Good morning, RVA! It's 45 °F, and highs today are back up in the 70s. There’s a small chance for storms this afternoon and lows tonight could get down near freezing. Keep an eye on both things if you plan on heading outside or have a garden (respectively).
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 8,990 positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth, and 300 people in Virginia have died as a result of the virus. VDH reports 1,165 cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 331, Henrico: 598, and Richmond: 236). Yesterday’s data update marked the third consecutive day with fewer new reported positive cases of coronavirus (562, 484, 453), but, as has been the pattern in Virginia, it’s also the third consecutive day with fewer new reported tests (2,934; 2,802; 2,002). As I wrote about yesterday, this means the Commonwealth’s “test-positivity rate” has increased (that’s bad). So what is anyone doing about this? Well, Mel Leonor, Ali Rockett, and Bridget Balch at the Richmond Times-Dispatch say that the Governor announced “the creation of a work group that will focus on improving COVID-19 testing in Virginia.” This seems like a good idea, although, perhaps, a couple weeks late. We’ll have to wait and see how quickly this new workgroup can impact the number of tests being report in the Commonwealth, but, dang, do they have a lot of work to do. For context, Virginia will need to administer about 13,000 tests per day to hit the numbers recommend by that NYT piece from a couple days ago.
On the federal side of things, Trump released “Opening Up America Again,” a set of guidelines that “will help state and local officials when reopening their economies, getting people back to work, and continuing to protect American lives.” Part of the necessary criteria—before you even get to the reopening phase of things—is to have either a “downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period” or a “downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period (flat or increasing volume of tests).” I’m not sure why that’s an “or”, but Virginia currently has a three-day downward trend of the former and a one-day upward trend of the latter. Anyway, I still don’t see Virginia “opening up,” whatever that means, before the state’s ability to procure, process, and whatever else needs to happen for tests goes way, way up. One of my favorite blogs, The Weekly Sift has the best explanation of Trump’s guidelines and how, despite whatever he says out loud, almost no states will meet his own criteria anytime soon.
In Richmond, both the City Council and School Board met yesterday to talk through changes to their budgets. I only caught part of Council’s meeting—as homeschooling intervened—but it sounds like the Mayor’s proposed budget adjustments were submitted as proper amendments. You can listen to the whole meeting here. Also, Council announced that they’ll cancel tomorrow’s scheduled amendment session. That leaves even fewer chances for the public to weigh in on this year’s budget. In fact, the first of two public hearings on the budget will take place this coming Monday. Better get your thoughts in order, I guess. As for School Board, I’m not sure what exactly happened at their meeting, but Samuel Northrop at the RTD says “The board will meet again Thursday to continue budget discussions ahead of the anticipated May 18 adoption date.”
Eviction Lab—the group started by Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City—has released state-level COVID-19 housing policy scorecards. Virginia gets less than one star!—0.78 out of 5 total. While we’ve shut down most of the court processes that lead to evictions and halted utility disconnections, there’s still a lot of policy we could enact to keep people in their homes during this time of crisis.
Ned Oliver at the Virginia Mercury has an update on the how the coronavirus has impacted the state’s prison system. Scary, and something to keep an eye on.
I missed this from last week, but RVA Bike Share has temporarily closed until further notice! Our bike share system still lacks the volume of stations necessary for it to function as an important and viable part of the transportation network like you’d see in Washington D.C., Minneapolis, or New York City. So this probably was the right and safest call. If this bums you out, though, consider picking up a cheap, used bike to roll around the neighborhood on.
This morning's patron longread
Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting
Submitted by Patron Susan. This dark take on what the slow slide into a post-coronavirus future will look like resonated with me.
Billions of dollars will be spent on advertising, messaging, and television and media content to make you feel comfortable again. It will come in the traditional forms — a billboard here, a hundred commercials there — and in new-media forms: a 2020–2021 generation of memes to remind you that what you want again is normalcy. In truth, you want the feeling of normalcy, and we all want it. We want desperately to feel good again, to get back to the routines of life, to not lie in bed at night wondering how we’re going to afford our rent and bills, to not wake to an endless scroll of human tragedy on our phones, to have a cup of perfectly brewed coffee and simply leave the house for work. The need for comfort will be real, and it will be strong. And every brand in America will come to your rescue, dear consumer, to help take away that darkness and get life back to the way it was before the crisis. I urge you to be well aware of what is coming.
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