There are now 364 days to go until the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a historic document that remains relevant as we approach the semiquincentennial. Eight days have passed since the executive branch of the federal government demanded the resignation of University of Virginia President Jim Ryan. There’s a lot happening, and Charlottesville Community Engagement is intended to document as much as possible. I’m Sean Tubbs.
In this edition:
* Five people were shot in the city’s Fifeville neighborhood late Friday night including two children
* A Charlottesville Circuit Court judge has thrown the city’s zoning ordinance out after a legal deadline was not met (learn more) (learn even more)
* President Jim Ryan has resigned from the University of Virginia and the path is known for his replacement (learn more) (learn even more)
* Former Attorney Ken Cuccinelli continues to serve on the UVA Board of Visitors despite his confirmation being rejected by a Virginia Senate committee, prompting a legal case
* Seventy-four new Americans were sworn in as citizens on the morning of July 4 at Monticello (not yet in print)
* Hundreds of people were on hand for a protest at UVA just a few hours later to demand steps to prevent the public institution from more federal interference (not yet in print)
* Greene Supervisors vote to move forward with smaller water supply (learn more)
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A note before we begin
This edition should have gone out yesterday as soon as I finished the version for WTJU, but I chose to attend a social event instead. I’m glad I went but do wish I had stayed to complete the work.
You will also note that this edition has written versions for three stories including the one about the shooting. I didn’t have a lot of audio to work with this week, and I wanted to document in audio the zoning code and the Ryan resignation. The headlines are sparse because those are slugs.
The protest story and the naturalization story will be posted to Information Charlottesville before going out in Monday’s newsletter.
No written shout-outs in this one because I want to get this posted, but I’m going to be experimenting as I go.
Five people shot in Fifeville Friday night
An Independence Day celebration in Fifeville turned tragic late Friday night when gunfire erupted, sending five people to the hospital including three children.
A series of firework displays had begun after dark across the neighborhood causing many people to be outside to see and hear the explosions.
According to an information release from Charlottesville Police Department, officers responded to multiple calls of a shooting on Orangedale around 11:23 p.m. The first officers arrived a couple of minutes later and found five people who had been shot.
The victims were a 10-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, a 17-year-old male, an 18-year-old female, and a 52-year-old male.
“Due to heavy foot and vehicle traffic, emergency medical units were initially unable to access the scene,” reads the release. “Officers and medics worked together to transport the victims on foot and in patrol vehicles, applying pressure to their wounds until additional EMS personnel arrived.”
Everyone shot was reported to be in stable condition as of the release sent out at 11:13 a.m. this morning. The Criminal Investigations Division and Forensics Unit are investigating and police want to see video footage.
The Fifeville Neighborhood Association is holding a community gathering at 6 p.m. at Abundant Life at 782 Prospect Avenue.
Copy for UVA RYAN:
Facing pressure from the United States Department of Justice, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan resigned from his position on June 27.
The Cavalier Daily reports that the Civil Rights Division under the control of President Donald Trump sent seven letters to UVA between April 11 and June 17 insisting that not enough had been done to demonstrate that programs to encourage and promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion had not been sufficiently dismantled.
In a statement, Ryan said he did not want to put federal grant funding at risk to save his job, a job he planned to leave in 2026. So he resigned and Executive Vice President J.J. Davis will serve as acting president.
Many groups have condemned the pressure from the federal government including the Faculty Senate. The Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors sent a letter on June 30.
Later on in the program we’ll have audio from a protest held at the University Avenue side of the Rotunda on July 4.
The Board of Visitors had been scheduled to meet on July 1 for a personnel matter but canceled the virtual event before it began. The claim is that the meeting wasn’t needed, but on that same day former Rector Robert Hardie was served with a lawsuit arguing that one of the members of the Board of Visitors continued to sit in the position unlawfully.
On June 9, the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee failed to confirm Ken Cuccinelli for the seat. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares advised Hardie and others to ignore that out of a claim that the entire General Assembly had not taken a vote. Members of the committee have sued in Fairfax County Court and are seeking an injunction.
More from that protest in a moment.
DEVELOPMENT CODE copy
Nearly five years ago, the City of Charlottesville embarked on a process called Cville Plans Together which sought to update the city’s housing policies, the Comprehensive Plan, and the zoning code. The general idea was to increase development rights across the entire city and to remove City Council from many of the decisions about density and height.
City Council voted unanimously on December 18, 2023 to enact the code, and a group of property owners who disagreed with the blanket approach filed suit in Charlottesville Circuit Court asking for the new rules to be declared voided ab initio, a Latin term meaning “from the beginning.”
The plaintiffs in White v. Charlottesville survived an attempt by the city to have Circuit Court Claude Worrell dismiss the case. In April of this year, Judge Worrell ruled that the case would proceed to trial and a date was set for June 2026.
However, attorneys for the plaintiffs noticed that the outside counsel for the city, Gentry Locke, failed to respond to a directive to submit a particular document. On June 2, they filed for default judgement and the next day the city’s attorneys filed for permission to file late.
In a hearing in Charlottesville Circuit Court on June 30, Judge Worrell sided with the plaintiffs and expressed lament that the case would not go to trial.
“There are things in this case I thought might be useful about what zoning is and what zoning isn’t,” Worrell said. “It would have been interesting.”
The next day, the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services sent a note to the development community.
“Pursuant to the order issued by the Honorable Judge Worrell of the Charlottesville Circuit Court on June 30, 2025, the City of Charlottesville is currently reviewing all zoning and development applications on file to assess appropriate next steps,” reads the email.
The next day, Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders called the default judgement “terribly disappointing.”
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