Good morning, RVA! It's 38 °F, and we've got another day with a potential for sunny skies and highs in the upper 40s. Take advantage of this afternoon's weather with a quick stroll around the neighborhood. Not enough quick strolls lately, if you ask me!
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 4,377 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 59 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 486 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 164, Henrico: 214, and Richmond: 108). Since this pandemic began, 569 people have died in the Richmond region. These Tuesday data dumps are absolutely brutal when it comes to coronavirus-related deaths. The average number of new deaths reported on the last four Tuesdays is 56, while the average number of deaths reported on the last four Mondays is six. We see the same thing, although not to the same extent, with hospitalizations: an average of 141 new hospitalizations over the last four Tuesdays and 66 over the last four Mondays. Data reporting issues are real! Actual humans have to type this stuff into spreadsheets and databases, and that work slows down on weekends and holidays. Speaking of hospitalizations, though, if you're looking for hope, perhaps it's in those numbers? While more people are hospitalized every day due to COVID-19 now than back in the spring, we have seen a bit of a drop from the middle of December. The seven-day average of new hospitalizations reached its peak of 131 on December 23rd, and it has fallen to 106 as of yesterday. VDH's pandemic dashboard says the 85.8% of the Central Region's hospital beds are occupied. That seems like a lot, but that's been the case for at least the last six months. Anyway, the Governor will hold a press conference today at 2:00 PM to "provide updates on the Commonwealth's ongoing response to COVID-19 and discuss vaccination plans." This does not sound like new restrictions, policies, or guidelines to me, but I guess we'll learn more later this afternoon.
Tom Lappas at the Henrico Citizen reports that Henrico County Public Schools have decided to "delay for the second time – by two weeks, to Jan. 25 – the planned resumption of in-person learning for all elementary students whose families selected it." Teachers, however, are expected to return on January 19th. You might be nodding your head sagely at this decision after reading the previous and brutal coronaparagraph. However, not everyone nods with you! Apparently, some wires got crossed yesterday over a potential plan from the State to push returning to in-person instruction. Check out this bizarre story out of Roanoke: "About 75 minutes after 10 News published our initial report, we’ve now learned that Gov. Ralph Northam will not address bringing students back to school. While the Virginia Department of Education told 10 News in a statement that Northam would release updated guidelines on Wednesday, VDOE has since rolled back that statement." I don't know who said what to whom, but I keep looking at VDH's map of school indicators. For one of the main primary indicators (new cases per 100,000 people within the last 14 days) the entire map is red, the highest level, and for the other (percentage positivity during the last 14 days), the vast, vast majority of the map is red! While I still believe schools aren't a primary driver in the spread of coronavirus, I don't know how you look around, look at those metrics, see all of those ruby red localities on the map, and are like "yeah, let's get folks back together." So I guess don't expect more from the Governor on this today, but maybe expect it soon?
A couple days ago, the Virginia Public Access Project put together this nice post detailing the 62 citizen nominees for the General Assembly's new redistricting commission. Andrew Cain at the Richmond Times-Dispatch breaks down the demographic data and the results are unsurprising. 65% of the Democratic nominees are not white; 11% of the Republican nominees are not white. 56% of the Democratic nominees are women; 29% of the Republican nominees are women. The selection committee (made up of retired judges) will pick eight total citizen members and then the commission will begin meeting on February 1st.
OK! At this point in the morning we know that Rev. Raphael Warnock has won his special senate election and will be the first Black senator from the state of Georgia and just the 11th Black senator ever. As for Jon Ossoff, Nate Cohn of the NYT's incredibly stressful Needle, says Ossoff leads by "three-tenths of a point, and it's poised to grow more." Cohn also thinks the lead will eventually exceed the threshold requiring a recount. Ossoff's campaign also thinks they've got this thing in the bag, releasing a statement that says "When all the votes are counted we fully expect that Jon Ossoff will have won this election to represent Georgia in the United States Senate." Should he win, he'll be the youngest senator since Don Nickles in 1981, and the youngest democratic senator since...Joe Biden!...back in 1973. 2016 really did a number on me, and I have a hard time feeling hopeful—but here we are!
This morning's longread
What the World Can Learn From Life Under Tokyo’s Rail Tracks
Someone shared this article with me after I retweeted @everylot_rva's post of the weird parking lot/dead zone under the highway and train tracks across from Main Street Train Station. We celebrate the triple crossing, but how could we use that space under all of the crossings to its fullest and best potential?
In Tokyo, however, the undertracks’ reputation is rather different. These spaces are more than just storage and parking. They are agglomerations of cozy restaurants and shops that are intimately tied to the identity of certain commercial districts. Perhaps the best-known example is near the business district of Yurakucho, where the latest overhaul of the area’s brick archways opened on Sept. 10. The arches traditionally house a jumble of old-school pubs and tiny eateries illuminated by red paper lanterns; the revamped section will modernize the interior with a walkway lit by floor lamps that guide visitors through zones of dining, retail and nightlife.
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