YMCA Summer camp "sells out" in 8 minutes

Many parents hoping to get their children into a YMCA Summer camp this year, despite being prompt when registration opened yesterday, found that the camps were already full. According to Piedmont Family YMCA CEO Jessica Maslaney, camp is limited to 100 campers, and typically the spots fill up within 24 hours. This year, however, the spots "sold out" in 8 minutes.

YMCA camps are one of a few non-profit camps, which are affordable and accessible, says Maslaney. Piedmont YMCA also offers income-based financial assistance and subsidy assistance to families through the local Department of Social Services.

Due to the response this year, Maslaney says they are working to accommodate more campers.

"We are actively working to secure an alternate location to accept more campers," she says.

Maslaney says there are 205 campers currently on the waiting list. She hopes to make an announcement about an alternative location tomorrow or next week.

As one DTM reader pointed out, the fact that the YMCA camp sold out so quickly is likely an indication of how quickly other camps have sold out, as many began registration last month.

“Last year was very difficult for parents looking for summer camp options," the reader said, " but this year has been even crazier."

Housing getting out of reach

“Only the wealthy are essentially buying homes,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at National Association of Realtors told the Washington Post recently. “If this trend was to continue, that means something fundamentally is wrong with society.” Indeed, cash buyers are grabbing up places here south of town.

The recent spike in City property taxes ( 11.52% increase for residential and 12.16% for commercial ) is a result of this, but the local media has focused on the increased income for the city, shocked property owners with their new assessments, and realtors urging calm -- when it could indeed be that something is fundamentally wrong.

"I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but home prices rising at a pace to double every 6 years is, uh, not a very healthy status quo," wrote Rory Stolzenberg, a member of the City Planning Commission, on social media, referring to the recent City property tax assessment increases.

Meanwhile, CAAR President Anne Burroughs recently told the Daily Progress that a surge in new building permits last year, mostly for duplex and multifamily housing, could bring housing prices down this summer.

“When you have a really tight inventory of homes, new buildings, new construction is really one of the key factors to kind of release that pressure,” she said.

The City also released the first draft of a new zoning map designed to encourage, hopefully, more affordable housing. Where is all this headed? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, you’ll find no shortage of opinions on the matter.

Restrooms for River View

Looks like Riverview Park will be getting restrooms. There's a bid out now for the installation of a CXT Montrose pre-cast restroom with water fountains and electric timer locks to be finished by September 29.

CT ED says so long

Charlottesville Tomorrow executive director Giles Morris is stepping down after five years. Current editor Angilee Shah will assume that role on April 1.

Charlottesville and Albemarle County opioid crisis

Some startling information shared by Dave Norris here - the rate of Emergency Department visits for opioid overdoses in Charlottesville & Albemarle County almost doubled in one year from 2021-2022.

I remember, in the midst of getting a guilty plea from a heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl dealer in Greene County last October, United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh had this to say:

“Fentanyl is everywhere. Simply put, it is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered. In Virginia, the number of people dying from drug overdoses is at a record high."

ACPD & VDOT Town Hall on speeding

NBC29 recently covered a town hall about speeding on Albemarle County roads and "....most speakers raised concerns over reckless driving and speeding in the Belvedere area. “What initiatives can you put in to address the speeding problems on Dunlora and Belvedere? Because it’s a big problem,” Nan Halperin said.

Good on folks for showing up to stop speeding in their neighborhoods, but according to TREDS data, there was one person injured in a single crash in Belvedere in 2022 and one person injured in a single crash in Dunlora in 2021. This is compared to literally hundreds of crashes on the Albemarle County stretch of Route 29, over two dozen at the 29/64 intersection south of town (including two fatal crashes), and hundreds more along the County's country roads in every direction. Just down the street from Belvedere on Rio Road, at the entrance to Albemarle Square and Fashion Square Mall, there were 6 crashes in 2022, including one fatality. Yet a VDOT representative says there's a roundabout in the works for the intersection near Dunlora between the John Warner Parkway and Rio Road, where there were three crashes in 2022, two causing injuries.