December 9, 2024: Pinkston and Wade launch bid for second terms on Charlottesville City Council
Plus: Twice as Nice announces $270,000 in grants to nonprofits that assist area’s older residents
When did the Glorious Revolution begin, other than 1688? Charlottesville Community Engagement does not have the answer, but does note that on December 9 of that year, the Queen of England and the Prince of Wales left for France as the monarchy and the fourth monarch of the House of Stuart left the next day. Does any of this matter? I’m Sean Tubbs, and it’s not for me to say but just to write a few things here and there on this December 9.
In today’s installment:
The two members of Charlottesville City Council whose terms expire at the end of 2025 have announced their re-election campaign
The Finance Committee of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors signs off on the North Grounds Parking Garage and new student residential buildings on Ivy Road
A preview of tomorrow’s meeting of a transportation tech committee and a presentation they’ll get on safety targets
The Twice as Nice thrift store has awarded $270,000 in grants to local nonprofits
First shout-out: Tune in the WTJU Classical Marathon
We are now on the first day of WTJU’s 2024 Classical Marathon. A round-the-clock celebration of classical music kicked off today, December 9, connecting centuries of tradition to the very moment you listen. You can help ensure the superb music on WTJU continues to inspire you and our whole music-loving community in 2025.
New this year, WTJU’s Classical Marathon will feature five live performances, Monday through Saturday, 7-8 p.m. The lineup includes professional performers from the Early Music Access Project, as well as tremendously skilled students from Albemarle High School Orchestra and Choir, Western Albemarle High School Chamber Ensembles, and a special showcase of talent from The Music Emporium.
WTJU has lined up 55 original programs for your listening pleasure – from Early Music and Baroque to Classical and Romantic favorites to compositions written this year. Plus a few shows that push the boundaries of “classical,” highlighting this music’s influence on our broader culture.
From inspired playlists to engaging volunteer hosts, WTJU amplifies the depth and diversity of classical music. When we listen and really hear what classical composers are saying, all of us feel the transformational power of music, together.
For more information, visit WTJU.net.
Pinkston and Wade kick-off 2025 reelection campaign
There are just under eleven months until the next general election but in Virginia the machinery of democracy is always moving.
Today at noon around two dozen people assembled at the Free Speech Wall behind two incumbents on the Charlottesville City Council as they announced they’re both seeking another four-year term.
“Juandiego Wade and I came on board City Council at a point in time of real instability on Council,” said Brian Pinkston. “One of the things we’ve tried to prove is that you can have a highly responsive local government that gets big things done around justice, climate, transportation, public safety, housing, and education. And you can do so from a posture of mutual respect, kindness, professionalism, and even joy.”
Wade said he loves the city of Charlottesville and wants to continue to serve.
“I’ve been a servant in this community for nearly 30 years,” Wade said. “To do it on this level is a lot of work and takes a lot of capacity.”
Wade served four terms on the Charlottesville City School Board before running in 2021. He said both he and Pinkston are hitting their stride and both want another term to complete some of their work.
Pinkston said he and his colleagues have presided over the hiring of a new generation of city staff and cited the implementation of collective bargaining as one way to keep people in places. He said Council has also worked to accomplish long-stalled initiatives such as the expansion of Buford Middle School.
“We’re tackling the high cost of housing by working with partners like [Piedmont Housing Alliance] to aim for a deeper level of affordability and by revamping our zoning ordinance,” Pinkston said.
Pinkston said Charlottesville is also rebuilding connections to both Albemarle County and the University of Virginia. He said he wants another term because the learning curve is steep and he is just getting his stride.
“These are perplexing times,” Pinkston said. “It is hard to know what to do and there’s a lot of uncertainty. People need to know that regardless of what happens in D.C. that their local government will be there for them.”
The pair was introduced by Delegate Katrina Callsen (D-54) who said she got to know Wade when he was on the Charlottesville School Board.
“I had the opportunity to meet Juan seven years ago when I was running for [Albemarle] School Board and he was a source of mentorship and a true public service attitude,” Callsen said.
Callsen said she met Pinkston when she was working as a deputy city attorney before being elected to the House of Delegates.
“I know that he brings a level-headed, steady, leadership that is strong when it’s needed,” Callsen said.
The two are running as a pair and their campaign website went live today.
Party primaries in Virginia are scheduled for June 17, 2025 and this time around the ranked-choice method of voting will be used to select candidates. Wade said he was not aware of any other candidates who are interested.
“We just wanted to get a head start on everything to really be in the forefront of people’s mind as they get into the holiday season and the new year,” Wade said. “It’s going to be a busy new year politically and we wanted to get a headstart on it.”
In 2021, Wade and Pinkston won the two Democratic nominations in June before going on to be the top two recipients of votes in the November election. Wade got 11,730 votes, Pinkston got 10,161, and independent Yasmine Washington placed a distant third with 3,482. Former Mayor Nikuyah Walker dropped out of the race but came in fourth with 1,928 votes.
UVA Finance Committee signs off on North Grounds Parking Garage, Ivy Road student housing
The University of Virginia is moving ahead with construction of the Emmet-Ivy Corridor and different committees of the Board of Visitors took action last week.
In additional the resolutions of support from the Buildings and Grounds Committee, the Finance Committee was asked to support the North Grounds Parking Garage as well as three new student housing buildings to be constructed on Copeley Road. They took up the garage first.
“The estimated total project cost is $50 million,” said J.J. Davis, UVA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “It'll be funded by debt of $24.6 million, institutional funds of $18.2 million and parking and transportation reserves at $7.2 [million].”
The student housing projects would include between 750 to 800 beds in apartment style housing that Davis said would have a cost between $150 million and $160 million.
“We will not have a final number yet because it is still going through design iteration,” Davis said.
It’s also not known whether second-year students who live on Grounds will be allowed to use any spaces in the nearby Emmet/Ivy parking garage. Davis said students can use Charlottesville Area Transit to get around the city.
“The first year I worked here, I actually took the bus down to Barracks Road to get my groceries,” Davis said.
Later in the day on December 6, the full Board of Visitors ratified the actions.
On the day before, the UVA Buildings and Grounds Committee had reviewed the projects as well as the Center for Arts proposed for the northeast corner of the Emmet Ivy Corridor. I’ll have more on that project in this week’s C-Ville Weekly.
The Virginia Guesthouse hotel and convention center is expected to open in the fall of 2025.
One member of the Buildings and Grounds Committee wanted to know how the programs would retain the sense of the University of Virginia as a village, pointing out that Emmet and Ivy are both very busy roads.
Alice Raucher, the UVA Architect, said there will be eight foot wide sidewalks on Ivy Road as well as dedicated bike lanes that are not currently there. She said other infrastructure projects will change the character of the space.
“The city's Smart Scale project, which we hope will be beginning shortly, will improve the intersection at Emmett and Ivy Road and create a… 10 foot wide multimodal path that goes along Emmett street all the way up to Arlington Boulevard,” Raucher said.
Raucher said there is a potential to create a pedestrian bridge across Emmet Street in the future to connect the Center for Arts with Culbreth Road to take advantage of the parking garage that serves the School of Architecture. UVA has contributed $2.5 million to the Smart Scale project.
President Jim Ryan said he could anticipate there being a need for a bridge when the Emmet Ivy Corridor is fully built out.
“Right now there are a lot of students going back and forth to get to the School of Data Science already, and that's manageable,” Ryan said. “But when you add 750 students living there and then when you have these other buildings, I think we're going to come to the conclusion that we need a bridge.”
Let’s hope Charlottesville Community Engagement still exists to write that story and so many more.
Second shout-out: Charlottesville Community Bikes
In today’s second subscriber supported shout-out, Charlottesville Community Bikes strives to provide wheels to anyone who needs a ride. That includes:
There’s a Kid’s Bike program for people under the age of 12 (learn more)
Several social services organizations refer people to Charlottesville Community Bikes for access to reliable transportation (learn more)
Keep an eye on their calendar for the next mobile repair clinic (learn more)
There’s also a workforce development program that “blends mentorship and comprehensive training in bicycle mechanics” (learn more)
Do you have some wheels you’re no longer using? Community Bikes accepts all bike and bike-related donations, but at the moment, they are especially slim on adult mountain bikes and need kids' bikes of all sizes.
To learn more, visit their website and consider a donation to keep them rolling!
MPO-Tech Committee to discuss safety targets and another federal grant for the Rivanna River bridge
A primary purpose of this newsletter is to let people know what’s happening in local and regional government and the Week Ahead newsletter that goes out on Mondays is an important part of doing so. However, on occasion a meeting is omitted. Now that this newsletter is making a decent attempt at becoming a daily, what better way to correct those errors with write-ups of what was missed?
As things stand at the moment, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration require urban areas to appoint a body known standardly as a “Metropolitan Planning Organization” in order to provide a public check on the spending of federal transportation dollars.
In our community, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) serves as that body and they next meet on December 18. To confuse matters, the MPO is run by the TJPDC, or Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.
But on Tuesday at 10 a.m. there is a sub-committee called the MPO Tech Committee that will meet for the final time in 2024. (view the agenda)
One item on the agenda is a discussion of performance safety targets ranging from infrastructure conditions to the number of fatalities and serious injuries. CAMPO has traditionally used the same targets as the Commonwealth of Virginia but has the option to set higher standards. In the packet is a calculation of recent trends to assist with a decision.
“The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) has adopted aspirational performance goals reflecting the stated goals of the 2022-2026 Strategic Highway Safety Plan to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by two percent,” reads the memo.
The MPO-Tech Committee will also be asked to support an attempt to once again find federal funding for a proposed Rivanna River Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge between Pantops and Woolen Mills. This would be another application to the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant. Two previous attempts did not result in funding.
“TJPDC staff submitted a 2023 RAISE grant application for this same project that was identified as a ‘Project of Merit’ as well as a 2024 grant application that was ‘Recommended’ through the RAISE grant program,” reads a resolution of support. “TJPDC staff will submit a 2025 grant application to complete the preliminary engineering phase of the project to reduce the contingencies and identify opportunities for project construction.”
At this meeting, MPO-Tech members will also get an update on the Move Safely Blue Ridge program that is intended to come up with plans to reduce roadway fatalities. Over 300 people participated in a survey for the program and over 60 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with a statement that “people drive safely” in the region.
For perspective, the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia estimates the 2023 population of the Thomas Jefferson District at 231,577 people.
There are two webinars to learn more about Move Safely Blue Ridge on Wednesday, December 11. Register for those here.
Twice as Nice hands out $270,000 in grants
The thrift store Twice as Nice on Preston Avenue was launched in order to provide a stream of revenue to support entities that provide services to older members of the community.
“Having contributed more than $2 million to community nonprofits in the last decade, Twice is Nice continues its impactful support of nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving seniors in need,” reads an information release sent out this morning.
With support from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, the agency has made made 31 awards for 2024.
“This year the Community Foundation supported the program by contributing an additional $35,000 to bolster grantmaking,” the release quotes Terrel White, Director of Advancement at the Community Foundation. “The Community Foundation sees immense value in this work and shares Twice is Nice’s conviction to ensure that all of our community members, including seniors, live a vibrant life and are part of a region in which everyone can belong, participate, contribute, and thrive.”
This year’s recipients are here with links to each if you’d like to learn more about each one:
Reading material for #776
Legislation supports emergency road construction for Wintergreen residents, Mark Gad, CBS19 News, December 5, 2024
County Plans for Rural and Development Areas, Lisa Martin, Crozet Gazette, December 6, 2024
Fire marshal: Outlet malfunction caused house fire, CBS19, December 6, 2024
Edward Payne Jr. has been appointed to serve out the rest of Meredith Hynes’ term on Scottsville Town Council, Erin O’Hare, Charlottesville Tomorrow, December 6, 2024
Unpermitted excavation blamed for putting Greene Mountain Lake dam at risk of failure, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), December 6, 2024
Albemarle supervisors meet with state legislators to express 2025 priorities, Kate Neuchterlein, 29NBC WVIR, December 6, 2024
Charlottesville police seize guns, drugs in Prospect-area raid, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), December 7, 2024
Virginia, regional governors to discuss Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals, Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury, December 9, 2024
A thought at the end of #776
For the first time, I’ve created files for every single edition of this newsletter that will go out this week. I’ve already written two stories for tomorrow’s edition, and I’ve even written the introduction to Friday’s edition which is currently slated as CCE-780. The more I do this work, the more I see efficiencies in keeping track all of the information.
I also find the time to make it into the field. I was one of three working journalists at today’s campaign launch with the other two from the two television stations. I wanted to do more with that story, but there’s a lot of time left in the campaign. The real question now is whether other people will emerge to challenge the incumbents.
I hope to be here to write the stories. I do some from a deep conviction that more reporting about the community is crucial. How do people find out what happened if there are not multiple accounts?
Paid subscriptions cover the cost and I’ve got a nice mix of revenues. Someone sent me a check out of the blue today, and that’s always unexpected. I know from my 11 years working for a nonprofit news organization and my early history in public radio that people want to pay for reporting.
So, I end today’s edition by thanking those who are helping me to cover my costs. Also to remind people that there is now a BlueSky account that’s up to 149 followers!
For now, the best way to support is to sign up through Substack. For another 21 days, Ting will match your initial subscription. If you sign up for service and you are within Ting’s service area, enter the promo code COMMUNITY you’re going to get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
