Boxing Day News Digest

I had a busy month and had to stop this experiment for a bit. I resumed it after Christmas Day with a look at several days of news that I'm digesting here. The purpose of this is to see how fast I can take tweets and use them in another format. 

ALBEMARLE AND CHARLOTTESVILLE 

• Several stores at Fashion Square Mall are expected to close soon after the holidays. @craftypanda has this update. (bit.ly/39eh9Pm)
• The Claudius Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel is expected to open to the public sometime in 2020. Great details about the work needed in this @newsadvance story from Erin Conway @conway_erin_e (bit.ly/2Sp7Gi2)
• Foxfield is under a conservation easement now, which clearly defines that racing and non-racing events can happen on the property.  Allison Wravbel @craftypanda explains it clearly in this @DailyProgress article (bit.ly/2PYDTv4)
• There is a shortage of substitute teachers in Albemarle and Charlottesville. @Knott_Katherine documents current pay scales as well as efforts to try to address the issue (bit.ly/2SscSSw)

VIRGINIA

• While many in Virginia celebrated Christmas, New River Valley protesters blocking further tree-clearing for the Mountain Valley Pipeline spent the day continuing their work. @SamWall12345 and @LaurenceHammack wrote this @roanoketimes story (bit.ly/2QmiCKF)
• The Virginia State Water Control Board has approved 45 permits for 45 poultry farms in Accomack County that depend on groundwater to operate. This story is from the Eastern Shore Post (bit.ly/34XsL5Z)
• Virginia ABC stores broke sales records for the 21st year in a row. This report is from @8NEWS (bit.ly/37ezoCx) The ABC report itself is very interesting. Check out page 41 for how stores in the Albemarle/Charlottesville fared. Guess which one sold the most gallons? (bit.ly/2Qm52a9)
  
  
• This year, a dam on the Maury River came down. That lowered water levels at Jordan's Point Park, prompting the need for a new master plan. @alisonkgraham has this @roanoketimes story (bit.ly/39fmW7p)
• Last week, Governor Northam announced a $3.7 billion investment in rail infrastructure, including expansion of Long Bridge to allow for additional trains across the Potomac. @WDBJ7 has this story (bit.ly/2rtdqMK)

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Coastal wetlands will play a vital role both in carbon sequestration and in helping fight sea-level rise. That's the perspective of @MBLScience (bit.ly/350NbLk)
• Around 175 different makes and models of electric cars will be on the marker in Europe by the end of 2020, up from less than 100 now. Read this @guardian story for more information (bit.ly/34XFzt5)
• We live on a planet whose weather systems are all connected. This is a good interview with climate scientist @jrockstrom who I did not know until now. I recommend reading it. (bit.ly/2EQyFLw)
• Sea-level rise threatens some places more than others. One is the Netherlands, which has already decided to let some places to go to protect others. Read more about their planning process in this @POLITICOEurope story (politi.co/362ksac)

December 17, 2019: Home to Center to Mall to Mall

This is my second day this week of not driving. There are so many who can't afford to buy a car and I wish I could get rid of mine. It is so convenient to be able to get somewhere more quickly, but there are many personal benefits to trying to get away from my vehicle. 

This is my account from today as seen from Twitter and unspooled accordingly. The application gives me a chance to document my trip and edit the many typos that show up! 

***

I have a momentary panic as I see a bus in the distance. I should have three more minutes to get to my stop! Thankfully it is a 6 and not the 4. This is first of tour bus trips I have planned today. Glad someone left me some food on this bench. Oh wait. It’s trash.

Someone responded on Twitter that this bench is way too close to the road. That may be. 

I had to cancel a 3:00 meeting because I can’t make it to that and a 1:30 for both without driving. I have a car but the point of this experiment is to keep going. It is inconvenient but it’s worth it to me to not drive. There is a bus system and I have learned to use it.

I love the way this building has been painted. It's a pasta shop I've not been to yet. 

Now on board the 8 bound for the Center on Hillsdale Drive. The development of the CODE building continues. How will the people who work there one day get to work?

I was hoping to get a shot that shows the big pit where the Main Street Arena used to be. Note that there's a facade for a building that is gone now. 

This is a street that is worth walking down if you want to see how natural systems coexist with the ones we have built. A passenger got off at the stop here. There is no crosswalk. There likely should be one. The system isn’t perfect but the intent is the thing.

Meadowcreek daylights along here, and is a hidden stream that flows. I want to take people down that road. 

Several passengers get off at Barracks Road while this bus continues on to Stonefield via Hillsdale. This stop is right outside the now-closed CVS. There are a lot of shops here in this center that has been here for over 60 years. We're about to drive through Seminole Square, which hasn't fared as well and now has a public road going through it. 

The driver is surprised when I get off at this stop with the Center in the distance. She tells me she will be coming back through after a U-turn. I didn’t know when to get off and I don’t mind the walk to the Center. 

When I get there, there is a bus shelter here but there's no route marker for the 8. 

Good thing to kick off my talk with the Center director!

This asphalt trail was built as part of the Hillsdale Drive Extension, which connects Rio Road and Hydraulic. This is a major component of the Places29 Master Plan. 

For some reason the 8 doesn’t stop here. The 7 (which adds five to itself on Sunday) does. In any case I am here and will have to take a 7 back home. I have a 3:30 meeting I hope to make. I am half an hour early. That’s what laptops are for.

I wonder how many people use this spot every day? I forgot to ask the Center director. 

I've only ever driven here before. The Center was formerly known as the Senior Center. I've spent many hours in here recording things for @cvillepodcast and for @cvilletomorrow and now I am here to find out how the next location in Belvedere can be connected to transit. 

The meeting is over and I am walking to Fashion Square Mall to catch an 11. I am at the intersection of Hillsdale and Greenbrier. I wrote a lot about this intersection which had been planned to have a traffic light but it was not yet warranted. The infrastructure is here for it in future when the time comes.

For a second I think I am in another community. The older part of Hillsdale looks so different on foot. In the distance I see a familiar sight though.

On this impromptu and unexpected urban exploration, I see an embankment and cross the street again. There is a set of new wooden steps and decide to investigate. Another stormwater pond? There is a bench that doesn’t look as new. This is open space but for who? I bet this looks beautiful in the spring.

On Twitter, someone said geese are the main users of this space. 

I am now at Fashion Square Mall. I have not been here since the day Notre Dame was on fire. I am disoriented. Malls like this send me back to being a kid. The first time I was in this building was in the mid 80s when my dad was on a business trip to Comdial.

If you look closely, you can see a Salvation Army bell ringer. 

With the holidays on, the place seems festive. There are many people here. A woman reads a book on one of the comfortable couches. There are no bookstores anymore, though. This is a civic space still. A commercial one, but a place people go. Mostly in cars.

It's a nice atrium. It's a nice space. With a little love, this could be something again. 

However it is possible to get here via bus. And people do. There are choices. I will come back on Saturday on the bus and do some Christmas shopping here. There are lots of sales. I dread the day but I will get things for my family. And it will make me happy. More normal.

The bus actually arrived earlier than this, but left right at as this reached 5. 

For now, though, I am on an 11 back downtown. I have never been on Rio Road East on a bus before. There are a lot more homes on this corridor than when I began this work in 2007. The 12 is now the only @RideWithCAT route I have not been on. 

I am seeing new things. The 11 turns left onto North Avenue. The bus lets off a passenger who boarded at Fashion Square on a bike. I delight in seeing a city neighborhood I have not seen for a while. I don’t know this route so it feels like a story I know the end to, but not how we get there. Fascinating.

I actually used to live in this neighborhood, but I've more or less forgotten that. That was for two or three months in 2004. 

I make it from one mall to the other mall in less than 20 minutes. That route worked very well. We must figure out how to persuade more people to try this out. It might could work for them! 

I do love riding the bus. 

December 14, 2019 A trip to Fifth Street Station

Since March, I've been trying my best to drive only when necessary. This is due to my belief that we all need to take individual actions to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. But it's also due to my belief that driving everywhere leads to isolation and results in communities that are not healthy. I've spent a number of years writing about how Charlottesville makes its decisions about where buildings go, where roads go. This year I began to offer my thoughts more candidly, such as in this C-Ville Weekly piece about transit that ran in May. 

I've spent a lot of time on the bus since, tweeting my journeys as I learned how to use the system we have now. I don't believe it's a perfect system, and I have wanted to offer constructive criticism. We have the system we have for reasons that are hard for many to understand. Many people call for reform, but do they know how to change things? I do not know, but I want to offer up what I know. 

And what I know comes from my experience. I am no expert, but I am a writer who wants to document his time alive. I was alive yesterday as I tweeted this journey. This is from a thread that I thought I would re-purpose as part of my ongoing experimentation. 

***

Today is a non-drive day and I am headed to 5th Street Station to meet with my parents. 

The driver of the trolley-style bus waits as I run towards the stop. I mistimed my walk slightly. 

A student with luggage gets off at the Amtrak station. Travel is in the air

I sit in the sun on a copy of a Halprin chair waiting for the 12. It’s going to be some time. For the first time in a week i just sit and stare into space and try not to think. Thinking leads to worry.

The benches face the sun. 

Correction. It’s the 2. Not the 12. And now I am on it. I didn’t expect a visit from my parents and I had already marked today as a non-driving day. So I have to stick to that. I drove on Wednesday and Friday this week, and that was too much.

While waiting for the 2, I renewed my CAT pass for another 30 days.

The Downtown Transit Center was completed in 2008 and was paid for by a federal grant. This is why all most of the routes travel there. 

I am so used to taking the 6 that I am jarred when the 2 does not make the left hand turn onto Monticello. This is a pretty fast journey to a shopping center I never go to. I am glad I didn’t have to drive.

This is the second phase of William Taylor Plaza, a "planned unit development" that ended up as a hotel and a block of apartments. 

From the bus I see a stormwater facility I have never noticed before. This is designed to take all the water from this parking lot. All of that water goes somewhere.

I love the view from the bus, seeing things you wouldn't see, things that maybe aren't meant to be seen. All of this water drains to Moores Creek. 

Every time I come to 5th Street Station, I think about what a lost opportunity. This was built for the 20th century, not the 21st. I am walking across a sea of asphalt.

I wrote extensively about the rezoning that made this happen. That happened at the beginning of the last recession

I look back and the 2 is still parked there. It finally moves off. The bus just stops in the middle of the center before heading up to Avon. It doesn’t stop near the gigantic grocery store. The Food Lion looks nice from here.

The Food Lion is sort of visible from this space. 

Now I am racing to get back to the bus stop, dodging people shopping. I had a nice meal with my parents at the Wegman's cafe and now it’s on for the rest of the work weekend.

An hour ago the bus waited for several minutes at the stop. This time it did not. I have missed it. There is another in half an hour. I will go back and see my folks a bit longer.

They're still in Wegmans, shopping for British goods they can't get anymore in Lynchburg. There are hundreds of people shopping here, and I'm overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people. This is not the same demographic of people who shop at the Food Lion.

***

It's time to go. This time the 2 stops for a minute so. No one else gets on. Everyone gets here by driving. Wegmans was packed. I felt like an alien in there. Glad to be back on a bus where I feel at home.

I still need to do research into the mounds on which these trees have been built. 

The bus stops by the park and ride lot. It’s a driver shift change. The new driver inspects the bus. He chats with the first one. I don’t know the rest of this journey. Not sure where I get off. I have a stomachache, like Chidi from the Good Place. I try to see if there's time to see my friend for a few minutes, but she's already left.

Now I am on the Mall. This feels better. My nervousness is having a party, still, and I am glad I will soon be back at a place I can get back to work. I will sit at Rapture and get some work done.

It's not perfect, but it's home. 

I hope that we can do better as the 21st century proceeds. I'm still not very used to offering public opinions. I don't want to just point out problems. I want to offer solutions.

Several Hours Later

I make my choice as an individual to drive as little as possible. I am on board a 6 back home. When I get there, I will resume reading through the transit development plan that Council will consider on Monday night. I have many questions. Until then I ride with fellow passengers.

Tonight at Rapture I met someone who moved here a year ago or so who doesn’t have a car. He lives in City Walk and works at Uva. That was very encouraging. People do rely on transit. We can make it better.

At Burnet Commons, the driver helps a man who needs a walker get off the bus. The man is someone I see on this route a lot. I said hello. He said hello. I love that. I love feeling human when I move around my community.

That would not have happened if I'd decided to drive today. 

Daily Progress round-up for December 4 through December 7

I had not read the Daily Progress cover to cover since Tuesday. So, here is my latest attempt to capture the Twitter thread with links to stories.

• First, Mike Murphy has retired from the City of Charlottesville. Story from @nstoutDP (bit.ly/2YvExD8)
• The Albemarle Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend a special use permit for @MillerSchoolVA - story is from @craftypanda (bit.ly/2DW4imv)
• The @roanoketimes reports that a @RoanokeCollege poll found a majority of Virginians support some gun control efforts. @AJFriedenberger has the story (bit.ly/2rqfa9p)
• Roanoke County Supervisors voted to have that locality become a Second Amendment Sanctuary. Another story from the @roanoketimes (bit.ly/2sNzTEv)
• The @DailyProgress editorial from the December 4 paper supports additional Albemarle resources for the @CrozetFire volunteer department. (bit.ly/2RsLpQ4) Moving on to the December 5 paper.
• Kroger has agreed to pay a settlement related to allegations of misuse of controlled substances at the Rio Hill pharmacy. @Knott_Katherine has the story (bit.ly/2OZm1Qf)
• The Albemarle Board of Supervisors had a packed house on Wednesday from those seeking to support the Second Amendment Sanctuary. @craftypanda was there and wrote this story (bit.ly/2OZ6rnP)
• On Monday, Council voted 3-2 to send a special use permit application back for a 101' tall building on West Market Street. Details on @cvillepedia (bit.ly/2Rvdsy9)
• There's a guy who shows up at every Albemarle Board of Supervisors meeting insisting that climate change isn't real. To Charles Battig, it simply isn't happening. But a new study finds that predictions of warming made in the 70's were accurate. (bit.ly/2E26pFb) 
• On Monday, City Council voted down a proposal to require Council approval before Deputy City Managers are hired. The idea had been put forth from @NikuyahWalkerCC - story by @nstoutDP (bit.ly/33WLkH2)
• Thursday's @DailyProgress editorial addressed the issue of what role City Council should play in hiring for top positions (bit.ly/35131qa)
• On Wednesday, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors held a work session on additional professional firefighters. @craftypanda has that story (bit.ly/2OXyrrU) 
• Reading the paper every day exposes me to national stuff I don't usually read. Google's top brass stepped down this week at a time when the company is facing increased scrutiny. Story from the AP on A7 of Thursday's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2roD8lx)
• D.C. Fontana, a woman who wrote for the original Star Trek and then the Next Generation, died this week. She took the initials so she could get work in a male-dominated industry. Read more about her in this AP story on A8 of Thursday's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2YsRSft)
• On Wednesday, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted to approve rezoning for Galaxie Farm, one project from developer @nmscro - @craftypanda wrote this story on A1 of Friday's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/341d5OG)
• Another @nmscro project was in the news this week as she returned to the Places29-Rio CAC with a revised version of the 999 Rio Road development. @craftypanda has the story (bit.ly/2Pus5zs)
• A community meeting was held this week for a possible historic survey in Charlottesville's 10th and Page neighborhood. This had been delayed pending some concerns. @nstoutDP has this story on A1 of Friday's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/36eO8AU)
• The Biscuit Run property has been formally zoned as parkland, changing the land use for what had been slated to be a large neighborhood. @craftypanda has a third story in Friday's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2Yqej4E)
• I am finally up to today's @DailyProgress and just read about UVA tuition increases and approval of a sustainability plan. The second half of this @nstoutDP story is about the latter, and it likely should be read by many of my followers (bit.ly/350fzOH)
• The way Charlottesville High School calculates grade point averages may be changed to exclude high school courses taken in middle school. @Knott_Katherine has this story in today's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2Luruwg)
• A wrongful death lawsuit against the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail has been dismissed on a technicality. @TylerHammelVA has this story on A3 of today's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2RvJmKU)
• More than 3,000 @Uber drivers and passengers were sexually assaulted in 2018, according to a report issued this week. This @AP story takes a look at the next steps. (bit.ly/340orCu)

This took about four hours to produce. I could have added more stories because there is so much to read everyday. My interest as a member of our community and our world is to make sure information gets out there. I spent years writing stories about local land use issues in Albemarle and Charlottesville and now I am advocate for certain policies.

I do this work to keep myself up to date, and to get a sense of what I need to do in my advocacy.  This effort at taking these tweets and turning them into a blog post is part of my ever-evolving quest to make sure people know what's going on. 

Virginia General Assembly General Assembly 2020 preview

Today I attended a General Assembly preview put on the Virginia Conservation Network. Or rather, I went to a "watch party" held in CitySpace, sponsored by Piedmont Environmental Council and Wild Virginia. This is another in my series of experimental posts where I seek to unspool tweet threads.

• In Richmond, there are about 100 people at a General Assembly preview being held by @VCNVAorg
• And about 50 people here in Charlottesville we're at a watch party being hosted by @piedmontenviron and @Wild_Virginia
• Governor Northam presents his biennial budget in 10 days. Peggy Sanner of @chesapeakebay Foundation updates us on clean-up efforts.
• Then states how important agriculture-related funding is important to those efforts. Take a look at @VirginiaDCR (bit.ly/2sSQqXP
• Now Sanner talks about requests for programs to:
  * upgrade wastewater treatment plants to make effluent cleaner
  * Stormwater Local Assistance Funds
  
  That last one is particularly important for improving impaired streams. Take a look here: (bit.ly/2PpeoBA)
• Next, @ZGSheldon of @nature_org gives an update on requests for additional funding for land conservation efforts. The specific requests are all in the @VCNVAorg briefing book (still downloading, or I would excerpt an image!) (bit.ly/2rrzLKu)
• There is a coalition of groups called Virginia Forever that is making a big push for increased funding for land conservation efforts. The details are in a five-year plan. (bit.ly/2Ly8ay9)
• There was a question about coastal resilience efforts. I didn't catch the specific figure that was mentioned, but it's important to note Governor Northam issued an executive order on the topic in 2018. (bit.ly/2Z02O3m)
• 
  
  Next, a panel discussion begins on reacting to Virginia's climate crisis. The first speaker is from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network @CCAN which has a specific Virginia program. Learn about them here: (bit.ly/353eN3a)
• Next year, Virginia is slated to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Learn more about Virginia and other states are on this website: (bit.ly/2s8I2D3)
• Next, Will Cleveland of @selc_org says what needs to happen in the energy sector.
  1) reduce carbon emissions from power generation
  2) reduce electricity consumption
  3) allow distributed generation (making it easier for rooftop solar)
  4) right-sizing utility scale solar / wind
  
  Now someone from Litter Free Virginia is going through the various bills related to reducing or taxing plastic bags. As #VGA2020 approaches, I'll be giving status updates on those bills. (bit.ly/2RtqPis)
  
  Someone from @VCNVAorg is discussing efforts to address issues in built environment, such as removing mold and lead.
  
  There's also work on PFAS, an issue we're all going to become very familiar with in next few years. Read about PFAS on DEQ page: (bit.ly/369oygz)
  
  Sally Thomas, one of my mentors who served on Albemarle Board of Supervisors for 16 years, asks who pays a litter tax in Virginia. I don't know, but Litter Free Virginia does (bit.ly/2rqmjXj)
• One #VGA2020 bill on plastics is from Senator @AdamEbbin. Here it is on @richmond_sun (bit.ly/2RutyYR)
• 
• Another plastics-related bill in the Senate is from Senator that would use tax proceeds to pay for Water Quality Improvement Fund. Take a look here: @ChapPetersen (bit.ly/36ccISH)
• 
• Lots of questions are coming in about recycling issues, plastic issues. Folks from the Hampton Roads watch party want to ban the release of balloons at weddings and other outdoor events.
  
  What do you want to happen?
• What actions are you taking? Now, onto transportation issues at the @VCNVAorg #VGA2020 preview.
• Cheers for Trip Pollard at @selc_org who will be talking about funding. As he says, transportation is the biggest source of GHG emissions and not enough has been to reduce them.
• Pollard said too much is spent on building roads and there's an imbalance of funding. There's also concern about sustainability of funding as vehicles use less gas. Check out @selc_org page: (bit.ly/36h3Zyz)
• Pollard singles out need to upgrade Long Bridge across the Potomac as a way to allow for increased passenger and freight rail. Learn about that project on @Wikipedia (bit.ly/36dSoAC)
• Pollard also discusses the Transportation Climate Initiative, which we will be hearing about more in the future. Here's some information on that: (bit.ly/2RuJjiM)
• Next, @Liz_Hylton with Clean Virginia talks about holding Dominion accountable in terms of environmental justice. Learn more on the Clean Virginia website: (bit.ly/2sXwX8F)
• Next, Susan Holmes of the Wildlands Network talks about the Virginia Safe Wildlife Corridors Collaborative which seeks to provide safer habitat, decrease fragmentation. Learn more here: (bit.ly/2qze4bc)
• Holmes mentions a Congressional bill introduced by @RepDonBeyer and others to have a national wildlife corridors program. Learn about that here: (bit.ly/36b66E9)
• Now someone from @oceana is talking about the need to fight against off-shore coastal drilling. Learn more about the organization here: (bit.ly/2PnaWHH)
• The events are winding down. There's been a lot of information and I've learned some things that are important. Please share with your friends and family.
  
  Oh wait -Delegate @Sam_Rasoul takes the stage to urge bold and intersectional thinking. Learn more about him on @richmond_sun (bit.ly/2DXvpNT)
  
  And now my @piedmontenviron colleague @RexLinville is speaking about our conservation efforts.
  
  And then I have to speak next about what I do in land use issues in Albemarle, Charlottesville and Greene.

Okay. This didn't work as well as the news round-ups, but now it's captured for some form of posterity.

December 2, 2019 news round-up

I am drawn to doing these because my professional career began with an internship at WVTF Public Radio in 1995. Since then I always wanted to anchor a newscast. Earlier this year I experimented with a daily news podcast, and managed to go most of January completing it each day! I can provide samples upon request.

Anyway, I am doing these because my early days in media were in broadcast news. This taught me to write as tight as possible because every second counted. In a lot of ways, tweeting out the news satisfies my need to keep up my practice.

And this is practice. As in, this is a day old now. But the point of this experiment is to document these links so I can find them more easily. And who knows? Maybe I'll try a daily news summary podcast again?

• Charlottesville Council tonight considers land purchase for parking garage being built in part to supply parking spaces for joint courts. (bit.ly/2DBNiSb) That last story was by @nstoutDP in the @DailyProgress.
• If you're interested in the story, take a look at the staff report, which has more details. (bit.ly/2rQK6zO)
• On the front page, @BK_McKenzie writes how the firm Cardboard Safari is now producing cut-out Christmas trees. (bit.ly/2YaHI2X) 
• The Daily Progress profiles a 7th grader at Buford who is a leader in the local climate strike movement. (bit.ly/2LgTIdR) The cost of treating prisoners is increasing in Virginia, in part because of an aging population. This story in the @DailyProgress is originally from @RTDNEWS (bit.ly/2P7jAK9)
• The future of the George Rogers Clark statue on West Main Street / University Ave is being discussed by a committee at UVA. Read the details in this @cavalierdaily story (bit.ly/34IvsZT)
• The work of @perronerobotics to build autonomous vehicles is profiled by the blog @FierceElectron - I learned a few things I didn't know before. (bit.ly/2YhbBP6)
• Back to health care costs in Virginia prisons for a moment. @nedoliver reports in the @MercuryVirginia that UVA and VCU have been approached to help, with a possible takeover of the healthcare clinic at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women (bit.ly/2OHb71l)
• Many archaeological and historical sites in Virginia Beach will likely be underwater soon due to sea-rise. This is the A1 story in today's @virginianpilot (bit.ly/33IZBXJ)
• Scientists at the Jefferson Lab are trying to find a way to use accelerator technology to purify water. This story from the Daily Press is in today's @virginianpilot (bit.ly/33JaIjj)

News and information round-up for December 1, 2019

Here is another attempt to take the time I tweet out information and turn that labor into another product. This is mostly from the e-edition of the Daily Progress.

And here I can correct typos! I make a lot on Twitter. A lot. 

• First, @TylerHammelVA reports on the re-filing of a bill to end license suspensions of those who can't pay their court debt. It's from Senator @BillStanley #VGA2020 (bit.ly/34C0S3W)
• Albemarle County Schools is switching their strategy on how to get broadband to students without it. They'll hand out hot spots rather than continue to build their own network. @Knott_Katherine has the story (bit.ly/2Y3BPEF)
• Charlottesville's new city manager is introducing zero-based budgeting to the next fiscal year. That may have created concerns about the capital budget last month. @nstoutDP has this story in the @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2Dy8Tee)
• Pausing tweeting stories from the now to go back to get one from the past. It's always good to point out when things have happened here before. In 2009, @ShulleetaFiles reported on how zero-based budgeting became part of elections for Albemarle Supervisor. Thank you @DailyProgress for having this story up still! (bit.ly/34Ok2E5) 
• After Republicans gained a majority in 2009, they debated the practice in 2010. I wrote about it for @cvilletomorrow  (bit.ly/33zan2J) (The older stories did not format gracefully the last time they were transferred to a new site.)
• Back to 2019 and the growing Second Amendment Sanctuary movement. Greene County took up the matter last Tuesday and the Sheriff supports it. Coverage of the meeting from @TerryBeigie (bit.ly/34A2ETc)
• Charges have been filed against a Maltese businessman accused of helping kill reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 car bombing. I was glad to read this on page A4 of the @DailyProgress (bit.ly/33DIF4X)
• In a follow-up, a former chief of staff of the current Maltese Prime Minister is also connected to the investigation. There have been protests, but the PM's party backs him up. (bit.ly/2DBH4lv) 
• The Richmond Times editorial today is in support of putting solar on top of schools, and is based on a @Gen_180 report.
  
  Here's the editorial:  (bit.ly/2OB79r9) And here's the report:(bit.ly/2Y4NqmN)

News Round-Up for November 30, 2019

Another attempt at recovering Twitter threads and re-posting them here to see how much time it takes:

• Martinsville wants to stop being a city and instead revert to a town in Henry County. Henry County is skeptical. Update in the @MVilleBulletin (bit.ly/2rJSwbP)
• Fear of gun control legislation continues to lead many to attend county supervisor meetings. Here's a story from Pulaski County in the @SouthwestTimes (bit.ly/2q4OgmU)
• We are nearing the 70th anniversary of the Mill Mountain Star in Roanoke. Senator @ssurovell wants people to remember the laborers and designers who created. Piece in the @roanoketimes (bit.ly/2rJTfd3)
• A Nelson County Supervisor and PVCC are seeking a grant to help launch a training program for people who want to work in the renewable energy industry. Story in the @newsadvance (bit.ly/2Dx7kxu)
• There's an effort to improve recycling in Nelson County, with businesses such as @dbbrewingco getting involved. Story in the @newsadvance (bit.ly/2L9iwod)
• Soon after Charlottesville's new city manager took office this May, he hired his deputy from his last job. On Monday, Council will consider a charter change to allow more oversight of such a hire. @nstoutDP has the @DailyProgress story (bit.ly/2qYyt9C)
• More Virginians are working from home, though the amount is still small. The story is from @vcucns and it appears that Charlottesville leads among Virginia metro areas. Working from home helps reduce congestion, GHG emissions (bit.ly/2r2bz17)
• Even though only the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving, the frenzy of Black Friday has spread across the world. This @AP story points out some are not happy. (bit.ly/2Y1HOtv) 
• East African countries have been hit with heavy rains in the past few days, leading to displacement from flooding. Story on the @sfchronicle (bit.ly/33wc9Sd)
• The world is not on track to meet required greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new U.N. report. A summary in this @FT article (on.ft.com/34EvpOw)