How do we get our news today?  Are we really so divided as a country as some politicians and pundits suggest?  How are stories covered (or not) in the face of media consolidation?   And just how healthy is journalism in Central Virginia?

Giles Morris, executive director of Charlottesville Tomorrow, Jim Spencer, editorial page editor for The Daily Progress, and Joe Thomas, morning host and program director of Monticello Media, were panelists for the SSV November program.  Dan Schutte of CBS 19 had a family emergency and was unable to attend.   Bob Beard who is a former news anchor with CBS 19 in Charlottesville and a longtime reporter in Washington, D.C., including CNN, NBC and Reuters, was moderator.

Giles Morris, Jim Spencer, Bob Beard and Joe Thomas at the forum

These speakers were all passionate about their profession and trying to find the truth in the current media environment. Charlottesville Tomorrow is a non-profit electronic presentation funded by grants and donations whose primary goal is to present information to the community from a pure journalistic perspective. Jim Spencer focused on the challenges of corporate ownership and employing adequate reporters to cover our area. He currently has a staff of three. Wondering who writes the Progress editorials? He does. Joe Thomas explained the News Talk show title by saying first they present the News, and then the Talk portion is devoted to analyzing it. He also made a plea for community members to support advertisers of local media. The program highlighted common issues all media are dealing with today and how they try to provide local citizens with accurate information from which individuals may make informed decisions.

Participants

Bob Beard, SSV board member, moderated the program. Bob has over 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism at markets throughout the U.S. He is a former news anchor with CBS 19 in Charlottesville and a longtime reporter in Washington, D.C., including CNN, NBC and Reuters. Bob has degrees from Vanderbilt and Georgetown. Bob and his wife, Ellen, live in Ivy, where they raised twin sons. They are new “empty nesters.”

 Giles Morris is the executive director of Charlottesville Tomorrow. He has worked as a school teacher, community organizer, and a nonprofit program manager. He started working as a full-time journalist in 2007 as the general assignment reporter for the Rhinelander Daily News in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Giles served as editor-in-chief of C-VILLE Weekly and later as vice president for marketing and communications at James Madison’s Montpelier, where he was instrumental in the rollout of the award-winning, descendant-driven slavery exhibition, “The Mere Distinction of Colour.” He holds an M.Div. degree from Harvard Divinity School and his journalism and digital storytelling projects have been recognized by INN, LION, AAN, the North Carolina Press Association, and the Virginia Press Association.

 Dan Schutte is the news director of CBS-19 and anchors CBS19 News at 5 and FOX Virginia News at 10. He started at CBS19 in June of 2006. He met his wife Alison here, and they now have a little girl named Abby. Abby keeps the family on their toes. She loves swimming and the family dog Ripley. Ripley joined the family from the CASPCA in 2015. Dan comes to the area from Northern Minnesota, where he was an anchor for WDIO-TV in Duluth. Prior to that, he was a reporter and anchor in Eureka, California. During his career, he has covered several national stories and won awards for his work. Dan is originally from the Minneapolis area. He graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a degree in broadcast journalism. He was also a member of the Division I wrestling team there.

 Jim Spencer is the editorial page editor for the Daily Progress and appears weekly on Beyond the Headlines, a weekly news analysis segment on CBS19 in Charlottesville. A Virginia native, Jim has been a journalist since 1974. He began his career at the weekly Virginia Gazette in Williamsburg doing everything from writing news, feature and sports stories to writing theater reviews, sports columns and unsigned editorials. He moved to the Norfolk Virginian Pilot moving from sports writer, to news reporter to feature writer. The Chicago Tribune hired him to write features and he returned home to the Virginia Peninsula to write a metro column for the Daily Press after the Tribune Company bought the paper. He moved to the Denver Post to write a metro column and then to the Minneapolis Star Tribune where he served for 10 years as a Washington correspondent.

Joe Thomas is a Program Director and Talk Host at Monticello Media based in Charlottesville. Previously, Joe was a Co-Founder, Operations at The Afternoon Constitutional and also held positions at Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center, Forever Media, Delmarva Broadcasting, iHeartMedia, and Audacy, broadcast and Internet radio platform.

Congressman Bob Good (R) and challenger Josh Throneburg (D) were invited to participate in a candidate forum to share their positions on issues of concern to citizens in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. Regrettably, Congressman Good declined the invitation.

Democratic candidate Josh Throneburg is the father of two young children and an ordained minister who now owns Nooks & Crannies Cleaning, a small, eco-friendly cleaning company. After college, Josh moved to South Korea where he met his wife of almost 20 years, Minhee. Moving back to the US, Josh attended seminary and then became lead minister of Highrock Church in Brookline, MA.

Included in Josh’s priorities is to address the existential threat posed by climate change, and he proposes policy change that would put thousands of Virginians to work creating and manufacturing cutting-edge green energy technology, rebuilding our infrastructure, and helping redress air and water pollution. As part of a multi-racial family, Josh is a passionate advocate for racial justice.

Candidate Forum

Virginia 5^th Congressional District

Josh Throneburg speaks to residents

by Alexia Williams, CBS19 NEWS

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) — Democrat Congressional nominee Josh Throneburg campaigned in Charlottesville on Wednesday as part of his bid to represent the Fifth Congressional District of Virginia.

Throneburg, while speaking at a Senior Statesmen of Virginia event, referred to his background as a small business owner, father and minister.

His most important topics on the campaign trail are climate change and racial inequality.

“Addressing the issue of a warming planet, and trying to curb some of those negative effects of that, that’s a big one for me. Dealing with issues around race and sexism, because I’m the father of, you know, younger women and women of color. And so, we need to make sure that they have absolute access to all of the same opportunities, and the same fairness, and justice in our system,” Throneburg said. “We are building something in our country, even in the sense of our democracy, that is providing a firm foundation for the future.” Throneburg claims this is the main reason he’s running.

Republican incumbent Bob Good declined the invitation to participate in the event.

See the CBS coverage at: https://www.cbs19news.com/story/47473090/josh-throneburg-spoke-in-charlottesville

The Charlottesville Area Alliance Housing Team is excited to start educating the public on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Missing Middle Housing, as well as the zoning implications that go with it.  Specifically, the Alliance wants to contextualize these housing concepts in terms of how they would benefit seniors to age in the community.

The panelists for the program were Ian Baxter, regional planner, Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission; Alex Ikefuna, Office of Community Solutions, City of Charlottesville; and Stacy Pethia, principal planner for housing, Albemarle County.  The program was expected to be moderated by SSV President Sue Friedman.

Program Summary

The program was moderated by SSV board member Bob Beard (far right above) who is a former news anchor with CBS 19 in Charlottesville and a longtime reporter in Washington, D.C., including CNN, NBC and Reuters. The three representatives of the area’s housing programs were extremely knowledgeable of the affordable housing dilemmas faced in our area. Each program has studied the concerns and have goals for the future. Sources of future funding will be from public, private and nonprofit organizations. Knowing the need of those who require services and encouraging citizens to participate in the process is essential. Other concerns expressed were the desire for real time metrics, public outreach, and creating a sustainable infrastructure. An abundance of statics was available such as 40 percent of Albemarle County residents spend more than the goal of 30 percent of their income on housing. The City of Charlottesville has a goal of spending $10 million per year on affordable housing. They met this goal in 2021.

Delegate Sally Hudson (D), 57th House District, described the many benefits of ranked choice voting and the likely hood of it becoming more available in Virginia.  She also answered questions about future elections in Virginia.

Delegate Sally Hudson represents Albemarle (part) and Charlottesville, and serves on the Finance Committee and the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. In 2019, she became the first woman to serve Charlottesville in the Virginia State House. In her first term, she delivered high-impact legislation to address some of the most pressing challenges we face, from unemployment and evictions to essential health care coverage. As a labor economist, Sally has invested her career in securing the resources and opportunities that every family needs to thrive.

Sally is president of Ranked Choice Virginia and the force behind the bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly.

Sally is an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia, where she teaches statistics in the School of Public Policy. Sally studied economics and math at Stanford University and earned her PhD as a National Science Foundation fellow at MIT.

Grant Brownrigg, Senior Statesmen of Virginia Secretary, shown with Delegate Sally Hudson, moderated the meeting.

To understand Ranked Choice Voting and its advantages, read Bob Gibson’s article in The Daily Progress.

What does climate change mean to YOU and to our community? An introduction to climate change action at the local level was presented. Hear how the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and UVa are working together with the local climate collaborative to address climate change issues. And learn YOUR role.  The meeting was moderated by Sue Friedman, Senior Statesmen president.

Program Summary

Click here to see the PowerPoint slides that the speakers used.

Click here to see a video of the event.

Our past programs on climate issues have focused on state and regional efforts while this program focused on local programs and initiatives. Gabe Daley, climate protection manager for Albemarle County; Susan Elliot, climate protection manager for the City of Charlottesville; Andrea Ruedy Trimble, sustainability director for the University of Virginia; and Susan Kruse, executive director of the Community Climate Collaborative were the presenters. The goal of all these groups is to decrease greenhouse admission by 2050 and developing an environment that does nothing to increase emissions.

Collecting accurate data is a shared goal of the groups. Greenhouse Emission Inventory is used by both the city and county. Since Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, policy models need to be consistent with state regulations and cannot be locally determined. In our area 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation and 40 percent from buildings. Since three-quarters of transportation emissions come from a single driver in a car, improving the options to reduce this is necessary. Better public transportation, sidewalks, bike lanes, landscaping to provide shade are being developed to encourage leaving the car at home. The city, county and UVa are all looking at electric buses and “greenfleet“ programs. At UVa, infrastructure initiatives include geothermal wells, increased use of sustainable building products and solar panels. Paying for these improvements is an ongoing concern. Grants and federal funds help and UVa has several hundred thousand feet of roof space which can be rented for solar panels. Each presenter concluded with website links and encouraged the audience to get involved by educating themselves and volunteering. UVa has information available on social media, websites, newsletters, and reports. City has information at Charlottesville.gov/1085/Climate-Action-Planning (or/notify me – for news flashes). The county’s activities are at Albemarle.org/climate (or /stewardship) and the C3 website is theclimatecollaborative.org.

Three of our local General Assembly members were able to participate in our annual May General Assembly Update meeting: Senator Creigh Deeds (D), Delegate Matt Fariss (R) and Delegate Sally Hudson (D). The program was introduced by Sue Friedman, president of SSV, and moderated by SSV board member Ella Jordan.

 Click here to watch a video of the meeting.

To listen to a podcast of the meeting:

Moderator Ella Jordan. Sen Creigh Deeds and Del Matt Fariss, Del Sally Hudson

Program Summary

The current status of Virginia government with a Republican governor and Republican majority in the house and a Democratic majority in the Senate has led to gridlock in approving the budget, which is still not finalized. If it is not approved by July 1, 2022, it is possible that Virginia government will shut down. All the participants expressed hope that agreement will be reached. Even with the current budget surplus the parties agree that what must also be taken into account is that the cost of supplies, labor, etc., have significantly increased so the state is not as flush with cash as it seems.

Many topics were addressed during the presentation, but mental health was a priority of all three speakers. Funding for better support services and housing for persons with mentally illness were primary needs. The differences between running a business or government have caused some concerns with the Democrats who believe that the more transparency the better as opposed to the Republican position that some work should not be public information in that it may stifle participation in government.

Other questions from the audience concerned the Dillon Rule (local government needs state approval to raise and levy taxes), constitutionality of executive orders, the Tip Line, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Virginia’s 1776 Declaration of Rights defines government as being for the common benefit. Since then, the Constitution of Virginia has been periodically revised, defining who belongs to the political community. Virginia’s successive constitutions have reflected the great battles of successive eras – the age of Jacksonian democracy, Civil War and Reconstruction, post-Reconstruction white supremacy, civil rights and greater inclusiveness. Virginia’s present Constitution became effective in 1971. Over 50 years have passed since its adoption. How well has it stood the test of time? What are the challenges of our era?

Watch a video of the presentation by A. E. Dick Howard, who is the Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of International Law at the University of Virginia.  Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Professor Howard is a graduate of the University of Richmond and received his law degree from the University of Virginia. He was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he read philosophy, politics, and economics. After graduating from law school, he was a law clerk to Justice Hugo L. Black of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The program was moderated by SSV board member Bob Beard who is a former news anchor with CBS 19 in Charlottesville and a longtime reporter in Washington, D.C., including CNN, NBC and Reuters.

A podcast of the event is below.

Program Summary

A. E. Dick Howard, the Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of International Law at the University of Virginia and widely acknowledged as an expert in the fields of constitutional law, comparative constitutionalism, and the Supreme Court, was our speaker on the Virginia constitution. His program began with the history of Virginia’s constitutions and how they have evolved. The original voters were male with a “permanent common interest” i.e., property owners.

The first modifications in the 1829 convention were mild and made modest changes. By the 1851 convention the property owner requirement was dropped. After 1865, to be readmitted to the Union, the Virginia constitution had to ratify the 14^th amendment and agree to allowing former slaves to vote.

At the end of Reconstruction, laws began to become more restrictive against Black and lower-class white voters. This was the start of a poll tax, difficult registration requirements, and grandfather clauses. The result of these laws had been that in 1870, 50 percent of Black voters were registered and in 1902 that number was five percent.

Governor Goodwin convened the most recent constitutional convention with a group of distinguished Virginia men with Professor Howard as executive director. The final document was passed by a 72 percent vote in legislature when Holton was governor. The major changes in the current constitution as listed by the speaker are these: organization of the educational system with the introduction of standards of quality, anti-discrimination clauses (including gender) for the first time, funding of public schools at both the state and local level, the court system was reorganized to be more efficient, and introducing environment as part of public policy.

In summary, Professor Howard feels that the constitution has stood the test of time well and reflects the will of the people while acknowledging the need for a healthy amendment process. Questions were then taken from the audience. The entire text of the Virginia Constitution can be accessed at this link: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitutionfull/#

The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont is in the design phase, however much has been done already.  The community is welcome to visit.  Building a public botanical garden is not an easy feat. Botanical Garden of the Piedmont (BGP) has been driven by the Charlottesville community’s input, aspirations, and desire to be a place of beauty, education, healing, and unity.  The input phase of the garden design process is ongoing.  Through our continuous outreach, we hope to ensure that the built garden will represent the hopes and dreams of the entire community.

This presentation by executive director Jill Trischman-Marks outlines what has already been achieved toward building this garden, and gives insight into the road map ahead.

A video of this presentation can be found by clicking here.

A podcast of the presentation follows.

Jill Trischman-Marks is a landscape architect with almost 30 years of experience in the Central Virginia area. Jill holds a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. Projects she has worked on include the five original gardens at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, the Thomas Jefferson Parkway in Charlottesville, and the Poplar Forest entrance road and trails in Forest Virginia.

The program was moderated by SSV board member Norman Dill.

Program Summary

The 14-acre site near Charlottesville High School is in its early planning stages and is actively recruiting input from the citizens. Modern botanical gardens embed themselves in their community to deal with urban challenges. The mission of BGP is to invite community members to engage in nature, to educate and inspire through beauty and importance of plants, to advance sustainability and to promote human environmental well-being.

Already an award winner of its master plan from the American Society of Landscape Architects. The completion of the site analysis has identified needs such as a bus stop to improve access. Input from the community desires native flora, trails, amphitheater, visitors center, aquatic discovery area near stream and a canopy walk. A specific planting design has not yet been developed, but the guiding principles are established.

What is happening now: Invasive plant and garbage removal has opened an area for outdoor space during COVID allowing for groups to gather and the stream to revive. Garden Guardians, a group of volunteers, meet twice a month to maintain the site. Another volunteer group, Garden Guides, provide free tours two Saturday mornings a month. In addition, there are grant writers and even a drone operator who provides pictures and videos used by designers in planning stream restoration. BGP is making a concerted effort to develop a garden for the whole community to embrace and enjoy nature and each other.

The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont is free and open daily from sunrise to sunset. There is a community survey on their website for individuals to participate in. For more information: piedmontgarden.org, or email info@piedmontgarden.org

We were told how the University of Virginia and Albemarle County are addressing equity in our communities. We learned the difference between equity and equality, and how equity can improve the well being and quality of life for all community members.

A video of the Zoom meeting can be viewed by clicking here.

Listen to the podcast below.

Program Summary

Elizabeth Beasley is in the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion where she is director of community partnerships. In addition she is a member of the President’s Council on University-Community Partnerships and cochair of its Public Health Work Group. She began her presentation answering the question, “What is the difference between “equal” and “equity.” Equal implies that there is a one size fits all resolution to an issue. Equity is different in that it is an intentional way of equalizing responses according to the needs of the recipients. The goal of the President’s Council is to build partnerships with the community such as using local vendors, improving public health and public housing. Practicing good neighbor ethics, pursuing actions with mutual benefits and building authentic partnerships are ways of achieving equity between UVA and the local community.

Putnam Ivey de Cortez from Albemarle County’s Office of Equity and Inclusion coordinates programs for the county government. The mission statement of this program is to improve the well being and quality of life for all community members. In order to accomplish this goal, understanding the issue more thoroughly is essential so, the speaker presented several demographic studies. For example, factors affecting health were found to be 20% clinical care, 30% health behaviors, 40% socioeconomic factors and 10% physical environment. These statistics provide the foundation for determining the work the staff is trained to do. Currently the county is revising their comprehensive plan and soliciting a broad selection of its citizens to give their input. If you are interested learn more and apply at engage.albemarle.org/AC44workinggroup.

Bob Beard moderated the program. He is an SSV board member and a former news anchor with CBS 19 in Charlottesville and a longtime reporter in Washington, D.C., including CNN, NBC and Reuters.

Ngiste Abebe provided a two-part program: medical marijuana, and adult use marijuana (legalized/decriminalized recreational use).  She answered many questions from the Zoom audience.  The program was moderated by SSV Vice President Peyton Williams.

A video of the presentation can be accessed by clicking here.

You can listen to a podcast of the presentation by clicking below.

Ngiste Abebe is vice president of public policy at Columbia Care, one of the nation’s leading medical cannabis companies. She serves as the president of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association and on the board of the District of Columbia Cannabis Trade Association. Prior to that, she was co-founder of Undaunted Ventures, a political consulting firm which specializes in innovative narrative, training, and leadership coaching services, and which grew out of her work training progressive organizations and working on campaigns across Virginia. She is the co-founder and co-director emerita of New Leaders Council Virginia, a progressive leadership institute. Ngiste holds a BA in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a Masters in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She’s a NORML board member, vice president of Public Policy for Columbia Care (industry-leading medical marijuana dispensary) and newly appointed by Governor Northam to the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Board. She happily gives and receives recommendations for sci-fi novels and board games.

Program Summary

Ngiste Abebe’s presentation focused on the medical marijuana program and adult legalized use in Virginia. The original legalized use (2018) of cannabis in Virginia was for pediatric seizures. Currently its primary use is for pain, anxiety and insomnia as prescribed by a certified practitioner. Registration at the Board of Pharmacy is necessary for individuals or medical personnel to prescribe the drug. Unless registered, health care providers can talk to patients about the drug but cannot prescribe it. Lack of resources, including basic knowledge and locations to buy the drug, prevent having easy access to legal cannabis for medical use. The nearest available resource to Charlottesville is Salem, Virginia. In addition, complying with state regulations is challenging for sellers and growers to accomplish.

Legal adult recreational use is now up to one ounce and four individual cannabis per adult in Virginia.  Because marijuana is illegal at the federal level, one cannot buy cannabis for recreational use through providers where medical marijuana is sold legally in Virginia. In other areas where pot is sold legally it is a strictly cash operation. Business owners cannot use banks (federal law) and are subject to robbery and excessive security costs. (The illegal pot industry is an estimated $2 billion.)  In spite of all the challenges, legalization of marijuana in Virginia has bipartisan support in the General Assembly. Ms. Abede suggests the following links for more information:

Virginia NORML: https://www.vanorml.org/
Weekly Facebook Live on Fridays at 4pm: https://www.facebook.com/vanorml/
Action alerts: https://www.vanorml.org/act

Cannabis certification provider: https://www.vanorml.org/doctors

How to register with Board of Pharmacy: https://www.vanorml.org/register