March 1, 2025: National Weather Service issues Red Flag Day warning due to high risk of windborne fire

Plus: A homicide in Louisa County and a malicious wounding in Charlottesville

Mar 01, 2025

March has arrived and with it meteorological spring. Pause for a moment to ponder that this month is named after the Roman god of war, an indicator of the beginning of fighting season in times gone by. Other cultures took a different approach in how they honor this time in our planet’s journey around the sun. In Finland, Maaliskuu has just begun, named from a phrase that describes the first appearance of the earth after snowmelt. In Slovene, it’s Sušec which describes the time when the ground is dry enough for farming.

This is Charlottesville Community Engagement, and this is a Saturday catch-up edition. I’m Sean Tubbs, endlessly fascinated by the stories we’re all living in.

In today’s installment:

Much of the area today is under a Red Flag Day warning from the National Weather Service
A Louisa County woman is dead and her boyfriend was charged Friday with second degree murder
A Charlottesville man has been charged with malicious wounding after a stabbing that triggered another federally-required emergency alert
The Center at Belvedere turns 65 and is recognized by the Albemarle Board of Supervisors
A look at the General Assembly from the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission
Take the inaugural Cvillepedia quiz!

First-shout: “No Country for Funny Women: Stand Up and Beyond”

On Friday, March 7, Live Arts presents “No Country for Funny Women: Stand Up and Beyond”, an evening hosted by Mendy St. Ours and Denise Stewart. The event is a celebration of International Women’s Day.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. in the Gibson Theater. For more information and tickets, visit Live Arts!

High winds forecast prompts Red Flag Day across region

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning across much of Virginia today until 7p.m. Winds may blow in from the northwest with speeds between 20 and 25 miles per hour with gusts up to 40 miles per hour.

“A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly,” reads the alert. “A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.”

The view of alerts sent out by the National Weather Service. *The Hill* reports today that the Trump administration wants to fire thousands of employees of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Take a look at the website today.

In response, Albemarle County Fire Rescue put out an information release stating that career and volunteer units are standing by should any brush fires start.

“At this time, there are no significant wildfires impacting our area,” reads that statement.

A ban on outdoor fires is in place after 4 p.m. but Albemarle is encouraging people to wait on fires until the forecast winds have blown through. The release continues with a series of bullets:

It's never ok to burn trash
Don't add gasoline, lighter fluid, diesel, or the like to a fire
Don’t leave a fire burning unattended
Do not leave children or pets alone with open flames
Always have at least a hose, bucket of water, or shovel with dirt or sand to extinguish flames.

Louisa County Sheriff’s Office reports second-degree homicide

A Louisa County woman is dead and her boyfriend is in custody according to a report from the Sheriff’s Office.

Officers received a call at 11:20 a.m. yesterday from a man on West Old Mountain Road who reported an incident with his girlfriend.

“While deputies were en route to the location, they were informed that the male caller had made several concerning statements and was still inside the residence,” reads an information release.

When they arrived they found 53-year-old Raymond Jenkins and when they entered the house they found the body of 51-year-old Rhea Harlow.

“As a result of the investigation, charges were filed for 2nd-degree homicide against Raymond Jenkins,” the release continues.

Jenkins will appear in court on Louisa County General District Court on March 4 at 8:30 a.m.

Suspect in knife attack in custody after second shelter-in-place order

For the second time in three days, the University of Virginia put out a shelter-in-place order via text due to a public safety incident.

“ACTIVE ATTACKER with knife W/M, red hoodie and blue sweatpants reported in area of 100 Emmet ST S, across from Alumni Hall,” read a portion of the alert that went out at 5:26 p.m. on Thursday, February 27.

The message concluded with a three word phrase used by the UVA Department of Safety and Security to signal an active-attacker situation is underway.

“Run-Hide-Fight is a national model that has been adopted throughout Grounds in both the academic division and UVA Health,” reads a website on active-attacker response training.

Another alert described the suspect as being middle aged.

At 5:44 p.m. an alert went out giving the all-clear.

“Active attacker incident is stable. suspect detained. shelter in place is lifted. Police remain on scene. No further updates.”

According to a FAQ on the UVA Department of Safety and Security website, the University of Virginia is required by federal law to provide information to the public.

“The Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act is a federal mandate requiring all institutions of higher education that participate in the federal student financial aid program to disclose information about crime on their campuses and in the surrounding communities,” reads the website.

The Clery Act requires the publication of what federal law defines as Emergency Notifications and Timely Warnings. The former takes the form of the UVA Emergency Alerts and the latter takes the form of “Safety Advisories.”

*UVA is required by federal law to provide information to the public related to various crimes and public safety incidents*

Members of the community are encouraged to watch a seven minute video on active-attacker training. That can be viewed on Vimeo.

UVA also publishes a crime log and the case status for this incident reads “transferred to other agency.” (read the crime log)

Charlottesville publishes data on arrests and the portal states that Fry’s Spring resident Edward Conlin Lee was arrested on a malicious wounding charge at 5:37 p.m. on February 27, 2025. (view Charlottesville’s arrest data)

“Initial investigation has revealed that both the suspect and victim were at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church on Thomson Rd before this incident,” reads a release put out February 27 by the Charlottesville Police Department “There was an altercation that took place and the victim was subsequently stabbed at that location. The victim then walked to the location where he was found approximately a block away.”

Lee’s hearing date in Charlottesville General District Court is on April 10 according to court records.

Center at Belvedere turns 65

A community center that seeks to provide healthy aging opportunities for older adults in Charlottesville is now 65 years and two weeks old and one day.

The Center at Belvedere celebrated its birthday on February 14, 2025.

The Albemarle Board of Supervisors celebrated with a proclamation five days later as read by Rio District Supervisor Ned Gallaway

“The Center at Belvedere, founded in 1960, is an award winning nonprofit organization supporting older adults in our region and is almost entirely unique in its service and focus on the importance of building community and social connections by promoting holistic, age friendly environments as a critical component of public health,” Gallaway said.

The Center opened for the first time on Valentine’s Day of 1960 with 25 members. An entity called the University League had surveyed community members on the area’s unmet needs and a place for older residents was close to the top of the list.

“At the time of the Center's founding, the work of volunteer of volunteers in establishing the Senior Center put Albemarle County, Charlottesville and surrounding counties ahead of its time by providing one of few centers designed to support older adults to live with dignity and independence and remain one of the of a relatively small number of non residential centres supported primarily by individual philanthropy,” Gallaway continued.

*Take a look at Center’s annual report for 2024 for more information*

In fiscal year 2024, the Center hosted over 10,000 programs and had over 75,000 visits by community members according to the latest annual report. That report also notes that their nearly $21.4 million budget does not rely on regular local, state, or federal funding. Both Albemarle County and Charlottesville did contribute to the capital campaign for the relatively new location in Belvedere.

Melanie Benjamin became the executive director of the Center on November 1, 2023 and accepted the proclamation via video teleconference due to winter weather.

“Tens of thousands of seniors have been able to take advantage of making sure that they are the people who support their own health and well being, their own connections to community and give back to the community as volunteers,” Benjamin said.

Gallaway said he drives past the Center every day and the parking lot is usually full. Space was more limited at their former site on Hillsdale Drive, and Gallaway said he enjoys the new space.

“It's just such a lovely environment to walk in with the artwork and the different folks and how friendly everybody is there,” Gallaway said. “And I know that especially everybody in the Rio district certainly appreciates it as it's right there in the center of our district.”

In this anniversary year, the Center plans on launching new initiatives to expand programming and to help provide awareness of available resources. They’ll also begin development of a new strategic plan.

Still no signatures from Governor Youngkin

The Virginia General Assembly has been out of the 2025 session for a week now and so far Governor Youngkin has not taken action on any of the legislation waiting on his desk.

On Sunday, the director of legislative services for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission sent out a useful summary.

“The final days of the session saw the legislature considering action on about 100 bills and resolutions that had remained in dispute,” wrote David Blount.

The House of Delegates and the Senate also adopted their version of a budget.

Technically the General Assembly is still in a special session convened in 2024 that did not adjourn but hasn’t met yet. Special sessions are governed by joint resolutions and the House adopted an amended version that increased the possible scope for which the legislature can meet.

The language states that the House and Senate can convene to consider any “bill or joint resolution addressing the impacts upon the Commonwealth, its budget, and its services due to layoffs, firings, or reductions in force by the federal government, changes to federal government programs, actions of the Department of Government Efficiency, and other actions affecting the Commonwealth relating to the federal budget.”

*A snapshot of what HJ6004 looks like (Credit: Virginia Legislative Information System)*

The vote in the House of Delegates on HJ6004 was 59 ayes, 38 nays, and three legislators not voting.

In case you missed it, I’ve written two stories from the first meeting of the House Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions. There’s also a podcast version. (story #1) (story #2)

Blount’s February 23 message also breaks down what’s in the legislature’s version of the budget.

There’s a one-time tax rebate of $200 for individuals and $400 for joint filers that will cost $1 billion. The standard deduction for individuals increases by $250 to $8,750 for individuals and by $500 to $17,500 for joint filers.
Local employees whose salaries are supported by the Commonwealth of Virginia would get a 1.5 percent bonus on July 1. In this arrangement, the Commonwealth would pay $83.1 million to localities.
There is a $20 million from the FY25 surplus to address impacts of the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the federal government.
There’s an additional $150 million for the School Construction Assistance Program, but the budget does not include language authorizing localities to levy a one-cent local sales tax. Legislation to allow localities to hold referendums on such a tax has passed the General Assembly and awaits Youngkin’s action.
The General Assembly’s version of the budget also includes a $50 million reduction in funds for the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program leaving $20 million left. This is notable for Albemarle County who are seeking to bring the Rivanna Futures project up to Tier 4.
There is funding of $15 million for a first-time homebuyer grant program.
There is $2 million in funding to reimburse localities for time public safety officers spend transporting people under temporary detention and emergency custody orders.
Governor Youngkin had included language that threatened localities with withholding funding if they do not comply with the Trump administration’s orders to assist in enforcing immigration laws.

For much more information, take a look at the full report written by Blount on the TJPDC website.

The inaugural Cvillepedia Quiz!

Many editions ago when this newsletter was always a podcast, too, I recorded my father telling a joke. I always associate weekend newspapers with lighter fare, back at a time when more people had subscriptions and devoted weekend time to reading a physical periodical. So I wanted to do something even it was just to entertain myself.

In recent weeks I’ve been thinking about what features I might add to this newsletter that are not stories. It might be neat to offer recipes, maybe, for instance. Or maybe do a crossword or some other puzzle? I would love to do so many things!

Anything like that takes time to set up, and I’d rather be reporting and getting stories out. But, I thought I’d at least do a quiz that doubles as an awareness campaign for cvillepedia. As you may know, I helped create that site in the late 2000’s and am very pleased it is now a community resource maintained by the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library.

*The use of cvillepedia for the first-ever cvillepedia quiz is encouraged!*

So, now, a very hastily put together quiz, fueled by things posted to cvillepedia. Almost no time went into this, but I did want to do something to mark that it is a Saturday and this is possibly the first of many Saturday editions in a year when there’s so much to write about each day.

There are no rules for this quiz which is quite informal, but anyone who submits entries and gets all of the answers are eligible for a prize. I don’t know what the prize is, but I can be certain it will have no monetary value. I do know I want to flesh this out into a real installment, but let’s just try this out:

Who was the first woman to run for Charlottesville City Council after ratification of the 19th Amendment?
Who donated the land for Brook Hill River Park to Albemarle County?
What native of Charlottesville served as Virginia’s governor from 1958 to 1962?
Give three names for restaurants that have existed at 420 West Main Street?
What firm designed the John Paul Jones Arena at the University of Virginia?

To enter, reply to this email.

Reading material for #822

Following Trump's Anti-Black Lead, VMI Board Votes to Remove First Black Leader; Photos: Black History Month Commonwealth Coffee, Black Virginia News (paywall), February 28, 2025
Charlottesville and Albemarle County Housing Resources Guide, Charlottesville Tomorrow, February 27, 2025
Trump's Transportation Department Cancels New Review Step That Could've Slowed State Projects, Associated Press via U.S. News, February 28, 2025
DOT shutters information hub for climate funding, Mike Lee, E&E News by Politico, February 28, 2025

#822 begins the month

Today I posted a query on both BlueSky and Substack Notes seeking a request for what light-hearted element people would like to see in a Saturday edition.

One person responded with “actual reporting on why the hell Cville police are suddenly mugging for publicity with ultimately unresolved alerts to the community.”

This edition exists because I wanted to get what I could on the record about what happened Thursday and any follow-up from Tuesday. I still have a lot of questions from both, but long-time readers know I’m a one-person operation with a function on policy. But, I spent some time doing what I could.

I did not know about how the Clery Act compels the University of Virginia and other higher education institutions to share information. I may have at some point, but it was new to today’s brain at least. I do this work because I want to know what’s happening, and I still have more questions about what happened Tuesday.

I ended up doing the cvillepedia quiz because it’s a Saturday and I have a feeling I’ll be doing more of these. There’s a lot of work to be done because a lot of people have questions about a lot of things, and I want to build up the audience.

There are now almost 3,700 people on the Substack list. I’m hoping to keep increasing that, and am glad to have the opportunity to do this. Sometimes I question why I do this, but there are always many answers. First and foremost, I want people to think.

Now, off to the memorial service for Satyendra Huja if I can get past my anxiety of large crowds. It’s about 50 / 50 right now.

Today’s video clip makes me wish I were the kind of person who felt comfortable dancing.

Charlottesville Community Engagement