The end of the week at Town Crier Productions means it is time for another audio edition produced in the form of a podcast! Newer readers may not know that for many years, all of these versions went out in sonic form. Will that ever happen again? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps all effort in the future will go toward a version not unlike Bazooka Joe comics? In any case, I’m Sean Tubbs and it may be time to get on with the show.

In this edition:

* Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders addresses several issues including FEI, Sanctuary City list, arrest of man who painted crosswalk across Elliott Avenue (learn more)

* Sanders reduces contingency spending request after appearing on Sanctuary City list (learn more)

* All bids for Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail renovation exceed budget (learn more)

* Albemarle County Supervisors deny a request to fill in the floodplain for an industrial building in the Woolen Mills

* Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority adopts budget for FY2026, $550 million capital improvement program (learn more)

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First shout-out: Plant Virginia Natives

Spring is here and there’s still time to plan for upgrades to your outdoors. You can take some time to get ready for spring! Check out Plant Virginia Natives!

Plant Virginia Natives is part of a partnership with ten regional campaigns for ten different ecosystems across Virginia, from the Northern Piedmont to the Eastern Shore. Take a look at the full map below for the campaign for native species where you are in the Commonwealth. For the Charlottesville area, download a free copy of the handbook: Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens.

Plant Northern Piedmont Natives is for anyone who works with native plants, whether you are a property owner, private consultant, landscape designer, nursery operator, conservation group, or local government.

Second shout out: Cville Village?

Can you drive a neighbor to a doctor’s appointment? Change an overhead lightbulb, plant a flower, walk a dog for someone who is sick, visit someone who is lonely? If so, Cville Village needs you!

Cville Village is a local 501c3 nonprofit organization loosely affiliated with a national network of Villages whose goals are to help seniors stay in their own homes as long as possible, and to build connections among them that diminish social isolation. Volunteers do small chores for, and have gatherings of, professors and schoolteachers, nurses and lawyers, aides and housekeepers. Time and chance come to all – a fall, an order not to drive, failing eyesight, a sudden stroke. They assist folks continue living at home, with a little help from their friends.

Cville Village volunteers consult software that shows them who has requested a service and where they are located. Volunteers accept only the requests that fit their schedule and their skills.

Volunteering for Cville Village can expand your circle of friends and shower you with thanks.

To learn more, visit cvillevillage.org or attend one of their monthly Village “meet-ups” and see for yourself. To find out where and when the next meetup is, or to get more information and a volunteer application, email us at [email protected], or call them at (434) 218-3727.

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