June 27, 2024: Youngkin supports McGuire as winner of close Fifth District race; Good has until July 12 to ask for recount
Plus: WellAWARE holding Healthy Streets, Healthy People event this Saturday in Washington Park
Since an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 2016, June 27 is Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness Day in the Commonwealth. According to the resolution, “removing the stigma of post-traumatic stress can favorably influence the lives of those affected by the condition and encourage them to seek help without fear of retribution or shame.” Nationally, this day traces back to 2010.
Either way, this edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement does not have any stories on this topic but solicits your input in the comments. I’m Sean Tubbs, and this is a reminder that opening paragraphs will once again contain references to what day it is.
In today’s installment:
Albemarle County Police continue to search for a suspect in connection with a domestic violence incident that led to a brief lockdown at Timberland Apartments yesterday
Governor Youngkin declares John McGuire the winner in the Republican Primary as the State Board of Elections prepares to certify the election
A community health partnership is putting on a Healthy Streets, Healthy People event this Saturday at Washington Park
A preview of today’s meeting of the Regional Transit Partnership
The Albemarle Planning Commission recommends approval of a restaurant at a key intersection and a small solar array for an agricultural operation
A check-in with area reservoir levels after an evening of thunderstorms
First shout-out: The Hard Modes live on WTJU this Friday
In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out: WTJU provides great music for the community every hour of the week, including live performance broadcasts by area artists. Get your calendar ready to mark down one of those times!
Every Friday night, WTJU hosts a in-person live music series called "Offbeat Roadhouse," featuring mostly acoustic artists -- folk, blues, jazz, americana, and beyond.
This Friday, The Hard Modes will pull into Offbeat Roadhouse for a liver performance for broadcast. The Hard Modes approach their collision of jazz and video game music with nonstop, controller-bashing fury.
Offbeat Roadhouse is supported locally by Ting – lightning-fast fiber internet for your home and business.
Visit wtju.net for more information and find something new to listen to.
Fifth Street Extended area under shelter-in-place-order for brief time Wednesday
Albemarle County Police continue to search for a 23-year-old man in connection with a domestic violence call yesterday afternoon that led to a shelter-in-place order for a one mile radius around Timberland Apartments off of Old Lynchburg Road.
“This stemmed yesterday from a 911 call of a domestic incident in progress involving a weapon,” said Logan Bogert, a public information officer in Albemarle County. “The call came in at 1:39 pm and officers arrived at 1:44 pm.”
The order was put in place after Dionte Ruffin left the area following an incident with a weapon, reports Cville Right Now. A media release was sent out at 3:06 p.m. announcing the shelter-in-place order and then lifted by another 21 minutes later.
Last May, Ruffin allegedly made a threat to a student at Buford Middle School that led to a lockdown there as well as Greenbrier Elementary and Charlottesville High School.
Youngkin declares McGuire winner in Fifth District Republican Primary
With all of the votes in, State Senator John McGuire has a 374 lead over incumbent Bob Good in the Republican primary for the Fifth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Governor Glenn Youngkin took to his personal account on Elon Musk’s social media page last night to support McGuire’s apparent win.
“Yesterday, the final results of the VA05 primary were sent to the Board of Elections,” Youngkin wrote on X. “Senator John McGuire is ahead by 375 votes and I congratulate him on his win.”
Youngkin said he respected Good’s right to ask for a recount. According to Politico, the margin is just over the half a percentage point difference that would trigger a recount that would be paid for by the state. Good told reporters this week he would cover the costs.
The State Board of Elections meets on July 2 to certify the results and Good has until July 12 to ask for a recount should he want one. (SBE agenda)
Want to learn more about how recounts work? The Virginia Department of Elections last updated their manual in August 2023. (read the manual)
WellAware holding Health Streets, Healthy People event on Saturday at Washington Park
This Saturday, a community health partnership will host a three-hour event at Washington Park in Charlottesville called Healthy Streets, Healthy People. This is the second year for the event.
“We’re looking at making all Charlottesville neighborhoods more livable and that comes down to street health in terms of people feeling safe to walk in their neighborhoods,” said Betsy Peyton is the director of WellAWARE.
WellAWARE is a coalition consisting of the Primary Care Partnership of the University of Virginia, the Charlottesville Free Clinic, and Central Virginia Health Services. The group works to increase health care outcomes in neighborhoods with higher rates of chronic disease and shorter life expectancies.
“It’s a very close sort of person to person low-tech model of connecting with people, seeing what their barriers to health care are and helping them overcome them,” Peyton said.
That could mean driving people to their medical appointments or taking them to the food bank or the pharmacy.
“We will stay with people at their medical appointments if they want us to to make sure they understand what’s said and that they’re heard,” Peyton said.
The Healthy Streets, Healthy People event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be a chance for attendees to meet with health care professionals.
“We’ll have groups from mental health organizers, youth diversion activities,” Peyton said. “We’re going to have all of the 911 agencies there giving out free fentanyl test strips and NARCAN to the community.”
Another emphasis will be on environmental health so there will be representatives of other groups promoting bicycles, shade trees, and pedestrian safety. There will be 55 booths in all.
But Peyton said a lot of the goal is for people to just have fun.
“Free food from food trucks, field day activities for children, gardening activities where you can take home a vegetable or a seedling that you plant in a pot,” Peyton said. “There’s just something for everyone. We’ll have great raffle prizes and it just turns out to be a really fun day. We have a DJ, a popular DJ coming.”
The event is co-hosted by Move2HealthEquity and sponsored by the UVA Health University Medical Center and Sentara.
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Regional transit partnership meets today
How close is this area to creating a regional transit authority to enable better coordination and cohesion among existing public transportation agencies? Community members may find out a little more this afternoon at the June meeting of a group created in 2017 to lay the foundation for such a move.
The Jefferson Area Regional Transit Partnership will meet at 4 p.m. this afternoon at 407 East Water Street in Charlottesville. (agenda)
One of the items on the agenda is a draft set of bylaws for regional transit authority that have been drawn up by a working group consisting of Albemarle and Charlottesville officials.
(Regional Transit Partnership directs staff to write by-laws for new transit authority, March 18, 2024)
The packet for today’s meeting contains a draft set of by-laws that describes how the authority would consist of only Albemarle and Charlottesville to start but would be open to other jurisdictions in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District.
There is no mention of the University of Virginia, which runs a transit system separate from Charlottesville Area Transit with almost no overlap. UVA is an active member of the partnership which serves as a clearinghouse for information.
Also on the agenda at this meeting are presentations on CAT and Jaunt’s budget for FY25 which begins on Monday.
Albemarle PC recommends special use permits for restaurant, solar array
This week, the Albemarle Planning Commission recommended two land use applications move forward to the Board of Supervisors. That’s a role that the Charlottesville Planning Commission used to play more frequently but will do so fewer times now that the city’s new zoning ordinance makes most decisions by-right.
But on Tuesday night, the Commissioners recommended a special use permit for a restaurant to operate on a commercially-zoned property that doesn’t have access to public water and sewer. An operation called The Gray is currently open at 3015 Louisa Road as a beer, wine, and gift shop.
“I have a little wine and retail shop and I was hoping to add some limited food service,” said owner Noelle Gray. “Nothing crazy. Meat and cheese boards, basically something that I can do more extended tastings.”
Gray said she wants to spotlight the work of local producers at the shop, but needs a more permissive license from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage and Control Authority than the gourmet permit she currently holds.
The Planning Commissioner voted unanimously to support the recommendation with one condition that the restaurant itself can not exceed 2,1000 square feet.
There’s a second location on Elliewood Avenue in the Corner district of Charlottesville near the University of Virginia.
The second public hearing was for a special use permit for a 1.5 acre solar facility to support operations at Crown Orchard off in southern Albemarle County.
“The definition of a solar facility defines it as one that’s over a half acre,” Rebecca Ragsdale is a planning manager for Albemarle County. “Even though it’s not going to be utility scale and is solely supporting the orchard, a special use permit is still required.”
Andrew Jenner is with Paradise Energy that will build the 490 kilowatt solar array for Crown Orchard.
“It’s to offset the usage of 60 meters at Crown Orchard Company,” Jenner said. “Once it’s built, it sits there. No noise, dust, problems, traffic.”
Jenner showed examples of other solar arrays built in other locations in Campbell County and Nelson County. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the project.
“I think it’s a great example of where solar is appropriate in the rural area because it’s supporting our agricultural uses being even more sustainable,” said Commissioner Karen Firehock.
Here are some other recent applications most of which will be handled by county staff.
Gropen, a signage manufacturer located at 1766 Scottsville Road, seeks an amendment of their existing site plan to add a new 10,000 square foot building to store heavy equipment. (SDP202400030) (SDP202400030 (2))
The University of Virginia Community Credit Union has filed a site plan amendment to demolish an existing 42,000 square foot building at 1201 5th Street and replace it with a new 41,000 square foot building. I recently wrote a story on this for C-Ville Weekly. (SDP202400035) (SDP202400035 (2))
Albemarle County has filed a site development plan for its yet-to-be-named new elementary school for the southern feeder pattern. The structure would be 71,664 square feet and built on a 15.56 acre property owned by Albemarle County adjacent to the fire station at Mill Creek. The application states the facility would use 5,700 gallons of water a day. (SDP202400039) (SDP202400039 (2))
There is a zoning clearance for a new restaurant use at the Crossroads Shopping Center but no name is listed for the business. (CLE202400077)
Location of the proposed elementary school for Albemarle’s southern feeder pattern (Credit: Albemarle County)
Reservoir report: South Rivanna receives half an inch of rain
One day after the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority issued a drought watch, the region received the first significant rainfall in weeks.
All five reservoirs received some rain on Wednesday with Ragged Mountain recording .18 of an inch and Beaver Creek recording .92 of an inch. Spillways are overflowing at both the South Rivanna Reservoir and the Totier Creek Reservoir.
The drought watch remains in effect and likely will given long-term conditions.
Reading material:
US Supreme Court takes up 'Dewberry' trademark dispute, Blake Brittain, Reuters, June 24, 2024
Dewberry Group: Structuring the Firm to Avoid Trademark Liability, Dennis Crouch, PatentlyO, June 24, 2024
DHR lists Nelson County site on state historic Landmarks Register, CBS19 News, June 25, 2024
Southern Development seeks permission to build affordable units for 240 Stribling—at a different location, Sean Tubbs, June 26, 2024
Greene County residents asked to limit water usage, Maggie Glass, WVIR NBC29, June 25, 2024
Virginia votes to reopen winter crab dredge season, Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury, June 26, 2024
Three minutes to say adieu to #697
What goes here usually? The point of this end section is to remind you that paid subscriptions are what keep this fledgling operation going, and to make a comment about when this one was published. This one goes out right at 11 a.m. because I have somewhere to be this afternoon for tomorrow’s newsletter. What is it?
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