The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Student Had Loaded Gun At CVille City School; Milli Coffee Roasters Closing Forever (05/31/24)

Episode Date: April 18, 2024

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Student Had Loaded Gun At CVille City School Milli Coffee Roasters Closing Forever (05/31/24) CVille’s Sun Tribe Solar Sells Commercial Division Taxpayers: $601,681 To Hire 8 City Bus Drivers Heather Sieg: New Publisher At Albemarle Mag. Tom Tom Festival Active On Downtown Mall 2 CVille Gardens Make Top 10 Best List In VA Criminal Break-In At Mooses By The Creek Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

What am I doing? I'm going to count. Do I need to count myself in? He's doing the 3-2-1 countdown. Hello, Charlottesville. This is Judah. I'm counting myself in and trying to figure out how this all works. Rarely put myself on a one-shot. Don't even have a name for myself down there. Well, we should.

Someday, maybe. When I'm... I don't even have a name for myself down there. Well, we should. Someday, maybe. It's good to be talking to you all. Hope you're doing well today. It's a beautiful day out there. We've got festivals coming and going left and right. Oh, man. If anybody's gone to any of the TomTom events, let us know in the comments.

We'd love to hear what you've been to. We'd love to hear how you liked it. We'd love to hear how many people you saw there. Is it big? Is it happening? Is it happening? In other news? Okay, all right. What?

We have the wrong branding strip on screen. And why don't we go back to yours truly, Anna1. Thank you kindly, very much. Judah Wickhauer, the jack of all trades, the jack of all wits. Entering the program here. So guys, it's great to be with you. It's the I Love Seville Show. We're live in downtown Charlottesville, our studio on Market Street.

Just a hop, skip, and a jump from the police department a block away from the courthouses and in the shadows of Thomas Jefferson's University, less than two miles from the John Paul Jones Arena, Scott Stadium. And the rotunda that TJ built. Today's program, wherever you get your social media and podcasting content, with news that is localized, humanized, and personalized for you, the viewer and listener. We encourage you guys to like and share the show, spread the gospel, and ask us questions. Shape the program. The shows that do best, we think, are ones where you, the viewer and listener, influence what we're talking about live on air and real time. I thought yesterday's was a testament

to that. A lot of positive feedback on yesterday's show. We want to highlight Dino at Dino's Wood Fired Pizza. Dino's, the owner of Basta Pasta, and Dino's, the owner of Moo Thru. Our friend, our partner, Dino, has opened a second location at Pro Renata. A Moo Thru at Pro Renata to complement his second, Dino's, at Pro Renata. A move through at Pro Renata to compliment his second Dino's at Pro Renata. This brewery in Crozet has quickly become a Disneyland of sorts with something

to do with everyone, for everyone within the Crozet community and beyond. And you just don't have to be a beer drinker to go to Pro Renata. Playgrounds, ice cream, pizza, live music, axe throwing, beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain views, fire pits, outside enjoyment, and of course the beer. Sports fans, televisions everywhere. Pro Renata and Move Through and Dairy Market and Dino's. Just some special synergy right there. Judah Wickhauer, the director and producer

of the Fine and Fair Talk Show. We encourage you, the viewer and listener, to take a look at the screen to see today's headlines. We are going to cover content that we think is important to you, all the way from a new publisher at Albemarle Magazine to a festival on the downtown mall that's driving positive engagement to eight blocks that really, really need it. We're going to talk on today's program, the hiring of eight city bus drivers with taxpayer dollars, a payment or a balloon or a war chest, treasure chest of $601,681. Yes, you heard me correctly, over $600,000 to hire eight city bus drivers. We'll unpack that storyline for you today. We have a local business, Charlottesville's Sun Tribe Solar,

which is selling its commercial division, has sold its commercial division, to an organization from the big city, Manhattan, New York City, get a rope. You remember that television commercial campaign, Judah? Oh, yeah. What's the brand that was featured in that TV campaign? New York City, get a rope. Isn't that Pace Bacanti sauce? Bingo.

Well done, Judah. Pace Bacanti. Fantastic ad campaign. Still resonates with me yeah we we could do an entire uh episode an entire show one day on old ads that we remember i love old ads i love advertising and branding one of the ways we pay the bills around here um a lot to cover on today's program we'll have judah um read headlines in a matter moments, but if you can go to a one-shot, I'd love to offer some perspective from our son's first coach-pitched baseball game at Stone Robinson Elementary within the Monticello Little League. this little league is a, just such an asset to the community,

both Monticello and McIntyre. This particular year is our second within Monticello after playing the first three years ago and McIntyre, both of them are fantastic. Our son played T-ball yesterday or last year, excuse me. and this year our son is playing coach pitch. He is the youngest on the team, barely within the age window of playing, barely, we're talking like 24, 48 hours within the window of being able to play from a birth date standpoint, just a couple days before the cutoff. And, you know, he's athletic. We have him playing racket sports. We have him playing tennis. We have him playing squash.

He's played pickleball. He's played soccer. He did t-ball last year and the year before. We goof around in the house, my son and I, my wife and our son, with racquetballs and footballs and just horseplay. And he's got some hand-eye coordination. He's playing in his first coach pitch game yesterday, and I didn't know what to expect. You know, when you go from tee ball and the ball is sitting right in front of you on a tee, it's obviously much easier to hit. Coach pitch, all eyes are on you and you got this baseball floating at you

and you got to put a bat on the ball and you got to hit it. You have five swings or five pitches from your coach. And if you don't hit the ball within the first five swings, within the first five swings, within the first five pitches, they bring the tee from the dugout and they put it on home plate and then you hit the ball off the tee. Happens quite often. So I wasn't sure what's going to happen. You know, is he going to hit the ball? Is he going to go five pitches with swings and misses?

Whatever it may be. He had one at bat. The team we were playing was very good. They actually, in the first inning, we were the visitors. So we came up to the plate at the top of the first inning. And the first three batters, the Racing Rhinos, which is the name of our son's team, the first three batters our team sent to the plate went ground ball to middle infield, out at first base, literally the opposing team, they fielded the ball in the middle of the infield, they threw it to first base for an out, it was amazing defense. Second batter grounds out to the pitcher, the pitcher fields the ball, throws it to first base, I was like, good God, this team is good. And then our third batter goes up to the plate, and he grounds out the first place he fields it

cleanly and attacks first base and just like that our first three hitters out out out and we head into the bottom of the first which impacted how many guys on the racing rhinos could hit because i think you only play two or three innings anyway long story short our son, I think it was in the top of the second inning, he came up to the plate. And Coach Aaron, who's a fantastic coach, I think he watches the program from time to time, he's on the mound and getting ready to throw five pitches to our son. I am behind the backstop, behind the fence, watching my son, our son, and I am as nervous now as any parent can relate. And our son, who's a left-hander, plays squash and tennis and pickleball right-handed, throws right-handed, bats or writes at school right-handed, but he hits left-handed. And I think that has to do,

when he was a little kid, I used to set up the tee, and he is a little kid now, but when he was like two, three years old, I used to set up the tee next to the coffee table where there was only a left-handed batter's box. So interestingly, that has made him left-handed in baseball, which is fine. I love that. It's an advantage. Let's cut to the chase. That was dad's plan all along. So he goes up to the plate. Coach Aaron's throwing the first pitch. I think the first pitch, it was a swing and a miss. And then I'm getting a little nervous. Second pitch, he fouls it back right in front of me. I'm standing behind a home plate. Third pitch, he takes a pretty good cut at it and he fouls the ball down the third baseline. He's left-handed,

so he's swinging late. But the ball had a little bit of pop for a six-year at it, and he fouls the ball down the third baseline. He's left-handed, so he's swinging late. But the ball had a little bit of pop for a six-year-old, and it went foul down the third baseline. Fourth pitch, he makes decent contact and hits the ball, I'd say between shortstop and second base, runs out of the batter's box, clearly safe at first, and gets a legitimate hit in his first plate appearance in coach pitch Little League. He's at first base beaming with pride, beaming with pride because he's able to put the bat on the ball and get the first base. Then in the bottom of the second inning, after his team finishes batting,

he's entrusted with playing first base by Coach Aaron. And in the bottom of the second inning, while playing first base, two ground balls are hit to him. He fields both ground balls cleanly, back-to-back batters, and runs over to first base and gets the out. So here, on his first plate appearance,

he gets a hit. Infieldield single we'll call it. And then in the bottom of the second inning, he registers two outs at first base, fielding ground balls cleanly and beating the hitter and the runner to the back. So after the game, I am driving our son home. My wife, who's the rock of the family, is at our house already because our youngest is 16 months old. She's putting him down to bed, and he's sleeping. So as I'm driving him home from Stone Robinson Elementary, I said, Trey, you got a hit, and you made two outs at first base. What an awesome game in your first coach pitch baseball game.

I'm so proud of you. Did you have so much fun? That was amazing. He said, yeah, I had so much fun. And then I followed up the question and I said, son, what was your, what was your most favorite aspect of the game? It had to be the hit, right? Or was it the two outs at first base? And he sat in the back seat and his car seat. And you know what he said to me? He said, dad, my favorite aspect of this baseball game was this ice cold Capri sun juice box and this bag of crackers that I got for snack after the game. That's what he said to me. My favorite aspect is these snacks that I got. This Capri Sun is so cold, and I'm drinking it, and man, I'm thirsty. And I said, hmm, okay. And I thought about it for the next two minutes, three minutes on our drive.

We live right around the corner of Stone Robinson. And I thought about it for the next two or three minutes as I'm driving home and pulling into the driveway. And it dawned on me again, the following. A, we have so much to learn from our kids. We may take them for granted or not give them enough credit because they're so young and we think we're the ones that are supposed to teach them. But the reality is, if we allow them and we're open-minded enough to learn from them, we as parents can learn from our kids as well. B, with kids, it's about perspective and what we think may be accomplishments, whether it's trophies, whether it's statistics, hits, scoring runs, making outs, whether it's about tangible performance. In their mind, it's truly about stopping and smelling the

flowers and the roses and being in the moment. And for our oldest son, an ice-cold Capri sun on a warm spring evening in Keswick, Virginia, made him the happiest in that day. So it kind of just gave me a second to pause and reflect and think and said, A, this kid is just a true blessing to be around. B, it's not maybe always about what you have done that day from an accomplishment or performance standpoint. It could be just about walking around the block, getting some fresh air, and being in the moment and saying,

wow, this Capri sun is cold and it's refreshing, and I'm really grateful for it. And that's a metaphor for a lot of things in life. So yet again, I learned from our son. Yet again, I find myself just like overflowing with pride and parents that are watching the program. I know you can appreciate this. There is nothing that is more joyful, also more difficult, than being a parent. Parenthood, the best hardest thing ever, and the longest and shortest thing ever. All right, let's weave Judah Wickauer into the mix. So a lot we're going to cover today. We're going to cover Millie Coffee Roasters closing forever at the end of May. I think any that have been to Millie Coffee Roasters, perhaps not surprised by this news.

We're going to cover the unfortunate story of a loaded handgun at a Charlottesville public school. We are going to cover Sun Tribe Solar, a Charlottesville solar company selling their commercial division to a New York City company. We're going to cover on today's show TomTom Festival going on right now and what is the significance of the TomTom Festival and, you know, what of many iterations of this downtown mall shindig. We're going to cover on today's program a new publisher for Outmoral Magazine. Her name is Heather Sieg. Heather, someone let Heather know we're going to offer her some props and attention on today's show. We're going to cover on today's program $600,000 of taxpayer dollars, $600,000 plus of taxpayer revenue and resources used to hire eight city bus drivers on today's program. And we're going to ask you, the viewer and listener, to share your thoughts and your perspective and make the program great. First, a difficult topic,

certainly a difficult headline. There is a, how would we call New Pathways Academy? New Pathways Academy is an alternative school that operates out of the Boys and Girls Club on Cherry Avenue in Charlottesville. It's an alternative school that serves students in need of additional support. Interestingly, there's only three students in this alternative school called New Pathways Academy that operates out of the Cherry Avenue Boys and Girls Club. One of those three students earlier in the week showed up to school, and the Boys and Girls Club is attached to Buford. Buford is a large city school.

Okay, more on that in a minute. Buford Middle School. But one of the three students showed up to school with a loaded handgun. And then fell asleep. And then fell asleep. And then fell asleep. Police department gets called. Probably one of the worst calls that you want to have as a police department,

as a policeman or a policewoman. Loaded gun on school grounds. That's every parent's nightmare. Yeah. The young man is arrested. I want to talk about the arrest and whether the young man being arrested and should others be arrested. I want to talk about the gun on school grounds. I want to talk about the headline a natural segue into metal detectors no doubt we've talked metal detectors on this program a huge proponent of metal detectors

there's a large contingent in charlottesville in particular the city schools that are vehemently opposed to metal detectors so a lot to unpack on a story that had Buford Middle School in lockdown for a period of time, the police on grounds, a kid arrested, and a boatload of parents scared. My friend Judah Wittkower, where do you want to go on this topic before we segue to another one? Well, I think it was definitely fortunate that the police were called while this kid was asleep. We obviously don't know what his intention was with bringing the gun onto the property. And you're right. Who do we blame for this? There's certainly, I think, precedent for bringing charges against someone like the parents.

I'm not saying in this case that is what should be done, but it would be nice to find out where the child got a hold of the gun. If it was from the parents, certainly the police are going to look into this and they'll find out what they need to know and take this further if it needs to go further. This reminds me of the kindergartner or first grader and Newport news public schools that shot the teacher, his teacher, um, that particular teacher had ties to green County was an educator in Newport news public schools. Many folks in this particular elementary school, he was either a kindergartner or first first grader. We're warning the principal that this young man had a gun on his person. Four attempts, three or four attempts, and nothing was

done. Long story short, he pulls the gun out, shoots his teacher. If it wasn't for the fact that the teacher put her hand up in front of the gun, the bullet went through her hand, causing less of a violent impact on her body, which potentially saved her life. Now she's got a significant lawsuit against the school in active stage. So I immediately thought about that. The positive I'm going to highlight from this is it did not result in that The gun was discovered. Nothing of injury occurred. The young man was arrested. And now parents are asking, how did we get to this point of a loaded handgun being inside the building?

I'm immediately going to highlight the metal detectors and the need to have metal detectors. Why we would not have metal detectors befuddles and confuses me. Makes no sense. I mean, in defense of not having metal detectors at a boys and girls club, I mean, do we put them everywhere that students are likely to go ever? We're having metal detectors. This is fact. Metal detectors will be at sporting events starting this fall within Charlottesville Public Schools. So if you're playing sports starting this fall

at Charlottesville Public Schools and you attend these sporting events, you're going to walk through a metal detector. It makes no sense to me that we're going to put the detectors at sporting events and not at schools when there's a larger density of students at schools than sporting events. Make it make sense. Okay? Make it make sense.

Less people at a sporting event, yet the detectors will be there, not at the place where there's the most amount of students. Okay? So that doesn't make sense to me. This story and headline further reinforces my statement that of course you put the metal detectors there. Okay? If you're not carrying anything sketchy on your person,

you have nothing to worry about walking through a metal detector. When I go to the airport, I don't get nervous about walking through a metal detector. Do you? Probably not. Occasionally. What?

Because of that steel plate in the head that you got between your ears? Just effing with me. No, I mean. When was that time you forgot you had a pocket knife on you? Yeah. My dad. How do you forget that? I don't know.

Wait, no, it wasn't. I didn't have a pocket knife. Was it your father? My dad had one once, and they made a big deal out of it. As they should. He didn't mean to bring it. I understand that. And I had, I don't know if you've ever seen those, they're called like.

The pen knife? Defenders, yeah, something like that. Okay. That's still a weapon. I didn't even know I had it on me. And the knife is like this big. It's a weapon. I didn't even know I had it on me. And the knife is like this big. It's a weapon. It's mainly, the defender, I think it's called,

is mainly used for busting car windows if you get trapped. Did they let it on the plane? No, of course not. I'm glad they didn't. Would you want the defender in your hallway if you were in algebra class? Or geometry or history? Would you want it on school grounds? I would not worry about the Defender.

Folks, I'm exhausted of the headlines of guns and weapons on school grounds and if there's any measure possible to prevent it I'm all for it and I'm about to relay a story to you about six hundred and one thousand plus dollars in tax resources that are going to get allocated for bus drivers. And I'm all for making the public transportation in the city more reliable and consistent and approachable. But if we're prioritizing tin cans that are driving around the city with empty seats over the safety of our kids, then we're doing stuff ass-backwards.

We are going to allocate $681 to hire eight city bus drivers. Yet we're not going to have true protection of our schools in the city. Make it make sense. And people are going to hear this and they're going to get irked. The commentary I offer on this program is often in conflict with a lot of the ideology that's in this city. That's changed dramatically in my 24 years this August of being here. But I'm going to stay true to what I believe.

And it doesn't make sense to me that we're going to allocate $601,681 to hire eight city bus drivers, more on that in a minute, to drive tin cans around a city that are 85% empty. And it doesn't make sense to me that we're going to put metal detectors at sporting events this fall, yet we're not going to do it at the entryways of the schools themselves, where there's the greatest population of students we're trying to protect. It makes no sense. And I'm going to utilize this platform to continue to ring this bell

until there's change made. You know, if someone hasn't already, someone should invent a portable metal detector. I assure you that exists. Well, then, shouldn't they be able to use it at the sporting events and then bring it back to the school? Invest in a permanent one. Okay. Invest in a permanent one.

We're going to invest in hiring drivers to drive around buses that for the most part are 85% empty. Yeah, but I think in this case, they are building towards what they want to have available so that they don't remain empty. If they create a better bus service, then perhaps, and this is, I think, just their thinking. No, that is their thinking. That is completely right. Their thinking is for the public transportation to take off, we have to invest in the infrastructure so it's reliable and consistent and available. And then the transportation, the public transport will gain more market share. Here's the large reality of what's happening. The city of Charlottesville is becoming wealthier. HUD median family household income,

2022, 123,400. 2023, 124,000, went up $900. Folks of this financial standing are not using public transportation. We're investing taxpayer dollars into a system that every year that goes by is going to be needed less and less and less.

We understand that, right? As the city becomes wealthier, which it's become wealthier every year I've been here, the demographic of folks that are here have cars and don't need transportation as much. Furthermore, we have hybrid and remote work that allows us to work at our home. Yeah, but none of those hybrid or remote people

are obviously needing bus transportation either. That's my point! Okay, but what about the people that do still live here and do still need public transportation? Optimize the routes to better serve those that need it. Run it like a business where you're circulating routes around communities that need it as opposed it like a business where you're circulating routes

around communities that need it as opposed to routes that are running all over the region, all over the area, cross jurisdiction, Charlottesville and Albemarle. Next time you're watching, next time you're in this,

there's Brian Haleska right there. Next time, he, B. Haleska often walks by the studio. Next time you are out and about I want you to look at a bus and I want you to count how many people are in it please now, if you took that money

invested it into sidewalks and walkability and bikeability that's different because sidewalks, walkability and bikeability, that's different. Because sidewalks, walkability, and bikeability apply to cross socioeconomic demographics. Wealthy, middle, upper, lower, all want to walk, all want to bike, all want to get around and enjoy some time outside.

And it's good for exercise and health and long-term sustainability. The first two stories I think are intertwined. And I want to highlight this. This is a thread that's going around in Reddit. The $601,681 to hire eight city bus drivers, there's folks on Reddit that are saying this. Oh, goodness gracious, $601,681 divided by eight people is $75,000. There's folks that are saying, we're paying the city bus driver $75,000. No, obviously not. If you've ever managed payroll or run a business, you understand there's things called payroll taxes. You understand

there's things called benefits, uniforms, human resources. You understand that there's costs not associated to what you pay your employee. Taking a number that's 601,681 and dividing it by eight people and saying we're paying the city $75,210 per driver shows that you help me with how I should finish the sentence so I don't get into trouble. People who run businesses would better understand the requirements of hiring eight people and the fact that you're not just splitting $600,000 eight ways. Thank you. Thank you. Rory Solzenberg on Reddit

tried to point that out to people and folks kind of got on Mr. Stolzenberg, the planning commissioner. When you hire somebody, it's not just what you pay them that counts on overhead. There's a lot more that goes into it. Let's go to the Millie Coffee Roaster story if you can put the lower third on overhead. There's a lot more that goes into it. Let's go to the Millie Coffee Roaster story,

if you can put the lower third on screen. There's a coffee roastery that's got a long history. I think it's its third generation owner right now. The founder of the business, unfortunately, committed suicide. This was years ago. And that's not the story. I'm not going to go down that road.

Then the founder's wife took over running the business. It was never her plan to be in the coffee roasting or coffee barista bar concept. So after a little while of running the business, because she felt obligated to carry on the legacy of her late husband, she sold the business. The business was sold to a longtime customer. The longtime customer realized that running a coffee shop and a coffee roastery was hard work. And he sold the business. I believe the current owners now are the third generation. They are choosing to close the business at the end of May.

I have some intimate knowledge on this. I spoke to one of the current owners months ago, might have been close to a year ago, about helping him broker the sale of his business. We could not agree to terms. With business brokerage, which I do a lot of, it is a slog. It is a slog.

You would think that it's just, oh, let's put it on social media that the business is for sale, and then people reach out to you, and then you connect them. No. You are vetting financials, profit and loss statements, tax returns, bank statements. You're doing inventory checks. You're doing operations checks. You're analyzing and studying leases. You're assessing how much term is left on the lease. You're checking growth potential. You're checking revenue year over year over year over year to basically gauge the health of the business. You're doing a competitor analysis.

You're doing a social media analysis. And you have to package all this stuff because your buyer's going to want to know it. And you know what one of the most difficult aspects of doing business brokerage is the financing component. That's one of the reasons we launched the Blue Ridge Venture Fund online at blueridgeventurefund.com. We connect high net worth individuals with those that need financing for businesses, business expansion, business purchases, scaling. Going through a bank in 2024 to get a loan for any kind of business expansion is effing brutal. Banks don't want to lend you money. And the money they want to lend

you, if you're fortunate enough to get that money from a bank, is going to have a boatload of strings attached. Floating interest rates, rates that adjust a lot of red tape like you have to show financials on a regular basis to your lender. It's red tape like your lender is going to want their payment before you prioritize your growth, where a private lender may not want that. A private lender may say, go ahead and invest this extra money into growth the business to further make it healthy. Long story short, we couldn't get the I's dotted and the T's crossed on this agreement to do the Millie Coffee Roasters brokerage agreement. At the end of May, they're going to close. They listed the business themselves.

They're going to close at the end of May. They have not found a buyer. No shade. I appreciate their efforts of doing it themselves, but it's a slog. In covering this story, NBC 29 interviewed the owners of the business and asked them, why are you selling? This is what they said to the TV station right down the road from ours. I found it compelling. Millie Joe's Coffee Roasters has been in business for more than 10 years, but today's owners explain that there are a number of reasons

factored into the closing of their business. They mention COVID-19, inflation, competitive market conditions, and the meals tax increases in the city. Directly highlighting the meals tax increases in the city as one of the reasons they're closing this coffee house that's located between what? The old Vinegar Hill spot.

Right across the street from the old Shabine. What is now Vision Barbecue. It's not across the street from Shabine. Yeah, it is. No, it's not. Vision Barbecue. Millie's is right there. Millie's is on the same side as Shabine was.

Millie's, okay, right next to Shabine. I said across the street. Spitting distance to Shabine. Yeah, more or less. Vinegar Hill. It's close by. Okay. This is a sad story. This is a story of the Darwinistic nature of business. Can you think of a more competitive category in Charlottesville than coffee shops? I've said on this program the most competitive category of business in Charlottesville and in Albemarle County are food and beverage restaurants and real estate realtors. So many restaurants, so many realtors.

Can you think if you had a subcategory within the restaurant umbrella? How many coffee shops do we have as a subcategory? So many. So many. And when times get tough, how many more folks are just saying, I'm going to take my coffee in a Yeti from home. Yeah. As opposed to, what's the price? I went out with a, I had a fantastic conversation with a probably a 90-minute meeting this morning with a gentleman that is in commercial real estate, is a real estate investor, and is a business consultant. He and I clicked on so many things,

from ideology to investment strategy to portfolio growth to just vision of a lot of things. A father of two just like me. I mean, he listens to the podcast. I thoroughly enjoyed this meeting. We had it at Lone Light Coffee over here this morning. Two coffees, cold brews.

I think it was he picked up the tab. He was gracious enough to pick up the tab. $14. $14. Yeah. Judah. For two coffees.

$14. I think that's what the tab was maybe he tipped really big but regardless right? yeah if we continue to offer or if we continue to create an environment of death by a thousand cuts, we will see more closings like this.

No doubt. We're now at 12% plus of a bill going to taxes. Yeah. We will see more like this. Sherry, welcome to the broadcast thank you kindly for joining us viewers and listeners, like and share the show Suzanne Daly, I'm going to get to your comments in a matter of moments

Aaron King, watching the program Aaron, I was singing your praises in the meeting today that I had, I sincerely, sincerely mean that statement the gentleman I was meeting with something tied to you came up and I sang your praises today. Juan Sarmiento says the corner of Preston and Ridge. That's Vinegar Hill. Preston and Ridge. Bill McChesney, I'll get to your comments. Suzanne Daly. Do we have Suzanne Daly's photo that you can put on screen?

ilovecebal.com forward slash viewer rankings. Viewers and listeners, put your comments in the feed. We will relay them live on air. Suzanne Daly, one of the valued viewers and listeners of this fair and fine and fair talk show. Not on the list. She's not? No. No, she's got to be on the list. Are you sure?

Maybe she's got to be, but she's not. Suzanne's not on the list? Say it ain't so, Joe. All right, put her on the list. Suzanne Daly. Last name D-A-I-L-E-Y. She says, isn't parenthood rad? I love parenthood. I do think it's rad. Suzanne Daly says, you use yes, but you use logic and school boards do not. Priorities

not based on what makes sense and what is best. They are based on narratives and not public perceptions. And that's terrifying. It's terrifying that it's governance based on perceptions and not reality. And she's right. Affordable housing, out of the left side of your mouth. Raise taxes on real estate, out of the right side of your mouth. Raise taxes on real estate out of the right side of your

mouth. Walkable and bikeable city out of the left side of your mouth. Crappy bike lanes and sidewalks out of the right side. Don't allow Charlottesville to gentrify out of the left side of your mouth, out of the right side. Property taxes, vehicle taxes, up, up, up, up. On the left side of your mouth, we support the small business owner. On the right side of your mouth,

we do nothing to clean up downtown Charlottesville. Make it make sense. Make it make sense. I'm willing to listen to learn. Anything you want to throw in there? Amigo? Judah Wickauer? Happy to listen. I mean, I'm kind of surprised that Millie's has stuck around for as long as it has. It's kind of at an awkward spot.

And anyways, I wish them the best in this last month of business and hope they, I hope they, you know, hope the next step is one that they're happy about. Here's the reality. They invested over the course of ownership hundreds of thousands of dollars into this business. And even more costly, the opportunity cost of their time and energy. Yeah. And what they're doing now is waving the white flag and leaving with what of tangible nature.

Some hard luck lessons? And maybe you attribute that to the school of hard knocks? I mean, did they not make money at all in the time that they were open? I would say that don't... If you're just closing the business, you're not making stuff of consequence. Believe it or not. Believe the Woodards own that location and are the landlords there. John Blair, his photo on screen.

When John leaves a comment, I listen and I read it immediately. Three things, Jerry. Congratulations, A, to your son and your wife. There is nothing better than that feeling. Wait till you start coaching. That makes watching the kids even more difficult. Seriously, I saw a couple of dads coaching their kids last night, John, and I empathize for them. I empathize for them as their sons came up to the plate. Is there a harder thing in sports than hitting a baseball? I mean, think about it. A lot of sports are hard. But is there a harder thing in sports than hitting a baseball?

Especially as the ball comes at you faster and with it doing more things, curves, slows, sliders, fastballs. Number two, John says, speaking of ridiculous 1980s ad campaigns, have you ever seen two limos stop in the middle of the road and talk about mustard? Every day. Every day. That made you laugh. And number C, my heart goes out to city school parents.

First, there is an adult that got into high school during a fight this school year. Now a loaded gun is in school during the school day. Thank God that no student has been injured. Amen, brother. Amen. Amen. We should not be relying on blind luck to secure our schools.

That's not a strategy, blind luck. An adult creeps in the back door during a brawl. Teachers call in, do a coordinated sick day. A principal quits unexpectedly during Thanksgiving. They have to bring in the Morgan Freeman character from Lead on Me, friend of the program, Mr. Kenny Leatherwood, to serve as interim principal to reinstore justice and order and discipline. They have a loaded handgun on school grounds. It's been an incredibly difficult year for Charlottesville Public Schools. No doubt.

We should not rely on blind luck. Thank God nothing's happened. To maintain safety and security of our kids. And that's what we're doing. Make it make sense. Next headline, Judah Whitcower. The show is yours. Please read off the headlines to your fans

as we thank the viewers and listeners for watching the program. Seville's Sun Tribe Solar Oh, this is a good story. sells their commercial division. This is probably the first that you're hearing. Well, I don't want to assume. Perhaps this is the first that you're hearing. Well, I don't want to assume. Perhaps this is the first that you're hearing of this.

I would imagine this is the first of many that are hearing this. SunTribe Solar offloaded their commercial solar portfolio to Madison Energy Infrastructure, which is a New York City clean energy company with an office in Richmond. Madison Energy Infrastructure acquired the commercial solar portfolio of this Charlottesville business, SunTribe. Terms of the deal, I don't know yet. Madison is acquiring the commercial assets pipeline

and development of SunTribe. This makes Madison an even more dominant player in the field. The Sun Tribe president, Rich, I'm going to mess up your last name and I apologize, sir. Is it Alevi? A-L-L-E-V-I. The president of Sun Tribe will continue to lead the commercial development team at now part of Madison. They're going to remain headquartered in Charlottesville, which I think is positive because of the jobs and the economic opportunities. Sun Tribe has put solar panels on 94 schools in 21 counties in Virginia over the past seven years. Listen to this. Madison, this company out of Manhattan, closed last year a $400 million construction to perm loan to fund its expansion. So this is a big-time player.

$450 million construction to perm loan to fund its expansion. Big-time player. SunTribe is going to focus on utility and community solar projects and markets in Appalachia, the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. That's some news out of business locally in the region. Devin Welch is the chairman of Sun Tribe. He said in a statement that the Sun Tribe solar team can now apply their talents and experience in new markets through Madison's nationwide footprint. So I find this positive.

Here's why I find it positive. The Sun Tribe commercial team is staying headquartered in Charlottesville. The Sun Tribe commercial team is going to be amplified and backed and reinforced by a Manhattan company that's got a war chest of money. We most likely will see this team and these efforts grow and expand, which is good for the local economy. I think it's also going to be a payday for some of the founders. I remember when Devin Welch, I'm not tight with this guy, wouldn't say friends with this guy. We're aware of each other. We see each other. A head nod when we see each other around town. I remember when this guy had the idea,

I was in happenstance at a party, this was way back in the day, way back in the day, I'm talking like 15 years ago maybe, at a party on a rooftop on the downtown mall after midnight, and I remember him talking about an idea of a solar company. And now he's got an exit with the Manhattan Company. Props to him. Next headline, Judah Wickauer. I sent them to you, by the way. Yeah, but I like when you read them. Okay.

Weaves you into the program. We've already covered the city bus drivers. Heather Sieg, the new publisher at Albemarle Magazine. Heather Sieg. I hope Heather Sieg is watching the program. Did someone tag Heather Sieg on this? I really hope she's watching

the program. She is a baller. She is a force. I sincerely, sincerely, sincerely mean that. She was a force with the scout guide. She was a force with common house. She was a force with just being a mover and shaker and networking locally. I believe at one time, and she may still own Louise. Louise is a, I don't know much about Louise. On its Facebook page, it calls it a woman's clothing store. Refined yet rebellious gifts for self, home, friends. Everything you did not know you could not live without. Louise. I believe this was on West Main Street.

I haven't been to this store. Anyway, she is the new publisher at Al Morrow Magazine. Al Morrow Magazine is fantastic. She sends an email out today to select contacts. We received it, that she was introducing herself as the new publisher of Al Morrow Mag. She spent years elevating she writes in this email and promoting the local businesses of the Scout Guide as the editor of that publication. And now she says she's honored and thrilled to help take Albemarle Magazine into the future. Albemarle Magazine has a long history in this community. Nearly 40 years, this coffee table magazine, this glossy publication.

It's published six times a year. Every issue of Alb Moral magazine, they say, celebrates the region's people, places, and businesses. Look, I'm going to say this here. Print, I'm not super bullish

on print. I'm not super bullish on a lot of legacy media. I'll be frank. But Al Morrow Magazine is different. Why it's different is because of its coffee table nature. It's a publication that stays sticky on tables

or in tourist locations. It's not one day and throw away. It's take and keep. We have two, what are those? Can you get our waiting room over there where guests wait, the two books that we have over there, the photo books? Because I want to make sure I give props to these people. These have sat on this coffee table in our waiting room for, would you say years, Judah? I would say years. They are Charlottesville Then and Now by Steve Trumbull. Thank you for bringing these over. And Flash, the photography of Ed Roseberry.

These were gifts. Charlottesville then and now and flash the photography of Ed Roseberry. These two books have sat on that coffee table in our waiting room for years and I watch guests flip through them on the daily. Admiral Magazine is of similar ilk. I am bullish on things like this. I think the Scout Guide has done an amazing job. The Scout Guide is as much about brand awareness and marketing and driving customers to doors as it is about social currency. You know what social currency is?

Probably not the way you're explaining it. Social currency with the Scout Guide is you're in that publication and you're in the publication with others that are the creme de la creme. The 1%. The top in their field and their industry. And when you're aggregated like that in a very nice publication, that creates social currency that can be leveraged. Congratulations to Heather Sieg and Al Morrow Magazine. I have no doubt that she's going to humanize, localize, and personalize the publication.

I will check out your 2024 media kit that you sent over, and I'm excited to see this publication go to different levels like you certainly did as editor of the Scout Guide, and I sincerely, sincerely mean that. Next headline, if you could, Judah B. Wittkower. The Tom Tom Festival is now active on the downtown mall. If I asked you this question, how would you, in one sentence, describe the Tom Tom Festival, how would you respond? I'd say the Tom Tom Festival is all about connections. That's a hell of an answer. That's very well said.

Okay. All about connecting people in Charlottes said. Okay. All about connecting people in Charlottesville. Yeah. I like that. I'll say this. I'm glad that the festival is happening downtown. No doubt. Anything positive downtown, I'll take.

I say it's what? What was its focus today? Wasn't it this year? Was it re-entry? Yeah, re-entry was a big part of the focus. That's folks that are re-entering the community from? Largely from prison. And so that was tied together with the new documentary about the bridge ministry.

Oh, offer some details on that. I know that was important to you. We didn't get to that. Yeah. The bridge ministry is run by a great man, William Washington, and it's all about not just helping men stay out of prison, but also overcome their pasts, overcome their childhoods, overcome wounds, and reenter society as, you know, as, what's the word I'm looking for? Integral working parts of our society and not just former prisoners. And we've had William Washington

not just in our church, but preach in our church. We've had men from the bridge at church. And it's a great thing that he's doing. And I think it highlights part of what the TomTom Festival is about, which is collaborating, making our little portion of society better for all of us, bridging divides and connecting people. And so, you know, go out there,

check out some of the events, give the downtown mall some business. Here we go. Give the downtown mall some love. Anything positive for downtown Charlottesville, I'm all for. And that's why we're talking about it on today's program. Maria Marshall Barnes, her photo on screen.

She says it's hard to compete with Starbucks coffee shops showing up everywhere. 110%. No doubt. Well, I mean, every corner's got a Starbucks. Yeah. I mean, 110%. Maria Marshall Barnes, a key member of the family. What is her ranking? She is iloveseville.com forward slash viewer rankings number 22 in the family. Thank you for watching

the program. We sincerely mean that. Bill McChesney's got a couple comments that we're going to get to here. Mr. McChesney's photo on screen. Thank you, Bill, for watching the show. He says, if you have to explain a joke, Judah, it may not be relevant to your audience. Yeah. Stephanie Wells Rhodes says, hello, Judah Wickauer. And she also says, I was getting ready to say snack that was always our t-ball kiddos favorite part he just loved the snack and made him he was so happy with the snack and it made me happy i was most happy with the hit and the two outs at first base he's like yeah those were cool but this capri sun dad this capri sun philip dow of scottsville is watching the program. He says the parents are responsible and should be arrested. I am very much of the mindset.

Whoever this kid got this gun from, they should be held most accountable. No doubt. It's not a kid that should be held most accountable. It's the adults that allowed the loaded weapon should be held accountable. Lisa Costolo watching the program, her photo on screen. She says this,

so why send them to the new pathway school out of the Boys and Girls Club so that they can now take the gun there? How did changing schools fix anything but putting the new school now at risk? It's a great question. And people say, oh, this was at a school that had an enrollment of three. And that's true. But it was attached to Buford Middle. This is a big deal. The loaded gun

was, yes, at a school that was an alternative school with an enrollment of three. But the school is on the same grounds as Buford Middle School in a boys and girls club. And the middle school had to be put on lockdown, and the police had to get called. So this is almost synonymous with Buford Middle having a gun in its hallways. Neil Williamson, his photo on screen. For what it's worth, in my days deep in the wine business, the TSA

confiscated roughly 100 waiter's keys from me at one time. Wow. Waiter's keys? He had a key ring. Wow. That's a lot of keys there, Neil. Juan Sarmiento, we appreciate you watching the program as well. All right. Anything else on the rundown? J-Dubs? Yeah, a couple things, but we've got a show to prepare for. What are the two topics? I know we have the Kyle Miller show coming up. Two Charlottesville gardens have made the top 10 best gardens list of Virginia. Which are they? You know

that topic better than I do. Those are the Thomas, they're both Thomas Jefferson's gardens. Thomas Jefferson's garden at Monticello and Thomas Jefferson's garden at UVA. Okay. Fantastic. Pretty cool, yeah. cello and uh thomas get thomas jefferson's garden at uh at uva okay fantastic pretty cool yeah everyone loves a good garden no doubt uh lewis ginter also made the list though not as high as

as these two and oh and then the last story is a sad one if you put that lower third on screen i saw on facebook moose's amy amy and moose put this on facebook moose's by the creek closed today because of a break-in yeah that's terrible and this is terrible amy and moose are fantastic people yeah no doubt when we sincerely hope that that uh you know this was not as not as destructive as the the breakin at Ace, which was terrible. Dude, the break-in at Ace Biscuit and Barbecue was a bitter employee who destroyed it. I know nothing about what happened at the Moose's break-in, except what they put on Facebook and that they were closed today.

Leave these folks alone. I mean, leave them alone. And nothing but respect and support and love for Amy and Moose at Moose's by the Creek. As they get their doors open again, we hope as soon as possible. No doubt. That's the show. We feature the best of the Charlottesville, Virginia area. Anything local we talk about, we try to champion and support the area.

And we try to challenge you support the area, and we try to challenge you guys on a platform that is everywhere. For Judah Wickhour, my name is Jerry Miller. So long, everybody. Thank you.