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Charlottesville Community EngagementA regular newsletter about how and why things get built in the southern Piedmont region of Virginia Author: Town Crier Productions
Regular updates of what's happening in local and regional government in and around Charlottesville, Virginia from an award-winning journalist with nearly thirty years of experience. communityengagement.substack.com Language: en Genres: Government, News Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Podcast for June 27, 2026: Drought persists in Virginia, zoning listening session in Charlottesville, and a few more audio stories
Saturday, 27 June, 2026
For the second week in a row, I’m reusing the same production file that was used on WTJU. If I was awake and alert, it would maybe take 15 minutes to record new audio. However, this June 27 feels like the kind of day where such a direct task would take about two hours. I’m ready to get ready for the next set of stories.If you are a new reader, I got my professional start at WVTF Public Radio in Roanoke, Virginia, as an intern. I was in my final year at Virginia Tech and I wanted to keep going with journalism. At some point not too long after, I made a deliberate choice to focus at the local level. Every edition of this newsletter was a podcast for the first 650 editions or so. That changes in the spring of 2024 when I agreed to do a version of the podcast for WTJU. This airs Saturdays on WTJU at 6 a.m. In any case, take a listen! And I’ve included the text of the WTJU public service announcements. In this edition:* Most of Virginia continues to be under drought warning (read the story)* Charlottesville Planning Commission hears calls for reform at listening session on next round of zoning changes (read the story)* Council agrees to another extension of agreement with CRHA for additional housing vouchers (read the story)* Albemarle County prepares for new legislation including new biosolids testing requirements (read the story)* Albemarle Amateur Radio Club holding Field Day this weekend (read the story)* One archive story: Councilors push back on proposal to replace trash stickers with monthly trash fee charge more for trash collection (read the story from March 2025)Public Service Announcement #1C4K is now recruiting mentors for its Fall 2026 Cohort starting in late August. Be the trusted guide who helps a young person turn curiosity into capability. Work side-by-side with youth members on STEM projects of their choosing, like coding, robotics, design, or digital storytelling. No experience is necessary to collaborate, encourage, and expand possibilities for youth in our community. Visit the C4K website to learn more!Public Service Announcement #2Head to UVA’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library on Saturday, July 4th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Revolutionary Printing, a family-friendly UVA250 celebration of the materials, crafts, and stories of the founding era. Print a copy of the Declaration of Independence, view paper- and ink-making demonstrations, or add your “John Hancock” to a giant copy of the Declaration. Hear music of the American Revolution, make a printer’s hat, screen print a keepsake, view special exhibitions, or create a custom silhouette, beadwork, or sewing sampler. Event parking is free in UVA’s Central Grounds Garage. For more information, visit this website. Some nonsensical thoughts at the end of CCE-1079A Technically this one is W26-23 and not CCE-1079A because I did not produce a separate version. That’s twice in a row. I would prefer to do an original version as well, but I must admit I appreciate the illusion of a break. I assure any reader who made it to this part that I do not spend all of my hours working on this newsletter. I take a lot of breaks throughout the day, though almost none of that time is spent doing yardwork. Now that my eldest cat is no longer with us, the house is slowly being reclaimed from all of the spots damaged by incontinence.On this Saturday, what will I do? I do not know the answer though I am going to try to get the March 2026 property transactions out of the way. I’m very slow on those now and as a result I can’t put them behind a paywall. Or at least, it wouldn’t feel right.I do work seven days a week because I enjoy the research that goes into this newsletter. I see stories everywhere and the challenge is continuing to create an engine that allows me to produce as many as possible. It is my hope to find others willing to put in the work. There are almost two weeks until the 6 year anniversary of the newsletter. I am soul-searching a bit at the moment to determine the future. Should I try to see more of the world while I am still relatively young? What would it be like to live somewhere else? Yet, even thinking that thought triggers alarm as I really do want to continue trying to describe the minutiae of this community as it stumbles its way into the future. I’m so looking forward to hitting send and allowing myself to go into free association for the rest of the day. One of the ways I sharpen my research skills when they’ll dulled by morning fog is to go to cvillepedia and make some edits at random. I do not own the website but I have been associated with it since its public unveiling in 2009. The Jefferson Madison Regional Library is now the owner, but they do not program it. Who will program it in the future?Who will tell the stories of our community?I don’t have a way to look into the future except for continuing to do my part to document what I can. I hope to inspire others to do so and hopeful that in the future I’ll be better able to articulate what it is I’m doing. 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
