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, and I look forward to seeing how that goes.

Until then, here are the stories for this edition:

* Albemarle Supervisors will not move forward with a personal property tax rate increase in 2026 (read the story)

* However, Supervisors do find an additional $2 million for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (story forthcoming at C-Ville Weekly)

* Area planners hear from VDOT about a desire to coordinate transportation projects (read the story)

* UVA representative to city PC reports on various projects including new access for Center for Politics (read the story)

* Charlottesville’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services announces changes to the city’s Development Code (read the story)

A programming note for CCE-1035A

The second story uses two soundbites from the first story. That’s because I opted to write up a follow-up piece on Albemarle Affordable Housing Investment Program for C-Ville Weekly.

Interested in learning more about decisions I make in the process of reporting? Ask questions in the comments and I’m glad to answer.

First PSA: Olympic swimming champion Gretchen Walsh to speak

This 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 are available now. For more information, visit, Emily Couric Leadership Forum dot Org

Second PSA: Raising Courageous Humans in an Anxious World

The Charlottesville Waldorf School is hosting “Raising Courageous Humans in an Anxious World”, a panel discussion on children, anxiety, and resilience, in partnership with the 14th Annual Tom Tom Festival, Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00PM at the Violet Crown Cinema on the Downtown Mall. This timely panel discussion explores one of the most pressing concerns facing families today - the rise of anxiety among young children. The event is free and open to the public. Community members, educators, parents, and caregivers are warmly invited to attend.

Thoughts at the end of CCE-1035A

At publication I still have to find seven more minutes for the version that will air on WTJU tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. That is a volunteer activity for me and this podcast is the companion.

Next week there is no radio show and sometimes without that deadline it is difficult to get the motivation to produce the podcast.

I do not have the capacity yet to hire an editor and in the meantime, producing the audio version before I do the print version goes a long way to improving quality. I am hopeful to hire an editor, but that will take bringing in additional resources. While paid subscriptions through Substack help, I now have a way people can make charitable contributions to this journalistic enterprise. You can do that here.

I am not going to give up the audio even though the total amount of listeners is fairly low. I know many enjoy it, and that’s enough for me to keep going as long as I can.

For now, I post this image to give Substack something to use as the main frame.

Questions? Comments? Leave them in a comments or drop me an email.

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