👃 Good morning, RVA: Free COVID-19 tests, corrections, and exciting ordinances

Good morning, RVA! It’s 63 °F, and for today, like most of the week, we’ve got cloudy skies and highs in the 70s. I’m not complaining—this sort of gray and temperate day is better than this past Saturday’s soaking and way preferred to the scorching summer that was.
 

Water cooler

As of this morning you can once again order four free COVID-19 test from the USPS—a process that will take less than one minute out of your morning. I hope everyone reading along taps the previous link and fills out the form because 1) who doesn’t like free stuff, but also 2) we are definitely headed directly toward fall respiratory disease season. Luckily for us, and due to science, we’ve got vaccines to help protect against the flu, COVID-19 and RSV—sort of the big three of respiratory crud floating around at the moment. Katelyn Jetelina has put together a really nice Fall 2023 Vaccines chart that will tell you what the options are for each of the three vaccines, who is eligible, how well they work, and when you should get them. Testing and vaccination are just two of the tools in our public health toolbox, and we should take full advantage of them to keep ourselves and others healthy.
 

Corrections! I made two errors last week that I want to clean up. First, this cool-sounding City job, which I linked to because I thought it will fill the huge hole left by Maritza Pechin in the Department of Planning and Review, is actually in a different department (the Department of Public Works) and only open to internal candidates. It says both of these things right at the top of the page—one is even bold and underlined! Oops! Second, I made a joke about how hard it is for Richmonders to get to the Office of Elections down at the end of Laburnum Avenue for early voting, when I know full well that the City has two other locations for folks to turn in their ballots: City Hall (900 E. Broad Street) and the Hickory Hill Community Center (3000 E. Belt Boulevard).
 

City Council meets today (full agenda here) and will tackle both the ADU and Airbnb ordinances (ORD. 2023–196 and ORD. 2023–235 respectively). Both of these papers sit on the Regular Agenda, so expect some discussion, but, fingers crossed, both could pass tonight. I just think the Department of Planning has worked so hard and for so long on The Three Zoning Changes (abolishing parking minimums being the third), and I want all that work to pay off at tonight’s meeting. I’m hoping we can avoid continuing either of these papers into a black hole and then start our planners working on the next cool project: The complete overhaul of the zoning code! Also, for what it’s worth, Council will consider the resolution that supports dedicating $26 million of Casino 2.0 money towards childcare-related projects (RES. 2023-R048). This paper sits on the consent agenda and will pass without discussion, so, more just an FYI for folks following along.
 

This past weekend, the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Ana Bryson reports on a student protest of Governor Youngkin’s anti-trans policies. I like the chant of “VDOE, let us be”—both incredibly sad and effective. Bryson also has an update on Virginia Beach’s school board, which voted not to adopt the Governor’s policies earlier this summer. They’ve since been sued by two parents who are seeking “an injunction requiring the Virginia Beach board to adopt the updated state guidance.” I am definitely not a lawyer, but I bet a lot of school districts are watching how this one plays out.
 

Via /r/rva some scary pictures of the back of a build on Broad Street collapsed into the alley. Apparently this was at 4 E. Broad Street, and I wonder if this building is one developers are allowing to sit vacant and decay while real estate prices rise and rise?
 

This morning’s longread

Life Expectancy of Pets

An extremely short longread that’s basically a single chart about the life expectancy of pets. It really struck me! Who knew that, with the proper care and feeding, goldfish can stick around forever?
 

When getting a pet, you probably don’t want to accidentally sign up for a twenty-year commitment with an impulse adoption. That’s a bad deal for you and the animal. Consider how long potential companions will be around. Like people, individual life spans can vary based on environment and health, but you can at least get an idea. A pet mouse lives 2 to 3 years, whereas a horse lives 25 to 30 years
 

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

Same, skeleton, same.