Good morning, RVA: 3,059 • 75; more snow in the forecast?; and blue scooters

Good morning, RVA! It’s 46 °F and rainy this morning, but I think we’ll probably see the sun later this afternoon. Expect similar temperatures tomorrow, and then…maybe more snow on Sunday! NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says there’s too much uncertainty at this point to give confident snow totals, but his first prediction map puts us at 1–3 inches. Fingers crossed!

Water cooler

As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 3,059 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 75 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 332 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 134, Henrico: 91, and Richmond: 107). Since this pandemic began, 696 people have died in the Richmond region. Here is this week’s stacked chart of new reported cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. It really shows the dramatic reduction in cases we’ve seen in the last week or so—which is now starting to be reflected in a decrease of hospitalizations, too. Locally, across the entire region, we’re seeing a similar trend. However, Henrico and Chesterfield have driven most of the local decrease in new cases. Richmond’s been stuck on a case-count plateau since the beginning of the year, and I don’t know what that means. Is it an artifact of testing? Something else? I’m not sure it matters—other than that it should give you a heightened sense of caution around your own personal behavior—since our leadership has seemed to moved past containment and is now focused almost entirely on vaccination. Speaking of, the Governor will hold an 11:00 AM press conference today to address vaccine distribution, and you can watch the whole thing over on VPM’s YouTube channel. Apparently he’ll also announce that he’s extending the school year into the summer? Without knowing any of the details my first two thoughts are 1) Will school districts be able to make this choice for themselves? There has been an incredible focus on local control for districts throughout this pandemic and it feels weird to suddenly switch gears; 2) Given the robust conversation about the complexities of year-round school, I have a hard time believing teachers and parents will be universally stoked on the idea of extending the school year unilaterally. More to come at 11:00 AM.

Continuing on the schools tip, the RPS School Board has a special meeting scheduled for this coming Monday when all signs point to them voting on how to extend Superintendent Kamras’s contract. While I think the Boardmembers' votes are most likely set at this point, it is now again the time to fire up your trusty emailer and send the entire board an email expressing your support for extending the Superintendent’s contract for four years. If you want a more concrete way to support the Supe, RPS students, teachers, families, and community members will join in a #KeepKamras Car Parade on Saturday from 11:00 AM–12:00 PM beginning at Southside Plaza and ending at Blackwell Elementary.

More schools updates! Jessica Nocera at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Henrico County School Board “voted 4–1 to send back prekindergarten through second grade Feb. 22, third through fifth grades and sixth and ninth grades March 1, and all remaining middle and high school students March 8..” Those youngest kids will initially go back to in-person instruction two days a week. So, to recap: Chesterfield has some students already back in schools, some Henrico students head back later this month, and all Richmond students will remain virtual for the rest of the year. I wonder how each district will react to the governor’s announcement today…

What?? Jack Jacobs at Richmond BizSense says “Helbiz”, another scooter company, has entered the Richmond market. Apart from having the most metal-sounding name, Helbiz scooters apparently come equipped with hand sanitizer. More scooters is great, but here’s what I really want: dockless bikeshare.

It’s Friday, and that means there’s a new episode of Duron Chavis’s Black Space Matters video series. This week’s episode features Ashley Williams, a yoga therapist, mindfulness educator, and founder of BareSOUL yoga. Tune in for a discussion on resiliency and, of course, why Black space matters.

This morning’s longread

The Shocking Meltdown of Ample Hills — Brooklyn’s Hottest Ice Cream Company

Has anyone had this ice cream? Is it even worth all of this fuss??

But on March 15, the day before New York City shut down for the pandemic — and as signage bearing Ample Hills’ farm animal mascots and the words “ice cream coming soon” was still up at a second Disney location — everything came crashing down. Ample Hills filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, just short of the company’s 10th anniversary. It had nothing to do with the pandemic: Even as annual sales had grown, reaching nearly $10.7 million at their peak, so had the losses. Over 2018 and 2019, the company lost about $13 million. In June 2020, Ample Hills sold for just $1 million to perhaps the unlikeliest of buyers — Schmitt, an Oregon manufacturing company that makes laser scanners and sensors for propane tanks.

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