Will today be an unlucky day? After all, the calendar for today does contain a 13. Would it were we could design our time without so many potential pitfalls! Still, unlike a building, Charlottesville Community Engagement cannot skip ahead to 14 because otherwise we’d fall far behind. I’m the host, Sean Tubbs, and let’s wish fortune has a wide enough brush to cover us all.
On today’s program:
Governor Northam says goodbye, while incoming Speaker of the House Gilbert says hello
Albemarle County is not planning on in-person meetings for now with the omicron COVID wave still raging
Another winter storm approaches, and Charlottesville is still adjusting to missed solid waste pick-ups from the last one
Attorney General Herring said the incoming governor can’t pull Virginia out of an interstate carbon cap-and-trade market
Two Patreon-fueled shout-outs
Let’s begin today with two more Patreon-fueled shout-outs. The first comes a long-time supporter who wants you to know:
"Today is a great day to spread good cheer: reach out to an old friend, compliment a stranger, or pause for a moment of gratitude to savor a delight."
The second comes from a more recent supporter who wants you to go out and read a local news story written by a local journalist. Whether it be the Daily Progress, Charlottesville Tomorrow, C-Ville Weekly, NBC29, CBS19, WINA, or some other place I’ve not mentioned - the community depends on a network of people writing about the community. Go learn about this place today!
Winter storm approaching?
Another winter storm is in the forecast with a lot of speculation. According to Weather Underground, Charlottesville could get as much as eight inches on Sunday, though we’ll have more information as that time approaches. On Wednesday, Albemarle Supervisor Ann Mallek had this advice.
“Nobody knows what the winter storm Sunday is going to be but I encourage everyone to take a couple of days of sunshine to pre-clean your sidewalks and get your supplies in so we can be ready for whatever comes our way,” Mallek said.
The aftermath of the January 3 storm is still being worked through. This morning, the City of Charlottesville announced that normal trash pickup has resumed, but recycling service that was missed due to the storm won’t be made up with an additional run. Trash is collected weekly in Charlottesville but recycling is every other week.
“Due to resource capacity issues, our service contractor for Trash/Recycling will be unable to provide make-up recycling collection for those impacted by the suspension in service that occurred the week of January 3rd,” reads a release. “Impacted residents will receive recycling collection on their next scheduled service date.”
Residents are encouraged to take their recyclable materials to the McIntire Recycling Center, on McIntire Road, which is operated by the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority.
In addition, the city will pick-up debris from the January 3 storm the week of January 24.
“Any adjustments to this schedule that may result from volume or operational delays will be provided to the public in as timely a manner as possible,” reads the city’s website on solid waste management. “We also encourage City residents to take advantage of the free storm debris disposal waiver being operated until January 24th at the Ivy Material Utilization Center, located at 4576 Dick Woods Road.”
The Ivy MUC is also operated by the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority. Albemarle and Charlottesville are covering the fees to drop off that debris.
Pandemic records continue to be broken
The highest COVID surge in pandemic continues in Virginia with an average of 18,782 new cases a day. The seven-day percent positivity is at 35.6 percent today statewide. Today’s snapshot from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, there are 3,894 people hospitalized with COVID, with 646 of them in intensive care units. There are 349 people on ventilators. Those last two numbers are new records.
On Wednesday, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors had a work session on what county staff are calling the “Reconstitution” of Albemarle government, which is a way of saying a return to in-person public hearings. Trevor Henry is the assistant county executive.
“When we first set this agenda it was prior to the Omicron variant, prior to that wave hitting the region the way it has,” Henry said.
This week has seen the highest numbers to date in the Blue Ridge Health District, which includes Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson counties. Today there are 480 cases reported. There have been five deaths reported since the beginning of the year, though that figure often lags behind as death certificates are tallied.
“At this point, we will not be recommending a date certain on returning to in-person public meetings,” Henry said.
Henry and other staff sought direction about how to proceed with a future where those meetings are open. The county has made investments in some rooms in order to allow remote participation by members of the public in a hybrid manner.
Both Albemarle County and Charlottesville remain under a local declaration of emergency which allows for remote meetings. County Attorney Greg Kamptner explained how that would end.
“The state code and the state emergency law provides when the Board [of Supervisors] in its discretion determines that there are no further emergency services to be provided,” Kamptner said.
Kamptner said the county has come close to that at certain points during the pandemic, but various surges have complicated the matter.
Herring: Youngkin alone can’t remove Virginia from carbon cap-and-trade market
Until Saturday, Mark Herring is Virginia’s chief counsel. On Tuesday, the outgoing Attorney General issued an opinion stating that Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin cannot through executive order or other executive action remove the Commonwealth of Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Virginia joined the mid-Atlantic interstate compact following an act of the General Assembly in 2020.
“The [Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparation] Act directs the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to amend its regulations that established a carbon dioxide cap and trade program,” Herring wrote in the opinion. “The Constitution of Virginia does not grant the Governor the power to suspend laws.”
The opinion did not come out of the blue. Herring’s advice was sought by Delegate Charniele Herring (D-46) and Delegate Rip Sullivan (D-48).
On Friday, the State Corporation Commission issued a ruling granting approval of a plan from Dominion Energy to upgrade their portion of the electric grid. Dominion’s Phase II seeks to integrate more “distributed energy resources” into the power network. Their plan cites the Clean Economy act as a justification for moving to more solar, wind, and other renewable sources.
“There is no doubt that significant volumes of [distributed energy resources] are coming to Virginia,” reads the plan. “The distribution grid must be ready.”
The State Corporation Commission had public hearings on the plan last October, which calls for $193.8 million to install net metering infrastructure, $203.9 million on a customer information platform, and other areas to upgrade the grid. The SCC approval notes the importance of educating the public on what’s going to happen.
“Customer education will ensure that the full benefits of other [grid transformation] projects are realized by educating customers on the opportunities that such projects provide,” reads page 13 the ruling.
Today’s third subscriber supported shout-out
Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society invites you to hear from their newest board member at a meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Gayle Jessup White is the first Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer for Monticello and the first descendant of Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved community to work for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Gayle Jessup White will talk about her book Reclamation: Sally Hemmings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for her Family’s Lasting Legacy. That’s 7 p.m. on Monday and you can register for the Zoom call or watch on Facebook Live. Sign up now at albemarlehistory.org.
Legislative update
On the first day of the General Assembly, the 2022 session in the House of Delegates is coming into shape. Delegate Rob Bell (R-58) will chair the Courts of Justice committee and will serve on the Health, Welfare and Institutions committee and the Rules Committee.
Delegate Sally Hudson (D-57) will serve on the Finance Committee and Health, Welfare, and Institutions. Delegate Chris Runion (R-25) will also serve on the Finance Committee, the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee, the General Laws Committee, and the Transportation Committee.
Several House committees met this morning but there are not yet bills on their agendas. Instead, members of Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s cabinet were interviewed by various committees.
Over in the Senate, the Committee on Education and Health met. Remember, the Senate is still controlled by the Democratic Party with a two-seat majority, meaning Democrats hold the gavel on committees. Outgoing Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax presides over the Senate until incoming Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears is sworn in.
The Senate Education and Health committee did take up legislation and began winnowing out some of the bills, or at least hitting pause on some of them. For instance, the Education and Health heard a bill from Senator Mark Peake to require the Virginia Department of Health to create a program to mitigate algae blooms. Peake said he would edit the bill to make change that requirement to go to the Department of Environmental Quality instead. (SB171)
When I published the January 12 edition of this newsletter, I had initially stated there were around 850 bills submitted. As I write these words, there are 1,634 bills. Four measures passed the House on the first day, including a commendation for former Speaker of the House Kirk Cox. Oh. Now we’re up to 1,677. The trickle is now a flood.
Virginia finances up in December
The Commonwealth of Virginia has reported that state revenues were up 19.2 percent in December over the previous year. According to a press release from Governor Ralph Northam’s office, that’s the fifth straight month of double-digit increases. Northam leaves office on Saturday when Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin is sworn in.
“We have governed with fiscal responsibility and compassion for all Virginians—and with five straight months of double-digit revenue growth, record job creation and historic investments in Virginia families, the results speak for themselves,” Northam said.
In his farewell address to the General Assembly last night, the outgoing Governor thanked his cabinet for their service and and honored Supreme Court Justices Donald Lemons and William Mims on their retirement. He also saluted the tradition of gubernatorial addresses at the General Assembly.
“This is a time when elected leaders from different branches of government, different political parties, and different parts of the state come together to talk about the Commonwealth that we all share,” Northam said.
Governor-elect Youngkin will address the General Assembly on Monday night.
“By then he will be your Governor and I wish him the best and I am confident that he will be lead this Commonwealth well,” Northam said.
Northam reviewed his four years in office and said he has tried to govern in order to help people across Virginia.
“Virginians choose leaders who will make our Commonwealth better for them and their families, no matter who they are or where they live,” Northam said. “I can confidently say that we have done that. We are leaving this Commonwealth better than it was when we came into office. We have built a state that does a better job of treating people right. It’s more welcoming. It’s more open. It is more fair. And it is more equitable.”
After the speech, Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert sent out a tweet that did not share the same spirit of bipartisanship.
However, seven hours earlier, Gilbert did sound bipartisan after the House of Delegates unanimously elected him as speaker. That’s a tradition in Virginia politics.
“Thank you for the trust that all of you have placed in me willingly,” Gilbert said. “Some unwillingly, admittedly, but thank you nonetheless. I do not take this responsibility lightly and I pledge to you that I will give the utmost to be a Speaker for all of Virginia.”
And as we end this installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement, none of the 1,693 bills filed so far have failed. Give it time.
January 13, 2022: Albemarle not planning on ending local emergency due to Omicron wave; 2022 General Assembly begins