Good morning, RVA! It's 64 °F, and highs will creep back up to the near-90s today—still looks pretty nice out, though. Tomorrow, expect some rain and then you can look forward to a pretty lovely Sunday. Have a great weekend, y’all.
Water cooler
Well, I got pretty close on predicting the contents of the Governor’s press conference! Yesterday, Governor Northam announced that, beginning September 1st, “Virginia will require its state workers to show proof that they are fully vaccinated or be tested for COVID-19 every week.” So, while it’s not a vaccine requirement (despite the press release’s headline), it does mean employees who choose not to be vaccinated have to get their brains swabbed, every. single. week. Not that I needed incentive beyond staying alive, but avoiding the hassle of a weekly test is a pretty good one. You can read the Executive Directive describing the requirement here, but it’s light on the specifics, which should come out later this month.
The Governor also, I think, mandated masks in public K–12 schools? During this same press conference, Northam called out the recently passed SB 1303—which mandates that public schools meet in-person this fall. But he specifically mentioned this bit of the bill: “each school board shall...provide such in-person instruction in a manner in which it adheres, to the maximum extent practicable, to any currently applicable mitigation strategies for early childhood care and education programs and elementary and secondary schools to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 that have been provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Since the CDC now recommends universal masking in K–12 schools in areas seeing a lot of community transmission, the Governor says Virginia’s schools are on the hook to follow that recommendation: “It’s the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I expect our districts to follow the law.” This obviously applies locally, where Henrico County Public Schools made the decision to go entirely mask-optional the same day the CDC announced their new mask-wearing recommendations. In an extremely sick burn, Northam pointed out that SB 1303 was patroned by none other Henrico’s Republican senator! I have no idea why the Governor just didn’t come out and say masks are required in schools and why he chose this convoluted path forward that will inevitable raise a ton of questions. Regardless, the Governor’s announcement is a big deal, and I think most school districts will fall in line. Sabrina Moreno at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction said schools could face “significant legal pressure” if they don’t follow the mask-wearing guidance. This quote, also from the Superintendent, is wild: “Again, this is not a mandate from us. [School districts will] need to check with their legal counsel. They’ll need to talk with their insurance company whether they’ll even be insured if they don’t follow the CDC guidance.” This definitely feels like some shenanigans going on that I don’t really understand. But! Masks in schools! This is good!
Also vaccine-related, in his email newsletter, RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras said he’ll recommend a vaccination mandate for all RPS employees at the August 16th School Board meeting. I like how he frames his recommendation: “While I certainly respect everyone's individual perspective on this issue, we have a collective obligation as a school division to do everything humanly possible to protect the health and safety of our students and staff. Requiring the vaccine will help us do that. It will also help us keep school open – which is critical for our students' academic, mental, and physical health; and our families' economic stability.” Dominos! Which major employer will be the next to require vaccination?
Megan Pauly at VPM has a long and interesting article on the new changes to RRHA’s policy about barring people from their properties. Until recently, if you were barred from RRHA property for whatever reason, your name would just stay on a Barred Persons List forever. 10,000 people are on that list currently!! Moving forward, RHHA will remover older cases, shrinking the list down to “about 300 people.” Wild. Anyway, there are much more significant changes to the policy that you should tap through and read.
Richmond BizSense’s Mike Platania sat down with the new CEO and COO of Stone Brewing for an interesting interview about cans, hard seltzer, and the future of a Stone Bistro in Richmond. Spoiler: There’s no update on the future of a Stone Bistro in Richmond.
I have no idea what to expect from this, but this weekend you can a check out a remote control monster truck rally at the Double Tree Hotel (1021 Koger Center Boulevard). I think this means tiny-but-fast monster trucks?? I dunno, but the promotional materials feature a gambling cowboy skeleton, so I’m sold.
This morning's longread
You're Still Exhausted
As the Delta variant brings up year-ago feelings about washing groceries, lockdown, and overall uncertainty, I thought this piece from Anne Helen Peterson about what we’re all going through was well-timed.
The season felt at once familiar and stolen: I knew the motions of summer and socializing, and I really absorbed the joy and the relief, but I also felt like I was experiencing those emotions on uneven ground. And now, there’s something hovering in the air. Not an unease, not a fear, but a real lingering fatigue, like second-day soreness after a hard workout that you just can’t shake. That’s because for the vast majority of people, the pandemic year was not rest. It was not quiet. For families, it did not provide opportunity for solitude or contemplation. It was unsatisfying sameness, so familiar we forgot to try and even name it. But it was isolated, extended, slow-motion trauma.
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