Podcasts about economic development authority

VPM Host Lyndon German and BizSense's Jonathan Spiers discuss problems at Richmond's water plant, housing nonprofits teaming up on modular apartment project in East End, and a lawsuit filed by Henrico County's Economic Development Authority's in connection with the county's GreenCity development deal.

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2024. The news just keeps getting better in Mason County as the state announces an $800 million expansion at the Nucor plant, creating 100 more jobs…the governor and first lady welcome their 45th and final therapy dog to West Virginia schools…and discarded Christmas trees find new life as fish habitats…on today's daily304. #1 – From WSAZ-TV – Nucor will expand its West Virginia operation before it even opens in Mason County. Gov. Jim Justice and the state's Economic Development Authority agreed to invest $75 million in taxpayer funds to attract an $800 million expansion from Nucor.  That $800 million will be invested along state Route 2 in Mason County and at Nucor's docks in Wheeling. Justice says the new investment will produce 100 additional jobs. Nucor already has 300 employees working in Mason County, and that doesn't count all of the construction workers building the steel mill. The company says the Apple Grove facility will begin operations in mid- to late 2026. Read more: https://www.wsaz.com/2024/12/19/wva-announces-800m-nucor-expansion/   #2 – From WOWK-TV – Governor Jim Justice and First Lady Cathy Justice welcomed their 45th and final therapy dog to a school late last month, marking the bittersweet end of a beloved West Virginia program. Bear, a 10-month-old golden retriever, is Huntington East Middle School's new therapy dog, making him the final therapy dog of the Friends with Paws program. Cathy Justice began the program as a way of raising student morale, boosting attendance and raising test scores. She said the program took inspiration from a pair of Cabell County elementary schools four years ago. Haven, a labradoodle, shares time at Spring Hill and Salt Rock Elementary schools.  “We wanted a dog in the schools because we thought you want your schools to be like family. What makes a home a family? A dog,” Salt Rock Elementary Principal Becky Ferguson said.  Read more: https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/friends-with-paws-program-ends-after-delivering-45-therapy-dogs-to-schools-across-west-virginia/   #3 – From WVDNR – Some of the most popular game fish in West Virginia like swimming in waters with ample woody cover from downed trees and other vegetation. And when fish are happy anglers are happy. That's why the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is always looking for creative ways to improve fish habitat and the angling experience. One method is taking discarded live Christmas trees and using them to improve habitat at popular fishing locations, such as Beech Fork and East Lynn lakes. The trees are anchored so that they sink to the bottom and stand upright. By doing it this way, the trees stay in place and create ample cover. This gives small, young fish an opportunity to grow, which increases the overall fish population. The trees also provide ambush spots for larger fish and serve as attractors experienced anglers can use to their advantage. This holiday season, the DNR is accepting your discarded Christmas trees at the following locations: Ices Ferry in Morgantown --  through January 10 Claudia Workman Wildlife Education Center at the Forks of Coal State Natural Area -- through January 6 (This location will have signs directing people to the tree donation pile.) Only whole, real trees will be accepted. All lights and decorations must be removed prior to donation. Check the DNR social media pages for more information.  Read more: https://wvdnr.gov/that-dead-christmas-tree-you-threw-away-can-breathe-new-life-into-your-favorite-fishing-lake/   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.  

The intricacies of real estate tax often trip up investors and title professionals alike. Join us for this expert-led episode with Ross Litkenhous, where he explains how property tax management tools and technology can revolutionize property portfolios and streamline processes. This episode is perfect for industry leaders ready to maximize profitability and stay compliant, so tune in!     What you'll learn from this episode Key challenges and lessons learned from building a business at scale How Taxonix is demystifying property tax complexities for commercial and residential real estate The importance of AI as a tool and where human insight will always be essential Advice for title professionals on integrating technology while maintaining operational efficiency Strategies for building resilience and staying focused through challenges     Resources mentioned in this episode Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki | Paperback and Kindle Beltway Lacrosse League Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters | Paperback, Hardcover, and Kindle The Great CEO Within by Matt Mochary, Alex MacCaw, and Misha Talavera | Paperback and Kindle A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink | Paperback, Hardcover, and Kindle The New Articulate Executive by Granville Toogood | Paperback, Hardcover, and Kindle Every Job is a Sales Job by Cindy McGovern | Hardcover and Kindle     About Ross Litkenhous Ross has dedicated over two decades to the commercial real estate industry, where he has thrived as a student, analyst, executive, entrepreneur, and even an elected official. With hands-on experience in managing, leasing, and redeveloping commercial properties, Ross has specialized in property tax advisory, where he has led high-impact teams across local, regional, and global firms. His work centers on reducing, forecasting, and managing property taxes, creating substantial value for owners, developers, and investors while saving clients hundreds of millions of dollars. Recognizing key gaps in data, technology, and accessible resources, Ross founded Taxonix, a self-service platform that provides property owners with tools to efficiently manage their tax portfolios.   Outside of his career, Ross enjoys time with his wife and three daughters. He served on the Falls Church City Council, currently sits on the Economic Development Authority, and has held various roles on regional boards, including the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. Ross holds a BA in Political Science and History from Birmingham-Southern College and an MBA in Real Estate and Urban Development from American University.     Connect with Ross Website: Taxonics | Cavalry Real Estate Advisors LinkedIn: Ross Litkenhous     Connect With Us Love what you're hearing? Don't miss an episode! Follow us on our social media channels and stay connected.   Explore more on our website: www.alltechnational.com/podcast Stay updated with our newsletter: www.mochoumil.com Follow Mo on LinkedIn: Mo Choumil

Ever feel stuck in a financial rut? This week's guest, Ruth King, knows that struggle intimately. In this episode of Money Tales, Ruth opens up about how desperation to escape being broke only made things worse—the more she focused on not being broke, the more it consumed her. But everything changed when Ruth started writing 25 affirmations every morning. By shifting her mindset though these daily mantras toward success, and away from fear, Ruth began to see her financial reality transform. Ruth is well known as the “Profit and Wealth Guru.” She has a passion for helping businesses get and stay profitable utilizing the latest systems, processes and technology. Ruth holds an MBA in Finance from Georgia State University and Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively. Ruth started the Decatur, Georgia branch of the Small Business Development Center in 1982.  She also started the Women's Entrepreneurial Center and taught a year-long course for women who wanted to start their own businesses.  This course was the foundation for one of the classes at the Women's Economic Development Authority in Atlanta, Georgia. More recently Ruth was the instructor for ICE, the Inner City Entrepreneur program in conjunction with the Small Business Administration. This 16-week course taught business owners with at least $400,000 in revenues (and many had over $1,000,000 in revenues) how to grow to the next level. A large part of the curriculum was aimed at improving the financial knowledge of the business owners enrolled in the course. Her latest book, 101 Dumb Financial Mistakes Business Owners Make and How to Avoid Them, joins 5 other award winning books: The Courage to be Profitable, Profit or Wealth?, The Ugly Truth about Cash and The Ugly Truth about Managing People. Ruth has also been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal Radio Network, the Big Biz Show, and many regional and local radio programs. She has appeared on MSNBC's It's Your Money program, Fox San Diego, and many other local television stations. Ruth has spoken internationally on financial topics for Kohler, Carrier Corporation, Safeguard (division of Deluxe), and many other corporations and national, state and local associations.

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. A Morgantown company is blazing new ground in AI drug development…Huntington's Corduroy Brown goes on safari for the band's new video…and MHIRJ Aviation's leaders discuss the company's future in #YesWV (hint…it involves more jobs!)…on today's daily304.   #1 – From DOMINION POST – GATC West Virginia is breaking new ground in using artificial intelligence to craft new molecules to cure diseases, and in drastically reducing the staggering costs of developing and bringing drugs to market. GATC WV was one of the first tenants in WVU Innovation Corp.'s new headquarters — what was the Mylan plant.  In March, the state Economic Development Authority and the Jobs Investment Trust approved a $5 million investment into GATC WV to bring jobs here and advance its work. The company has received its first $2 million and will receive an additional $1 million for each 10 people it hires, according to GATC Health Chief Operating Officer Ty Lam. “We're bringing talent back into the state and keeping talent in the state,” Lam said. Read more: https://www.dominionpost.com/2024/08/03/morgantown-company-gatc-west-virginia-blazing-trails-in-ai-drug-development-and-financing/   #2 – From WOUB.ORG – Be warned: watching the music video for Corduroy Brown's latest single, Doin' My Best, might conjure the urge to dust off your old pith helmet and go wandering. In the video, Alan “Corduroy” Brown and musical collaborators Chris Barker (bassist/Alan's best friend) and Jacob Barr (drummer) explore the Appalachian wilderness of Kenova, West Virginia. And, well, it looks like a lot of fun. The video premiered on Aug. 20 and you can watch it using this link. Check out the Huntington-based band via Instagram, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify. Read more: https://woub.org/2024/08/20/corduroy-brown-debuts-music-video-for-new-single-tonight/   #3 – From INNOVATORS & ENTREPRENEURS – Ross Mitchell, Vice-President of MHIRJ Aviation Global, and Michael Genin, Director of Operations for MHIRJ Aviation in Bridgeport, West Virginia, talk about soaring to new high heights in #YesWV. MHIRJ is the leader in aviation maintenance for the CRJ Series, the world's most successful regional jet. With more than 550 employees in West Virginia and state-of-the-art hangars in Bridgeport, MHIRJ supports the top three airlines in the US and top regional airlines in the world. The company is in the process of hiring 400 technicians and is looking to fill over 100 job vacancies over the next year. Check out the interview on Innovators and Entrepreneurs, a bi-weekly segment of the daily304 that features discussions and wisdom from West Virginians who have built their companies and launched new ideas here in the Mountain State. Read more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=8vN8ag1ltoIKhao0&v=fs0uSJ5IgIA&feature=youtu.be   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.  

Last week during their regular meeting the Northfield City Council passed an interim ordinance that puts a temporary moratorium on development in the Northwest Area.   The ordinance comes from recommendations made by the Northfield Planning Commission and the Economic Development Authority to create better standards and detailed expectations by the City of Northfield with regards […]

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Sunday, April 21, 2024.   The WV Economic Development Authority shares some of its success stories. Maxxim Manufacturing hires displaced workers. WVEDA financing boosts new and expanding businesses. And the aluminum industry is rolling with help from the WVEDA…on today's daily304. #1 – From WVEDA – When the manufacturing plant across the street from Shannon Remines closed down, Remines, VP of Manufacturing for Maxxim Manufacturing, worked out a deal with the West Virginia Economic Development Authority and was able to hire 44 displaced workers on the spot. In 2003, they started with a small gear shop and, since then, have expanded the size and scope of their work in Brushfork, West Virginia. Among other things, they have a welding shop, a mechanical division doing gearbox repairs, and they do complete equipment rebuilds. “They were there at every turn,”Remines said of the WVEDA. “They can see the return on investment, and they can see the job growth… Going from five jobs to 100 jobs, and I gotta say the Economic Development Authority played a huge part in financing and allowing me to do that.” Read more: https://eda.wv.gov/maxxim-manufacturing/   #2 – From WVEDA –  At the core of the West Virginia Economic Development Authority's mission lies a profound commitment to bolstering the state's economy.  The 2023 Equipment Financing Program allows the WVEDA to provide existing small businesses within the state with funds for business development and expansion to industrial development agencies.  Through this program, WV Great Barrel Company, Appalachian Stave West Virginia, Mister B Snacks, Medley Fork Properties and so many more companies have elected to say #YesWV. There's a small business revolution happening within West Virginia. All over the state, entrepreneurs are serving both their local communities and people worldwide. And there's an ecosystem of entrepreneurial activity that is growing daily. Read more: https://eda.wv.gov/the-2023-equipment-financing-program-supports-business-retention-efforts-statewide/   #3 – From WVEDA – Skana Aluminum's re-rolling mill in Clarksburg is allowing the company to access customers all over the East Coast. The company has worked with the WVEDA from the very beginning and the partnership played a big part in keeping the facility open over the years. In fact, with equipment and facility upgrades through WVEDA financing, Skana Aluminum has gone from 35 to 64 employees and more than doubled its production capacity. Chairman and CEO Tom Testwuide, says that the WVEDA has been a large part of the Clarksburg facility's success over the years. Skana Aluminum is proud to say their product is made in the U.S.A. and made in West Virginia. They believe the programs West Virginia has to offer are not only good but world class. Read more: https://eda.wv.gov/skana-aluminum/   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.  

Richmond's Economic Development Authority is stepping back up to the plate with more funding for the stadium's design; City administrators are looking to move forward with demolishing the dilapidated Richmond Coliseum; and Legend Brewing Co. is attracting suitors for more than just its real estate holdings.

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Monday, March 11  Chester officials welcome Heavy Iron Oilfield Services to #YesWV. Enjoy a concert from your couch with Mountain State Music. And the WV EDA helps Maxxim Manufacturing go from 5 to 100 jobs…on today's daily304. #1 – From HERALD-STAR – Business, government and economic development officials gathered in the state's northernmost city last week to welcome a new company to the area and celebrate the work of almost 13 years. A grand opening was held for Heavy Iron Oilfield Services LP, which recently moved into the Rock Springs Business Park in Chester, once the site of the former Taylor, Smith and Taylor Pottery. The company provides well testing and frac flowback services to the oil and gas industry in the eastern United States. “Today marks a significant milestone,” declared Jacob Keeney, co-executive director of the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle. The BDC announced Heavy Iron Oilfield Services would become the first tenant of the business park almost one year ago, noting the company would be relocating from Canonsburg, Pa. with a plan for approximately 100 jobs made up of existing and new employees. Read more: https://www.heraldstaronline.com/news/local-news/2024/03/heavy-iron-welcomed-to-chester/    #2 – From DAILY304 – The daily304 and Folklore Music Exchange are proud to present Mountain State Music Concert from the Folklore Stage in Charleston, Almost Heaven, West Virginia. This week's guests include Kate Boytek and Samuel James!  Each concert is streamed live on YouTube. It's a concert from your couch! Sit back, relax, and enjoy LIVE music from West Virginia. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdMkn0gTtQ4   #3 – From WV EDA – Years ago, the local manufacturing plant across the street from Shannon Remines, VP of Manufacturing for Maxxim Manufacturing, closed down and their workers were let go. The next day many of the workers showed up at Mr. Remines' door. He didn't have the work for them at the time, but he had just done a deal with the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, so he had the equipment for them to work on. He was able to hire 44 of them on the spot. In 2003, the company started with a small gear shop and, since then, have expanded the size and scope of their work in Brushfork, Mercer County. Among other things, they have a welding shop, a mechanical division doing gearbox repairs, and they do complete equipment rebuilds. “They were there at every turn,” Remines said of the WVEDA. “They can see the return on investment, and they can see the job growth… Going from five jobs to 100 jobs, and I gotta say the Economic Development Authority played a huge part in financing and allowing me to do that.” Read more: https://eda.wv.gov/maxxim-manufacturing/   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.

With a $1 billion manufacturing plant still in the offing in Chesterfield, Lego Group recently kicked off operations at a temporary product packaging facility elsewhere in the county; As the General Assembly prepares to convene for its 2024 session in its brand new building in Richmond next week, the state government is taking a closer look at the overall layout and development potential of Capitol Square; and as design work continues on its anchor baseball stadium, efforts to tee up the first phase of Richmond's Diamond District project are getting a funding boost from the city's Economic Development Authority.

What happens when you take a mid-size metro area and invest nearly $10B in economic development within a few years? You have to transform the workforce to reap the harvest. Anna Chafin as CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Bryan County was a key player in successfully attracting major corporations like Hyundai to I-16 corridor. Years later, the real work begins of preparing a workforce pool to meet the near-term demands of a mammoth investment. In this exclusive conversation, Anna reveals the new organization custom-built to transform a labor economy. Updates on developments in the Coastal GA economy: https://www.savannahjda.com/ Learn more about Sol Insights: ⁠⁠⁠solinsights.com⁠⁠⁠ Follow Good Morning, Market on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@solinsights/⁠⁠⁠ Connect w/ Phillip on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠@phillipscroggin⁠

In this episode, we chat with Christine Joyce, our Purchasing Agent, and Sherry Spring, our Economic Development Director about an exciting initiative coming up in December called the Reverse Vendor Fair. Are you interested in possibly becoming a vendor for Gloucester County? Do you have a business that has the potential to become a partner with Gloucester County Public Schools?Register for our Reverse Vendor Fair! We would love to learn more about what your business has to offer! County departments and school representatives want to learn what you can bring to the table as a vendor! Attend for a chance to win one of two $100 prizes sponsored by the Economic Development Authority. We love supporting local businesses, and we're always adding new ones to our list of partners! The deadline to register is Nov. 30, and you can register by visiting www.gloucesterva.gov. 

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Friday, Aug. 11  Mercer County prepares for $100 million sports complex…a Morgan County couple achieves their dream of opening a trail store (with a little help from WV SBDC)…and, Ho ho ho! Santa Claus is coming to Cass, so get your train tickets in advance…on today's daily304. #1 – From WVVA-TV –  The Mercer County Commission recently held a public hearing regarding a $100 million Economic Development Authority project that is slated to start construction in 2024. The Ridges Sports Complex and Expo Center will be located right off Exit 9 in Princeton. The complex will consist of multiple sports fields;  a commercial area that will welcome retailers, restaurants and lodging; and a parks and recreation area for walking trails, playgrounds and a dog park. The commission voted to approve the land on which The Ridges will be built to be its own economic district. “It's important to note that no taxpayers are going to have their taxes raised,” Economic Development Authority Executive Director John O'Neal said. “The County Commission is not having to dedicate any money out of their budget for this. This allows us to create a district to allow funding to occur based on future dollars created within the district.” Read more: https://www.wvva.com/2023/07/27/massive-100-million-sports-complex-expo-center-coming-mercer-county/ #2 – From WV SBDC –  Trail Depot is the newest outdoor enthusiast spot in Morgan County. Owners Alex Teixeira and Amanda-Hollins Teixeira saw opening the Berkeley Springs store as an opportunity to spread their love and passion for the outdoors with visitors and locals alike.  “We have the opportunity to fill this store with anything and everything we've ever wanted, but we never got ourselves,” said Alex Teixeira.  To help make their dream a reality, the couple reached out to the West Virginia Small Business Development Center and have been working with two business coaches from the  Eastern Panhandle office. “They filled a niche that wasn't being served,” Business Coach Michael Boyd said. “Berkeley Springs is a mecca for weekend visitors and people who love the outdoors. This shop serves that need and elevates the whole experience in Morgan County.” Business Coach Carol Goolsby, who also teaches at Shepherd University, used her unique position in education and business to connect her students to Trail Depot. The students helped the shop with their inventory and merchandise, supply chain, research, marketing, and more.  “It's been a really valuable experience for Amanda and Alex as a small business starting out and a valuable experience for students as well to be able to work with a real business, helping them build and develop to the place they are today,” Goolsby said. Visit Trail Depot on Facebook to learn more about the outfitter. Read more: https://wvsbdc.com/trail-depot-berkeley-springs-first-outdoor-shop/   #3 – From LOOTPRESS – Better hope you made the “nice” list, because Santa Claus is returning to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park this Christmas! The highly anticipated steam-powered journey will depart from the Cass depot, taking passengers on a ride along the scenic Greenbrier River. The excursion is estimated to last between 75 to 90 minutes and will feature beautifully decorated and heated coaches. A limited number of seats will be available inside the historic Chesapeake & Ohio caboose located at the rear of the train, providing a unique and nostalgic experience. Children participating in this magical journey will be in for a treat, as each one will receive a special surprise gift during the ride.  Departures for the Santa Claus train rides will commence on December 1st. For additional information and tickets, visit www.mountainrailwv.com/tour/christmas-at-cass. Read more: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lootpress.com/santa-claus-returning-to-cass-scenic-railroad-in-december/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1691524686296225&usg=AOvVaw1tEFa1YGLulGwWlkVblgbP   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.

Ben McDaniel/Barrow-Braselton Joint Economic Development Authority The Barrow County Economic Development Authority is responsible for the recruitment of new industries and existing industry expansions; manages the local development authorities and the incentive process; responds to state and site selector requests for information (RFI); promotes the county's 270 acre industrial park, known as Park 53, as […] The post Ben McDaniel with Barrow-Braselton Joint Economic Development Authority appeared first on Business RadioX ®.

In this episode of the GovFuture podcast we get the opportunity to interview David Kelley, who is Director, National Business Investment at Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). Fairfax County is located in Northern VA. We discuss how startups and established companies tap into emerging technology opportunities with the government, some ways the FCEDA fosters The post Insights into opportunities for Public and Private Sector Interaction, Interview with David Kelley, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) [GovFuture Podcast] appeared first on GovFuture.

I couldn't resist the “who's suing who” because, yeah, you can't go wrong with Aretha Franklin references. Back on the pod we have Chris Deacon, who is going to give us a rundown of the legal goings-on going on right now that impact self-insured employers, carriers, hospitals, and taxing authorities like cities. Chris breaks down the legal activity into three main categories, and then we discuss some examples of lawsuits in each category. So, here's the outline of our upcoming conversation: 1. Breach of Fiduciary Line of Cases Against Carriers a.    Bricklayers vs Anthem Class Action b.    Mass Laborers vs Blue Cross Blue Shield c.     Member vs Cigna 2. Carrier vs Hospital (upcoding) and Hospital vs Carrier (underpayment) a.    United vs TeamHealth b.    TeamHealth vs United 3. Taxing Authority vs Nonprofit Hospitals a.    Tower Health line of cases in Pennsylvania b.    Pittsburgh vs UPMC This episode itself is a little on the longer side—and I didn't want to edit too many of Chris's words of wisdom—so I'm gonna make this a little bit shorter, this intro. But just one point that I'll make, and this is about the first category of legal activity wherein self-insured employers mostly try to pass the “who is actually the fiduciary” hot potato to carriers, ASOs (administrative services only), and TPAs (third-party administrators). And the carriers, ASOs, and TPAs are like, “It ain't us.” Moving forward here, I'm just gonna say carriers as a catchall for carriers, ASOs, and TPAs to save myself a mouthful. But bottom line on this topic, I just want to underscore something that Chris makes clear later on in the show: Plan sponsors (ie, self-insured employers) are the fiduciary, the sole fiduciary, at least according to the carriers who are getting sued right now. This is the position that you can see them taking in every lawsuit that I have seen. What the carriers say also, as a follow-on, is that if there is any contractual language between the carrier and the employer that violates the CAA (Consolidated Appropriations Act) or any other regulations, it is or was the employer's responsibility to not sign the contract. It's not the carrier's responsibility to point out that there's stuff in their own contract that's in violation for the employer to sign. And this includes contracts that don't give self-insured employers the right to their own data, which is pretty much a rate critical for any and all CAA compliance. As Justin Leader wrote the other day in reference to the bricklayer case, “To get to the point of filing the suit, there was a solid 2 years of failed negotiations [for the bricklayers to get their own claims] data.” Two years trying to get claims data that is necessary for a fiduciary to have from a carrier who is saying essentially, “Good luck with that. You're the ones that signed our contract.” Here's one of Chris Deacon's latest LinkedIn posts about this topic. And here's another one from Jeff Hogan that was interesting. Also, here's the link to the earlier episode with Chris (EP342), where we dive into the deep end on the topic of the CAA, which was signed into law at the beginning of 2022 and states that self-insured employers have certain rights and responsibilities based on their role as the fiduciary of their health plan. For more on the Member vs Cigna case, check out the encore episode with Dawn Cornelis (Encore! EP285). The show with Vikas Saini, MD, and Judith Garber, MPP (EP394) comes up where we talked about hospitals and their charitable giving. And lastly, I mention the show with Suhas Gondi, MD, MBA (EP404) about who is on the board of directors of hospitals, big nonprofit hospitals in particular. My guest in this healthcare podcast, Chris Deacon, is a lawyer by training. She ran the state health plan for the state of New Jersey, which covered about 820,000 public-sector lives. She now has an independent consulting firm, VerSan Consulting.   You can learn more at versanconsulting.com and connect with Chris on LinkedIn. You can also email her at cdeacon@versanconsulting.com.   Chris Deacon has a deep understanding of the fiduciary role health plan administrators hold and should be leveraging in order to drive value for their plan sponsors and members. An attorney by training, Deacon formed VerSan Consulting, LLC, in order to educate and engage employers to be more prudent purchasers of healthcare. From creative procurement methodologies and demanding contracts to population health initiatives and primary care investment, Deacon believes that large employer-sponsored health plans have not only an opportunity but an obligation to drive healthcare transformation that delivers value for the market. Prior to founding VerSan Consulting, Deacon ran one of the largest health plans in the country for the New Jersey Department of Treasury, which covered over 820,000 public-sector lives, including state employees, teachers, and uniformed professionals. During her tenure, Deacon was credited with helping the state save over $3 billion through a number of initiatives, including enhanced oversight, payment integrity programs, procurement strategy, and strict accountability for the vendors with which the state engaged. Deacon has also served as a deputy attorney general and then special counsel to Governor Christie where she oversaw the Department of Banking and Insurance, Economic Development Authority, and Treasury. She holds a JD from Rutgers Law School and bachelor's degree in international affairs from The George Washington University.   04:47 What does the current legal landscape look like, and how does it bode for the future? 07:24 “We need to catch the legal framework up with the current reality.” 19:53 How is this first circuit decision affecting who might be found liable in future cases? 21:38 What happened in the Member vs Cigna case? 24:49 Are we heading in the direction of the employer having fiduciary responsibility? 25:47 What's happening in the Carrier vs Hospital cases? 28:49 Who's really paying the price for the current business practices being examined in court? 30:00 What's happened in the Tower cases?   You can learn more at versanconsulting.com and connect with Chris on LinkedIn. You can also email her at cdeacon@versanconsulting.com.   @VerSan_cdeacon discusses current legal affairs in #healthcare on our #healthcarepodcast. #podcast #digitalhealth #hcmkg #healthcarepricing #pricetransparency #healthcarefinance   Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Dr Vivek Garg, Lauren Vela, Dale Folwell (Encore! EP249), Eric Gallagher, Dr Suhas Gondi, Dr Rachel Reid, Dr Amy Scanlan, Peter J. Neumann, Stacey Richter (EP400), Dawn Cornelis (Encore! EP285)  

Mayor Maddox joins Justice Smyth to discuss the Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority. To stay up-to-date with the City of Tuscaloosa, visit Tuscaloosa.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Nextdoor.

With Tesla enabler Mike Kazmierksi, president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, now stepping down, we went into our archives to hear from different residents of Reno who have felt "Teslafied," in recent years, as in kicked to the curb, now living on the streets due to higher rent prices, gentrification, motels being torn down, inflation ... not directly due to Tesla arriving on the scene with massive tax breaks, but certainly feeling like it was a consequence, and that they were collateral damage.

Bryan McArdle is the Revitalization Manager for the City of Reno. His position involves attracting business and economic activity to Reno, ensuring that we have the available workforce to sustain growth in the area with an increasing quality of life, and building a shared story and vision of what kind of city Reno is and can be. On this week's episode of Renoites, Conor and Bryan talk about what makes Reno a "Goldilocks" city of just the right size, what we can learn from other cities who have taken similar redevelopment and revitalization efforts, how the various districts or neighborhoods in Reno have developed over the years, historical preservation and possible uses of the Lear Theater, the potential impacts of major developments like the Jacob's Entertainment "Neon Line District," and so much more. Bryan has been a business owner in both the Midtown and Riverwalk districts as well as previously serving as Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN). This episode was produced by Conor McQuivey and Lynn Lazaro and recorded at City Hall in Reno, Nevada. If you have feedback or guest suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out! My email address is conor@renoites.com Thank you for listening and telling your friends to listen! Help spread the word about the show, my hope really is that it will be heard and valued by many people in Northern Nevada. I hope you'll also consider supporting financially at http://patreon.com/renoites  

In this conversation, I sat down with Beth Bayouth and Mario Fedelin, the COO and CEO (respectively) of Changeist, a non-profit organization dedicated to youth empowerment. They are building a community of young people that utilize their personal agency to create a more just society.  Changeist's programs help 11-26 year olds learn a common civic language, engage in dialogue, and build community to investigate local and global social justice issues. Participants also work with other local community-based organizations to implement local solutions to local problems. Together, Mario and Beth explore how they met, built a relationship and decided to work on this project together…and how they continue to manage themselves and each other in the entrepreneurship journey.  A few insights we'll unpack about conscious co-founder relationships: The key to a great co-founder relationship is that both of you do not fall apart at the same time! Fighting Well and how Cofounder Intimacy can help: With cofounder intimacy, there is an understanding that often there's something else behind a conflict or a mood. Because when you're close, you tend to know about what's going on or that it's safe to ask. Knowing yourself and your skills The Power of working with someone with a Different Skill Set but Similar Values  On Knowing yourself and your skills, and finding compliments on your core team:  A great leadership team requires Comfort with yourself and your skills and Respect for the skills of others... and it takes Balance - but Balance of what?! On a leadership team you need: + Architects and Visionaries + Multipliers - someone who brings something you do not have to the table, who is also committed to the vision and the journey Another way to think about this is that you need: + A Balance of Openers and Closers on the team. This is the essence of conscious collaboration - knowing if you are more comfortable in a generative or divergent mode, ie, opening, or are more natural in the “Synthesizer” role - organizing, closing, or planning towards action. Mario owns his limitations as a “closer” and intentionally chose Beth as a COO for her natural “shark” skills - her ability to move things forward with clarity. Mario and Beth also talked about their balanced styles in “Speeding up”  and “Slowing Down” creative conversations - Beth will pump the brakes and ground ideas in reality when the time is right. Feeling that balance between creativity and clarity, speed and thoughtfully slowing things down, is the essence of conscious creativity and conscious collaboration…being comfortable with both opening and closing modes is critical, but collaborating with others who complement your natural approaches is powerful. Be sure to check out my other co-founder conversations. I discussed building an Integrity Culture with the co-founders of Huddle, Michale Saloio and Stephanie Golik, and investigated prototyping partnerships with Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke, co-founders of Userlist. (Which Mario and Beth absolutely did, as well!)  I also sat down with Jennifer Dennard and Dan Pupius, the co-founders of Range to unpack Healthy Conflict in Cofounder relationships. Conflict and collisions will inevitably happen in relationships, so you might as well learn to lean into it! You may also enjoy my interview with Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman, the co-authors of the 2015 bestseller, Wired to Create, where we unpack how they managed their working relationship and discuss Paired creativity, which is totally a thing! And if you really want to dive deep into the idea of being a conscious co-founder, make sure to check out my conversation with my friend Doug Erwin, the Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Changeist On Healthy Conflict: https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/managing-healthy-conflict-co-founder-conversations

In this conversation I talk with Jennifer Dennard and Dan Pupius, the co-founders of Range, software that helps teams be more connected, focused, and productive no matter where they're working. Global teams at Twitter, New Relic, CircleCI, and more keep their teams in sync and connected with Range. Jen is the co-founder and COO. Prior to founding Range, Jen led Medium's organizational development team. Jen has partnered and consulted with startups and multinational corporations on empowering autonomous and distributed teamwork. She lives in Colorado with her two cats and husband. Dan is co-founder and CEO of Range. Prior to Range, Dan was Head of Engineering at the publishing platform Medium. And before that he was a Staff Software engineer at Google, where he worked on Gmail, Google+, and a variety of frontend infrastructure. He has an MA in Industrial Design from Sheffield Hallam University and a BSc in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Manchester. In past lives he raced snowboards, jumped out of planes, and lived in the jungle. This is a fairly meta conversation (in the old sense of the word!) since we talked about how Dan and Jen structure their relationship and how they built their company…which is a company that builds software that structures relationships - specifically, effective teams. As Dan outlines, “Human behavior requires structure to facilitate it…in an organization, software provides a lot of architecture, which shapes our behavior, but we're (often) not intentional about that software. The whole theory of Range was… how can we build software that acts as architecture that shapes the behaviors that we believe to be present in effective teams?” My book Good Talk is built around the idea of a Conversation OS, or Operating System.  One element of the Conversation Operating System is error and repair. As Jen says in the opening quote, conflict and collisions will inevitably happen in relationships. Dan suggests that “if you have productive conflict or if you encourage productive conflict, there will be times when you step over the boundary and it's what you do then that is the important thing, in how you recover.” In other words, how you repair the error or breach in the relationship is often more important than the error itself. Many folks shy away from conflict, or hope it never happens. Planning for it and knowing it will happen is a fundamentally different stance, a more effective Error and Repair Operating System. I also love the “reasonable person principle” that Jen and Dan use in their relationship, as long as it never slides into gaslighting. We unpack a lot more great stuff, from uninstalling Holacracy at Medium to the importance of being journey-focused in entrepreneurship relationships, and the power of crafting explicit processes ahead of needing to use them. Dan and Jen are also big believers, like me, in the power of the “check-in''. For example, in my men's group we share in 30 seconds how we're doing emotionally and physically at the start of every group. At Range, it can be as simple as a “green, yellow, red” check-in or as deep as going straight to the question “how are you…really?”  They suggest that baking human connection into each and every meeting is much much more effective than trying to isolate connection into one “vibes” meeting. As with many of my co-founder conversations, there is a common thread of clear roles along with an awareness of and respect for the Venn diagram of skills between the co-founders. Another common thread, as Dan says at the end of our conversation: looking after yourself and attending to yourself is key, because “if you're not in a good state, you can't be a good teammate and you definitely can't be a good leader.” Be sure to check out my other co-founder conversations. I discussed building an Integrity Culture with the co-founders of Huddle, Michale Saloio and Stephanie Golik, and investigated prototyping partnerships with Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke, co-founders of Userlist.  You may also enjoy my interview with Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman, the co-authors of the 2015 bestseller, Wired to Create, where we unpack how they managed their working relationship. Paired creativity is a thing! And if you really want to dive deep into the idea of being a conscious co-founder, make sure to check out my conversation with my friend Doug Erwin, the Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Range Lawrence Lessig's Pathetic Dot theory Daniel Coyle's Belonging Cues: Belonging cues are non-verbal signals that humans use to create safe connections in groups. The three basic qualities of belonging cues are 1) the energy invested in the exchange, 2) valuing individuals, and 3) signaling that the relationship will sustain in the future. Kegan's Levels, specifically, Stage 4 — Self-Authoring mind Lead Time Chats

In this conversation, I sit down with Huddle Co-Founders Stephanie Golik and Michael Saloio. Huddle is a platform for designers and builders to invest in startups with their time.  Stephanie has spent her career building alongside founders at studios and leading design and product at fast-growing tech companies. She was an early design leader at Cruise, building user experiences for self-driving cars. Before that, Steph was Head of Product at Mapfit (acq. by Foursquare). She's a proud Cuban-American born, raised and currently residing in Miami. Michael is a product and team-focused entrepreneur and investor. He's spent his career working with technology executives and investors. As an investment analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., he followed some of the biggest names in technology including Cisco, EMC, and Apple. Prior to Oppenheimer, Mike covered special situations at Sidoti & Co. Over the past five years, Michael reimagined his career to focus on early-stage businesses. He was the first employee at SuperPhone, a messaging application backed by Ben Horowitz, Betaworks, Bessemer, and more. Since 2014 he has consulted with, invested in, or advised more than 35 startups that have raised more than $200M in venture financing. I met Michael years ago and have tracked his rise…when I saw that his latest venture raised 3.3M and was a co-founded company, I reconnected to include him in my co-founder conversations series. My question throughout this series has been simple - what does it take to build and sustain a powerful co-founder relationship?  Michael and Stephanie shared some of the insights and principles that helped them do exactly that. The biggest aha was the umbrella concept of an Integrity Culture, and how many powerful values fall into place with a focus on Integrity. As Michael points out, it's not just “I do what I say I will” it's also about a culture of Coaching and Feedback to help everyone right-size their commitments and to give themselves (and others) feedback along the way when they find themselves falling short. Stephanie and Michael share a conversation format that they use over the course of each week to keep their team on track and in integrity! Integrity Culture also implicates one of my favorite words: Interoception, a concept I learned from Food Coach Alissa Rumsey. Michael and Stephanie's vision of an integrity culture is one where you commit to a thing because you are intrinsically motivated to do it, not through force or pressure…you self-select the thing you are going to do. And that means you know what you want! Interoception is the ability to feel and know your inner state.  Some additional keys to a powerful co-founder relationship that line up with the other conversations in this series are the ability to have Healthy Conflict (rather than an unhealthy “peace”) and the regular asking and giving of generous and generative deep feedback. One other insight that was fresh for me in this conversation was Michael's idea of a good co-founder relationship as one that is “Energy Producing” vs. energy sucking. A powerful co-founder relationship is like a flywheel - the more energy you invest into it, the more energy it throws off. Be sure to check out my other co-founder conversations, like this episode with Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke, co-founders of Userlist, on how they connected through shared communities and learned how each other really worked through real-world, previous projects. You may also enjoy my interview with Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman, the co-authors of the 2015 bestseller, Wired to Create, where we unpack how they managed their working relationship. And if you really want to dive deep into the idea of being a conscious co-founder, make sure to check out my conversation with my friend Doug Erwin, the Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes  and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Huddle website

On today's show:* Charlottesville's Economic Development Authority agrees to rent a space in York Place for a public restroom for the Downtown Mall * Charlottesville is looking for a new person to run the city's Police Civilian Oversight Board * Ground is broken on the University of Virginia's new hotel and conference center on Emmet Street* The opening and closing films of the 35th annual Virginia Film Festival are announced and tickets go on sale next week This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In this conversation, I dive into the nuances of co-founder relationships with Clarity.so co-founders Richie Bonilla, CEO and Eni Jaupi, CTO. Clarity.so is a y-combinator funded startup that has built a groundbreaking DAO contribution platform. DAO stands for Decentralized, Autonomous Organization, which you should totally google if you want to know more.  While Clarity isn't a DAO, you can see how the radical transparency that is at the heart and spirit of the cryptocurrency movement is also at the core of Richie and Eni's relationship. I mean, it's also the name of the company! Like a few of the other conscious co-founder interviews I've been doing, these two co-founders prototyped their working relationship before jumping into their company together, which helped them build a foundation of trust and respect. They also talked a lot. Like A LOT before even starting the company. Starting with a few times a week, they gradually transitioned to talking for at least an hour, daily, for a year. What this conversation re-established for me was that it's important to have agenda-ed conversations, and it's also very important to have stream-of-consciousness, unagendaed conversations, too. Generally speaking, we're great at structure, and less good at making space for wondering and wandering. For more on the power of wondering and wandering, make sure to check out my interview with Natalie Nixon. Be sure to check out my conversation with Jane Portman and Benedikt Deicke, co-founders of Userlist, on how they connected through shared communities and learned how each other really worked through real-world, previous projects. You may also enjoy my interview with Carolyn Gregoire and Scott Barry Kaufman, the co-authors of the 2015 bestseller, Wired to Create, where we unpack how they managed their working relationship. And if you really want to dive deep into the idea of being a conscious co-founder, make sure to check out my conversation with my friend Doug Erwin, the Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes  and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links Clarity.so

Governor Youngkin seeks tax refunds in next year’s budget The University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors holds a retreat tomorrowA new hotel at the Darden School of Business is halfway completedAlbemarle County’s Economic Development Authority approves grants for two area nonprofit groups This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In this conversation, I sat down with my friend Doug Erwin, the Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. Doug is a former serial entrepreneur turned economic developer and executive coach, and he's committed to growing Northern Nevada's startup and technology ecosystem. His community work has helped change the perception of Reno and lay the foundation for future generations of entrepreneurs to thrive in the region. Doug is proud to support entrepreneurs as they embark upon their own journeys.    Doug shares, with great clarity, vulnerability and humility, his entrepreneurial journey and some key lessons he's learned along the way. I invited Doug to have a conversation with me about what it might mean to be a conscious cofounder, given Doug's personal work on mindfulness. Towards the end of the conversation, we arrive at the idea that we are our own most important cofounder - the conversations we have with ourselves will either lead us to lean into or turn away from challenging conversations with our cofounders. And with the lens of Triple Loop Learning, we can start to create better cofounder relationships, not just with better contracts and financial structures, but from our way of being. The basic metaphor is this: Work is a relationship. And relationships are made of conversations. And you can hear this in Doug's description of a company as a “rebound startup” or talking about startups like a marriage. And just like in personal relationships, sometimes, as Doug says, people want to turn away from the discomfort of having difficult conversations. Doug mentioned research about splits among founders and how it related to the future success of the company. I did a bit of digging and... It's counter-intuitive, that a startup with equal distributions is a red flag to investors, and that such a company is more likely to fail. Doug suggests that unequal distributions are proof that the founders have had some hard conversations - which is a key skill in work and life. However, roughly three out of four startups decide to split the business equally when they start up. One of the main issues with this approach isn't a question of HOW to make the split, but WHEN. A 2016 HBR article suggests that founders should wait to split shares until later, co-creating rules to determine the value of various contributions. (I recommend the book Slicing the Pie!). The HBR authors suggest that “teams that negotiate longer are more likely to decide on an unequal split: the harder you look, the more likely you are to discover important differences. More generally, [they] argue that if cofounders haven't learned something surprising about each other from their dialogue, they probably haven't engaged in a serious enough discussion yet.” The HBR article suggests that a hastily created equal split will sour over time - the percentage of founders who are unhappy with their split increases by 2.5x as their startups mature. That discontent can lead to rapid turnover, which can be problematic. Another study, led by Professor David Noack, Executive Director of the Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center at the Goddard School of Business and Economics at Utah's Weber State University suggests that an equal split, especially in early-stage companies, has another unexpected effect - making it unclear who's driving the bus. According to Professor Noack's research, if no one feels that they have ownership and responsibility, no one takes the wheel, which has a real effect:  Companies with an unequal split were 21.7% more likely than other firms to be up and running a year later. And just like in a marriage, having a “pre-nup” conversation can be awkward, even when people know the data about divorce.  While it's uncomfortable to do so, hosting a conversation to explore all the negative scenarios that might occur in the future, with corresponding actions to help avoid them, can help founders avoid headaches later on…and increase startups' chances of success. This is a conversation worth listening to…And I'm excited to share it with you! Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes, and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders. Links EDAWN - Startup Reno Growth Pioneers Podcast

Today's 5-Star Guest is Karen Lauer, Director of Barnesville, Minnesota's Economic Development Authority and Executive Director of the Barnesville Area Community Fund. Visit Barnesville, MN:  https://www.barnesvillemn.com/Connect with the Barnesville Area Community Fund:  https://www.barnesvilleareacommunityfund.com/Support This Podcast! Make a quick and easy donation here:https://www.patreon.com/dogoodbetterSpecial THANK YOU to our sponsors:Donor Dock - The best CRM system for your small to medium sized nonprofit, hands down! Visit www.DonorDock.com and use the Promo Code DOGOODBETTER for a FREE month!One Cause - The most intuitive event and online fundraising software available! Visit www.OneCause.com to help make your busy event-planning life less stressful and more successful!Brady Martz - The Nonprofit Audit Specialists! Visit www.BradyMartz.com to connect with folks to make your fiscal life a heckuvalot easier!iTunes: https://apple.co/3a3XenfSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2PlqRXsYouTube: https://bit.ly/3kaWYanTunein: http://tun.in/pjIVtStitcher: https://bit.ly/3i8jfDRFollow On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoodBetterPodcast/Follow On Twitter: @consulting_do #fundraising #fundraiser #charity #nonprofit #donate#dogood #dogoodBETTER #fargo #fundraisingdadAbout Host Patrick Kirby:Email: Patrick@dogoodbetterconsulting.comLinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fundraisingdad/Want more great advice? Buy Patrick's book! Now also available as an e-book!Fundraise Awesomer! A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing GoodAvailable through Amazon Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1072070359

We are now half of the way through a month that some may consider half way through the year. Many of these observations are arbitrary, but it is definitively June 15, 2022 and this is the equivalent installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement. What shall we learn today? Stay tuned and let me know if you did. On today’s program:The Charlottesville Economic Development Authority learns more about the city’s lease for space the S&P Global building downtown A key document for the third phase of the Cville Plans Together initiative will be released tomorrowA major toy manufacturer is set to open a factory in Chesterfield providing over 1,700 jobsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues a warning on “forever chemicals” in drinking waterAnd the Charlottesville Planning Commission recommends a special use permit for 11 homes in the section of the Belmont neighborhood inside a mixed-use urban zoning district First shout-out: The Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign It’s getting very close to the technical end of springtime, and one Patreon subscriber wants you to know the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign is a grassroots initiative of motivated citizens, volunteers, partner organizations, and local governments who want to promote the use of native plants. Did you know that National Pollinator Week is June 20th-26th this year? There are many ways to celebrate and learn more about our native pollinators, and here's a great one to start with:Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is hosting an in-person/virtual Pollinator Power Symposium on June 23rd, and there is an excellent line up of speakers scheduled for the day! There are plenty of resources on the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Facebook page, so sign up to be notified of lectures, plant sales, and more! City details terms of S&P Global’s lease for downtown buildingCharlottesville’s Office of Community Solutions continues to review leases the city has with third parties who rent space. Council held a work session on the topic in May and learned that until now there was no central place in city government entrusted with keeping track of leases for about 145,275 square feet of floor space and about 50 acres under ground lease. (view the presentation)One of those buildings is a five-story structure currently occupied by a branch of S&P Global, an international company that does research into economic and business issues. According to the May presentation, the city’s Economic Development Authority takes in $240,000 annually in rent but the property’s market value could be as high as $1.58 million. “The S&P Global building started its life as the National Ground Intelligence Center,” said Chris Engel, the city’s economic development director. “Essentially it was built in the 60’s by the federal government and occupied by the Army.” In the 1990’s, NGIC moved to a larger and more secure location at the Rivanna Station in northern Albemarle County. “At that time the city was concerned about the loss of activity that building created and went and petitioned the federal government and the General Services Administration to have them gift the building to the city,” Engel said. The city entered into a lease with the Economic Development Authority and the EDA offered a 30-year lease to a company that used to be called SNL Financial, which then took the space to consolidate its offices into one place rather than be scattered across multiple locations. A company that would later be renamed S&P Global purchased the company in July 2015 for $2.2 billion. Engel said the EDA’s lease with S&P Global is about two thirds of the way through. “The way the lease is structured is that all the burden is on them to manage the facility and maintain the facility, everything,” Engel said. “We essentially do nothing from a physical standpoint.” Engel said S&P Global has earned upfit credits for about $9 million worth of investments put into the building at the beginning of the lease. “Those credits are nearly running out,” Engel said. “Those credits are nearly running out. They’re not quite all the way run out. They have actually just qualified for about $3.5 million in additional rent credits. They replaced the boilers. They replaced the roof, the chiling system, the elevator system. They added fire protection.”When the credits do run out, Engel said S&P Global will pay closer to market rate. Council will have a further discussion on city-managed leases.Charlottesville’s zoning rewrite is about to enter next phaseOn Thursday, the city will publish a document intended to set the stage for the final portion of the Cville Plans Together initiative.“So this is the diagnostic and approach report,” said James Freas, the city’s director of neighborhood development services. Freas briefed the Charlottesville Planning Commission at the beginning of their meeting on Tuesday. An open house to explain the event will be held on June 27 at the Charlottesville Pavilion, an event for which Freas said the city would validate parking. “We look forward to a lot of conversations with the community, with all of you, and whoever else chooses to show up at that meeting,” Freas said.The new zoning code is expected to make it easier for more dense development in the city. That’s a major goal of the new Comprehensive Plan adopted by Council last November. The zoning rewrite may also offer more guidance for rules and regulations about housing affordability. Direction for that comes from the Affordable Housing Plan adopted by Council in March 2021. “This first report kicks off our three-step process for the zoning rewrite,” Freas said. “As I’ve referred to it before, this is kind of the conceptual plan of the new zoning ordinance and it lays out the ideas. It talks about what we need to do to change our zoning ordinance in order to advance implementation of the affordable housing plan.” A joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission will be held in September to confirm the next steps in writing up the new ordinance. A first draft will be the second step, followed by a review of a final draft next spring. In May, Planning Commissioner Hosea Mitchell got a preview at the closed-door meeting of the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee that consists of top planning staff from Albemarle, Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia. “The rewrite of our code is not form-based code but as Mr. Freas mentioned a couple of times, it does contain form-based elements,” Mitchell said.In general, form-based code refers to a series of rules and regulations to govern building envelopes. We’ll hear much more about these details as the conversation continues. Meanwhile, there is an active lawsuit in Charlottesville Circuit Court against the City Council for adopting the Comprehensive Plan. Among other things, that suit argues that the city failed to provide a transportation plan. There’s a hearing on July 15 on a motion to force the plaintiffs to identify themselves, followed by another hearing on August 26.See also:Anonymous group of city property owners files suit against Comprehensive Plan adoption, January 12, 2022Charlottesville served with suit against the Comprehensive Plan, March 20, 2022City responds to Comprehensive Plan lawsuit, April 12, 2022Charlottesville zoning info slightly delayed, May 13, 2022Environmental Protection Agency sounds warning about PFAS in drinking waterThe United States Environmental Protection Agency today has issued four advisories on the potential for “forever chemicals” in water supplies. The term PFAS covers per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances which are used in the manufacture of many products people use every day such as non-stick cookware, food packaging, electronics, and more. These substances do not break down and can accumulate in the human body and blood over many years and have been linked to cancer and diseases that affect the immune system. The four advisories are for specific substances.“The updated advisory levels [for PFOA and PFOS], which are based on new science and consider lifetime exposure, indicate that some negative health effects may occur with concentrations of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero and below EPA’s ability to detect at this time,” reads a press release announcing the steps. “The lower the level of PFOA and PFOS, the lower the risk to public health.”This fall, the EPA will issue new regulations on drinking water related to PFAS. There’s also $1 billion in funding for states and localities to install equipment in drinking water supplies to filter out the substances. The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority has applied for a $21 million grant to remove the contaminants by upgrading filtration systems, according to the May agenda. Youngkin announces LEGO factory in ChesterfieldWill everything be awesome in Chesterfield County’s near future? Governor Glenn Youngkin has announced that the LEGO Group will open a 1.7 million square foot manufacturing plant in Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park.“This transformational project will create more than 1,760 jobs and bolster Virginia's manufacturing industry, which continues its renaissance with major investments by high-caliber corporate partners like the LEGO Group,” Youngkin is quoted in a news release. The $1 billion investment is spurred by $56 million from the state’s Major Employment and Investment Project grant program. Such a fund has been established by the General Assembly  and that figure depends on LEGO providing every one of those jobs. There’s also another potential for $19 million in state funding for site development costs that will require approval by the legislature. The LEGO Company was founded in 1932 and remains a family run company headquartered in Denmark. Their primary product is plastic construction blocks. “These cherished play experiences are being made in factories across the world, keeping up with the continuously high demand and soon they’ll be manufactured right here in Virginia,” says the narrator of an announcement on a new website for people who’d like to work thereApplications for positions will be taken later this year and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership will use the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program to recruit potential applicants. Second shout-out is for LEAP’s new Thermalize Virginia program In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out: Have you been thinking of converting your fossil-fuel appliances and furnaces into something that will help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Your local energy nonprofit, LEAP,  has launched a new program to guide you through the steps toward electrifying your home. Thermalize Virginia will help you understand electrification and connect you with vetted contractors to get the work done and help you find any rebates or discounts. Visit thermalizeva.org to learn more and to sign up!  Planning Commission recommends approval of 11 units at 1000 Monticello Road The Charlottesville Planning Commission has recommended approval of a special use permit for additional density at 1000 Monticello Road in the Belmont neighborhood that would allow for 11 units and a small commercial space on the ground floor.A split City Council denied a similar permit in February 2021 with the majority expressing concern about adverse impacts on the neighborhood. At the time, five of the units were being proffered as affordable to households and individuals whose incomes at around 65 percent of the area’s median. This time around, two additional units would be restricted to tenants at 80 percent of the area median income. Neither is required by existing city code.“This project does not trip the standard in Section 34-12 of our zoning ordinance, the requirement for affordable housing, so this condition is offered by the applicant above and beyond what is required under our code,” said city planner Brian Haluska. The property in question already has an apartment building with 23 units that was purchased by Core Real Estate and Development in January 2018 and then sold to Piedmont Realty Holdings a year later. The special use permit is required for additional residential units on the 0.81 acre property. An existing curb cut into a parking lot would be removed. “The proposed new building footprint, which will house 11 units and a small commercial tenant space, is proposed directly adjacent to the existing building fronting along Monticello Road,” said Kelsey Schlein with Shimp Engineering.  (view the presentation)Schlein said the project has been brought back because Council adopted both an Affordable Housing Plan and a Comprehensive Plan that calls for more housing. “The purpose of the land use section of the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Plan states that ‘land use policies shape where housing is located, what housing looks like, and how much housing is built,’” Schlein said. Schlein said in this case, the developer would not be seeking any city funds to help subsidize the development. She added the site is within walking distance to eight bus stops, is an example of infill development. The length of the affordability period is at issue. The developer is offering the below market rates for ten years, but the city wants more.“I think a 30 year period would be more in  line with city policy and then also the lack of mention of a willingness to accept vouchers,” said Alex Ikefuna, the interim director of the Office of Community Solutions. The last time this project was before Charlottesville officials, there were several speakers who argued the special use permit should be denied because the rents at 1000 Monticello Road were increased. Schein said the current owner should not be punished. “There was a longtime owner, and then there was a short-term owner, and now we have this third owner in place who has been in place since 2018,” Schlein said. “During the short-term owner… I believe 11 of the units had already gone to a rental rate that somewhat more of a market rate.” Schlein said there are six tenants left at 1000 Monticello Road who are renting below market rate. She said the project would take federal housing vouchers. She said she knows the city would like to see longer terms, but her interpretation of the Affordable Housing Plan is that those would be triggered by the acceptance of public funds. “When an applicant utilizes city funds, there should be a standard by which they adhere to,” Schlein said. “In this case, ten years is what we can commit to on this project.” Councilor Michael Payne voted against the proposal the first time and said he wanted it to be known that Piedmont Holding has displaced some of the former owners. Only one person spoke at the public hearing. Brandon Collins worked for the Public Housing Association of Residents when this permit was last before the city. He now works for a government entity but last night he said he was speaking for himself. “As it stands I’m going to ask you to deny this special use permit for this property,” Collins said. “A special use permit is going outside of your existing rules. The property is already outside of your existing rules and in order to do so you have to show that there’s a benefit to the community and that there’s not a negative impact on the community and I think it’s really crass to hear the development team talk about their commitment to affordable housing and affordable housing crisis when this exact property has contributed to the crisis in Charlottesville when it comes to affordability.” However, the Commission recommended approval. “I do think it is a good infill proposal,” said Commissioner Karim Habbab. “I do like the commercial. I think something creative can happen there to extend that Downtown Belmont feeling.” “I’m of the opinion that this is a good project,” said Commissioner Rory Stolzenberg. “Certainly if you look at it in a vacuum ignoring the site its possibly the best possible project you can imagine. It’s replacing a redundant driveway and curb cut with 11 units of housing, seven of which are affordable.” Stolzenberg pointed out that Council is not permitted by law to consider previous actions by previous owners, or the current one, as it considers the permit. “If we’re denying those homes as punishment to the property owner, when does that punishment end?” Stolzenberg asked. The Council recommended the special use permit on a 5-1 vote with Commissioner Jody Lahendro voting no and Commissioner Taneia Dowell not present. Charlottesville Community Engagement is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Ting will match your initial payment! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

If there's one trait common to most humans, it's curiosity. We seem to have an instinctive need to ask questions, and to explore new ideas. However, this trait is not aways distributed evenly. Some people are very curious, constantly seeking out new avenues to learn and grow, while others seem to lack the trait entirely. So what happens when you actively start cultivating your curiosity? In today's episode of https://therealdarius.com/the-greatness-machine-series/ (The Greatness Machine,) Darius tries to answer that very question with the help of his guest, Doug Erwin, Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN). Doug is a serial entrepreneur turned nonprofit executive and is dedicated to growing Northern Nevada's startup and technology ecosystems as well as supporting entrepreneurs on their own journeys.  He's founded six companies in the eCommerce, software development, medical diagnostics, and consumer products manufacturing spaces before dedicating his full-time efforts to EDAWN. He's also experienced first-hand the highs and lows of starting and running businesses, managing investors and partners, and balancing his family, himself, and his career. In this episode you'll discover: The journey Doug took to discover spirituality. How cultivating curiosity changed him as a person. The importance of facing unresolved issues in life. Join Darius and Doug for this fascinating conversation into the life-changing power of curiosity. Enjoy! What You'll Learn in this Show: How Doug discovered spirituality and the journey he took to get there. How cultivating curiosity changed him as a person. The importance of facing unresolved issues in life. And so much more... Resources: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasrerwin/ (Doug's LinkedIn) http://edawn.org (EDAWN website) https://therealdarius.com/the-greatness-machine-series/ (Community) https://www.dariusclass.com/training-video (ScaleMAP video) https://therealdarius.com/book-order/ (The Core Value Equation book) https://therealdarius.com (The Real Darius) https://www.facebook.com/therealdariusm/ (Facebook) https://www.instagram.com/whoompdarius/ (Instagram) https://therealdarius.com/YT (YouTube) https://twitter.com/kingdarius (Twitter) https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/ (LinkedIn) This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States of America remains among the most attractive destinations for business and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is seeking to attract international business to base their operation there. Juhi Naithani, the representative of FCEDA, explains Vickram Bahl what is on offer and why Indian businesses, both small and big, should consider setting up a base there. - What does Fairfax County and FCEDA offer international business? - On what services does FCDEA offer for free for international business. - In which areas are there opportunities for international business to set up there? 05:23 Are free of charges services available to all sizes of investments? - Is it a challenge that Fairfax county is among the more expensive places to operate in the US? - What is on offer for SMEs and start-ups from India? - On the India office for Indians to connect with FCEDA for services. - On the advantage of accessing the entire United States market via Fairfax. www.itmn.tv Disclaimer : The information provided by the guest and anchor are for general purposes only. The producer and the anchor are not responsible for the views expressed nor make any representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the information provided.

Today begins the final week of the month as well as the last four days of 2022’s first quarter. There are so many ways to order time and to order our affairs as human beings as we move through a world that may or may not make sense, depending on how you count. I’m Sean Tubbs, I provide information on a regular basis in each installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement to describe a few of the things that have happened so far. Charlottesville Community Engagement is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.On today’s show:The area’s transportation decision-making body wants a future pedestrian bridge to connect Pantops with the Broadway Blueprint The University of Virginia’s School of Architecture hires its first Associate Dean for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and InclusionUVA no longer requires masks in classrooms, and an update on the COVID-19 pandemic Today’s first shout-out goes to WTJUAlgorithms know how to put songs and artists together based on genre or beats per minute. But only people can make connections that engage your mind and warm your heart. The music on WTJU 91.1 FM is chosen by dozens and dozens of volunteer hosts -- music lovers like you who live right here in the Charlottesville area. Listener donations keep WTJU alive and thriving. In this era of algorithm-driven everything, go against the grain. Support freeform community radio on WTJU and get ready for the station’s 65th anniversary this Friday, April 1! Consider a donation at wtju.net/donateCOVID-19 update: Masks now optional in UVA classroomsToday marks the end of the mask requirements in classrooms at the University of Virginia, but people are still asked to carry one in case they are asked to by someone else. “As we navigate the shift to most settings being mask-optional, we are encouraging everyone to treat each other with respect and common courtesy,” reads a March 25 email from Provost Ian Baucom and Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis. The Centers for Disease Control now regard the COVID-19 Community Level to be low for Albemarle County and Charlottesville. This morning the Virginia Department of Health reports another 1,340 new cases and the seven-day average for percent positivity is now at 3.3 percent. There is a subvariant of the Omicron virus that is leading to new surges across the world including Hong Kong. That’s a place where Dr. Costi Sifri of the UVA Health System said has not yet experienced much community spread because of an early zero tolerance policy.“It is causing significant stress to their health system,” Sifri said. “There is this view that Omicron is less virulent than other COVID variants.”However, Dr. Sifri said that Hong Kong also has low vaccine rates providing a population base through which the Omicron subvariant can spread. “Here in the United States we’re seeing an increasing amount of B.A.2, the sister subvariant of the original Omicron strain,” Dr. Sifri said. “It’s growing in proportion nationwide. In our region it’s about 30 to 35 percent or so of all isolates.”Dr. Sifri said this subvariant is not as virulent, but does appear to be more transmissible and that it will become the dominant strain in a matter of weeks. Dr. Sifri said a local spike could happen as mask requirements are dropped and as more social gatherings.“I don’t think that’s guaranteed so I think there is also a possibility we could just reach a plateau at least for the near-term,”  Dr. Sifri said. “And of course, things may change if there is a new variant that emerges somewhere in the world that is able to essentially escape the protection that boosters and vaccinations have provided.”As of today, 72.7 percent of Virginians are fully vaccinated, but only 2.9 million booster doses have been administered. There’s still no word yet on whether an additional dose will be needed for the general population or just those who are at higher risk of developing a virulent infection.There are 76 new cases in the Blue Ridge Health District today. On March 16ths, Last week, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted to end the local COVID emergency, paving the way for in-person meetings beginning next week with the Albemarle Board of Supervisors.UVA School of Architecture hires Associate Dean for equity and inclusionThe School of Architecture at the University of Virginia has hired its first ever Associate Dean for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. C.L. Bohannon will take the position in late July as he also joins the faculty as an Associate Professor in the Landscape Architecture Department. Bohannon is currently the interim director of the School of Architecture and Design at Virginia Tech, as well as founder and director of the Community Engagement Lab. “I am enthusiastic to collaborate with faculty, students, staff, and communities across the Commonwealth as we contend with long-standing socio-environmental inequalities,” Bohannon said in a news release on the School of Architecture’s website. “I believe that as creative practitioners, we have the necessary critical and creative tools to redress harms that have come from design and planning and that we can work with congruent integrity and practice.”The Community Engagement Lab will come with Bohannon to UVA. Second shout-out goes to a March 29 event happening at MorvenIn today’s second subscriber supported shout-out, the Morven Summer Institute at Morven Farm wants you to know about a seminar coming up on March 29. How are UVA students, faculty, and community partners collaborating to tell the stories of Morven? Researcher Scot French has spent over ten years studying Morven’s history and will provide glimpses into a course he’ll be teaching this summer on Recovering the Stories of Morven’s Enslaved and Descendant Communities.  The March 29 event is a chance for the public to get a preview of the four week course. If you’re interested, visit morven.virginia.edu to fill out an interest form. MPO selects Broadway Avenue / East Market location for pedestrian bridgeIf a bridge to cross the Rivanna River between Albemarle County and the Woolen Mills is ever built, the western end will be connected to East Market Street rather than Riverview Park. “It seems to me that the connection at the East Market Street provides an additional value or return on the investment in that it is connecting two activity centers from Pantops over to what’s being planned in that Broadway corridor,” said Albemarle Supervisor Ned Gallaway, the chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Board.Transportation staff with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission are working on an application for Smart Scale funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation for the project, which would have an eastern landing just to the west of the former State Farm regional headquarters. The MPO Policy Board voted 4-1 on March 24 to choose an alignment that would land at East Market Street. This alternative is more expensive with a preliminary cost estimate of $15.3 million compared to $11.3 million for the Chesapeake Street alignment. They also discussed whether the bridge should be “cable-stayed” or should be built on a “truss.” bridge. A cable-stayed bridge would require more maintenance, and there are questions about who would be responsible for the cost. “When we’re looking at new projects, we generally don’t try to promote or support projects that would provide an increased cost for maintenance when it’s not strictly necessary,” said Sean Nelson, the district engineer for VDOT’s Culpeper District. Nelson said if the cable-stayed bridge was selected, the localities would be asked to cover the additional maintenance. Albemarle Supervisor Ann Mallek wanted to know if that might affect the project’s Smart Scale score.“Getting something approved is my highest priority and I want to make sure that we are thinking about that rather than asking for the beautiful, blue crystal slipper,” Mallek said. “ Are we then not getting something at all then if we applied for the work boot?” The group opted to proceed with a truss bridge. No matter the type of bridge, the East Market / Broadway bridge would have two spans connected with a pier.City Councilor Brian Pinkston was the lone vote in favor of the Chesapeake Street option.“To me, if the least expensive, more likely to occur option is to have it at the park on the northern side,” Pinkston said. A majority of people on a stakeholder committee favored the Chesapeake Street option, as did the MPO-Technical Committee. More information needs to be gathered as part of a necessary environmental review and that will be gathered as the application is finalized. This includes impacts on historic sites well as the impact on the floodway. Nelson said one of the sites would provide more room for flexibility if the design needed to be amended to take into account potential impacts. “The Woolen Mills location there [are] more opportunities to mitigate at that location then at the other location,” Nelson said. Mallek said she supported the Woolen Mills option because of the county’s planning work. “There are things in the Broadway corridor which the county has been planning and working on for several years including more sidewalk connections and improvement of the connector road which would also benefit users of the bridge,” Mallek said. After Mayor Lloyd Snook offered his opinion, one member of the public who was on the call expressed their opinion.“I would vote for the southernmost route, the route that goes down to East Market,” Snook said. “Unbelievable,” said an unidentified voice in what may be one of the last awkward moments of the Zoom era of public meetings. Before the vote, nearby resident Jenny Milulski said she would have supported either option, but wanted the MPO to take Albemarle’s economic development planning efforts into account. “I just wanted to voice my enthusiasm for considering this project in tandem with the Broadway economic development plan,” Milukski said.The Albemarle Board of Supervisors recently received information about the Broadway Blueprint and the Economic Development Authority had a conversation about the document earlier this month (read the final study) Mikulski said the bridge would transform the way she thinks about where she lives.“For example it would only be a 1.5 mile walk from my house to the Kluge-Ruhe Museum,” Mikulski said. Currently that would be a three mile walk. Preliminary Smart Scale applications are due by the end of the month. A final application is due on August 1. The rankings will be released in late January. Support Town Crier Productions!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

The name of today is also a command. March Forth! The world has changed a lot in the past several years, and it will change again as our future quickly becomes history. With so many potential choices and pathways, sometimes all you can do is march forth, and today is a good day to ponder what that all may mean. This is Charlottesville Community Engagement and I’m your host Sean Tubbs, fervently hoping that you will find your way. Sign up to get every edition in your inbox!On today’s program:Area transportation planners are submitting three projects to VDOT to improve the Fifth Street Corridor in both Albemarle County and CharlottesvilleRiverbend Development has filed plans for a mixed-use community near the intersection of U.S. 29 and Interstate 64Another update  on the waning of the omicron surgeAlbemarle County may soon return to in-person meetings Today’s first shout-out goes to Mulch MadnessIn today’s first subscriber-supported shout-out, are you ready for Mulch Madness? The Rivanna Solid Waste Authority has a free mulch giveaway beginning tomorrow through April 16. In between all the big games, the RSWA wants you to get your yard ready for spring. If you have a way to transport mulch, head on over to the Ivy Material Utilization Center between 7:30am and 4:00pm, Monday through Saturday, where you can pick up up to two tons free. Rivanna staff are available to help load, but ask that you bring a covering. Mulch is double ground and derived from vegetative materials brought to Ivy for disposal. That’s Mulch Madness at the Ivy Material Utilization Center. Visit rivanna.org to learn more.Pandemic update: Omicron continues slow declineThe Omicron surge of COVID-19 that began in mid-December continues to slowly recede. Today the Virginia Department of Health reports a seven-day percent positivity of 7.2 and the seven-average of new cases is 1,326. In the Blue Ridge Health District, there are 81 new cases reported today and the percent positivity is 7 percent. Dr. Costi Sifri is the director of hospital epidemiology at the University of Virginia Health System and he said he expects the numbers to remain on a steady decline, but people should remain vigilant. “I think we can anticipate that in the spring and hopefully the summer, COVID is going to be much less of an issue for us on a day-to-day basis,” Dr. Sifri said. “But we should anticipate that it could come back.”Dr. Sifri said there are no new variants of concern on the horizon, but a substrain of omicron continues to spread. He said monitoring efforts must continue and also be strengthened. “The genome surveillance systems around the country and around the world have continued to improve,” Dr. Sifri said. “There needs to be continued investment in those to beef those up so that we can have better early warning signals for variants of concern.” This week a new law went into effect allowing parents and guardians let their children opt out of mask mandates in public schools. The Centers for Disease Control lists this region as having a high level of transmission. “It seems very prudent to me that students continue to mask indoors until those case counts come down to a low level,” Dr. Sifri said.Tonight, the UVA Medical Center’s South Tower will be illuminated in blue and yellow to support members of the community who are affected by the Putin administration’s invasion of Ukraine. That will continue on Saturday and Sunday night. Dr. Sifri called the invasion a humanitarian catastrophe that could be compounded by COVID. “I do think about the intersection between the pandemic and what is occurring with displaced peoples,” Dr. Sifri said. “Ukraine has a populace that is I think only 40 percent vaccinated and they are having to flee their country and their cities and their homes on buses and trains and we can anticipate will be living in challenging situations with multifamily settings and the opportunities in that setting for infectious disease like COVID are tremendous.”Dr. Sifri said the world’s response to COVID as well as other challenges speaks to the need to be prepared for crisis before it happens. Albemarle Supervisors briefed on eventual end of the local COVID emergencyAlbemarle County and Charlottesville remain underneath a local state of emergency, which has meant virtual meetings for the past two years. On Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors were briefed on the steps to move forward. “The local emergency has allowed the county a number of advantages in addressing timely issues related to mitigating the spread of the COVID virus during the emergency,” said Doug Walker, the deputy county executive. “We now believe that those advantages are no longer needed and we are in the progress of returning to a more normal operation.” The Board will be asked to vote on a resolution to end the emergency while also allowing the “continuity of government” ordinance to remain in place. That would allow for some meetings to remain virtual for a period of time. However, if they adopt the ordinance, the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission, and the School Board would begin holding hybrid meetings beginning with the first week of April. Other groups such as the Economic Development Authority would begin hybrid meetings in June, and others would have up to the end of March 2023 to meet virtually. Lane Auditorium would be reconfigured to allow distanced seating on the left hand side of the room and normal seating on the right hand side. Total visitor capacity would be capped at 200. The ventilation system has been upgraded to refresh the air in the auditorium ten times an hour. The resolution will be voted on at the March 16 meeting. Rezoning sought for land near Virginia Eagle distribution facilityThe highway-like character of U.S. 29 in Albemarle County southwest of Charlottesville will further change in the near future now that a rezoning has been filed for around 63.5 acres around the Virginia Eagle distribution center. Riverbend Development is seeking a rezoning to the Neighborhood Model District to build several hundred apartment units. “This project will include a mix of residential and commercial units, as anticipated by the Comprehensive Plan for this location,” reads the narrative for the application. “Approximately 475 residential units are proposed, primarily multifamily.”Also proposed are a hotel, a congregate care facility, office buildings and retail. The Board of Supervisors adjusted the county’s growth area boundaries in September 2015 to add 51 acres as part of an incentive package to attract a brewery to locate on the site. That was a lower amount than had been requested, and only extended to land that already within the jurisdictional area for public water and sewer. (read the minutes from the September 23, 2015 meeting)“At 64.36 acres, the Sieg property is strategically positioned at the crossroads of Interstate 64 and Route 29 and within the growth area of Albemarle County,” the narrative continues. “This land is ideally situated for a new mixed-use community with a variety of housing options, office sites, aging in place and retail destinations.” The Comprehensive Plan designates the land as Regional Mixed-Use. Riverbend Development will pay to extend water and sewer to the properties. U.S. 29 is considered by the Virginia Department of Transportation to be a Corridor of Statewide Significance.A traffic light was installed in late 2020 on the southern side of the U.S. 29 and I-64 interchange as part of a Smart Scale funded effort to make the junction safer. That signal is about 1,400 feet away from Gold Eagle Drive, which would serve as one primary access point to the property with Shepards Hill Road serving as the second. The plans propose a “Green T” intersection which would halt southbound traffic on U.S. 29 at a second traffic light in the area. Second shout-out goes to a Livable Cville eventIn today’s second subscriber supported shout-out, Livable Cville wants you to know about an online presentation coming up on Wednesday, March 16. "Can Zoning Create a More Affordable Charlottesville?" That’s the question to be explored by Dr. Jenny Schuetz of the Brookings Institute. She’s the author of Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems. The event is free but you’ll have to register at EventBrite. Review process continues for next round of Smart Scale candidate projects Efforts are underway to secure funding to transform the character of Fifth Street and Fifth Street Extended between Ridge Street and Ambrose Commons. There are at least three projects being considered for the next round of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Smart Scale process. “Smart Scale is the process that the state uses to prioritize and fund transportation projects,” said Sandy Shackelford, the director of planning and transportation for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. The deadline for the fifth round is approaching later this spring. Each locality can submit up to four projects, and regional planning bodies also get four. “Projects are evaluated and given a benefit score based on how well the project meets needs in areas like safety, congestion relief, and economic development,” Shackleford said.Project pre-applications need to be submitted by March 31 with a final application is August 1. The results will be presented to the Commonwealth Transportation Board next January. Funding is limited. The TJPDC held a workshop on February 28 to present candidates to the public. (watch the workshop)Charlottesville will only submit one application this year. That will be for safety improvements on Fifth Street Extended that could be coordinated with a previous Smart Scale project. (read that application)“We do currently have a funded project at the intersection of Cherry [Avenue] and Elliott [Avenue] so we are looking to kind of connect to that already-funded project and continue south,” said Brennen Duncan, the city’s traffic engineer. How far south depends on how much funding would be available. Earlier this year, the City Council dropped the speed limit on 5th Street Extended to 40 miles per hour to try to slow down traffic after a series of fatalities in 2020. “We’re primarily focused on safety, congestion, pedestrian access, and bicycle access,” Duncan said. Duncan said public meetings will be held in April to shape this project and there is no current cost estimate. There are other previously awarded Smart Scale projects along the corridor. Further to the south, the Metropolitan Planning Organization will submit an application to make improvements for a four-tenths of a mile long stretch where Albemarle County is on one side of the road and Charlottesville is on the other. (read details)“The Fifth Street improvements include adding a left turn lane south into Fifth Street Station Parkway, median adjustments into the Willoughby Shopping Center across from the Willoughby residential neighborhood, construction of a left-turn midblock into Willoughby Shopping Center, [and] traveling north, restricting south turn lane into the Willoughby Shopping Center,” said Ryan Mickles, a regional planner with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District. A shared-use path is also suggested in this project as are other elements. There’s no cost estimate yet for this project. Another project would see bicycle and pedestrian improvements between Ambrose Commons to Stagecoach Road south of I-64. These would provide a way to get to Southwood on foot or bike while passing by the Albemarle Business Campus and Albemarle County’s southern office building. (read those details)“We’re going to basically install a shared-use path on the west side of the road offset by a six foot buffer strip,” said Chuck Proctor, a transportation planner with VDOT. In the fourth Smart Scale round, Albemarle County won $5.263 million in funding for a roundabout at the intersection of Old Lynchburg Road and Fifth Street. The Board of Supervisors committed a $2 million match to the project to help improve its ranking under Smart Scale. I will have more from this workshop in future installments of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Housing issues continue to be a concern for many Reno residents. Reno's cost of living continues to rise and some community leaders say something needs to be done. We went to the Economic Development Authority's state of the economy event in January and heard more.This show features EDAWN's Mike Kazmierski discussing housing and homeless issues. We also check in with a mental health expert who has concerns about a federal that, he says, is negatively impacting mental health professionals. Last, COVID-19 continues to sicken people in Northern Nevada. Health officials are reporting record numbers of new cases spurred by the highly contagious omicron variant. Illnesses from omicron tend not to be as serious, but the Washoe County District Health Officer explains why increasing case counts are drawing concern.  Support the show (https://thisisreno.com/subscribe/)

In just over two months, there will be an equal amount of time between light and dark as the world approaches equinox. Until then, there’s enough time to spend this winter gathering up enough information to see us through the summer. But in all likelihood, the warmer times will be just as busy. It’s January 19, 2022 and this is Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. (Apologies that this one was sent twice - there was an error in the first one that I could not edit and somehow had to publish a second time!)On today’s program: City Council selects an interim city manager from three candidates picked by a consultant Albemarle is looking for people to join various boards and commissions, including a vacancy on the Architectural Review BoardThe Albemarle Economic Development Authority discusses an outstanding loan to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory CenterA brief update from the Virginia General AssemblyFirst shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for 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. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting http://campalbemarleva.org/donate. Council picks former D.C. administrator to run the city A former city administrator from Washington D.C. will serve as Charlottesville’s latest interim city manager. Here’s City Councilor Michael Payne reading from the resolution. “Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Charlottesville that the Robert Bobb Group having previously having been awarded a contract to provide interim city manager services has offered Mr. Michael C. Rogers as its key personnel to be assigned by the firm to perform the duties of City Manager,”  Payne said. Rogers served as D.C.’s administrator in the mid 1990’s at the same time Marion Barry was serving in his last term as Mayor. He resigned in 1997, according to coverage in the Washington Post at that time. Rogers was introduced by Robert Bobb of the Robert Bobb Group. “Michael Rogers has a doctorate, has a J.D. degree, a master’s in public policy, and has over 30 years of experience in municipal government and in the private sector,” Bobb said. “He has served as the city administrator of the District of Columbia and as a director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government, the regional planning agency.”Rogers held that position for four and a half years and was commended in a resolution from January 2003. From April 2018 to July 2019, Rogers served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer in Petersburg. He resigned from the position according to this story from WTVR and this one from NBC12. He’s also served as chief procurement officer for the City of New York. Rogers thanked Council for selecting him. “I am excited about this opportunity,” Rogers said. “I can tell you what I know about Charlottesville. Early in my career, I met a man named Cole Hendrix who was your long-term city manager. I kind of grew up with him in my career. I can still remember the excitement and joy in his voice when he talked about his city of Charlottesville.”Hendrix served in the position from 1971 to 1996. Rogers said he has been here a couple of times, and has a lot to learn. “I look forward to coming to town, hitting the ground running, working with you, listening to you, understanding the issues that are immediately before you so that we can work on constructive solutions for addressing problems and issues for the citizens of the citizens and residents of the city of Charlottesville,” Rogers said. Rogers begins work on January 31. Storm clean-up updateBefore then, Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall and Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders are in charge of day-to-day affairs. Sanders gave Council an update on the city’s response to recent winter storms.“It has been a trying time I must say in Public Works in that we’ve had these two storms back to back with very little time in between, “ Sanders said “That has provided less opportunity for us to make really sure everything is working as we need it work because we haven’t had downtime.” Sanders said a third of the public works operations team were not able to work due to COVID. “And in that, of course that may lead to some things not necessarily getting addressed the way we have been accustomed to addressing in the past so we do apologize for any issues that might have come up over the course of the past day and a half,” Sanders said. Sanders said work is now underway to prepare for the next round of winter weather. Openings available on Albemarle government panelsThe Albemarle Architectural Review Board met yesterday with four members. Fred Missel stepped down from that body when he was appointed to the Albemarle Planning Commission. The group selected Chris Henningsen to serve as its chair and Frank Hancock as the vice chair. Would you like to be the fifth member? Go ahead and apply. Or check out all of the vacancies on boards and commissions and throw your hat in the ring for one of those! Two vacancies on the 5th and Avon Community Advisory CommitteeOne opening on the Acquisitions of Conservation Easements CommitteeFour slots on the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive CommitteeSeveral vacancies on the Crozet Community Advisory CommitteeTwo terms of existing members of the Economic Development Authority Board of Commissioners are ending soon Three vacancies on the Natural Heritage CommitteeThree openings on the Pantops Community Advisory CommitteeOne slot on the Places-29 Hydraulic Community Advisory CommitteeFive immediate vacancies on the Places29-North Community Advisory CommitteeOne definite appointment and five four terms are pending on the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee Second subscriber-supporter public service announcement goes to Shift/EnterDo you or someone you know want to find a job in the tech community? On this upcoming Saturday, there will be another Shift/Enter workshop in which participants can go through directed sessions with knowledgeable volunteers on resume feedback, interview advice, and perspectives on the tech landscape. For an $8 ticket, you'll have three different interview sessions with people to have a career conversation, to review your resume, or to have a mock interview. To learn more and to sign up, visit shiftenter.org. Albemarle EDA briefed on 2022 plans, Lewis and Clark Loan There will be no change in leadership on Albemarle’s Economic Development Authority. Donald Long will remain the chair, George Ray will stay the vice chair, and David Shreve gets to keep being treasurer. The group met virtually yesterday and heard from Economic Development Director Roger Johnson about what his office will be up to this year. In the first part of the year, COVID remains a threat to business as usual and Johnson said help will be available from economic development. “We would expect there would continue to be COVID prophylactics, particularly when you think about some of the things that we have done historically,”  Johnson said. “It includes things like the LIFT grant, microloan programs, Safe Places and Safe Spaces.”Previous funding has come through the federal CARES Act of 2020. To see how that money’s been used to date, visit enablealbemarle.org. Johnson said this year the EDA’s Board of Commissioners will review a new grant program in Albemarle to encourage the reuse of historic buildings. He also said the EDA may be looking to purchase land. “There are many ways that the Economic Development Authority can promote economic development through land ownership so we may be coming back to this particular board to talk about ways in land ownership or site control which may advance the county’s mission to accomplish a sustainable economy,” Johnson said. The EDA was also given an update on an outstanding loan granted to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center. Nine years ago, the nonprofit borrowed $260,000 from the economic development authorities of both Albemarle and Charlottesville to cover the unanticipated cost of drilling rock as the center was being at Darden-Towe Park. Richard DeLoria is a senior assistant county attorney. “The loan originated in 2013 and there have been two amendments to the loan and the second one extends the performance date to June 30, 2018,” Deloria said. To date, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center has not made a payment and has been seeking to forgive the loan. City Council voted in November 2015 to do so, but only if Albemarle followed suit. The Board of Supervisors opted to not grant forgiveness two years later and the matter remains unresolved. “The primary purpose is to make you aware that this authority needs to take action between now and June 30, 2023 or lose legal standing,” Johnson said. Donald Long said a decision on forgiveness is not up to the EDA.“The Board of Supervisors provided the money to us to turn around and make the loan so ultimately it is the Board of Supervisors’ decision about whether they want to forgive it,” Long said. “We obviously may have the legal authority if we chose to do that but I think the Board appropriated the money for that purpose so my view is that our obligation is to continue to collect or take reasonable efforts to do it unless we’re given direction by the Board of Supervisors to forgive it.”Long suggested convening a group to work with the Center to work out a payment arrangement. “We need to take some steps to figure out what’s going on and try to at least come up with a plan to move forward,” Long said. The Center has been paying the interest on the loan. Johnson said he would reach out to the Center. General Assembly updateSeveral more bills in the Virginia Senate have ended their journey in the 2022 General Assembly through dismissals by various committees. But that’s never the complete story. Or is it? This process moves so fast and it is hard to keep track of it all. Yet, I shall endeavor. This update is as of 8 a.m. this morning. A bill from Senator Chap Petersen (D-34) to institute a $20,000 cap on individual contributions to candidates in Virginia was passed on indefinitely in the Privileges and Elections committee. (SB44)Senator Joe Morrissey (D-16) had a cap of $25,000, and that bill was also passed on indefinitely (SB111)Two bills failed that would have required voters to present photo identification. A bill (SB118) from Senator Amanda Chase (R-11) was incorporated into another bill by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26) which was also passed on by indefinitely on a unanimous committee vote. (SB127) Another bill from Senator Mark Peake would have required registrars to verify each voter by name, date of birth, and social security number was passed on a 9 to 6 vote in the Privileges and Elections Committee. (SB162)Another bill from Peake would have ended a provision allowing people to vote on their day of registration. This was also defeated on a 9 to 6 vote. (SB167)Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here!On today’s program: City Council selects an interim city manager from three candidates picked by a consultant Albemarle is looking for people to join various boards and commissions, including a vacancy on the Architectural Review BoardThe Albemarle Economic Development Authority discusses an outstanding loan to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory CenterA brief update from the Virginia General AssemblyFirst shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for 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. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting http://campalbemarleva.org/donate. Council picks former D.C. administrator to run the city A former city administrator from Washington D.C. will serve as Charlottesville’s latest interim city manager. Here’s City Councilor Michael Payne reading from the resolution. “Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Charlottesville that the Robert Bobb Group having previously having been awarded a contract to provide interim city manager services has offered Mr. Michael C. Rogers as its key personnel to be assigned by the firm to perform the duties of City Manager,”  Payne said. Rogers served as D.C.’s administrator in the mid 1990’s at the same time Marion Barry was serving in his last term as Mayor. He resigned in 1997, according to coverage in the Washington Post at that time. Rogers was introduced by Robert Bobb of the Robert Bobb Group. “Michael Rogers has a doctorate, has a J.D. degree, a master’s in public policy, and has over 30 years of experience in municipal government and in the private sector,” Bobb said. “He has served as the city administrator of the District of Columbia and as a director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government, the regional planning agency.”Rogers held that position for four and a half years and was commended in a resolution from January 2003. From April 2018 to July 2019, Rogers served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer in Petersburg. He resigned from the position according to this story from WTVR and this one from NBC12. He’s also served as chief procurement officer for the City of New York. Rogers thanked Council for selecting him. “I am excited about this opportunity,” Rogers said. “I can tell you what I know about Charlottesville. Early in my career, I met a man named Cole Hendrix who was your long-term city manager. I kind of grew up with him in my career. I can still remember the excitement and joy in his voice when he talked about his city of Charlottesville.”Hendrix served in the position from 1971 to 1996. Rogers said he has been here a couple of times, and has a lot to learn. “I look forward to coming to town, hitting the ground running, working with you, listening to you, understanding the issues that are immediately before you so that we can work on constructive solutions for addressing problems and issues for the citizens of the citizens and residents of the city of Charlottesville,” Rogers said. Rogers begins work on January 31. Storm clean-up updateBefore then, Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall and Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders are in charge of day-to-day affairs. Sanders gave Council an update on the city’s response to recent winter storms.“It has been a trying time I must say in Public Works in that we’ve had these two storms back to back with very little time in between, “ Sanders said “That has provided less opportunity for us to make really sure everything is working as we need it work because we haven’t had downtime.” Sanders said a third of the public works operations team were not able to work due to COVID. “And in that, of course that may lead to some things not necessarily getting addressed the way we have been accustomed to addressing in the past so we do apologize for any issues that might have come up over the course of the past day and a half,” Sanders said. Sanders said work is now underway to prepare for the next round of winter weather. Openings available on Albemarle government panelsThe Albemarle Architectural Review Board met yesterday with four members. Fred Missel stepped down from that body when he was appointed to the Albemarle Planning Commission. The group selected Chris Henningsen to serve as its chair and Frank Hancock as the vice chair. Would you like to be the fifth member? Go ahead and apply. Or check out all of the vacancies on boards and commissions and throw your hat in the ring for one of those! Two vacancies on the 5th and Avon Community Advisory CommitteeOne opening on the Acquisitions of Conservation Easements CommitteeFour slots on the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive CommitteeSeveral vacancies on the Crozet Community Advisory CommitteeTwo terms of existing members of the Economic Development Authority Board of Commissioners are ending soon Three vacancies on the Natural Heritage CommitteeThree openings on the Pantops Community Advisory CommitteeOne slot on the Places-29 Hydraulic Community Advisory CommitteeFive immediate vacancies on the Places29-North Community Advisory CommitteeOne definite appointment and five four terms are pending on the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee Second subscriber-supporter public service announcement goes to Shift/EnterDo you or someone you know want to find a job in the tech community? On this upcoming Saturday, there will be another Shift/Enter workshop in which participants can go through directed sessions with knowledgeable volunteers on resume feedback, interview advice, and perspectives on the tech landscape. For an $8 ticket, you'll have three different interview sessions with people to have a career conversation, to review your resume, or to have a mock interview. To learn more and to sign up, visit shiftenter.org. Albemarle EDA briefed on 2022 plans, Lewis and Clark Loan There will be no change in leadership on Albemarle’s Economic Development Authority. Donald Long will remain the chair, George Ray will stay the vice chair, and David Shreve gets to keep being treasurer. The group met virtually yesterday and heard from Economic Development Director Roger Johnson about what his office will be up to this year. In the first part of the year, COVID remains a threat to business as usual and Johnson said help will be available from economic development. “We would expect there would continue to be COVID prophylactics, particularly when you think about some of the things that we have done historically,”  Johnson said. “It includes things like the LIFT grant, microloan programs, Safe Places and Safe Spaces.”Previous funding has come through the federal CARES Act of 2020. To see how that money’s been used to date, visit enablealbemarle.org. Johnson said this year the EDA’s Board of Commissioners will review a new grant program in Albemarle to encourage the reuse of historic buildings. He also said the EDA may be looking to purchase land. “There are many ways that the Economic Development Authority can promote economic development through land ownership so we may be coming back to this particular board to talk about ways in land ownership or site control which may advance the county’s mission to accomplish a sustainable economy,” Johnson said. The EDA was also given an update on an outstanding loan granted to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center. Nine years ago, the nonprofit borrowed $260,000 from the economic development authorities of both Albemarle and Charlottesville to cover the unanticipated cost of drilling rock as the center was being at Darden-Towe Park. Richard DeLoria is a senior assistant county attorney. “The loan originated in 2013 and there have been two amendments to the loan and the second one extends the performance date to June 30, 2018,” Deloria said. To date, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center has not made a payment and has been seeking to forgive the loan. City Council voted in November 2015 to do so, but only if Albemarle followed suit. The Board of Supervisors opted to not grant forgiveness two years later and the matter remains unresolved. “The primary purpose is to make you aware that this authority needs to take action between now and June 30, 2023 or lose legal standing,” Johnson said. Donald Long said a decision on forgiveness is not up to the EDA.“The Board of Supervisors provided the money to us to turn around and make the loan so ultimately it is the Board of Supervisors’ decision about whether they want to forgive it,” Long said. “We obviously may have the legal authority if we chose to do that but I think the Board appropriated the money for that purpose so my view is that our obligation is to continue to collect or take reasonable efforts to do it unless we’re given direction by the Board of Supervisors to forgive it.”Long suggested convening a group to work with the Center to work out a payment arrangement. “We need to take some steps to figure out what’s going on and try to at least come up with a plan to move forward,” Long said. The Center has been paying the interest on the loan. Johnson said he would reach out to the Center. General Assembly updateSeveral more bills in the Virginia Senate have ended their journey in the 2022 General Assembly through dismissals by various committees. But that’s never the complete story. Or is it? This process moves so fast and it is hard to keep track of it all. Yet, I shall endeavor. This update is as of 8 a.m. this morning. A bill from Senator Chap Petersen (D-34) to institute a $20,000 cap on individual contributions to candidates in Virginia was passed on indefinitely in the Privileges and Elections committee. (SB44)Senator Joe Morrissey (D-16) had a cap of $25,000, and that bill was also passed on indefinitely (SB111)Two bills failed that would have required voters to present photo identification. A bill (SB118) from Senator Amanda Chase (R-11) was incorporated into another bill by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26) which was also passed on by indefinitely on a unanimous committee vote. (SB127) Another bill from Senator Mark Peake would have required registrars to verify each voter by name, date of birth, and social security number was passed on a 9 to 6 vote in the Privileges and Elections Committee. (SB162)Another bill from Peake would have ended a provision allowing people to vote on their day of registration. This was also defeated on a 9 to 6 vote. (SB167)Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

We’re now less than a week away from the solstice, which takes place at precisely 10:59 a.m. on December 21 on the eastern coast of the United States. Until then we’ve got a few more days of lengthening night before the pendulum shifts back to light and the march to 2022 continues with new energy. Between now and then there will be a few installments of Charlottesville Community Engagement and this is the one for December 16, 2021. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs.Charlottesville Community Engagement is a great way to find out about what’s happening and how you can get involved It’s free to sign-up, but there are many opportunities to support the work!On today’s show:Brian Pinkston and Juandiego Wade are officially sworn in as City Councilors, as well as members of the Charlottesville School BoardVirginia Tech and a Richmond consortium have both been awarded half-million grants for economic development A pair of transit updates, including the fact that Charlottesville Area Transit will remain fare-free for four years The Charlottesville Planning Commission provides direction on Charlottesville’s next capital budget In today’s first Patreon-fueled shout-out, Code for Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with tech, data, design, and research skills to work on community service projects. Founded in September 2019, Code for Charlottesville has worked on projects with the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Fire Department, and the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights. Visit codeforcville.org to learn about those projects. COVID UpdateThe number of new COVID cases in Virginia continues to climb, but the percent positivity has dipped slightly. This morning the Virginia Department of Health reported another 3,688 new cases and 102 of those are in the Blue Ridge Health District. Statewide the seven-day percent positivity is 8.5 percent and in the BRHD it’s at 7.2 percent. New elected officials sworn-inThere are still 15 days left in 2021, and City Councilors Heather Hill and Nikuyah Walker have one more meeting on Monday. The near future became a little closer on Wednesday as two incoming City Councilors and three members of the Charlottesville School Board took the oath of office on the steps of Charlottesville Circuit Court. The School Board went first with newcomers Emily Dooley and Dom Morse sworn in individually with family members at their side. Second-termer Lisa Larson-Torres went next. Then it was time for City Councilor-elect Brian Pinkston followed by Juandiego Wade. I asked both if they are ready to take on the task. “You know, I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Pinkston said. “I joke that it’s a little like getting married or having a kid. You think what you’re getting into but it’s not what you expected. There’s good part and bad parts to that and so the short answer is yes. I’m ready. I’m excited about it. I’m going to roll up my sleeves and try to make a difference.” “I’m ready, I am prepared,” Wade said. “I feel like I’ve been preparing for this for the last years being connected and involved in the community. I feel like now is an opportunity for me to take my service and my commitment to the city to a different level.” In a separate ceremony that also took place yesterday morning, the members of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors were also sworn in, including newcomer Jim Andrews, who will represent the Samuel Miller District. Andrews joined third-term Supervisor Diantha McKeel (Jack Jouett) and two-term Supervisor Ned Gallaway (Rio). Transit updatesIn yesterday’s newsletter, there’s a lot of information about planning for a Regional Transit Vision that may include formation of an authority that could raise funds for expanded service. There’s also a second study underway to determine the feasibility of additional routes to serve urbanized portions of Albemarle County as well as Monticello. The results are in from a survey conducted on two potential scenarios according to Lucinda Shannon, a transportation planner with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. (project website)“They found that most of the services that people selected in that public outreach was scenario 2 for all three of the areas which is a lot of microtransit connecting with some fixed routes,” Shannon said. The study also found that 98 percent of people who travel to Monticello do so in a car that they either own or rent. That’s based on 51 respondents. The U.S. 29 North survey got 104 responses and the Pantops survey got 54 respondents. The consultants hired for this project are Michael Baker International and Foursquare ITP. The next step is a Board of Supervisors meeting on January 19, according to Shannon. Charlottesville Area Transit will remain fare-free for the next four years. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation awarded a $1.07 million grant through the Transit Ridership Incentive Program. CAT had already put some of the American Rescue Plan Act funding for this purpose, and the new grant covers fares for an additional year. CAT Director Garland Williams said he anticipates planned route changes will soon be implemented. The adjustments have been through the public process. Williams briefed the Regional Transit Partnership at their meeting on December 2. “We’re still moving forward and hoping to be able to implement in January unless something changes,” Williams said. Learn more about those route changes on the Charlottesville Area Transit website at catchthecat.org. In other news, Jaunt’s new chief executive officer has named Karen Davis the transit agency’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Davis served as interim CEO for exactly a year after the Board asked former CEO Brad Sheffield to resign. Ted Rieck started work as CEO earlier this month after heading a similar transit agency in Tulsa, Oklahoma. *Infrastructure grantsTwo entities in Virginia have been awarded $500,000 planning grants from the federal government to increase infrastructure necessary to increase commerce and trade. The U.S. Economic Development Authority awarded Build Back Better Regional Challenge awards to Virginia Tech and the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority for initiatives that seek to create “regional industry clusters.” Virginia Tech’s application is called The Future of Transportation Logistics and covers a wide section of southwest and southern Virginia. The idea is to accelerate the adoption of electric and automated vehicles. “Projections by the World Economic Forum expect freight demand to triple by 2050,” reads their application. “This growing demand poses challenges from environmental degradation to a strained transportation workforce.”The New River Valley region includes three truck manufacturers, including the national headquarters for Volvo. The work will involve building a coalition to share information as well as demonstration projects such as upgrading a section of Interstate 81 between Salem to Dublin to accommodate automated vehicles. The Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority covers the Richmond and Petersburg area and is intended to create an Advanced Pharmaceutical and Research and Development cluster. “A staggering 73% of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-registered active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) manufacturing facilities are located outside the United States,” reads that application. ”Overseas pharmaceutical manufacturing not only poses a security risk but also takes essential jobs away from the U.S.”Both entities will now be eligible to apply for additional funding from the U.S. Economic Development Authority to implement the projects. Thanks to Route 50 for the information on this grant program. (read their article)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, and there’s no time like now to find a time to get out and watch people love to play. The Charlottesville Jazz Society keeps a running list of what’s coming up at cvillejazz.org. Sign up for their newsletter today. Tree canopy declineAt their meeting on Tuesday, the Charlottesville Planning Commission held three public hearings on three big topics. But first, they got updates from various committees. Commissioner Jody Lahendro and he relayed news from the Tree Commission about the forthcoming tree canopy study. A preliminary report states that the percentage of the city covered by trees has shrunk by at least four percent since 2015. “Because of COVID, the flyover for this tree canopy study was done in 2018 so it’s dated now,” Lahendro said. “The news is not great as you might imagine.” Lahendro said the city had a tree canopy of 50 percent in 2004 and that declined to 47 percent in 2009. “In 2014 it went down to 45 percent and in 2018, this latest, it’s to 40 percent,” Lahendro said. When you break the city down by neighborhood, nine out of 19 recognized areas are below 40 percent. Lahendro said that is the point where both health and economic development is affected.“And then two of our districts — Starr Hill and 10th and Page — are below twenty percent,” Lahendro said. “Those are where significant detrimental effects are happening.” Lahendro said the city is projected to lose 360 ash trees to emerald ash borers over the next five years. The city can only afford to treat 30 trees. Charlottesville’s FY23-27 CIP discussionThe Charlottesville City Planning Commission has made its recommendations for how to amend the draft capital budget for the next five years. That came at the end of a public hearing Tuesday that featured a discussion with City Council. Elected officials will make the final decision next spring as they adopt a budget that will be prepared under the supervision of a yet-to-be-named interim city manager. (draft FY23-FY27 CIP presentation to Planning Commission) (adopted FY22 budget)The Commission got a look at the information at a work session on November 23, and heard it a second time from Senior Budget Analyst Krissy Hammill in advance of the public hearing. To recap, the capital budget is close to capacity due to the increase of spending in recent years, including a $75 million placeholder for the reconfiguration of middle schools. Council has also authorized a reorientation of priorities to find more money for the schools project. (previous story)“There were some large projects that were previously authorized to use bonds for that we unfunded essentially to be able to move them to get us to a place where we could increase the $25 million for the school project,” Hammill said. “That was the West Main Street project which was originally in the CIP at $18.25 million and the 7th Street Parking Garage which we unfunded about $5 million of that project.”Hammill said to pay for the projects, the city will need additional revenue and will not be able to add any more capital projects for many years unless they are paid for in cash. The city has had a AAA bond rating from Standards and Poor since 1964 and from Moody’s since 1973. “Essentially the AAA bond rating gives the city the opportunity to borrow money at the lowest cost available so that means that more dollars are going to the projects and less dollars are going towards interest,” Hammill said. Hammill said the city is in good financial shape, but funding future investments will be a struggle. At the work session, Hammill invited ideas for further reallocations from other projects. She also said that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will likely not be a salvation for the city. “Many of us in finance have sort of been waiting in the wings to find out what would be available and it’s actually not a one size fits all and it doesn’t deliver on a lot of what we already have in our CIP,” Hammill said. “So it not going to help us address our financing problems largely.”Another issue is that many of the funding sources will require local matches. She pointed out one opportunity for Charlottesville Area Transit to raise up to $37 million, but the city would have to provide a $2 million match.“That’s not in our curent CIP,” Hammill said. Revisising the Strategic Investment AreaThe two bodies discussed many aspects of the capital budget, including whether or not several general interest line items should be given additional funds in the next year’s budget. Councilor Lloyd Snook questioned one of them related to a 2013 small area plan known as the Strategic Investment Area. “One example would be that we’re suggesting another $200,000 for this coming year and three years beyond that for the [Strategic Investment Area] immediate area implementation,” Snook said. “And that balance in that account is over a million and has been as far as I can tell over a million dollars for quite a while.”Alex Ikefuna, the interim director of the Office of Community Solutions and former director of Neighborhood Development Services, said that balance has been used to pay for a $228,000 study of a form-based code for the area. Nolan Stout reported in the February 4, 2020 Daily Progress on the current Council’s decision to put that plan on hold indefinitely. Ikefuna pointed to one example of how the funding in the account will be used.“We have a Pollocks Branch pedestrian bridge which is currently being finalized for construction,” Ikefuna said. “There are several other project within the SIA that consume that balance.”One of them is a project to upgrade the streetscape on Elliot Avenue in an area where dozens of new homes have been built in the Burnet Commons area. The public housing site at South First Street is also expanding in residential density. Ikefuna also said the SIA fund could also be used for additional costs that may be incurred at Piedmont Housing Alliance’s redevelopment of Friendship Court. “Part of the Friendship Court project includes infrastructure improvement because they have to break up that neighborhood and then integrate that into the city’s grid,” Ikefuna said. “And they may have a cost overrun.”Council approved $5.5 million for the project in October 2020. (read my story)The current year’s capital budget allocated $2 million in cash for the line item of “Friendship Court Infrastructure Improvements” as well as $394,841 for Phase 1 and $750,000 for Phase 2. The draft five-year capital plan anticipates spending $2.5 million on Phase 2 in FY23, and a total of $3.25 million for phase 3 and $4.5 million for Phase 4. Ikefuna also said there’s a project called the Elliott Avenue Streetscape for which a design is almost complete. Snook said Council is not given information about what any of these plans are. “I assume somebody has a plan but it’s not been revealed to us,” Snook said. “I look at the next item. Small area plans. We’re putting in another $100,000 in and the balance of the project is $496,000.” Outgoing City Councilor Heather Hill had one suggestion for where that funding could go. In July 2020, Council chose to proceed with a Smart Scale project over the opposition of some nearby residents and businesses. (July 22, 2020 story on Information Charlottesville)“The Grady / Preston / 10th intersection area related to one of the VDOT projects for Smart Scale funding was identified at that time as something we would want to have more planning around because there was a lot of resistance that there wasn’t a lot of community engagement when that proposed plan was coming to fruition,” Hill said. According to the application for that project, the preliminary engineering phase will not begin until December 2025. There is no design for the Smart Scale project, which was funded on a set of parameters. “Preston Avenue will be realigned to create a consolidated intersection at Preston Avenue / Grady Avenue / 10th Street,” reads the application. “New sidewalks will be constructed throughout the project limits.”Hoping for a sales tax referendumSeveral commissioners expressed concern about the enormity of the school reconfiguration project. The draft plan shows $2.5 million in FY23 and $72.5 million in FY24. Hammill has previously said the money needs to be in place when a contractor is hired for new construction and renovation of Buford Middle School. The school project has not yet come directly before the Planning Commission. “The amount of that project is the entirety of the five-year [capital] FY2017 budget,” Stolzenberg said. “It’s this elephant in the room but it does seem like Council and the School Board have approved the project.” The idea of a dedicated one-cent sales tax increase has been floated to be dedicated funding for the project, but the General Assembly will have to approve a bill allowing Charlottesville voters decide on whether to impose it.“I really, really hope that if we go through with it that the sales tax comes through and frees us from this burden,” Stolzenberg said. Later in the meeting, Commissioners discussed several potential recommendations. One was whether to recommend increasing the amount for affordable housing. Here’s what’s in the proposed CIP. $3 million for the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority in FY23, and $9 million in the out yearsA base of $925,000 a year into the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund $900,000 a year to the CRHA to administer additional housing vouchers $2.5 million for the second phase of Friendship Court In March, Council adopted an affordable housing plan that set an ambitious spending target for each year, as noted by Stolzenberg. “It’s recommendations are pretty clear,” Stolzenberg said. “Ten million a year. $2 million are tax relief. A million to administration. So it’s really $7 million in direct subsidy and that’s all on page 49 of the plan for reference.” Here’s what the PC’s recommendations are:Reduce funding for the 7th Street parking structure funding to the minimum amount necessary to satisfy Charlottesville’s commitment to provide parking for Albemarle County per a 2018 agreement related to the joint General District Court that will be under construction.Find more more funds for the line items of tree planting, new sidewalks, and bicycle infrastructure, and hazardous tree removal. Reduce funds going to the line item for economic development strategic initiatives, small area plans, and Strategic Investment Area implementationFully fund the Stribling Avenue sidewalk project that Southern Development has agreed to pay upfront for as part of a rezoning that Council will consider in early 2022.Explore ways to add enhancements to the Drewary Brown Bridge to honor the Bridge Builders, potentially using a portion of funds for the West Main Streetscape. Increase budget for Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund and find ways to fund housing requests that were requested but not included in the draft budget, possibly directing any budget surpluses for this purpose. On Monday, City Council will hold first of two readings on a proposal to reallocate the $5.5 million surplus from FY21 to employee compensation and bonuses. They’ll also consider the transfer of $6.7 million in cash from a COVID reserve fund into the Capital Improvement Plan Contingency Fund. (staff report) This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Our guest on this episode of the Industry Iowa Podcast is Jill Lippincott of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Jill has many roles at the IEDA and most recently has been the point person for the Manufacturing 4.0 Technology Investment Grant Program. While our main focus was the grant programs, Jill also shares some exciting news about a new supply chain resource initiative as well as manufacturing trends and what's needed in our educational systems to support the increasingly important role technology is playing in manufacturers across the state. Did you know: There are two grant programs currently available for Iowa Manufacturers 3-75 employees - https://www.iowamfg.com/technology-investment-program/ 76-250 employees - https://www.iowagrants.gov/insideLinkOpps.jsp?documentPk=1634306143520 – Deadline to apply is 12-31-21 Manufacturing accounts for 18% of Iowa's GDP 53% of Iowa's manufacturers are in rural areas of the state

Today's episode of The Greatness Machine sees Darius sitting down with Doug Erwin, a serial entrepreneur who has made the shift to nonprofit executive, working as the Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN).   He raised $10 million to build an at-home sperm counting machine from Japanese hedge funds back in the 1990s, founded a company with his Navy Seal brother, and is actively involved in disruptive angel investing.   Beyond business, Doug is a maker and buddhist who loves to tour hot springs in his airstream with his family. He believes in healing people through love and supporting men.   You'll learn how one of his visits to a hot spring following the election of Donald Trump included "naked hippies," a sign (for Doug) that things were going to be alright.   You'll discover the importance of leaving behind the multiple masks we wear (one for work, one for family, etc.) and showing up everywhere as your authentic self.   You'll also learn about the multiple thresholds we encounter as we grow, and the fears we must overcome to move closer to our authentic selves.   Join Darius and Doug as they explore these subjects and much more in today's episode.   Enjoy!   What We Discussed in this Show: Hot springs, naked hippies and a cure for the "Trump blues." Showing up as your authentic self. Overcoming fear and moving past the thresholds that hold us back. And so much more...   Resources: EDAWN The Real Darius Darius Class Website Facebook Instagram YouTube Twitter LinkedIn This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s begin with a Patreon-fueled shout-out. Colder temperatures are creeping in, and now is the perfect time to think about keeping your family warm through the holidays. Make sure you are getting the most out of your home with help from your local energy nonprofit, LEAP. LEAP wants you and yours to keep comfortable all year round, and offers FREE home weatherization to income- and age-qualifying residents. If you’re age 60 or older, or have an annual household income of less than $74,950, you may qualify for a free energy assessment and home energy improvements such as insulation and air sealing. Sign up today to lower your energy bills, increase comfort, and reduce energy waste at home!On today’s show:One of Charlottesville’s former police chiefs wants to sue the city for wrongful terminationAlbemarle Board of Supervisors formally begins Comprehensive Plan review Albemarle may also have a potential budget surplus of over $13 million ProPublica takes a look at the links between industrial air pollution and cancer The Virginia Festival of the Book will return to an in-person event next March Former Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney has filed a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging she was wrongfully terminated by former City Manager Chip Boyles. Boyles resigned on October 12 citing personal and professional abuse in the aftermath of the firing. Brackney and her lawyer Charles Tucker held a press conference this morning to announce the complaint as well as a demand for millions in damages. Tucker appeared to make the claim that Brackney is still the chief.“She’s not here today to talk about an abrupt termination,” Tucker said. “She’s here today to talk about a wrongful attempt at termination.” Tucker alleged collusion to remove Brackney by Council, top police officials, and former manager Boyles. Complaints to the EEOC are private and information is only available to be released the individual who files the complain as well as the subject of the complaint. A spokesman for the EEOC told me today he could neither confirm or deny the existence of the complaint. He noted that an EEOC complaint is the first step toward filing a lawsuit. Learn more about this process on the EEOC’s website. The agency’s authority comes from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There’s also a FAQ worth reviewing.  Tucker is employed by the Cochran Firm, a national law firm founded by the late Johnnie Cochran.  Cochran was part of the legal team that successfully defended former football player O.J. Simpson on double murder charges in October 1995. Special thanks to Dori Zook of WINA for providing the audio. Take a look at coverage on NBC29 for more information. One of Charlottesville’s most popular events will return to some in-person events next spring. The Virginia Festival of the Book was canceled in 2020 and was held virtually in 2021, but will return with a hybrid event from March 16 through March 20. The Festival has also been holding online programs year-round as part of its Shelf Life series. Headlining speakers for the 28th festival will not be announced until January. Review previous programs on the VABook website at vabook.org. Industrial investigationAn investigation by ProPublica has identified the Radford area in the New River Valley as one of the places in Virginia where residents are more likely to contract cancer due to air pollution. That’s due to the presence of the U.S. Army Radford Ammunition Plant.“This facility alone is estimated to increase the excess cancer risk for people living within five miles by an average of 1 in 4,100,” reads their summary of the Radford area. ProPublica’s interactive map also shows pollution hotspots in Richmond and Petersburg. Their work is based on analysis of five-years of data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Learn more in a story on NBC29 that’s part of a collaboration between Gray Communications and ProPublica. You’re reading Charlottesville Community Engagement and it’s time for two more Patreon-fueled shout-outs. The first comes a long-time supporter who wants you to know:"Today is a great day to spread good cheer: reach out to an old friend, compliment a stranger, or pause for a moment of gratitude to savor a delight."The second comes from a more recent supporter who wants you to go out and read a local news story written by a local journalist. Whether it be the Daily Progress, Charlottesville Tomorrow, C-Ville Weekly, NBC29, CBS19, WINA, or some other place I’ve not mentioned - the community depends on a network of people writing about the community. Go learn about this place today!Albemarle Comprehensive Plan processTwo stories from Albemarle today. First, Albemarle County has formally begun the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan. The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution on November 3 that kicks off a multiphase process and public engagement plan for the first round. But let’s get a reminder on what this is from planner Tori Kanellopoulos. “The Comprehensive Plan is a guiding document for the county and is a twenty year plan which includes housing, transportation, land use, economic development, natural and historic resources,” Kannellopoulos said. The plan influences everything from the Capital Improvement program to decisions on land use such as rezoning. Supervisors last adopted a plan six years ago.“Since the current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2015, there have been a variety of new policies and plans adopted by the Board including the Climate Action Plan, an updated housing policy, Project ENABLE and an updated Strategic Plan,” Kannellopoulos said. “Additionally the Office of Equity and Inclusion was created and the Board adopted the new organizational value of community.”Since 2015, Kanellopoulos said 4,000 new dwelling units have been built and the population is expected to continue growing. With that comes increased demand for urban services to be delivered by the local government.  The first phase will take a look at the county’s growth management policy, which has been embedded in the Comprehensive Plan for decades. That will include a capacity analysis for the county’s ability to provide new housing, as well as the needs of economic development. “Phase 2 will identify the main topics of the Comprehensive Plan, evaluate existing conditions for each, and provide updated frameworks using the lens of equity and climate action,” Kannellopoulos said. “Phase 3 will identify recommended action steps to implement the plan and metrics to track progress. And Phase 4 will finalize the document for adoption.” At the same time, Supervisors have asked for some changes to the zoning ordinance to happen concurrently with the Comprehensive Plan review.  The winter holidays are approaching so there will not be a public kickoff for this process until January. Between now and then, a working group of community members and other stakeholders will be assembled to oversee the process. Supervisor Ann Mallek said the process to update the Crozet Master Plan at times was more difficult due to the lack of institutional memory and history about how that area has been a designated growth area. “There was a real challenge to help people to get enough background to be able to understand what they were being asked,” Mallek said. “And I think getting that knowledge base will prevent a lot of frustration that happens when people are asked to respond to a survey about which they’re given no information. And they just get mad.” Mallek also wants more public meetings in places that aren’t government buildings. Supervisor Ned Gallaway said he wants to make sure that the public knows the review is underway.“It can be frustrating I would imagine for everybody involved where community members maybe come late to the game,” Gallaway said. “We do our best effort to put things out there that this is going to be worked on and the ways to participate are there. And then if they are missed, we get ‘Well, where is this coming from?’ at the 11th hour. Whatever we need to do [public relations] wide to engage the community, we’ll have to do.”The Albemarle Planning Commission will have a work session on the Comprehensive Plan review at its meeting on November 16. This is a reminder that I created Town Crier Productions specifically to cover this kind of topic. I have never and will never take any payment from Albemarle County for this service, nor will I take any direct payment for any other level of government. This program is supported by contributions from listeners and readers, and the goal there is to keep this reporting independent and to be transparent when you do hear shout-outs and the like. Closing out FY21 Our second story from the November 3, 2021 Albemarle Board of Supervisors meeting comes from a fiscal update that came from a briefing from County Executive Jeffrey Richardson on the closing of Fiscal Year 21, which ran from July 1, 2020 to this past June 30. Like all localities, Albemarle was affected by the pandemic.“The last 20 months have been unlike any in my professional working career and I probably speak for staff when I say our challenges and the kinds of issues and problems we face are unlike any that we have faced in our career,” Richardson said. The pandemic began officially in Virginia on March 12, 2020 with the declaration of a state of emergency. That happened just as Albemarle was finalizing the budget for fiscal year 2021. A decision was made to rewrite the budget to pause some spending while more was known about underlying economic conditions.  Richardson said staff initially assumed the worst case scenario. “We artificially lowered our budget base so we had to go in and we had to make drastic cuts for fiscal year 21,” Richardson said. Richardson said the economic outlook did not turn out to be as severe and he detailed the reasons why in his presentation. There has also been federal funding in the form of the CARES Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Here’s one example from Albemarle budget chief Andy Bowman. “The county was able to reimburse a significant portion of its public safety expenditures which created a one-time savings in the middle of fiscal year 2021 which the Board of Supervisors used to establish a local pandemic reserve,” Bowman said. Now the time has come to begin preparing for the budget for FY23, which will be adopted by the Board next May. That comes as the fiscal year 2021 budget is audited which will reveal whether there are additional funds leftover that be reprogrammed to achieve the county’s strategic goals. This is known as “one-time” funds. In FY21, revenues were up 5.3 percent over budget and county spending was down 4.9 percent. “Unaudited, we expect there to be $13.2 million in one-time funding that can be available to be reprogrammed as the county is heading into the season again of financial planning,” Bowman said. Richardson told the Board that the local economy is strong, and there are many ways this funding could be used to make further investments in economic development.“You met recently with your [Economic Development Authority] and I think that we need to consider more and I think now is the time to do more to set ourselves up for the future to help business expansion and to be a catalyst in this community to continue to strengthen our economic foundation,” Richardson said. Richardson also suggested the Board consider a mid-year salary increase for county personnel could also be an option. The Board will have a work session on “workforce stabilization” on December 1. Other suggestions from staff will continue to come to the Board in weeks to come. The next immediate step is a meeting of the Audit Committee on November 19. (meeting info)A major change this upcoming year is that real estate reassessments for calendar year 2022 will be sent out a month earlier than usual due to issues with the post office and potential for delays caused by mail. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Wyoming County leader looks back on accomplishments with Economic Development Authority … a special exhibit honors Huntington's 150th anniversary … and mini grants are available from Volunteer WV  – on today's daily304, listen here…

We're sure you have heard people talk about building a profitable business and you have probably also heard about building wealth. But, when have you heard about these topics combined to make sure you are building a profitable and wealth-building company?Our guest today, Ruth King, is a profitability and wealth-building expert! I have had the good fortune of being a guest on Ruth's Profitability show about five years ago and I am so grateful she was willing to give some of her time to be a guest for us. The video link is included in the show notes.**DO YOU NEED HELP SELLING MORE FRANCHISES? ATTEND OUR FRANCHISE SALES TRAINING WORKSHOP ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2021. Visit: www.FranchiseSalesClass.com for more information**Subscribe to our NEWEST Podcast called: Franchise Your Business. CLICK HERELINKS:**Check out Ruth's website for more information: www.RuthKing.info**Watch Tom DuFore be interviewed by Ruth:  CLICK HEREABOUT OUR GUEST:Ruth has written five books-two have become #1 bestsellers. One of her biggest achievements was helping a client with $750,000 in annual revenues. Sixteen years later, they sold the business for $9 million in cash.After twelve years on the road and, doing 200 flights per year, Ruth knew there had to be a better way to reach business people who wanted to build their businesses and train their employees. She began virtual training on the Internet in 1998 and then launched the first television online broadcasting in 2002. Ribbon, the first online broadcasting network, began operations in January 2007. Ribbon channels currently include HVACchannel.tv and TheCouragetobeProfitable.com.She was the founder of the Decatur, Georgia branch of the Small Business Development Center in 1982. She also started the Women's Entrepreneurial Center and developed and facilitated a year-long course for women who wanted to start their own businesses. This course was the foundation for one of the classes at the Women's Economic Development Authority in Atlanta, Georgia.More recently Ruth was the instructor for ICE, the Inner City Entrepreneur program in conjunction with the Small Business Administration. This 16-week course taught business owners with at least $400,000 in revenues (and many had over $1,000,000 in revenues) how to grow their businesses to the next level. A large part of the curriculum was aimed at improving and understanding the financial knowledge.Ruth holds a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Georgia State University. She also holds Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively.Ruth is passionate about helping adults learn to read, photography, and running marathon races. She helped start an adult literacy organization in 1986 that currently serves over 1,000 adults per year, and she's run the Boston Marathon and 9 other marathons so far…ABOUT BIG SKY FRANCHISE TEAM:This episode is powered by Big Sky Franchise Team. If you are ready to talk about franchising your business you can schedule your free, no-obligation, franchise consultation online at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/ or by calling Big Sky Franchise Team at: 855-824-4759.         

Today’s first Patreon fueled shout-out is a new one. A concerned Charlottesville parent wants to make sure the community participates in the Middle School Reconfiguration process that is currently underway. After years of discussion, concrete plans are being put forward. You can learn more and contribute at the City of Charlottesville Schools/VMDOs information page. On today’s show:A quick rundown on a couple of transit planning exercises and new routes in the areaInformation on how area hotels have been doing this summer, and how the make-up of an area tourist board may changeThe same firm that’s studying’s UVA’s housing initiative has been hired by the city’s public housing agency for a redevelopment study Former Warren County EDA director indicted on federal fraud chargesBefore we begin today, another COVID update. The Virginia Department of Health reports another 3,487 new cases today. In the Blue Ridge Health District there are another 75 new cases. The agency put out an alert late Monday evening that all localities under its jurisdiction are experiencing a high level of community transmission.“As we experience this surge in cases, we urge all individuals, businesses, and other  organizations to take prevention measures that include masks indoors and physical distancing,” reads the email. “The Delta variant is the dominant strain of the virus and the primary driver of recent high transmission rates of COVID-19 because it spreads more easily than earlier strains of the virus.” This afternoon, the Virginia Department of Health announced the receipt of $4.3 million from the Centers for Disease Control to hire more community health workers to address the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Virginia initiative will focus on geographic areas of Virginia with high rates of COVID-19 identified by project partners,” reads the release. “Those areas include parts of the Richmond metro region, Norfolk, Portsmouth, the Danville area, and the Southwest Virginia communities served by the Mount Rogers Health District.” Governor Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency related to the approach of Tropical Depression Ida. Heavy flooding is predicted across much of the state, particularly in southwest Virginia. The move allows the Commonwealth to mobilize forces to assist in a variety of different emergency situations. “Given the storm’s current forecast, the Commonwealth will assist localities, especially those with vulnerable populations, to provide support in response to a large-scale weather event during the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads Executive Order 81.. A collision in Charlottesville Monday afternoon between a pickup truck and a cement truck killed the driver of the pickup truck. The crash occurred at a construction site on Druid Avenue. The 53-year-old driver was initially taken to the University of Virginia hospital but soon died from the injuries. According to a release from the city, the driver of the cement truck was not injured and is cooperating with an investigation. The former director of the Economic Development Authority for both the Town of Front Royal and Warren County has been indicted on several federal fraud charges. Jennifer Rae McDonald, 44, is accused of wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. “McDonald, through her position as executive director at the EDA, had access to funds belonging to the EDA and, as the indictment alleges, used EDA funds to pay on debt owed by her, other individuals, and LLCs she controlled, to purchase real property for which she often earned commissions as a real estate agent, and to purchase real property in the name of an LLC she controlled,” reads the release. In all McDonald faces 34 counts for activities from June 2014 to December 2018. Several other people have been charged with crimes, including the entire Warren County Board of Supervisors. For more on the story take a look at coverage from Alex Bridges in the Northern Virginia Daily. Now it’s time to pick back up from last week’s meeting of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors. The CACVB is an entity funded in part by transient lodging taxes that seeks to market the area for tourism. One key metric is the hotel occupancy rate. That figure was higher this summer than last year but still below pre-pandemic levels. Courtney Cacatian is the director of CACVB. “My understanding is that’s largely due to employment challenges but some of our properties are doing better than others on that front,” Cacatian said. After that update, Cacatian gave the Board updates on efforts to update marketing plans. That starts with data on what people who don’t live here know about the area. “We received some research from SIR, a firm based in Richmond, and they had let us know that when our past visitors come to Charlottesville and Albemarle County, they are 83 percent more likely to make a return trip to this region,” Cacatian said. “With our prospective visitors, there was a major need here to let people know who we are and what we’re all about to attract them here in the future.”What are your observations about how other people perceive the area? Leave a comment. I’m curious to know these things. In any case, there are currently two City Councilors and two Albemarle Supervisors on the CACVB Board. Earlier this year, several members of the tourism sector asked the Board to consider changing its make-up to include industry members. That may happen according to this bit of information from Albemarle County Executive Jeffrey Richardson.“I did go back and speak to the Board of Supervisors and the Board has indicated to me that they would be willing to move forward with the City of Charlottesville to look at the recommendations for modifying the existing [CACVB] Board.” City Manager Chip Boyles said City Council will discuss amending the CACVB Board as well, but it’s not the elected officials’ positions that localities would give up.  “I was able to go back and converse with each of our City Council members and the consensus there is that likewise with Albemarle County we would be open to considering a change,” Boyles. “I think the discussion was that the City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer positions would possibly be replaced with industry representatives.”Still remaining to work out are the specifics over those industry representatives. In today’s second Patreon-fueled shout-out: Help support Black-owned business in the Charlottesville area. Check out the Charlottesville Black Business Directory at cvilleblackbiz.com and choose between a variety of goods and services, ranging from beauty supplies, professional services, and e-commerce. Visit cvilleblackbiz.com as soon as you can to get started!*The Thomas Jefferson Planning District is in the midst of conducting two studies related to transit, one of which is focused on increasing the amount of service in urban portions of Albemarle County.  Lucinda Shannon is the planner working on the projects.“We have two different grants that we are working on,” Shannon said. “The transit expansion study is a short-term project and it’s just within Albemarle County and it’s to expand transit services in the near term.”Two public input sessions were held in late July and the goal is to have a feasibility study in place early next year. (See also Studying the Expansion of Transit in Albemarle, August 11, 2021)“The transit vision plan is a little bit longer and it’s for the long-term project and it’s for the entire region so it’s going to go over about 18 months and should be completed on June 30, 2022,” Shannon said. The plan is intended to present steps towards implementing a regional system. “Right now we’re in the gathering information phase,” Shannon said. “We’ve kicked off the project and we’re made data requests from providers and gathered land use. We’re developing a website and a logo.” You can also look forward to an interactive survey and map on the topic. To learn more about transit in this area, do go back and read or listen to the August 27, 2021 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Outside of this newsletter’s immediate coverage is Bedford County, which launches its first public transportation service on Wednesday with a 21-passenger vehicle known as the Otter Bus. This service is a partnership between the Town of Bedford and the Bedford Community Health Foundation. Also beginning Wednesday is the Afton Express, which will provide service between Staunton and Charlottesville. That service will be operated by BRITE.*Now let’s load up the time machine and go back eight days to the August 23, 2021 meeting of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority.  One item on the agenda was the hiring of a real estate firm to conduct a sustainability review of the CRHA’s properties and holdings. John Sales is the CRHA executive director. “We are looking to undertake a sustainability plan to determine the future redevelopment and positioning of the housing authority’s assets to expand for and prepare for redevelopment,” Sales said. The firm to be hired is Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures. That’s the same firm that’s been working with the University of Virginia on an initiative to plan and build up to 1,500 affordable housing units on land owned by UVA or its real estate foundation. “We have already started redeveloping multiple sites and planning for the Sixth Street redevelopment and working to create a couple of resident planners for Westhaven,” Sales said. “So we’ve already started but we really do need to have a game plan about how we’d like to redevelop all of these sites.” Sales said the study will try to determine what needs to be built and would include suggestions for new units that could be built to serve people with federal housing vouchers. New construction being built today is renting at too high levels for many to use that system.“Developers aren’t building the housing units that are needed for the individuals that are getting the vouchers,” Sales said. Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures will be paid up to $229,960 for the work. They were one of two finalists. (resolution)A previous CRHA Board adopted a master plan in the summer of 2010, but the current renovation of Crescent Halls and the building of new units at South First Street did not directly follow that blueprint. For reference, you can read that old plan on cvillepedia. The CRHA Board also narrowly approved a resolution to hire a firm to run video surveillance cameras on CRHA properties for security purposes. “Residents have continued to ask for this ever since I’ve been with CRHA as a director, and that’s been been about a year ago in August,” Sales said. “There was a lot of violence and a lot of shootings going on at several of the sites and residents continued to ask about cameras and why CRHA didn’t have cameras.”The CRHA Board adopted a policy on cameras at their meeting in July. Provisions are in the policy to make sure footage is not used for other reasons, but some residents want to know if that means footage can be used to see if residents are violating the terms of their lease. “We have not expanded the cameras for that roll yet, but those are conversations that are starting to happen in the safety committee,” Sales said. The vote was not unanimous. Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker voted against the contract out of a concern that the cameras will eventually be used to punish and harass residents. “I think it’s just a really slippery slope and I think until people are impacted negatively they won’t even really realize,” Walker said. The move was supported by the Public Housing Association of Residents. Shelby Marie Edwards is the executive director. “I think everybody on this call probably knows that the Sixth Street residents have sustained quite a bit of violence over the past month or so, really all summer,” Edwards said. “The residents I was talking to there, I was talking to them and they said it would be really have something tangible to look forward to next. I do hear everything that the Mayor said about systemic oppression and how the use of cameras could go left, and we’ve been trying our due diligence to let people know about that but the fact of the matter is there’s something very real in front of them and they are hopeful the cameras will be able to help mitigate that violence.”Walker was joined by CRHA Chair A’Lelia Henry in voting against it, but it passed on a 3-2 motion. Two Commissioners were absent from the meeting. The contract with Turnkey will be for $186,040. There may be more from this meeting of the CRHA in a future installment of the show. Thanks for reading and listening. Just a reminder that for $25 a month in Patreon, you get to direct four shout-outs a month! That amount will go up soon, but this is a very good way to get info in front of people in a way that supports production. Visit the Patreon site to learn more. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Ocilla Mayor and Small Town Podcast Host Matt Seale continues a three-episode series in Coffee County sponsored by the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority. In the third and last episode of this series, Mayor Matt visits Nicholls, Georgia. In Nicholls, he talks with Dr. Greg Tanner, a longtime resident whose impressive career in education gives us a new perspective on rural communities. For more information, visit www.smalltownpodcast.com. 

Ocilla Mayor and Small Town Podcast Host Matt Seale continues a three-episode series in Coffee County sponsored by the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority. In this episode, Mayor Matt visits Ambrose, Georgia, and has a great conversation with councilwoman Denise Leverette Paulk. The two discuss the history of the small town of Ambrose and what it's like to live in a no-traffic-light town. They also talk about how councilwoman Leverette Paulk began her journey in local government and the heart she has for her hometown. For more information, visit www.smalltownpodcast.com. 

Ocilla Mayor and Small Town Podcast Host Matt Seale begins a three-episode series in Coffee County sponsored by the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority. In this episode, Mayor Matt visits Broxton, Georgia, to talk with Mayor Dawn Tuten. The two Mayors talk about life in the "best little horse town in Georgia" and Mayor Tuten's heart for the revitalization of her small hometown. For more information, visit www.smalltownpodcast.com. 

Wayne Biggs, CEO of the USVI Economic Development Authority, joined the show today to enlighten us on the business climate of the Virgin Islands, as well as what incentives there are for businesses to relocate to the USVI. Among these incentives is a 90% reduction on Federal corporate income tax.

(3:38) - China has rejected accusations by the U.S. and its allies that the Chinese government was responsible for the major Microsoft hack earlier this year. China said that the U.S. and its allies are "ganging up" on them.(12:24) - Liz Claman of FOX Business joined the show today for a closer look at Monday's sell-off, as well as Tuesday's rally and what we could be seeing in markets going forward.(21:15) - Wayne Biggs, who is the CEO of the USVI Economic Development Authority, joined the show to discuss the business climate of the Virgin Islands, and what financial incentives are offered to businesses that relocate there.(34:58) - 68% of Americans surveyed last year indicated that they were in favor of legalizing marijuana at the federal level. However, due to the way Congress operates, it seems unlikely that a legalization bill will pass anytime soon.

In today’s Substack-fueled shout-out, Code for Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with tech, data, design, and research skills to work on community service projects. Founded in September 2019, Code for Charlottesville has worked on projects with the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Fire Department, and the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights. Visit the Code for Charlottesville website to learn more, including details on projects that are underway. In today’s installment:Albemarle Supervisors are briefed on status on economic development planning exercise for the area around the Woolen MillsA conversation about policing and security at public housing sitesA new creative director at Live ArtsMartinsville and Henry County agree on reversionThis show is nearly a year old now, having launched to the public the second week of July during the pandemic. Sometimes the various segments come together as a theme. Sometimes, there are just things I want to get on the record, somewhere. In today’s show and for much of this first week of June, there will be a lot of catching up. There’s a new artistic director at Live Arts. Susan E. Evans will take over effective today, arriving from the San Francisco Bay area where she most recently ran the 187-seat Old Town Theatre in Lafayette, California. Before that, she was artistic director at the Douglas Morrison Theatre in Hayward, California and before that she was with the Eastenders Repertory Company, also in the Bay area. “I am drawn to the active verb in Live Arts’ mission: forging—theater and community striving toward bringing folx together, vigorously exchanging perspectives through art,” Evans is quoted in a press release. There were over 140 applications for the position. Live Arts was founded in 1990. The city of Martinsville and Henry County in southside Virginia have reached an agreement in which Martinsville will revert to a town. In late April, the two governing bodies met in a mediated closed session according to the minutes of the May meeting of the Virginia Commission on Local Government. That body must approve the agreement when it is finalized. According to the Martinsville Bulletin, the seven-member Martinsville City Council and the six-member Henry County Board of Supervisors met at a joint meeting on May 26 and agreed on a rough sketch of a memorandum of agreement for the reversion. The agreement doesn’t specify when the reversion will take place, but the two parties have agreed to let the Commission on Local Government pick the date. In 2019, the Albemarle County Economic Development Department began a planning study of the roadway that leads to the Woolen Mills factory, a historic property that has renovated in recent years by developer Brian Roy. The main entrance is along Broadway Avenue, which extends from Carlton Avenue at the border between the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. In all, there are about 45 acres of land that were the subject of an interim study presented to the Board of Supervisors in November of 2019. “The goal at that time was to leverage the public and private investment that had taken place and projected to take place at the Woolen Mills redevelopment and the Willow Tree relocation at that site,” said J.T. Newberry in the economic development department. Much of the land is zoned for light industrial use, and several businesses are operating in the area. Construction of the new Woolen Mills Industrial Park is underway. The Board of Supervisors was to have seen the results of an implementation study in April 2020, but the pandemic put a pause on the work.“Nevertheless we have tried to stay engaged with stakeholders on the corridor,” Newberry said. “There have been a number of projects that have continued on the private side.”After the interim study, Albemarle staff met with city staff at least twice, and the blueprint has been run by the Planning Commission, the Economic Development Authority, and the Office of Equity and Inclusion. The latter suggested a new approach to the project following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the topic by Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the University of Virginia. Roger Johnson is the director of economic development for Albemarle.“We are going to pause our project and go back and review the Broadway corridor through an equity lens,” Johnson said. “We don’t know if that will change anything substantively or not but we expect that it will.” That will include a meeting with the city’s new Deputy City Manager of Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Ashley Marshall. Next steps could include creation of a business association for the area, similar to the Downtown Crozet Association. Another would be to create an arts and cultural district for the location. “Some other types of activities we are contemplating are to complete pedestrian and bike connectivity, multimodal streetscape, enhanced public transportation,” Johnson said. Those activities are now considered to be long-term goals. A map of the area covered by the Broadway BlueprintThe Piedmont Master Gardeners and Virginia Cooperative Extension will host an online presentation by author Douglas Tallamy on “The Nature of Oaks” at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 3. Admission is $15. Register by 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 2, at piedmontmastergardeners.org/events to reserve a spot in the program. A longtime professor at the University of Delaware and author of widely acclaimed books such as Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope, Tallamy has shown how we can help save nature’s ecological riches in our own backyards. In his latest book, The Nature of Oaks, he explains how adding native oak trees to our home landscapes is one of the best ways to help heal the planet. At the beginning of May, a contract for a security firm to patrol public housing sites lapsed.  At the same, a series of shootings has taken place, including an April 30 incident at Westhaven where bullets struck multiple vehicles and apartment buildings. The Board of Commissioners of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority discussed the matter at their meeting on Monday, May 24.  Commissioner Laura Goldblatt is a member of the CRHA safety committee and had an update. “There was a lot of discussion and has been a lot of discussion at the past few about the roles that residents want to see for police and what they want policing to look like in their neighborhoods but also the role that they want various community-based safety initiatives to play,” Goldblatt said. “And also a perceived lack of services or a desire for creativity around certain services so we spent a lot of time discussing mental health and trauma services.”Goldblatt said there is a need for trauma counselors who understand the experience of living in public housing. She said some residents have anxiety about the lack of security services at the moment. “I know we have been working towards a [request for proposals] about the various kinds of services we would sent out for,” Goldblatt said. Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker said she’s been meeting Police Chief RaShall Brackney and CRHA Executive Director John Sales about the security issue.“Chief Brackney’s position is that in response to the security firm no longer being present, that they are being asked to increase police presence and this is coming on the heels of a lot of change but a loud community to not having cameras, not having police presence and now there is a request for that increase,” Walker said. “From a community that is asking to defund, where there is being a significant amount of resources being spent on increased patrol on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday time frame right now.”Charlottesville Police have stepped up patrols in the past few weeks to prevent additional shootings. Chief Brackney is seeking a letter from CRHA about the rules of engagement for future patrols in order to ensure everyone in the community is on the same page with regards to why officers are there. “So that we could be clear that as we were being asked to increase our presence in the community, as we were being asked to use whatever tools and technologies that we have to be able to respond to the increase in violence in the community, as well as the fact that as of May 2, there was no security team or security profile there in the community,” Brackney said. Chief Brackney said she wants the letter to guard against comments from the community about over-policing.“So when there is a lot of presence, I want the community to understand that this is something the residents are asking for of us as well,” Brackney said. Brackney said as of May 20, there had been 121 shootings in the city, with many of them taking place on or near CRHA properties. She said that’s up 51 percent over this time last year. Shelby Edwards, the executive director of the Public Housing Association of Residents, said she was not certain her organization was ready to sign such a letter. “And I love and appreciate the idea of uniformity as far as approach but what I think we always  wonder as we continue to serve the community, if we sign a letter that says we co-signed, and to be clear to the public, we have not co-signed anything, there is no letter quite yet, I just wonder if anyone goes down on CPD’s watch, how would that look for us?”Walker said she supported an agreement because it could set up better relations between police and the community into the future as people in positions of power change. “In the past, police have just come into the community and policed how they want,” Walker said. “I think creating this kind of partnership, having it in writing also gives an example of what future policing looks like if its needed and hopefully we can prevent some of the harm by organization like CRHA and PHAR being able to say ‘hey, this is what we did in 2021 and we want to follow a model similar to that.’”Goldblatt said if there is to be an increase in police presence at public housing sites, she wanted additional mental health services. Chief Brackney said she understood and hoped that police presence would not be required in the future.“I would also wish that we should understand and appreciate that police presence isn’t the only things that are triggering events in our communities,” Brackney said. “It would seem to me that the reasons we’re getting called there should be triggering events for our communities as well. And I’m sure they are. I come from those communities and grew up in those communities.”For the past four weekend, four officers have been dedicated overnight to sites Westhaven, South First Street and Sixth Street and there have been no shootings. “Police presence does make a difference,” Brackney said. “We also know that police presence, people will find a different place to go, and they will find another pathway so we have to be careful that we don’t push it into another community or another area, but that we get to the root causes of it to start.”CRHA Executive Director John Sales said in an email to me today that so far there is no letter, but one is in the works. Stay tuned and more from this CRHA meeting in an upcoming episode of this program.Thanks for reading! If you’re new to the program, I’m Sean Tubbs and I’ve been writing about public policy of and on since I was a student at Virginia Tech. I’m producing this work as a way of helping members of my community better understand what’s happening in local and regional government, as well as the economy that fuels the area. My goal is to bring you information in a way that directs you to new information you may not yet have considered. Let me know if you have any questions! This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen discusses the May 10 City Council meeting. Topics include the new Economic Development Authority, the Tower Heights development, and more. Connect: Subscribe to The KYMN Radio Podcast Here Find the latest Northfield Area News Here Follow us on Facebook & Twitter Listen live on 95.1 FM, 1080 AM or online here The Morning Show airs weekdays from 6am to 9am. Find more great programs like this one at https://kymnradio.net and subscribe to The KYMN Radio Podcast for a mix of Northfield news, high school sports, and great music.

Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen discusses the May 10 City Council meeting.  Topics include the new Economic Development Authority, the Tower Heights development, and more.

“There is no question off the table, just ask.” —Cal Wray Today’s conversation with Cal Wray, President at Augusta Economic Development Authority, is a great reminder of why economic developers do the hard work to make our communities better. Cal shares what keeps him passionate about economic development, even when times are tough, and he […]

Good morning, RVA! It’s 31 °F, and today we see the sun! It might take until later this afternoon, but we’re gonna see that thing and feel good about it. Expect highs in the mid 40s, the snow to melt, and the opportunity to enjoy a really great cup of coffee/tea/beverage of your choice.Water coolerYesterday afternoon, police officers were called to the 1500 block of Mechanicsville Turnpike and found Jaquon Mitchell, a man in this 30s, shot to death. According to the RPD’s homicide list, this is the second murder of 2021.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 2,740 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 43 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 395 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 155, Henrico: 160, and Richmond: 80). Since this pandemic began, 683 people have died in the Richmond region. That’s three straight days with new reported cases in the 2,000s, and the seven-day average of the same metric fell below 4,000 for the first time since January 1st. We’ve got a similar decreasing trend in hospitalizations: We haven’t seen the seven-day average of new hospitalizations under 100 since the last day of 2020. Additionally, the seven-day average of deaths, which, remember, does lag behind the rest of the metrics, appears to have at least plateaued. These all seem like good signs of progress? Decreasing cases + increasing vaccinations = the world I want to live in right now. I am still a little nervous that Data Reporting Issues will return to dash any hopes that my spreadsheet has generated, but I’m going to allow myself to feel optimistic this morning!Michael Paul Williams at the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes about Black History Month and what it means to look back at 2020 through the lens of history. To quote a bit: “To call February’s Black History Month a ‘celebration’ always felt a bit off, but never more so than this year. Trumpism, resurgent white nationalism, insurrection and the disparate toll of COVID-19 on people of color highlight the folly of treating Black history like a footnote. You can’t understand this moment until you accept that America’s treatment of its Black citizens represents a profound failure of democracy. America’s shallow pool of knowledge of this story has just enough depth to drown us.”The City’s Economic Development Authority has approved a $120,000 grant to local restaurant delivery company ChopChop—think GrubHub, but local. From the press release: “The grant will allow ChopChop to create the Richmond Rate Reduction Program. The Richmond Rate Reduction Program reduces delivery fees charged to local restaurants from 20% to 7% for a three-month period.” A 13% reduction in fees charged to restaurants seems like maybe a noticeable amount? I have no idea! I do know, however, that this $120,000 runs out after three months, so we’ll see if ChopChop will keep their new, lower rates moving forward (which is definitely their “long-term objective”). Also, neither here nor there, this administration loves restaurants. I love restaurants, too, and I desperately miss them, but they love them, like, a lot a lot.Wyatt Gordon, writing for Style Weekly looks at how Feed More and Richmond Public Schools have worked (and continue to work!) to address hunger in our city. I love this quote from Doug Pick, Feed More’s chief executive, "This pandemic has made really clear the haves and have nots of our country…We are a really well-run logistics business with a big heart, but hunger is not the problem—it’s poverty.”General Assembly update! Keep in mind that bills die horrible deaths at many, many points along the path to becoming a law. Try not to get too stoked or upset about any of these things, because who knows when they could radically change or flameout entirely. First, for the Virginia Mercury, Ned Oliver covers the progress on marijuana legalization. Check out this exchange between Sen. Jennifer McClellan and Sen. Creigh Deeds: “Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, noted lawmakers have already decriminalized marijuana, which reduced the penalty for possession of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor punishable by jail time to a $25 civil infraction…‘At least where I live, law enforcement don’t feel incentivized to write the tickets and they’re not writing the tickets,’ Deeds said. McClellan responded, ‘With all due respect, I think that might be different in other parts of the state.’”

Good morning, RVA! It’s 28 °F, and today it looks like you should expect rain or freezing rain or icy rain. No snow unfortunately. If you’ve got to leave your house for some reason, please be careful! Sidewalks and streets are bound to be slippery with the temperature hovering around freezing for the entire day. In fact, we’ve got a Winter Weather Advisory until 10:00 AM.Richmond Public Schools has their first virtual snow day today—you can’t have school, even virtual school, if you can’t deliver meals. Chesterfield Public Schools has cancelled both in person and virtual learning. Henrico will continue with their virtual learning, but teachers who had taught from school buildings will now teach form their homes.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 2,558 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 15 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 372 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 181, Henrico: 92, and Richmond: 99). Since this pandemic began, 679 people have died in the Richmond region. What’s this? A statewide total of new cases in the 2,000s! Haven’t seen that in a while. But, before you get too excited, VDH has the following notice up on their data dashboard: “Surveillance system upgrades occurring on Saturday, January 30, 2021, will affect the data on the COVID-19 Cases & Testing Dashboards on January 31 and February 1, 2021. A decrease in the number of cases and tests reported on January 31, and an increase in the number of cases and tests reported on February 1 is anticipated because of these upgrades.”Related to big numbers, on Saturday almost 5,000 seniors were given their first dose of vaccine at a regional vaccination event at the Raceway. That’s a lot of folks in a single day—especially folks who may have some mobility challenges or may just move a little slower. It should definitely give everyone a little hope that massive events like this are already possible in our region without any additional support from the Virginia National Guard or federal government. Our state and federal leaders have talked about both of those things, so adding them to our mix would only increase (and stabilize) our vaccination capacity. However, no one—local, state, or federal—can run massive vaccination events like this without massive amounts of vaccine. Unless something changes in the immediate future we may just have to sit on this infrastructure, waiting for the shots to show up.The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Jessica Nocera reports that after today’s snow day, Chesterfield County Public Schools will return elementary students to in-person learning. 14,000 students will return, while 13,000 have decided to stay virtual. Interestingly, the District’s superintendent originally pitched reopening on April 1st, but, after a meeting with the School Board, that date shifted to February 1st. It’s not clear to me whether the original plan was to return all students on April 1st or just elementary students on April 1st—a big difference. Of course, the context to this entire discussion is that most of Chesterfield’s teachers have not received their first round of vaccine but are still headed back to the classrooms.Richmond’s School Board meets tonight and will further discuss the Superintendent’s proposed budget (full agenda here). Boardmembers have already asked a bunch of questions about the budget, which the administration has already answered, and that means you get this really fascinating Q&A PDF. For example: “How will we address air conditioning concerns with a year-round calendar? The HVAC investments we are hoping to make this spring and summer (using the federal stimulus) should address these concerns.” or “Will we have a nurse at every school? Yes. The FY22 proposed budget will finally help us achieve our goal of having at least one licensed nurse at every school!” I love this kind of stuff. The first two pages of the aforelinked PDF focus on year-round school, if you’re interested in learning more about the specifics of how that would work. Oh! Also! It’s always a good time to email the entire School Boardand let them know you support extending Superintendent Kamras’s contract for four years (so we can continue to get fascinating PDFs like this).Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense has a quick update on Henrico’s GreenCity project (formerly Richmond’s Navy Hill project). The County has officially transferred the Best Products site to their Economic Development Authority, which is the first step in getting the property into the hands of developers. Expect a bunch of slow-trickle, done-deal sounding news about this project for the next, I dunno, year?Over on /r/rva, Creative Dog Media has put together 14 drone photos from yesterday’s snow day that you should flip through. The overheads of the train station and the Manchester climbing wall! Ack! So good.Holly Rodriguez, writing for Richmond Magazine, has a profile of Roscoe Burnems—who you may remember as Richmond’s first poet laureate. I like this quote from Burnems, “Richmond is getting known for these beautiful murals on display across the city, and I want to add a literary component to that.”This morning’s longreadThe Pandemic Has Erased Entire Categories of FriendshipI think a lot about how just before the pandemic I’d finally become a regular at a coffee shop—to the point where they made my coffee when they saw me come in. I miss those people!Understandably, much of the energy directed toward the problems of pandemic social life has been spent on keeping people tied to their families and closest friends. These other relationships have withered largely unremarked on after the places that hosted them closed. The pandemic has evaporated entire categories of friendship, and by doing so, depleted the joys that make up a human life—and buoy human health. But that does present an opportunity. In the coming months, as we begin to add people back into our lives, we’ll now know what it’s like to be without them.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Join us as we discuss ecosystem builders and breaking down barriers with Doug Erwin, Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. To learn more about Doug's work, please visit: https://www.edawn.org/ (https://www.edawn.org/) You can find out more about Startup Space here: https://www.startupspace.us/ (https://www.startupspace.us/)

Jim Person connects with Victor Hoskins from the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority

This Week: Cay Wray, the development director for the Augusta Economic Development Authority helps us answer the question: How do businesses come to Augusta? This episode is your inside track to understanding how we recruit businesses to our region and how we work with our local neighbors to do so. Cal talks to us about working with different cities before eventually coming to Augusta and working on deals like Top Golf and C4 Live. Want an onside track to Augusta? Here it is!   Presented By Nancy Powell Real Estate Broker @DowntownAugustaBroker (Powell & Associates is Augusta's Favorite Brokerage!)   Beer is Brought to You By Savannah River Brewery (Check out the Hammer of Hops West Coast Classic IPA) SavannahRiverBrew.Com   Community Partners: The Little Guide to Augusta & TheClubhou.se at the Cyber Center. Also Featuring: @AllEqualParts, 2nd City Distilling & Durty Gurl Cocktail Mixers.   Learn More and Shop Merch @ AugustaPodcasts.com Produced at Augusta Podcasts Studio  

This Week: Cay Wray, the development director for the Augusta Economic Development Authority helps us answer the question: How do businesses come to Augusta? This episode is your inside track to understanding how we recruit businesses to our region and how we work with our local neighbors to do so. Cal talks to us about working with different cities before eventually coming to Augusta and working on deals like Top Golf and C4 Live. Want an onside track to Augusta? Here it is!   Presented By Nancy Powell Real Estate Broker @DowntownAugustaBroker (Powell & Associates is Augusta's Favorite Brokerage!)   Beer is Brought to You By Savannah River Brewery (Check out the Hammer of Hops West Coast Classic IPA) SavannahRiverBrew.Com   Community Partners: The Little Guide to Augusta & TheClubhou.se at the Cyber Center. Also Featuring: @AllEqualParts, 2nd City Distilling & Durty Gurl Cocktail Mixers.   Learn More and Shop Merch @ AugustaPodcasts.com Produced at Augusta Podcasts Studio  

Gregg Gothreaux, President and CEO of Lafayette Economic Development Authority, joined host, Jan Swift, to discuss the economic impacts of the COVID-19 shutdown. LEDA is a full-service, tax-funded government entity dedicated to helping the business community of Lafayette Parish. This pandemic crisis has affected not only our nation's physical health but its economic health. Gothreaux stressed that it has also brought to the forefront issues that we need to address as our country moves forward to ensure future prosperity and provide the wherewithal to withstand the inevitable, yet unforeseeable challenges which may once again shake our economy. LEDA's program of work involves long term economic development strategy, and the focus is on attracting new business to our community while sustaining business conditions for existing enterprises, both large and small, who are the backbone of our economy. The talented staff works to help businesses grow, find the right employees, find tax incentives, and tax breaks that exist and should be utilized. Lafayette's forefathers did much to diversity our local economy and Gothreaux gives them much credit in forging the path for our area's creative business entrepreneurs. In LEDA's early days in the 1970s (when it was known as the "Lafayette Harbor, Terminal and Industrial Development District"), one of its first actions was to create a business park in Broussard known as "Southpark Industrial Park." This organized investment of business space provided Lafayette Parish with the ability to compete effectively with other regions of the country and be able to offer a desirable and business-ready locale for businesses from around the country to locate in Acadiana. Gothreaux recounted that one of the first businesses locating in SouthPark was International Paper which made corrugated boxes; the company is still there today in 2020 but operating under a different name. Countless other thriving businesses are operating in LEDA's Industrial Parks throughout the parish and include BlueBell, AT&T, Cintas, Home Furniture Distribution, and many, many others. For an overview of all of Lafayette Parish's business parks, visit LEDA's website here. Today's office buildings are our "industrial parks," according to Gothreaux. LEDA and its protege, the Opportunity Machine, work to fill office buildings and warehouses across our community by helping businesses thrive. There is no more need to build industrial parks as the current push is to fill existing office space. An example shared was the repurposing of the former Mid-South Bank Building on Versailles Blvd. near downtown by CGI. As the economy diversifies and continues to attract IT and medical-related companies, existing office space can readily accommodate needs and supply sufficient space for new companies. SchoolMint is Lafayette's most recent success story, illustrating our region's ability to attract software firms from the West Coast who are looking for a more appropriate place to locate headquarters. Offering 178 new positions at an average salary of $75,000, SchoolMint is relocating to Lafayette from San Francisco. One of the key players in this story was Casey Bienvenu, a Carencro and UL-Lafayette grad, who is the company's chief software architect and the force who developed the original software utilized by SchoolMint. The company is taking the country by storm with its unique way of pairing students and educational institutions with strategic enrollment platforms. This move by SchoolMint is unusual on its face, as most companies moving out of California tend to relocate to other Western U. S. states; in this case, existing relationships with Lafayette Parish natives paved the way for a highly successful and growing firm to select our community as its new headquarters. Gothreaux projects that we will have the opportunity to welcome many other new businesses as we offer not only a superb quality of life but the ...

We speak with Jennifer Bonnett.  Jennifer is a recovering entrepreneur turned entrepreneurial economic development professional focused on helping entrepreneurs launch, grow and scale technology businesses in Georgia.  She is the Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA). Jennifer also served technology entrepreneurs through her role as Director/General Manager of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Georgia's Technology Incubator.  Jennifer has a passion for female technology entrepreneurs and is the founder of StartupChicks, a non-profit membership organization. StartupChicks is focused on connecting, educating and inspiring women and girls to become STEM focused entrepreneurs.  She is also the Executive Director of The Creative Coast.  Jennifer is a former technology entrepreneur with over 25 years experience in Information Technology and Software Development specializing in web and mobile technologies. Jennifer has held numerous CEO/CTO positions in bootstrapped, angel and venture-backed technology startups.  We discuss how office jobs may never come back as we know them, the future of city based tech hubs, how important data is during this pandemic and how we can technologically innovate to approach an uncertain future.  Lots of forward thinking from this smart lady that far preceded the pandemic and how we will all need to reset.    

MBJ’s Sean Ryan talks with Joaquin Altoro, CEO of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, about this year’s round of affordable housing tax credit awards, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond financing development of new apartments for low-income renters, WHEDA is a lender to a lot of first-time homebuyers, so he had a lot of perspective to share.   Later, MBJ reporter Sari Lesk joins Sean to discuss the federal Paycheck Protection Program.  Sari gives a solid overview of what’s happening locally with small, and sometimes larger, businesses seeking loans to get through this pandemic. For more information on the stories featured in today’s episode, visit https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/

Good morning, RVA! It’s 66 °F, and Big Rain is on its way. We’ve got a flood watch in effect from 8:00 AM–8:00 PM with a possibility of one to two inches of rain. Basically wind and rain all day today, maybe some tomorrow, and then a pretty nice-looking Saturday.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 14,961 positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth, and 522 people in Virginia have died as a result of the virus. VDH reports 1,670 cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 501, Henrico: 846, and Richmond: 323). Yesterday, the number of reported tests stayed flat at around 2,500, and that continues to bum me out. New hospitalizations and percent-positive went down a tiny bit, theoretically advancing our 14-day Countdown to Recovery to “one.” Although, VPM, paraphrasing the Governor from his press conference yesterday, says that when asked if one bad day would restart the Countdown Clock the Gov said: “No, ‘we’re looking at trends’ - so over 14-days, he’d be looking for an overall decline in positive cases. He says turnaround time and amount of tests will also impact what this looks like.” Sounds like someone (this guy) needs to update his charts to switch everything to a rolling 14-day average. Also yesterday, the Governor allowed his ban on elective medical procedures to expire.The local health district continues to roll out free, walk-up testing events in some of our lower-income neighborhoods. Today they’ll set up at the Gilpin Resource Center. Spread the word! Remember: You must call the COVID-19 hotline to register ahead of time (804.205.3501). While we, of course, need more of these all across our region, I’m stoked that we’ve started in some of our public housing neighborhoods and that these events have not been drive-through testing. Several states have rolled out drive-through testing which instantly and inequitably limits who can participate.GRTC says they’ve had their first bus operator test positive for COVID-19. GRTC’s policy for this sort of thing is that any employee that gets tested, must then go on paid leave until they get negative results back or fully recover. To try and stay ahead of a potential outbreak, GRTC has asked “that all operators and on-site staff schedule a COVID-19 test as soon as possible to stay ahead of any possible spread.” You’d an see how those previous two sentences, when combined, will make for some serious disruptions in bus service: “GRTC requests that customers make alternative arrangements for all essential trips for the remainder of this week. If GRTC does not have enough operations staff on duty to put at least minimal service on most every route, GRTC may need to cancel fixed-route service entirely for Thursday and Friday. If this happens, GRTC will put on-demand service in place for urgent and essential trips to medical facilities that cannot be met due to canceled transit services.” Wow. Without knowing any of the specifics, I wonder if, once GRTC gets through this initial round of tests, a core service plan can be implemented—something similar to what’s been done in San Francisco.City Council met yesterday for a budget amendment session. You can listen to the audio here, and you can look at the, so far, single proposed budget amendment here(PDF). Put forward by Councilmember Lynch, this amendment would take $600,000 from the local health district’s Smoking Cessation and Disease Prevention Program and allocate it toward expanding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Whether or not you think we should defund health programs at this particular moment in time in favor of housing, hats off to Councilmember Lynch for doing the work to actually submit a change to the Mayor’s proposed (and updated) budget. Council will meet again today at 4:00 PM for a newly-scheduled amendment session—so newly-scheduled that it’s not even on the City’s legislative website yet. Will anyone else submit amendments? Will Council approve Lynch’s amendment? Will they schedule a few more meetings before the end of May? Tune in and find out.Jack Jacobs, writing for Richmond BizSense, has an interesting update on that loan program the City’s Economic Development Authority announced a million virusweeks ago. So far $410,000 of the $1 million is spoken for and five business have cash in hand.Note for prospective RPS parents and guardians: Preschool and Kindergarten online registration begins today! You’ll need a birth certificate, proof of residence, and, for preschool, proof of income.Rich Griset at the Chesterfield Observer talked to John Moeser about the rerelease of his book on annexation, The Politics of Annexation: Oligarch Power in a Southern City. I’m contractually obligated to link you to anything having to do with annexation in the Richmond region. It’s one of the most defining moments in our City’s modern history. Remember, you can download Moeser’s book for free! Put it in your quaranqueue now!RVAgreen 2050—which is “the City’s equity-centered, integrated mitigation and climate resilience planning initiative to aggressively reduce community greenhouse gas emissions and help the community adapt to Richmond’s climate impacts”—needs Virtual Ambassadors to help learn and spread the word about climate resiliency. Maybe you have some spare time and are willing to dedicate it to a worthy cause? What cause, I ask you, is worthier than THE VERY FATE OF OUR ONLY PLANET?? Anyway, interested folks can learn more and sign up over on the RVAgreen 2050 website.Logistical note! I’m taking tomorrow off from Good Morning, RVA. No real reason other than I want to spend the morning sitting quietly in my living room, drinking coffee, and staring into the middle distance. I’ll probably work on some new coronacharts, too. Until Monday!This morning’s patron longreadEnvironmental Destruction Brought Us COVID-19. What It Brings Next Could Be Far WorseSubmitted by Patron Kathleen. Who wants to be terrified on a Thursday??As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, killing thousands and crushing the global economy, the potential threat of zoonotic spillover — when novel viruses and bacteria jump from animals to people — is becoming increasingly clear. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 almost certainly originated in bats and is believed to have spilled into humans at a live animal market in Wuhan, China. Readily transmissible and far deadlier than the seasonal flu, COVID-19 is now one of the worst pandemics of animal origin that humans have faced in a century. But it won’t be the last.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

On this episode of the pod, we talk with Loudoun Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall and Russell Seymour, the economic development director from the Town of Leesburg.  Chair Randall talks about how the county is dealing with COVID-19 and the new Business Interruption Fund that the Board passed last week. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $1.15 million in grant funding for the  COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund to support Loudoun businesses impacted by the coronavirus  outbreak. On Thursday of last week, the Economic Development Authority added another 250 thousand dollars to the fund.   Mr. Seymour discusses the initiatives in Leesburg that the Town Council has approved to assist businesses and talks about how he and his team have worked to assist companies during this pandemic.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 52 °F, and temperatures today are way up in the 70s. Keep an eye out for some rain later this afternoon. These warmer vibes will continue for the next couple of days.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 2,878 positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth, and 54 people in Virginia have died as a result of the virus. VDH reports 420 cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 108, Henrico: 207, and Richmond: 105). We’ll see how those numbers update today, as Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says that 28 people have died of COVID-19 at the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Henrico and 116 residents of the same facility have tested positive for the disease. That’s over half of Henrico’s total reported number of cases. For those of us coping with the enormity and brutality of this situation by tracking data and keeping spreadsheets, here’s an odd sentence several paragraphs down: “The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the Richmond region is not clear because there is no reporting requirement, said Dr. Danny Avula, director of the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts.” Further, a whole team of RTD folks covered the Governor’s press conference and compared the amount of coronavirus testing done in Virginia (24,521) to smaller, neighbor states like North Carolina (40,045). The number of test still has such a huge impact on not only our ability to make spreadsheets but to track and stop the spread of the coronavirus. I don’t know what to make of the apparent low number of tests-per-capita in the Commonwealth.One more bit about data: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association has launched their own data dashboard focusing on the number of folks hospitalized for actual COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19. They’ve also got some stats on ICU beds, ventilators, and hospitals that are having difficulty obtaining supplies.I didn’t know where to fit it in the above two paragraphs, but the Governor also said that Virginians should wear masks when they go outside. Time to put those mask-making resource to good use!Yesterday, Richmond Public Schools launched daily, grade-specific, learning-at-home resources for all students. This is a massive resource that required, I imagine, a massive amount of work to put together. If you’ve got a tiny human at home, consider taking advantage of it. Or, honestly, don’t! I’m extremely empathetic for the very specific overwhelmed feeling that comes from tapping on a link and seeing an array of resources that you totally don’t know how, exactly, to put to use. If that sounds familiar, maybe just bookmark the link so you have it for later? Anyway, clearly students need a computer and internet access to take advantage of all of these resources, and Superintendent Kamras says, “we’re working around the clock to get laptops and wifi hotspots ready for distribution…I’m happy to report that they’ll begin going out later this week.”I know I keep reminding you about this, but the application for Richmond’s no-interest loans for small businesses dropped yesterday. You can find more information and the application itself here. Remember, the Economic Development Authority will consider applications in the the order in which they were received. If you’re planning on applying, do it ASAP!If you’ve ever seen me do my day job, or, really, spent any time with me at all, you’ll know that I think annexation (or, more accurately, the State’s prohibition on any future annexation) is one of the most important and defining characteristics of our region. Lucky for us big-time annexation foamers, VCU and UR have made John Moeser’s book, The Politics of Annexation, free to download! Moeser is the literal expert on annexation in our region, and I’m stoked to move this book to the top of my queue (right after Pride, which I’m really enjoying). You can download The Politics of Annexation in a variety of formats here.Via /r/rva, extremely bad news on the cheap beer front. But, on the other hand, you can now get liquor shipped to your door from Virginia distilleries. During a pandemic you win some, you lose some.This morning’s longreadReal estate for the apocalypse: my journey into a survival bunkerThe things rich people do to prepare for a crisis makes me sad for how they view humanity.Vivos was offering more than just the provision of ready-made bunkers and turnkey apocalypse solutions. It was offering a vision of a post-state future. When you bought into such a scheme, you tapped into a fever dream from the depths of the libertarian lizard-brain: a group of well-off and ideologically like-minded individuals sharing an autonomous space, heavily fortified against outsiders – the poor, the hungry, the desperate, the unprepared – and awaiting its moment to rebuild civilisation from the ground up. What was being offered, as such, was a state stripped down to its bare rightwing essentials: a militarised security apparatus, engaged through contractual arrangement, for the protection of private wealth.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 44 °F, and highs today will hit 65 °F at some point this afternoon. Expect the warm and sunny weather to continue through the weekend. Enjoy in the most safe and responsible way you can!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,706 positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth, and 41 people in Virginia have died as a result of the virus. VDH reports 212 cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 73, Henrico: 87, and Richmond: 52). Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says that 16 people have now died from COVID-19 at the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in western Henrico. Just awful—a significant portion of the state’s deaths in one building.If you, like me, have a morbid fascination with virusdata, Alejandro Alvarez, the digital editor at WTOP, has put together this absolutely beautiful coronavirus spreadsheet tracker for Virginia, D.C., and Maryland. If you’re looking for a dark data dashboard to start your day, you probably won’t find anything better than this.The Virginia Employment Commission released this week’s unemployment insurance claims numbers, and they continue to shock me: 111,497 people filed claims, up from 46,277 last week. For sobering context, around this time last year about 2,700 people filed unemployment claims. I mean, look at this absolutely horrifying graph. We’re in truly unprecedented times, and hundreds of thousands of people will need serious assistance from the state and federal governments as soon as possible. Given the number of orange alert boxes on the VEC’s website, it seems like getting that assistance to the people who need it has maybe hit some technical and logistical roadblocks.It only took a pandemic, but the Washington NFL team has agreed to allow the City to eliminate their 2019 and 2020 cash contributions for the Washington Training Camp. That’s great news; the 2019 contribution alone totaled $161,000. The Mayor also announced the Economic Development Authority has created a small business loan program that will offer “interest-free emergency loans of up to $20,000 to small businesses within the city limits.” If you’re a small business owner you should get your stuff in order, because applications for that loan program open on April 6th and will be considered in the ordered they are submitted. That sounds stressful! Take the weekend to prepare, OK?? Mark Robinson at the RTD has more detail about how to qualify. As for the source of the loan money, Mayor Stoney said that cash saved from the Washington Training Camp deal will directly fund this new small business loan program.Alright, y’all. City Council met yesterday for less than four minutes to introduce legislation that will allow them to meet virtually until September (ORD. 2020–093). This ordinance applies not only to City Council, but to a whole slew of public bodies and should get a bunch of the various boards and commissions meeting again, too. Of note: Public bodies wishing to have public comment must allow folks to submit those comments electronically before the meeting. They can, additionally, decide to allow “telephonic or other electronic communication means during the course of the meeting”—which, honestly, sounds terrible. This is definitely step zero in setting up a process for remote, asynchronously civic engagement! However, if you take four minutes and listen the audio from yesterday’s meeting, you’ll see (well, hear, rather) that Council still has a ways to go in figuring out the technical bits. While you could hear Councilmembers Newbille, Grey, and Trammell—who were all sitting in actual Council Chambers—everyone else who dialed in was but a whisper. Council will hold a public hearing on this paper next week on April 9th.For whatever reason, American society has decided to try to carry on life as best it can by moving every possible in-person encounter to a video conference call hosted by Zoom. I don’t know how everyone simultaneously decided on using Zoom as a platform, but it happened. Now, Zoom is both a noun and a verb I say regularly in my professional life when just two weeks ago it only applied to dogs running around in cute circles. So—whether you wanted to or not—you probably know about Zoom, but do you know about ZoomBombing? Nefarious folks have scraped up public Zoom invites and popped into meetings uninvited spraying hate, grief, and offensive material. Bummer yet predictable, I guess. UR has put together this very helpful page of tips for how anyone hosting Zooms can make those meeting a bit more secure. Take note! Especially those of you meeting with kids!This morning’s patron longread‘White-Collar Quarantine’ Over Virus Spotlights Class DivideSubmitted by Patron Blake. It’s a trope at this point, but coronavirus has certainly revealed who the essential workers are and it’s not Richard Florida’s creative class. Kate Masters at the Virginia Mercury has a piece on what this looks like locally.In some respects, the pandemic is an equalizer: It can afflict princes and paupers alike, and no one who hopes to stay healthy is exempt from the strictures of social distancing. But the American response to the virus is laying bare class divides that are often camouflaged — in access to health care, child care, education, living space, even internet bandwidth. In New York, well-off city dwellers have abandoned cramped apartments for spacious second homes. In Texas, the rich are shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to build safe rooms and bunkers. And across the country, there is a creeping consciousness that despite talk of national unity, not everyone is equal in times of emergency.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Winchester Economic Development Director Shawn Hershberger sat socially distanced from host Barry Lee at the Rouss Review studio to discuss the steps that the Economic Development Authority is taking to help local businesses struggling in the wake of the Coronavirus. Also in this episode: - Council BLUF: March 31 meeting - Now U Know: Coronavirus facts - Upcoming Events & Programs: Things to do while social distancing - Coronavirus Updates with Communications Director Amy Simmons

Good morning, RVA! It’s 22 °F, and today you can expect highs in the mid 40s and clouds in the sky. Temperatures could hit 50 °F tomorrow.Water coolerDown at the General Assembly, the Land Use Subcommittee of the Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee (which meets at 8:00 AM in “300-A Subcommittee Room” should anyone find themselves in a testifying mood) will hear Del. Samirah’s middle housing bill, HB 152. This bill would require localities to allow duplexes anywhere currently zoned for single family homes. If we’re serious about affordable housing, if we’re serious about public transportation, if we’re serious about combating climate change, we have got to come up with ways for more people to live closer together. Del. Samirah’s bill does exactly this, and it lines up nicely with Richmond 300’s vision for our neighborhoods. I’m very supportive!Locally, but still housing-related, Richmond Magazine’s Rodrigo Arriaza has an interview with Housing Opportunities Made Equal’s Heather Mullins Crislip. HOME and Crislip have been deeply involved in fair housing work in our region for a while now, and that includes our ongoing eviction crisis and the recently released regional affordable housing framework.The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Mark Robinson has a good recap and the tiniest bit of new news on the future of the Intermediate Terminal Building. The old’ ITB—which, I’m sure, is what people call it—was once the planned site for a Stone Bistro, then was slated for demolition, then Council got involved and, of course, everything ground to a halt. Robinson says that Richmond’s Economic Development Authority has hired an engineering firm to study the structural integrity of the building as a first step to figuring out what’s nexts with this City-owned property.Micheal Martz, also at the RTD, checks in on the State’s ongoing and admittedly boring budget process

County Executive Bryan Hill joins Hoskins at the beginning of the podcast to welcome him to Fairfax County and the EDA, then Hoskins and host Tony Castrilli dive into Hoskin's background, the EDA, economic development and more. It's a great interview -- give a listen!

We recorded today's episode of The Valley Business Today in the boardroom of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority. We had a conversation with Patrick Barker, Executive Director of the organization about economic development on a local & regional level. We talked about the roadblocks that sometimes exist including a limited talent pool. Patrick explained a regional effort to learn about attracting & keeping talent through a study/survey currently underway.

Monique Boulet, CEO for the Acadiana Planning Commission, joins Jan Swift, Host of Discover Lafayette. Monique’s day to day job involves working across all political and economic boundaries. When it comes to flood control or when new roads and highways are proposed, Monique Boulet and her team are front and center. Just to define what The Acadiana Planning Commission ("APC") does: it serves the public sector in the planning and implementation of economic, community and transportation development for the Parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Vermilion. The APC is funded by grants from agencies such as the USDA, Delta Regional Authority, the Department of Commerce, and the Economic Development Authority. By joining forces, the seven parishes can enjoy economies of scale when utilizing public dollars. They can also speak with one voice when articulating their common needs. The parishes with smaller populations and fewer resources benefit from the resources brought to the table which gives them access to trained city planners who can assist with infrastructure development and procurement of grants to get the job done. The Acadiana Metropolitan Planning Organization ("MPO") provides the technical staff for the work of the APC, even though the two organizations are separate and distinct. The MPO is funded by Federal Highway Transportation dollars, typically in the range of $6 to 7 million per year. Elected officials from six parishes and seven municipalities compose the MPO members who set priorities for transportation and infrastructure projects in the region. Evangeline Parish provides a good example of how the APC works with its partners. In particular, Monique mentioned Donald Bergeron, Evangeline Parish's Secretary/Treasurer whom she calls a "Champion on the Ground." When local officials such as Bergeron are ready and prepared, and given access to the resources of the APC, economic development milestones are reached, such as the recent expansion of the Evangeline Ward One Industrial Park, a 96.5-acre site certified by Louisiana Economic Development, and the addition of a Rail Spur with a grant from the Delta Regional Authority. All of the City of Ville Platte in Evangeline Parish was also designated an "Opportunity Zone" under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which will prime the area to bring energy and investment to this poorest city in the poorest parish in Louisiana. An important project in the works is the University Avenue Corridor Study in Lafayette which began in 2018. Local residents are excited about the possibility of new life being brought to the thoroughfare which serves as the gateway from I-10 to City Hall, UL-Lafayette, the Lafayette Police Department, and the Lafayette Regional Airport. The plan includes making the area safer for pedestrians, bikers and vehicular traffic, revitalizing the corridor and spurring economic development opportunities, and cleaning up and beautifying the area so that it serves as an appropriate gateway into the community. $4 to 5 million has been set aside by the MPO and a similar amount by Lafayette Consolidated Government to design the corridor, set up crosswalks to facilitate pedestrian traffic and make the "Center City" an attractive site. Monique explained the problems which can arise when revitalizing old properties that previously housed gas stations or have other environmental issues. A "Brownfield" is a property "which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." The APC received a $300,000 grant to assess the properties located in the area between I-10 and E. Simcoe along University Avenue, and over 90 potential Brownfield sites have been identified. At the Four Corners area (University Avenue and Cameron Street), each corner is a Brownfield site as gas stations were formerly located in those spots. Under the EPA Brownfield program,

This episode is brought to you by the Savannah Economic Development Authority Savannah wants to believe it sells itself — and it does for the most part — but to close the deal, it needs people like the Savannah Economic Development Authority's Trip Tollison. Growing up nearby in Brunswick, Tollison had a stint in Washington working at the U.S. Capitol before coming home and using his lessons about developing relationships to help SEDA, and Savannah, reach new levels. On this episode of Difference Makers, Tollison discusses what he learned at the Capitol, what all he and SEDA does when courting new business, the future of the tech and logistics corridors in Savannah and what the future looks like for the city. Podcast listeners: Get digital SMN subscription by clicking here for a special offer (6:33): Experience working in D.C. at the U.S. Capitol (14:42): Joining the team at SEDA (20:34): Propel Savannah Trip Tollison: SEDA launches Propel Savannah (SMN, Aug. 4, 2019) SEDA unveils Propel Savannah results (SMN, May 14, 2019) (23:08): Emergence of the tech and logistics corridors in Savannah The Commute: Keith Fletcher on Savannah as a logistics corridor (27:05): Future for the entertainment industry in Savannah Georgia's anti-abortion law leaves local film industry workers in uncertainty, wondering what comes next (SMN, July 6, 2019) Strong case for film industry to stay in Georgia (SMN, July 6, 2019) (31:54): What the job entails at SEDA (41:10): Savannah's ability to develop mega-sites Site Selection magazine honors Savannah Economic Development Authority (SMN, May 3, 2019) (43:26): What all SEDA does for the city SEDA celebrates record year for jobs, more than $500 million investment in Savannah (SMN, Jan. 9, 2019) Make sure to follow The Commute podcast for daily news briefs from Adam.

Ben Dworkin, of Rowan University, weighs in on Gov. Phil Murphy’s spending freeze and the politics of ICE agreements. Democrat Jeff Nash, Camden County Freeholder, talks about how Camden has benefited from tax incentives awarded by the Economic Development Authority. He testified this week before the task force investigating improprieties at the EDA. Also joining host Alex Zdan, Alisha DeLorenzo from Garden State Equality to talk about the rollout of NJ’s LGBTQ curriculum.

Tim Sullivan, CEO of the embattled Economic Development Authority, talks to Power & Politics host Alex Zdan about how the agency is changing in the midst of a task force investigation into how some of its tax break programs were run during the Christie administration.  Democratic Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker and the ACLU of New Jersey’s Amol Sinha debate the spending disclosure - or “dark money” bill, sponsored by Zwicker. Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed the bill in May but just agreed to sign it. And New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson talks about the opioid crisis and a state giveaway of naloxone. 

Chris talks about making a city a "workforce" city. Chris has a deep commitment to the city's growth as a place where jobs happen. Chris Bruno is Director of Economic Development Fairfax City, Va. He's a lawyer who has a true calling for workforce development. He began his career is NYC, and during Hurricane Sandy he worked with local govt to rebuild the parts hardest hit into dominant business growth areas. In his job he serves as city liasion to the Economic Development Authority where he oversees the strategic plan which includes increasing the economic vibrancy of the City. He has an undergraduate degree and a masters degree from Fordham University and a law degree from New York Law School.

  New Jersey’s tax incentive programs have been in the news lately after a highly critical audit of the Economic Development Authority’s administration of the programs. In this episode, we speak with Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, about the current programs and what could be changed to make them more effective and impactful. See also: State Comptroller’s audit of the EDA’s tax incentive programs | Results of a recent NJCPA member survey about the New Jersey’s tax incentive programs | NJCPA’s response to Governor Murphy’s State of the State address | Minimum wage legislation | Results of NJCPA cannabis survey  

Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., is the president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority in Fairfax County, Virginia, the second-largest suburban office market in the nation after Orange County, Calif. He has been with the FCEDA since late 1983, during which time office space in the county grew from 32 million square feet to more than 116 million, and jobs in the county grew from 243,000 to 600,000. In 2010, Virginia Business magazine named Dr. Gordon its “Virginia Business Person of the Year.” Since 2013, Virginia Business has tapped Dr. Gordon for its annual “50 Most Influential Virginians” list. In 2015, the International Economic Development Council awarded Dr. Gordon its Jeffrey A. Finkle Organizational Leadership Award. Dr. Gordon is the author of 12 books on strategic planning and economic development. His next work, "Understanding Community Economic Growth and Decline," will be published this month by Routledge Press.

Dr. Gerald Gordon, President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is guest on this episode of DC Entrepreneur. He discusses the resources available for business startups in Fairfax County, which is home to some of the largest private sector employers in the region. Fairfax has the highest density of startups in NoVa according to Fosterly's 2016 census, and is also home to many large IT and government contracting businesses.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/georgeindc)

Partly cloudy and colder today with highs in the mid-40s. MARS WRIGLEY MOVING U.S. HEADQUARTERS TO NEWARK Mars Wrigley Confectionary announced Tuesday that it will move its U.S. headquarters from Chicago to Newark. The candy maker will occupy a 110,000-square-foot space in the Ironside Newark center and renovate its facility in Hackettstown, Vince Calio reports for NJBIZ. The company, which makes M&M's and Snickers, will receive $31 million in tax credits over 10 years through the state’s Economic Development Authority’s Choose NJ program. Mars Wrigley's global headquarters will remain in Chicago. SEXUAL ASSAULT HOTLINES SEEING INCREASE IN CALLS Sexual assault hotlines in at least six counties have seen significant increases in the number of calls since The New York Times reported in October on sexual harassment allegations against the movie producer Harvey Weinstein, Erin Banco reports for NJ.com. In Burlington County, the number of calls from sexual assault victims requesting accompaniment to the hospital has tripled in the last two months. Surges in calls have also been recorded in Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Salem and Warren counties. NJ TRANSIT WITHHOLDS DOCUMENTS SUBPOENAED BY LAWMAKERS A legislative committee investigating NJ Transit safety and financial problems issued subpoenas for agency documents in September, but many of them are being withheld, Elise Young reports for Bloomberg. Reports by NJ Transit’s auditor general covering eight years haven’t been delivered to the panel. And records about delays in the installation of safety technology, like positive train control, have not been provided. “Why play games with us?” asked Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a member of the committee. TAX BILL COULD THWART PART OF MURPHY’S AGENDA In his campaign for governor, Phil Murphy pledged full funding for the state’s transportation network, public schools and public pension system. The governor-elect said the state would raise taxes on millionaires to pay for those measures. But the federal tax legislation Congress passed may thwart Murphy’s plans, Nick Corasaniti writes for The New York Times. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney and the incoming Assembly speaker, Craig Coughlin, have both said they want to reassess the plan to raise taxes on millionaires since many state residents will be seeing higher federal tax bills. ICE CREAM SHOP’S SEXY LOGO GETS COLD RECEPTION A new ice cream shop in Montclair says it will change its cartoon cow logo after some people complained that it was offensive and sexist, Linda Moss reports for Montclair Local. The logo for Dairy Air shows a cow wearing a beret and displaying human-like hindquarters, which have been described as hyper-sexualized. The controversy developed after Montclair merchant Amy Tingle posted a letter on Facebook criticizing the logo. Dairy Air’s manager, Natalie DeRosa, said the complaints were being taken seriously and the logo would be revised to be “more fun and less sexy.”

Republican John Lowry is a candidate for the Samuel Miller District seat on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.  Three of the six seats on the board will be determined in the November 7 election. Other candidates in this race include: Liz Palmer (D).  Each candidate was interviewed by Charlottesville Tomorrow and asked 10 questions about their qualifications, priorities and important quality of life issues.  Included in the box at the right are links to the full transcript and audio recording of those interviews. Bio: John Lowry has lived in Albemarle County for more than 40 years. He met and married the former Nancy Feil at the College of William & Mary. His 35 year career of managing investment securities included branch management, registered advisor status, teaching and sharing his industry connections with others. Besides his family and professional duties he volunteered for many community groups. As Chair or President of these groups he gained experience in team management and patient, orderly meetings. His local government knowledge is extensive. With this track record he feels prepared for election. Education: BA 1969 College of William and Mary Current Occupation: Currently retired .  Previous political experience: Chair of Joint Airport Board, Chair of Economic Development Authority and Chair of Board of Equalization as well as an Election official (assistant Chief). Age on Election Day: 70 Neighborhood: Resident of North Garden, Red Hill School Road Hometown: Grew up in Williamsburg, VA Family: Besides my wife, a Charlottesville native, we have three children and six grandchildren. My two sons are Drs. – one a physician and one a college professor (PhD). My daughter is smartest of all– a Chapel Hill NC graduate. Interests: I am a runner, boater, singer, bagpiper, golfer and I do what is requested of me around home. Phone number : 434 296 4695 Email: johnlowry@lowryforalbemarle.com Website: LowryforAlbemarle.com Download

Ruth Larson, representative for the Berkeley District on the James City County Board of Supervisors, joins us this week to talk about the Economic Development Authority and more. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Michael Hipple, representative for the Powhatan District on the James City County Board of Supervisors, joins us this week to talk about transportation, the joint meeting with the Economic Development Authority and the Skiffes Creek Connector. He also weighs in on the ill-fated zombie question. Check it out and let us know what you think!

We were joined in the studio for The Valley Business Today by Sally Michaels, Existing Business Coordinator with Frederick County Economic Development Authority to talk about the Business Education Summit happening on Friday, April 28, 2017 from 8am - 2pm at Corron Community Development Center at Lord Fairfax Community College. Sally told us about the initiative that grew from last year's summit, the goals and objectives and how it all fits into educating our youth for future success in our community. She also told us about a video "Success in the New Economy" by Kevin Fleming. You can find that video at this link: https://youtu.be/eEXBIO1-aEY Are you a plant manager, human resource manager,or operations manager at a Winchester or Frederick County business? Are you a local Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent of Instruction? The B&E Summit is for you! Last year, more than 130 business, education, and community leaders attended the inaugural B&E Summit where they spent the day learning about the current state of education and how it aligns with employer workforce needs. Individuals broke up into teams to brainstorm on a variety of topics and vote on the most important issues to address first. For more details about this year's summit, contact Sally Michaels at (540) 665-0973 or via email to: smichaels@YesFrederickVA.com

We were joined in the studio for The Valley Business Today by Sally Michaels, Existing Business Coordinator with Frederick County Economic Development Authority. We talked about the work their task force has been doing since the Business & Education Summit, upcoming Educator Tours and the WoW! expo coming up on October 12 & 13th. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor for this event, click here for more details. For more details about all the things the Frederick County Economic Development has in the works, visit their website: http://www.yesfrederickva.com  

E's Garden Teahouse and Things and the Long Path Garden Street Community Association, in collaboration with the Economic Development Authority's Enterprise and Commercial Zone Commission, hosted a Cleanup/Block Party on Garden Street on St. Thomas Saturday, Sept. 3rd.. We attempted to conduct a live remote, a live ambulatory remote, and ran into a few auditory issues. Nevertheless, the tour of the historic neighborhood brought back all sorts of memories and pictures. Today, with the help of Dr. Richardson, we shall conduct a follow-up on the Garden Street and Long Path adjoining neighborhoods.

Today we will attempt a live remote during the tour portion of the activities. E's Garden Teahouse and Things and the Long Path Garden Street Community Association, in collaboration with the Economic Development Authority's Enterprise and Commercial Zone Commission, will host a Cleanup/Block Party on Garden Street on St. Thomas on Saturday. Residents and business owners of Garden Street and the general public are invited to participate in the clean-up, a walk through the historic neighborhood and a block party. The Cleanup/Block Party is one of a number of ongoing initiatives designed to help revitalize the neighborhood of Garden Street, which is one of four enterprise zones in the territory. The cleanup will be from 9:00 a.m. to noon, followed by a walk through the historic neighborhood from noon to 2 p.m. The block party will be from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Commandant Gade and feature musical entertainment, games and activities for children. Food and drink also will be on sale. Volunteers for the cleanup will assemble at the Long Path-Garden Street Community Center and participants of the historic walk will meet at E's Garden Teahouse and Things on Commandant Gade, at the bottom of Bunker Hill. To volunteer or submit donations, contact Judith Edwin at E's Garden Teahouse and Things at 776-2577.

Mike Benton’s philosophy is that “Change is inevitable. You determine the outcome.” He built his life upon this principle. He started with simple ideas that grew into million dollar companies, which continue to flourish in any economy. Mike travels throughout the country helping people and organizations reach their true potential through his unique, positive coaching style. He always enjoyed coaching then in June 2008, he had the opportunity to turn his passion into a business that still prospers today. Mike received professional training through Life Success Consultants. In 2010 via Burg Communications, he expanded his coaching expertise. Through Burg Communications, he remains a Certified Go-Giver Coach that focuses on helping companies and individuals create the changes needed to reach their goals and dreams. Mike believes that giving back to his community via volunteering is the best way to facilitate his success. Current and past organizations where he invests his time include participating as Past Chair of Economic Development Commission, Economic Development Authority, Workforce Investment Board Chair, North Beach Elected Town Council Member, Past Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maryland Board Member, and Maryland Municipal League Board Member to name a few. Mike has appeared in many local newspapers, magazines, radio shows and blog talk radio over the years. Most of all, Mike is passionate about helping others achieve their goals through one-on-one coaching, group presentations and motivational talks.

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, discusses a House Ways and Means Committee mark up of several bills that are part of the tax reform package, and potential changes to the generally accepted accounting principles for tax credit investments. In new markets tax credit news, he shares a report from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority about how tax credit projects have provided jobs and support to emerging businesses, and discusses a new Mississippi law that requires the state to evaluate the effectiveness of its tax incentive programs. In low-income housing tax credit news, he addresses the cancelation of a mark up of the Johnson-Crapo bill, as well as reveals the results of a Government Accountability Office report on the Rental Assistance Demonstration program. In historic tax credit news, he shares good news about an extension of the Mississippi historic tax credit program and information about an Iowa bill that would improve the use of the state's historic tax credits. In renewable energy tax credit news, he shares a report about how policy mechanisms are affecting renewable energy production in the United States, and an Iowa bill that would extend the project completion deadline for the state's energy generation tax credit.

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, discusses a House Ways and Means Committee mark up of several bills that are part of the tax reform package, and potential changes to the generally accepted accounting principles for tax credit investments. In new markets tax credit news, he shares a report from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority about how tax credit projects have provided jobs and support to emerging businesses, and discusses a new Mississippi law that requires the state to evaluate the effectiveness of its tax incentive programs. In low-income housing tax credit news, he addresses the cancelation of a mark up of the Johnson-Crapo bill, as well as reveals the results of a Government Accountability Office report on the Rental Assistance Demonstration program. In historic tax credit news, he shares good news about an extension of the Mississippi historic tax credit program and information about an Iowa bill that would improve the use of the state's historic tax credits. In renewable energy tax credit news, he shares a report about how policy mechanisms are affecting renewable energy production in the United States, and an Iowa bill that would extend the project completion deadline for the state's energy generation tax credit.

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Presentations, EPA, 2010 Commitment Award, Economic Development Authority, Annual Report, FY 2011

Presentations, EPA, 2010 Commitment Award, Economic Development Authority, Annual Report, FY 2011