Charlottesville Community Engagement

This edition and its copy comes straight from the radio version that aired on WTJU this morning Good morning and welcome to Charlottesville Community Engagement for July 11, 2026. I’m Sean Tubbs, a writer and producer who covers local and regional government in the area in and around the University of Virginia. That includes Albemarle and Charlottesville, two communities in a nation wrestling with...

For the second week in a row, I’m reusing the same production file that was used on WTJU. If I was awake and alert, it would maybe take 15 minutes to record new audio. However, this June 27 feels like the kind of day where such a direct task would take about two hours. I’m ready to get ready for the next set of stories. If you are a new reader, I got my professional start at WVTF Public Radio in R...

Astute listeners will realize that the audio for this version is the same as the version that ran on WTJU this morning at 6 a.m. I’ve done this one or twice before and today I want to use my morning to get on to the next set of stories rather than record a new version. The switch to morning publication means there is a clock ticking the moment I wake up and motivation this morning has taken me in...

On June 13, 1895, a two-seat vehicle driven by Émile Levassor crossed the finish line in Paris 48 hours and 48 minutes after leaving that city in the world’s first automobile race . The journey took contestants on a 1,178 kilometer course to Bordeaux and back and Levassor arrived six hours before the runner-up. However, the rules called for a four-seater and both were ineligible for victory. What...

For the next set of stories to be written for Charlottesville Community Engagement, the audio versions of the previous ones must be distributed. That’s the purpose of this particular edition which collects four stories from the past week with an extra one thrown in from the archive. The podcast version is also slightly different from the version that aired on WTJU at 6 a.m. on June 6, 2026. Please...

It seems that we have arrived at the end of May 2026, as well as the end of another busy week at Charlottesville Community Engagement. This week began with a holiday and ushered in a switch to a morning publication as opposed to an afternoon one, a transition intended to prepare for a more active future covering local and regional government in the community. One hopes. Mostly every story that fea...

Happy Birthday to the Associated Press which incorporated as a non-profit news cooperative on May 22 , 1846 to share the costs of covering a war between the United States of America and Mexico. Charlottesville Community Engagement is an experiment in bringing people stories about an area that seems to be in constant change. Once a week there’s an audio version and this is a chance to catch up on w...

Where do you get your information about what’s happening in the greater Charlottesville area? Hopefully from multiple sources in order to expose yourself to multiple perspectives. But perhaps this is your first time looking at (or listening to) the opening words of a sonic edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast that seeks to get more people to understand what’s h...

Today’s edition is sponsored by Nola Builds Five times five is not 125, but May 5 is the 125th day of the year and goes by 5/5 no matter what side of the Atlantic you are on. Charlottesville Community Engagement has so far been produced on the Western side but one potential future would be for at least some editions to be created in other parts of the world. After all, it has now been three years...

No matter what late April got up to, the first day of May brings another shower of sonic stories made up of various reports from this week’s text editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs and I got my professional start as an intern at a public radio in Roanoke over thirty years ago and believe the audio form is a good way to get information out to people. If you’ve not hear...

The British government subsidized the publication of North America’s first continuously published newspaper which was produced for the first time ever on April 24, 1704. All issues of The Boston Newsletter had to be approved by the Royal Governor. Aside from one very brief ad buy that was discontinued, Charlottesville Community Engagement receives no contribution from the government and relies on...

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: * Albemar...

Friday has rolled around again which means it is time to scramble out another audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. This time around there is a big focus on municipal budgeting because the purpose of Town Crier Productions is to focus on the details of revenues and expenditures with a hope toward greater community understanding. At least, that’s the way this version of Sean Tubbs...

The term “prevailing wisdom” can only apply if such experience exists, and there is still no certainty about the best time to post the audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs, still dreaming that every newsletter edition could still be sonic but this one is ready to go with eight stories where you can hear the voices of local government. In this edition: * Downtown Ma...

What has happened in the last week? There are many different organizations that document current events and affairs through the telling of stories and then packaging a look back. This is a journalistic tradition that dates back many years and Charlottesville Community Engagement seeks to continue with this Monday morning look and listen for people to catch up. Most people read the material while o...

In a democracy, local governments play a vital role in providing services to the people who live there and the budget process is a glimpse into the priorities of a locality. There are many complexities for decision-makers to consider, knowing their time in office only continues if they have support of the electorate. This podcast edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement is a snapshot of the...

Sometimes I have big ideas to spend the weekend writing all of the stories I have not yet written. Other times, I send out the WTJU version as the podcast because I want to get the next week started and that work is already done. Which is it this week? You’ll have to just listen or catch-up with the following stories: * Budget preparation is underway in Albemarle County and speakers at a first pub...

Another week is upon us with the prospect of many more stories about all of the usual topics covered by Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m Sean Tubbs, the president and publisher of Town Crier Productions , an entity created in the summer of 2020 to help me try to bring in revenue so I can share my research into what happens in local, regional and Virginia government. This is an audio versi...

Can anyone prove that February 10, 2026 was the last time there was an audio edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement? Turns out it is not that difficult as there is clearly a link and the day in question was a Tuesday. This podcast version consists of some stories from recent weeks and links to them if you’ve not read them yet. The next actual newsletter may or may not be out this afternoo...

There is a theory that both the next podcast edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement as well as the next written version might be delayed out of some sort of concern about whether the internal numbering system is equipped to deal with the impending approach of the 1,000th edition. At least, that is one possible explanation of why it has taken so long to produce these older stories from the...

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 r...

If there’s anything I have learned in my thirty years of reporting, it is that there is always more to be learned. One reason to do journalism is to document potential solutions to problems over time. At least, there’s the point of Charlottesville Community Engagement and this edition is a collection of audio stories from the past week. For those of you who do not want to listen, there are also li...

Today’s edition is sponsored by the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop When was the last time you played a musical instrument? When was the last time you recorded a song you wanted to write either for yourself or for others? In an attempt to change the tone of these introductory paragraphs of Charlottesville Community Engagement, I decide to look instead at this day in music. Two sources rep...

Today’s edition is sponsored by the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop There are very few editions of Charlottesville Community Engagement that are sent out on a Saturday but there’s enough new information to tell you so here we are. Today is the first day of the administration of Governor Abigail Spanberger and there have already been some big changes. I’m Sean Tubbs and it’s January 17, 20...

The month of January 2026 is halfway through and the pace of the previous year appears to have continued with no days off in a period of transition and tumult. I’m Sean Tubbs, and Charlottesville Community Engagement is a newsletter with stories about a part of the world I’ve been covering for a long time with a focus on growth, development, housing, and whatever else comes together. In this editi...