terror in a few short years
By David McNair Now that the symbolism of the statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia has literally exploded into our consciousness, it’s easy to forget how blind we were to it just a short time ago. The truth is, only a few years before the idea of removing the Lee statue became an…
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Why Charlottesville? How a Facebook comment, an unknown blogger, and some old tweets inflamed a debate about race and monuments
At the time, if you told people in Charlottesville that hundreds of angry white supremacists and neo-nazis would rally in a park just steps away from the theater the following summer, they’d have thought you were crazy.
charlottesvilledtm.com 