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. The optimal time for this to come is Monday morning but the mini Ice Age has taken its toll on normal routines. I’m Sean Tubbs, and I do hope you’ll take a listen whenever you can.

In this edition:

* City Council took a look at national financial picture at recent retreat (read the story)

* Charlottesville City Council briefed on FY27 budget; assessments up an average of 3.72 percent in 2026 (read the story)

* Charlottesville’s FY25 surplus totals $8.5 million (read the story)

* The Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Transit Authority meets for the first time in 2026 (read the story)

* Albemarle County seeking changes to form-based code at Rio / 29 (read the story)

* Council confirms willingness to let group build bridge to Vietnam memorial, accept the infrastructure (read the story)

* City Manager Sanders goes through his work plan; Ashley Marshall leaving city government (read the story)

First shout-out: Camp Albemarle!

Today’s subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for over eighty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”

Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Rebuilt in the early 1980’s, a legacy of 4-H programming thrives along with a wide range of additional activities. Educational initiatives from schools across the region spark environmental learning moments at every turn.

Second shout-out: WTJU Folk Marathon running this week

WTJU’s volunteer hosts are curating a Folk music mecca, running February 2 – 9, all to raise money for the non-commercial radio station as it continues to find its footing after federal funding cuts. Check out the schedule on the website here!

Keep your dial set to 91.1 FM (or stream from their player) for a week of Folk sounds, including old-time, honky tonk, global music, roots, and mind-bending psych folk. There will be deep dives into the work of singular artists, including Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Jesse Welles, Martin Carthy, and many more. There will be tributes to some of the musicians we lost in 2025, including Raul Malo, Danny Thompson, Joe Ely, Michael Hurley, and Todd Snider.The Marathon will boast eight live concerts, open to the public, and broadcast on air, online, and on the WTJU YouTube channel. Stop by to see Mama Tried, Scuffletown, the Buzzard Hollow Boys, Red and the Romantics, Ramona and the Holy Smokes, and others! Every hour of the seven days and nights broadcasts directly from WTJU; even the overnight programming is populated with archived concerts from our very own stage! We have also invited some of our favorite local musicians in to present special programming, including Banjo Hall of Fame member Bill Evans, singer/songwriter extraordinaire Terri Allard, and band leader Waverly Minor. Where else but WTJU can you find such support from the community?

End notes on #995-A

People who listen to the audio of this one may notice some interesting errors. More than usual, I’m popping my p’s and otherwise hitting plosives. That’s because something weird is happening with my recording set-up that I can’t hear proper gain on my voice when I’m recording. If I can’t hear them when I’m narrating a script, then they end up in the final mix because there’s no choice.

I’ll figure it out, but I left it in for this one because this may have been one of the hardest audio editions to have done for a while. I barely took a breather in January and sometimes when I do too much work I don’t process all of the stories properly.

So yesterday I took off from writing new stories to get caught up with what I’ve already done. I usually do this work on Saturdays but I wanted to look at the General Assembly.

This particular audio version also includes brand new interstitials. Those are the bits of sound in between the audio segments. One of the original ideas was that I would continue to make new ones but I’ve been using the same 20 stings over and over. So, today I made an effort to make new ones from existing weird things I’ve made over the years.

Speaking of which, I’ve had an idea. In the coming weeks I’ll be announcing a new way people can support my work, and that also involves changing the Patreon away from reporting and to something more artistic and creative. Probably not at all even close to the mainstream and it may not work, but I don’t want to close the account.

In any case, there may or may not be a regular newsletter today. I have to attend to the business of it all and this is a day where I may need to give myself over to that.

Then again, maybe I won’t.

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