Today is the penultimate day before the third birthday of this newsletter and podcast. This is now the 555th’ edition of a program created to inform readers and listeners about a great number of items. Assuming the average length of each program is 1,850 words long, there have now been over a million words associated with Charlottesville Community Engagement.  I’m one of many Sean Tubbs, but the only one fool enough to launch an information outlet. 

On today’s program:

* Charlottesville City Council selects Sam Sanders as the new City Manager

* Plans have been filed for three more new buildings on Preston Avenue at Dairy Market

* The Albemarle Economic Development Authority finds out what CvilleBioHub is doing

* The latest figures for the Consumer Price Index indicate a decline in inflation rates

* Charlottesville officials take questions at a recent meeting of neighborhood leaders

And with today, 2023 is 53.2 percent complete. That’s the sort of that this particular town crier loves to proclaim and someone out there proclaimed July 10 as International Town Criers Day. That’s the name I came up with three years ago when I launched a business to report as much as I can about what’s happening in the community I call home even if I don’t technically live in a town. Either way, I’m Sean Tubbs, hear ye, oyez, and all of that. 

On today’s program:

* Detection of low levels of PFAS lead to a shutdown of a water treatment plant in Albemarle County 

* There’s a hearing in Albemarle County on Wednesday to throw out the indictment made against a man lynched 125 years ago 

* A drought advisory has been lifted that affected Greene County and Louisa County

* The Albemarle Planning Commission reviews a memo intended to suggest how cell tower restrictions could be lifted to boost signal coverage 

Happy Independence Day for Algeria and a bountiful Armenian Constitution Day! While we’re at it, July 5 is also Venezuelan Independence Day. Every single day there’s something happening that reminds me of the diversity of the planet I share with you and billions of other people. Charlottesville Community Engagement exists to draw your attention to some of the details of what’s happening around 38.0293° N, 78.4767° W. I’m Sean Tubbs. 

On today’s program:

* Michael C. Rogers has withdrawn from consideration for Charlottesvillle’s next city manager

* Two years after announcing route changes that were never made, Charlottesville Area Transit launches a strategic plan process complete with survey

* Albemarle County Supervisors are briefed on the potential of adding more development standards and rules to siting utility-scale solar projects 

On this day, we in the United States of America celebrate an occasion in the past in which some of the people who lived here agreed to tell a person who lived across an ocean that they were no longer in control. On this 185th day of the year that we all agree is 2023, it is perhaps worth pondering who holds control in your life, and the degree to which you can make decisions to affect your future. Charlottesville Community Engagement seeks to provide as much context as possible. You control what you do with it. 

On today’s holiday edition:

* Charlottesville’s bike and pedestrian wants developers to build new infrastructure rather than opt out by paying into a fund 

* A project to build a roundabout at District Avenue and Hydraulic Road is funded through Smart Scale

* A panel of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors approves a brick-and-wood design for the Karsh Institute of Democracy 

* One of the area’s wealthiest individuals is one of four new appointments to the UVA Board of Visitors

* The Charlottesville Planning Commission agrees to allow modification of step backs for nine-story building slated for West Market Street

How does one begin the first regular edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement of the new fiscal year? Likely by pointing out that this is not a typical installment of the newsletter, but instead a chance to take one look at one meeting to get all of us updated on the city’s draft zoning code. That’s been an ongoing story in the past three years and a primary reason for the creation of Town Crier Productions. Thanks to sponsors and subscribers for keeping me on this beat. 

On today’s program:

* A quick summary of what was discussed at the May 23, 2023 work session in Charlottesville on the draft zoning ordinance

* The Planning Commission and the City Council went through specific locations to determine if their designation in the draft zoning map should change 

* City Councilor Brian Pinkston confirms that the “double density” for affordable units envisioned in the original draft is no longer being considered as currently written

* Councilors weigh in on the viability of additional density in “Medium Intensity Residential” areas 

Welcome to the last day of the fiscal year of 2023, a day that perhaps could use a few carols and celebrations. Perhaps such things will occur in the future if Charlottesville Community Engagement can return to full form? Either way, this is also the 550th edition of a newsletter and podcast intended to bring people information about things happening as we head into a summer holiday slowdown. I’m Sean Tubbs. 

On today’s program: 

* UVa reacts to yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action 

* One of Albemarle County’s swimming lakes is closed due to an algae bloom

* A very small percentage of Albemarle County’s population responds to a survey on the Comprehensive Plan

* Two groups seeking to promote entrepreneurship receive $300,000 from Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development 

* New pickleball courts coming to Farmington and more development news from Albemarle County 

Charlottesville Community Engagement is a unique publication with a lot of stories about what’s happening in the community. Consider becoming a free or paid subscriber!

We are now on the 173rd day of 2023 and have the ability to declare a snapshot in a fixed system of time. But what year is it and from what perspective? Each of us has different start and stop points, and it’s my hope that by capturing as many stories as possible, more people will understand the viewpoints of others. That’s some of the background radiation of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a little newsletter and podcast that could. 

On today’s program:

* Two incumbent Charlottesville Planning Commissioners have been reappointed to four-year terms

* There will be a new co-executive director of an organization devoted to food justice

* Albemarle County wants input on the second phase of the “Broadway Blueprint”

* Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook is set to tread the boards of a play about people being pushed off their land in the 1930’s

* The Charlottesville Planning Commission will take up whether public infrastructure for a controversial apartment complex would be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan

The summer solstice is not the time for perihelion. Summer in the northwestern hemisphere takes place at a time when the Earth is further away from the sun. This fact is one of many examples of the truism that things are not always what they seem. But does anyone scrutinizes these adages? Anyway and either way, it’s June 21, 2023 and this is another edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement.

On today’s program:

* A brief rundown of the results in yesterday’s Democratic primary election

* Charlottesville City Council accepts $5 million from UVA for streetscape projects

* Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook predicts an emergency Council meeting 

It’s the penultimate day before the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere of the only planet where it’s possible to listen or read Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast that seeks to cover as much as possible about a very small corner of that globe. I’m Sean Tubbs, somewhat grateful that we’re now on the way to days with less sunlight. 

On today’s program:

* A Republican emerges in the race for House District 55

* Five candidates are now in the race for four seats on the Charlottesville School Board, though one has yet to complete paperwork

* Juneteenth celebrations continue this week with a tour of historic sites in Southern Albemarle 

* The latest numbers on building activity in Albemarle County are in

* A long-awaited convenience center is set to open in southern Albemarle

* Supervisors hear about the due diligence being conducted for Albemarle’s purchase of 462 acres near Rivanna Station 

Welcome to another Sunday edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, an irregularly produced newsletter that is usually podcast as well. This particular installment of the podcast is slightly longer than what you’ll read in the written version to make up some production changes this week. This is due to a recent break in the space time continuum. Or at least, a readjustment of gravity. 

Town Crier Productions is nearly in its fourth year of existence and continues to plot the way to expansion at a time when there seems to be a lot to know. I’m Sean Tubbs, looking for my astrolabe.

In today’s edition:

* The Democratic primary for City Council and area General Assembly races is in two days and the latest campaign finance reports are in 

* Charlottesville City Council learns how the city’s transit agency is hiring a third party firm for a microtransit pilot in Albemarle County 

* Charlottesville picks a new city attorney

* Council agrees to pay half of CRHA's purchase of a single family home in Fry's Spring

* The University of Virginia is about to have a new person running parking and transportation, and Charlottesville gets a bike and pedestrian coordinator

* A deep look at what’s in the University of Virginia’s next master plan document