Charlottesville Community Engagement
by Town Crier Productions
Regular updates of what's happening in local and regional government in and around Charlottesville, Virginia from an award-winning journalist with nearly thirty years of experience. communityengagement.substack.com
Episodes
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Podcast for October 24, 2026: Four stories related to transportation planning and an economic outlook for Albemarle County
Who gets to make the decisions about how a community like Albemarle and Charlottesville will grow? That’s a central question behind every edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, be it the usual written version or ones like this one where you can hear the voices of people involved. Either...
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Podcast for October 17, 2026: Albemarle, Charlottesville and University of Virginia leaders talk transit, homeless interventions, and cooperation through closed-door meetings
On this 2026 edition of October 17, we look back to 1919 and the creation of the Leeds United Football Club following the shutdown of a previous club that had been caught in a finance scandal. The side does not play today and perhaps supporters are celebrating the 106th anniversary. They play...
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October 13, 2026: Charlottesville’s parks and recreation director describes master plan’s $78.2 million slate of projects
Today’s sponsor: Big builds, small repairs, and everything in between, Nola Builds does it all On October 13, 1892, astronomer E.E. Barnard set up a photographic plate to capture the night sky towards Altair with an exposure time of four hours and 20 minutes. Upon analysis, Barnard spotted a…
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Podcast for October 6, 2026: Three stories about transit and one on CRHA’s pending purchases
In a perfect world the audio versions and the newsletter versions of Charlottesville Community Engagement would come out at the exact same time as part of a well-funded information outlet’s mission to provide information about a small metropolis in flux to benefit the people who live there. Then...
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September 28, 2026: Charlottesville Planning Commissioners provide updates on UVa affordable housing initiative, the Missing Middle, and quick-builds
Today’s sponsor: Big builds, small repairs, and everything in between, Nola Builds does it all A hundred years ago today, fingerprint expert Irving Lindsay Leafe became the chief of police in Charlottesville. He would serve in the position for less than six weeks. Both pieces of information can…
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Podcast for September 28, 2026: Stories about Azalea Springs, no-driving, sales-tax referenda, UVA construction, and solid waste
Sometimes the math doesn’t quite work out and the podcast does not come together the way I would like. That is the case for this edition which should have gone out Saturday morning but I had ambitions that ended up causing more confusion. To get the week of September 28 moving correctly, it is…
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Podcast for September 19, 2026: Reviewing Charlottesville’s affordable housing goals and Albemarle wants more of a say in building the region’s transit future
The podcast edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement marks the end of one week and the beginning of the next, and serves as a way to process and reset. The mission of this newsletter is to bring people stories about local and regional government and the audio version is a good way to hear...
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Podcast for September 12, 2026: An update on 2000 Holiday Drive, Fry’s Spring residents want answers, and two elected bodies discuss budget procedure
On September 12, 1885, Arbroath Football Club defeated Bon Accord Football Club 36 to 0, setting a world-record for the biggest victory in a professional match. The two were playing in the first round of the Scottish Cup. The sport was still relatively new and today and today the winning club…
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Podcast for September 5, 2026: Four stories about Albemarle and a segment about the removal of Rivanna River encampments
Do consider a paid subscription today in case a time accident takes place and suddenly I’m whisked back to September 5, 1698, when Tsar Peter I of Russia levied a tax on beards for everyone except the clergy and peasants. This is most likely not going to happen, but this is one possible reason to...
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Podcast for August 29, 2026: Opening of 2000 Holiday Drive as emergency shelter is result of three years of planning
On September 1, the City of Charlottesville is expected to begin clearing out people who have been living in encampments along the Rivanna River and charging anyone who tries to stay with trespassing. September 1 is also the same day that Central Arizona Shelter Services is contractually…
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Podcast for August 22, 2026: Four segments on Charlottesville’s efforts to provide an emergency homeless shelter
In any given year, leap or otherwise, August 22 is almost but not quite two-thirds of the way through the year. For this year, the exact tally is 64.1 percent. In 2028 that number will dip slightly to 63.9 percent. One unwritten style note of Charlottesville Community Engagement is that the...
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Podcast for August 8, 2026: Charlottesville City Council agrees to spend an additional $4 million to prepare office building for temporary shelter
Today’s sponsor: Panorama Natural Burial is reimagining death care through natural burial, land conservation, and community The opening of the Beijing Olympics, a president announces a resignation, and a certain incident took place on a Chicago bridge. These are just some of the things that have...
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Podcast for August 1, 2026: Charlottesville City Council briefed on transportation projects and four other recent stories
For some reason, there has only been one other August 1 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and that was back in 2024 with a recount underway in the Fifth District Republican Primary. This is a podcast edition that provides audio versions of stories and thus does not count toward a...
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Podcast for July 25, 2026: Charlottesville City Council hears both support and opposition for upcoming removal of Free Bridge encampment
On July 25, 1788, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, a fact we know because the composer kept intricate records. I can tell you that so far there have only been two other July 25 editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement and they were in 2023 and 2024. What...
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Podcast for July 18, 2026: Five out of six localities in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District to move forward with sales tax referendum
The rhythm of being an independent journalist who strives to cover a lot of ground sometimes is affected by alternate beats. The last two Saturdays have not been favorable to produce a new audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement so archive editions went out. But now it is time for…
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Podcast for July 11, 2026: An archive edition on planning for 2000 Holiday Drive
This edition and its copy comes straight from the radio version that aired on WTJU this morning Good morning and welcome to Charlottesville Community Engagement for July 11, 2026. I’m Sean Tubbs, a writer and producer who covers local and regional government in the area in and around the…
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Podcast for June 27, 2026: Drought persists in Virginia, zoning listening session in Charlottesville, and a few more audio stories
For the second week in a row, I’m reusing the same production file that was used on WTJU. If I was awake and alert, it would maybe take 15 minutes to record new audio. However, this June 27 feels like the kind of day where such a direct task would take about two hours. I’m ready to get ready for...
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Podcast for June 20, 2026: An update from Jaunt, sidewalk projects get VDOT funding, and several other recent stories
Astute listeners will realize that the audio for this version is the same as the version that ran on WTJU this morning at 6 a.m. I’ve done this one or twice before and today I want to use my morning to get on to the next set of stories rather than record a new version. The switch to morning...
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Podcast for June 13, 2026: Albemarle transportation, future buildings at UVA, and a few more stories
On June 13, 1895, a two-seat vehicle driven by Émile Levassor crossed the finish line in Paris 48 hours and 48 minutes after leaving that city in the world’s first automobile race. The journey took contestants on a 1,178 kilometer course to Bordeaux and back and Levassor arrived six hours before...
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Podcast for June 6, 2026: Charlottesville Area Transit preparing for electric buses and commuter route from Buckingham tops preliminary list of priority projects
For the next set of stories to be written for Charlottesville Community Engagement, the audio versions of the previous ones must be distributed. That’s the purpose of this particular edition which collects four stories from the past week with an extra one thrown in from the archive. The podcast...
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Podcast for May 30, 2026: Stories on Albemarle climate action, environmental review in Charlottesville, and the BAR gets a first look at student housing on West Main
It seems that we have arrived at the end of May 2026, as well as the end of another busy week at Charlottesville Community Engagement. This week began with a holiday and ushered in a switch to a morning publication as opposed to an afternoon one, a transition intended to prepare for a more active...
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Podcast for May 22, 2026: City Council gets updates on low-barrier shelter, current year's budget, and a pause on a sidewalk project
Happy Birthday to the Associated Press which incorporated as a non-profit news cooperative on May 22, 1846 to share the costs of covering a war between the United States of America and Mexico. Charlottesville Community Engagement is an experiment in bringing people stories about an area that…
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Podcast for May 16, 2026: Two stories on future homeless shelters, two stories on AC44, and five more on Charlottesville area government
Where do you get your information about what’s happening in the greater Charlottesville area? Hopefully from multiple sources in order to expose yourself to multiple perspectives. But perhaps this is your first time looking at (or listening to) the opening words of a sonic edition of...
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May 5, 2026: Charlottesville City Council hears about the State of Homelessness but little about next steps for 2000 Holiday Drive
Today’s edition is sponsored by Nola Builds Five times five is not 125, but May 5 is the 125th day of the year and goes by 5/5 no matter what side of the Atlantic you are on. Charlottesville Community Engagement has so far been produced on the Western side but one potential future would be for at...
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Podcast for May 1, 2026: A new non-profit for public housing, the history and future of CAT, Emily Couric Leadership Forum scholarships, and two stories from UVA
No matter what late April got up to, the first day of May brings another shower of sonic stories made up of various reports from this week’s text editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs and I got my professional start as an intern at a public radio in Roanoke over thirty...
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Podcast for April 24, 2026: A budget adoption in Albemarle, budget reallocations in Charlottesville, and City Manager Sanders gives an update
The British government subsidized the publication of North America’s first continuously published newspaper which was produced for the first time ever on April 24, 1704. All issues of The Boston Newsletter had to be approved by the Royal Governor. Aside from one very brief ad buy that was...
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Podcast for April 17, 2026: Albemarle Supervisors find an additional $2 million for housing fund in FY2027 and four other stories
Could it be that a pattern has emerged with another Friday edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement? And how will this burgeoning habit be affected by the WTJU Rock Marathon, a weeklong celebration of music that will preempt the April 25 radio edition of this newsletter? I’m Sean Tubbs…
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Podcast for April 10, 2026: 83 percent of this edition has to do with either Albemarle or Charlottesville’s FY27 budget
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...
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Podcast for April 3, 2026: Three Downtown Mall stories, two on transportation, and one on short term rental rules in Charlottesville
The term “prevailing wisdom” can only apply if such experience exists, and there is still no certainty about the best time to post the audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs, still dreaming that every newsletter edition could still be sonic but this one is ready to…
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Podcast for March 30, 2026: Five stories about recent events including a briefing on a low barrier homeless shelter
What has happened in the last week? There are many different organizations that document current events and affairs through the telling of stories and then packaging a look back. This is a journalistic tradition that dates back many years and Charlottesville Community Engagement seeks to continue...
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Podcast for March 20, 2026: A glimpse into budget season in Albemarle County and Charlottesville
In a democracy, local governments play a vital role in providing services to the people who live there and the budget process is a glimpse into the priorities of a locality. There are many complexities for decision-makers to consider, knowing their time in office only continues if they have…
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Podcast for March 16, 2026: Albemarle's budget public hearing, next steps for Albemarle zoning, and four other audio stories
Sometimes I have big ideas to spend the weekend writing all of the stories I have not yet written. Other times, I send out the WTJU version as the podcast because I want to get the next week started and that work is already done. Which is it this week? You’ll have to just listen or catch-up with...
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Podcast for March 9, 2026: A look at Charlottesville’s FY27 budget and two future development projects
Another week is upon us with the prospect of many more stories about all of the usual topics covered by Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs, the president and publisher of Town Crier Productions, an entity created in the summer of 2020 to help me try to bring in revenue so I can...
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Podcast for March 2, 2026: Albemarle’s next budget, Greene’s next Supervisor, and what’s next for Windy Knoll?
Can anyone prove that February 10, 2026 was the last time there was an audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement? Turns out it is not that difficult as there is clearly a link and the day in question was a Tuesday. This podcast version consists of some stories from recent weeks and...
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Podcast for February 10, 2026: Charlottesville City Council contributes funds to Salvation Army shelter, Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, and helps close PACEM budget gap
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…
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Podcast for February 4, 2026: Charlottesville City Council gets a preview of the FY27 budget and other recent stories
There is an inkling of a legend that one day scientists will perfect a regular orbit for the audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Or at least, in the current day and age, this podcast edition happens as a secondary or perhaps tertiary by-product of the creation of many stories....
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Podcast for January 26, 2026: Charlottesville Planning Commission learns about tax abatement; Charlottesville City Council weighs in on student housing
If there’s anything I have learned in my thirty years of reporting, it is that there is always more to be learned. One reason to do journalism is to document potential solutions to problems over time. At least, there’s the point of Charlottesville Community Engagement and this edition is a...
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January 22, 2026: Albemarle and Charlottesville preparing for winter storm
Today’s edition is sponsored by the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop When was the last time you played a musical instrument? When was the last time you recorded a song you wanted to write either for yourself or for others? In an attempt to change the tone of these introductory paragraphs…
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January 17, 2026: Abigail Spanberger is sworn in as Virginia’s 75th Governor
Today’s edition is sponsored by the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop There are very few editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement that are sent out on a Saturday but there’s enough new information to tell you so here we are. Today is the first day of the administration of Governor...
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Podcast for January 17, 2026: Stories about an Albemarle development, one at UVA, personnel changes in Charlottesville, and direction on affordable housing
The month of January 2026 is halfway through and the pace of the previous year appears to have continued with no days off in a period of transition and tumult. I’m Sean Tubbs, and Charlottesville Community Engagement is a newsletter with stories about a part of the world I’ve been covering for a...
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Podcast for January 13, 2026: Catching up with several stories to begin the year
What will the podcast edition be like in 2026? This particular edition features a set of stories of things that happened between December 15 and January 7, stories that have already gone out in Charlottesville Community Engagement but not yet in sonic form! This edition has already aired on WTJU…
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Podcast for December 29, 2025: Audit reports in Albemarle and Charlottesville, and Council agrees to sell a cul-de-sac
December 29 is upon us and this is perhaps the final sonic edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement for the year. This certainly is the antepenultimate day of 2025, a year in which there is still much to say in the coming week or so before 2026 begins to find its identity. In any case…
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Podcast for December 22, 2025: Charlottesville ends use of Flock Safety cameras and also transitions to AI-powered recognition software for public garage payment
December 22, 2025 has arrived and so has this sonic edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Many of the longer versions of stories are produced as if they are going to air on the radio, and for this edition two have already done so! The other two have not, but will be among the stories...
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Podcast for December 15, 2025: Two stories about transportation in Charlottesville and three on new buildings at the University of Virginia
Why not start a week off with a podcast edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement? There are likely many answers why not with a primary one being that it is atypical for such a program to be sent out through this feed on a Monday morning. Perhaps a better question is why produce audio...
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Podcast for December 10, 2025: Perriello enters Fifth District race, Albemarle seeks funding for road extension, and Supervisors push back on a fourth county high school within five years
This week, WTJU is holding their Classical Marathon which means that there will be no radio version of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Yet, the production of the newsletter often depends on harvesting audio recordings of meetings. I’m Sean Tubbs, publisher and president of Town Crier...
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Podcast for December 5, 2025: Albemarle Supervisors seek additional funding for Smart Scale while City Council moves a streetscape project slightly forward
What does it mean that there is a Friday podcast edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement? In case anyone asks, an explanation: This newsletter began in July 2020 as a podcast as a next phase of work I began at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. In the spring of 2024, I began...
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Podcast for November 29, 2025: First bills filed for Virginia General Assembly
This time the podcast is the same file as the radio show that airs on WTJU, complete with public service announcements and continuity befitting a program that goes out over broadcast signal at a specific time. For the sake of the holiday, I have made this the November 29, 2025 edition. This is…
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Podcast for November 22, 2025: A transit story, one on Charlottesville's budget, and three from Albemarle County including an economic development update
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…
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Podcast for November 8, 2025: Election round-up, three stories from Charlottesville, and more!
Time again for another sonic edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast that seeks to capture at least some of what happens in local and regional government. The timestamp for this one is the 312th day of the year 2025, otherwise known as November 8. I’m Sean Tubbs,...
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Podcast for November 3, 2025: Virginia Senate approves first reference of redistricting amendment, MaKshya Tolbert reads two poems, and four other stories
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one newsletter to produce an audio version, than this shall be what happens. As in, this a stand-alone audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter produced by Town Crier Productions with information about growth,...
About this show
Regular updates of what's happening in local and regional government in and around Charlottesville, Virginia from an award-winning journalist with nearly thirty years of experience.
communityengagement.substack.com
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