Good morning, RVA! It's 35 °F, and the weather today looks amazing. Expect highs in the mid 60s and plenty of sunshine. If you don't spend even just a portion of your day outside you will have officially missed out! Also, are we...done with winter?
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,769 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 172 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 263 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 95, Henrico: 90, and Richmond: 78). Since this pandemic began, 827 people have died in the Richmond region. We're still seeing the impact of VDH working their way through the backlog of winter death certificates. Locally, 72 new deaths have been reported in the region over the last two days, an almost 10% increase.
Over in vaccine world, the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Sarbina Moreno reports that our federal representatives are getting involved in advocating for an equitable local vaccine rollout. Specifically, Reps. Spanberger and Luria point out the absolute inequity in the way the new federally-run CVS program treats vaccines like PlayStation 5s: "The varied eligibility requirements and appointment-making procedures favor the technologically savvy and well-resourced who can navigate the different systems...Retail pharmacy partners have been reluctant to coordinate their outreach and appointments with state public health officials’ priorities, meaning vulnerable individuals patiently waiting their turn according to health department guidelines could be passed over.” I mean, what the heck, this is bananas: "On Friday afternoon, Avula said the VDH saw a White House news release last Wednesday announcing how Walgreens would start vaccinating Virginians. Logistics regarding how its immunizations would work with the state’s system was still unclear on Tuesday...In-store vaccinations start Wednesday." These pharmacy partnerships are good in that they bring in a new, additional supply of vaccine to the state, but to force folks—our most vulnerable folks—to participate in early-morning refresh-button duels for a limited number of vaccination appointments is traumatic and unacceptable.
Today at 11:00 AM, the Governor will host his now-weekly press conference to discuss "updates on the Commonwealth’s continued response to COVID-19 and vaccination efforts." Will he address these federal pharmacy partnerships? Tune in to VPM's YouTube to find out.
Yesterday, the Mayor released the Richmond Equity Agenda, a "foundational document that will serve as the roadmap toward a more inclusive and thriving Richmond." The plan, which is made up of 10 large goals, will be introduced as a (non-binding) resolution at Council, which if passed, will, I guess, signal Council's buy-in to the Mayor's agenda. The 10 large goals are what you'd expect: things like health, housing, transit, climate, children and families, public safety, and economic justice. I'd like to hear more about the intent of this document, but, at the moment, it doesn't strike me as a bold vision for the next four years (if that's even the intent, which maybe it isn't!). Take transit, for example, and look at the verbs used to describe what the City will do to "ensure equitable transit and mobility for residents": advocate, support, create [a plan], invest, continue to prioritize, and paint. That's a big list of pretty passive words. To really ensure equitable transit and mobility for folks I'd like to see an agenda to pour dozens of miles of sidewalks, build 50 more miles of bike lanes south of the river, install 60 new bike share stations across the city, double the funding for GRTC, create pedestrian-only streets in every neighborhood, and rezone, well, everything. So, I dunno, and I'm excited to hear what other folks think. Luckily, there's a feedback form where people with thoughts and feelings can share them with the City (until March 21st).
GRTC hosted their first Regional Transit Plan stakeholder meeting last night, which you can watch a replay of over on their YouTube. Remember: This planning process will inform how GRTC and the region spend all of that new, regional money for transit via the Central Virginia Transportation Authority. Watching a transit plan statekholder meeting on your porch with a beer during the best-weather day of the week sounds like a great way to wind down for the evening, right? Related, the RTD editorial board ran this piece yesterday favoring the ridership concept (aka more frequent transit on the major corridors instead of more infrequent transit spread throughout the region). If you've got thoughts and feelings on this, you can download the concept maps over on GRTC's website and fill out yet another feedback form (YAFF).
More progress on getting rid of our racist monuments: The General Assembly will send a bill to the Governor to sign that will get rid of the Harry F. Byrd Sr. statue on the Capitol grounds. The RTD's Andrew Cain has the details plus a video of a speech given by Sen. McClellan.
I don't know anything about "advanced recycling," but here's some more information about it—and the Great Polystyrene Compromise of 2021—from the Virginia Mercury's Sarah Vogelsong.
This morning's patron longread
How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change
Submitted by Patron John. Fascinating in, like, 100 different ways.
When she travelled to Rome that summer, her main goal was to find someone in the Vatican who could give her access to the Holy See’s records and digital databases, enabling her to fill in the many gaps. In the Office of the Secretariat of State that day, Burhans met with two priests. She showed them the prototype map that she had been working on, and explained what she was looking for. “I asked them where their maps were kept,” she said. The priests pointed to the frescoes on the walls. “Then I asked if I could speak to someone in their cartography department.” The priests said they didn’t have one.
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