A University of Virginia committee that promotes environmental issues has honored the chair of Albemarle County’s Natural Heritage Committee. The UVA Sustainability Committee has given a 2022 Sustainability Leadership Award to Christine Hirsh-Putnam for her work in the community. Albemarle Supervisor Jim Andrews recognized the recognition on Wednesday. “She is described as a super citizen,…
For the second year in a row, the city’s Department of Utilities is partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation to hand out 200 free trees as part of a strategic planting. “Properly planted trees can reduce the amount of energy a home requires to remain comfortable by providing a barrier to cold winter winds and…
Charlottesville has canceled a request for quotations for a firm to provide reusable bags for eligible community members. “Specifically, none of the bidders were able to meet the delivery date stated within the solicitation,” reads the memo sent out last week by Procurement and Risk Management Services.
The State Corporation Commission acted lawfully when it approved a request from the Virginia Electric and Power Company to add a surcharge to utility bills to cover the costs of purchasing carbon allowances in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auctions. That’s according to an opinion yesterday by the Virginia Supreme Court. “Though highly complex in its details, the…
In their final action at their meeting on October 17, 2022, Charlottesville City Council held first reading on an item to spend $20,000 to purchase reusable bags for those on federal or state benefits. The 2020 General Assembly authorized localities in Virginia to authorize a 5 cent tax on plastic bags. “We along with Albemarle…
Later this week, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department will hold an information meeting on removing some of the trees on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. Riann Anthony is the deputy director of the department. “We are very lucky that the Downtown Mall trees have been in existence for this long,” Anthony said. “Some of them are…
Do you or someone you know have an interest in the connections between how land is used and the water quality of rivers and streams? Tomorrow, an entity called the Rivanna River Basin Commission (RRBC) is putting on its seventh annual conference. “The purpose of this conference really is to promote the environmental stewardship and equity of…
As the temperatures get colder, thoughts of many turn to how homes and businesses will be heated in the winter months. The University of Virginia continues to burn coal for a portion of the year to supplement the natural gas it purchases from the city of Charlottesville. The topic came up at the end of…
Governor Glenn Youngkin has renewed efforts to remove Virginia from an interstate compact intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Within an hour of taking office in January, Youngkin issued several executive orders including one seeking departure from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. However, the Republican governor was unable to leave without the General Assembly’s approval as party control…
In February, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors were briefed on the threat posed by the Spotted Lanternfly, an insect that has come to North America from Asia. “It’s original territory is kind of China, southeast Asia, and it made its way over to the [United States] in 2014 and made its way hitchhiking,” said David Gianino, the…