Some highlights this week: 

• Charlottesville City Council will take a final vote Monday on increasing their salaries and will consider a switch to ranked choice voting for the 2025 Democratic Primary. They’ll also get an update from Cultivate Charlottesville on the food equity initiative. 
• Albemarle Supervisors will learn more about where ranked choice voting stands in the county’s future, will get a briefing on the zoning modernization, and a status update on the strategic plan.
• Charlottesville’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan will appear at the Council meeting Monday as well as at a dedicated public meeting on Tuesday. There’s also a parks and recreation advisory board meeting. 
• Fluvanna’s Board of Supervisors will be asked to allow Wawa to exceed a maximum size for its new store in Zion Crossroads
• Fans of Crozet may want to watch the Architectural Review Board Monday for a discussion of entrance corridor guidelines for the railway and Route 240 corridor 
• There are no meetings in either Louisa County or Nelson County this week. 

Thanks as always to the Piedmont Environmental Council for their sponsorship of this weekly summary. 

Monday, August 19, 2024

Charlottesville City Council to get updates on food equity, parks planning

The Charlottesville City Council begins each regular meeting with a work session at 4 p.m. that takes place in City Council Chambers. If you want to know if anything will be added to the agenda or removed, the very beginning is what you want to watch. (meeting overview) (meeting info)

There are two topics at this work session with the first being food equity. 

“The Charlottesville Food Equity Initiative (FEI) brings together public, private, and non-profit partners working in unique and complementary ways to build a healthy and just community food system for all Charlottesville residents,” reads the staff report for the annual report for FY2024.

Council adopted a resolution calling for food equity in 2018. Since then, a group called Cultivate Charlottesville has become the nonprofit that leads efforts to “improve access to and quality of nutritious and affordable foods, addressing food equity barriers.” 

The annual report also sets up what Cultivate Charlottesville wants Council to do in the current fiscal year such as reserving land in Booker T. Washington Park for the Urban Agricultural Collective to have space to grow food. That decision will be made as part of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan process which Council will discuss second, but the report describes the current situation of the Power to Grow initiative as being in a “holding pattern” until the beginning of 2025. (read the report)

The report notes the pending closure of the Local Food Hub as well as the demise of the PB&J Fund. Charlottesville Tomorrow profiled the latter in November 2014. The website for the other is no longer functional. What happened? 

“The integral roles both nonprofits have played in the local food system cannot be overstated and their absence invites us to adapt to changes informed by need, resources, and capacity,” the annual report continues. 

That means Cultivate Charlottesville will ask Council to extend direct funding for the initiative beyond a three year agreement. Council provided $155,000 in both FY23 and FY24, but increased the amount to $190,000 for FY25. 

(See also: Council indicates support for Food Equity Initiative but funding decisions to come later, November 2, 2021)

Next up will be the update on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. There will also be a meeting dedicated to the plan’s finding on Tuesday. 

“The purpose of the Master Plan is to guide the department for the next 10 years and provide strategic direction and vision to meet current and emerging public needs, as well as remain the primary steward of the significant natural, cultural, and historic resources,” reads the memo for this topic. 

There is a 36-slide presentation to Council with what PROS Consulting has found during the work. That includes the results of a survey that 392 households filled out. (view the presentation)

• 94 percent of respondents have visited a city park 
• 44 percent said physical conditions in parks are “very good” and 35 percent said they are “good” with 11 percent saying they are “excellent” and one percent saying they are in “poor” shape
• 31 percent of respondents had participated in a parks program in the past year
• The top priorities for investment appears to be for more trails, more parks, and access to the Rivanna River
• Disc golf, lighted sports fields, and a cricket field are among the lowest rated priorities
• Question 18 asked directly what level of additional property tax increase should be dedicated to parks

There are also specific recommendations for Tonsler Park, Washington Park, Market Street Park, and Court Square Park. The findings appear to justify a community garden in Washington Park and for new memorials and historic markers in Court Square Park. 

Earlier this month, Council agreed to the purchase of three parcels of land for parks or trails. If you want to know more details, read the story I wrote. 

Council to hold public hearing on formally ending biking at Ragged Mountain Natural Area

The regular meeting of Charlottesville City Council begins at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. (meeting overview)

One of the items on the consent agenda is a second reading of an additional $1.4 million to go into the Parking Fund to cover the cost of the city needing to pay the Charlottesville Parking Center more money under the terms of a new lease agreement. This is a story I will write out in more detail this week as I go through the appraisal conducted on behalf of the city’s Office of Economic Development and the appraisal conducted on behalf of Mark Brown, the sole shareholder of the Charlottesville Parking Center since he bought the company in August 2014. (staff report)

There are two public hearings but they are not consecutive. 

The first is on one of my favorite acronyms – the CAPER. That stands for the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report and it lists how the city has used federal funding from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds. The CAPER is how the city communicates progress to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

“Through public review and discussion of the CAPER, the City of Charlottesville seeks to provide a meaningful forum for community engagement with the goals and activities of the CDBG and HOME programs to ensure that these programs are designed to address core needs within the community and continue to bring meaningful benefits to City residents,” reads the staff report. 

One of the tables in the program states that the city exceeded its goal of having a hundred people experiencing homelessness to be assisted through CDBG funds. The figure given is 258. 

HOME funds are distributed with the participation of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. 

Earlier this year, the Public Housing Association of Residents commissioned UVA students to produce a report for how the funding should be used. 

Council will also adopt a resolution with priorities for the upcoming program year. (read the resolution)

Next, Council will hold a second reading of a proposal to increase Council salaries from $18,000  to $34,000 and the Mayor’s salary from $20,000 to $37,000. The public hearing has already been held, as I reported earlier this month. 

Will a higher salary lead more people to run? The 2023 General Election was uncontested, something that had not happened since the first Council election I covered in 2006 in which Republican incumbent Rob Schilling lost in a three way vote to Dave Norris and Julian Taliaferro. 

Perhaps the next item may encourage others to run, too. 

Council will hold the first reading of an ordinance to use “ranked choice voting” for the June 2025 City Council primary. The 2023 primary was contested with five candidates under the traditional system. There will also be a resolution to appropriate an additional $26,460 to cover the costs of buying new software and conducting an education campaign. 

Ranked choice allows voters to select more than one candidate by first choice, second choice, and so on. Arlington County already uses the practice, and to learn more about the mechanics I wrote about how Julius “J.D.” Spain was selected after four rounds as the Democratic candidate for the open County Board seat. 

The next item on the agenda is not listed as a public hearing but yet there was an advertisement in the August 10, 2024 Charlottesville Daily Progress that states the following:

“LEGAL NOTICE On Monday, August 19, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. the Charlottesville City Council will hold a public hearing in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 605 East Main Street, Charlottesville, Virginia to consider adoption of the following: AN ORDINANCE repealing Sections 18-24(b) and 18-25(f) of the City Code pursuant to the Settlement Agreement between the City of Charlottesville and the County of Albemarle resolving the Ragged Mountain Reservoir litigation. The proposed ordinance will impact permitted recreational activities at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir. This notice is given pursuant to Virginia Code §15.2-1427.”

Yet the staff report does not mention a public hearing. This is not the first time I have noted the lack of the phrase “public hearing” in a staff report for a public hearing. Is this deliberate or an oversight? 

In this case, the decision to adopt a resolution formally banning cycling at the Ragged Mountain Natural Area was already decided in March when Council agreed to a settlement to end a lawsuit. (See also: No bikes on Ragged Mountain Natural Area trails after Albemarle prevails in lawsuit settlement.)

Finally there will be a written update from the closed-door group of staff from Albemarle, Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia that replaced a public body that City Council and the Albemarle Board of Supervisors dissolved in November 2019. The Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee was created instead and no one but invited guests and members can attend. 

“The LUEPC is intended to be a vehicle to collaborate and coordinate land use and development plans and projects and to consider environmental and infrastructure issues facing the community,” reads the staff report. 

The city and county planning commissions have not met in over five years, denying the advisory bodies the ability to discuss, in public, items of mutual concern. Recently Albemarle Planning Commissioner noted this at a discussion of that locality’s Comprehensive Plan update, as I wrote about at the time. 

My reporting frequently touches upon areas where there could be more cohesive planning or information sharing that avoids the telephone game. 

Here are three examples: 

• Two apartment complexes planned for either side of Albemarle/ Charlottesville border, July 24, 2024
• A dangerous Charlottesville intersection could become more crowded, C-Ville Weekly, August 14, 2024
• Council wants District Avenue roundabout to offer full access to Charlottesville’s Meadows neighborhood, Information Charlottesville, August 15, 2024

More on the LUEPC later this week in the regular newsletter. Maybe I can rename the newsletter Charlottesville Regional Engagement? 

Albemarle ARB to review new look for county’s second high school center

The Albemarle Architectural Review Board will meet at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (meeting info) (agenda) 

There are five items on the agenda, though one of them is on the consent agenda. That is for an initial site plan for 318 apartments and 72 townhomes in the recently approved Holly Hills development near Forest Lakes. (staff report)

There are two items under regular review including an amendment to the site plan for the Kappa Sigma Headquarters on Route 20 south of Piedmont Virginia Community College. The second is a preliminary review for the county’s second high school center to be built at the Lambs Lane Campus off of Hydraulic Road. The design has changed since the ARB last saw it in October 2023. 

There are two work session items. They are a review of the Flow Automotive of Charlottesville building slated for an undeveloped property on U.S. 29 and a review of addenda being considered to the entrance corridor guidelines for the railway and Route 240 corridor in Crozet. (review that item)

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review to consider seven items 

As the city continues to implement the city’s new Development Code, Charlottesville’s Board of Architectural Review may play a more important role in the design of new buildings. That may or may not be the case every meeting, though. They meet at 5:30 p.m. in City Space. (meeting info) (agenda)

• The first item on the agenda is a new house planned behind 745 Park Street
• The second is for a new roof at 627 Cabell Avenue
• The third is for a second story to be added to 809 Locust Avenue
• The fourth is for a new portico at the front entrance of 7 Gildersleeve Wood
• The fifth is permission to remove entry doors on the Water Street side of 316 East Main Street to install a garage door instead
• The sixth item is a presentation on the Downtown Mall Tree study conducted by Wolf Josey Landscape Architects
• The seventh is a look ahead to a work session in September on design guidelines for cafe spaces 

Albemarle EDA to have closed session on Project Olympian and Project Julius 

If I could freeze time, I would have had the opportunity this week to write up the city parking story as well as the August 14 meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and the Albemarle County Economic Development Authority. The latter would have been written already without a pause, but a Windows update led to a lost recording Thursday morning. Best laid plans and all of that.

But the seven EDA members will gather for a virtual meeting on Tuesday at 4 p.m. In addition to a public comment period, approval of minutes, and a financial report, there will be a closed session to discuss Project Olympian and Project Julius. (meeting agenda)

Since the Project Enable strategic plan was adopted, the county has had over two dozen secret projects which go by code names ranging from 49’ers to Turtle. If you’re interested in helping track them, consider helping out with research on cvillepedia. 

In other meetings:

• Albemarle’s Electoral Board will meet at 8:30 a.m. Where? What’s the agenda? These are two questions not answered by the website where the meeting info is kept. (meeting info)
• The technical committee of the Charlottesville Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization will meet at 10 a.m. at 407 Water Street. Items of note include an update from the Virginia Department of Transportation on potential projects in the Ivy Road corridor as well as updated cost estimates for Smart Scale projects. I will write about this in detail some time this week. (agenda on cvillepedia)
• The Rural Transportation Advisory Committee will meet at 1 p.m. at 407 East Water Street. (meeting info)
• The Albemarle County Department of Social Services Advisory Board will meet at 3:30 p.m. in the county’s office building at 1600 5th Street in Room 231. On the agenda is an discussion of emergency preparedness from Deputy Fire Chief John Oprandy as well as something called “Candyland” which isn’t explained. (meeting info)
• The Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Department will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. at the Carver Recreation Center to go over the key findings in the community engagement work for the Parks Master Plan. (learn more)

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Albemarle Board of Supervisors to get briefing on ranked choice voting

The six members of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will meet at 1 p.m. in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. They meet in Lane Auditorium. (meeting info) (agenda)

The first item on the agenda is a resolution of appreciation for Steve Rosenberg for serving just over two years as the Albemarle County Attorney from July 27, 2022 to this September. Deputy County Attorney Andy Herrick will serve as the top counsel on an interim basis

Next, Supervisors will get a briefing on ranked choice voting. The presenters are Sylvia Flood, Chairman of the Albemarle County Electoral Board  and Lauren Eddy, General Registrar and Director of Elections. There are no materials for this item so here are three stories from when this has come up before in Albemarle:

• Albemarle Supervisors exploring ranked-choice voting, November 15, 2022
• Albemarle registrar: Ranked choice voting not ready in 2023, November 25, 2022
• Ranked-choice voting will not be used in Albemarle’s elections this November, April 26, 2023

In the last general election in 2023, one of the three districts up for election was uncontested.  In 2021, all three Supervisor races were uncontested. Rio District Supervisor Ned Gallaway has never faced electoral opposition in a general election. 

Next, Albemarle Supervisors will get an update on the work the Berkley Group has done for the first phase of the modernization of the zoning code. This work is being concurrently with the update of the Comprehensive Plan as opposed to the sequential approach Charlottesville took in the Cville Plans Together initiative. 

“The Zoning Modernization project is intended to establish more efficient administrative procedures, provide a clear and user-friendly format, and create an adaptive, modern ordinance that meets the current and projected future needs of Albemarle County,” reads the staff report. 

A list of proposed changes made to date are in something called a “crosswalk” and there are quite a few. Unfortunately, I need to move on today, but what can you find in this document?

I’ve already stated in this newsletter I enjoy the acronym CAPER, but I’m also keen on SPEAR which refers to a similar report on what a government agency has accomplished. 

That stands for Strategic Plan Execution Analysis and Reporting. For those new to following local government, elected bodies adopt a strategic plan that directs staff what to work on and what to prioritize. The Albemarle Board of Supervisors last adopted a plan in October 2022 and first got a SPEAR report this past June. 

This SPEAR compares strategic plan goals with actual performance. Some highlights:

• Under Safety and Well-Being, there was a FY24 target for the Fire Rescue department to conduct 1,800 safety code inspections, but the actual number was 1,685. 
• There was another target for the Police Department to achieve a three percent reduction in response times for priority one calls. The actual number was 4.5 percent. 
• Under Resilient, Equitable, and Engaged Community, there was a FY24 target to start 68 actions outlined in the Climate Action Plan and complete 18 of them. The actual numbers are 76 initiations and 23 completed actions. 
• There was a FY24 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from county buildings by five percent since the previous year. The actual number was 6.4 percent. 
• Under Infrastructure and Placemaking, there was a FY24 target to hold four meetings of the Ivy Road Pipeline Study Working Group, but only three were held. 
• Under Quality of Life, there was a FY24 target of creating 3,250 affordable housing units, and 3,051 were created. That number seems quite high.
• Under Education and Learning, there were no targets according to the presentation but several milestones. 

There are several public hearings in the evening session that begins at 6 p.m. 

• The first is a public hearing on various appropriations to the FY25 budget. (staff report)
• The second is to amend a special use permit for Kappa Sigma International’s headquarters at 1610 Scottsville Road. They want to relocate a future building. (staff report)
• The third is for a solar installation at Crown Orchard. (staff report)
• The fourth is for a special use permit for The Gray at 3015 Louisa Road to add food service. That’s required because the property is not on public water and sewer. (staff report)
• The fifth is to receive comments on the county’s intention to amend the county ordinance to allow the county to recover costs from individuals who falsely make bomb threats or other incidents. (staff report)

Wawa seeks sign size waiver from Fluvanna Board of Supervisors

The five members of the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors will meet in the Circuit Courtroom of the Fluvanna Courts Building at 6 p.m. (agenda packet)

The first action matter is the appeal of a staff interpretation related to the subdivision of a private road called Terre Haute Lane. At issue is how many lots can be created. (learn more)

The second action matter is a resolution to perform a speed limit study on Route 662 from the intersection of Route 645 to the intersection of Route 611. Or put into English, a speed limit study of Dobby Creek Road from Beals Lane to Paynes Landing Road. (learn more)

There are two public hearings.

• The first is to levy a systems fee for electronic summons of $5 per defendant with the funds raised to be used to pay for software and hardware to run the system. (learn more)
• The second is to waive a maximum size for the new Wawa being built at Zion Crossroads. County regulations say the biggest a sign can be is 40 square feet, but this one is proposed at 51.65 square feet. (learn more)

There are several items on the consent agenda including a development agreement with Zion 3 Notch LLC. This relates to construction of a sewer line for which the Fluvanna County Economic Development Authority will provide a total grant of $250,000. It is unclear what was changed. (learn more)

Under unfinished business, one of the county’s voting magisterial districts might need a name change. 

“The Palmyra District, as redrawn following [the] 2020 Census and Redistricting, is no longer located near the village of Palmyra,” reads the staff report. 

Supervisors are being advised to wait until after the election to make a change. But staff wants to know what the new name might be, and whether other districts should be renamed, too. (learn more)

City manager’s office to facilitate Housing Advisory Committee discussion on land bank

When City Council voted earlier this month to provide funding to a coalition of nonprofit developers to purchase the Carlton Mobile Home Park, some of the advance funding came from money set aside in the FY25 budget for the establishment of a land bank. 

“The Ordinance requests $365,000 be provided to help support related costs that are anticipated to be incurred between now and December 2024 which will be funded using previously appropriated funds intended to be used for the Land Bank, conditioned upon Piedmont Housing Alliance and [Habitat of Humanity of Greater Charlottesville] acquiring ownership of the Park,” reads the staff report for the August 5, 2024 meeting. 

Council agreed that night to give Habitat and Piedmont Housing Alliance $8.7 million over five years to guarantee a loan to cover the $7.25 million purchase price. (read my story)

This spring and summer, the Charlottesville Housing Advisory Committee has been discussing an ordinance that would need to be adopted by City Council to establish the land bank, which would have the power to purchase land for the development of housing units guaranteed to be rented or sold at below-market prices. 

Those discussions continue this Wednesday with a meeting in CitySpace. The agenda states “City Manager’s Office to facilitate discussion on HAC’s Landbank Recommendation and Update on related work sessions for Council.” 

Here is a summary of the minutes of several meetings held since April. 

• On April 9, a HAC subcommittee begins work on reviewing the land bank ordinance. The minutes reflect a consensus to form the land bank as “a new non-stock corporation that is an independent non-profit.” Two representatives from the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority are not at the meeting. (minutes)
• On April 17, the full HAC meets. The minutes indicate that John Sales, the executive director of the CRHA, is “not a big fan of forming new entity to run the [land bank]” and the notes indicate there is an “extended discussion of that issue w/o clarity or resolution.” Dan Rosensweig, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, notes that the “HAC should note its internal disagreement on the entity issue and note how many members are for and against a new entity.” Sales notes his preference would be to designate an existing entity as the land bank and that CRHA would only need one more staff member to operate the land bank. Sunshine Mathon, the director of Piedmont Housing Alliance, sets a goal of having the HAC’s recommendation to City Council by June 1. (minutes)
• The HAC has a special meeting on May 1. Joy Johnson, a CRHA employee who serves on the HAC as a resident of public housing, says City Manager Sam Sanders’ goal for this meeting is to have a vote on a recommendation. Johnson is also chair of the board of directors for the Public Housing Association of Residents. At-large member Mike Parisi says he does not have enough information to vote yet and needs clarification that an existing entity might be able to serve as the land bank. There is discussion of whether CRHA can do the work. Sales said CRHA would apply to do the work if allowed and “stresses CRHA is not a non-profit [but] is fully a government org.” Rosensweig states there would be a conflict of interest. A vote is taken on a motion from Rosensweig to create the land bank as a new entity and the result is 5-3 with Parisi abstaining. There is a note that there is no city attorney at the moment. (minutes)
  
• The HAC further discusses the ordinance at its meeting on May 7. There continue to be differing viewpoints such as whether the land bank should seek out properties or be more passive. There are discussions about whether a land bank would require a procurement process involving requests for proposals. There are many different opinions and d’Oronzio states “fear if RFPs just blow up deals that are ready to go” and refers to advice from former City Attorney Lisa Robertson who resigned at the end of 2022. There is also conversation that the lack of a city attorney due to Jacob Stroman being on administrative leave is a likely issue with a delay. (minutes)
• At the May 15 meeting, developer and HAC member Nicole Scro introduces a set of suggested revisions based on her review of an ordinance from 2018 that was shelved. These relate to the ability to override the RFP process and the HAC is in full agreement to adopt her changes. After other discussions about details, the recommendations pass unanimously. Joy Johnson says she wants the full HAC to also approve the language for the staff memo and the group agrees to send out the draft to all members for review. (minutes in the June 20, 2024 packet)
• At the June 20, 2024 meeting, Antoine Williams, the city’s Housing Program Manager, states that the land bank will be a topic at Council’s work session on July 15, 2024. This did not happen. Nicole Scro notes there have been “some miscommunications since our last meeting” and Sunshine Mathon of the Piedmont Housing Alliance states he met with Joy Johnson and Alex Ikefuna of the city’s Office of Community Solutions to talk about the process. Despite a vote on May 15, other changes have been made to the HAC’s recommended ordinance. Johnson expresses concern about whether this is transparent. There is discussion of a letter from the Charlottesville chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America that requests that the city directly manage the land bank. This letter is co-signed by the Piedmont Community Land Trust, which is part of the Piedmont Housing Alliance.
  
  There is a second letter from the Charlottesville Low Income Housing Coalition which is directed by Emily Dreyfus of the Legal Aid Justice Center. d’Oronzio provides responses. There is pushback against some of the requests. The HAC votes to approve the staff memo after discussing come changes. (minutes in the July 17, 2024 packet)
• At the July 17, 2024 meeting, the HAC is told that there will be a work session on the land bank on August 5. That did not happen. Nicole Scro directly asks what role a land bank might be able to play in acquisition of the Carlton Mobile Home Park.
  
  Sunshine Mathon presents an account of work to organize the counter-offer. Rosensweig lobbied the property owner. Mathon worked on financing. Legal Aid Justice Center organized residents. It is reported the city cannot come up with $7 million in cash quickly and that financing would be hard because rent would not be enough to cover the payments. City involvement would be needed to guarantee the loan could be paid back. Scro asks again what role the land bank could play. The minutes state that the trailer park cannot be maintained long-term and redevelopment will be needed to make the finances work. 

Unlike many other city meetings, HAC meetings are not live-streamed on the city’s streaming service hosted by BoxCast. 

Yet on one of the city’s two calendars for public meetings, there is a link to a Zoom meeting. (meeting info)

In other meetings: 

• The Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the basement of the Market Street Parking Garage. They’ll talk about the master plan, rules for garden plots, and dog parks. There are no other details on the agenda. (meeting agenda)
• The Greene Planning Commission will meet at 6 p.m. There’s a public hearing on a rezoning of 2.41 acres on U.S. 33 from A-1 to B-3 and a review of the Blue Ridge Meadow development. (meeting agenda)

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Regional Transit Partnership to vote to endorse transit authority

Since 2017, the Regional Transit Partnership has existed to serve as a clearinghouse to talk about transit in a community with at least three systems. Much of the talk has been about creating an authority, an idea that was first raised in the late 2000’s but put on pause after the General Assembly declined to allow a local referendum on a sales tax increase to pay for additional service.

At the partnership’s meeting, there will be a vote on whether to formally endorse moving forward to officially create the authority based on legislation that did pass in the late 2000’s to allow it to exist. 

For more information, read a story I wrote in late June about the establishment of by-laws for the prospective authority. 

There will also be a presentation on the recent Charlottesville Area Alliance walk audit. 

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This post was contributed by Sean Tubbs. Sean is a journalist working to build a new information and news outlet centered around Charlottesville and Virginia. In 2020, he launched a daily newscast and newsletter and also created a semi-regular podcast on the pandemic.

Support for Sean’s “Week Ahead” update comes from The Piedmont Environmental Council.