Jim Duncan

This one was as good if not better.

bsky.app/profile/joce...

I mean, just let them.

Breakthrough the noise:

This step in DC is a pilot project for militarizing other American streets.

President Trump just said so.⬇️

Even when DC violent crime is down 26 percent.

Reminder of August leaked memo (via @gregsargent.bsky.social): newrepublic.com/article/1987...

It’s easier to buy into a conspiracy theory than it is to accept fact.

There will also be a presentation on software from the firm Legislaide which would use so-called Artificial Intelligence to help with drafting of county documents and correspondence. “The Legislaide AI Paralegal Suite offers Greene County a tool to streamline administrative and legal support tasks by using the County’s own data for search, drafting, and review,” reads the staff report. “The product allows comparison of each county code to other related county codes, to the county Comprehensive Plan and finally the Code of Virginia.”

Found this fascinating from the Week Ahead --

"“The (AI) allows comparison of each county code to other related county codes, to the county Comprehensive Plan and finally the Code of Virginia.”"

communityengagement.substack.com/i/170631878/...

Why insurers worry the world could soon become uninsurable Günther Thallinger, a board member at Allianz, one of the world's biggest insurers, says the climate crisis could make adaptation economically unviable.

More reporting that top insurers say the #ClimateCrisis “could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable.”

Typically required for getting a mortgage.

Tell me again how smart climate solutions “cost too much.”

We’re bad at math.

Anas al-Sharif among five Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel in Gaza Al Jazeera staff killed in targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists near al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City.

Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19

BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.

Navigating a Changing Market, Unrepresented Comps & Disclosing AirBnB -- JimsNote.com for August 2025. Available this evening.

My August 2025 monthly note. Publishing this evening.

open.substack.com/pub/realcent...

Lots of solar panels in a field with a blue sky with white clouds and a mountain

Lots of solar panels in a field with a blue sky with white clouds and a mountain

Went to the Albemarle landfill yesterday. Saw all the new solar panels. Nice use of land.

"The City of Paris has chosen to prioritize quality of life in central Paris by introducing new regulations for traffic as this traffic has a major impact on the quality of life of Parisians and visitors to the city,"

It Looks Like a School Bathroom Smoke Detector. A Teen Hacker Showed It Could Be an Audio Bug A pair of hackers found that a vape detector often found in high school bathrooms contained microphones—and security weaknesses that could allow someone to turn it into a secret listening device.

Looks like I’m Albemarle County schools made a fantastic decision to wire bathrooms with listening devices.

www.wired.com/story/school...

It Looks Like a School Bathroom Smoke Detector. A Teen Hacker Showed It Could Be an Audio Bug A pair of hackers found that a vape detector often found in high school bathrooms contained microphones—and security weaknesses that could allow someone to turn it into a secret listening device.

Looks like I’m Albemarle County schools made a fantastic decision to wire bathrooms with listening devices.

www.wired.com/story/school...

Vent hood with a WiFi icon.

Smart home .. hood?

Lane cars, lane for parking, protected bike lane - actual protection - bi-directional bike path painted green, wide sidewalk with tables for eating, and walking

Desolate street exclusively for cars and a wide undefined bike lane and narrow sidewalk.

The reason Charlottesville doesn’t have a street like this is simple: they choose to not.

This is how misinformation gets accepted as fact. A year after Oregon endures its most destructive fire season on record in 2020, state lawmakers order a map estimating the wildfire risk for every property in the state. It’s the kind of rating now available on real estate sites like Zillow. The state wants to use the results to decide where it will apply forthcoming codes for fire-resistant construction and protections around homes. Around the same time, insurance companies start dropping Oregon homeowners’ policies and raising premiums to limit future losses, much as they have done in other disaster-prone states. Insurers have their own sophisticated risk maps to guide them, but some brokers instead tell homeowners the blame lies with the map the state produced. The belief gets treated as fact both on social media and in mainstream news — even though insurers and regulators say it’s not true. The anger quickly spreads. Not only is Oregon’s map seen as at fault for higher insurance premiums, one conservative talk radio host calls it an attempt to “depopulate rural areas.” People in an anti-map Facebook group start musing about “Agenda 21,” a conspiracy theory implicating the United Nations in an effort to force people into cities so they can be more easily controlled.

This entire story is insane.

www.propublica.org/article/oreg...

And delivered. And now fingers are crossed.

Very smoky horizon today across central & northern VA due to Canadian wildfires and an easterly flow (see arrows). Air flow will continue as such tomorrow meaning expect smoky skies again on Friday. Respiratory ailments/asthma? Consider this a heads up for poorer air quality.

Aargh.

I have another meeting there early tomorrow morning, and if I remember, I’ll print this and give it to them

Good lord.

we're in the era of false/misleading/bullshit data. Going on vibes, I guess?

Photo of a street with, from left to right: - street parking - open road - protective barrier - green, two-way bike lanes - wide sidewalk with tables for eating Caption: We don't have this kind of infrastructure because of our choices

A part of upcoming monthly note:We don't have this kind of infrastructure because of our choices.

JimsNote.com

Yellow ebike and a green trek leaning against a fence

Here’s my yellow ebike. :)

One bike on left. One on right. My yellow ebike to the left, not pictured.4th bike up street locked up to sign post.

Working at Cumbre this morning. 4 people on bikes arrived. No car parking required. Would be nice if they had a bike rack though.

2 out of 4 are e-bikes.

And I’ve seen a half dozen bikes ride by, in just 10 minutes.

#charlottesville #bikesarebetter

Key differences: leadership, will, intention, common sense.

And we should do it in Charlottesville & Albemarle.

A journalist in Georgia was sentenced to two years in prison, drawing global criticism. A13

I had to read the article to confirm this was in the country of Georgia and not the state in the US.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

The West's data centers suck (water and power) - High Country News From simple searches to chatGPT, the big digital buildup threatens the grid and water supplies.

It’s not just in the West – data centers around the world need to be built with consultation and buy-in from the local community, run on renewable energy around the clock, and not deplete local water resources that people need.

Local realtor Jim Duncan of Nest Realty says he doesn’t think interest rates are playing that big of a factor. “I see the market is slowing due to intentional national uncertainty with respect to employment, tariffs, and the cuts that are affecting UVA and other educational institutions,” Duncan says. “Homes are absolutely still selling, and buyers do want to purchase.”

I stand by that.

c-ville.com/area-home-sa...

ICE is hiring! U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking for highly motivated, morally indifferent individuals to join our team. Open positions include: Senior Goon * Racism Enforcement Officer * Unmarked Van Driver (Part-Time) Experience with children a plus usajobs.gov

The onion nailed it. Again.

Jim’s Note | Jim Duncan | Substack Charlottesville, Virginia real estate trends, insight, stories. For people, not Realtors. Click to read Jim’s Note, by Jim Duncan, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

And the monthly note shaping begins. What questions/topics might you have about the Charlottesville real estate market?

realcentralva.substack.com