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 report that on January 22, 1959, Buddy Holly hit record on a machine and captured his final performances on a tape recorder, recordings that would later be posthumously produced professionally after his death in an aircraft crash on a snowy night. I’m Sean Tubbs, and more on that rabbit hole at the end of this edition.
In this edition:
* There is a vacancy on the Greene County Board of Supervisors as Francis McGuigan resigns
* Albemarle and Charlottesville officials are preparing for a weekend storm expected this
* The Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority will meet today the first time in 2026
* Albemarle County promotes Amy Smith to be the next Parks and Recreation Director
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First shout-out: Cville Village seeks volunteers
Can you drive a neighbor to a doctor’s appointment? Change an overhead lightbulb, plant a flower, walk a dog for someone who is sick, visit someone who is lonely? If so, Cville Village needs you!
Cville Village is a local 501c3 nonprofit organization loosely affiliated with a national network of Villages whose goals are to help seniors stay in their own homes as long as possible, and to build connections among them that diminish social isolation. Volunteers do small chores for, and have gatherings of, professors and schoolteachers, nurses and lawyers, aides and housekeepers. Time and chance come to all – a fall, an order not to drive, failing eyesight, a sudden stroke. They assist folks continue living at home, with a little help from their friends.
Cville Village volunteers consult software that shows them who has requested a service and where they are located. Volunteers accept only the requests that fit their schedule and their skills.
Volunteering for Cville Village can expand your circle of friends and shower you with thanks.
To learn more, visit cvillevillage.org or attend one of their monthly Village “meet-ups” and see for yourself. To find out where and when the next meetup is, or to get more information and a volunteer application, email us at info@cvillevillage.org, or call them at (434) 218-3727.
McGuigan resigns from the Greene County Board of Supervisors
The Greene County Board of Supervisors will once again need to fill a vacancy now that one of its members has resigned while in office.
Francis McGuigan turned in his resignation as the at-large Supervisor today, just over two years after being elected in November 2023.
“We would like to thank Supervisor McGuigan for his commitment to the community,” said Board Chairman Steve Catalano in an information release.
On January 13, McGuigan had voted for Catalano to be chair during the annual organization meeting. Midway Representative Matt Hartung was not present for the vote but joined the meeting later.
The release states Supervisors will discuss how to move forward with a replacement at their next meeting on January 27.
In the fall of October 2023, former Supervisor Abby Heflin resigned as the Stanardsville representative and the Board accepted applications for a replacement. The person appointed was Steve Catalano.
For more on this story, take a look at this story on the Piedmont Journal-Recorder.
Area preparing for heavy winter storm
A large winter storm is heading for the east coast this weekend and that’s expected to leave a heavy accumulation of snow and ice. Preparations are underway by first responders and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Albemarle’s Deputy County Executive, Trevor Henry, briefed the Board of Supervisors Wednesday night about what was known at that time.
“We have through our emergency manager a process by which we spin up our planning efforts,” Henry said. “And so I wanted to just assure the board but also use this as a reminder to the community that they should be paying attention to this weekend.”
Henry said any snow and ice that falls may continue to be a problem as the forecast is for temperatures to remain below freezing through the end of next week. He added public safety will be ready.
“Police and fire are really looking at a Saturday morning to at least initially through Monday night,” Henry said. “That may be a longer operational period where there’s going to be additional resources.”
Henry said the county is asking residents to be prepared to be without power for up to three days. To that effect, the county set out a message this afternoon with information including a checklist for an emergency kit created by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
Soon afterward, the City of Charlottesville announced it has activated the Snow Operations Team with a description of their duty.
“The City is responsible for winter operations across approximately 165 centerline miles of roadway, 49 miles of sidewalks (including Safe Routes to School and City-owned properties), more than 45 municipal and school parking lots, City parks facilities, and the Downtown Pedestrian Mall,” reads the message.
The city has over 165 people working on snow operations as well as a sizable inventory of equipment including “25 dedicated snowplow trucks equipped with salt spreaders and brine tanks.”
Roads will be pretreated with brine and crews will begin clearing snow when necessary.
“Snow response follows a priority plan,” reads the message from the city. “Crews will begin with primary routes, including major corridors and roads critical for emergency response and transit service.”
Emergency snow routes will also be in effect as of 9 a.m. Saturday. Anyone who parks along these corridors must move their vehicle or it may be towed.
Designated Emergency Snow Routes include:
* Market Street (Old Preston Avenue to 9th Street NE)
* High Street (Preston Avenue to 9th Street NE)
* Water Street (Ridge Street to 10th Street NE)
* 2nd Street West (Market Street to Water Street)
* 4th Street East (Market Street to Water Street)
* West Main Street (Ridge Street to JPA)
* University Avenue (JPA to Rugby Road)
There will be free parking in the two municipal parking garages Friday, January 23 at 6:00 PM through Tuesday, January 27 at 8:00 AM.
For the city’s full list, click here.
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Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority to meet today
In late 2025, an entity known as the Regional Transit Partnership ended and transferred many of its duties to a recently created authority intended to promote greater cooperation and coordination between the area’s multiple transit agencies.
Today the Board of Directors of the Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority will meet for the first time in 2026 at the Water Street Center. (CARTA website)
The agenda for today’s meeting looks much like an RTP agenda with opportunities for Jaunt, Charlottesville Area Transit, and University Transit Service representatives to tell what they’re doing and how they fit into the bigger picture. So far, though, the only two voting members are Albemarle and Charlottesville.
Scottsville Supervisor Michael Pruitt will be joined by newcomer Jack Jouett Supervisor Sally Duncan, and Charlottesville City Councilor Natalie Oschrin will be joined by newcomer Jen Fleisher. Fleisher has attended multiple meetings of the RTP as an alternative representing the Blue Ridge Health District.
There are details on both Jaunt and the University Transit Service in the packet, but nothing from Charlottesville Area Transit.
One of the main tasks for CARTA this year will be to conduct something called the “Regional Transit Service Prioritization and Implementation Feasibility Study” which builds off of the 2022 Regional Transit Vision Plan and the Regional Transit Governance Study from 2023.
Not on the agenda is a discussion of how CARTA might be able to help increase funding for CAT’s mission to hire a total of 108 drivers. That’s the amount CAT Director Garland Williams says is needed to restore full service and make long-awaited route changes.
Here’s a story about that from December 2025 as well as a story from August in which a representative from IMPACT said the organization is watching.
Patreon-fueled shout-out: Design Develop
Architectural firm Design Develop is offering a new service aimed at the development community that the rest of us might want to know about , too — 3D point cloud scanning! This technique uses specialized equipment, such as 3D scanner systems, to gather a large amount of data points that represent the surface of the scanned object or scene. This really comes in handy when working with historic structures, as the firm knows from its experience in Baltimore and Charlottesville. Read their blog post for more information!The applications of 3D point cloud scanning are extensive and cover various fields, including architecture, construction, cultural heritage preservation, virtual reality, industrial design, manufacturing, and more. These applications require accurate 3D spatial information, and Design Develop’s workflow provides precise and comprehensive results, all while being more cost-effective than traditional methods.Design Develop has expertise in this workflow for their own needs and now has a dedicated team offering this service in the Charlottesville and Albemarle Area. If you’re involved in the real estate, design, or construction industry, contact them for more information or a free quote.
Visit their website for an introductory video that captures the 3D point cloud scanning of the Downtown Transit Center and a booklet that will explain more!
Albemarle promotes Smith to Parks and Recreation Director
After a nationwide search, Albemarle County has named a veteran of the Parks and Recreation Department to lead the office after the retirement of former director Bob Crickenberger.
“Our own Amy Smith, who has been the deputy director and, and has enjoyed a wonderful career serving Albemarle county, was our top candidate,” said County Executive Jeffrey Richardson.
Smith will lead a department with a $5,584,028 budget for fiscal year 2026 and 27 full-time employees. Two objectives in the county’s strategic plan address how parks can help reach Quality of Life Goals.
These are:
* 4.4 — Integrate parks planning with multi-modal transportation planning across the County
* 4.5 — Enhance overall access to parks and recreational opportunities with an emphasis on urban neighborhoods.
The FY26 budget also includes $1.5 million for work to pursue the latter objective through creation of a new urban pocket park on Hillsdale Drive as well as new amenities at Humphris Park.
Soon after being announced, Smith explained her philosophy toward parks and recreation.
“Our parks protect natural beauty, promote health and wellness, provide spaces for connection, and ensure that residents of all ages and abilities can enjoy the outdoors. I’m truly inspired by Albemarle’s commitment to quality of life,” Smith said. “I plan to build upon the same foundation through increasing innovation, strategic management of resources, and furthering, uniting and empowering our dedicated Parks and Rec staff and our amazing community partners.”
Smith began working for the county in 1993. Jack Jouett Supervisor Sally Duncan just joined the Board and said she was impressed by the time Smith has spent working for Albemarle.
“I just think it’s really great when we can retain people and have people, you know, build their careers here and have longevity,” Duncan said.
Supervisor Ann Mallek is in her fifth term representing the White Hall District and said Smith has helped oversee and manage many of the parks that have come on line in the past two decades and will now work to bring many more that are planned into reality.
“So many things on your plate with the blueways and Buck Island and the Brook Hill ramp and such a long, long list because there’s so many places that you already manage,” Mallek said.
The blueways are a series of amenities allowing people to use area rivers and streams for recreational purposes. As part of this effort, the county opened Brook Hill River Park on Rio Mills Road in the summer of 2019 and there are plans to develop a park at Buck Island 17 miles down the Rivanna River.
Smith helped lead a parks and recreation needs assessment for Albemarle in 2018 and creation of a parks strategic plan. Much of that is now within the Parks and Recreation Chapter of AC44, the name the county called their Comprehensive Plan. This link will take you right there.
There’s also the recreation side of the department which provides many ways for people to interact with each other. Richardson said the intent is to overcome obstacles as they pop up.
“When our middle school volleyball league registrations opened across Albemarle County, there was a rush of families signing up their students for this program,” Richardson said. “Henley was, was completely full within three minutes. Lakeside was full within 30 minutes.”
Richardson said there were many calls from people who were disappointed they missed out but the department showed flexibility in the name of customer service.
“So what the Parks and Rec department did was step back, reformatted the league and they expanded capacity, ultimately registering 400 participants across all the schools,” Richardson said. “And that eliminated the wait list.”
For more on how to provide feedback on the new Hillsdale pocket park as well as Humprhis Park, visit engagealbemarle.org.
Articles by other journalists you are encouraged to read next:
* When Virginia GOP senator’s solar farm stalled, the Youngkin admin got involved, Ben Paviour, Virginia Mercury, January 13, 2026
* ICE detains 5-year-old Minnesota boy; school leader says agents used him as ‘bait’, Elizabeth Shockman, MPR News, January 21, 2026
* Va. lawmakers want voters to take a 180-degree turn on redistricting; some reform advocates are wary, David Poole, Virginia Mercury, January 22, 2026
* Winter road salting is a growing source of pollution [and] Virginia officials want alternatives, Katherine Hafner, WHRO, January 22, 2026
#989 is an echo from the past
A thing I keep to myself is a long history of relaxing through challenging myself to recording improvisational music. At one point I wanted to be in a band, but I’ve always been way too guarded to do such things. Or at least, not willing to put in the time.
Yet I’ve recorded many hours of my attempts at songs over the years and I find the experience of expressing myself through musical creation helps me fill out a lot of the rough spots in my life. I made a decision a long time ago to keep all of that to myself, but I’m also aware of my mortality more than usual.
So I had this idea to begin to put some of my sound recordings on Patreon as part of that system. After all, my hope is to soon have a mechanism people can use to make tax-deductible contributions for the reporting.
This is still just an idea crafted at a time where I’m paying a lot of attention to where I was at this time in 2011. I was not quite four years into my time at Charlottesville Tomorrow and I was very uncertain about what I wanted to do. I am interested in what I was singing at that time for reasons I’ll explore over on Patreon if I decide to go ahead with this side project.
Oh yeah, also somehow this edition is a podcast, too. Not sure how that happened.
And now, probably the weirdest video I’ve posted yet which is still germane somehow.
