Good morning, RVA! It's 48 °F, and we've got another stunner lined up today: Expect highs near 80 °F with a few clouds here and there throughout the afternoon. Spend the evening outside watching the sun go down (sunset at 6:25 PM!).
Water cooler
Boosternews! Last night the full FDA authorized booster shots for both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. Today, the CDC's advisory committee will meet to talk through things which could lead to CDC authorization as soon as this evening. If everything goes smoothly, you could even see appointments for Moderna and J&J boosters pop up this weekend. Also of note, especially for J&Jers, the FDA authorized mix-and-matching vaccine types, but, as far as I can tell, didn't really give anyone any guidance about what to mix and match with what. Here's the frustrating quote from the acting FDA commissioner: "We do not have preferential recommendations...We feel that if patients have questions, they should consult with perhaps their physician or another provider." To me this sounds a lot like "do the research," which I hate, and, like, I am not a scientist? I rely on scientists and doctors to tell me what to do when it comes to things like life-saving vaccines. I'm happy to return the favor if any scientists or doctors need advice on morning emails or emotionally-heated conversations about zoning. The CDC can, of course, layer on their own guidance to help people figure out which booster to get, but, according to the aforelinked NYT piece, that doesn't sound likely. You can learn more directly by streaming today's CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting here, if that's your thing. Do the research, I guess.
Last night's email from Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras is worth reading in full. He's seeing incredible stress and burnout among staff and students from the trauma caused by the pandemic—loss of loved ones, jobs, and economic stability. He's also seen stressors within RPS, which, unlike a deadly disease, he can control: "the three that I hear the most are: 1) We're doing too much; 2) There's not enough time; and 3) Students are exhibiting significant trauma from the past 20 months and we need more support to help them." Kamras has announced concrete steps to address each of these, including "a moratorium on new division-wide programs, initiatives, curricula, etc. for the rest of the year"; protecting teachers' lunch and planning time (they need 100 lunch monitors, and you can apply here)); reallocating $3 million of federal relief funding to student mental health support services; and closing RPS on November 1st and 3rd, which will give students that entire week off due to Election Day, Diwali, and parent-teacher conferences. These changes will be disruptive to some, especially the calendar changes, but I'm into it. We knew—or should have known—that this fall would bring with it a ton of uncertainty, and that we'd need extra time, space, and grace to climb our way back to friends, family, community, work, and school. That'll take a long time! Most likely it won't go as planned, either, and we'll need to take a break every now and then. To expect an immediate return to the 2019 version of life seems incredibly naive (and maybe not even what we're after).
The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Kenya Hunter and Chris Suarez report on the Mayor's hesitancy to release money to the RPS School Board to pay for design work on a school to replace George Wythe. Here's the quote from Mayor Stoney, speaking to the Board "I have offered you multiple opportunities to leverage City staff and resources to ensure that a new high school be built without delay. Despite not responding to letters sent by City Council and me, you assured the media and your constituents that you had a plan...I am disappointed that it took you this long to realize that you didn’t have the funds necessary to execute the very first contract of the process.” What a huge, easy-to-predict turn of events. School Board can pass all the resolutions they want about building school buildings, but the Mayor and City Council control the money. Until School Boards can levy taxes, which is illegal at the moment, the City will always, always have incredible leverage over the School Board. We saw this during the Wilder administration, and now the Stoney administration. It's not a healthy relationship, for sure, but the current outcome shouldn't surprise anyone.
Via the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation's monthly newsletter, this excellent PDF of cost estimates for the north-south Fall Line Trail. I've written about the alignment of this trail before, which runs from Ashland to Petersburg, but I think this is the first time I've seen a nice visualization of what's already built, what's paid for, and what remains unfunded. The table on the very first page gives it to you straight: 1.47 miles are completed, 6.77 miles are fully funded, 9.53 miles are partially funded, and 25.53 miles remain unfunded (to the tune of $134 million). This sounds like a lot of money but is less than the cost of just two highway interchanges—of which the region is planning on building plenty. 43.3 miles of protected, multi-use trail or two highway interchanges? Hmmmmmmmm, tough decision.
I think you can get the entire defeated gist from this VPM headline by Patrick Larsen: "Redistricting Commission cancels remaining meetings."
The Richmond Urbanism Happy Hour is back tonight at Bingo Beer Co from 5:30–7:30 PM. They've got a really rad panel lined up featuring Andy Clarke, the former president of the League of American Bicyclists; Emily Dalphy, the City's Vision Zero Engineer; and Louise Lockett Gordon, director of Bike Walk RVA (and former epidemiologist!). This month's theme is "planning and building for better biking," so come prepared to talk about how best to push forward Richmond's bike infrastructure and policies. I would not be surprised to hear the words "Brookland Park Boulevard bump outs" several times.
I think this is so neat: The VMFA has worked with the Garden Club of Virginia to install over 80 floral interpretations of artwork throughout the museum. Fine Arts and Flowers only runs through this coming Sunday, so make it your beeswax to get over there and check it out! The museum is free, and open until 9:00 PM on Thursdays and Fridays.
This morning's longread
Community fridges are not a pandemic fad. They’ve become entrenched in neighborhoods as a way to fight hunger.
But while these outdoor appliances have proliferated as a combination of food distribution and social hubs in their communities, so too have the challenges surrounding their maintenance and continuation. Volunteers and organizers have had to navigate logistical headaches, including the spike in size of food donations and erratic pickup schedules, while a number of these units have endured volunteer shortages and burnout. Many fridges, however, have entrenched themselves as part of their neighborhoods’ fabric, and volunteers hope that even amid the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, along with pushback from wealthier neighbors or government officials, these efforts will continue to provide an avenue for food access for their neighbors.
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