Good morning, RVA! It's 70 °F, already! Today you can expect highs near 90 °F, which means don't even think about putting on socks.
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,120 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 11 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 135 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 53, Henrico: 57, and Richmond: 25). Since this pandemic began, 1,273 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 1,078. While that seven-day average hasn't (yet) dipped below 1,000, it's pretty dang close. In fact, the seven-day average of new reported cases has decreased every day for the last 10 days. Also, check out the graph of new reported cases locally; we're almost back to Summer 2020 levels.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Holly Prestidge reports on Hanover County's teen-focused vaccination event. In the teenest of teen things: "When asked for a reaction [to getting vaccinated], Robinson simply shrugged...His aunt, however, gushed." Now that we're clearly past the point of peak vaccination, I think targeted events like this are pretty smart. Lots of folks out there still want to get the COVID-19 vaccine and either don't know that you can (mostly) just get an appointment at any old time or haven't had a second to make that appointment. If you're in that latter group, you can pull out your calendar, go to vax.rchd.com, and make an appointment that works for you. Or, if you love talking on the phone for some reason, you can call 804.205.3501 and get a vaccination appointment scheduled for you right then and there. So easy!
In his email last night, RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras addresses the mass shooting that took place near George Wythe High School earlier this week. I'll quote a bit of it, but you should tap the link and read the whole thing: "I'm angry that over 40 RPS students have been shot in the past year alone, and that dozens—yes, dozens—have died from gun violence since I became superintendent. I'm angry that we actually have a protocol for how to respond when students are shot. I'm angry that our principals, teachers, social workers, and counselors are re-traumatized every time something like this happens. I'm angry that we managed to turn the world upside down for COVID—as we should have—but haven't done the same for the gun violence pandemic that's been far deadlier to the children of Richmond." Ali Rockett and Reed Williams at the RTD have more reactions from our local leaders.
Cool artist opportunity: The City's Public Art Commission would like to commission a permanent public art installation at the Southside Community Center Skate Park currently under construction. Submit your qualifications, and then the PAC will ask three to four folks to submit formal proposals (and offer a $2,000 honorarium to do so). I didn't even know they were building a skatepark as part of the new Southside Community Center!
Folks love scheduling events on Thursdays, and today is not an exception! First, at 5:00 PM, you can join the City's Office of Sustainability for one of their RVAgreen Gab sessions for a talk about waste reduction and recovery. This is something I'm trying to be more mindful of in my life lately. How can I just generate less trash, waste less, and reuse more? I think about it a lot. Second, at 6:00 PM, you can flip on over to the City's Department of Planning for a presentation about the fun, new proposed triangle park at W. Broad Street and Cutshaw Avenue. Third, you'll have to cut the parkchat short, because the Civilian Review Board Taskforce will host their first town hall to hear community feedback at 6:30 PM. Important note about that last thing: The Civilian Review Board Taskforce is NOT the Civilian Review Board. If you come in hot with specific complaints about the police, you will be disappointed. Finally, at 8:00 PM, ChildSavers will teach those of us with tiny humans how to help them process big changes like, oh, I dunno, school re-opening, getting vaccinated, re-entering the world after living inside for a year, that kind of stuff. Honestly, sounds helpful for my life right now, too.
This is a great post on /r/rva: "seeking ugly statue of man sitting in a boxy chair. possibly on VCU campus?" I'm not sure I even need to know the answer, just that someone asked.
The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will host a free COVID-19 community testing event today at the East Henrico Health Department (1400 N. Laburnum Avenue) from 2:00–4:00 PM. Case counts are headed downward! Let's keep it that way.
This morning's patron longread
The Humble Shrub That’s Predicting a Terrible Fire Season
Submitted by Patron Kathleen. I love a good "turns out" involving humble things that are harbingers for big-deal things.
And nothing scares a fire weather scientist quite like a year with dehydrated chamise. If it’s dry, then that’s a good indicator that everything is dry. “Right now, these are the lowest April 1 fuel moistures we've ever had,” Clements says. This is supposed to be the time of year when moisture levels are at their highest, thanks to recent autumn and winter rains. But California is withering in a drought. “The shocking thing in 2021 is that we don't have any new growth on chamise in our sample areas,” Clements says. “These plants are stunted by the drought.” The California landscape appears ready to burn epically this year. “
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