Good morning, RVA! It's 70 °F, and today looks a lot like the last couple of days—maybe a touch hotter and maybe a bit more humid. The weekend ahead of us will bring similar summer vibes, and I hope you find plenty of opportunities to enjoy them.
Water cooler
As of yesterday evening, Richmond is at a high COVID-19 Community Level, while both Henrico and Chesterfield are at a medium level. The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in each locality respectively is: 238, 164, and 190. The 7-day average of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people is 15.3. While case rate is harder and hader to measure these days due to the prevalence of at-home tests, it does seem like things are starting chill out a bit in Central Virginia. We'll see what, if any, effect the return of public schools and colleges has on the COVID state of affairs, but, with any luck, we might could see a uniformly yellow/medium region next week? Speaking of states of affairs, Katelyn Jetelina had a good post from a couple days back about the "three public health emergencies across the globe and in the United States: COVID-19, monkeypox, and polio." Buckle up (her words, not mine!). I think this list of three emergencies as ordered by Jetelina in the previous quote is also how I would sort them by "amount of chest-anxiety you should feel." The first we're well-practiced with at this point, the second we're learning more about every day, and the third, well, we've got our fingers crossed for now. Luckily, we've got vaccines for all three, and I think the majority of people at this point should be up-to-date on both their COVID-19 and polio vaccines. I don't know about you, but it'd be cool to have a break from public health emergencies for a couple months. One note for old people like myself who are wondering, you may have to call your mom (like I did) and ask if you're up-to-date on your polio vaccines. We didn't have fancy online vaccination databases (or computers or horseless carriages) back then.
Yesterday, the Virginia Department of Health expanded the eligibility criteria for the monkeypox vaccine, coming in line with the CDC's current criteria. Specifically, you're eligible if you fall into one of these three buckets: "People, of any sexual orientation or gender, who have had anonymous or multiple (more than one) sexual partners in the past two weeks; or sex workers of any sexual orientation or gender; or staff, of any sexual orientation or gender, at establishments where sexual activity occurs." Generally, the change here is a switch from "men who have sex with men" to "people of any sexual orientation or gender." Locally, interested folks should fill out Richmond and Henrico Health Districts' vaccine interest form. You can also read a statement about the change in eligibility and how that will impact the health districts' prioritization process.
Patrick Larsen at VPM reports the numbers from the City’s gun buyback program that I was looking for. On a single day, the City took 118 rifles, 227 handguns, 5 assault weapons, and 126 inoperable firearms out of circulation. Seems great. I know what the research says about the impact gun buybacks have on gun violence, but I'm not going to be too against any program that deletes guns. This seems like a totally OK part of the City's overall gun violence prevention strategy—a strategy that's severely held back by both state and federal laws.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Mark Bowes has a small update to the RPD’s Alleged 4th of July Plot. Bowes reports that one of the men originally arrested for the alleged plot "pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to re-entering the U.S. after having been deported." Notably, the Assistant U.S Attorney who prosecuted the case "made no mention of the alleged mass shooting plot."
Today is the last official weekday of summer vacation for Richmond and Henrico public school students! I put an exclamation in that sentence because that's how I feel, but I think the public school student I live with does not feel the same sort of enthusiasm. That said, live it up this weekend, students! Make sure to spend a bit of time picking out your cutest first-day outfit, stress-sweating a little about finding your new classrooms, and cleaning the months-old crumbs from the bottom of your book bag!
This morning's longread
California bans sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Now the real work begins
I think this is a big deal! Despite the L.A. Times's "did it go too far enough" finger-wagging scattered throughout the article, getting rid of new gas-powered vehicles in California will most certainly have a legitimate impact elsewhere in America. Listen, you can't go too far if you don't start taking steps.
According to air quality officials, the new regulations would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars by more than 50% by 2040, compared with if no action were taken. Tailpipe emissions are the leading source of carbon dioxide in California and accounted for about 40% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. Additionally, state officials say the plan would cut smog-forming nitrogen oxides by more than 25% in 2037. They estimate the rule will result in over 1,400 fewer deaths from heart disease, and help Californians avoid more than 700 emergency room visits for asthma between 2026 and 2040.
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