Category: Coronavirus

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Coronavirus News

In brief: Back to UVA, bewildering ballots, and more

Community organizer and UVA student Zyahna Bryant recently handed out college dorm essentials to nine first-gen Black college students, who all graduated from Charlottesville High School. Bryant, also a first-gen student, raised $12,000 to purchase the items and award scholarships—ranging from $750 to $1,000—over the course of a few hours. PC: Eze Amos

Comeback kids?

On August 4, UVA announced that move-in and the beginning of in-person classes will be delayed by two weeks, meaning face-to-face instruction will start on September 8. University President Jim Ryan released a video August 7, explaining that the decision to delay was made in response to a rise in Virginia’s coronavirus transmission, as well as “recent volatility in the supply chain for testing.”

The school has instituted additional safety measures in an attempt to minimize spread of the virus, including changes in classroom capacities to accommodate for social distancing, installing plexiglass shields between faculty and students, and enhancing its classroom sanitation protocols. UVA has even begun testing the dorms’ wastewater to try to detect the virus early.

Meanwhile, the state of Virginia has surpassed 100,000 cases since the onset of the pandemic, and cases have increased 16 percent in the last two weeks, according to The New York Times. New daily cases in Virginia reached an all-time high with 2,015 reported cases on August 7—less than one month before students return to Grounds.

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Quote of the week

“I promise that’s just black water in my glass. It was a prop only.”

—Jerry Falwell Jr., longtime president of evangelical Liberty University (where alcohol is banned) in an Instagram post in which he posed with his fly down on a yacht. He was placed on indefinite leave shortly thereafter.

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In brief

In the doghouse

On Sunday, Carrie Pledger, owner of Pawprints Boutique, which sells clothes and accessories for pets, asked an unhoused Black man to move because she felt he was dancing too close to her business’ sign. That request inspired the ire of a handful of nearby Black Youth Action Committee activists, who were handing out free water and snacks. After the activists voiced their concerns, Pledger called the police. Video shows Pledger telling the police, “This is scary to me,” gesturing to the scene in front of her.

Bewildering ballots

If you received a mailing from the Center for Voter Information, be wary. The nonprofit isn’t attempting to scam you, but it is demonstrably incompetent: This month, the organization mailed out a half-million ballot applications directing potential voters to send their ballots back to incorrect registrars’ office addresses, and in 2018, voter registration forms were mailed to 140,000 Virginians who were already registered to vote, reports The Washington Post. The safest way to vote absentee is to register online via the Virginia Department of Elections.

No Good?

A press release from Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Cameron Webb says his Republican opponent Bob Good has declined to participate in a proposed October debate. The district has been steadily Republican for a decade, but Webb has so far out-fundraised Good by leaps and bounds.

ICE facility outbreak

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement immigration detention center in Farmville, Virginia, is now home to the worst coronavirus outbreak of any detention facility in the United States, reports The Washington Post. Testing last month showed that 70 percent of those detained had the disease, and one person being held there died last week.

 

This article has been corrected to accurately reflect the timeline of events described in the brief titled “In the dog house.” Pledger called the police only after the activists spoke up, not before.

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‘Screaming for help’: Three years later, August 12 victim struggles for support

Tay Washington, whose car was hit by James Fields, Jr. on August 12, is unable to work due to her chronic pain and brain trauma, and is seeking support from the community. PC: Eze Amos

For Tay Washington, August 12, 2017, started off as a normal day. She ran some errands, and then stopped to see a friend at Friendship Court with her sister.

When Washington learned crowds were gathering downtown, she drove over to take a look.

“I was amazed by all of the people with their signs,” says Washington. “I took a picture [and] proceeded to go home, [but] I got detoured” to Fourth Street, unable to drive forward or turn around.

“Me and my sister [were] staring at the crowd because we had never seen so many people before,” she says. “And then it was a blackout…All I heard was screaming and hollering. I didn’t see any help. When I opened my eyes, it was just chaos. I thought a bomb had went off.”

After a few moments, her sister realized that somebody had rammed into their Toyota Camry from behind. But it was not until later that they learned that 20-year-old self-proclaimed neo-Nazi James Fields, Jr. had intentionally sped down the street, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring more than 30 others.

Washington was diagnosed with an ankle fracture. She started doing physical therapy, but her pain only worsened. Eight months later, a visit to an orthopedic specialist revealed that she had complex regional pain syndrome, a chronic condition with no cure.

Washington visited multiple specialists, but none of the medications and treatments she was given helped. She was also repeatedly put down and not taken seriously, she says.

“My job now is my body, taking care of it, so I do not flare up in so much pain that I cannot live day-to-day life,” she says.

Now 30 years old, Washington wants to work, but says she cannot because of intense pain and brain trauma, which causes her to have explosive episodes. Before the car attack, she had been on her way to becoming an EMT, and says she had received multiple scholarships and awards.

Though August 11 and 12—and the ensuing investigations and trials—made international headlines, it has not been easy for Washington to get the assistance she needs, both for herself and her daughter, who is now 11. She says she’s been denied disability benefits multiple times, and hasn’t been able to claim unemployment, since she hasn’t had a job in three years.

The Charlottesville Area Community Foundation’s Heal Charlottesville Fund has been Washington’s main source of financial support for the past three years, but CACF Director of Programs Eboni Bugg says donations have dwindled, and the fund is now out of money. Only three people—including Washington—have requested assistance from the fund in recent months.

Washington’s mother, Emma, a licensed practical nurse, covered some of her daughter’s expenses for a while, but when her 31-year-old son, Telvin Washington, was murdered in their hometown of Belzoni, Mississippi, last year, her own pain and trauma became overwhelming—her PTSD and panic attacks make it too difficult for her to work.

Washington says the last check she received from the fund will help her get through the next three months, but after that, she will have no source of income. She is also in need of long-term medical and emotional support, as well as legal counsel, and is accepting donations directly through GoFundMe.

“I feel left. I feel stuck. I feel invisible,” she says. “I’m screaming for help as Black young woman.”

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In brief: Bridging forward, testing troubles, and more

Belmont Bridge PC: Jack Looney

Building bridges

After nearly two decades of municipal hiccups and mishaps, the city’s plan to replace the Belmont Bridge is finally coming to fruition.

On Monday evening, City Council conducted a first reading on an allocation for the project: The state will pay $12.1 million, the federal government will pay $3.2 million, and the city will kick in $13 million. Council will hold a final vote on the decision August 17.

The city has completed right-of-way acquisition of necessary land and is now finalizing plans with the Federal Highway Administration and Virginia Department of Transportation, explained Jeanette Janiczek, Charlottesville’s Urban Construction Initiative program manager.

Last year, the Board of Architectural Review approved a certificate of appropriateness for the project. However, Janiczek said the certificate is currently being updated.

The city has been working to replace the nearly 60-year-old bridge since 2003, but has run into numerous issues. Initial designs were shot down by the public, and the consultants first hired for the project, MMM Design Group, shut their doors in 2014.

Kimley-Horn took charge of the project in 2017, and council approved a final design the following year.

The new bridge will include pedestrian lighting, benches, and bike racks, as well as a seven-foot-wide bicycle lane and a 10-foot-wide sidewalk, which will be separated from the road by a median. Ramps and stairs on the north end will connect the sidewalks to the Downtown Mall and Water Street.

Construction will begin next year, and is expected to be finished by 2023.

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Quote of the week

“Don’t create these boards and these commissions as bandaids to shut people up.”

—Police Civilian Review Board member Dorenda Johnson, speaking as a resident on City Council’s actions toward the board

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In brief

Riggleman running?

After losing the Republican primary to Bob Good, lame-duck Congressman Denver Riggleman told a Bloomberg podcast that he was “seriously considering” an independent run for governor. Riggleman said he lost his seat because he “refused to commit to supporting anything even close to racism or bigotry.” During his two-year term, Riggleman voted in line with Donald Trump 94 percent of the time.

Testing turmoil

UVA’s hopes for a hybrid semester rely on testing students at a high volume. That plan got off to a rocky start this week. The school sent an email to all students directing them to order COVID tests from the university website, but the website immediately crashed, multiple students report. Once the site came back online, other glitches emerged: The drop-down menu where students were supposed to input their home addresses omitted Rhode Island and New Jersey.

COVID outbreak

Cedars Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility in Charlottesville, has been devastated by a coronavirus outbreak, reports NBC29. As of July 31, 96 of the center’s 112 residents, and 44 of the 140 staff, have tested positive for the virus. Seventeen residents have passed away.

Name game

Since the resurgence of protests against police violence around the country, multiple local residents have submitted applications to the city asking for a street downtown to be named in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement. But City Council decided to hold off on voting on the name on Monday, waiting to have more “community involvement” in the matter. Council will now accept related honorary street name requests until August 31, and will consider all of the applications together before taking action.

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The ‘college experience’: UVA’s incoming first-years sign on for mostly-virtual semester

Incoming UVA first-year Ella Fendley says she’ll be enrolled this fall, because even online classes were a better option than taking a gap year. PC: Marley Nichelle 

By Claudia Gohn

University administrators around the country have expressed concern about whether students would show up for a non-traditional school year (and, accordingly, pay tuition). UVA’s incoming freshmen have shown that they’re so eager to begin their halcyon college years, they’ll do so even during a pandemic.

According to Dean of Admission Greg Roberts, 42 percent of students offered UVA admission accepted—up 2 percent from last year. As of mid-July, just 74 students have requested to take gap semesters or years, the university reports.

“None of us really thought about taking a gap year, just because we still wanted to have a college experience,” says incoming first-year Willow Mayer, referring to the other rising freshmen she’s spoken with, “even if it might not be the same as it was for other students who’ve already had their first year.”

Like many universities, UVA announced in early summer that the fall semester would be a hybrid of online and in-person learning. Though pressure is mounting for the school to switch to an all-virtual plan, UVA seems to hold out hope for some in-person instruction. The university recently sent an email to students, directing them to take a COVID test before arriving on Grounds.

It won’t be easy for UVA to hold a safe in-person semester, especially where first-years are concerned. All freshmen live in on-Grounds housing, and under the current plan, “double rooms will continue to be the default option for housing incoming first-year students,” the school says. The university plans to enact other measures, such assigning students to specific sinks and showers and closing common spaces.

The promise of a hybrid semester has lured some students who might not have otherwise come. Jack Meaney initially considered taking a semester off, but once he learned classes wouldn’t all be online, he decided to start his college career in August. “It might be different, but it’s still going to be a college experience,” he says.

Others balked at the idea of paying full tuition for a watered-down product. Azaria Bolton says she hasn’t committed yet, and will wait to see what classes look like before signing on. “Is it really worth all this money that I would have to be spending?” she asks. “Or would it be better to just leave it all and then come back to it when it’s back to normal?”

“Once I get all of the [information]…especially when it comes to classes and whether my classes would be in-person or online, that [will] probably be the biggest determining factor,” Bolton says.

Based on the number of students who have requested a gap year so far, students like Bolton and Meaney are in the minority. Most, it seems, will pay tuition regardless of the university’s instructional plans. Mayer says she doesn’t care if classes are fully digital; she’ll be enrolled anyway. “I can keep up with them better since there’s always the due dates and then I can just turn in the assignment right away,” she says.

Ella Fendley, who attended Monticello High School, chose UVA over other colleges specifically because of the pandemic. Given the uncertainty, staying close to home has benefits, she says. And while Fendley considered taking time off, she ultimately decided against it because she didn’t have anything else lined up.

“I didn’t have a plan for a gap year, and I didn’t want to sit around for a year and just not do anything,” she says.

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Slowing the spread: City and county adopt local COVID-19 restrictions different from state guidelines

Charlottesville City Council recently approved new COVID-19 restrictions, which are stricter than those mandated by Governor Ralph Northam on July 1, when the state moved to Phase 3 of reopening. PC: Eze Amos / Mark Warner Flickr

By Emily Hamilton

On August 1, residents of Charlottesville and Albemarle became subject to a new set of coronavirus restrictions: in-person gatherings of more than 50 people are banned; restaurants and other venues such as wineries, breweries, and distilleries can operate at only 50 percent capacity; and face coverings are required in indoor public spaces. The state’s Phase 3 guidelines, which have been in effect since July 1, allow in-person gatherings of up to 250 people, and stores, restaurants, and bars have no capacity limits, as long as social distancing is enforced.

The new local rules, which were approved July 27 and will last for 60 days, are more strict than the current statewide guidelines, and demonstrate the power localities have been given in crafting policy to contain COVID-19.

As of August 3, the Virginia Department of Health reports 775 cases of coronavirus in Albemarle and 495 cases in Charlottesville. Much of the support for both ordinances comes from concerns surrounding the impending return of UVA students. As the community prepares for the influx, Charlottesville and Albemarle government leaders recognize the potential for a surge.

“Part of…the motivation for this is that nothing would be worse for the economy than for UVA students coming back…to be a super spreader event,” said City Councilor Michael Payne at the July 27 emergency meeting. “And to prevent that, I think, is a decision worth making.”

The Charlottesville and Albemarle County ordinances reflect the difficulty that local governments face as they mitigate the damage the pandemic has wrought upon their communities. Although Virginia entered Phase 3 more than a month ago, recent actions reflect the state’s piecemeal approach to virus control.

In late July, Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer wrote a letter to Governor Ralph Northam asking the state to impose harsher restrictions after cases surged in that area. Dyer requested that the governor mandate restaurants and bars close early, among other rules. Northam quickly assented, making the rules official the following day.

Historically, Virginia is no stranger to friction between state and local jurisdictions. Localities in Virginia generally do not have much power, thanks to the Dillon Rule, which limits the powers of local governments only to those expressed by the state government. Localities aren’t allowed to do things like ban firearms or (until this year) remove monuments.

In times of crisis, localities have a little more say. Although Charlottesville and Albemarle’s new guidelines depart from those set by the state, the ordinances are in line with the expectation for local governments to protect their citizens during a crisis. The city’s ordinance cites the continued state of emergency along with the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a “disaster” under Virginia Code. In Northam’s executive order declaring the state of emergency, he stated that local governments have the power “to implement recovery and mitigation operations” to fight the virus.

At the July 27 Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meeting, Bea LaPisto Kirtley, who represents the Rivanna District, expressed her confidence in the board’s decision to move forward with the local ordinance. “I would hope that the public, our county, our citizens, our community, would look at this as what I call a Phase 2.5,” she said. “I think we’ve made a lot of adjustments that fit our community, that fit us, and then will help us help our businesses help keep our citizens safe.”

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Tough call: Albemarle allows in-person learning for select students, while Charlottesville opts for all-virtual reopening

Charlottesville City Schools will reopen virtually for all students, while Albemarle County will allow a limited selection of students to participate in in-person learning. PC: Eze Amos

After weeks of discussion and debate, the verdict is in: Charlottesville City Schools will reopen virtually for all students, while Albemarle County will allow a limited selection of students to participate in in-person learning. Both districts finalized their decisions at school board meetings on Thursday.

During the division’s virtual meeting, ACPS staff detailed the division’s five stages of reopening. Superintendent Matt Haas recommended the board approve the second stage for the first nine weeks of school. Most students will begin the year learning online only, but the plan makes an exception for students with inadequate internet access that cannot be improved, those with special needs who cannot fulfill their individual education plans at home, and English learners with low proficiency levels in fourth through 12th grades.

These students—an estimated 1,000 to 1,500—will be put into pods of 10 or fewer, and paired with a learning coach, who will assist them with their online coursework. Everyone will be required to wear masks and adhere to social distancing within the school buildings, which will be regularly cleaned and disinfected, among other mitigation measures. Bus service will be provided for families who request it.

All students and staff members coming into the school buildings will be doing so voluntarily, Haas emphasized throughout the meeting. 

In the coming week, Albemarle will release more details on how it’s revamping virtual learning, which will include both asynchronous and synchronous coursework, and what actions it will take if a student or staff member involved in in-person instruction contracts COVID-19.

Ahead of Charlottesville’s virtual meeting, Superintendent Rosa Atkins recommended that the board approve an all-virtual model for the first nine weeks of school, pointing toward the rising cases and positivity rate in the area and many remaining unanswered safety questions. She emphasized that virtual learning in the fall would greatly differ from the experience offered in the spring, and would include a variety of new features, from social-emotional learning to peer engagement.

Both divisions will revisit their decisions in the middle of the first quarter to evaluate whether they will move forward with reopening, or stay in the same phase for the next school quarter.

Though all classes will be online, Charlottesville plans to host individual in-person, socially-distanced meet-and-greets with teachers, which students and their families will sign up for. Additionally, it is possible that a small number of students in great need of in-person instruction will be grouped into pods, and have classes in outdoor settings, said Atkins.

About 200 families in Charlottesville have indicated they need child care, she added. The division is working with community partners—including the Boys & Girls Club, Piedmont Family YMCA, and City of Promise—to figure out how to best provide assistance. Students could participate in virtual learning while at a child care center.

Feelings about virtual reopening were mixed in the county. Board members Judy Le and Ellen Osborne emphasized the various risks of in-person learning and lack of solid data on how the virus transmits between children, and preferred to start with stage one, or all-virtual classes.

“I just don’t feel like I can put our most vulnerable students into the middle of a grand experiment, and have them take that home to their communities,” said Osborne.

However, board member Katrina Callsen expressed concern for the families she has heard from who are unable to adequately participate in distance learning, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds.

The board initially did not agree to reopen under stage two, with members David Oberg and Graham Paige siding with Le and Osborne against the plan. However, Oberg changed his mind after a 10 minute break, and voted to approve it, along with Callsen, Jonno Alcaro, and Kate Acuff.

Albemarle parents and staff were also split on reopening plans, per the division’s latest surveys. Out of nearly 7,000 responses, 71 percent of parents ranged from “somewhat” to “extremely” concerned about sending their student to school for in-person learning in the fall, but 67 percent preferred that the division adopt a hybrid reopening model.

Meanwhile, 65 percent of staff respondents did not feel comfortable returning to the classroom. 

If the pandemic worsens in the area—especially after UVA students return—Haas has the authority to revert the division all the way back to stage one without approval from the board.

While the Charlottesville School Board’s vote approving an all-virtual reopening was unanimous, results from a phone and web survey were split. A majority of staff (about 60 percent) preferred an all-virtual reopening, but families showed nearly equivalent support for face-to-face and online-only learning. 

During public comment, most speakers advocated for a hybrid model, particularly for younger students and those from marginalized backgrounds. 

“There is no clear consensus among families about the best path forward…I’m not sure why we are straying from the multipath system that was first designed,” said Richard Feero, who works for Abundant Life Ministries and lives in the Prospect community. “Choosing an all-virtual path to start the school year punishes working-class, predominantly Black and brown families in the city….Why not just give this small segment the option to have their children attend school in-person?”

During its school board meeting on August 6, Charlottesville staff will give a presentation with more details on how it will implement distance learning for students in special education, ESL, and preschool. 

Albemarle’s next meeting is scheduled for August 13.

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In brief: Happy trails, activists arrested, and more

The new bridge over Moores Creek plugs a gap in the Rivanna Trail. PC: Stephen Barling

Closing the loop

The Rivanna Trail has encircled Charlottesville for more than 20 years. Earlier this month, the trail became a little more complete, when a 140-foot-long pedestrian bridge was lowered into place over Moores Creek, closing one of the few remaining gaps in the trail’s 20-mile loop.

Local environmentalists expressed enthusiasm about the bridge, which was paid for by Albemarle County and the developers working on rehabbing the old woolen mill that overlooks the river.

“This is economic development that focuses on making the community a better place for all,” said Piedmont Environmental Council community organizer Peter Krebs in a press release praising the bridge. “By providing more places to walk and bike, and everyday access to nature, projects like this support residents’ health, productivity, and prosperity.”

                                                              PC: Stephen Barling

Photographs from the middle of the 20th century show that a wooden footbridge once crossed the creek near where the new bridge sits, but the woolen mill changed hands multiple times over the years, and the original bridge disappeared.

Because the pandemic has upended much of our regular forms of recreation, and made gathering indoors unsafe, the Rivanna Trail has had a significant increase in use in recent months. A trail counter from earlier in the spring noted that this year, the trail has seen around four times as much foot traffic as the same period last year.

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Quote of the week

“Nothing would be worse for the economy than UVA students coming back [and causing] a super spreader event.”

—City Councilor Michael Payne, on Charlottesville’s emergency ordinance

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In brief

Richmond arrests

Protests continue in Richmond, and police continue to arrest people willy-nilly. This week, journalists for VCU’s student paper The Commonwealth Times, as well as two activists with Charlottesville ties and large social media followings, Molly Conger and Kristopher Goad, were among those detained on dubious grounds. Conger was held overnight, and after her release, tweeted that the police “are trying to break our spirits, but they’re only proving our point.”

Travelers grounded

Charlottesville-based educational travel company WorldStrides, one of the larger employers in town, filed for bankruptcy last week. Meanwhile, some UVA students received mailers this week from the study abroad office, advertising future trips. That’s optimistic, as most nations have banned American travelers from entering.

Paul Harris PC: UVA

Tenure reversed

UVA made national news earlier in the spring when it unexpectedly denied two well-qualified Black faculty members tenure. Now, the school is eating crow: last week, Dr. Paul Harris, an assistant professor of education, announced that the decision had been overturned, and his tenure case had been approved by provost Liz Magill.

Mask mandate

As the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise, Charlottesville and Albemarle County both decided on Monday to revert to certain Phase Two guidelines. Beginning August 1, masks will be mandatory in public, indoor capacity for restaurants will be capped at 50 percent, and gatherings of more than 50, excluding spontaneous demonstrations, will be prohibited.

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Left out: Albemarle teachers, parents call out inequity in reopening plans

Spanish teacher Filadelfia Soto is disappointed in the school district for not consulting with teachers on reopening sooner. PC: John Robinson

For weeks, Filadelfia Soto—along with hundreds of other teachers in Albemarle County—was left in the dark. She had received emails with “general information about school board meetings,” but nothing about how the school division planned to reopen in the fall, or when teachers could weigh in on the issue.

So when division staff rolled out three reopening scenarios—all allowing students to return to classrooms for face-to-face learning—at a July 9 school board meeting, she was as surprised as she was disappointed.

“They went from moving the opening date from August to September…and then all of a sudden they said we are reopening schools face-to-face,” says Soto, who teaches Spanish at Woodbrook Elementary School. When she heard the plans, she felt like she had no choice but to participate in risky in-person learning.

More than 600 teachers—nearly half of those in the division—share Soto’s sentiments, and signed an open letter criticizing their exclusion from the planning process, as well as a lack of consideration for their needs and concerns. Pointing to the rising coronavirus rates in the area, they believe the proposed face-to-face models are “unequivocally unsafe,” and have urged the school board to reopen schools virtually.

“Virtual is not the ideal learning environment for all students, but we must begin there. The rising rates of illness and death across Virginia and nationally do not make me feel confident entering into a building,” says Adrienne Oliver, an instructional coach for ACPS. “We need to begin there also because we’re going to end up there in some capacity.” 

Oliver and her colleagues also believe face-to-face learning puts marginalized communities, specifically those of color, in greater danger.

“It will be our most well-resourced families who opt their children out of that learning environment because they have the means. Which means you’ll then have school buildings that are filled with students who depend upon the resources that the school system can provide for them,” says Oliver, who is Black.

“Black and Latinx people…are [disproportionately] dying from this illness. To have a school that could potentially be filled with vulnerable students in any capacity places the burdens of the illness upon them,” Oliver says.

In response to community backlash, the district sent out a survey to teachers on July 10, asking them for their thoughts about reopening, and if they’d like to be part of a reopening task force. And on July 14, Superintendent Matt Haas announced he would draft an online-only option for the school board to consider at its July 30 meeting, when a final decision will be made.

But there is still a lot more equity work to be done, teachers say. Though ACPS sent out a survey to families last month, asking them if they preferred a hybrid or online reopening, the response rate was only 50 percent, says instructional coach Dr. Vicki Hobson.

“The voices of our most marginalized families…need to be central in the decisions that affect them. We need to find out what it is that they want and need, and how we can support that,” adds Hobson.

“We also need to consider how we’re asking for information. Some families don’t have access to devices or the internet in order to respond to an online survey,” she says. “We need to [have] alternative ways to get information, such as personalized phone calls with those we haven’t heard back from.”

In addition to contacting every family, the district should hear from all staff members, as well as community members and organizations, Oliver says.

Though distance learning did not go well for her eighth grader in the spring, parent Amanda Moxham believes that a virtual reopening is safest.

“We’ve been paying attention to the data locally around the number of cases and increases, and looking at the spikes across the country. And knowing that so many students will be returning to UVA this fall, there are [a lot of] dangers that exist,” says Moxham, who is a community organizer for the Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County. “I don’t want to contribute to forcing teachers back into a physical school building who are not comfortable being there…[or] to increasing case numbers.”

Moxham is hopeful that teachers will be able to create a more effective distance learning model, such as by implementing live classes, before school starts on September 8, but is also frustrated with the district’s lack of outreach.

“What could have saved a huge amount of time was…[if] they had actually talked to the teachers first,” she says.

For the students who cannot learn from home, the district could work with community members and organizations to create alternative, yet safe learning options, suggests Moxham. For example, it could assign certain teachers a small group of students, and allow them to teach at outdoor locations.

But regardless of the school board’s decision, the district needs to figure out “how to make virtual learning equitable,” says Hobson. It should not only gather feedback from families about their experience with it in the spring, but also train teachers, set up more Wi-Fi hot spots, and distribute more laptops.

“We have a chance to do so much better than the virtual learning that we provided in the spring,” adds Oliver. “We see this as an opportunity to shift educational practice for the better.”

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New rhythms: Music venues look to rebound after COVID closings

The Paramount Theater has reopened, and is showing movies on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. PC: Skyclad Aerial

By Claudia Gohn

The latest addition to IX Art Park’s medley of flowery, psychedelic art is a series of circles, painted six feet apart from each other on the ground.

The new paint is one part of IX’s plan to begin holding in-person concerts, after the coronavirus pandemic rendered them impossible for months. Though new cases continue to appear every day in the area, the state’s reopening plan has allowed places like IX to resume some version of their pre-pandemic operations. Positive Collective, a reggae and world music act, will perform at the first in-person show on July 18.

“Instead of just buying a [concert] ticket, you’re buying access to a circle on the platform,” says IX Art Park Foundation Executive Director Susan Krischel. Concert-goers must stay in their circle, and need to wear a mask if they leave it, be that to go to the bathroom or to buy drinks. Krischel says shows will have a maximum of 120 attendees, while in the past the venue accommodated 2,000 people.

These concerts won’t undo the economic effects of the last few months—reduced occupancy limits the amount of revenue generated from each show. “It’s tight,” Krischel says. “I’m not gonna lie about that. With that number of people, it is very difficult to break even.”

Kirby Hutto, general manager of the Sprint Pavilion, expresses a similar sentiment: “Being capped at a thousand total capacity and 10 feet of social distancing just really, really cuts down what is financially viable for us.”

“Normally this time of year we would have probably at least a dozen shows confirmed if not more,” Hutto says. By early March, Hutto says that there had already been five shows on sale. Now, they have all been either rescheduled for 2021 or canceled altogether. Hutto says, “all the artists that had holds on the calendar for the rest of 2020—they’re gone.”

The venues that do reopen hope to provide a sense of relief and comfort to the community. “We’re starting showing movies at three o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesdays and Fridays, and hope that people will come out of the theater around five and then hopefully go to an outdoor patio at a restaurant,” says Matthew Simon, director of operations and programming at The Paramount Theater.

“We’re kind of all in this thing together, and we’re not really trying to make money,” Simon says. “We’re just trying to get people to put a smile on their face and feel comfortable coming out to see a show.”

Other venues are being more cautious. The Southern doesn’t have any events scheduled until August. Danny Shea, who manages The Southern and is responsible for bookings at both The Southern and The Jefferson Theater, says he doesn’t want to risk anyone’s health. “We certainly wouldn’t want to come off as contributing to the problems,” Shea says. “And we don’t want to open up just so we have to close down soon after because we were too aggressive.”

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Coronavirus News

In brief: Tiki terror, teacher trouble, and more

Work crews removed the statue of General Stonewall Jackson from its concrete pedestal on Richmond’s Monument Avenue earlier this month. PC: Eze Amos

Statue disposal

Many of Richmond’s Monument Avenue Confederate statues are gone, but debate over their removal continues, and people have wondered where the toppled statues are being stored. This week, some sharp-eyed Richmonders noticed a large collection of monument-shaped tarps standing around the city’s wastewater treatment plant. It’s about as close as you can get to literally flushing the things down the toilet.

PC: Castle Hill Gaming

Prime real estate

It looks like a slot machine. It plays like a slot machine. But actually, it’s a “skill game.” Now, these games are legal in Virginia—and there are more than a dozen lined up in a glamorous former bank building downtown. The space is currently home to high-end steakhouse Prime 109, which was shuttered by the economic crash. The new scene inside the building has left some in town wondering if there’s a swanky casino in Charlottesville’s future.

Prime 109 boss Loren Mendosa insists that “right now there’s not much to talk about.” Sure, it could be a casino eventually, but Mendosa says things are happening fast, and he has “no idea what the actual thing would look like.” Still, he’s rolling the dice on the idea.

The Prime team hurriedly carted the machines into the space at the 11th hour. On July 1, all previously installed skill game machines became legal, though the law change doesn’t allow new machines to be installed. “If we don’t have the machines installed by June 30th, there’s no chance of even talking about it,” Mendosa says.

“It’s definitely not [a casino] right now. Who knows?…It might be a lot of different things,” he says about his restaurant full of quasi-gambling machines.

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Quote of the week

“When you go outside and say, ‘I can’t breathe with this mask on; I’m gonna take it off,’ try breathing with COVID.”

—area resident Stacey Washington, who contracted the virus after taking her mask off at a family Fourth of July celebration.

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In brief

Teacher troubles

On July 9, Albemarle County schools laid out plans for in-person reopening this fall. It quickly came to light, though, that the plan had been created without getting feedback from ACPS teachers, reports The Daily Progress. Teachers and staff have since circulated an open letter advocating against in-person instruction, calling the proposal “unequivocally unsafe for Albemarle County staff and families.”

Party’s over

As coronavirus cases increase every day, Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker urged local residents to wear masks, practice social distancing, and stay home as much as possible, among other safety precautions, in a press conference on Monday afternoon. Walker also denounced the large gatherings being held around town—including parties on UVA’s frat row.

Mayor Nikuyah Walker reminded residents to wear masks, practice social distancing, and stay home. PC: Eze Amos

New faces

Norfolk Delegate Jay Jones and Alexandria Delegate Hala Ayala have announced 2021 campaigns for lieutenant governor of Virginia, joining Jennifer Carroll Foy and Jennifer McClellan—both running for governor—as the third and fourth people of color under the age of 50 to announce a Democratic run at statewide office. Meanwhile, Terry McAuliffe still lurks in the wings, having pulled almost $2 million into his PAC this spring.

Tiki terror

Early Monday morning, two local activists awoke to find blazing tiki torches in their yards—an eerie reminder of the KKK rally held nearly three years ago at the University of Virginia. (Another activist found an unlit, discarded torch.) The act was “without a doubt intentional,” according to a Medium post by Showing Up for Racial Justice.