2023

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This article is about the year 2023 Please help improve this article by conforming to date guidelines and by adding citations to reliable sources.

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In 2023, you can re-use calendars from these years: 2017, 2006, 1995, 1989, 1978, 1967, 1961, 1950, 1939, and 1933.

Events

January

• January 1 – Disposable Plastic Bag Tax: the City of Charlottesville will implement a five-cent ($0.05) tax, as defined by Virginia Code § 58.1-1745, on applicable disposable plastic bags provided to customers at checkout in grocery stores, convenience stores, and drugstores within City limits. This is made possible by legislation enacted during the Regular Session of the 2020 General Assembly authorizing any county or city to adopt by ordinance the Virginia Disposable Plastic Bag Tax. The revenue of the Plastic Bag Tax must be used to purchase and distribute reusable bags to vulnerable populations and fund environmental education and litter clean-up programs.
• January 3 – During the City Council meeting Councilor Sena Magill announced her early resignation from Charlottesville City Council.  Magill was elected to serve a 4-year term from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023.  Magill expressed that family needs have changed for her and that she could not continue to serve the necessary duties on Council. Magill's final day as City Councilor will be January 11, 2023.
• January 4 – Charlottesville City Council is seeking applications for an Appointed Council Member following the upcoming departure of City Councilor Sena Magill. The Appointed Council Member will serve until December 31, 2023.
• January 8 – Shots Fired Report: Police say one person is dead and another injured after gunshots were fired outside Fitzgerald’s Tire in the Belmont neighborhood this Sunday afternoon.
• January 10 – Jesse Rutherford is elected a second consecutive year as chair of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors.

• January 11 – Charlottesville City Council: Final day in office for City Councilor Sena Magill who announced her resignation on January 3rd.

• January 14 – Contracts: The City of Charlottesville is soliciting quotes from recruitment firms to assist the Charlottesville City Council in the selection of a new City Manager. Deadline for city’s receipt of quotes for Executive Search Firm Service Contract.
• January 17 – Swearing in of Michael Kochis as Chief of Police for the City of Charlottesville.
• January 25 – Homelessness: ​The 2023 Winter Point-in-Time (PIT) Count date in Virginia is scheduled for this night. (Weather forecast: Mainly a cold rainfall this Wednesday afternoon. Rain. High near 39. Rain will exit this evening. Gusty winds will follow.)
• January 24 – The Planning Commission will discuss critical slopes, flood plains, and Entrance Corridor Overlay Districts.
• January 30 – At 5:00 p.m., deadline for applications to fill the vacant seat on the City Council. All qualified voters of the City are eligible for appointment to fill the unexpired term and hold that office until December 31, 2023. City Councilor Sena Magill's resignation went into effect on Jan. 11th, her replacement will finish out her term through the end of 2023. Magill was the only female on the council. In a previous interview, Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook said he hoped to appoint another woman to take her seat.

February

• February 13 – Charlottesville City Council held a special session this Monday night to interview firms that will help search for a permanent city manager. City council says it’s announcing its choice of firm at the council session held on Tuesday, February 21. It’s been more than two years since Charlottesville has had a permanent city manager.
• February 13 – Elizabeth Cromwell steps down as CEO and President of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. Andrea Copeland becomes the interim while a replacement is found
• February 20 – President's Day (City Offices Closed). In 1885, Congress designated February 22 as a holiday for all federal workers. Nearly a century later, in 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Law changed the date to the third Monday in February.
• February 21 – Charlottesville City Council will announce their selection of an appointed council member at the beginning of the 6:30 p.m. regular session to be held this Tuesday. Mayor Snook says that at this council session, Charlottesville City Council will announce its choice of a firm that will help search for a permanent city manager.
• February 21 – At their regular meeting, Charlottesville City Council appointed former Charlottesville City School Board member Leah Puryear to the vacancy left by the resignation of Sena Magill. Puryear was officially sworn-in during the meeting by Charlottesville Clerk of Court, Llezelle Dugger.
• February 22 – Shots Fired Report: CPD and Fire & Rescue, responded to a shots fired report at the 900 block of Page Street. Upon arrival, Officers discovered that 20-year-old Nicklous Pendleton of Gordonsville was struck by gun fire. Nicklous was transported to UVA Medical Center and was later pronounced deceased.
• February 23 – Over a hundred people show up at Albemarle County School Board meeting to persuade members to support a second collective bargaining proposal from the Albemarle Educational Association
• February 27 – Leah Puryear begins her term on the city council and will serve until December 31, 2023.
• February 27 – This evening at 6:00 p.m., City Police Chief Michael Kochis held a Community Forum at 415 10th Street in Charlottesville regarding the recent gun violence.
• February 27 – The Charlottesville Planning Commission will hold a Joint Work Session with City Council at 5 p.m. in the CitySpace Main Conference room.
• February 28 – Shots Fired Report:An Albemarle County Police Department (ACPD) detective spotted a wanted individual in the City. The suspect later pointed a firearm at officers, who responded by shooting the suspect. The suspect was transported to UVA Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

March

• March 1 – Albemarle Board of Supervisors unanimously approve the rezoning for Old Ivy Residences.
• March 2 – The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is holding Civilian Response and Casualty Care (CRCC) courses at Carver Recreation Center.
• March 4 – The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) is sponsoring its annual 8k Reparations Run fundraiser to benefit Black-led organizations in celebration of the 2023 Liberation and Freedom Day being commemorated March 3-5.
• March 4 – Shots Fired Report: CPD officers responded to a shooting at Sunshine Supermarket, located on 827 Cherry Ave. Upon arrival, officers located 20-year-old Justice Kilel, a Gordonsville resident, inside of the business. Mr. Kilel was pronounced deceased at the scene. Shortly after arriving, CPD was notified that UVA Medical Center had received a patient who suffered a gunshot wound.
• March 6 – Charlottesville City Council votes to adopt new precincts beginning with the November 2023 election. Alumni Hall and Tonsler Park were replaced as polling places by Jackson Via Elementary School and Charlottesville High School.
• March 20 – City Council will make board appointments during the March 20, 2023 council meeting.

June

• June 2 – UVA Board of Visitors endorses name of Virginia Guesthouse for the new hotel and convention center
• June 5 – Ground was broken in Court Square for a joint General District Court that will serve both Albemarle County and Charlottesville
• June 9 – As of 8:00 a.m., Crozet had the worst air quality index in the state, with Charlottesville in sixth, per IQAir. Smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada is impacting air quality in central Virginia.
• June 27 – Six Virginia newspapers, including The News Virginian in Waynesboro and The Daily Progress in Charlottesville, will switch to a three-day-a-week print schedule.
• June 30 – 2023 election: Democratic party primary.

July

• July 5 – Interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers announced to the City of Charlottesville staff that he is no longer a candidate for the permanent City Manager position.
• July 12 – Charlottesville Mayor J. Lloyd Snook announced the selection Samuel Sanders, Jr. as the new City Manager on this Wednesday. Sanders has officially been appointed by City Council and his contract approved for his first day in the role on August 1. The Council has been advertising the position since March. According to Mayor Lloyd Snook, the city received 20 qualified applicants and has narrowed them to three, all of whom have at least two decades experience in municipal leadership.

August

• August 1 – Douglas Walker officially retires as Deputy County Executive in Albemarle County.
• August 5 – The first homes at Southwood are dedicated in a ceremony hosted by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville
• August 5 – An aggravated assault occurred in the early morning hours in the 400 block of 4th Street NW. As a result of the assault, the victim sustained serious injuries. The incident may have originated at another location in and around the west end of the Downtown Mall.
• August 8 – Public hearing for the rezoning of 501 Cherry Avenue before the Charlottesville Planning Commission and the Charlottesville City Council.

September

• 2023 – Charlottesville Planning Commission holds public hearing on new zoning code
• September 21 – City Manager, Samuel Sanders, Jr. has issued a directive to lift the closing time in Market Street Park.
• September 24 – Officers were dispatched to UVA Medical Center for a report of a victim who had suffered several stab wounds. CPD is investigating a stabbing that is reported to have occurred in or around Market St. Park early this Sunday morning between the hours of 1:30 and 3:30 a.m.

October

• October 13 – Enforcement of relevant provisions of law related to “skill games” will begin in the City of Charlottesville and the County of Albemarle on January 1, 2024.
• October 18 – The University of Virginia purchases Oak Lawn estate for $3.5 million for future use by the medical system.
• In October 16 – the Charlottesville City Council temporarily suspended virtual public comments. Mayor Snook said the council was already hearing more comments than required by law - "Virginia law only requires us to receive public comment once every calendar quarter, and yet we do so in every meeting." Snook noted that virtual public comment will be allowed again when the council "changes their minds." Until then, people who wish to comment will need to do so in person.
• October 21 – Charlottesville Police Department closed the streets surrounding Market Street Park beginning at 10:30 pm this Saturday to facilitate public safety response to reinstating the operating hours of Market Street Park. There were also temporary no parking signs posted in the area.

November

• November 7 – 2023 election: Municipal elections will include 3 open seats on the City Council currently held by Lloyd Snook, Michael Payne and four seats on the Charlottesville School Board.
• November 8 – Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Royal Gurley announced on this Wednesday that Charlottesville High School Principal Rashaad Pitt submitted his resignation. According to a letter sent to CHS community members, Pitt is leaving the school in order to focus on his family and health. His last day with CHS will be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Break, which is Nov. 21.
• November 16 – On this Thursday, an altercation that occurred at Charlottesville High School. A Charlottesville police spokesperson confirmed that officers responded to two back-to-back “physical disorder” calls at CHS, one of which involved “an adult who was not to be in the school.”
• November 17 – Just after 6 a.m. this morning, Charlottesville High School students and parents received an abrupt message: “Due to an unusual number of staff absences and a limited number of substitutes, classes at Charlottesville High School will be canceled today, Friday, November 17.”
• November 18 – On this Saturday morning, during a closed session, the Charlottesville City School Board and Dr. Gurley met to discuss school safety at CHS. Charlottesville High School has now canceled classes on both Monday and Tuesday.
• November 21 – Charlottesville High School Principal Rashaad Pitt’s expected last day. Pitt came to CHS in August 2022.
• November 27 – In response to allegation of a sexual assault in one of the city's schools, a letter to Charlottesville School Superintendent Royal Gurley, from Police Chief Michael Kochis and Commonwealth's Attorney Joe Platania state that schools are required to report any such allegations to police and are not permitted to substitute independent investigations. Charlottesville law enforcement officials are investigating whether the city school administration violated Virginia’s mandatory reporting law by failing to report an allegation of sexual assault in April.

December

• December 5 – Alcohol: National Prohibition ended 90 years ago on this Tuesday at 5:32 p.m. EST. While prohibition was repealed at the federal level - state and local restrictions on liquor continue.
• December 8 – At approximately 11:30 a.m., Kvira Bynum of Charlottesville was taken into custody for trespassing upon a school property. This arrest is the result of the investigation into an altercation that occurred on Thursday, November 16th, 2023 at Charlottesville High School. Kvira was released pending her upcoming court appearance.
• December 8 – Ground is broken for the Manning Institute of Biotechnology at the Fontaine Research Park
• December 11 – Natalie Masri steps down as president of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce after just seven months on the job.
• December 12 – Design public hearing for the 5th Street Trail Hub
• December 18 – Charlottesville City Council approves new Development Code completing the Cville Plans Together process
• December 18 – Charlottesville City Council approves rezoning for 2117 Ivy Road
• December 31 – Charlottesville City Council: terms of 3 seats on the council expire, including Leah Puryear who was appointed on February 21st to fill the unexpired term of Sena Magill who resigned effective January 11th.

Deaths

• October 25 – Bebe Williams, longtime editor of the Scottsville Weekly
• December 12 – One of Charlottesville’s most prominent restaurateurs Will Richey died in a car crash in the the early hours of this Tuesday morning.