Today’s installment comes courtesy of the Charlottesville Podcasting Network, recording and presenting interesting audio about our community since 2005. Search through the archives at cvillepodcast.com.
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Governor Ralph Northam and the leaders of five other states have written to the Rockefeller Foundation to announce their intent to work together to purchase rapid COVID-19 testing technology consistent with a plan put together by the foundation last month.
“Testing is the only way out of our present disaster, and it will remain the case until a vaccine or effective therapeutics are widely available,” reads the Foundation’s website, which contains a 51-page report with a strategy to get national testing capacity to 30 million tests a week.
Northam and the governors of Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Ohio announced an intent to enter into a compact to negotiate with two manufacturers of antigen tests to order 500,000 kits which promise test results within 15 to 20 minutes. The Rockefeller Foundation will provide support with logistics.
“The states are leading America’s national response to COVID-19,” Northam said in a press release. “We are bringing together this bipartisan, multi-state coalition to combine our purchasing power and get rapid testing supplies to our communities as quickly as possible. The people in our six states want to see action, and together, we’re delivering.”
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced later in the day that his state would also join the compact.
Northam is expected to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today.
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The Virginia Department of Health is reporting another 798 new cases of COVID-19 today, the lowest one-day total since July 9, when 613 cases were reported. Another 30 deaths were counted for a total of 2,274 to date. The seven-day average for positive PCR tests remains at 7.2 percent.
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The Charlottesville City Council spent three hours yesterday on a “listening session” on policing in Charlottesville. City Manager Tarron Richardson said the event was arranged after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes, killing him. Dr. Richardson said many in the community have contacted him and Council.
“We received a lot of emails, phone calls, and a lot of one-on-one conversations with many residents in our community pertaining to defunding the police department,” Dr. Richardson said. “What can we do to improve our overall relationship with the community through our working with the police and the community as a whole?”
Dr. Richardson said he and Council wanted to hear from people about how they would define “defunding the police.”
Elizabeth Stark said she would rather use the term “reinvesting.”
“Right now we spend $18 million so that police can respond to mental health calls, substance use disorder calls, chronic homeless, and domestic and sexual assaults,” Stark said. “These are not activities that are well-suited to police responses so the defund movement is asking that we shift funds away from paying the police to respond to these kinds of calls… and support the community by putting into place a robust network that is trained and capable to answer these calls with the kind of sensitivity can warrant.”
Don Gathers, a former member of the Police Civilian Review Board, asked Councilors to support a more robust CRB with the power to subpoena officers.
“If we could take some steps to try to put some things in place so that when things do occur, we have a means, a method, and a vehicle in order to check those things before they balloon out of control, we certainly need to do so,” Gathers said.
In all, 42 people spoke and 1,200 people watched the event live, according to city communications director Brian Wheeler. The session can be seen on the city’s website. Dr. Richardson said Council will return to the topic in the near future. The General Assembly will convene for a special session on August 18. Pre-filed bills include one from Senator Thomas Norment that would ban the police from using neck restraints.
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In government meetings today, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors meets at 2 p.m. and will hold four public hearings in the evening. In one, Verizon is seeking permission to build a 116.7 foot tall cell tower at the intersection of Wild Turkey Lane and Route 250 West. The county’s wireless policy requires a public hearing before the Board because this location is within 200 feet of a Scenic Byway. (staff report)
In another, a developer is seeking a rezoning for 32.52 acres at the northern edge of Albemarle’s Places29 designated growth area from rural areas (RA) to Planned Residential Development (PRD) for a maximum of 100 residential units. This project is along the North Fork of the Rivanna River. The Planning Commission first heard the item on March 10 and voted 5-1 to recommend approval on May 19. (staff report)
The Fluvanna Board of Supervisors meets in person today beginning at 4 p.m. with a meeting with several items related to how that county will use federal CARES Acts funding. That ranges from an agreement with the Community Investment Collaborative to budget transfers for the current and previous fiscal year. They’ll also take action on a fire and rescue fleet study. (agenda)
And the Jefferson Madison Regional Library will hold a virtual panel discussion on the racial diversity in the library system’s collections. The event will be moderated by Siri Russell, Albemarle County’s director of Equity and Inclusion. (register)
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August 5, 2020: Virginia seeks rapid COVID-19 tests; Charlottesville hears about police reform