Good morning, RVA! It's 36 °F, but temperatures are on their way back up. By cocktail hour we should have bonafide porch-sitting weather. Expect rain at some point tomorrow and Sunday, though.
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 6,889 positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth, and 208 people in Virginia have died as a result of the virus. VDH reports 1,007 cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 267, Henrico: 497, and Richmond: 188). As talks of reopening the country for business (whatever that means) ramp up, I'm still focused on the number of tests reported. Ezra Klein at Vox looked at some of the leading plans for how to get back to "normal," and all of them rely on increased testing capacity. Meanwhile, the Washington Post says, yesterday, the federal government abdicated any responsibility around testing and left states and localities (😬) in charge. That does not fill me with incredible confidence as Virginia still reports fewer tests per capita than almost any state in the entire country. Here's the graph of number of new cases combined with number of new tests. It's clear that, in the Commonwealth, we're still at the point where every time we test more people, we find more positive cases. So back to those plans Klein read: One of many indicators that we're ready to resume life (from the "right-leaning American Enterprise Institute") is marking 14 days with a decreasing number of new cases. That's an easy thing to figure out and stick on a chart, so I've done so on the aforelinked graph. Right now, we're at...zero days. All of this to say, I think we should tune in to the Governor's briefing today and see what he thinks about Virginia's plan to increase testing so we can move closer to returning to life—however that looks over the coming months.
The Virginia Employment Commission says 104,619 new people filed for unemployment insurance the week ending in April 11th. This is a decrease in initial claims from the previous week which saw 147,369 initial claims, yet was still "45.6 times higher than the comparable 2019 week." So we're maybe past the peak (or, at least, a peak) of new folks losing their jobs. Don't get it wrong, though: There's still an enormous amount of people losing jobs each week. The map of claimants is now, basically, just a population map of Virginia.
Mayor Stoney sent a letter to Senators Warner and Kaine asking for them to support squeezing more funding for localities out of the federal government. Now that localities are, apparently, in charge of figuring out the future, it's nice to see the Mayor out there making public requests of our federal leaders. More of this, please! Also, there's a specific restaurant-related request in the letter which I find odd. The same social-distancing requirements that shut down restaurants also shut down barber shops, nail salons, gyms, venues, and a bunch of other spots. I don't see why any of those businesses and business owners shouldn't be included in relief requests, and I think we should start speaking more holistically about small businesses in Richmond and using less restaurant-specific language.
Speaking of restaurants, I'm into this program the City set up to pay local restaurants to feed first responders. It's probably not enough to, on its own, keep a restaurant afloat, but it is a nice opportunity for folks to help out if they can.
Kate Masters at the Virginia Mercury looks into the factors that impact releasing coronavirus data in Virginia. If you've ever wondered why we have the data we do, this is the piece for you.
They will not be deterred! Despite pandemic and social distancing, Bike Walk RVA announced Bike Month 2020: Bike the Change. Don't freak out—of course all of the events are either solo rides, online panels, or other creative ways to get busy with bikes while remaining safely distanced from one another. Up first, on April 21st from 6:00–7:00 PM, a BYOB happy hour panel about Cycling Safely During the Pandemic.
This morning's longread
Coronavirus and the Fragility of Auto-Centric Cities
Once we get out of the people-are-afraid-for-their-lives portion of this pandemic, I'm interested to see what—if any—changes to planning our region makes.
American cities’ insistence on maintaining antiquated zoning and planning policies disconnects communities from economic opportunity, worsens public health, and drives up emissions through increased automobile usage. Many may claim that Americans simply love their cars, but this overlooks the fact that we’ve essentially mandated car ownership through our policies and planning practices. In fact, 75 percent of residential areas of cities are zoned for single-family detached homes effectively banning multifamily housing, as well as commercial spaces. The consequences of these policies have become painfully obvious in this crisis, as public transit service declines, businesses shutter, and those less fortunate are essentially stranded in environments that were purposely designed to segregate uses and people.
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