Soundboard

A lot of us local policy nerds have been eagerly awaiting the new Charlottesville Comprehensive Plan. This process of laying out a vision for the city started nearly five years ago. On Tuesday October 19th, the planning commission made a major step by recommending the plan to City Council for approval. So we are very excited to get the inside scoop today with Charlottesville Planning Commissioner, Lyle Solla-Yates. Stay tuned in the second half of the show for an interview with the director of our regional libraries, David Plunkett.  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/topics/land-use-planning  https://www.jmrl.org

This episode is our last in a series ahead of the local elections on November 2nd. There are a lot of important elections in Virginia this year. You can listen to our interviews with State Delegate Sally Hudson and the Democratic City Council candidates in this feed. But today we’re talking to Independent City Council candidate Yas Washington. And in the second half of the episode we’re back to our usual arts and culture coverage with the editors of the latest issue of Mala Leche, a local feminist zine.  Elections information: elections.virginia.gov  Read Mala Leche: https://www.heyfucc.com

It has been a hectic week in the world of local governance. On Tuesday night, City Council accepted the resignation of the City Manager, Chip Boyles. Boyles has only been serving as city manager for ten months. So that really makes today’s topic even more important. In this episode we’re continuing our series on the local elections with interviews with two city council candidates. As a note, all of these interviews were conducted before Chip Boyles resigned last week. Juandiego Wade and Brian Pinkston won the Democratic primary for the two open at-large city council seats back in June. But the race isn’t over yet and next week we’ll be sharing an interview with independent city council candidate, Yas Washington.

This week we’re starting a little series on the upcoming local elections. Stay tuned for our next episode with the City Council candidates but today we’re kicking things off with incumbent state delegate Sally Hudson. And in the second half of the show we’re excited to introduce you to Dr. Dena Jennings. She’s a physician, a musician, a banjo luthier, a healer, a music festival organizer and she’s even farming and restoring a large farm here in central virginia. https://www.facebook.com/sankofa.thang/about/?ref=page_internal

Today we’re going to zoom in on evictions. In the first half of the show, we talk to attorney Caroline Klosko from the Legal Aid Justice Center. She specializes in representing low-income tenants. And in the second half of the show, we’re going to look at the local policy side of things with City Councilor Michael Payne.

Today we’re going to hear the latest about COVID-19 and the delta variant from the Blue Ridge Health District. They discussed vaccination rates, vaccine locations, and what back-to-school will look like. They also reviewed the new CDC guidelines, which were updated after the highly contagious Delta variant became the dominant strain circulating in the US. And stay tuned in the second half of the show for a conversation looking back on August 11th and 12th and what the ripple effects have been over the past four years.

Today we’re going to talk about evictions. Evictions happen when renters are unable to pay their rent or violate their lease. For the past year, the courts have been closed and renters have had extra protections from the CDC against eviction if they were behind on their rent. However, those protections expire next week. So we sat down with Erin O’Hare at Charlottesville Tomorrow to talk about what this means for our already very housing cost-burdened city. And in the second half of the show, we’re going to take a look at what it’s like to try and get around the city on foot, bicycle or with a mobility challenge. Learn more about the Legal Aid Justice Center and their resources: https://www.justice4all.org/  City & County Housing Offices: https://www.cvillerha.com/ & https://www.albemarle.org/government/social-services/housing

Here in Charlottesville, it’s starting to feel like the threat of COVID-19 is subsiding. People are out and about, sometimes unmasked, maybe you’re starting to travel again… Well today we’re going to touch base with Jessie Higgins to hear about the vaccination process here in the Blue Ridge Health District and the differences between State COVID policy and Local COVID policy. And in the second half of the show, we go on a little field trip to a new interactive, outdoor sculpture garden at the Kluge-Ruhe.  Make a reservation for “Breathe With Me” https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/breathe-wandering-sculpture-trail/

This week we’re continuing some conversations we’ve been having over the course of the year. We’ll get some updates on the local elections season, the comprehensive plan and affordable housing, and the fate of our confederate monuments. And in the second half of the show, we give you a sneak peak of a new exhibit opening this week at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection.  Charlotte’s Articles:  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/what-will-happen-to-property-sales-with-higher-density-the-answer-isnt-so-simple/  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/wade-pinkston-win-charlottesville-city-council-democratic-primary/  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/charlottesville-city-council-formally-resolves-to-remove-confederate-statues/  Visit Irrititja Kuwarri Tjungu (Past & Present Together): 50 Years of Papunya Tula Artists:  https://kluge-ruhe.org

Episode Notes This week we’re catching up on the Charlottesville Comprehensive planning process with Erin O’Hare. We’ll talk about what the current draft would mean for affordable housing and life in the city and the region. Then we’re going to hear from an Albemarle family about their efforts to support anti-racism work in the county schools. Stay tuned in the second half of the episode for a conversation with Sam Gleaves. He’s a musician, educator, and activist from Wytheville, Virginia who uses his talents in bluegrass and old time music to tell the unsung histories of Appalachia’s LGBTQ+ community. https://cvilleplanstogether.com  http://www.samgleaves.com

The June 8th primary elections are only eleven days away, so I sat down with Charlotte Rene Woods and Ali Sullivan at Charlottesville Tomorrow for a run-down on all the races, the candidates and what you need to know about how to vote this cycle.  And stay tuned for stories from teachers about their experience as an educator during the civil rights movement.  Bold Dominion episodes with Gubernatorial Candidates: https://bolddominion.org/episodes/whos-running-for-governor-and-what-do-they-stand-for  https://bolddominion.org/episodes/whos-running-for-governor-and-what-do-they-stand-for-part-2  Check your voter registration: https://www.elections.virginia.gov Teachers in the Movement Podcast: https://virginiaaudio.org/#/teachers-in-the-movement/

This week we’re talking with the people behind two local women-centered organizations. First up we’re going to hear from Sri Kodakalla and Meesha Goldberg. They’re two artists at the Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives who just edited a new issue of their zine, Mala Leche. This edition of Mala Leche is called “Fever Dreams of Mother Earth” and it features all kinds of art about our planet and climate change. And in the second half of the show, we talk to Andrea Mayfield and Elizabeth Irvin of the  Women’s Initiative, about mental health in Charlottesville and their mission to radically increase people’s access to it.  MALA LECHE #2: Fever Dreams of Mother Earth https://www.heyfucc.com/mala-leche-2  The Women’s Initiative Virtual Groups and Social Support: https://thewomensinitiative.org/groups-social-support/

You may have heard that a bunch of local affordable housing non-profits recently came together to buy the Red Carpet Inn on 29. Today we’re going to talk about that project and how it plans to reduce area homelessness and create 140 new low-income housing units. Plus, the residents at Crescent Halls affordable housing complex in downtown Charlottesville have been protesting substandard building conditions for over 20 years and last week the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority began extensive renovations to respond to those concerns. We’ll talk about both these projects and what it means in the broader conversation about inequality, racism, and housing here in Charlottesville. In the second half of the show, we’ll hear about a new oral history project in Louisa County.  Erin’s Premier Circle project article: https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/area-nonprofits-resort-to-buying-a-hotel-to-address-local-housing-and-homelessness-crisis/ Erin’s Crescent Halls article: https://www.cvilletomorrow

Enslaved people have been part of the story of the University of Virginia and Charlottesville since their very beginnings. And this week, on Saturday, UVA will dedicate a major physical marker and memorial to the enslaved people who built the University and were an integral part of its founding and early years. So we sat down with Kirt von Daacke, he’s a UVA professor and served as Co-Chair of the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University, to ask him about the design and hsitory of the memorial and the people it honors.  In the second segment, we share an interview with Delegate Sally Hudson about some of the new laws they passed in the Virginia General Assembly this year.  Read the President’s Commission on Slavery and the University’s research: https://slavery.virginia.edu Attend the Memorial Dedication: https://majorevents.virginia.edu/mel/schedule

It’s been a turbulent year in Charlottesville City government and we are now in the midst of an election season. Mayor Nikuyah Walker and councilor Heather Hill were both elected to City Council in November of 2017, just a few months after the violent white supremacist rally. Their four year terms are nearly up and there are five candidates running in the Democratic primary to take those seats. We’ll talk about that election as well as a recent expansion of voting rights. In the second half of the show, we hear about a new play by Kelley Van Dilla that grapples with gender identity, family and mental health.  Charlottesville Tomorrow 2021 Voter Guide: https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/2021-voter-guide/  https://www.restore.virginia.gov  http://www.oar-jacc.org  Let Go of Me: http://livearts.org/let-go/  Still We Rise: https://www.reflectionsoralhistory.com

March 13th, marks the one year anniversary of a day that changed a lot of our lives. On March 13th, 2020 Governor Ralph Northam announced that all public schools in virginia would close for at least two weeks. You’ll hear about that day from Albemarle High School student, Mary Govan. Then we’ll talk about the racial inequities that the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated with Samantha Willis, who recently published a series with the Charlottesville Inclusive Media Project. We’re also going to talk to a student artist about her exhibit for this year’s mostly virtual Liberation and Freedom Days.  See Black in America https://mbrandondesigns.com/black-in-america/  See Face Collage https://mbrandondesigns.com/face-collage/  Watch Macy’s gallery talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2qAzXGHNn0  Read Samantha Willis’s series: https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/still-determined-economic-revival/

Ten days ago on February 16th, UVA reported 229 new cases of COVID-19 in one day. Those 229 cases were 15% of all the new cases that day in the whole state. And as of this morning, UVA is reporting nine hundred and twelve active cases of COVID 19 among its students, faculty, and staff. So it’s safe to say that we are experiencing an outbreak here in Charlottesville. Today on Soundboard we talk about what’s driving that outbreak and what the University is doing about it. And in the second half of the show we sit down with a local organization that’s tackling food justice in Charlottesville and Albemarle.  https://cultivatecharlottesville.org  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/uva-relaxing-some-covid-related-restrictions/  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/uva-officials-address-massive-covid-outbreak/  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/uva-declines-to-assign-blame-for-covid-spike-but-some-point-fingers-at-fraternity-sorority-recruitment/

Most local students have not been to school in-person in almost a year. We talk to Billy Jean Louis about the mental health impact of virtual learning. Stay tuned for the second half of the show, when we talk to Caetano de Campos Lopes from the Community Climate Collaborative about a few issues at the intersection of equity and climate in our community.  https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/the-pandemic-has-taken-a-toll-on-children-and-teens-what-can-be-done/   https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/black-charlottesville-could-get-mental-health-center-thanks-to-uva-equity-center-fellow/ https://theclimatecollaborative.org

This week we take a look at the COVID data in our health district and get an update on the local vaccine distribution process. And in the second half of the show we share a riveting interview with highly acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni from the podcast and talk show In My Humble Opinion. Charlottesville Tomorrow Vaccine Dashboard: https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/local-covid-19-vaccination-updates/ Express your intent to get a vaccine with the Blue Ridge Health District: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpPkf1nbLplRn9hdqHDLglEl3M6OCCIVpXee86I2vASQUFJA/viewform In My Humble Opinion Podcast: https://virginiaaudio.org/#/in-my-humble-opinion/

The year is barely two weeks old and yet we already have so much to talk about. We’re going to start with what City Councilor Michael Payne has called a “leadership crisis” in city government. After an avalanche of resignations, the city was able to announce a hire this week. Chip Boyles will take over as city manager on February 15th. We’ll talk about the decision with Charlotte Rene Woods of Charlottesville Tomorrow. And stay tuned for conversation with Sri Kodakalla & Ramona Martinez. They’re local artists behind the Feminist Union of Cville Creatives and they’ve recently put ou a new zine called Mala Leche. _ _Read Mala Leche & check out FUCC: https://www.heyfucc.com Read Charlotte’s Article: https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/amid-turmoil-tjpdc-head-boyles-chosen-as-new-city-manager/