June 24, 2025: Virginia Senators file lawsuit asserting right to deny Cuccinelli’s appointment to UVA Board of Visitors
Plus: A preview of two items going to the UVA Board of Visitors tomorrow
Every single day it is possible to learn something new, and the digital pages of history can provide valuable insights into how other people have lived throughout time. On June 24, 1374, a sudden outbreak caused the people of Aachen, Germany to erupt into dance and experience hallucinations. The phenomenon of dancing mania is documented before and after and came to be known as St. John’s Dance or choreomania or tarantism. What caused this to happen?
Unfortunately, Charlottesville Community Engagement does not have the resources to investigate further. I’m Sean Tubbs, and I do hope someone will have something to say in the comments.
In today’s installment:
A group of Virginia senators has filed suit against seeking UVA Rector Robert Hardie seeking to bar the continued service of Ken Cuccinelli on the Board of Visitors
A new podcast has been launched to trace the local history of the American Revolution
The region’s transportation body wants to study how people get around the area in the hopes of identifying strategies to move people away single occupancy vehicles
The director of Charlottesville Area Transit briefs a transportation group on a request for federal funding to pay for a new maintenance facility that can handle battery-electric or hydrogen-fuel cell buses
First-shout: Music Resource Center invites you to Rock the Block this Saturday
This Saturday in Tonsler Park, the Music Resource Center will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a block party from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited to enjoy live music, food from Knox Catering, and learn about community resources. There will also be announcement about the Music Resource Center’s new location on Cherry Avenue.
The musical acts are 100 Proof, Lee Bangah, and Pocket Change. For more information, visit their page on Facebook.
Three Virginia university rectors sued by Virginia Senators over refusal to heed their vote against confirmations
As America heads towards its 250th birthday, one recent milestone to note is June 25, 1788. That’s when Virginia ratified the Constitution, a democratic form of government that features checks and balances across different branches.
The main feature of the second presidency of Donald Trump is a declaration that the executive branch is superior and does not have to confer with either of the other branches. There are countless legal battles underway and these stories must compete with everything else happening.
This same theme of 21st century politics can be seen as well in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Yesterday I reported that Governor Glenn Youngkin have been appointed to the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors and noted that former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is still listed as a member despite a failure to be confirmed by the Virginia Senate. A request for comment from UVA made over 24 hours ago has not been returned.
Governor Glenn Youngkin announced on March 26 that he would appoint Cuccinelli on March 26 to replace Bert Ellis in the position. Youngkin fired Ellis and the term expires on June 30, 2026.
On June 9, the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee declined to confirm the appointment of Ken Cuccinelli to fill a vacancy left after Youngkin fired Bert Ellis. The party-line vote was 4 to 8 with a status of “failure to report.”
On June 10, committee member Senator Scott Surovell (D-31) sent a letter to UVA Rector Robert Hardie and other rectors across the Commonwealth notifying them that the committee’s action meant that the individuals could no longer serve.
The General Assembly is technically still in the special session convened in 2024 under a joint resolution that allows committee action on the election of judges and other personnel matters.
On June 11, Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a follow-up letter to rectors who said that the committee’s action did not constitute an action by the entire General Assembly which means the individuals could serve.
“The recommendation of a Senate committee cannot be elevated to an act of the General Assembly,” Miyares said. “Therefore, at this stage, it is premature to conclude, as a matter of law, that the General Assembly has refused the pending confirmations.”
On June 11, Hardie wrote to Surovell asking for an explanation.
“Ken Cuccinelli is no longer eligible to serve as a member of the UVA Board of Visitors and must immediately cease all activities in that capacity,” Surovell wrote in response.
Surovell cited Article VIII Section 9 of the Virginia Constitution which he claimed gives the General Assembly the final say of who serves on governing bodies of public institutions of higher learning. He also cited Article V Section 11 which he argued bars Cuccinelli from continuing to serve in the role and from being reappointed.
He also cited several instances where the confirmation process ended at the committee level.
“The Governor cannot now claim that committee rejection of Mr. Cuccinelli is somehow insufficient when he has repeatedly accepted similar actions regarding his prior appointees,” Surovell wrote.
Surovell also said he was aware that Cuccinelli has stated publicly he will continue to serve.
“While we are all aware that ignoring the Rule of Law seems to be en vogue among the current Administration in Washington, D.C. and Mr. Cuccinelli formerly served with President Trump, we honor the Rule of Law here in our Commonwealth as both the first colony in America and was founded which predated the current American constitutional order by twelve years,“ Surovell concluded.
Today, Surorvell and other members of the committee filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County Circuit Court to bar Cuccinelli and other appointees from continued service. They were joined by Senator Louise Lucas.
“Rather than respect this clear separation of powers principle enshrined in the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth, Governor Youngkin and the Executive Department have
chosen nullification, advising the Rectors of UVA’s and GMU’s Boards of Visitors and the President of VMI’s Board of Visitors that the rejected members may still serve despite the General Assembly’s refusal to confirm their appointments,” reads paragraph 5 of the suit.
You can read a copy of the complaint here. The case is known as Lucas V Stimson with George Stimson of George Mason University coming alphabetically.
These stories on Virginia Business are behind the paywall but worth a read for the details.
Senate Democrats, AG Miyares duel over rejected university board appointees, Kate Andrews, June 12, 2025
Virginia Senate Dems claim in lawsuit Youngkin is trying to nullify BOV rejection vote, Kate Andrews, June 24, 2025
Tourism bureau launches new podcast to honor country’s 250th birthday
There are 375 days until the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence but celebrations and commemorations are already underway across the United States of America.
One of them that originates locally comes in audio form. A pair of entities have launched a new podcast called Founding Fathers: Tracing America’s Journey in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
“The goal of the Founding Footprints project is three-fold: to share an approachable, inclusive history of Charlottesville and Albemarle, to tie that history to the work of local organizations’ experiences, and to serve as a record of our community and culture at this moment in the national semi-quincentennial anniversary,” says Courtney Cacatian, executive director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The work is part of the local celebration being put on by the CACVB and the VA250 Charlottesville-Albemarle-Scottsville Committee. The podcast is co-produced by historian Benjamin Bernard and WTJU 91.1. Bernard is a Research Associate and Lecturer at the University of Virginia.
The first edition has the title From Tobacco Fields to Richmond Markets: James River Batteau Company and can be downloaded from the Virginia Audio Collective.
To produce the podcast, Bernard has interviewed many people who work in history in the area.
“From writers and museum directors to archaeologists, from historic chefs to boat captains, these experts share a passion for lively stories from the past and a sense of the significance of the 2026 anniversary moment,” Bernard said.
The program is funded in part through a grant from the VA250 Marketing Leverage Program.
Second shout out: Rivanna River Otter Monitoring
Have you seen a river otter lately? The Rivanna Conservation Alliance wants to know! The group is conducting a study of the presence of Lontra canadensis. The creatures have been spotted throughout the Rivanna River watershed—in rivers, streams, and even backyard ponds!
While they’re best known for their playful antics, river otters are also important indicators of stream health. They depend on clean water, healthy riparian buffers, and abundant prey sources (including fish, amphibians, and benthic macroinvertebrates) for survival. As such, their presence or absence within our waterways can provide valuable insights into the overall health of our rivers and streams.
To learn more, the Rivanna Conservation Alliance has launched the Rivanna River Otter Monitoring Project to gather valuable data on river otter populations while encouraging community members to get outside and explore our local waterways. This project aims not only to inspire public appreciation for river otters, but also foster a deeper community connection to our rivers and streams and the diverse wildlife populations they support.
To learn more and consider a donation, please visit the Rivanna Conservation Alliance.
Transportation body to review study to inform ways to reduce single occupant vehicle use
The policy board Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization is an obscure body with a lot of say over what transportation projects move forward. Tomorrow they will meet and approve a plan for the MPO staff to conduct something called a “travel demand management” program.
Such work is called for in the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan, a document that the United States Department of Transportation requires in order to coordinate funding for infrastructure projects. The MPO Policy Board adopted the last one in May 2024 and you can view it here.
“Staff identified the need to complete a comprehensive transportation demand management study to reduce vehicle miles traveled or VMT, increase the trips made by walking, biking and using transit and enhancing connections between transit, bike-pedestrian networks and our park and ride facilities,” said Taylor Jenkins, director of transportation for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.
In order to inform a draft scope of work for the study, staff looked at plans in other communities:
Mode Shift: A VMT Reduction Strategy produced for the Metropolitan Council for the Minneapolis / St. Paul area
Active Transportation Plan produced for the Sarasota/Manatee MPO in Florida
Congestion Management Process Origin and Destination Report produced for the Collier MPO in Florida
Each used different methodology for collecting data in order to describe a picture of how people get around those communities. Jenkins said staff is recommending using data from the firm Streetlight because the MPO has access through a contract with the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“We'd be able to understand the travel coming inside and going outside of the MPO area and traveling within,” Jenkins said. “And Streetlight also allows us to identify trips specifically by mode and the average trip length.”
Analysis from the data would help inform recommendations to find ways to get people to use their automobiles less and shared transportation more.
Last week, Jenkins asked the MPO-Tech Committee if they had any feedback on the study.
Ben Chambers, Charlottesville’s transportation planning manager, said his experience with Streetlight is that it does not adequately capture bike and pedestrian traffic so additional data could be pulled up from Strava and other sources. He said the city used Strava to help come up with a recent sidewalk prioritization list.
Chambers also said staff should reach out to the University of Virginia.
“You're going to be focused on employer destinations so reaching out to [the University of Virginia Parking and Transportation] to make sure that you understand where their parkers and parking commuters are coming from,” Chambers said.
UVA last adopted a master plan for parking and transportation in July 2019 that has a ten year planning horizon. (view it)
“The Plan considers the existing conditions on Grounds as well as the University’s suburban setting, which shapes the travel choices of those accessing the University,” reads a section of the plan. “The Plan also takes into account the University’s role in the community as a regional provider of health care services as well as athletic, cultural, and academic events.”
The plan has 18 strategies to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles that travel to their many locations.
Bill Palmer in UVA’s Office of the Architect said UVA is always surveying employees to determine their willingness to move to some of the other forms. He said the price to park at UVA is high, but many don’t have an alternative.
“In our employee population, a lot of people just live not in a way that they can walk or take transit to work very easily, so you're looking at doing carpool stuff,” Palmer said. “That's a pretty effective strategy if you can figure out how to do it well.”
Jason Espie, a planner with Jaunt, said most of the people who use the agency’s commuter routes are doing so to get to work at UVA.
“I would love to know, are there more pockets of employees out there where we can like reach better,” Espie said. “In Greene county, right on the line there, are there a lot of people there who need to drive in?”
Albemarle Planning Commissioner Lonnie Murray said many UVA employees who do commute in have to drive through the city to get to parking lots.
“If the parking lot was like outside the city, like, you know, like at Fontaine or on the edge of the city, then there would actually be an incentive to take the bus,” Murray said.
Palmer noted that construction is underway of a parking structure at Fontaine to serve that purpose. Shuttle buses frequently will run from there to other locations across UVA’s ever-expanding grounds.
The MPO will get a briefing at their meeting on June 25 but a vote on a resolution may not happen until later in the year.
City pursuing federal grant for maintenance facility
In the spring of 2024, the sole governing body of Charlottesville Area Transit agreed to try out both battery-electric and hydrogen-electric propulsion systems for future buses. City Council reached their decision after a long process.
Since FY2016, the United States Department of Transportation has offered grants through the Low or No Emission Grant program. On May 15, the agency announced a new round with $1.5 billion in funds. You can learn more in a webinar from June 4, 2025.
Charlottesville Area Transit is seeking to apply for funds to help pay for new space to accommodate both alternative fuel methods at its headquarters on Avon Street Extended.
“If we're going to move our transition to emissions, our maintenance facility has to be up and running and be able to take power, whether it's battery electric or hydrogen,” said CAT Director Garland Williams at the June 17 meeting of the Charlottesville-Albemarle MPO-Tech Committee.
Williams said the CAT operations are currently on a six acre property but the City of Charlottesville owns another three adjacent acres and there’s another parcel that might be acquired.
The firm Kimley-Horn has put together a plan for a 25,500 square foot maintenance building with five bays for single bus bays and two for “articulated” buses. That means they bend. This would be the first phase of an overall expansion costing $37.7 million.
Williams told the MPO-Tech Committee that CAT is working with the Virginia Department of Public Transportation on funding to acquire two battery-electric vehicles. Right now there’s no place to charge them.
The full MPO Policy Board will take up the matter on June 25.
Watch the MPO-Tech meeting here:
Reading material:
Charlottesville City Council narrowly approves jail expansion financing, Hannah Davis-Reid, June 23, 2025
Crews put the top on the home of UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, Matt Kelly, UVA Today. June 23, 2025
#884 is a number that is double #442
Do you remember where you were on October 12, 2022? That’s when the 442nd edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement was published. Go back and see if any of this triggers your memory.
I do this work because I seem to be programmed to do it. There’s a second self inside of me that keeps powering along because the work seems to be important to others.
I forget most of the stories I write, but I know how to get to them. The Substack interface is very difficult to navigate, so I will copy each of these stories over to Information Charlottesville.
Is this the best system?
I do know my goal is to make this information available to as many people as possible with a serious desire to try to make sure that people decades from now can look back on decisions made during this era.
I know I want to continue to improve as I move forward. I know I have a lot of work to do to shore up the business. I’m not a non-profit. I’m not well-connected. My independent streak is perhaps a liability.
But this is what I do, and I am glad to have had this opportunity.
I thank paid subscribers each and every day.
And this video makes me happy. Rush deserves to make it to the future.