There are 55 days left until 2024, the time when people who are elected to office this week will take their positions. Election Day is one of the strangest days in the United States, a country where different political parties have sharply different approaches for how the government should work. Charlottesville Community Engagement is the result of a career that has included many days like today that are literally pivotal. Today’s November 7, 2023 and I’m Sean Tubbs.

On today’s program:

* Albemarle County Fire and Rescue wants you to delay burning outdoors to avoid the spread of wildfire

* The region’s wine industry gets a major honor from a global trade publication 

* Charlottesville City Council marks the 160th anniversary of First Baptist Church West Main Street

* A forthcoming report on recommendations for transit fuel sources will be delayed until after members of City Council can visit Montgomery County, Maryland

* City Manager Sam Sanders indicated he’ll be back soon with a request for Council to invest in 80 supportive housing units at Premier Circle 

It’s the day before an election, though we live in a time when the actual voting is stretched out over several weeks. Today’s the last day before the votes get counted and we prepare for any changes that may occur. Charlottesville Community Engagement seeks to document whatever happens and to get ready for all of the editions that have yet to be written. I’m Sean Tubbs, because I’m contractually obligated to be. 

On today’s program:

* The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors report that the trend of lower volumes of home sales continues, but so does the trend of higher sales prices

* The University of Virginia is seeking firms who want to help study the future of two sites it owns in Fifeville, as well as the eventual fit-out of the UVA Hospital’s South Tower

* The Charlottesville City Council will hold a public hearing on the Development Code on December 5 and will consider much of what the Planning Commission recommended in their approval

There are now 60 days until the end of 2023, and today is marked by the Day of the Dead or All Souls Day. Perhaps but not at all related, November 2 is also National Deviled Egg Day. This is Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter that celebrates Traffic Directors Day for all the work that goes into putting out information to the public. I’m Sean Tubbs, and I can mark off the creation of this introductory paragraph as it is also Project Management Day. 

On today’s show:

* Charlottesville will spend $5.9 million to purchase floodplain land that had been slated for 245 apartment units 

* Construction begins this week to build a block of sidewalk on East High Street in Charlottesville 

* Albemarle County has once again been awarded a AAA bond rating by the three major agencies

* Albemarle and Charlottesville officials on a regional transportation body get an update on the Regional Transit Governance Study 

* And Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville recently dedicated two homes on Coleman Street to families who went through their program 

Eleven months into the year with holidays on the horizon now as pumpkins give way to all manner of other decorations. For many, the pending merriment provokes a sense of anxiety. That’s as good a time as any to mark National Stress Awareness Day on this November 1. Perhaps this edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement will prepare you for the time ahead. I’m Sean Tubbs, and probably not.   

On today’s program:

* The final campaign finance reports are published showing another high level of activity in the at-large Albemarle School Board race

* Turnout in early voting in Charlottesville is well below the state average in Virginia 

* Charlottesville has solicited information from developers who would like to partner to build affordable housing 

* There are several vacancies on Charlottesville boards including four seats on the Human Rights Commission

* Charlottesville City Council gets brief lesson on recent population trends and forecasts from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia 

We are now on the penultimate day of October, a month that whirred by so fast the leaves have fallen off the trees. In Ten-Code, 10-30 could also mean “Use Caution” or “Illegal Use of the Radio” which could also be an apt description of Charlottesville Community Engagement.

This is the 593rd edition of a newsletter and podcast that also does not seem to conform to any rules or regulations of contemporary journalism. I’m Sean Tubbs, determined to proceed independently.

On this edition:

* An on-demand microtransit service has launched a one-year pilot in Albemarle County 

* The city needs more information before it can approve a site plan for 130 townhouse units in Belmont

* The Charlottesville Planning Commission recommended approval of a new zoning ordinance earlier this month after deliberating about two new additions made since the public hearing in mid-September

In this edition:

* The University of Virginia Health System has purchased a 5.2 acre historic property in Fifeville for $3.5 million

* A small grocery store on Preston Avenue said it’s working to stock empty shelves and will stay open

* Albemarle Supervisors review the way the next transportation priority list is being developed

What you’ll learn in this edition:

* Charlottesville City Council suspends remote public comment after recent racist remarks

* City Manager Sam Sanders further explains decision to reimpose operating hours at Market Street Park this Saturday

* The person whose arrest in September began the incident speaks to Council 

* Campaign finance reports are in and both candidates vying for the at-large seat on the Albemarle School Board have raised over $100,000

We’ve now arrived at October 16, 2023, the 289th day of the year. We’re nearly 80 percent of the way through this year and it’s almost time to begin another one. For those with birthdays today, you’re perhaps on the next stage already. I’m Sean Tubbs and I know that this is the 590th edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. 

And if you’re interested in a little time travel, why not go back and read or listen to the 289th edition from December 7, 2021? Thanks to all of those who are supporting this work and my efforts to eventually get to edition 1180. 

Within this edition:

* A review of several items from Albemarle County’s Facilities and Environmental Services Department including an update on the Square project in Crozet

* Charlottesville City Council gets a briefing on the Housing Advisory Committee’s desire to restore an overlay district in the new Development Code for what had been called “Sensitive Communities” 

Be bald, and be free! That’s the slogan for one of the supposed holidays for October 14, and I hesitate to even mention it at all except to say I represent. I’ve always thought of pawns as bald, and this is National Chess Day as well. Supposedly it’s also National I Love You Day, but rest assured that Charlottesville Community Engagement has that sentiment every day with a sunrise and a sunset. I’m Sean Tubbs. 

In this edition:

* A Charlottesville man was killed by gunfire early this morning in the 200 block of East Market Street

* Charlottesville has announced that the opening of an overnight shelter on October 21 will coincide with a restoration of closing times in Market St. Park 

* A public hearing date has been set for University of Virginia Foundation’s request to rezone part of the North Fork Discovery Park to include up to 1,400 residential units

* Snippets from two candidate forums for the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

Stand by, for it is October 12 and 10-12 signals “Stand By” in later versions of the Ten-Code developed decades ago to assist communications in the days when signal times were short. Earlier versions of 10-12 signified that officials were present. That’s a status that’s usually valid in any given edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs, ten times five. 

In this edition:

* The Greene County Board of Supervisors are taking applications for someone to be the interim representative for the Stanardsville District

* Several updates from members of the Charlottesville Planning Commission including a forthcoming tree canopy study, but no report from the University of Virginia

* The Charlottesville Planning Commission stops short of taking action on the new Development Code but reviewed their suggestions such as allowing some neighborhood commercial by-right