Today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out comes from an anonymous supporter who wants to say - "We keep each other safe. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep your distance."
There are another 1,121 cases of COVID-19 reported by the Virginia Department of Health this morning, for a cumulative number of 116,579 to date. There are an additional 12 deaths for a total of 2,527 to date. The seven-day positive resting rate increased to 6.5 percent this morning, up from 6.4 percent yesterday. There are another 27 cases in the Thomas Jefferson Health District and an additional death for a total of 48 in the district to date.
The University of Virginia has released an online dashboard that tracks COVID-19 cases among faculty, staff, and students. As of this morning, there are a total of 14 positive results among those tested, with all of those listed as students. The public dashboard does not include the number of tests conducted, which would yield a positive test rate. The dashboard indicates that there are no students in isolation, but five percent of the rooms UVA has set aside for quarantining students are currently occupied. (UVA COVID tracker)
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If the pandemic had not happened, students in Albemarle and Charlottesville public schools would have already started classes in person. However, they won’t start virtual learning now until September 8, the day after Labor Day. The issue of school opening was discussed at length yesterday as part of the Leadership Charlottesville Alumni Association’s Courageous Conversations series.
Juandiego Wade, a member of the Charlottesville School Board, said that before that body made their decision, there was a lot of correspondence in favor of opening the schools.
“And for us as decision makers, and at this point I’m speaking for myself, safety was above all, and that was safety for the students, safety for the teachers, and ultimately the entire community,” Wade said. “September the 8th was not going to be the time for us to bring back the students in-person.”
The majority of students in Albemarle will go to school virtually, but some special needs students and English-language learners will attend in person. Students with no access to Internet at home can also physically go to class. Latishia Wilson, the principal at Stony Point Elementary School, explains how those pupils have been selected.
“For special education, our special education department developed some very specific criteria that they looked at and looked at the needs of the students to see which students they could provide services for in a virtual environment and which students really required being in-person instruction,” Wilson said. “As far as students who didn’t have access, they really worked hard to create equity because that was definitely a challenge in the spring. We already knew that many of our students didn’t have access but the turn-around was so quick.”
The architectural firm VMDO has the contract to reconfigure city schools at Walker and Buford, but it is on hold due to the pandemic. Architect Shawn Mulligan said this offers the chance to think about how schools can be redesigned. He said the work happening now to make sure all students have access to education will inform the future redesign.
“How do we know that each family is getting the service they need and that each student is able to thrive to the best of their abilities, and how do we as architects and we as a community create a full wrap-around services both that the school can provide but the after-hours care, the before-hours care, the family that’s necessary to really make sure that families and students are supported through this difficult time,” Mulligan said. “I believe that right now we are looking at a massive and looking equity crisis. I think our country is having a deep, detailed and really probing conversation about the history of race and racism in our society.”
Mulligan said there is an effort to create a Civilian Education Corps to help with the long-term effects of virtual education. The video will be available on the LCAA webpage.
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The Charlottesville Tree Commission met for the first time since the pandemic began and welcomed four new members to the group. The first line of the group’s purpose statement reads “the Tree Commission will serve strictly in an advisory role assisting City Council, the Planning Commission and City staff on issues regarding tree planting, protection, preservation and removal.”
However, some members of the commission say they have struggled to be heard by any of those groups, and some have put together a presentation to explain the role trees play in a community that is healthy and equitable and hence the need for a Tree Commission
“Generally, our main guiding thing is to protect and improve the urban forest,” said Paul Josey, a member of the Tree Commission. This year the city will get an update on the tree canopy, a term that refers to the percentage of city land covered by trees. According to the city’s website, the tree canopy decreased from 47 percent to 45 percent from 2009 to 2014. Josey said areas with low tree cover are unhealthier and tend to be in areas with low-income.
“There are these hot spots, and in these hot spots there are also higher amounts of heat-related illnesses,” Josey said. “That’s heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat is actually the number one most deadly weather-related hazard in the U.S.”
Josey said the city needs to do more to enforce regulations and policies intended to increase tree cover, and in his presentation he made the case for the Tree Commission to play a stronger role in reviewing site plans for development.
“We have a lot of talent at reading site plans on the commission who get to look at these and know the codes and say, these are opportunities, these are areas where we’ve missed and figure out the big picture, so we’ve worked on a lot of advisory comments for these groups. We’re not a binding commentary group. Our comments are to help the developer meet the best management practices and make sure they are meeting the city’s codes,” Josey said.
However, Josey said no site plans have been shared with the Tree Commission since the Tarron Richardson took over as City Manager last year. He is asking for that to change. The full presentation can be viewed on the city’s webpage. (watch)
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Today in meetings, the Regional Transit Partnership meets virtually at 4 p.m. and the Places29 Rio Community Advisory Committee meets at 6 p.m. One potential link between these meetings is the role that bus service might plan in alleviating congestion issues on Rio Road.
But today the RTP is scheduled to hear an update on Jaunt’s plans to introduce an on-demand service. They’ll also be briefed on the intrastate bus that now travels through Virginia between Danville and D.C. (RTP meeting info)
The Places-29 Rio committee will get an update on the city’s housing policy, which is under development. There is also a community meeting for a special use permit for an auto dealership on U.S. 29. (Places 29-Rio meeting info)
August 27, 2020: Leadership Charlottesville alumni talk school openings; City tree commission makes its case