Today’s shout-out goes to the Parent-Teacher Organization of the Charlottesville City Schools, and their request for donations to the Reopening Fund: Ready to Teach, Ready to Learn. Visit their website for more information and to make a contribution.
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Incoming students at the University of Virginia are invited to view the annual convocation virtually on Sunday with remarks from President Jim Ryan and others. The event is traditionally held on the Lawn. According to a story on UVA Today, first year and transferring students will not sign the honor code at the convocation, but will “pledge their honor” in some other way to be announced later. The convocation can be seen on YouTube at 6 p.m. Almost 4,000 new undergraduates and hundreds of transfer students will begin study at UVA this fall, whether it be online or virtual. The plan is still to begin in-person instruction on September 8, the day after Labor Day.
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The Virginia Department of Health is reporting another 978 cases of COVID-19 this morning, for a cumulative total of 110,860 to date. There are another nine deaths for a cumulative total of 2,436. There are another 29 new cases in the Thomas Jefferson Health District with 13 from Albemarle, five from Charlottesville, three from Greene, three from Fluvanna, two from Louisa and three from Nelson. The seven day positive test average in the district is at 6.1 percent, down from 6.4 percent on Wednesday.
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The same localities in the Thomas Jefferson Health District are also in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District, and the Board of Commissioners that oversees the latter met last night. They got more information on the Rental and Mortgage Relief Program being administered by the TJPDC. So far, the agency has received $450,000 in funding from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to disburse to those who qualify. When administrative and staff funding is subtracted, that leaves $382,461.75. TJPDC housing coordinator Christine Jacobs gave an update on how that money has been used so far.
“Of the $382,461, we’ve gone through about 45 percent of our funds, which is good progress, about two weeks ago we were significantly below that so we are being an increase in the number of people who are being approved,” Jacobs said. Here is a link to the report.
As of August 19, there have been 497 applicants with 91 percent seeking rent assistance and nine percent are for mortgage relief. Jacobs said most of that is going to to households who need it the most. AMI stands for area median income.
“And so we are seeing 61 percent of the households are below 30 percent AMI and that we’ve seen receive rental and mortgage relief to date,” Jacobs said. “The relief goes anywhere from $100 to $10,000 per household. That $10,000 seems high but it could be that they were four months in arrears, it could be that they had a loss of income that made them eligible.”
The TJPDC Board approved the funding agreement as well as a grievance policy. On Monday, Charlottesville Council had been told that there were long delays in getting through to the community helpline, but a spokeswoman for the city said they are caught up on calls seeking assistance with the program.
The TJPDC also approved a framework for a regional initiative to expand broadband in the rural area. Chip Boyles is the executive director of the TJPDC.
“We would be acting as a facilitator bringing together the public sector and the private sector folks as well as businesses and citizens and the education sector,” Boyles said.
Jesse Rutherford is the chair of the TJPDC and a member of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors.
“Broadband is the biggest topic we have in our region,” Rutherford said. “I’m sure everyone can concur with that, with schools going virtual and parents working from home and what not. I do think it is appropriate we look at this from a regional perspective. Essentially we are all connected and when crises like this happen we realize how much more important this new method of transportation is.”
One outcome could be the creation of a regional broadband authority. Albemarle County has such a group and that body’s board of directors will have an annual meeting on Wednesday.
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We are now approaching the half-year mark for this pandemic, and with continued community spread, many in our area are seeking to better understand how the community might change after such a prolonged time of uncertainty. The Center for Nonprofit Excellence has been conducting a series of interviews with nonprofit leaders on the Hope and Resilience, and the latest installment has been posted. Mary Coleman is the executive director of the City of Promise.
“We have to believe that things can get better so that we can put one foot in front of the other and keep going,” Coleman said. “You know, the sun rises every single morning and every morning is an opportunity for us to realize our dreams but it takes hard work and it takes hope, we have to believe in ourselves.”
That interview was produced by Town Crier Productions. Previous installments are with:
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And that brings us to the end of a sixth week of this community service. I rely on contributions from the audience, and for basic support of the research I do, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. Your support keeps this daily newsletter free, and helps me look for other opportunities to bring information to the public. Take a look!
August 21, 2020: Details on regional rent relief program; TJPDC to pursue regional broadband