If you read yesterday’s edition of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter and really liked it, why not take a listen to today’s? For some reason, Fridays are for audio production for both a podcast version and a version that will air on WTJU tomorrow at 6 a.m. I’m Sean Tubbs and what you’re about to hear are several stories that all come from the April 2 meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors. This is another experiment in providing you with the tools to better know your community.

In today’s installment:

* There are three budget town halls left in Albemarle County before public hearings begin later this month (learn more)

* A nonprofit that raises funds for the Shenandoah National Park is sharing information about how federal cuts are affecting operations (learn more)

* There’s a relatively new art gallery in Scottsville (learn more)

* Albemarle Supervisors recognize Dark Sky Week coming up April 21 through April 28 (learn more)

* April is Financial Literacy Month (learn more)

* Albemarle Supervisors continue to discuss growth as part of the long and winding road that is the county’s Comprehensive Plan review (learn more)

* The show wraps up with an update from the Virginia Department of Transportation (this is not the story but it is close enough)

Charlottesville Community Engagement is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

First shout-out: Celebrating the community’s other information organizations!

There are a lot of stories each week that go out through this newsletter, but no one information outlet can put together the entire picture. That’s why each regular edition ends with a section called Reading Material.

Charlottesville is fortunate to have a media landscape that includes the Charlottesville Daily Progress, C-Ville Weekly, Charlottesville Tomorrow, and Cville Right Now, I curate links from these sources because I believe a truly informed community needs multiple perspectives.

There’s also the Cavalier Daily, Vinegar Hill Magazine, the Fluvanna Review, the Crozet Gazette, NBC29, CBS19, and other sources. But if you look every day, you’ll find links to articles in national publications, all linked to give you more perspectives on some of the issues of our times.

Now more than ever, journalism is needed. To be a citizen of a democracy, you must seek information from multiple sources. Consume only one and you are at risk of becoming a zombie!

Second shout-out: Advertise on Information Charlottesville

Long-time readers may know that most of the stories posted through this newsletter are also posted to Information Charlottesville. Sometimes the stories go there first! Both this newsletter and that website are part of the same information gathering operation, an operation I hope to continue to grow!

There are multiple ways to contribute to Town Crier Productions.

One new one is to place an advertisement on Information Charlottesville. I’m in the early days of experimenting with visual ways for organizations to get their message across to a growing audience. I’ve not yet put together a media kit, but I’m ready to offer a special for March. What’s the special? More details in the audio version of the podcasts.

Advertising on Information Charlottesville could be a great way to keep my business going while also growing yours. I think there are new ways to do advertising, but I don’t know what they are until I’m allowed to continue testing.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe