Charlottesville

If you’re feeling stressed by too much bad news this spring, a couple of guys in Charlottesville say they may have a cure. It’s called the Webley Twizzle, and they’re dispensing free samples all over town.

A new state law gives Virginia prisoners more credit for good behavior behind bars, so about 4,500 of them will be getting out this summer. But returning to communities, finding work and housing, can be tough. That’s where a non-profit called the Fountain Fund comes in. Since it began work five years ago, the Charlottesville group has given over a million dollars in low-interest loans to help former inmates start their new lives.

Efforts to unionize at Starbucks and Amazon have gotten national attention, but there are also signs of a labor revival at smaller companies. Employees at one of Charlottesville’s favorite fast food places may soon vote on whether to join a union.

Communities around the state saw demonstrations over the weekend including one in Charlottesville that drew more than 300 people.

Last week, we reported on how the Unite the Right rally, its aftermath, and dynamics at city hall have contributed to the current municipal woes of Charlottesville.Randi Hagi from member station WMRA has this follow-up report on the city's decision to hire a consulting firm to provide city management services, and what that will cost taxpayers.

The local non-profit plans to melt down the monument, in order to transform the bronze material into a work of public art.

When a jury awarded victims of the violent Unite the Right rally more than $25 million in damages, lawyers for the plaintiffs celebrated, but their work has just begun.

After a nearly monthlong civil trial, a jury in U.S. District Court in deadlocked on two key claims Tuesday but found the white nationalists liable on four other counts.

Universities are economic engines – producing educated graduates ready to work or to start their own businesses, but for more than a decade most UVA graduates had to leave Charlottesville. There was limited space for new and growing companies. Now, the city has a new high rise on the downtown mall known as the CODE Building – short for the Center of Developing Entrepreneurs.

The civil suit against 14 white supremacists and ten organizations accused of conspiring to commit violence in Charlottesville more than four years ago is now in the hands of a jury.