October 9, 2024: Albemarle Supervisors review potential projects for Ivy Road Corridor
Plus: A coalition including the League of Women Voters files federal lawsuit alleging Virginia is conducting ill
October 9 is the 283rd day of this year because we are still in the thrall of a leap year. Does an extra day every four years change the fundamental balance of the universe, or are such things arbitrary? In any case, this is Charlottesville Community Engagement for this day. I’m Sean Tubbs, and I’m able to admit that the original introduction for this installment somehow though it was still the day before.
In today’s installment:
The League of Women Voters and others have filed a federal suit against the Virginia Department of Elections alleging an illegal purge is taking place each day
The Virginia Employment Commission opened a temporary office in southwest Virginia day to process disaster-related claims
Albemarle County and Louisa County mark National 4-H Week
A Roanoke College poll shows levels of trust among Virginians remain lower than before the pandemic
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors review recommendations for future transportation projects as made as part of the Ivy Road Pipeline Study
First shout-out: Camp Albemarle
Today’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for over sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”
Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Are you looking to escape and reconnect with nature? Consider holding an event where the natural beauty of the grounds will provide a venue to suit your needs. Visit their website to view the gallery and learn more!
Coalition files suit in federal court alleging unlawful purge of Virginia voter rolls
A coalition of groups including the League of Women Voters filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District Court of Virginia Monday against several Virginia officials alleging that a program to remove people from voter registration rolls.
Joined by the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights the the LWV’s Virginia Education Fund, the complaint seeks an injunction against a program ordered by Governor Glenn Youngkin and argues its in violation of the National Voter Registration Act.
Executive Order #35 issued on August 7, 2024 directs the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections to update the voter list daily and remove persons who are dead, have moved, or are ineligible to vote.
“Less than 60 days ago, Defendants announced the latest version of an effort to implement an ongoing program to systematically remove certain voters from the rolls,” reads the introduction to the complaint. “But federal law mandates that no such voter cancelation or list maintenance programs may be conducted during the 90-day ‘quiet period’ before an election.”
The case names Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals, the members of the Virginia State Board of Elections, and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.
The complaint calls the program “an illegal, discriminatory, and error-ridden program that has directed the cancellation of voter registrations of naturalized U.S. citizens and jeopardizes the rights of countless others.”
So far the defendants have not responded in federal court according to court reports.
Virginia Employment Commission on-site in Damascus to assist those out of work due to Helene
With electricity out and many roads still impassable due to the devastation from Hurricane Helene, many in southwest Virginia aren’t able to get to work.
The Virginia Employment Commission set up a temporary office today at the Taylors Valley Community Center in Damascus to provide assistance in getting state benefits.
“Those who have lost their job, can't work or had hours reduced as a direct result of Hurricane Helene and are ineligible for regular state unemployment benefits may qualify for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA),” reads an announcement of the temporary office.
On Monday, Montgomery County and Pulaski County were both added to the list of localities eligible for financial assistance, joining Giles, Grayson, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wythe counties as well as the city of Galax.
There’s also an additional VEC office at the Damascus Resource Center across from Food City that is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the VEC website.
Meanwhile closer to home, Albemarle County Parks and Recreation reopened Mint Springs Valley Park today.
“Repairs have been completed on the culvert pipe and pavement at the main entrance to Mint Springs Valley Park due to the remnants of Hurricane Helene,” reads an announcement sent out this afternoon. The park is open from 7 a.m. to dusk.
Albemarle and Louisa mark National 4-H Week
For over a hundred years, a nationwide network that provides support to the county’s farmers and agricultural providers has offered services to young people who want to take on that work.
For the next several days, the National Cooperative System celebrates National 4-H Week. The Louisa County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution last night, read by County Administrator Christian Goodwin.
“4-H is the nation's largest youth development organization with more than 6 million youth in urban neighborhoods, suburban schoolyards, and rural farming communities who stand out among their peers building revolutionary opportunities and implementing community wide change at an early age,” Goodwin said.
Representatives from Four-H addressed the Louisa County Board to explain what they need in order to grow the number of young people in the program. Kylie Hoffman said every student should learn about the important of agriculture.
“We have 8,000 youth in Louisa County, and we are reaching 2800 of those,” Hoffman said. “And so what are our limitations? Meeting space and volunteers.”
There are around 2,800 youth in Louisa who are members according to Jennifer Thompson, the Virginia Cooperative Extension agent for the county. They meet in the county office building in Louisa County and don’t have their own independent space to operate.
There are fewer students participating in 4-H in Albemarle County and Charlottesville with 1,800 being the number cited in a proclamation before the Board of Supervisors on October 2.
“[The] Virginia Cooperative Extension system conducts 4-H programs throughout the state, land grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia state with the mission to help young people acquire knowledge, develop skills and form attitudes which will help them become self directed, productive members of society,” said Supervisor Ann Mallek while reading Albemarle’s proclamation. (read the proclamation)
Supervisor Diantha McKeel said 4-H participants are learning skills that are critical in the world of today.
“Many of them really are critical for us during these times,” McKeel said. “When you look at critical issues such as protecting the environment, providing programmes, The 4-H really is a great organization to help our children, no matter what age, to help us in the future solve some of these problems.”
For more information on 4-H, take a look at the website of the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Roanoke College poll finds trust among Virginians remains low
A Roanoke College survey conducted in August has found that a third of Virginians believe that most people can be trusted. That’s one observation from the latest Virginia Trust Index Report conducted by the Institute for Policy and Opinion Research (IPOR).
“Less than a majority believe that most people are fair and helpful,” reads an announcement of the results. “Forty-eight percent believe that most people would try to be fair rather than take advantage of you, a value slightly higher than the national share of 44 percent.”
The poll is based on one conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago that asks participants three questions on perceptions on the trustworthiness of others. From IPOR’s announcement:
Do you think most people would try to take advantage of you if they got a chance, or would they try and be fair?
Would you say that most of the time people try to be helpful, or that they are mostly just looking out for themselves?
Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?
Since asking the questions in 1972, NORC has documented trust has eroded with 46 percent believing most people could be trusted that year. That number is now at 26 percent nationwide as released in a 2023 report.
IPOR has been asking the questions since 2017 and have noted a steady decline over time with a slight increase in trust during the initial year of the pandemic.
“The steady decline in trust after May 2021 likely reflects growing frustrations with continued COVID-19-related restrictions such as mask mandates, a divide over newer vaccine mandates and general political discord,” the announcement continues.
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Albemarle Supervisors briefed on Ivy Road pipeline projects
Soon after the Albemarle Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning for 525 residential units on Old Ivy Road in March 2023, the Virginia Department of Transportation launched a study to identify potential road projects that might existing and future traffic congestion in the area.
“The study area for the Ivy Road corridor study includes Ivy Road from Ednam Drive on the west to Alderman Road in the city of Charlottesville to the east,” said Jessica Hersh-Ballering, a transportation planner with Albemarle County. “It also included the us 29 250 interchange as well as Old Ivy Road.”
The study has resulted in a series of recommended improvements and Supervisors got a briefing on October 2, 2024.
Here are some of the ideas:
Convert Ivy Road and Boars Head Road signalized intersection into a roundabout
Convert Ivy Road and Canterbury Road signalized intersection into a roundabout
Close the median in sections of Ivy Road to limit access
Add bike and pedestrian infrastructure and a two-way signal at the railroad underpass at the eastern end of Old Ivy Road
Remove left turns from Ivy Road onto Old Ivy Road
Add a shared-use path on Old Ivy Road. There is a proffer related to this for the Old Ivy Residences development.
Additional acceleration and deceleration lanes onto U.S. 250 bypass
“Broadly speaking, this is a pretty complicated corridor where any one improvement is going to have both upstream and downstream impacts,” Hersh-Ballering said. “These recommended improvements were carefully considered so that they work together to achieve those study goals.”
One of the constraints in the area is a narrow underpass on Old Ivy Road under the railroad tracks. Hersh-Ballering said the county’s preference is to maintain that as two-way traffic.
“One-way alternatives have also been proposed by the consultants, but these alternatives have had mixed responses from both the focus group and the broader public,” Hersh-Ballering said.
Supervisor Diantha McKeel is a member of the Regional Transit Partnership which includes a representative from the University Transit Service. She said that UVA is seeking to purchase smaller buses that can fit through the underpass.
“That's always been one of the problems we had getting transit with all of the students and the university folks living along Old Ivy Road, they couldn't get the transit buses underneath so that's really good news,” McKeel said.
McKeel wanted to know how likely funding might be for these projects given that they all work together. Hersh-Ballering said the county is not currently pursuing any funding for these improvements because they weren’t ready in time for the most recent round of Smart Scale funding.
Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley said she supported the recommendations.
“It looks a little complex in some areas, but it seems to address a lot of issues, and hopefully we can get the funding for that, because it would greatly improve the safety of that area,” LaPisto-Kirtley said.
Samuel Miller District Supervisor Jim Andrews pointed out that the University of Virginia owns much of the property to the north of Old Ivy Road around the underpass.
“I've noticed changes in the university's properties that I want to make sure they've looked at or if they've understood and what effect they have,” Andrews said.
Andrews said it appeared that there is a roadway connecting Old Ivy Road to Leonard Sandridge Drive, but that’s not the case. The historic building that houses the UVA Center for Politics is being renovated and when complete its entrance will be on Leonard Sandridge Road and the existing connection to Old Ivy Road will be closed.
Hersh-Ballering did not answer the question directly and said UVA officials have been in attendance at all of the meetings. In fact, Hersh-Ballering herself was at the August meeting of the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee, a closed-door body that replaced the public Planning and Coordination Council in late 2019. (read the “minutes”)
Third shout-out: Virginia Public Access Project news!
This is an unsolicited shout-out, written up at the last minute after I got a phone call from the executive director of the Virginia Public Access Project asking for a contribution to their 36 News-A-Thon. That’s a campaign to support their daily VaNews list of headlines. Click through to their website for more information. I’m contributing $100!
Reading material for #742
Helene deals billions in damage to infrastructure, Julie Strupp, Construction Dive, October 8, 2024
Cash is King: Newberg Restaurants Encourage Non-Card Payments, Branden Andersen, Newsberg, October 8, 2024
Albemarle County biotech company to add 200 jobs at expanded facility, Sean Tubbs, C-Ville Weekly, October 8, 2024
UVA Health doles out $265K in grants to Rappahannock-Rapidan, Prince William nonprofits, FauquierNow, October 8, 2024
JSAAHC adds highly detailed Black spaces exhibition to its permanent collection, Sarah Sargent, C-Ville Weekly, October 8, 2024
Henley principal acquitted in assault case, Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville Daily Progress (paywall), October 9, 2024
R.O.F.L. Stand Up Comedy Showcase at Rapture, Sage Tanguay, WTJU, October 8, 2024
Have a cigar, #742
Today’s end section is about the section just above. I want people to read other articles and some of the ones above are not local. Today I’ve included one from Newsberg, a small online publication in Newburg, Oregon. I met the publisher when I was in Chicago a month ago and the story about discounts for cash payments is one that probably resonates in any community across the country.
The world is much more interesting once you start asking questions and I encourage everyone reading to seek out as much information as you can. I’ll certainly do my best to write what I can, something I’m able to do because of the many people who have made a contribution.
For the past month I’ve been listing the reasons for the shout-outs, and I’ve sort of covered that ground for now. My goal with doing that is to remind people that I need to have a roof over my head if I’m to do this work. I’m slowly building up a business, but I have a lot to learn!
I do know that Ting will match the initial subscription for anyone who pays for a subscription through Substack. That’s an incredibly generous sponsorship and one day I’ve got to inquire about switching to their service.
If I do, I’ll probably follow the same offers available to all of you. If you sign up for service and you are within Ting’s service area, enter the promo code COMMUNITY you’re going to get:
Free installation
A second month for free
A $75 gift card to the Downtown Mall
