Good morning, RVA! It's 61 °F, and we’ve got another round of hot temperatures today. You can expect highs near 90 °F with plenty of sun, which, honestly, felt pretty nice yesterday. Tomorrow after lunch you can expect some rain, and maybe even some thunder and lighting, bringing with it cooler temperatures for the rest of the weekend. Stay cool today, maybe watch a horror film tomorrow, and spend some time outside on Sunday! Get excited, because it’s the weekend!
Water cooler
Earlier this week the FDA updated their COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, with the CDC quickly following suit. Newly eligible folks still need to wait on the Virginia Department of Health to do their thing, which historically has happened pretty quickly after the FDA and CDC get their ducks in a row. So maybe pump the brakes (or at least call ahead) before running out to your local pharmacy for a new vaccination—although, reader of this newsletter, you are most likely already up-to-date on your vaccinations and don’t need to do anything. Despite the FDA headline about simplifying things, the new guidance is...a little complicated. As per always, I think Katelyn Jetelina does a great job about explaining the new guidelines, which I’m just going to copy paste below.
You are now considered up-to-date on your COVID-19 vaccines if:
- People aged 6 years or older: 1 bivalent (i.e. fall Omicron vaccine) dose. Regardless of vaccine history. Period.
- Kids under 6:
- Moderna: at least 2 doses, including 1 bivalent.
- Pfizer:
- 5 years: 1 bivalent.
- Under 5 years: at least 3 doses, including 1 bivalent.
That’s three levels of bullets for little kids, and three level of bullets is never simple. I’m certainly not smart enough to understand the science behind the Moderna / Pfizer differences, but I bet it’s complex.
Additionally, adults over the age of 65 and/or immunocompromised individuals who already got a fall bivalent booster can (if they want) now get a spring bivalent booster.
Jetelina also has some unanswered questions that you’ll want to read through and says the FDA will meet in June to discuss a fall vaccine plan, which would (I think) start brining annual COVID-19 vaccinations in line with the annual flu vaccinations.
Reminder! As of right now, the ordinance that would eliminate parking minimums (ORD. 2023-101) sits on Monday’s City Council agenda. If you haven’t already, you should email your councilmember (and their liaison!) in support of the ordinance as written. You can find a full list of contact information here and an example email here that you’re free to copy, paste, and tweak to your heart’s desire. While we should all plan for Council to discuss this paper on Monday, I think there’s a pretty decent chance that it gets continued to give some of the more hesitant councilmembers time to tinker. Regardless, send your email today so they can consider your important thoughts and feelings while tinkering.
On Tuesday afternoon, a driver collided with a disabled vehicle on the Lee Bridge, killing one of the occupants. The Lee Bridge is part of the high-injury street network. That means we know that this specific street is dangerous and people have been injured or killed on it in the past. Anyone who’s driven or ridden across the bridge knows that it’s massively overbuilt with far too many lanes and it just encourages dangerous and deadly speeds. We could, if we wanted, reduce the number of lanes with temporary materials, slow drivers down, and make this street safer for people.
Anna Bryson at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Virginia’s Board of Education finally approved a compromise version of the State’s K–12 history standards. Tap through to remind yourself of this monthslong saga, which, just reading it left me exhausted with how these folks choose to govern.
The Monument Avenue 10k takes over the Fan tomorrow morning! Even if, like me, you have no interest in running, you will definitely have a great time wandering around, watching all the people, and cheering folks on as they run—intentionally and for fun—down a now-monumentless Monument Avenue. As you might expect streets are closed and buses are detoured so plan ahead if you’ve got to travel through the area.
This Saturday you can probably find all sorts of ways to celebrate Earth Day, but I’ve pulled two that seem fun. First, from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at Bryan Park, join Studio Two Three, the RVA Big Market, and a ton of vendors, food, music, and earthy demonstrations for the RVA Earth Day Festival. Second, Southside ReLeaf, Seeds of Change Organization, and the Swansboro West Civic Association are hosting “The Great Big Cleanup and Community Cookout.” Volunteers are encouraged to sign up for one of the 20 cleanup sites throughout South Richmond—plus, after you roll up your sleeves and do some work, you can hang out at a free community cookout.
This morning's longread
Zipper Pull Swap Outs
I dunno, sometimes you just need to read a thing about replacing the zipper pulls on your bags. Think of it like a palate cleanser for your brain.
One of the most common modifications I do to bags is messing with the zipper pulls. I don’t like metal zipper pulls with something attached to the very end of them, as they jingle when you move about and annoy the crap out of me. The fix for this is pretty easy, and can be non-destructive if you prefer, so I thought I would share some different options I use/have used over the years. Especially, since I’ve been seeing some brands start to sell zipper pull kits, for stupid prices. Most of this stuff can be done very low-budget.
If you’d like to suggest a longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.
Picture of the Day
We don’t even have one!
