Podcasts about economic development authority

Friday has rolled around again which means it is time to scramble out another audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. This time around there is a big focus on municipal budgeting because the purpose of Town Crier Productions is to focus on the details of revenues and expenditures with a hope toward greater community understanding. At least, that's the way this version of Sean Tubbs is programmed.In this edition:* Charlottesville City Council has adopted a budget for the next fiscal year that increased the real property tax rate by a penny, one fewer cent than had been proposed (full story below!)* Albemarle Supervisors have a few remaining decisions to make for the county's FY2027 budget (read the story)* Albemarle and Charlottesville commemorate Dark Sky Week (read the story)* A preview of the Week AheadShout-out / PSA #1: Friends of JMRL Book SaleThe Friends of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library's Spring Book Sale is running now through this Sunday from 10:00am to 7:00pm each day at Albemarle Square Shopping Center. Additionally, April 11th and 12th are ½-price days. Choose from thousands of books, DVDs, CDs, LPs, games and puzzles, with restocking occurring throughout the sale. Proceeds benefit our regional public library system. Visit jmrlfriends DOT org for more informationCharlottesville goes with penny increase on real property tax rate rather than twoNote: The podcast edition of this budget story is stitched together from several reports. This is a consolidated version used for a script and lacks hyperlinks and other resources.One of the most important duties of governing bodies in Virginia localities is to adopt a budget for each fiscal year.For Charlottesville City Council, the process began this year on March 2 when Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders introduced a budget that was built on a two-cent increase in the real property tax rate to an even $1 for every $100 of assessed property.Since then, there have been several work sessions in which Sander's recommended budget gradually became the one that Council adopted on April 9.These were mostly held on Thursdays beginning on March 5 with a work session dedicated to the Vibrant Community Fund on March 12. That's the process through which the city provides money to nonprofit organizations.Informal budget hearingOn March 19, the city held an informal public hearing during what is billed as the Community Budget Forum.The only speaker was Jim Moore who said he has eight rental properties within Charlottesville.“I tend to try to keep my rents a little below market, and I have some tenants that really can't afford much more than that,” Moore said.Moore said the property assessment for one of those rental units increased by 74 percent from 2021 to 2025. He asked for the city to lower the anticipated rate increase.The budget forum ended up being more like a work session with staff presenting information to the City Councilors on potential ways to lower the rate. But first, budget director Krisy Hammill explained why the two cent real property rate increase had been proposed.“Most of the new revenue for the tax increase was put in the budget to offset the deeper transit investments, the increased match for the schools, and also the impacts of collective bargaining,” Hammill said.That two cent tax increase generates $2,467,724 a year.To help eliminate one of those pennies, Hammill said staff were comfortable projecting slightly higher revenue forecasts and also showed some ways to reduce revenue, including less funding for Charlottesville Area Transit, tapping into a reserve fund, and eliminating funds for Council Strategic Initiatives.“One other option would be to move the schools back to the original 2 million that we had originally built the budget around, thus reducing their increase by $569,000,” Hammill said.The budget anticipates hiring ten additional drivers for Charlottesville Area Transit. Under one potential scenario to reduce funding, money would be in place to hire five in July and the other five would be hired in January as well as additional mechanics and supervisors. That might also mean scheduled service improvements might be delayed.City Manager Sam Sanders said this would defer spending and Council would have to build positions into next year's budget. That would create a structural imbalance that would have to be addressed.“Any creation of a structural imbalance is a risk,” Sanders said. “The question is how much of a risk are you willing to take. When you create the imbalance this year and solve it this way next year, you're saying that your reassessment should be higher to start with. And you can't guarantee that.”Councilor Jen Fleisher said she liked the idea of limiting the real property tax rate increase to a penny as a middle ground option.Councilor Natalie Oschrin said she did not support delaying expanded transit.“I appreciate coming up with the CAT adjustment scenario to try and make it fit,” Oschrin said. “I would prefer not to do that since it just kind of kicks the can down the road a little bit.”Oschrin said she could support using the reserve and eliminating additional funding for Council's strategic initiatives.Councilor Michael Payne said he could support a one penny tax rate increase but said the risk to split funding for CAT personnel would be too high.“I don't like in the past when we've set ourselves up with kind of fiscal cliffs,” Payne said.Mayor Juandiego Wade also said he could support a penny increase.“I appreciate the work that I've done to kind of bring back because we've been hearing from residents about the, the cost of living, the, the tax increase and this I believe is a good, won't satisfy everyone,” Wade said. “But I think it's a good, good compromise if we decide to go in this direction.”No decisions on tax rate at March 26 CIP work sessionThe March 26 work session dealt with the Capital Improvement Program.That's the portion of the budget that sets out what a locality expects to spend on infrastructure over the next five years.“The CIP plan for 27 is just over $47 million with $196 million over the five years,” Hammill said. “If we were to look in terms of dollars spent, education is the highest in this plan, followed by transportation and access, and then affordable housing coming in third.”There were no major changes in this year's CIP. The Charlottesville Planning Commission had a work session on the capital budget in late November and later had a public hearing in December.The five-year CIP currently includes $500,000 a year for a line item called Parks and Recreation Master Plan Implementation. Sanders said that number will increase in the years to come because the master plan adopted by Council in March 2025 had a $78 million price tag over ten years.“We know that those numbers need to be dramatically different if we're going to come anywhere close to that,” Sanders said. “But we now have an assistant city manager here who's going to be working with the team to try to figure out how do we allocate better over the next five year cycle.”Part of the plan calls for major changes to Market Street Park, Court Square Park, Washington Park, and Tonsler Park. Sanders said each will be expensive and staff still needs to work out the timing.Parks and Recreation Director Riaan Anthony said the department will seek grants in addition to tax dollars to pay for the various projects.“In order for us to get there, we have to right size our department and the city,” Anthony said. “We are working in partnership with Public Works, reaching out to their department to say hey, do you have any resources?”There was further discussion of the parks and recreation master plan at the April 6 City Council work session.March 26 work sessionAt the March 26 session there was a further discussion on the possibility of a one cent sales tax increase, what to do with anticipated payment-in-lieu fees for student housing projects, as well as miscellaneous discussions.Toward the end, Sanders hit reset on the discussion of the tax rate. On March 19, there had appeared to be consensus to limit the increase to a penny but Council still had to make decisions.“We're looking for you to finalize what scenario we are actually going with for offsetting, for addressing the fact that you're stepping back from two cent increase on the real estate tax to a one cent increase on the real estate tax,” Sanders said.However, that discussion did not happen at the meeting. Instead, Councilors sent suggestions to Sanders and Hammill via email on how to offset the funding if they wanted to proceed.April 2 wrap-upThe April 2 budget work session was described as a wrap-up session.“The items that are open for discussion that we're looking for answers on is closing out the review of the Vibrant Community Fund process and how Council is looking to utilize your Strategic Initiatives fund,” Sanders said.The Vibrant Community Fund process had been covered at the March 12 work session. This is how nonprofit organizations seek funding from Charlottesville. The full report can be seen here.Mayor Wade wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page regarding the penny increase on the real estate tax rate.“We had initially looked at a two cent tax increase, but we saw options where we could do one,” Wade said. “And I just want to make sure if you, if we have that information we can bring them make sure everyone's on the same page with that. And if I can get a head nod or yes from everyone as we go down the line, make sure we are all okay with that.”As the meeting began, Council had a $228,000 gap to fill if they wanted to go with a penny increase. Hammill displayed the math on a spreadsheet, a spreadsheet made available to the public after I asked for it.The real public hearings on April 6After multiple budget work sessions, Charlottesville City Council held the final set of public hearings on April 6 for the budget for Fiscal Year 2027 as well as the real property tax rate.The only speaker for the tax rate hearing was Richard Spurzem of the development company Neighborhood Properties who urged caution when increasing taxes.“Many communities have a history of reducing the tax rates when assessments go up,” Spurzem said. “For instance in Waynesboro in 2023 they reduced their tax rate from 90 cents to 77 cents.”Spurzem said Charlottesville is increasing the tax burden for business and he said that might lead to investors deciding to go somewhere else. He said the Development Code has so far led to no approvals for major buildings and the current student housing projects of the Verve and the Blume might be the last.“I don't know who's going to build hotels that are going to compete with the brand new hotels that UVA has built on Ivy Road and out at Darden,” Spurzem said.After the public hearing for the tax rate, budget director Krisy Hammill explained that the amended budget is for just over $280 million, higher than what had been recommended by City Manager Sam Sanders on March 6.In addition to including higher revenue forecasts, staff found several line items in the budget that will not be spent down in FY2026 so that money will be added to the FY2027 at around $910,000 in available revenue.“It includes a few accounts that generally we carry over from year to year, including Historic Resources, Sister City Funds, the citywide reserve, the Council Strategic Initiatives account, money or donations that have been received and unspent for the Grand Illumination, the Councilor discretionary funds, the Minority Business Fund and also the job fair,” Hammill said.Two people spoke during the public hearing on the budget including former Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker. She said people are beginning to feel the effects of an increased tax burden and said the city is not expanding the Charlottesville Homeowner Assistance Program fast enough to provide relief.“A lot of low income families are being pushed out and middle income families are struggling,” Walker said. “There are a lot of wealthy people in Charlottesville. We know that they can afford the increase, but because you all are not expanding it at the rate that you need to be, it is not as it was intended to work.”Walker also called on more accountability for Charlottesville City Schools.A second person wanted to know why health care for employees has increased 15 percent and why funding for public transportation is going up 17 percent.“And yet when I see the buses pass here, there, and everywhere, there's not many people riding the buses,” said Richard Finley, a recent Charlottesville resident. “Before you increase so dramatically, do you do an audit or an evaluation of the ridership on the buses?”Finley also asked if the city had ever tried to require the University of Virginia to make a payment in lieu of taxes to cover the cost to use municipal infrastructure.Councilor Lloyd Snook said under state law, a locality cannot compel such a payment but that an institution could make one voluntarily.April 9 adoptionCouncil held a special meeting on April 9 at 6:30 p.m. to formally adopt the tax rates and the budget for FY2027. The deadline under Charlottesville charter is April 15.While there were no surprises, the meeting gives a glimpse into some of the details of how taxation works in Virginia. Changes in Richmond can affect what happens in localities for years to come, such as when a former governor campaigned on elimination of the “car tax.”“The City gets about $3.5 million from the state every year,” said Charlottesville Commissioner of Revenue Todd Divers. “That's kind of what's left over from Governor [Jim] Gilmore's attempt to eliminate personal property tax. They tried it for a while, ran out of money, and then they sort of froze the amounts to all the localities, and that's the amount we get.”The city uses that $3.5 million to offset a percentage of everyone's personal property taxes. Council has to agreed to that number and this year it has been set at 31 percent.“Essentially, if your vehicle qualifies, if it's a personal use vehicle, 31 percent of your tax bill will be paid by the state,” Divers said.Council voted unanimously to approve that number.Next was a resolution to adopt the FY2027 budget and tax levy. City Manager Sam Sanders had some remarks and said that this has been another challenging budget year as he seeks ways to fund spending desired by the City Council.“I continue to talk about Charlottesville as a place that punches above its weight class,” Sanders said. “Every budget cycle is a reminder of that, because we are dedicated to the idea that we are that community and that we want to try to do as many things as we possibly can.”Sanders said the idea of a tax rate increase is hard for many and it weighs on him to have brought one forward.“My goal is always to help you not go but so far in any pursuit that you have as you change that rate, because it does go into the pockets of individuals who have difficulties in our community,” Sanders said.The advertised budget was for a two cent increase, but Council moved that down to one penny throughout the course of their work sessions.Then there was the vote.“We have a budget,” Wade said. “Thank you so much. So, do you like take a month's vacation?”“About an hour,” Hammill said.This reporter knows the feeling.Shout-out / PSA #2: Gretchen Walsh to speak at Emily Couric Leadership Forum on April 27This year's recipient of the Emily Couric Leadership Forum's leadership award is Olympic swimming champion Gretchen Walsh. She will be the speaker at a luncheon to be held at the Omni Hotel Charlottesville on Monday, April 27th at noon. Walsh, a 2025 UVA alum, is one of the most accomplished swimmers of her generation, holding 13 world records across long-course and short-course competition. Online ticket sales for the luncheon begin on Monday, March 23rd. For more information, visit, Emily Couric Leadership Forum dot OrgA rudimentary week ahead to fill a two minute gap in audio This week's edition is a little short so that's a good a time as any to look ahead to what's coming up the week of April 13. Monday the 13th!Let's start with the University of Virginia Board of Visitors who meet the evening of April 15 for a reception and again on April 16 for business. Committees that will convene include the Finance group and the Audit, Risk, and Compliance panel.In Albemarle, the Places29-Hydraulic Community Advisory Committee on Monday will hold a community meeting for a proposed rezoning that would allow for 15 townhouses on a one-acre parcel.On Tuesday, the Albemarle Planning Commission will discuss changes to the county's rule on importing fill dirt and will hold a public hearing on a special use permit for a 400-person religious assembly hall right at Interstate 64's Exit 107 in Crozet.On Wednesday, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will hear what “big moves” staff wants to make to implement a new Comprehensive Plan. Will lighting reform to protect the Dark Sky be on the list?In the evening, there will be a public hearing on increases of Development Fees as well as the tax rates for the current calendar year. A reminder that this includes a proposed 15 cent increase in the personal property tax rate. Then a public hearing on the budget, but Supervisors will wait a week before finally adopting the document.On Thursday, Albemarle County will hold a public meeting on the future of a pocket park on Hillsdale DriveIn Charlottesville, the Economic Development Authority meets on Tuesday and continue to do so off camera with no recording. Later on the Planning Commission meets and will have a public hearing on Community Development Block Grant funding. The Planning Commission will also take action on a special exception and get a report on a study of student housing fees.Next week the Housing Advisory Committee and the Board of Zoning Appeals will meet.More details in the Week Ahead newsletter that will go out on Sunday.Hello anyone who made it to this line! 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

Stacey Plaskett's long-standing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is far more damning than she publicly admits—and no amount of political backpedaling can wash the stench off. As revealed in depositions and legal filings, Plaskett personally solicited a $30,000 donation from Epstein in 2018, visiting his Manhattan mansion years after his 2008 sex crime conviction was national news. The money was initially accepted and only returned when it failed vetting. Plaskett's ties to Epstein run deeper than a one-off meeting; she previously worked at the law firm of Erika Kellerhals, Epstein's personal attorney in the Virgin Islands, and later became a key figure in the same Economic Development Authority that granted Epstein's companies hundreds of millions of dollars in tax benefits. Her claim that she had no idea who or what Epstein really was, even as she stood in his house asking for money, is beyond implausible—it's insulting.Even worse, Plaskett is the only individual still facing active civil litigation from Epstein victims after a federal judge tossed out broader claims against the Virgin Islands government but allowed the trafficking-related counts to proceed against her personally. That's not a smear—it's a legal reality. The survivors accuse her of helping facilitate an environment that enabled Epstein to operate with impunity in the territory, and the court agrees there's enough meat on those allegations to warrant a trial. Her attempt to sanitize the donations by giving them to charity doesn't erase the fact that she sought out Epstein's support well after he was a registered sex offender. Plaskett's carefully managed public persona as a crusader for justice clashes violently with the uncomfortable accusation: she helped normalize, enable, and politically legitimize a known predator, and now she's scrambling to rewrite history.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:How Jeffrey Epstein's Island Politics Helped Elect Stacey Plaskett (businessinsider.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

Stacey Plaskett's long-standing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is far more damning than she publicly admits—and no amount of political backpedaling can wash the stench off. As revealed in depositions and legal filings, Plaskett personally solicited a $30,000 donation from Epstein in 2018, visiting his Manhattan mansion years after his 2008 sex crime conviction was national news. The money was initially accepted and only returned when it failed vetting. Plaskett's ties to Epstein run deeper than a one-off meeting; she previously worked at the law firm of Erika Kellerhals, Epstein's personal attorney in the Virgin Islands, and later became a key figure in the same Economic Development Authority that granted Epstein's companies hundreds of millions of dollars in tax benefits. Her claim that she had no idea who or what Epstein really was, even as she stood in his house asking for money, is beyond implausible—it's insulting.Even worse, Plaskett is the only individual still facing active civil litigation from Epstein victims after a federal judge tossed out broader claims against the Virgin Islands government but allowed the trafficking-related counts to proceed against her personally. That's not a smear—it's a legal reality. The survivors accuse her of helping facilitate an environment that enabled Epstein to operate with impunity in the territory, and the court agrees there's enough meat on those allegations to warrant a trial. Her attempt to sanitize the donations by giving them to charity doesn't erase the fact that she sought out Epstein's support well after he was a registered sex offender. Plaskett's carefully managed public persona as a crusader for justice clashes violently with the uncomfortable accusation: she helped normalize, enable, and politically legitimize a known predator, and now she's scrambling to rewrite history.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:How Jeffrey Epstein's Island Politics Helped Elect Stacey Plaskett (businessinsider.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

There is a theory that both the next podcast edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement as well as the next written version might be delayed out of some sort of concern about whether the internal numbering system is equipped to deal with the impending approach of the 1,000th edition. At least, that is one possible explanation of why it has taken so long to produce these older stories from the last week. There was a slight disruption in the routine which sometimes results in delays. I'm Sean Tubbs, and I look forward to sorting it all out.Audio versions of stories previously sent out in the newsletter: * Charlottesville City Council agrees to reallocate funding intended to run low-barrier shelter (read the story)* Charlottesville's finance director presents more details on city's $8.5 million surplus (read the story)* The 700 block of Charlottesville's West Main Street is now known as “Mel's Walk” (read the story)* Albemarle's Economic Development Authority agrees to spend $500K on Boulders Road Extension (read the story)* Supervisor Mike Pruitt shares information on CARTA with fellow elected officials (read the story)* The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will try again for federal funding for design of Rivanna pedestrian bridge (read the story)Charlottesville Community Engagement is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Today's shout-out: Cville Village seeks volunteers!Can you drive a neighbor to a doctor's appointment? Change an overhead lightbulb, plant a flower, walk a dog for someone who is sick, visit someone who is lonely? If so, Cville Village needs you!Cville Village is a local 501c3 nonprofit organization loosely affiliated with a national network of Villages whose goals are to help seniors stay in their own homes as long as possible, and to build connections among them that diminish social isolation. Volunteers do small chores for, and have gatherings of, professors and schoolteachers, nurses and lawyers, aides and housekeepers. Time and chance come to all – a fall, an order not to drive, failing eyesight, a sudden stroke. They assist folks continue living at home, with a little help from their friends.Cville Village volunteers consult software that shows them who has requested a service and where they are located. Volunteers accept only the requests that fit their schedule and their skills.Volunteering for Cville Village can expand your circle of friends and shower you with thanks.To learn more, visit cvillevillage.org or attend one of their monthly Village “meet-ups” and see for yourself. To find out where and when the next meetup is, or to get more information and a volunteer application, email us at info@cvillevillage.org, or call them at (434) 218-3727.End notes for #998-AMy thoughts were well-intentioned. As I was producing stories last week, I did produce the audio but I did not post them to the Information Charlottesville website. Somehow I forgot that finished audio segments had been made and it felt like a slog to have to do the audio again.This is because the radio version did not air last week and so I didn't feel the same pressure to follow all of the steps. This week there will be a radio show and I have enough material that I am considering slowing down a little this week to focus on business and administration things.Also, it is going to be in the fifties later and I want to go for a walk and watch the ice and snow melt. So I am going to aim to have the next newsletter out tomorrow. That will be #999 and after that will be #1000. No comma. I think that's how I'll get through adding a fourth digit.Another reason things were difficult this week is that my copy of Adobe Audition reset and a lot of my bookmarks disappeared. Because I could not see the recent links to session files, I assumed I had not produced them.I'm writing this as I produce the podcast and also missing are my links to various sound files I use as punctuation in between stories. Youngers versions of me used to love playing around with audio production. I still do, but these days the need to produce takes the capacity away from being creative.Which is why this may be a week I listen to my brain and take a slight reset. All I know is that I'm very glad to have this edition done and to have a few hours off away from writing. There are many stories to tell, but there are also days I need to do a little more.Oh! Another reason this week is weird. For some reason, the gain on the headphones for my recording set-up is really low so I can't really hear myself while narrating. This is an annoyance but also causes issues. Perhaps I'll spend the rest of the day setting up a new place to work! 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

A Winter Tradition Takes Root Frederick County's beloved Restaurant Week returns for its fifth anniversary, bringing 26 diverse eateries together for a week-long celebration of local flavor. Running from January 26th through February 1st, 2026, FredCo Eats has evolved from a modest 15-restaurant launch into a cornerstone event that strengthens the entire regional food economy. In this episode of The Valley Today, host Janet Michael welcomes Wendy May, Marketing Manager for the Frederick County Economic Development Authority, and Dan Myers, owner of Paladin Bar and Grill, to discuss how this initiative has transformed the local dining landscape. Recording from Paladin's original Stephens City location, the trio explores what makes this year's event particularly special. From COVID Recovery to Community Catalyst The story behind FredCo Eats reveals a strategic response to challenging times. Wendy explains that the Economic Development Authority launched the program five years ago as the region emerged from the pandemic. At that time, the organization recognized a critical gap in their community relationships—they needed stronger connections with local restaurants and agricultural producers. Rather than creating a standalone event, however, the EDA developed FredCo Eats as an umbrella brand. This approach allows the initiative to serve as a messaging hub that elevates existing efforts across the entire food economy, from farm crawls to agricultural conferences. Now, the brand is expanding into a standalone website at fredcoeats.com, which will launch in March as a comprehensive resource for anyone looking to start, scale, or expand a food or beverage business in the region. Diverse Dining Options for Every Palate This year's lineup demonstrates remarkable variety in both cuisine and participation style. Restaurants can choose from three categories: multi-course menus, meal deals, or promotional discounts. This flexibility ensures that food trucks, cafes, and fine dining establishments can all participate in ways that make sense for their operations. Among the multi-course menu participants, diners will find Carrabba's Italian Grill, Clem's Kitchen, Curry Cuisine, P2 at Woolen Mill, Paladin, Sal & Gino's, and Vault and Cellar. Meanwhile, meal deal options include Blue Ridge Baking Company, Daily Buzz Cafe (at both Middletown and Stephens City locations), Donut Dive food truck at Weber's Nursery, and Franklin's Smokin Barnyard, also operating from Weber's parking lot. Additionally, the roster features Jordan Springs Market, Laurel Cafe at Laurel Ridge Community College, Mi Ranchito, Paco's Market and Paco's Mexi Mart, Pan D Endz Jamaican Cuisine, Poblanos, Shaffer's Barbecue and Market, both Shawnee Springs Market locations, and West Oaks Farm Market. Rounding out the list, Bam Bam's Barbecue food truck, Italian Touch, and Touch of Italy offer percentage-off promotions. The Original Gangsters Eight establishments have participated every single year since the program's inception, demonstrating their commitment to the community initiative. Both Paladin locations, Vault and Cellar, Daily Buzz, Jordan Springs Market, Paco's Market, Shaffer's Barbecue, and Bam Bam's Barbecue have been there from day one. Paco's journey particularly exemplifies the growth Restaurant Week has witnessed. Starting as a food truck called Paco's Tacos during the first event, the business has since expanded to include Paco's Market and later Paco's Mexi Mart - a testament to how local food businesses can thrive with community support. Local Sourcing Takes Center Stage Dan shares his enthusiasm about this year's special approach at Paladin. For the fifth anniversary, his team is focusing heavily on local sourcing, partnering with West Oaks Farm Market for beef, Spring Valley Greens, obtaining mushrooms from his cousin Jessica Neff at Apple Hill Farm, and incorporating microgreens from Robbie D's operation. Furthermore, Dan reveals that Paige Cross at Farm to Fork (formerly Flour and Water) in Woodstock supplies all the bread for Paladin's restaurants—a behind-the-scenes collaboration that many diners never realize exists. These partnerships not only enhance menu quality but also circulate dollars throughout the local economy. The Stephens City location will feature meatballs, cast-iron cornbread, and locally sourced ingredients, while P2 in Clearbrook will offer a completely different, yet similar menu, including scotch eggs, bruschetta, mushroom carbonara, and duck—proteins that rarely appear on local menus.  More Than Just a Meal Restaurant Week offers participants the chance to win prizes through a passport program. Diners who collect stamps from three or more participating restaurants can enter drawings for prize packs, with each additional stamp beyond three counting as an extra entry. The more restaurants you visit, the better your chances of winning. Passports are available for download and printing at fredcoeats.com, with limited physical copies available at participating restaurants and the Winchester Frederick County Convention and Visitors Bureau. If diners forget to get a stamp, they can submit a photo or receipt as proof of their visit. Beyond individual participation, the event encourages businesses to support one another. Realty companies and other local businesses often bring lunch back to the office or take their teams out during Restaurant Week, creating a "biz-to-biz" camaraderie that strengthens the entire community. Strategic Timing and Lasting Impact The decision to schedule Restaurant Week during the last week of January proves strategic on multiple levels. This timing addresses the natural lull that restaurants experience after the holiday season but before Valentine's Day, providing a much-needed boost during slower months. Moreover, it gives diners a compelling reason to venture out during cold, dark winter evenings when staying home feels more appealing. For restaurant owners like Dan, the event creates exciting internal dynamics as well. His teams at the Stephens City and Clearbrook locations engage in friendly competition throughout the week, tracking which location sells more of each menu item. This competitive spirit energizes staff and drives creativity in menu development. Wendy notes that over the five years, Restaurant Week has fostered genuine relationships among participating restaurants. What began as simple cross-promotion has evolved into restaurant owners visiting each other's establishments, trying menus, meeting staff, and building lasting professional connections that extend well beyond the event itself. Looking Ahead As FredCo Eats enters its sixth year of planning, the initiative continues expanding its mission. The upcoming fredcoeats.com website will serve as a central hub connecting aspiring food entrepreneurs with resources from the county, state, and federal levels, including financing options, contacts at the Extension office, the Small Business Development Center, and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This evolution reflects the program's broader vision: creating a sustainable ecosystem where homesteaders can learn to scale their backyard operations, food trucks can transition to brick-and-mortar locations, and established restaurants can continue growing—all while maintaining the unique character that makes Frederick County's food scene special. Registration for future Restaurant Weeks remains open year-round, with the event consistently scheduled for the last Monday of January. As Wendy emphasizes, the more the community supports local establishments, the more these businesses can thrive and maintain the distinctive flavor that sets Frederick County apart. For complete menus, participating restaurant details, and passport downloads, visit fredcoeats.com and follow the event on Facebook and Instagram using #FredCoEats and #FredCoEatsRW.

Written editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement often begin with a historical anecdote to mark the day and tie stories to a greater sense of the world. But what about this newsletter's history?* The first November 22 edition came out in 2021 as you can see and hear here.* The November 22 version from 2023 was the only one made that week. Go look!* Last year? November 22 rounded out a full week of newsletters!This edition is a podcast version where 92.3 percent of the material has already gone out in print form but now the stories can be heard as if you were listening to public radio.What's in this edition?* Albemarle's Economic Development Authority gets an update on AstraZeneca's investment at Rivanna Futures (learn more)* Officials celebrate one transportation project while another gets underway* Jaunt CEO Mike Murphy briefs Charlottesville City Council (learn more)* With one quarter down, Charlottesville currently projected for $921K surplus for FY2026 (learn more)* Albemarle Supervisors take a look at the five-year financial plan as budget planning accelerates for fiscal year 2027 (learn more)Sponsorship demonstration: Westwind FlowersFall is in full bloom at Westwind Flowers! With the crisp autumn air settling in, they're celebrating the season with fresh, local blooms perfect for every occasion.And as the holidays approach, let Westwind Flowers bring local beauty to your celebrations. Dress up your Thanksgiving table with seasonal blooms, gift your host or hostess with a gorgeous indoor plant, or join us for one of our Holiday Wreath Workshops on November 29th or December 6th. Create your own festive wreath, from the base to the finishing touch, with expert guidance and fresh, locally grown greenery.Westwind Flowers offers sustainably grown, thoughtfully curated cut flowers, perfectly suited to the season and the special moments in your life. They believe the blooms in your vase should be just as fresh, and just as local, as the food on your table. Visit their website to learn more!Thoughts at the end of #960-AThis is the first podcast edition in two weeks. The reason there was none last week? Last Saturday I published a text edition instead based on differing accounts of the forced resignation of University of Virginia President Jim Ryan.For a while I was posting these on Mondays, but the gravity of my workflow means they come out best on Saturday mornings. I've been an audio producer for most of my journalism career dating back to 1995 and an internship at WVTF Public Radio. Recording audio is how I've always conducted interviews, though I've not done that for a while.I would like to do so, though. Since beginning this newsletter in the summer of 2020, I've mostly relied on harvesting government meetings and information releases. For me that is efficient approach because it can be much more time consuming to process those interviews and turn them into finished pieces. The nature of my business plan is to be as prolific as possible.I'm a journalist first. Being a business person ranks lower, though I've added a lot of over the past five and a half years. I'm excited to look ahead to 2026 and trying out some new things as I can. Maybe I'll finally finish that media kit! Let me know if you want to see a preview. For now it is time to finish this up and move on with the day. Below is an image from one of the stories this 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 episode of "The Valley Today," host Janet Michael talks with Patrick Barker, Executive Director of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority, to discuss the launch and evolution of LiveLoveShenandoah.com. This innovative website aims to serve as a one-stop resource for residents, newcomers, and employers in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Patrick, who has long championed regional collaboration, explains how the site was born out of a need to not only attract new businesses but also to retain and engage the people who call the Valley home. From Concept to Community Hub Initially, the idea for LiveLoveShenandoah.com emerged during the pandemic, when localities recognized the importance of "chasing people" as much as "chasing companies." Working with partners across the region, the Economic Development Authority set out to create a platform that would showcase the unique stories, opportunities, and lifestyle benefits of the area. The result is a dynamic, interactive website that goes far beyond a typical municipal portal. Unique Tools for Modern Living What sets LiveLoveShenandoah.com apart are its practical, user-friendly tools. The site features a cost-of-living calculator, allowing prospective residents to compare expenses and salaries with other regions. Additionally, a regional event calendar consolidates activities from six jurisdictions, making it easy for users to find things to do across the Valley. Perhaps most notably, the job board aggregates listings from major platforms and local employers, providing real-time access to opportunities in a wide range of industries—from healthcare to manufacturing to financial services. Empowering Residents and Employers Patrick emphasizes that the website is designed to serve both individuals and businesses. For job seekers, the platform offers a comprehensive view of available positions, while employers can direct candidates to a third-party resource that highlights the area's advantages. The site also supports local HR and talent departments by providing up-to-date data and tools for recruitment and relocation. A Resource for All Stages of Life The conversation highlights how LiveLoveShenandoah.com addresses the needs of various audiences. Parents can use the site to encourage college graduates to return home, while newcomers can explore everything from housing and healthcare to outdoor recreation and arts. The platform's newsletter keeps users informed about job fairs, new employers, and community events, ensuring that both current and prospective residents stay connected. Harnessing Technology for Regional Growth Janet and Patrick agree that the website's technological capabilities are a game-changer. By automating job and event listings, the platform saves time and ensures information remains current. Moreover, the site's analytics provide valuable insights into user interests and migration trends, enabling targeted outreach and smarter economic development strategies. Telling the Valley's Story Ultimately, LiveLoveShenandoah.com is about more than data and listings—it's about storytelling. Through behind-the-scenes features on local companies and personal narratives from residents, the site paints a vivid picture of life in the Valley. As Patrick notes, the more the community can personalize the experience and share authentic stories, the more likely people are to see the Shenandoah Valley as a place to live, work, and thrive. Conclusion: A Call to Explore As the conversation wraps up, Patrick encourages listeners to visit LiveLoveShenandoah.com, sign up for the newsletter, and take advantage of the site's many resources. Whether you're a lifelong resident, a returning graduate, or someone considering a move, the platform offers a welcoming gateway to all that the Northern Shenandoah Valley has to offer.

Program note: Every Saturday at 6 a.m., an audio version of this newsletter airs on WTJU. The copy for this newsletter is the for the one that aired today Good morning and welcome to another archive edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement for August 2, 2025. I'm Sean Tubbs, the publisher at Town Crier Productions. For the past five years, I've been writing stories about the community from a close-up perspective, documenting all manner of stories.Today's edition is going to feature several of those about economic development. Albemarle County is updating their strategic plan for attracting business to the community, and the Board of Supervisors may adopt the plan later this month.Here are the stories:* In January, the Albemarle Economic Development Authority got a briefing on the Broadway Blueprint (learn more)* In June, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors denied an application to fill in the flood plain for an industrial building in the Broadway Blueprint (learn more)* Later in June, the Board of Supervisors got an update on the economic development strategic plan (learn more)* On July 8, the Albemarle Planning Commission got a briefing on the implementation chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, but heard from members of the public concerned about the economic development strategic plan (learn more) Continuity copyAlbemarle County has dramatically increased efforts to boost business in the area over the past 15 years with the creation of an economic deve nlopment office and adoption of a strategic plan called Project Enable.Efforts to update the plan got underway this January with the opening of a survey to “better understand the perception of Albemarle County's past economic development efforts and to identify future opportunities that should be considered in the strategic planning process.”In recent years, Albemarle County has bet heavily on expanding the defense and intelligence and in May 2023 the Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of several hundred acres of land around the Rivanna Stations for $58 million. The goal is to build a campus for those industries and they're seeking to get it ready for development.There are other places where the county is seeking to focus development. Here's one story from February 2025.(Broadway Story)However, just because there's a strategic plan doesn't mean that Albemarle Supervisors won't make decisions. Here's a story from early June.(Flood Plain Denial)Later this month, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors will have a joint work session with the Economic Development Authority about that economic development strategic plan. The Board had a briefing in June.(EDSP Briefing)Ad-lib(Planning Commission AC44 implementation)The draft EDSP can be viewed here and feedback is being taken through August 8.The end of #901AI've spent a lot of time with my parents this week helping them be together for their 62nd anniversary. That's meant I've not been able to spend much reporting, but I'm a person with many deadlines. I'm very fortunate I'm able to work when I can and these times of eldercare have forced me to become more efficient.Today I'll be working on the next Week Ahead as well as the next Fifth District Community Engagement. This next week should see a return of “normal” newsletters, but at any point I may have to put all of this aside. In any case, thanks for your patience this 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

Stacey Plaskett's long-standing relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is far more damning than she publicly admits—and no amount of political backpedaling can wash the stench off. As revealed in depositions and legal filings, Plaskett personally solicited a $30,000 donation from Epstein in 2018, visiting his Manhattan mansion years after his 2008 sex crime conviction was national news. The money was initially accepted and only returned when it failed vetting. Plaskett's ties to Epstein run deeper than a one-off meeting; she previously worked at the law firm of Erika Kellerhals, Epstein's personal attorney in the Virgin Islands, and later became a key figure in the same Economic Development Authority that granted Epstein's companies hundreds of millions of dollars in tax benefits. Her claim that she had no idea who or what Epstein really was, even as she stood in his house asking for money, is beyond implausible—it's insulting.Even worse, Plaskett is the only individual still facing active civil litigation from Epstein victims after a federal judge tossed out broader claims against the Virgin Islands government but allowed the trafficking-related counts to proceed against her personally. That's not a smear—it's a legal reality. The survivors accuse her of helping facilitate an environment that enabled Epstein to operate with impunity in the territory, and the court agrees there's enough meat on those allegations to warrant a trial. Her attempt to sanitize the donations by giving them to charity doesn't erase the fact that she sought out Epstein's support well after he was a registered sex offender. Plaskett's carefully managed public persona as a crusader for justice clashes violently with the uncomfortable accusation: she helped normalize, enable, and politically legitimize a known predator, and now she's scrambling to rewrite history.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:How Jeffrey Epstein's Island Politics Helped Elect Stacey Plaskett (businessinsider.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

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

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

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

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/)

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.

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.

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 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  

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