Good morning, RVA! It's 65 °F, and I think we'll have another reprieve from the boiling heat and humidity. You should expect highs in the 80s today, and then slightly warmer temperatures over the weekend.
Water cooler
This Friday morning, I've got three coronagraphs for you to look at: new reported cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19 since middle of April. First, take a look at how much the number of new reported cases has grown over the last month or so; we're almost back to early May levels (which was the end of the Long Dark Spring). However, the hospitalization graph doesn't show quite the same increase, and certainly the deaths graph doesn't at all. I think this is really important to keep in mind when we're talking about how COVID-19 cases are on the rise. Serious outcomes like hospitalizations and deaths are definitely increasing, don't get me wrong, they're just not tied to the number of new cases in the same way they were earlier this year. Keep that in mind—especially if you're fully vaccinated—as you work through how you and your family interact with the world. Also important to keep in mind is that those serious outcomes are almost entirely impacting unvaccinated people, and I've seen dozens of stories like this one about folks getting sick, ending up in the hospital, and regretting their choice not to get the vaccine.
Also vaccine-related, Alan Rodriguez at VPM has a short report on how VCU, UR, and VSU are each handling vaccination requirements for their students in a different way. I'm fascinated by the distinct approaches taken by these three schools, which I think you could say are all culturally distinct from one another as well. I don't know that one approach is better than the other (although requiring vaccines as VCU has seems like a pretty effective incentive for folks), but we're about to find out.
Eric Kolenich at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the State Board for Community Colleges unanimously approved the renaming of John Tyler Community College to Brightpoint Community College. Tyler, of course, was the 10th president of the United States, a Confederate supporter, and an enslaver. Wikipedia ends its intro section on Tyler with: "Today, he is seldom remembered in comparison to other presidents and maintains only a limited presence in American cultural memory."
Via /r/rva, this fast food pop-up at Fat Kid Sandwiches seems amazing (tomorrow only). I freaking love crunchwraps and now am wondering why every restaurant doesn't have one? You can put anything in there! It's like a food burrito, but fancier.
This is neither here nor there, but Legistar, the City's legislative website, has been down for me for a couple days, and I feel so disconnected from PDFs! What even is happening in city government? When are the committees meeting? What sassy things are our elected officials saying?? I knew that I enjoyed scrolling around the legislative calendar and flipping through the meeting agendas, but I didn't realize how unmoored I'd feel without them. Totally normal-person feelings over here!
This morning's longread
You Really Need to Quit Twitter
I know, I know, this sounds a lot like another "kids and their dang cellular telephones!" piece. But I'll tell you what, I've almost entirely stopped scrolling through Twitter, and my life is noticeably better for it.
Twitter is a parasite that burrows deep into your brain, training you to respond to the constant social feedback of likes and retweets. That takes only a week or two. Human psychology is pathetically simple to manipulate. Once you’re hooked, the parasite becomes your master, and it changes the way you think. Even now, I’m dopesick, dying to go back. Twitter did something that I would not have thought possible: It stole reading from me. What is it stealing from you?
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