Good morning, RVA: 529↗️ • 25↗️; no nightly tear gassing; and a parklet program

Good morning, RVA! It’s 72 °F, and you can continue to expect hot, sunny, and humid weather today. No rain in the forecast, though!

Water cooler

As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 529↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 25↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 119↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 74, Henrico: 22, and Richmond: 23). Since this pandemic began, 217 people have died in the Richmond region. I know I keep talking about Chesterfield, but yesterday the County accounted for 62% of the region’s reported positive cases and 14% of the entire Commonwealth’s reported positive cases. That seems like a lot. While the percent positivity in the County has seen a slight decline over the past month, it still sits at 11.3%—higher than Richmond, Henrico, or the the state as a whole (all of which have percent positivity less than 8%). If anyone see a statement from the Chesterfield County government or their health district about the impact the virus continues to have on the county, please send it my way! Also yesterday, Governor Northam announced that the Commonwealth will move into Phase Three on July 1st, giving folks a week and a half to order American flag masks for the July 4th holiday. Phase Three means gatherings of 250 people are allowed, restaurants opening at full capacity, salons and barbershops can open, plus swimming pools and gyms return to mostly normal. Social distancing requirements do still remain in effect, though, which will limit capacity at some of these spots. You can read the detailed Phase Three guidelines here (PDF). Because it’s easy to get stuck in a local- or even state-focused context, take a look at the New York Times’s Coronavirus in the U.S map. The seven-day average of new cases in America has almost returned to its April peak, fueled by big increases across many states. In fact, 27 states are seeing reported cases increase. The graphs from California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, and North Carolina are particularly terrifying.

Last night police refrained from tear gassing protestors, and I didn’t have to spend the morning watching war zone videos shot on streets that I love. It appears that the Governor or the Virginia State Police or someone chose not to enforce the new sunset-to-sunrise restrictions at the Lee Circle, protestors hung out peacefully well into the night, and then most of them eventually headed home. At 2:39 AM the Richmond Police Department declared the remaining assembly unlawful and Virginia State Police moved into the circle to begin, in their words, “cleaning up trash left on the Lee Monument & ground.” They also removed seating that had been added to the space yesterday and took down a pop-up community library. I don’t know that I’d consider either “trash,” as those are exactly the types of amenities that make public spaces thrive, but sure. @socialistdogmom has a good thread with pictures and thoughts from throughout the night and into this morning, and I wanted to pull two: Compare and contrast this picture of hundreds of folks sitting in the circle listening to speakers with this picture of dozens of riot cops guarding an empty circle. I’m not going to applaud the VSP or RPD for making the right choice and not gassing my neighbors, but it is incredibly striking how calm things remain when the police choose not to escalate the situation with chemical weapons. I wanted someone to ask the Governor what his thoughts were on the use of chemical weapons just a couple blocks from his house, and Mel Leonor has his pretty disappointing responses which include “After three weeks, it is no longer clear what the [protestor’s] goals are or a path to achieve them.” I just…OK. This sounds a lot like a quote from someone who has either not asked what the goals are or hasn’t listened when folks have told him. One other protest update, the Richmond Police Department reports that they arrested 12 people (with an average age of 25) for unlawful assembly at the City Hall protest two nights ago. RPD also reports that “One RPD officer was injured when he was struck on the arm by a hickory stick.”

As the City moves into Phase Three and Richmonders spill out of their homes desperate for craft cocktails and a good reuben, we’ll soon have a crushing need for, simply, more space. While the City seems to have given up? gone silent? launched a taskforce to create a panel that will do a study? on safe/slow streets, the existing parklet program is one way restaurants and retail at least can increase their capacity for customers while still allowing for the required social distance. Unfortunately, the City’s parklet program can be confusing and the requirements daunting. That’s where Venture Richmond comes in with their Picnic in a Parklet program through which business owners “can receive design and permitting assistance for their request for more outdoor space, particularly parklets.” If you own a restaurant or retail business and have a parking space or two out front, shoot an email to Venture RIchmond today to get started.

Hey, this seems cool: Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense says the folks redeveloping the old DEQ building on the corner of Main and 7th have decided to build apartments instead of a hotel. Coronavirus has devastated the travel and hospitality industries, and that’s terrible, but I’ll take homes over hotels any day.

Richmond Animal Care and Control found another baby cow wandering the streets of Richmond’s Northside. One stray cow is cute, two stray cows is an issue—especially since this one had to be rushed to an emergency vet. RACC is asking folks to contact [email protected]if they’ve got information on who is responsible for abandoning these cows in the city.

Tonight’s the penultimate Richmond 300 virtual summit, and it’s a good one: Equitable Transportation. You know the deal: register on the Eventbrite and read through the transportation chapter ahead of time (PDF).

This morning’s longread

Baking Through a Plague

Weed brownies + HIV epidemic = an interesting excerpt from what I’m sure is a fascinating book.

My parents were trying to quit the weed underground, but they’d chosen an inopportune location. Willits belonged to the tricounty area nicknamed the Emerald Triangle for the potent sinsemilla grown in hidden sunbaked gardens—the region’s unofficial cash crop. Before the pot brownie business, my dad had worked as a psychic and my mom had illustrated children’s books; neither had experience with straight jobs. The local economy offered few legal opportunities. I have often thought that my parents’ plan for surviving in rural Willits was unrealistic. Now I realize that it’s not that they had a bad plan; it’s that they had no plan. No idea how to make a living without dealing. The money ran out fast. When my parents found themselves unable to pay rent, my mom made an emergency run to sell brownies in the city.

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