Soundboard

Episode Notes Virginia's former Director of Education is getting a six-figure severance package after abruptly resigning last week. The Quirk Gallery in downtown Charlottesville features the exhibit "Constant Anomalies" by Suzanna Fields--using unusual painting techniques to capture the beauty of nature. Five longtime locals describe what they love about Charlottesville in the latest issue of Cville Weekly Governor Youngkin has changed the criteria for restoring voting rights to formerly-incarcerated felons, and we're not sure why. Amazon's pause on constructing HQ2 has been paired with layoffs and paused partnerships with Virginia institutions.

Episode Notes The 7th Annual UVA Flute Forum took place this past weekend. A few weeks ago, a man in custody at Central State Hospital was killed. Now seven deputies involved in the incident have been charged with murder. Some Virginia election officials are resigning in the face of threats and harassment--with some counties facing empty offices entirely. Virginia has a State Corporation Commission, but it still has just one member. House Republicans and Senate Democrats cannot agree on how to fill to empty seats. After the Silicon Valley Bank went belly-up earlier this month, the federal government promised to bail out its wealthy account holders. At one time, federal regulations would have prevented this kind of bank failure--but a 2018 law co-sponsored by Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner loosened restrictions on mid-sized banks. A new government report sheds light on a need for clarity on “earned wage access” programs--drawing parallels to the payday loan issues of the last decade.

Episode Notes Governor Glenn Youngkin's education townhall doesn't quite land. PVCC's Higher Education in Prison Program puts on an artistic performance for incarcerated students. Charlottesville's only homeless center for the elderly and seriously ill is closing soon. A new bill in the General Assembly would require age verification for pornographic websites Where does Charlottesville's beer comes from? In a new report, Norfolk turned out to have the fastest acceleration of sea level rise along the east coast.

Episode Notes Virginia's Superintendent of Public Instruction resigned last week after being in the job for a year. What happened? Live Arts has a new show opening this month: CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY | Live Arts Charlottesville city schools wanted to address staffing issues by hiring formerly incarcerated people--but the General Assembly didn't touch the issue. This winter, Charlottesville's homeless center staff is facing double the usual demand--a problem exacerbated by an extra-warm winter and rising inflation. The General Assembly has wrapped its session, but the budget is still in limbo--and so is the state's Cannabis Control Agency. Nuclear advocates are pushing for small, modular nuclear reactors--but there's a lot of questions about how that'd work for Virginia.

Have you ever looked at a map of Charlottesville, surrounded on all sides by Albemarle County, and wondered why Charlottesville and Albemarle are governed completely separately? Maybe you moved here from another state and were surprised to learn that your children would attend a city school rather than a county one. Or maybe you’ve visited northern Virginia and crisscrossed in and out of Fairfax County as you passed through the cities of Falls Church, Alexandria and even the independent city of Fairfax which is surrounded on all sides by the county of Fairfax.  The answer is that cities in Virginia are independent cities. There are 41 independent cities in the whole United States and 38 of them are in Virginia. So this week we’re going to talk about what they are, why they exist and what they mean for local governance. First up, we’re going to get the legal perspective from UVA Law Professor Rich Schragger. In the second half of the show we’ll get a boots on the ground perspective from Charlottesville City C

It’s been two weeks since the US supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade and people all over the country have been trying to figure out how to respond to it. In Virginia abortions are still legal during the first and second trimesters. After about seven months, Virginia doctors can perform abortions only if the life of the pregnant person is threatened. But that may well change. Governor Glenn Youngkin responded to the decision by calling on his fellow Republican legislators to push for restrictions on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Here in Charlottesville a number of organizations are working to educate people about the Supreme Court Decision and its local impact on reproductive healthcare. If you have questions we encourage you to look up the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund, Planned Parenthood Charlottesville, Repro Rising Virginia, UVA survivors, Period at UVA or talk to a medical care provider. We’ll have more local coverage as things unfold both here and on our sister podcast, Bold Dominion. Today though,

In the past year the national average cost of food according to the Consumer Price Index rose 10%. In this episode our production team canvases Charlottesville grocery stores to find out how much food costs here relative to the national averages. In the second half of the show we talk about how these rapid increases in the cost of food are impacting the Blue Ridge Food Bank and the families they serve.  Check out the Consumer Price Index: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/  Learn more about the Blue Ridge Food Bank: https://www.brafb.org

Episode Notes Notes go hereOn this episode of Charlottesville Soundboard, we discuss the trials and successes of labor unions in the area. First, we sit down with Kieran Williams, a member of the newly-founded Bodo's Union Organizing Committee. Then, we hear from the President and Vice President of the Albemarle Educator's Association, Vernon Liechti and Mary McIntyre.

First up we’ll be discussing a new film titled Raised/Razed. It’s a documentary by local filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson and journalist Jordy Yager about the vibrant life and later destruction of Vinegar Hill, a historically Black neighborhood in downtown Charlottesville. And coming up after that we get some tips for taking local action on climate change from the Community Climate Collaborative.    Learn more and watch Raised/Razed: https://vpm.org/raisedrazed  Link to join Make Your Own Impact: https://theclimatecollaborative.org/myoi

This week, we’ll delve into two interesting and  important stories in Charlottesville. First up, we’ll hear from a few of the artists behind a resurgence in the drag show scene here in town. And in the second half, Charlotte Rene Woods tells us how trees are an equity issue.  Drag Shows at Pikasso Swig: https://www.pikassoswig.com/dragshow  Drag Bonanza at the Southern https://www.thesoutherncville.com/events/detail/drag-bonanza-6  To view Charlotte Woods’ first article: https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/charlottesvilles-10th-page-has-fewer-trees-and-higher-temperatures-than-other-residential-neighborhoods-and-its-not-by-accident/ Another tree-related work from Charlotte: https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/charlottesvilles-tree-cover-has-dropped-about-15-since-2004-but-there-are-ways-to-bring-it-back/

If you love, are a part of, or want to learn more about the Charlottesville art scene, this episode is for you. We’ll hear about the benefits of destroying art, as well as making it. After all, it’s about the destination and the journey, right? We talk with Dana Wheeles of DeerHawk Healing in the first half and chat with Sri Kodakalla and Ramona Martinez from the Feminist Union of C’ville Creatives in the second. For participating in MALA LECHE’s call for submissions: https://www.heyfucc.com/mala-leche-5-call-for-submissions To see more of Dana’s art, healing and more: https://www.deerhawkhealing.com/

In this episode we’re talking about a new Charlottesville tourism initiative to promote local Black artists, musicians and entrepreneurs. The initiative is called Discover Black Cville and they’re launching Saturday March 26th at the sixth annual Vibefest music festival at IX Art Park. And stay tuned in the second half of the show for a sneak peek at another podcast you might enjoy from the Virginia Audio Collective. It’s called Intersections in Public Service and it’s all about the public servants that run our government, nonprofits and help form and nurture our communities.  Discover Black Cville https://www.visitcharlottesville.org/black-cville/  Vibefest https://viberiot.com/home  Intersections in Public Service: https://anchor.fm/intersections Instagram @weldoncoopercenter, Twitter @UVAcoopercenter, or LinkedIn - Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.

This episode deals with rezoning, housing density and peaceful mediation. Sound contradictory? Stay tuned to learn about rezoning and how to relax. We talk with reporter Erin O’Hare from Charlottesville Tomorrow in the first half and chat with Janet Evergreen of RiverBluff Sanctuary in the second. For sharing input on housing in Charlottesville: Email engage@cvilleplanstogether.com Visit Cvilleplanstogether.com Reach out directly to Neighborhood Development Services Director James Freas at freasj@charlottesville.gov Call James Freas directly at (434) 970-3182 For Community Meditations: https://janetevergreen.com/meditation-retreats/

This episode concerns a new law that took effect in 2022. It’s known as the No Surprises Act, and it is meant to protect patients from surprise medical billing. When surprise out of network charges occur, providers can no longer bill patients for anything more than their in-network cost-sharing. This applies to ll commercially insured individuals and people who incur out-of-network services and surprise bills. Listen in to have your questions answered by local expert and Senior Managing Attorney Robin Leiter-White of the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. Central Virginia Legal Aid Society: https://cvlas.org/ Legal Aid Justice Center: https://www.justice4all.org/

In this episode we talk to some of the folks behind a new local company that’s all about supporting underrepresented artists and their work. On February 4th, they’re holding an event to kick of a three-month long exhibition downtown. It’s called Nature, Us, and the Future. Interested viewers can both observe and interact with the art being displayed at RevArt’s first female artists’ group exhibition. We heard from two of the artists involved, Christen Yates and Judith Ely, as well as RevArt’s CEO and Founder, Patti Pan. Learn more about RevArt: https://revart.co/

This episode details winter weather and all the complications it can sometimes bring. Snow days are special, but they tend to come with real power and heat related issues that often affect the Charlottesville community. Today, we’re talking with Erin O’Hare of Charlottesville Tomorrow about how we can better prepare for weather emergencies, as well as what resources are already in place for residents of Albemarle County.

This time last year we all had some difficult decisions to make about holiday travel. The first vaccines were in the final stages of the approval process and COVID-19 was running wild through the population. This year the situation is a lot different if you and your family have been vaccinated. This week, we’re hearing from Dr. Avula of the Virginia Department of Health about the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 and booster shots for the rest of us. In the second half of the show we want to share some important reporting from another local podcast called Sacred and Profane. Sacred and Profane is a project of the Race Religion and Democracy Lab at the University of Virginia. This episode is about how we mark and mourn the places in our city where enslaved people were bought and sold.  https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/  https://religionlab.virginia.edu/season/season-3/