It’s been nearly three weeks since most of Virginia moved into Phase 2 of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan. Some restrictions were loosened on businesses and social gatherings, but the pandemic is far from over, warns Ryan McKay, deputy incident coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson Health District. PC: Robert Llewellyn
Nearly three weeks ago, most of Virginia moved into Phase 2 of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan, loosening restrictions on a range of businesses. As the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests continues to trend downward, Virginians can now sit down to eat inside in a restaurant, work out at the gym, or hit the pool. And with places like Great Wolf Lodge planning to reopen soon (and Virginia Beach already open), you can even take a summer vacation.
But the pandemic is not over, warns Ryan McKay, deputy incident coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson Health District. Due to increased testing and availability, especially in black and Latino communities (which have been disproportionately impacted by the virus), new cases are still being reported in the Charlottesville area every day. And since the start of Phase 2, four people in the district have been hospitalized with the disease.
Fortunately, “case counts are relatively small compared to other localities in the state,” McKay says. “We continue to climb a little bit, and here and there we may have a day with more cases than we’ve seen previously, [depending] on what sort of testing is going on. But we’re not overwhelmed locally with cases in terms of contract tracing or investigation. Our hospitals have not been overwhelmed…we feel like we’re in really good shape, and we have been all along.”
“But that can change because we’re opening up more,” he stresses. “More people are going to be together in larger groups, and we just want to make sure we’re adhering to the guidance for Phase 2…[They’re] the safety measures that got us to this point in the first place.”
When going out, everyone should take Governor Ralph Northam’s order seriously, and always wear a face mask indoors.
“The asymptomatic individuals who have COVID can spread the disease,” says McKay. “You might feel great. You want to go out, and don’t want the face covering because it’s constrictive, or you don’t like the way it feels or think it’s unnecessary—[but] you still can actually spread the disease.”
“The best way to prevent that spread is [to] wear the face covering,” he adds. “That’s really what it’s meant for, to limit spread. It’s not necessarily a safety measure for the individual wearing it, but we’re helping to protect the community.”
People should also stay at least a six feet away from others, excluding household members, and comply with the established guidelines for each place they visit or activity they participate in, even with close family and friends. At a picnic or cookout, for example, they should avoid sharing food or utensils, says McKay.
While it’s generally fine for people who adhere to these rules to go out, it’s still safest to stay home, when possible. Those with underlying health conditions should especially “be mindful of where they’re going,” and “stay inside as much as they can,” adds McKay.
Though the recent protests against police brutality and systemic racism held in Charlottesville have attracted hundreds of people (many wearing face masks), the area has not seen a dramatic rise in cases. “Phase 2 and some of the protests here have coincided, so we’re not at a point where we can definitely say that one thing or the other has led to a huge increase in cases,” McKay says. “But we haven’t really had big spikes in our cases.”
He says the health department’s main concern is people disregarding safety guidelines on a larger scale. Phase 3 of reopening could be delayed again, or—in dire circumstances—Virginia could go back to Phase 1.
“Wearing the masks, if we do that as a community, down to the individual level, that’ll help us move forward into Phase 3 and continue to be able to do things that we want, with some mitigation strategies in place,” McKay adds.
But until there is a vaccine and widespread immunity to COVID-19, we should remain “concerned” about the possibility of a second wave of coronavirus cases, according to McKay. With local schools and the University of Virginia reopening in the fall, there will be even more opportunity for the virus to spread if the proper precautions aren’t taken.
Right now, “the best thing we can do is stress education about those strategies to minimize risk,” he says. “Making sure we’re protecting ourselves, but also each other, is going to be hugely important.”
Mental health advocate Myra Anderson warns that the social service systems need reform too. PC: Eze Amos
Every year, C-VILLE publishes a power issue. It’s usually a rundown of local real-estate moguls and entrepreneurs, tech tycoons, arts leaders, and big donors. This year’s issue is a little different—most of the people and groups listed here aren’t the richest folks in town. They don’t own the most land, they don’t run the biggest companies. But when things got really rocky, they stepped up, and exercised the power they do have to help those around them. This isn’t a comprehensive or objective list, of course, but we hope it highlights some of the many different forms that power can take in a community like ours. —Dan Goff, Brielle Entzminger, and Ben Hitchcock
The Organizers: Black Lives Matter movement in Charlottesville
There’s a revolution brewing. Activists all over the country and the world are taking a stand against police brutality, and Charlottesville is no different. Over the last few weeks, local black activists young and old have organized events in support of the national Black Lives Matter movement and its associated goals, including a march from the Charlottesville Police Department to Washington Park and a Defund the Police Block Party that marched from the John Paul Jones Arena parking lot to hold the intersection of Barracks Road and Emmet Street. Other organizations such as Congregate Charlottesville and its Anti-Racist Organizing Fund are supporting the activists calling for defunding the police department. Little by little, change is happening—on June 11, Charlottesville City Schools announced it will remove school resource officers and reallocate those funds for a new “school safety model.”—D.G.
Eze Amos: Photo: Eze Amos
The Documenters: C’ville Porchraits
How do we preserve art and community during a pandemic? It’s been a question addressed by many creatives, perhaps none more successfully than the creators of Cville Porch Portraits. Headed by Eze Amos, the “porchrait” takers, who have photographed 950 families outside their Charlottesville-area homes, also include Tom Daly, Kristen Finn, John Robinson, and Sarah Cramer Shields—all local photographers in need of work once the city shut down. The group has donated $40,000 to Charlottesville’s Emergency Relief Fund for Artists. “This is for everyone,” says Amos of the project, which has been successfully emulated by other photogs, including Robert Radifera.—D.G.
The Musicians: The Front Porch
As most concert venues were struggling to reschedule shows and refund ticket money, The Front Porch, Charlottesville’s beloved music school and performing space, wasted no time in pivoting to COVID-friendly programming. Executive Director Emily Morrison quickly set up Save the Music, a livestreamed concert series that brings performances by local artists like David Wax Museum and Lowland Hum to the comfort and safety of your home. If you haven’t tuned in yet, there’s still plenty of time—as the city tentatively reopens, Morrison recognizes that live music will likely be one of the last things to return, so she’s extended Save the Music to late August.—D.G.
Jay Pun. Photo: John Robinson
The Innovator: Jay Pun
All restaurant owners have had to get creative to keep their businesses alive during the pandemic, but almost no one has been as creative as Jay Pun, co-owner of both Chimm and Thai Cuisine and Noodle House. Pun has gone further than just a pickup/delivery model by starting a virtual cooking series on Instagram and Facebook Live, and selling kits to be used in tandem with the lessons. He’s also donated significant amounts of food to UVA health workers, and most recently has brought other Thai restaurants into the conversation: A recent discussion with the proprietor of famed Portland institution Pok Pok focused on food, but also touched on the issue of race in America.—D.G.
The Reporter: Jordy Yager
Through his work as a Digital Humanities Fellow at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and as a reporter for multiple local news outlets, journalist Jordy Yager addresses equity or the lack thereof in all its forms. This is showcased most notably in his Mapping Cville project, which takes on the enormous job of documenting Charlottesville’s history of racially restrictive housing deeds, but also through in-depth coverage of Home to Hope, a program dedicated to reintegrating formerly incarcerated citizens into society, and other studies on the redevelopment of Friendship Court and the day-to-day lives of refugees. Yager’s also extremely active on Twitter, retweeting the content of community organizers as well as his own work, and keeping his followers up to date on, well, almost everything.—D.G.
Kat Maybury (left) and Sherry Cook volunteering at the Haven. Photo: Zack Wajsgras
The Safe Places: The Haven and PACEM
Since the onset of the pandemic, the places that serve some of our community’s most vulnerable members have ramped up their efforts to keep guests and staff safe. Downtown day shelter The Haven has opened its doors to women who needed a place to sleep, while also continuing to provide its regular services, including daily to-go meals, with cleanliness and social distancing measures in place.
PACEM has remained open, serving more than 40 people per night, even though its volunteer staff is smaller than usual. Guests are screened for virus symptoms, and they’re given face masks, among other safety precautions, before being admitted to either the men’s or women’s shelter, where there’s at least six feet between every cot. Though it had to move its male guests out of a temporary space at Key Recreation Center on June 10, PACEM will offer shelter for women at Summit House until at least the end of the month.
Thanks to funding from the city, county, and a private donor, PACEM has also housed 30 high-risk homeless individuals in private rooms at a local hotel, in addition to providing them with daily meals and case management. Men who still need shelter after leaving Key Rec have been able to stay at the hotel for at least 30 days.—B.E.
The Sustainers: C’ville Mutual Aid Infrastructure
One of the most heartwarming nationwide responses to COVID-19, and all of the difficulties that came with it, was the widespread creation of mutual aid networks. Charlottesville joined the trend in March, creating a Facebook page for community members to request or offer “time, money, support, and resources.” Since it was launched, the page has gained hundreds of followers, and posts have ranged from pleas for a place to sleep to the donation of a
half-used Taco Bell gift card. The page’s moderators have also shared resources such as a continually updated list of when and where food-insecure community members can access pantries. Though it came about through dire circumstances, the C’ville Mutual Aid Infrastructure network is proof that our community looks after its own.—D.G.
Howie and Diane Long. Photo: Keith Sparbanie/AdMedia
The Nourishers: School lunches
Before COVID, over 6,000 students relied on our public schools for free (or reduced price) breakfast and lunch. To make sure no student has gone hungry since schools closed in March, Charlottesville City Schools and Albemarle County Public Schools have given away thousands of grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches to anyone under age 18, regardless of family income. With the help of school staff and volunteers, both districts have set up dozens of food distribution sites, as well as sent buses out on delivery routes every week. During spring break, when CCS was unable to distribute food, Pearl Island Catering and Mochiko Cville—backed by the Food Justice Network and area philanthropists Diane and Howie Long—stepped up and provided 4,000 meals to kids in neighborhoods with large numbers enrolled in free and reduced-price meal programs. Even though students are now on summer break, that hasn’t slowed down staff and volunteers, who are still hard at work—both districts plan to keep the free meal programs going until the fall.—B.E.
The Superheroes: Frontline workers
After Governor Ralph Northam issued his stay-at-home order in March, most Charlottesvillians did just that: stayed at home. But the city’s essential workers didn’t have that luxury. In the language of Northam’s executive order, these are employees of “businesses not required to close to the public.” Frontline workers’ jobs vary widely, from health care professionals to grocery store cashiers, but they all have one thing in common: The people who do them are required to put on their scrubs or their uniform and go into their physical place of employment every day, while the rest of us work from the safety of our sofa in a pair of sweatpants. Their reality is one that the majority of us haven’t experienced—and the least we can do is thank these workers for keeping our city running.—D.G.
Jim Hingeley. Photo: Elli Williams
The Reformers: Commonwealth’s attorneys/Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail
The area’s commonwealth’s attorneys are some of the most powerful people you might never have heard of. During normal times, Albemarle’s Jim Hingeley and Charlottesville’s Joe Platania have tremendous influence over sentencing decisions for those on trial in their localities. They’ve both worked toward progressive reforms since taking office, but since the pandemic took hold, they’ve accelerated their efforts.
The effect has been especially pronounced at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Under the guidance of the commonwealth’s attorneys and Jail Superintendent Martin Kumer, around 90 inmates have been transferred to house arrest. As prisons across the state have fought coronavirus outbreaks, the ACRJ has yet to report a single case among those incarcerated.
“It’s a shame that it took this crisis to motivate the community to get behind decarceration,” Hingeley said at a panel in May, “but it’s happened now, and when the crisis has passed, we’re going to work to continue doing this.”—B.H.
Zyahna Bryant. Photo: Eze Amos
The Voices: Charlottesville Twitter
“Twitter isn’t real life,” some say. (Most often, they say it on Twitter.) But Charlottesville’s ever-growing group of dedicated tweeters has recently used the platform to make real-life change.
The synergy between social media and protest is well-documented, and the demonstrations against police brutality that have taken place across town have been organized and publicized on Twitter, as well as on other social media platforms. Meanwhile, people like Matthew Gillikin, Rory Stolzenberg, and Sarah Burke have used Twitter to call out the police department for botching its collaboration with state forces and dragging its heels on revealing important budget details. And Molly “@socialistdogmom” Conger—perhaps Charlottesville Twitter’s most recognizable avatar—continues to digest and interpret dense city government meetings for the public, making real-life advocacy easier for everyone.
The effect is felt on UVA Grounds, as well—this month, tweeters shamed the university into changing its new athletics logo to remove a reference to the school’s historic serpentine walls, which were designed to conceal enslaved laborers. After UVA abruptly laid off its dining hall contract employees in March, outraged tweeters raised tens of thousands of dollars for those workers, while pushing the university to create an emergency contract worker assistance fund. And recently, Zyahna Bryant drew attention to UVA President Jim Ryan’s limp response to the protests that followed the death of George Floyd, when she tweeted her resignation from the school’s President’s Council on University Community Partnerships. Keep tweeting, people. It’s working.—B.H.
Updated 6/24 to clarify which organizers were responsible for recent demonstrations to support Black Lives Matter.
“Coronavirus Could Be the End of Alt-Weeklies,” declared a Mother Jones headline in March. Around the country, venerable snark-slinging rags have dropped employees or shut down entirely, crippled by cratering ad revenue. C-VILLE, unfortunately, has not escaped the crash. Our staff is a lot smaller than it was just a few weeks ago. (The newsroom had no input in these decisions: If you’re upset that your favorite journalist is out of work, believe me, you’re not as upset as we are.)
After these changes, I’ve become this paper’s editor. Though I wish the circumstances were different, I’m thrilled to take the reins.
I’ve lived in Charlottesville for 10 years. I went to Charlottesville High School, and first fell in love with this town while sitting in the bleachers during Friday night football games. My writing career started down the street at the Cavalier Daily, UVA’s student paper. For the last six months, I’ve been a news reporter at C-VILLE, and in that time I’ve been impressed by how much I still don’t know about this city. There’s always another stone to overturn.
Moving forward, C-VILLE will keep doing what we do best. We’ll take every opportunity to lend our platform to those whose stories have been historically ignored. We’ll listen when our readers reach out, and reflect those comments back like only local news can. We’ll give credit to people who go the extra mile to feed, or house, or organize their neighbors. (That’s what this week’s feature story, a heartfelt twist on our annual Power Issue, is all about.) And hopefully, we’ll do it with a sense of humor.
We’re local journalists—we work for the community. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out. My email address is in the masthead every week, but it’s here too: editor@c-ville.com. I look forward to hearing from you.—Ben Hitchcock
Activists stand outside the police station during a protest this weekend. PC: Eze Amos
Tenure trouble
UVA’s “Great and Good” strategic plan lists “recruiting and retaining excellent and diverse faculty” as a central goal. But this year, two black scholars who have been denied tenure claim the decision process was significantly flawed, possibly due to racial bias.
Paul Harris PC: Virginia.edu
Paul Harris has worked at UVA’s Curry School of Education since 2011, studying identity development in black male student-athletes and underrepresented students’ college readiness. For the past six years, Harris’ annual reviews indicated that he was meeting or exceeding expectations. So he was shocked to learn in January that an all-white, college-wide promotion and tenure committee had recommended against giving him tenure. Instead, he was offered a promotion—for a non-tenure-track position.
Harris says the committee claimed his research in the Journal of African American Males in Education in 2016 was “self-published.” (In fact, the peer-reviewed journal has a 23 percent acceptance rate.) The committee also got his citation counts wrong—they’re five times higher than the committee claimed.
Tolu Odumosu PC: Virginia.edu
Sociologist Tolu Odumosu has been on the tenure track at UVA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science since 2013. He’s co-written and co-edited two books, and helped write a $3 million National Science Foundation grant. After his third-year review suggested he expand his editing experience, he also became an associate editor of two journals.
But the engineering school’s tenure committee did not grant him tenure this year. It claimed that Odumosu hadn’t written enough work by himself, and was not the principal investigator named on the NSF grant. Like Harris, Odumosu had not been warned that his work was not up to par.
Both men appealed the decisions to UVA’s provost, but the appeals were rejected. The scholars are now appealing to the Faculty Senate’s grievance committee—their last option.
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Quote of the week
“This is a moment to step boldly into our future…We have to work together to decide what kind of Virginia we’re going to be. I’m ready for the challenge.”
—State Senator Jennifer McClellan, announcing her campaign for Virginia governor
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In brief
Still on the march
Charlottesville activists continue to mobilize the community to protest police brutality. Large marches and demonstrations have taken place in town at least once a week since the death of George Floyd in late May. Last weekend, protesters marching downtown also directed some of their energy toward patrons of the mall’s outdoor restaurants: The demonstrators chanted “Shame” at diners who were sipping beer and chewing on burgers.
Convention contagion?
Denver Riggleman’s campaign claims that several delegates who participated in the recent drive-thru Republican convention have contracted coronavirus, reports CBS19. The local Republican Party denies the accusation. Riggleman continues to criticize the drive-thru convention format that saw him lose the congressional nomination to challenger Bob Good. “Voter fraud has been a hallmark of this process,” Riggleman tweeted on election night.
Donor debate
Community members have noticed that the Charlottesville Police Foundation—dedicated to fundraising for the “advanced training, new technologies and equipment, [and] housing assistance” that isn’t covered by the department’s $18 million budget—posted a list of donors on its website. The list featured several local restaurants and other businesses, as well as individuals, including City Council members Lloyd Snook and Heather Hill.
Heather Hill PC: Eze Amos
Exposing abuse
Tweets about allegations of sexual assault and harassment directed at dozens of UVA students and staff appeared on an anonymous Twitter account last week. The alleged incidents once again drew attention to students’ calls for reform—in April, student advocacy group UVA Survivors created a list of demands for institutional change in sexual assault policy, reports The Cavalier Daily. The list has garnered around 1,700 new signatures in the past week.
Lloyd Snook PC: Supplied
Immigration action
UVA will now allow students to enroll and graduate “regardless of citizenship or immigration status,” the university announced last week. Previously, only DACA recipients—not other “undocu+” students—had not been allowed to matriculate. The decision represents a long-sought victory for activists around the school community.
Bob Good (right) defeated Denver Riggleman in the VA-5 Republican primary last week.
In his two years in the House of Representatives, Denver Riggleman sided with Donald Trump on 94.5 percent of votes, according to FiveThirtyEight. But that wasn’t conservative enough for central Virginia’s Republican loyalists, who ended Riggleman’s run in Congress after just one term.
At a June 13 drive-thru party convention, Riggleman lost the nomination to Bob Good, a far-right Republican who has been a county supervisor and Liberty University athletics administrator. Good decided to run because he felt betrayed by Riggleman’s decision to officiate a gay wedding last year.
The election itself was unorthodox. The party held a nominating convention, rather than a primary. That’s not too uncommon for Congressional races—Democrats in the 5th District selected their 2018 nominee through a convention—but this time, due to coronavirus, the 2,500 delegates cast their votes without ever getting out of their cars. The election was held in Campbell County, Good’s home court, and the challenger took home 58 percent of the vote.
Riggleman has protested just about every step of this unusual nominating process, and at midnight on the day of the convention, he tweeted “ballot stuffing has been reported in multiple counties in the #VA05. Voter fraud has been a hallmark of this nomination process.”
Good opposes abortion in all cases, supports “securing America’s borders” against immigration, and wants to make English the national language.
Despite winning the nomination, Good might not literally be on the ballot in November. Just before the convention, it was announced that his campaign failed to turn in the required paperwork to appear on the ballot in the general election. The Virginia Republican Party has asked for an extension, but if it isn’t granted Good will have to run a write-in campaign. (Another Republican running for congress also failed to turn his paperwork in on time—Nick Freitas. You may remember him because he did the same thing last year, and had to run a write-in campaign for the House of Delegates.)
Good’s election is part of a pattern of Republicans turning rightwards in key races around the state. In 2018, they chose conservative firebrand Corey Stewart, who made his name defending Confederate monuments, as their standard-bearer against U.S. Senator Tim Kaine. The only Republican who has so far declared for the 2021 governor’s nomination is state Senator Amanda Chase—earlier this month, Chase said that taking down the Lee statue was “erasing the history of white people,” inspiring a selection of her more established GOP colleagues in the state Senate to compose a joint statement calling her comments “idiotic, inappropriate, and inflammatory.”
These conservative choices come at the end of a decade in which the party has been repeatedly pummeled at the polls. The Virginia GOP has not won a statewide election since 2009, lost three of its seven Congressional seats in 2018, and lost the state House and Senate in 2019, even though the election took place on maps that Republicans had gerrymandered in their favor.
Virginia’s 5th District is also gerrymandered in Republicans’ favor, but in 2018 the election here was as close as it has ever been. The concurrent presidential election will mean high turnout for this year’s Congressional contest, which usually favors Democrats. Virginia Democrats will hold their primary to select Good’s challenger on June 23.
Activists march through town last weekend, calling for the city to defund the police department. Photo: Eze Amos
Back to school, more or less
“All Virginia schools will be open for students next year,” said Governor Ralph Northam at a press conference last week. “But the school experience will look very different.”
Northam laid out his administration’s guidelines for the reopening of Virginia’s schools, fully detailed in the state’s 135-page “Recover, Redesign, Restart” document.
K-12 schools will go through four phases of reopening. Since Charlottesville and Albemarle are currently in Phase 2 of reopening the economy, that’s where our local schools will begin. Phase 2 allows in-person education for students in third grade or below, special education students, children of working families, and English language learners. In Phase 3, in-classroom instruction for everyone will be back, though with some accommodations. Kids might have to eat in classrooms rather than group gathering spaces like cafeterias, and desks will have to be placed six feet apart. (The distance will present a new challenge for spitball-shooting class clowns across the commonwealth.)
Despite the extensive guidelines, Northam emphasized at the press conference that the plan leaves plenty of room for school districts to create localized reopening plans.
Northam also turned the mic over to his chief of staff, Clark Mercer, to share the plan for youth sports. For parents whose children have been bouncing off the walls for the last three months, the news was good—sports are coming back, but with limitations. Mercer went into some detail: Soccer practice will be allowed, for example, as long as there aren’t any throw-ins, when kids would have to handle the same ball. (It’s almost certainly the first time soccer throw-ins have come up at a Virginia governor’s press conference. What can we say? The world is changing fast.)
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Quote of the week
“Someone with substance abuse disorder doesn’t need to enter the criminal justice system—they need treatment. An unhoused person doesn’t need to be policed for not having a home—they need a home.”
—City resident Elizabeth Stark, speaking on police reform at Monday’s city council meeting
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In brief
Fiery words
Charlottesville Fire Chief Andrew Baxter resigned last week, after five years leading the department. Over the past few months, the CFD had publicly feuded with City Manager Tarron Richardson, who Baxter called a “transactional, unfocused, disengaged, dismissive bully,” according to The Daily Progress. Baxter is the latest in a string of experienced city government employees who have quit since Richardson arrived in May 2019.
Pricey police
After numerous requests, and a years-long battle over transparency, the Charlottesville Police Department last week released its full, line-by-line budget. This document might not satisfy community calls for transparency, though—in 2019 and 2020, the department spent a total of $313,000 on “Operating Costs: Other Supplies.” Watch this space for more information in the coming weeks.
Make some noise
Protests against police brutality continue in Charlottesville. On June 13, hundreds of people gathered in the parking lot of the John Paul Jones Arena to make noise and march. The event was peaceful, but observers noted that the Virginia State Police had been called in to supervise. The state police were photographed in Charlottesville Police Department cars, but at the City Council meeting on Monday, Police Chief RaShall Brackney downplayed the collaboration, saying she did not “have any knowledge” of state troopers driving Charlottesville police vehicles.
Rookie of the year
Although the spring season of collegiate athletics was canceled this year, UVA women’s tennis still scored a win. First-year Natasha Subhash was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s National Rookie of the Year in May. Earlier, Subhash won the ITA Singles Atlantic Region Championship, and ended the season with an impressive singles record of 26-6, ranking 10th nationally.
The Crozet Car Show hits the road for a socially distant ride through town on Saturday. Getty Images.
Going the distance: The Crozet Car Show is taking a different route this year. In keeping with current efforts to socially distance, the typically stationary annual event is hitting the road for a cruise through Old Trail and Crozet. Spectators are encouraged to wear masks as they line the streets to cheer this parade on wheels. A $5 donation is requested for participation, and proceeds will benefit the Crozet Volunteer Fire Department.
Poet-M.D. Irène Mathieu is the featured speaker for Friday's virtual Creative Mornings gathering. Publicity image.
Healing words: Creative Mornings has been connecting art and maker communities since 2008. The international series offers unique insights into the topics that bind us, through small gatherings in public spaces around the globe. Pre-COVID, CM promoted a belief in “face-to-face connections, in learning from others, in hugs and high fives,” but it pivots online with its next installment. Charlottesville’s session will feature a reading and conversation with Irène Mathieu, M.D., an award-winning author of three collections of poetry, and a pediatrician at the University of Virginia who leads workshops on poetry and medicine for doctors in training. Mathieu will present around June’s theme: Insecure.
Sip along to the songs of summer inspiration with Wintergreen's music programming paired with Veritas wines. Image: Stephen Barling
Wine online: Missing summer socials? Wintergreen Music and Veritas Vineyard & Winery are coming together to bring you an evening of virtual wine tasting with musical accompaniment for each sip. Artistic Director Erin Freeman chooses the perfect tunes to match winemaker Emily Hodson’s rosé & petit verdot. Seat yourself outside, chat with other attendees, and soak in the musical joy.
setter retriever dog isolated on a white background with its pawn on his nose
While many diagnostic tests require that a patient be physically present, it is not uncommon for a veterinarian to ask pet owners to collect samples like urine or stool at home. While the request seems simple enough, we often forget that people don’t necessarily know how to go about it or what we really do with the sample once we have it.
Urine is essentially finely filtered blood, making it informative about a variety of medical problems. It should be clean and sterile in a normal animal. Blood cells and bacteria might alert us to a lower urinary tract infection. Microscopic crystals could raise suspicion of larger bladder stones. Sugar makes us worry about diabetes. Poorly concentrated urine could suggest kidney disease or hormonal disorders. But these results can easily be thrown off by sample contamination, making proper collection important.
Urine should always be collected in a clean, dry container and promptly sealed. Usually that means some kind of glass or plastic food container, but if the test is planned in advance, your vet may be able to provide a sterile cup so you don’t have to ruin your kitchen supplies. More is always better, but, in most cases, a tablespoon or so should be enough to run the test. Remember, the longer it sits, the more it can affect the results. Cells break down, bacteria multiply, and crystals can form. Urine should be submitted as soon as possible after collection and refrigerated if it will be more than a few hours.
Actually collecting the sample can be tricky. Because urine is so sensitive to contamination, it generally shouldn’t be sucked or squeegeed off the floor, nor can it be sopped up with a towel and wrung out. And yellow snow is not going to work. It needs to be a clean catch.
If you have a male dog that lifts his leg, it may be simple enough to intercept the stream with the container. Female dogs often squat low enough that your container may not even fit in the limited ground clearance, in which case it may be better to use the container’s lid. But if all else fails, you can always have veterinary staff collect it for you. We’ve all gotten pretty good at it, but make sure your dog doesn’t pee on the way in.
Cats are another story entirely, since they pee when and where they want. You might be able to get them to urinate in an empty litter box—they even sell non-absorbent plastic litter pellets for this purpose—but the box needs to be extremely clean. Because it is so difficult, most cat urine is ultimately collected at the vet, often by obtaining it directly from the bladder with a needle. I promise it’s not as bad as it sounds.
That brings us to poop. A stool sample is likely to be recommended in any pet with gastrointestinal symptoms, like diarrhea or vomiting, and is primarily intended to screen for parasites. In simplest terms, this is done by mixing the stool up with sugar water and seeing if any parasite eggs float to the top, a process which smells as great as it sounds.
Happily, stool samples are much more forgiving and can be used in almost any condition. Stool is not inherently clean or sterile. It contains so much extra junk that contamination isn’t a huge problem. If some grass or a bit of cat litter is mixed up in the sample, it won’t matter. But some parasites are less resilient than others, and samples should still be reasonably clean and fresh.
Poop can be submitted in pretty much any container—any old plastic bag will do fine. While small samples can be run, larger samples give us a better shot at finding something. If it’s really loose you might need to work a bit to scoop it up. I know it’s gross, but just think about what we have to do with it later.
Dr. Mike Fietz is a small animal veterinarian at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital. He received his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 2003, and has lived in Charlottesville since.
