January 13, 2025: Governor Youngkin presses for car tax credit, new scholarships, in State of the Commonwealth address
Plus: Albemarle County launches new web portal to track land use applications
There’s a meme going around that January is one big Monday. Careful research indicates that for 2025, there are actually only four Mondays in this month. That’s just under 13 percent of the total time allotted for the month which anecdotally could be described as dreary but how can we know for sure? Stay tuned for Charlottesville Community Engagement in one week and then again in two weeks for less than empirical evidence. I’m Sean Tubbs, turning to the sun for the occasional recharge.
In today’s installment:
Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke to the General Assembly this morning to advance his legislative agenda for 2025
Charlottesville plans to conduct up to 100 drawings this year of $1,000 vouchers for city residents to purchase e-bikes from local retailers
Charlottesville’s Sister Cities Commission is awarding up to $8,000 in grants for programs to encourage cultural exchange with faraway lands
Work is under way in Crozet on a long-awaited upgrade to the county-owned Square
Albemarle County launches new Civic Access portal to help track land use projects
First shout-out: Supporting the Keswick Heritage Fund’s Love Better Project
The Keswick Heritage Fund is a partnership of several churches in Albemarle County that provides education support and opportunities for professional development. One of their outreach programs is the Love Better Project, which provides scholarships to Black students in the Keswick area. The fund was created soon after the inaugural scholarship was awarded in 2020.
Grace Episcopal Church, Union Grove Baptist, Union Run Baptist, Zion Hill Baptist and St. John Church are united for growth through community partnership and education. To learn more about the fund, the scholarships, and the churches themselves, visit their website at keswickheritagefund.com.
Youngkin delivers State of the Commonwealth to 2025 General Assembly
After a few days off due to a delay caused by massive infrastructure failure in the city of Richmond, the Virginia General Assembly got back to work today with an assessment of the Commonwealth from Governor Glenn Youngkin.
“After the difficult and frustrating water crisis in Richmond last week. I want to thank everyone, everyone who stepped up to serve neighbors, to serve communities and to serve our capital city,” Youngkin said in his State of the Commonwealth address.
This time next year, Virginia will be preparing to install a new Governor, but Youngkin will preside over the next 12 months and described the Commonwealth as “winning” and the economy is strong.
“Our student scores are up,” Youngkin said. “Violent crime is down. People are moving to Virginia faster than in a very long time. We've seen record job growth, record new business investment, and our state budget is projected to run a large surplus again.”
Youngkin took the opportunity to call for further reform of the way education is funded and pledged $1 million from the executive Office of Transformation to support the work. He also called for $50 million in funding for a program called “Virginia Opportunity Scholarships.”
“Virginia Opportunity Scholarships will provide $5,000 for scholarships for 10,000 low income families and do not take a single penny away from our existing education funding,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin also reminded the General Assembly of his proposal last year to end the use of cell phones in public schools during instruction periods, a proposal he said will help decrease depression as people begin to talk to each other again.
“Many divisions across the state that attempted half measures, found they didn't work and have now gone bell to bell,” Youngkin said. “We know local leadership is critical. At Middlesex High School, the principal is tracking a dramatic decrease in disciplinary referrals and reports that lunch in the cafeteria is loud once again because students are talking to one another instead of buried in their phones.”
The governor also set up a legislative request to continue the pursuit of tax reform and to transfer more funding to local governments partially funded by the personal property tax as well as making tips tax deductible. He also indicated he will continue to oppose items passed under the Virginia Clean Economy banner in 2020 by the Democratic-held General Assembly which call for an end to generation of power by fossil fuels.
“We need to nearly double our power generation in the next 10 years,” Youngkin said. “And wind and solar just aren't going to get it done. We must stop decommissioning our baseload generation. We must build more natural gas generation, lots of it. Build small modular reactors and yes, finish the projects currently underway. We must aggressively pursue innovative technologies, carbon capture, SMRs, fusion and hydrogen.”
Much of the growth in power demand is fueled by the proliferation of data centers across Virginia, including Amazon’s $11 billion investment in two data center campuses in Louisa County. Youngkin said Virginia should continue to pursue data centers.
“Different communities will make different decisions on data centers, but these must be their decisions and Richmond should not stop them from capitalizing on these incredible economic opportunities,” Youngkin said.
One loose thread about the Virginia Clean Economy Act relates to whether Virginia will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Youngkin signed an executive order on his inauguration day in 2022 stating an intent to leave was pursued through executive means. However, last November, a Floyd Circuit Court Judge ruled that only the General Assembly had the power to leave the interstate compact.
Charlottesville handing out $1000 vouchers for people to purchase e-bikes
In order to encourage more Charlottesville residents to drive less, the city has set aside $100,000 to help cover the cost of purchasing qualifying electric bicycles.
"Our City’s hilly terrain can be challenging on a traditional bike, but e-bikes make it possible for more residents to choose cycling for their daily commutes,” said city bike and pedestrian coordinator Tommy Safranek in an information release sent out on January 8.
Up to 25 grants of $1,000 will be awarded each quarter to city residents who purchase a vehicle from Blue Wheel Bicycles, Blue Ridge Cyclery, or Endeavor Cycles.
To give a sense of cost, Blue Wheel Bicycles lists a Como 4.0 Specialized Turbo as retailing at $3,999.99. Blue Ridge Cyclery has more affordable models such as the Denago line which starts at $1,099 for a Cruiser 1 Step-Thru model. This company also has higher end models ranging up to $12,000.
Households are limited to one application per quarter and awards will be made by drawing names. Participants must be over the age of 18, though some exceptions made be made for city employees and their relatives. The next drawing will be held on February 5. Visit cvilleebike.com to learn more about the program.
Applications due Wednesday for Charlottesville Sister Cities grant program
The City of Charlottesville has several communities across the world that are official “sister cities” because of their participation through an international organization. One of the ways connections are celebrated is through a grant program intended to encourage travel and scholarship.
“With a total awards budget of $8,000, the Commission invites Charlottesville nonprofits, arts organizations, schools, businesses, and individuals to apply for project funding up to $2,500,” reads a press release for the 2025 cycle.
The current Sister City communities are Besançon in France, Poggio a Caiano in Italy and Winneba in Ghana. Huehuetenango in Guatemala is a “Friendship City” that may one day become a Sister City. Less talked about is Pleven in Bulgaria which now has emeritus status.
“Past grants have supported initiatives in history, the visual arts, music, municipal services, digital communications and connectivity, education, literary fields, sports, and photography,” the release continues.
Those who are awarded funding will be reimbursed after providing a report.
In 2018, the program partially funded a concert series featuring the works of Bulgarian composer Lubomir Pipkov and the 2018 Festival of Cultures in Charlottesville.
In 2019, the program partially funded a fire safety partnership in Winneba, a visual arts residency in Besançon, and a roller derby exchange program with Pleven.
In 2020, a musician and a documentarian traveled to Poggio a Caiano to learn of that community’s musical tradition, the fire safety partnership continued, and there was a Peace, Love, Poetry Workshop in Winneba.
There were two grants in 2021 involving Huehuetenango including funding for Code for Cville to build a website promoting businesses and vendors in that community. The now-defunct Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative got funding to create a portrait exchange between all of the sister cities.
The sole project funded in 2022 was for a project comparing how young people in both Charlottsville and Poggio a Caiano dealt with COVID-19.
There were five projects funded in 2023 including a six-episode podcast called A Tale of Two Cities with residents of Charlottesville and Huehuetenango and another podcast called Sister Revolutions. Also funded was a six-part video series produced by filmmaker Darnell Walker and a character called Mismatch.
If you have a project you’d like to submit for consideration, you have until Wednesday. Click here to learn more.
Second-shout out: Design Develop
In today’s Patreon-fueled shout-out, architectural firm Design Develop is offering a new service aimed at the development community that the rest of us might want to know about , too — 3D point cloud scanning! This technique uses specialized equipment, such as 3D scanner systems, to gather a large amount of data points that represent the surface of the scanned object or scene. This really comes in handy when working with historic structures, as the firm knows from its experience in Baltimore and Charlottesville. Read their blog post for more information!
The applications of 3D point cloud scanning are extensive and cover various fields, including architecture, construction, cultural heritage preservation, virtual reality, industrial design, manufacturing, and more. These applications require accurate 3D spatial information, and Design Develop’s workflow provides precise and comprehensive results, all while being more cost-effective than traditional methods.
Design Develop has expertise in this workflow for their own needs and now has a dedicated team offering this service in the Charlottesville and Albemarle Area. If you're involved in the real estate, design, or construction industry, contact them for more information or a free quote.
Visit their website for an introductory video that captures the 3D point cloud scanning of the Downtown Transit Center and a booklet that will explain more!
Work underway in Crozet on road improvements
Albemarle acquired a third of an acre in downtown Crozet back in June 2012 for future strategic purposes. This month construction has finally begun to improve the publicly-owned space known as the Square.
“The Square will see upgrades along 670 feet, including a new sidewalk near existing businesses, perpendicular parking on both sides of the road, and changes at the Crozet Avenue intersection,” reads an information release sent out earlier this year. “To improve the traffic flow, the intersection of The Square and Crozet Avenue will be converted into a right-turn-only intersection, meaning no left turns will be allowed from The Square onto Crozet Avenue or from Crozet Avenue onto The Square.”
The project is expected to take less than a year and no businesses will be expected to close along the way. A current timeline indicates the first stage has begun with the final work to take place in August when final paving, signing and striping is done.
Albemarle launches new portal for land use applications
If you’re in the business of tracking applications and permits filed in Albemarle County, today is the first day of a new chapter. The county launched a program called Civic Access this morning which offers a new way of getting details about what’s pending in the Department of Community Development.
“By leveraging technology like Civic Access, we’re not only improving efficiency within our workforce, but we’re also enabling faster, more reliable service delivery to our community,” said Kristy Shifflett, Albemarle County’s Chief Operations Officer. “This system allows our team to focus on providing high-quality support while ensuring processes are handled with greater accuracy and speed.”
The program has been put together by the firm Tyler Technologies and their Enterprise Permitting and Licensing platform. The system replaces something called CountyView which often times did not work and was difficult to learn.
I’ll have a story in C-Ville Weekly this Wednesday about the new portal but wanted to ask you what you think. What questions do you have? What do you want to know?
Reading material:
Virginia special elections add new faces, but leave General Assembly balance intact, Markus Schmidt, January 7, 2025
Campbell County votes 4-3 against increasing landfill, Leslie Johnson, WDBJ, January 8, 2025
Top Fluvanna official arrested, charged with sexual battery, Forrest Holt, 29News WVIR, January 12, 2025
Many Solar Projects Replace Farmland. This UVA Alumnus Is Helping Them Coexist, Zeina Mohammed, UVA Today, January 13, 2024
The rhythm of #791
I slept around 12 hours last night. Since getting back to Charlottesville, I’ve felt this amazing sense of guilt I’m not where my parents are getting older and I’m not there to help. As such, I have not felt my usual zeal to spend my time reporting. Yesterday I was fairly listless, but I got a Week Ahead edition out all of the same.
This morning, I had no ideas for the C-Ville Weekly story due at noon. When I have no ideas, I start poking around in corners of the Internet. I look at city property transactions. I also look in folders in the system Albemarle has used to keep track of all of its land use applications.
In this business, there’s something new almost every single day. Sometimes the new is scary, as when a government changes the way information is presented. I’m still figuring out a new Legislative Information Services website for the General Assembly and I’m still not sure I’ve got the city’s new development portal is giving me all the information I want.
So today begins a new chapter with Albemarle County’s Civic Access. My constant fear is losing access to information that has been historically been available. Somehow this fear motivates me and manifests in a renewed drive to keep doing to do this work even though 2025 is off to a strange start.
But at least today there’s a new newsletter with several stories, and I look forward to having a productive week as I settle in for another year. I’m grateful for those who are helping to keep going by providing me with support. I owe you everything, and I’ll give you as much as I can.
I’m still not used to not having the old sponsor here. Tomorrow I’ll begin to do something new as part of the bridge to what comes next. For now, here’s another live KGLW concert.