Good morning, RVA! It's 49 °F, and today you can expect highs in the upper 50s, lots of clouds, and some rain this evening. With any luck the rain will wash away all of that gross pollen.
Water cooler
Richmond Police are reporting that on Sunday afternoon, Antonio L. Brown Jr., 28, was shot and killed while inside a vehicle on the 1300 block of St. Paul Street.
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,020 positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth, and 25 people in Virginia have died as a result of the virus. I’ve made graphs of the positive cases and deaths since March 14th, but please remember the number of tests given/available plays such an enormous role in all of this data.
Yesterday, the Governor updated his guidance on folks avoiding large gatherings and certain non-essential businesses by issuing a temporary stay-at-home order.pdf) until June 10th. You can still go get food, you can still go to the doctor, you can even still walk, roll, and ride bikes around your neighborhood—as long as you’re not with more than 10 folks and appropriately distanced from each other. In fact, if you’ve been following the Governor’s recommendations up to this point, honestly, not a lot has changed for you. Mel Leonor and Justin Mattingly at the Richmond Times-Dispatch go on to say, “Unlike the stay-at-home order Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued Monday, which can lead to jail time and a fine, Northam’s order does not carry a civil or criminal penalty. Without a means for enforcement, the order simply brings Virginia’s messaging more in line with that of neighboring states like Maryland and North Carolina, while adding clarity to what the state deems an essential outing.” I’m on the fence about whether or not you need to be out there during a pandemic charging folks with an actual factual crime for violating this stay-at-home order. I guess we’ll see how it goes over the coming days and weeks. Additionally, and after another week of springbreakers, Northam closed Virginia’s beaches except for exercise purposes. And, it looks like there’s a specific Liberty University clause telling higher ed institutions to move to remote classes. In Richmond, Mayor Stoney released a statement in support of the new Executive Order and tightened his restrictions on some outdoor amenities: Closing playgrounds and courts at public schools and at public parks, and banning “swimming, sunbathing, or gathering in groups at the river.” The City will also keep their offices closed until at least April 12th. Whew! That was a bunch of words to say “things are gonna stay this way for at least another month.”
Here’s a neat story: Faced with a lack of hand sanitizer for bus operators and not a lot of options to buy more, GRTC has placed a recurring, bulk order of hand sanitizer from Scott’s Addition-based Reservoir Distillery. And by bulk, I mean bulk. Like, huge 55-gallon drum bulk. It’s rad that Reservoir has decided to use their very specific equipment to produce useful pandemic products—it’s like wartime over here!
Also bus-related, GRTC needs masks for its operators—not medical grade masks, but DIY masks to help keep bus drivers safe while they provide a critical service for our essential workers—including nurses. In fact, an estimated 36% of transit commuters in the United State are classified as essential workers and require equipment like masks and gloves to help them feel safe while doing this important work. This need is immediate and will likely persist, so I’d like to help coordinate with folks who plan on making masks at scale. I know there are some of you reading this right now who are working on that very thing! Please drop me an email and let’s talk!
If you know of a public school student who needs a computer and/or internet access during This Most Unusual Time, please get their parent or guardian to fill out this survey from Richmond Public Schools. I still haven’t seen details on the proposed laptop program, but I imagine this is a step towards making that a reality.
This was a depressing email! I’ll leave you with this sidewalk chalk message I found on /r/rva. It made me smile.
This morning's Patron longread
Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.
Submitted by Patron Maritza. Everyone’s already spending a lot of time thinking about how our lives will look post-coronavirus. Will we keep constantly washing our hands? Will work-from-home become the standard? Will we ever put on pants again? Here are 34 smart folks talking about what life looks in a virus-free future.
A global, novel virus that keeps us contained in our homes—maybe for months—is already reorienting our relationship to government, to the outside world, even to each other. Some changes these experts expect to see in the coming months or years might feel unfamiliar or unsettling: Will nations stay closed? Will touch become taboo? What will become of restaurants? But crisis moments also present opportunity: more sophisticated and flexible use of technology, less polarization, a revived appreciation for the outdoors and life’s other simple pleasures. No one knows exactly what will come, but here is our best stab at a guide to the unknown ways that society—government, healthcare, the economy, our lifestyles and more—will change
If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.