Charlottesville Breaking News

Location: Colthurst Farm
Price range: $461,500-$1,100,000
Schools: Greer, Jouett, Albemarle
Pros: proximity to town, quality of contruction, solid values
Cons: some homes in need of updating and renovation

Royal beginnings for Colthurst Farm? Apparently so. According to the history recounted on the site maintained by the Colthurst Farm Property Owners Association, the subdivision that sits a short distance west of Charlottesville on Barracks Road was once a portion of a Crown Grant received by Michael Holland in the late 18th century that also included land that's now home to Farmington Country Club, Birdwood, and St. Anne’s-Belfield School.

In the 19th century, the land from the original Crown Grant was divided and sold to several purchasers, one of whom was William B. Colthurst. Though the Colthurst property was established as a working farm, it was surrounded by Inglecress and Ingleside, two horse farms once owned by the Garth family, which are now upscale subdivisions.

In the late 1950s, Colthurst was purchased by developers who began the process of transforming the land into a residential community of 60 homesites ranging in size from one to three-and-a-half acres. Several years later, the developers sold the entire...

More than a decade ago, City Council candidate Melvin Grady was charged with two counts of assault and battery and one of stalking—  charges that were all dismissed. "These charges were false charges," says the Buford math teacher.

One woman accused Grady of stalking in 2000 and filed a protective order August 27, 2002, that was in effect for two years, according to Charlottesville Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court records. In the same court, he was charged with two counts of assault and battery on another woman, both of which were dismissed September 7, 2001.

A third woman accused Grady of assault in October 2007, according to Charlottesville General District Court records. That charge was dismissed, and Grady previously told the Hook it came from a woman who refused to leave his house. The criminal complaint acknowledges that the woman had been asked to leave and that Grady had called 911. "While leaven he push me and grabed my shirt [sic]," she wrote.

Of the two earlier charges, says Grady, "I was in relationships that went sour. I'm not saying I'm a saint, but I've never put my hands on someone."

He notes that very little proof is required to file charges. "I wouldn't call these women crazy," he says, "but they did use the court system out of emotion, I guess."

The Hook was unable to contact two of the women, and one declined to comment.

Grady, 44, says he's been happily married for 10 months. "Thes...