Good morning, RVA! It's 53 °F and foggy. Later today, though, you should enjoy the warm, cloudy, dryish weather by taking a quick walk around your neighborhood. Again, if we can dodge some of the rain, this weekend has a high excellent weather potential!
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,470 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 6 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 155 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 51, Henrico: 71, and Richmond: 33). Since this pandemic began, 1,193 people have died in the Richmond region. New reported cases across the state continue to tick upwards, mirroring similar trends across the country. This national graph of daily reported cases looks a heckuva lot like the same graph we've got in Virginia, which, bleh. Weathering a springtime peak so soon after coming off that horrible winter mountaintop feels...undoable.
I haven't been following it super closely, but sounds like AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine will head our way at some point in the nearish future. This would be the fourth vaccine in our vaccination toolbox, and, despite safety concerns in Europe and a recent confusion over accurate efficacy numbers, the AZ vaccine prevents 100% of severe disease due to COVID-19. Not the best rollout, for sure, but, hey, I'm all for getting an additional supply of vaccine in Virginia. Sounds like the FDA will consider Emergency Use Authorization for AstraZeneca in the coming months. Also, here's a really nice explainer on how this particular vaccine works from the New York Times.
OK, big casino news today. In a release sent out last night, the Mayor's office announced that they've narrowed the field of resort casino proposals to three: Bally's Richmond Casino, Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond, and One Casino + Resort. For those of you who, like me, can't track these generic casino-y names, that's: The one behind the Target at Forest Hill and Chippenham, the one in the Movieland parking lot, and the one out by the port. The three proposals cut "did not advance due to factors such as lack of site control, concerns about the feasibility of financial projections, lack of organizational experience and/or deficiency of the proposal." The City has put videos for each proposal up on their YouTube channel if that's your thing: Bally's, Live!, and One. Come for the sales pitch, stay for the royalty-free muzak. VPM's Roberto Roldan has two quick reactions that are both worth reading. The first from the Pamunkey Tribe whose proposal didn't make the final list and the second from Councilmember Jordan. As for the former, the Pamunkey Tribe brings up good points about the timing of cutting proposals before public engagement has wrapped up, "The timing of the decision, which comes before the public comment period has even concluded, seriously undermines confidence in the selection process and suggests a pre-determined outcome has been reached. The timing of this decision also suggests that public and community input will not be seriously considered in this process." As for the latter, I whole heartedly agree with the Councilmember that the Movieland parking lot is the most terrifying of the three options. Here's Jordan, "I am a hard 'no' on any gaming at the Bow Tie Cinemas site. My constituents don't want it, the thriving greater Scott's Addition doesn't need it, and gaming and college sports just don't mix. I welcome the developers to look at other non-gaming investments in our city."
The City's Education and Human Services committee will have a special meeting today at 3:00 PM—something you don't see a ton from City Council committees. Committee Chair Stephanie Lynch has brought a bunch of guests speakers together to "review different models of Homeless Services throughout the state." If you're interested, you can tune in here and check out the full (but short) agenda here. I think this is a clever and good use of a committee chairship, and I'd love to see more of it!
Rezoning news! Despite the headline and the one developer who's bummed they can't build sprawly, car-centric stuff like drive-in restaurants by-right, it seems like a lot of folks are stoked on the potential Greater Scott's Addition rezoning. Jonathan Spiers from Richmond BizSense has the details. Unlike that specific developer, I do think it's important to get this rezoning done as quickly and as completely as possible. Build a one-story, drive-in fast food restaurant now, and it (and it's parking lot) sits there for decades.
Yesterday, the Governor officially signed legislation banning capital punishment in Virginia (SB 1165 and HB 2263). The aforelinked press release from the Governor's office has a good picture of the Virginia State Penitentiary which used to sit right on Belvidere Street across from Oregon Hill. Executions took place on site for over 200 years.
The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will host a community COVID-19 testing event today at Diversity Richmond (1407 Sherwood Avenue), from 10:00 AM–12:00 PM. Remember, if you can't make today's event, you can always check out this big, long list of testing providers.
This morning's longread
The Secret Life of the White House
Oooo an inside look at the White House staff. Fascinating!
The residence staff will tell you that they avoid discussing politics at work, yet in recent years that pact has frayed, as it has elsewhere in America. Tensions surface more than in the past, prompted at times by knowledge of their colleagues’ Facebook posts. “Most people know more or less where people stand,” the residence worker told me. About half of the lifers are people of color, which raises questions about how they tolerated working for Trump. “We have to be impressed with the idea that a bunch of Black and brown people can survive this daily onslaught,” Jason told me. “It speaks to their diligence and loyalty to the house itself—they are not really there for the person.” But they were not impervious to the tone of the Administration. Under Trump, Jason said, Black and brown lifers noted that white people on staff were “saying some real shit . . . meaning they’re comfortable to say what they want to say.”
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