Refugees welcome
Over the weekend, activists gathered in downtown Charlottesville to draw attention to the crisis in Afghanistan, where extremist Taliban forces recently seized control of the government following U.S. withdrawal of troops after two decades of war.
The activists called for the United States and the Charlottesville area specifically to accept as many Afghan refugees as possible. The International Rescue Committee says that internal displacement in Afghanistan has risen 53 percent in the last two weeks. Local refugee support nonprofit International Neighbors reports that two families of Afghan refugees have already been housed in Charlottesville, and that more than 150 people have donated to the resettlement efforts.
Playground groundbreaking
On Tuesday, Walker Upper Elementary School unveiled a crowdfunded playground, the culmination of a multi-year effort spearheaded by Christa Bennett, a local mom, advocate, and chief operating officer at the Strive for College nonprofit.
In 2018, the school held design thinking sessions with students on how to improve their school. The students decided a playground would enhance their learning experience at Walker, but only had a $6,000 grant to pay for the playground. Bennett, who has a background in grant writing, stepped in, and was able to secure $26,000 from Charlottesville City Schools, $15,000 from the City of Charlottesville, and additional time and resources from local businesses.
Walker has the second highest number of students of color in the district as well as a higher-than-average number of economically disadvantaged students. “Walker students not having a playground when they wanted one was a big problem,” Bennett says. “I think it was an equity issue.”
Bennett emphasized that the community rallied around the cause and support the Walker students. “I thought that it was really important to make sure that our students have all the resources they need in our public schools,” Bennett says. “I want to tell the kids that the community did this for you, because we love you and we believe in you.”
In brief
JMU paper sues JMU
The Breeze, JMU’s student newspaper, is suing the school, alleging that the university administration failed to release data about the spread of COVID on campus last year. “This data is crucial to the public’s right to understand what COVID-19 looks like in this community,” said editor Jake Conley in a story in The Breeze. “We are fully willing to seek a redress through the courts in the name of transparency and accountability.” A JMU spokesperson downplayed the suit, saying the school “engaged in several conversations” and “attempted to work with [The Breeze] in good faith” throughout the last year.
Mailing it in
Senator Mark Warner appeared at a Charlottesville post office on Monday afternoon to address the consistent mail delivery delays that some city residents have complained about in recent weeks. The area’s post offices are understaffed, Warner reports, but he says he’ll be back in three months to make sure things have turned around.
Albemarle bans guns
At their meeting last week, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to enact an ordinance that bans guns on county property. Pro-gun activists rallied against the ordinance last month, but many residents, including the county commonwealth’s attorney, spoke in favor of it. Charlottesville passed an identical ordinance last year.
Quake anniversary
Monday, August 23, marked the 10-year anniversary of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook central Virginia on a sunny Tuesday morning in 2011. The rare East Coast quake didn’t result in any serious injuries, but Louisa County High School, near the epicenter of the quake, sustained serious damage, and the school district held a commemorative ceremony on the anniversary this week.