The second Monday of May is with us and takes the name of May 8 or could also go by Day 128. There are 44 days until the solstice, the next time the world will begin to turn back toward the dark. Until then, Charlottesville Community Engagement shall continue to point out such information but cannot let it slide that this is also National Meeting Planners Appreciation Day. Sounds appropriate.
On today’s program:
A structure fire in Charlottesville has claimed one live
Republicans nominate two area candidate for state Senate
The Virginia Association of Counties has released their legislative summary for the past year
Albemarle County has signed on to a regional partnership to use opioid settlement money to expand care
The World Health Organization declares an end to the pandemic but UVA officials warn COVID-19 is still an endemic threat
First shout-out: The Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign
Since the very beginning of this newsletter, one Patreon supporter who has been there since July 2020 has used his shout-out to draw your attention to the work of the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign. The campaign is a coalition of grassroots partners including motivated citizens and volunteers, partner organizations, and local governments who want to promote the use of native plants. Spring has sprung but you still have time to learn about what you need to plan to attract pollinators who’ll keep native species going. To learn more, visit plantvirginianatives.org to download Piedmont Native Plants: A Guide for Landscapes and Gardens.
One killed in fire on Melbourne Road
One person is dead after a structure fire on Melbourne Road in Charlottesville overnight. That was originally announced in a social media post by Charlottesville Police Department alerting drivers to a road closure during the AM peak hours.
The remnants of the fire was discovered around 6:45 a.m. this morning when the woman’s son arrived for a welfare check. That’s according to Kyle Ervin, the city’s public information officer. He later found his mother’s body in the living room.
“They believe that the fire was most likely started at night and it later self-extinguished,” Ervin said, adding that neighbors would have seen the smoke if it had been during daylight hours.
Ervin said the fire department is still working with the Virginia State Medical Examiner’ to determine the cause of death. The Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.
This is the first fatality from a fire in Charlottesville since July 2021 when two people were killed in an incident on Cherry Avenue.
Republicans nominate McGuire, Reeves for Senate races
There’s a little more specificity now for who will be on general election ballots for some legislative races in our area.
Fifth District Republicans held a convention at Buckingham County High School on Saturday for Senate District 10 and a majority of participants selected Delegate John McGuire in a four-way race.
Senator Bryce Reeves won a firehouse primary to be the Republican nominee for the new Senate District 28, according to the Rappahannock News. Reeves has represented the former 17th District for three terms. The new district includes Greene County, as well as Orange, Madison, and Culpeper. He defeated Mike Allers on a three to one margin according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Municipal organization releases summary of 2023 General Assembly
One topic I make an attempt to cover but perhaps fall short is what’s happening at the General Assembly as it relates to local issues. Thanks to an organization that represents localities across the Commonwealth, both you and I can now get an update from that perspective about the status of the state budget.
“Budget conferees were unable to agree on a full array of revisions to the biennium budget in time for the scheduled adjournment of the 2023 regular session,” reads the legislative summary for the Virginia Association of Counties. “As a stopgap measure, the General Assembly passed a ‘skinny budget’ on February 25, which included four revisions to the 2022 Appropriation Act dealing with several priority, time-sensitive items.”
This means that localities all across the Commonwealth have passed or will pass local budgets for FY24 that may change. I strive to report these sorts of things when I can. Until then, I encourage you to review the Virginia Association of Counties legislative summary.
Albemarle Supervisor Ann Mallek gave an update to her colleagues last week about some of what passed or passed on.
“More than 30 study assignments were made to the [Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee] and other study groups and study departments by bills in the legislature all that are coming due before the next session,” Mallek said.
For the latest status of legislation, visit the Legislative Information Services website. Make sure you check out the statistics!
Second shout-out: Charlottesville Jazz Society
In today’s second subscriber-supported public service announcement: The Charlottesville Jazz Society at cvillejazz.org is dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and perpetuation of all that jazz. Want to set up your week and make sure it’s going to have some music? Check out the schedule at cvillejazz.org.
Coming up this week is the Lake Anna Jazz Festival at Cooling Pond Brewery this Saturday, May 13 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Scheduled to appear are vocalist Veronica Swift, Wyatt Michael, the Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, the Antique Melody Show, the East-West Quintet, the Pumphouse Blues Band and more. For more information, visit www.lakeannajazz.org/
Albemarle signs on to opioid abatement grant
Localities all across Virginia have been working together on plans to use funding that comes from a major settlement from pharmacies related to the over-prescription of opioid painkillers. Last week, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors agreed to proceed with a contract with the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority on a future project.
“This is the work of many months of creating a cooperative agreement with Region 10, Nelson County, Louisa County, and we’re hoping the City of Charlottesville to join forces to apply for competitive funding,” said Kaki Dimock, Albemarle County’s director of social services.
Dimock said there are multiple settlements and the authority will funnel the proceeds to uses such as hiring additional counselors to assist people in need.
“This particular proposal that we’re seeking your support for is to partner with Region 10 and these other localities to expand community outreach efforts so that there are opportunities to talk to someone who is connected to a behavioral health system before there’s a significant crisis,” Dimock said.
Dimock said additional funding will also pay for Region 10 to expand their crisis receiving center.
Albemarle is already receiving a direct allocation of funds from the authority to pay for a mental health response team called the Human Services Alternatives Response Team (HARTS). Learn more about that in a March 15, 2023 NBC29 story by Isabel Cleary.
World Health Organization declares end to COVID-19 pandemic
Last week, the international agency that tracks public health across the globe declared an end to the COVID-19 emergency. The federal public health emergency in the United States of America ends on May 11, but the World Health Organization made its statement on May 5.
But that doesn’t mean the virus has gone away, according to Dr. Costi Sifri, the director of hospital epidemiology at the University of Virginia Health System.
“We just now see that it has transitioned into an endemic phase,” Sifri said.
Dr. Sifri said there are still patients who are treated for COVID.
“Unfortunately some people are still dying so it’s not gone,” said Dr. Reid Adams, UVA Health’s chief medical officer. “It’s still a health care issue for all of us that are in the hospital setting and many of our patients around the country.”
Preliminary data from last year showed that there were 244,986 deaths attributed to COVID, down about 50 percent from the year before according to Dr. Sifri.
“I think our anticipation is that we will hopefully see that trend continue and we’ll have fewer deaths yet again this year,” Dr. Sifri said.
Reminder: City Council Campaign forum on May 10
On May 10 at 7 p.m, I will be co-hosting a candidate forum with the Free Enterprise Forum with all five candidates at the Hillsdale Conference Center Ballroom, 550 Hillsdale Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901. That’s on the Route 7 Charlottesville Area Transit route. You can also watch at home on Zoom.
“Candidates will explore their vision for the city including their views on the zoning ordinance rewrite, affordable housing, public safety, equity issues, organizational issues, and economic development,” reads the press release that Neil Williamson wrote.
Reading material:
With Youngkin’s support, UVA-born company announces new Charlottesville plant, Whitelaw Reid, UVA Today, May 4, 2023
Debt ceiling diehard in rural Virginia vows to ‘call Democrats’ bluff’, Lauren Fedor, Financial Times, May 6, 2023
Concluding notes for #531:
Lots of information in this edition, and the goal will be to have a bit of information in the next one as well. Charlottesville Community Engagement was created to report and inform, and that’s all made possible through paid subscriptions. I’m grateful that around a quarter of the audience has stepped up with support, and hopeful more of you will consider doing so.
I’m also grateful to Ting for their support as they match the initial payment for each new Substack subscription. That comes in at the $5 a month, $50 a year, or $200 a year level.
And if you sign up for Ting at this link and enter the promo code COMMUNITY, you’ll get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
Thanks to Wraki for incidental music in the podcast, which you can’t hear unless you listen to it. Check out the work on BandCamp!
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