Charlottesville City Schools is finalizing its budget but have hit a block: they need an extra $9 million to fund the positions and costs they expect in the 2025 fiscal year. The extra millions of dollars would go toward funding key positions, such as reading and math specialists, care and safety assistants, special education instructional assistants and stipends, attendance specialists, and more. It would bring the investment from the city up from $67 million in 2024 to $76 million in 2025.

Tuesday night, Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously to purchase two pieces of property in Belmont for a possible homeless shelter and housing project. Council will spend about $4.2 million to acquire the connecting properties, located at 405 Avon St. and 405 Levy Ave. at the foot of the Belmont Bridge, from the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. That includes the $4 million total price of the properties plus closing costs, something Council agreed to in a previous meeting.

Despite receiving funding from both the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, the next phase of the Premier Circle low-cost housing project is delayed once more. Virginia Supportive Housing won’t be able to start building its 80 units of permanent supportive housing until summer, said Julie Anderson, director of real estate development at VSH, a nonprofit developer that provides affordable housing and on-site case management services to residents.

Charlottesville Tomorrow is a community-driven, socially conscious news organization. We serve our neighbors by connecting them to each other and to the issues that affect them most. This is a newsroom at the forefront of reimagining local news. It’s a place for talented journalists and big thinkers to dig into...

Starting March 1, families and individuals in need of things like shampoo and laundry detergent can go to the Salvation Army and get them for free. Just a month shy from its hygiene closet’s grand opening, though, the Salvation Army is in crucial need of donations, said Jim Battaglia, spokesperson for the Salvation Army of Charlottesville.

How can central Virginia meet the challenge of keeping its diverse communities informed?. This is the central question Charlottesville Tomorrow CEO and Editor-in-Chief Angilee Shah will tackle as a 2024 Fellow in the Media Transformation Challenge, a Poynter Institute executive program designed to propel new ideas in the journalism industry.

Last year, a Charlottesville developer allowed a neighborhood association to help them design a new building project in the Fifeville neighborhood. Now, city leaders say they want that to be the norm. Charlottesville’s mayor and city manager this weekend expressed unreserved support for using a little-known legal agreement to ensure...

Monday night, City Council will hear public comment and take a vote on whether or not to purchase two pieces of property in Belmont where officials hope to build a shelter for the unhoused. The parcels, located at 405 Avon St. and 405 Levy Ave., are at the foot of...

The waitlist for City Schools students in need of a bus is no more. Charlottesville Area Transit now has staffed enough bus drivers to get almost 2,000 kids to school. The announcement comes after almost a decade of driver shortages, which became particularly acute when children returned after the pandemic.

Editor’s note: This report was updated shortly after being published to correct an error. Charlottesville City Schools is inviting families who live outside of walk zones and have voluntarily given up bus seats to contact their schools if they’d now like one. Also, walk zones have existed in Charlottesville for decades. They were expanded in 2022 in the face of the bus driver shortage.

This Sunday, Charlottesville Tomorrow will be live with the mayor and city manager to talk about how they plan to work with developers and city residents on new building projects. At noon, Charlottesville Tomorrow neighborhoods reporter Erin O’Hare will join the In My Humble Opinion talk show on 101.3 JAMZ...

Nine Charlottesville residents are suing the city to stop it from implementing its new zoning ordinance. On Jan. 17, the residents filed a lawsuit in Charlottesville Circuit Court alleging that the city’s new zoning ordinance is “void and otherwise invalid.” City Council unanimously voted to adopt the new ordinance during its regular business meeting on Dec. 1, with an effective date of Feb. 19, 2024.

A few months after announcing a homelessness intervention plan in October, Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders is eyeing a site for a possible overnight shelter in downtown Charlottesville. Monday night, Sanders will ask Council to consider buying two connected parcels of land at 405 Avon St. and 405 Levy Ave.,...

Days after teachers performed a “sick out” at Charlottesville High School in response to the ongoing fights on campus, Charlottesville City Schools announced their plans for a new alternative education program. The Knight School offers a chance for CHS students who struggle in a traditional high school to...

Thursday, Jan. 25, local experts will gather to talk about mental health in Charlottesville and the surrounding area. The event is part of the “Can I Talk To You C-Ville?” series, hosted by Vinegar Hill Magazine and In My Humble Opinion Talk Show, and will take place at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center from 6 to 8 p.m. that night. It is free and open to the public.

Charlottesville is taking yet another step toward acknowledging one of the most vile parts of its history: Between 1762 and 1865, hundreds of men, women, and children were sold and bought into slavery at various locations throughout Court Square. A new state historical marker commemorating those horrors could be installed...

Charlottesville High School will soon have tighter safety restrictions, but the Charlottesville City School Board said during its Jan. 4 meeting that it needs more time to consider all of the recommendations, such as installing weapons detectors at school entries. Many of the upgrades requested will cost City Schools hundreds...

A day into Charlottesville High School’s “reset,” when the superintendent canceled classes to give teachers and staff time to reassess how to handle increasing student fights and misconduct, Andy Josselyn was weary of talking about how bad things had gotten. That Monday, Nov. 20, the staff was...

Dozens of children and their parents raked through tables of toys, books, clothes and more, at City of Promise for their annual Holiday Market this week. When the market started it was a place where families could get free winter and general house essentials, such as blankets and kitchen supplies, and it was the kids who shopped for themselves and their family. It’s since transformed into a place where kids can select a wider variety of gifts for their parents. And this year, the City of Promise organizers added another little twist: both parents and children shopped for gifts, though that part was kept secret from the kids.

School divisions are out for winter break — meaning kids have bundles of free time on their hands. If you’re looking for things they can do, you’re in luck! Here’s a list of some of the events and activities children and families can enjoy in central Virginia through New Year’s Day.