January 5, 2020 News and Information Round-Up

Sunday news and information research time. As always, this information is repurposed from a Twitter thread.

CHARLOTTESVILLE and VIRGINIA 

• First, Charlottesville has released "stop and frisk" data which appears to show a decline in "investigative detentions" but the tables may not show whole picture. @nstoutDP writes in Saturday's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2FloDm3)
  
• The Charlottesville public housing agency (CRHA) can't document that procurement policy was followed in the purchase of $728K of goods and services. That's the result of a @HUDgov audit released this past August. @nstoutDP has this @DailyProgress report (bit.ly/2ZS5hOJ)
  
  The audit was triggered by a "hotline complaint" that CRHA had awarded a contract for internet services without seeking bids. That claim wasn't true, but @HUDgov concluded the audit had merit. Read the report here: (bit.ly/2QqREDe)

A clip from the HUD report

• The flu has been strong this season, but the strain going on is less common than usual. @Suarez_CM reports for the @RTDNEWS and the story is on A2 of yesterday's @DailyProgress - Have you had it? (bit.ly/2QnPiF0)
  
• Luray-based @MyBlueRidgeBank has joined the New York Stock Exchange, capping off a year of expansion. The story is on A3 of yesterday's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2FlGysz)
  
• Loudoun Supervisors will meet on January 7 and will provide final budget direction to the county's administrator. The budget office is advising against a proposed tax cut. More from @LoudounNow (bit.ly/37EmWMC)
  
• Thirty-three middle and high school teams competed at @UVA yesterday to qualify for the FIRST Tech Challenge, a robotics competition. @Knott_Katherine has this story in the @DailyProgress (bit.ly/36mfw09)
  
• Albemarle will seek new ways to find people to join boards and commissions. One county resident and former EDA member studied the issue while at the Frank Batten School. @craftypanda has this story for the @DailyProgress (bit.ly/2SV0drf)
  
  One thing Albemarle could do, and you could do, is help publicize this list of vacancies and ask people to apply for them. Share this with people you know. Each is important in its own way. (bit.ly/2SUbpo9)

• 

  A clip from the Albemarle boards and commission vacancy page
• Speaking of volunteering, would you like to do so in 2020? There's a whole list of opportunities on C2 of the @DailyProgress ranging from being a tax counselor for AARP to volunteering at the UVA Medical Center gift shop. Get the paper to see the list!
  

ENVIRONMENTAL 

• The largest mining boom in the world's history could soon begin as an international framework to govern ocean floor dredging nears completion. The impact to deep sea ecosystems will be enormous. This @TheAtlantic piece is very important. (bit.ly/37yEERm)
  
• State and local governments stepped up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. @insideclimate has a summary of action and progress across the United States. (bit.ly/2STLRrl)
  
• The fires in Australia continue to intensify as temperatures remain high and as the death toll mounts. An @AP story on A4 of the @DailyProgress today (bit.ly/2QReYJj)
  
  Australian Prime Minister defends his government's response and told reporters now is not the time to assign blame. This @AP update is on the @DailyProgress website (bit.ly/2tAbdj6)
  
• The director of @BlueRidgePoison Center explains why lead is so toxic to the human body and how its presence in the built environment affects so many. This is on C4 of today's @DailyProgress (bit.ly/36uQfRm)
  
• The field of architecture is coming to terms to the role construction plays in factoring carbon footprints. There's a lot of information in this @ArchDaily piece that's worth reviewing (bit.ly/2Qr9LbY)
  
• The Hampton Roads Sanitation District is experimenting with treating water and returning it to an aquifer in order to replenish groundwater. This account is from the firm that sold the doors to the SWIFT project. (bit.ly/39GCYra)