April 23, 2024: UVA seeking one firm to operate child-care services for employees; Man in stable condition after West Main stabbing this morning
Plus: The Albemarle County Planning Commission meets tonight with a public hearing on the Kappa Sigma headquarters
There was not supposed to be an edition today, but one of the stories was such that I wanted to get it out right away. I was supposed to take the day off and rest, but doing so fills me with anxiety. Perhaps naming the company Town Crier Productions created ridiculous internal expectation, but I can’t think of anything else that explains the nature of the work I so. I’m Sean Tubbs, and fans of Latin should know at one point the name Praeco was considered.
In today’s installment:
A man is in stable condition at the UVA Medical Center after a stabbing on West Main Street this morning
The University of Virginia wants to improve child care for its employees and seek a single firm to manage its four facilities plus a fifth that opens later this year
That story comes out of another look at public notices including a request from a new downtown Charlottesville coffee shop to also sell alcohol
The Albemarle County Planning Commission will meet tonight and will have a public hearing on an amendment to the layout of Kappa Sigma International Headquarters off of Route 20
The Virginia Department of Transportation seeks input on options to reconfigure the intersection of Interstate 64 and Fifth Street Extended
First shout-out: Plant Virginia Natives
We are one month into spring, and my backyard is now clear and ready for me to plant something new to serve as a screen between myself and a large construction project where there had been a field. One resource I have to help me select appropriate vegetation is 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. As I plan for spring, I’m going to take a look because after almost four years of one Patreon supporter selecting this as his shout-out, I’m excited to get to work myself!
Man stabbed this morning on West Main Street in Charlottesville
A man is in the University of Virginia Medical Center this afternoon after being stabbed this morning. Charlottesville Police responded to a call at 9:13 a.m.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered a male who had sustained life-threatening stab wounds,” reads a notification on Facebook.
This took place in the 700 block of West Main Street. About an hour after the initial posting, CPD released an update that said the victim was stable.
“CPD does not have a suspect description to release at this time,” reads the second update.
The incident remains under investigation and no new details are available this afternoon. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (434) 977-4000. Anyone with a surveillance camera is also asked to call the line.
Public notice: UVA seeking one firm to consolidate child-care services
One way to learn what’s happening is to review the public notices that are published in what Virginia considers newspapers of public record. But you don’t have to buy a newspaper to review them. There’s a central repository called Public Notice of Virginia that’s worth reviewing. Or just wait for another installment of this regular feature of the newsletter.
To read the links, you may need to log in once to prove you’re not a bot. If you’re a bot, I’m sure you have other ways.
The University of Virginia is seeking a firm to operate child care facilities and backup care for faculty, staff, team members, students, and other UVA designees.
“Data from Charlottesville/Albemarle and the surrounding areas indicate there are over 8,000 child care slots needed to meet current demand and there has been over $100 million in lost business revenue due to inadequate availability of child care,” reads a request for proposals for the service.
The public notice itself doesn’t have very much information, but points to a procurement website. According to the notice, UVA and its personnel spent $6 million on childcare services in 2023. One of President Jim Ryan’s working groups is to improve the state of early childhood education.
In 2000, the Provost’s Office and the Human Resources department began working on ways to improve the situation through something called the Family Support Collab which took a look at service gaps and ways to be more efficient.
Currently UVA offers four child care facilities in the community, each of which is independent from the other. These are all managed under separate agreements. A fifth one is expected to be open by the time this RFP is awarded.
“The University, in response to the needs of its physicians, faculty, staff, team members, students, and other designees, are coordinating efforts to structure management of existing child care facilities under one Selected Firm to standardize the policies and practices of the University-affiliated childcare centers and to maximize the value proposition of child care services offered collectively by the University,” the RFP continues.
Last November, the UVA Foundation purchased the property that houses the Earheart Child Development Center as I reported in C-Ville Weekly.
Proposals are due on June 14.
In other public notices:
There will be a public auction on May 20, 2024 on the steps of the Albemarle County Circuit Court at 1:15 p.m. for 6883 Rabbit Ridge Road. (April 23, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
On April 24, 2024, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will kick off a month of public comment for the new Long Range Transportation Plan which goes by the name of Moving Toward 250. The full document is available here. How many people will comment on it? How many will do so because an advocacy group told them what to say? (April 23, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
An entity called Las Lenas is seeking a license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages in the restaurant known as Cumbre Bakery at 820 E. Jefferson Street. The restaurant is already open in a former barber shop. (April 18, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
Virginia Winery Winery Distribution seeks a wholesale wine license to produce up to 30,000 gallons a year. This is for 2640 Rock Island Road, which traces to the portion of Scottsville that’s in Buckingham County. It’s also the address of Muddy Paws Winery which is already open. (April 16, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
An entity called El Makinon LLC seeks a mixed beverage license for operations at 1309 Belleview Avenue. (April 16, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
The space formerly occupied by Guarijos at 817 West Main Street may be getting a new tenant. Phoenix Collective LLC has filed for retail wine and beer license for on and off premises for a business that will trade as Ethos Wine & Tea. (April 13, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
The University of Virginia also seeks a firm to provide marketing strategy and creative services. This is also a public notice with very little information in it except a link to another website. (RFP) (April 13, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
Kappa Sigma amendment goes before Albemarle County PC tonight
This week I missed a couple of meetings in the Week Ahead. One of them is the Albemarle County Planning Commission meeting that will happen at 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info)
There are two public hearings.
One is a request from Kappa Sigma International to amend the special use permit for their headquarters at 1610 Scottsville Road. They want to relocate a future building and create a new landscaped amenity area. (staff report)
“The proposed building would be approximately 8,790 square feet with a maximum height of 27.5’ to the center peak of the roof line,” reads the staff report. “It would be used to display archives and memorabilia associated with Kappa Sigma.”
The second is an amendment to the zoning ordinance to allow taller retaining walls in areas under the steep slopes overlay district. This would also give the Board of Supervisors the ability to approve a special exception for walls above ten feet.
Ten years ago, this would have been a bigger deal with professional advocates showing up to encourage a cautious approach. Will they show tonight? (staff report)
Second shout-out: Community Bikes begin a series of mobile repair clinics this week
In today’s second subscriber-supported shout-out: Charlottesville Community Bikes does a lot to help everyone who wants a pedal-fueled vehicle to get one. They also keep track of their impact on the community. This week on Instagram, Charlottesville Community Bikes posted their first quarter report and so far this year they’ve handed out 213 free bikes to kids and 61 to teens and adults!
On April 27, a series of mobile repair clinics will have its third stop of the year when a trailer stocked with tools and parts will take part in Abundant Life Community Day on Prospect Avenue beginning at noon. They’ll be on hand for three hours for basic repair and to pass out helmets.
Want to help volunteer for a future clinic? Have a suggestion for one should be held? Visit communitybikes.org to learn more and to find out where future clinics will be!
VDOT seeking input into alternatives for I-64/Fifth Street interchange
The Virginia Department of Transportation is seeking applications for funding for new projects across the Commonwealth, and local officials are planning to submit one to reconfigure the intersection of Interstate 64 and Fifth Street Extended.
The current intersection is known as a tight diamond and is not safe for bicyclists and pedestrians who live to the south in any of the number of apartment complex that have been built in recent years.
“Traffic volumes have increased significantly for the movement exiting eastbound I-64 and turning left onto 5th Street, causing queueing along the ramp and leading to a high number of rear-end crashes,” reads a press release sent out today to notify the public about a survey.
“In addition, there is a growing amount of bicycle and pedestrian facilities on 5th Street — both north and south of the interchange — without a connection across the interstate,” the survey continues.
According to a presentation available on the VDOT website, one option is a diverging diamond similar to the ones at both Exit 124 at Pantops and Exit 136 at Zion Crossroads.
The second would be an “optimized diamond” which would add slip lanes at both on-ramps to provide space for a six foot sidewalk.
The third is for a “single point urban interchange” which would move both the two intersections into one location.
A fourth option would be to do nothing at all.
The survey is open through May 16. Visit the VDOT website to check it out.
Reading material:
‘It’s going to require a lot more work,’ Albemarle teachers charge forward on collective bargaining, Maggie Glass, NBC29, April 19, 2024
All eyes on Republican Primary race for Virginia’s 5th District, Maggie Glass, NBC29, April 19, 2024
Shooting at Barracks West leaves 1 injured, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), April 19, 2024
State forestry program purges hundreds of Virginia Callery pear trees, Meghan McIntyre, Virginia Mercury, April 23, 2024
#668 is for Grahambo
No pitches or advertisements in this one. I want to state a few things about the passage of Rob Graham, the long-time WINA radio reporter who died this past Saturday in Nashville. In all, he worked for WINA for 32 years before retiring in 2016. I met him when I moved to Charlottesville in 2002 to work for a radio show hosted by one of his former co-workers, Sarah McConnell.
I never worked with him directly, but always loved hearing his voice whether in-person or the few times I tuned in to that station. I’m glad to see so many paying their tributes and many of them never met him at all but he was still part of their life.
I don’t know the last time I saw him. Since December 2021, I’ve been doing a weekly radio appearance on WINA and wonder if maybe I saw him then? I don’t really know. You meet so many people in your lives and the older you get the harder it is to keep track.
Graham was known by so many as “Grahambo” and he represents quite a bit of this community’s past. Oh how I would love to have access to the archives of all the stories he produced, as well as all of the ones produced by Chris Callahan who is still with us and knows more about place than anyone should be allowed.
Rest in peace, Rob Graham.
For those of you who didn’t know him, a few articles. I’ll be using these to update his cvillepedia page, my attempt to help remember things I know one day will disappear.
McKenzie: Longtime local radio newsman signs off, Bryan McKenzie, Charlottesville Daily Progress, November 8, 2016
Graham Retiring From WINA, Radio Ink, November 8, 2016
