Good morning, RVA! It’s 68 °F, and highs today look like they’ll stay in the 80s—but beware the humidity! Also keep an eye out for a possible thunderstorm this afternoon. Typical Richmond summer-type stuff.

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 520↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 16↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 114↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 59, Henrico: 15, and Richmond: 40). Since this pandemic began, 218 people have died in the Richmond region. Yesterday, the COVID Tracking Project announced that the U.S. set a record for new cases reported in a day at 38,672, topping the previous record set way back on April 25th. This chart of the seven-day average of positive cases per million population by region does a great job at illustrating how the Northeast is coming out of a pandemic while the South and West are rushing headlong into one. Looks like things in the South turned a bad, bad corner around Memorial Day, which is probably around the time when people got tired of staying inside and let their desires for cheap beer and grilled meats overwhelm their better judgement. Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers from states that meet a certain threshold of infections per 100,000 residents—that’s currently Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas. North Carolina and South Carolina! They’re right next to us. I wonder if we’ll see something similar from our Governor at his next coronavirus briefing. Stay tuned, stay inside, stay masked up, and stay remembering that there is a deadly pandemic sweeping through the South.

That’s two nights in a row neither the Virginia State Police or the Richmond Police Department used chemical weapons on protestors. I feel like I need to get an OSHA safety sign. Last night, folks again gathered at the Lee Circle until nightfall, spent time grillin' and chillin', and cops in riot gear again showed up to eventually force folks from the circle. You can scroll through Zach Joachim from the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s feed or read this thread from the Commonwealth Tiimes’s Eduardo Acevedo. I saw a couple of report of rubber bullets fired at the crowd, but other than that (and the fact that a phalanx of cops in riot gear is super freaking intimidating), it looks like interactions between the protestors and the police were minimal—at least considering the last several weeks. Then, after vacating the Circle, protestors formed an ad-hoc march and spent the next several hours loudly marching all over the Fan and the Museum District. I wonder two things: 1) Would the march have even happened without the police involvement earlier in the night? 2) What kind of coordination happens between VSP and RPD? Are the local police prepared for whatever happens as a result of state police action? This is a really complicated situation, and I don’t think it’s just going to suddenly resolve itself without thoughtful action from elected and community leaders.

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!

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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.”

Good morning, RVA! It’s 68 °F, and today looks a lot like yesterday. Expect heat, humidity, and a (smaller) chance of rain this evening. It’s vampire time in Richmond: Get your physical activity in before or after the sun comes up / goes down.

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Richmond Police report that Willie L. Johnston, 81, was shot to death on the 1400 block of Stoney Run Road early yesterday morning. According to RPD data, 21 people have been murdered in 2020.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 69 °F, and you can expect highs in near 90 °F but with plenty of humidity layered right on top of that. Keep an eye out for a possible afternoon/evening storm.

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 552⬇️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 4⬇️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 71⬇️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 16, Henrico: 30, and Richmond: 25). Since this pandemic began, 213 people have died in the Richmond region. This morning I’ve added emoji arrows next to the new reported positive cases across the state, new deaths reported across the state, and new reported positives cases in the Richmond region (defined as Chesterfield, Henrico, and Richmond). The arrows point the direction the seven-day average is moving compared to yesterday for each set of data. I know I’m wading into double and triple derivative territory here, but I continue to struggle with how to provide context to these numbers. What I really need is tiny little sparklines, but I don’t know how to easily do that in an email yet. Hopefully this addition helps, and, as always, I’m open to feedback.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 63 °F, and you can expect cooler temperatures and more rain. You might see the sun tomorrow, though!

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 445 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 18 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 103 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 65, Henrico: 22, and Richmond: 16). Since this pandemic began, 205 people have died in the Richmond region. Almost a quarter of the new coronavirus cases in Virginia reported yesterday came from the Richmond region. Out of the three local jurisdictions, Chesterfield has the highest percent positivity at 12.1, with Richmond and Henrico at 11.0 and 8.6 respectively. I don’t really know what to make of it, but the graph of the seven-day averages of new cases in the region by locality is pretty interesting. Something is different about Chesterfield! At the Governor’s press conference yesterday, which featured Pharrell, he (the Governor, not Pharrell) said the Commonwealth would not move into Phase Three this week and that he would have more details on the particulars of Phase Three on Thursday.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 61 °F, and the chance for rain continues throughout the day and into the night. Looks like late afternoon may be your best bet to spend some drytime outside. Good luck!

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 380 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 6 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 56 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 13, Henrico: 25, and Richmond: 18). Since this pandemic began, 204 people have died in the Richmond region.

Day 18 of protests in Richmond for police and social justice reform peaked with more violence from the police. Last night, the Richmond Police Department once again defended the small surface-level parking lot across from their headquarters on Grace Street with rubber bullets, chemical weapons, riot shields, loud explosions, and clouds of smoke. Andrew Ringle, editor at The Commonwealth Times, has a good thread recapping events, including this video of what looks like a war zone and this tweet: “Police backed me and others up against a wall as I filmed them spraying us and throwing explosives. Two protesters that I didn’t get the names of shielded me with umbrellas. Thank you to those guys.” You can read the CT’s full write-up here. Both Councilmember Jones and Councilmember Lynch were on hand, the former saying “Can’t believe what I saw this evening.” and the latter “Shots fired into the crowd—tear gas everywhere. Scared for the people who are closer in…here to see it firsthand. This is absolutely unacceptable.” Last night’s protest followed Sunday night’s protest—at which the RPD gassed and pepper sprayed the crowd. Sunday night’s protest followed Saturday night’s protest—at which an RPD officer drove their SUV up onto a sidewalk and into a crowd of people. Both of these come after June 1st’s unprovoked and absurd tear gassing of peaceful protestors at the Lee Monument. I’m shocked that the RPD—night after night as the entire city watches—continues to respond to protests against police violence by tear gassing the shit out of people. If the police wanted to radicalize the entire city against them and their $100 million budget, they’re doing a great job of it. And its not just me! Sen. Jennifer McClellan said, before last night’s events, “I’m disturbed by reports of RPD behavior towards protesters this weekend. I agree that we need to reimagine the role of police and how we keep communities safe, and that the rights of protesters must be respected/protected.” The ACLU of Virginia sent a letter to Mayor Stoney, Police Chief Smith, and Commonwealth’s Attorney McEachin saying “All of you must take positive action—individually and collectively—to lead changes in the laws, policies, practices, and police culture that allowed these events to take place. You must lead the implementation of lasting reforms that reimagine the role of police in our Commonwealth and how we keep communities safe.” Councilmember Jones released a statement saying “City Council must immediately be presented with budget amendments for the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget that withdraws funding from areas associated with aggressive policing and reallocate these funds into community support functions, and City Council should take immediate steps to execute our oversight responsibly by way of the Public Safety and Organizational Development committees.” (btw, see more about that below). The Mayor, however, (as of this morning) has said nothing beyond his statement on Sunday about asking the Commonwealth’s Attorney to open an investigation into the SUV incident. The silence and inaction on the Mayor’s part is frustrating and hurtful.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 61 °F, and the chance for rain continues throughout the day and into the night. Looks like late afternoon may be your best bet to spend some drytime outside. Good luck!

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 380 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 6 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 56 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 13, Henrico: 25, and Richmond: 18). Since this pandemic began, 204 people have died in the Richmond region.

Day 18 of protests in Richmond for police and social justice reform peaked with more violence from the police. Last night, the Richmond Police Department once again defended the small surface-level parking lot across from their headquarters on Grace Street with rubber bullets, chemical weapons, riot shields, loud explosions, and clouds of smoke. Andrew Ringle, editor at The Commonwealth Times, has a good thread recapping events, including this video of what looks like a war zone and this tweet: “Police backed me and others up against a wall as I filmed them spraying us and throwing explosives. Two protesters that I didn’t get the names of shielded me with umbrellas. Thank you to those guys.” You can read the CT’s full write-up here. Both Councilmember Jones and Councilmember Lynch were on hand, the former saying “Can’t believe what I saw this evening.” and the latter “Shots fired into the crowd—tear gas everywhere. Scared for the people who are closer in…here to see it firsthand. This is absolutely unacceptable.” Last night’s protest followed Sunday night’s protest—at which the RPD gassed and pepper sprayed the crowd. Sunday night’s protest followed Saturday night’s protest—at which an RPD officer drove their SUV up onto a sidewalk and into a crowd of people. Both of these come after June 1st’s unprovoked and absurd tear gassing of peaceful protestors at the Lee Monument. I’m shocked that the RPD—night after night as the entire city watches—continues to respond to protests against police violence by tear gassing the shit out of people. If the police wanted to radicalize the entire city against them and their $100 million budget, they’re doing a great job of it. And its not just me! Sen. Jennifer McClellan said, before last night’s events, “I’m disturbed by reports of RPD behavior towards protesters this weekend. I agree that we need to reimagine the role of police and how we keep communities safe, and that the rights of protesters must be respected/protected.” The ACLU of Virginia sent a letter to Mayor Stoney, Police Chief Smith, and Commonwealth’s Attorney McEachin saying “All of you must take positive action—individually and collectively—to lead changes in the laws, policies, practices, and police culture that allowed these events to take place. You must lead the implementation of lasting reforms that reimagine the role of police in our Commonwealth and how we keep communities safe.” Councilmember Jones released a statement saying “City Council must immediately be presented with budget amendments for the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget that withdraws funding from areas associated with aggressive policing and reallocate these funds into community support functions, and City Council should take immediate steps to execute our oversight responsibly by way of the Public Safety and Organizational Development committees.” (btw, see more about that below). The Mayor, however, (as of this morning) has said nothing beyond his statement on Sunday about asking the Commonwealth’s Attorney to open an investigation into the SUV incident. The silence and inaction on the Mayor’s part is frustrating and hurtful.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 62 °F, and “cooler with a chance of rain” is the forecast for the next eight days. So, enjoy the reprieve from the heat, and keep an eye on the radar for opportunities to sneak outside while staying dry.

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 637 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 5 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 86 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 31, Henrico: 30, and Richmond: 25). Since this pandemic began, 204 people have died in the Richmond region. I don’t have much to add to today’s coronanumbers, but I did enjoy this piece from the Washington Post about five coronametrics we should be tracking instead of all the stuff in my spreadsheet: Number of unlinked infections, speed of isolating infected people, proportion of cases arising among quarantined contacts, number of health-care worker infections, and trend in excess mortality. I don’t think I’ve seen public sources for any of those metrics, but, as always, I’d love to add a few more columns to my spreadsheet.

Yesterday marked the 17th day of consecutive protests for police and social justice reform in Richmond. First, that’s amazing. Second, it’s shocking how the police response to people protesting police violence continues to be…violent. With every single person filming and broadcasting each and every interaction with police—and the entire world watching—still our local police department reacts with unnecessary and dangerous violence. It’s happening across America, and every morning, as we scroll through our feeds, we see incontrovertible video proof that policing in our country is deeply, systemically broken. On Saturday here in Richmond, we watched as members of our own police department used their vehicle as a weapon against protestors. You can read a first-hand account of the incident from the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Ali Rockett who was standing nearby at the time. Then, last night, folks showed up at the police headquarters on Grace Street to specifically protest the violence used against the previous night’s protest. RPD responded with more pepper spray and more tear gas. This video of a police officer indiscriminately spraying pepper spray over the crowd and this video of police clearing a parking lot with tear gas after most of the crowd had dissipated are particular infuriating. You can read @socialistdogmom’s long thread and this piece in the Commonwealth Times for first-hand accounts of the evening. After Saturday night, Mayor Stoney said he’s asked the Commonwealth’s Attorney to investigate the incident involving the police officer hitting people with their car and has “instructed the Richmond Police Department to place the officer involved on administrative leave pending the result of the investigation by the Commonwealth’s Attorney.” Sure that’s a step to take, but it’s a step taken to address an individual problem. It is abundantly clear that the problem with the Richmond Police Department is systemic. The Mayor needs to start announcing systemic policy and budget proposals to address the systemic issues with policing in Richmond. As @Morr_Ruth said on Twitter last night, “When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. We HAVE MORE TOOLS THAN POLICE.” Our legislation and our budget should start reflecting that.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 75 °F, and highs again are, like, way, way high. Expect highs in the 90s and plenty of humidity to go along with it. There’s a chance of rain throughout the day, so keep an eye out.

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 439 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 18 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 88 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 53, Henrico: 16, and Richmond: 19). Since this pandemic began, 199 people have died in the Richmond region. This is the fewest number of new cases reported in a single day since way back in April and caps off three days of significant decline. However! I missed this story by the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Mel Leonor a couple of days ago that said VDH has “a running backlog of 13,000 COVID-19 test results that have not been reported to the public” and the agency will also “add a different set of 13,000 backlogged tests to the public dashboard…which could appear to skew the data.” Officials also said that the backlog contains mostly negative test results, so any skew would push the percent positivity down (just increasing the denominator). I guess this answers some of the questions I had earlier this week about the apparent regression in number of tests being reported across the Commonwealth. As we seriously move into Phase 2, keep an eye on the data—we don’t want Virginia’s coronavirus graphs to start looking like Arizona’s or Texas’s (over 2,000 new cases per day). Wear your masks! Keep your distance!

Last night, the Jefferson Davis statue on Monument Avenue came a-tumbling down, and I don’t know what to say about it other than that it feels weird not to have a ton to say. Random Twitter accounts report that, rather than the large peaceful crowds we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, Davis was torn off his pedestal by a “small sedan” which then, I guess, sped off into the night. Here’s a video of the statue heading to its new resting place in a parking lot somewhere on a flatbed truck as a small crowd celebrates. Yesterday, when we were all focused on the Christopher Columbus statue, the Mayor tweeted his concerns about protestors removing monuments on their own, outside of an established process, saying “The atrocities inflicted upon indigenous people by Christopher Columbus are unconscionable. That’s why the city began observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day, not Columbus Day, in 2019. But the decision & action to remove a monument should be made in collaboration w/ the community. Working with Richmond’s History and Culture Commission, we are establishing a process by which Richmonders can advocate for change to the figures we place on public pedestals across our city in a legal and peaceful way.” First, “but they have a day” isn’t the best way to start out this particular response. Second, I didn’t see any similar concerns when people brought down the Wickham statue in Monroe Park. Third, I’d love to know more about what the History and Culture Commission has been up to since Council passed the enabling legislation back in November of 2018 (ORD. 2018–269). Surely they’ve been working on the process for removing monuments at least since the General Assembly granted localities the authority to do so earlier this year? And surely that process will focus on equity and inoculate itself against loud, racist NIMBYs who constantly overwhelm a significant percentage of our public discussions? Regardless, I agree with @jeffrock, who said “[City of Richmond,] I know you want to fill out forms in triplicate, but you’re out of time. You can’t wait to vote on this. Take these monuments down safely before someone gets hurt.” He’s right, and, in fact, someone was injured in Portsmouth yesterday as folks got to work taking down one of their Confederate monuments. I think you could make the argument that in this current moment, the Confederate monuments are a public safety hazard and the smaller ones that can be removed should be removed as soon as possible. We can store them in a Raiders of the Lost Ark-style warehouse until the History and Culture Commissions figures out whatever process they want, but, until then, box 'em up before people get hurt.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 75 °F already! Expect highs today in the 90s and Feels Likes near 100 °F. I think, if you can, stay inside until things cool off later this week.

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 487 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 19 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 110 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 76, Henrico: 18, and Richmond: 16). Since this pandemic began, 198 people have died in the Richmond region. The number of reported new cases of the virus in the Virginia are down, the number of deaths are down, and, slightly concerning, the number of reported testing encounters are down as well. As per always, I am not an epidemiologist, so I have no idea what the data portends, but I do know Virginia is still not meeting its goal of 10,000 tests per day (regardless of how you define “tests”). The seven-day average of new tests sits at around 8,600. I know percent positivity governs how we practically move back into the world, but, like, we still need to test a lot more folks, right? While we are in the “anyone who wants a test can get a test” phase, maybe the non-coronavirus related events of the last two weeks have prevented people from getting a test? Or at least knocked it down a few spots on their todo lists? I have no idea but will continue to update my sisyphean spreadsheet each day.

On Friday, Richmond joins the rest of the Commonwealth and moves into the Governor’s Phase 2 of recovery. You can find all of the details of what that means for various industries and businesses over on the RVA Strong website. The short of it: Restaurants, breweries, gyms, salons, barbers, pools, and places of worship can all reopen with a bunch of restrictions—mostly limiting indoor occupancy to 50% capacity or less. Let the hangouts commence, I guess! Wash your hands, wear your masks, and keep two yard sticks between you and the person next to you. I’m incredibly interested in which businesses decide to open up, how it all works out, and what we’ll learn about how to function as City moving forward. I bet we’ll figure a bunch out in the next couple of weeks, and I’m perfectly happy to sit at home during that process.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 64 °F, and the day ahead of us looks hot and humid. Still sunny though!

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 570 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 5 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 97 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 35, Henrico: 32, and Richmond: 30). Since this pandemic began, 197 people have died in the Richmond region. Honestly, the numbers are all over the place lately, which makes a lot of sense to me given that everyone’s got a lot going on. One thing to keep an eye on: VDH reported under 4,000 new tests yesterday—which might speak to the difficulty in getting people tested over the last couple of days. It is Pandemic Tuesday, so keep an eye on the numbers announced today to see if they jump significantly or not.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 72 °F again, but, today, highs should stay out of upper 90s. Expect at growing chance of rain throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Saturday looks hot, but Sunday looks pretty A+.

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 951 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 17 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 106 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 60, Henrico: 13, and Richmond: 33). Since this pandemic began, 195 people have died in the Richmond region. Remember that today most of the region moves into Phase Two of the Governor’s plan for recovery. This means a lot of things, but, mostly, that 50 folks can gather together with the proper social distancing and masks and sanitization and so on. After the Governor announced the move into Phase Two (which still, at this moment in time, has not made it to the State’s recovery website), I was pretty confused about what business were supposed to do who could now open to 50% of their capacity but that 50% capacity was more than 50 people. Turns out, I’m not the only with questions! Lane Kizziah at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says the Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania was also confused and had planned to hold a race on Saturday with upwards of 1,200 folks. Turns out, they’re only allowed 50 spectators not 50% of potential spectators. I don’t blame them for misunderstanding the guidance. It’s a 41-page PDF, and, despite what you read in this email, people generally don’t love looking through massive PDFs. I think this quote from the racetrack’s sales manager also speaks to the lack of lead time businesses were given before the upshift into Phase Two: "We had a plan on Monday, and it changed on Tuesday…The governor’s information came out on Wednesday, and we changed again. Now it’s Thursday, and it appears we’re changing again.”

Good morning, RVA! It’s already 73 °F! Today, you can expect another humid day with highs in the mid 90s. Relief comes maybe this weekend after a bit of rain.

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Richmond Police are reporting that Jermaine R. Storman, 30, was found shot to death on the third floor of the Rodeway Inn on the 3200 block of N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard early Tuesday morning.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 72 °F, and today looks hot and humid. Expect highs in the 90s until the sun goes down. If you spend some time outside, expect to sweat.

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As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 841 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 15 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 157 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 59, Henrico: 61, and Richmond: 37). Since this pandemic began, 196 people have died in the Richmond region. Pandemic Tuesday did not bring its expected numbers bump, and VDH has reported 20 or fewer people dying from the coronavirus each of the last five days—an encouraging sign.

Yesterday, the Governor announced that, except for Richmond and Northern Virginia, evvvvveryone else moves into Phase Two of recovery this coming Friday. Folks get a whole three days notice! You can read the 40 pages of guidelines here (PDF). Notable changes:

Good morning, RVA! It’s 56 °F, and, with highs today in the mid 80s, it looks like another great day to spend outside.

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Yesterday, locked away safe in my home following along on Twitter, I saw some of the most wonderful and peaceful protests bookended around one incidence of violence and escalation by the Richmond Police Department. Early evening, protestors had gathered downtown with, at least to my eyes, an entirely different vibe from previous nights. Organizers led folks in chants, in silence, in sitting down quietly while folks spoke—I saw lots of masks! Eventually the protestors made their way to the Robert E. Lee monument and gathered there ahead of the 8:00 PM curfew. About 30 minutes before curfew began, without warning, Richmond police officers shot tear gas into a calm and peaceful crowd. Any goodwill either the RPD or, by extension, the Mayor had left after the last couple of days most likely evaporated when cops swaggered their way through clouds of teargas, chased people down—people who were running away—and sprayed them point-blank with pepper spray. The lasting visual of Richmond’s police department from yesterday will be their choice to use fear and violence against Richmond humans to protect a Confederate statue.

RPD’s reaction to folks' outrage, in the moment, was…not great. First they started with: “To our peaceful protestors: We are sorry we had to deploy gas near the Lee Monument. Some RPD officers in that area were cut off by violent protestors. The gas was necessary to get them to safety.” Videos and first-hand reporter accounts don’t support that position at all, and, you can imagine the response people paying attention had to a “we are sorry but” tweet. It was not positive. RPD followed that up with: “To our peaceful protestors: We stand with you today and will keep supporting your rights to express your opinions in safety.” Which, after the whole machismo, Resevoir Dogs-through-the-cloud-of-tear-gas moment, didn’t ring super true. And, finally, about two hours after the original event, they posted: “Chief Smith just reviewed video of gas being deployed by RPD officers near the Lee Monument and apologizes for this unwarranted action. These officers have been pulled from the field. They will be disciplined because their actions were outside dept protocols and directions given.” This pretty much contradicts their original statement, so it’ll be interesting to see who accepts responsibility for what or how things get spun this morning.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 56 °F, and, with highs today in the mid 80s, it looks like another great day to spend outside.

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Yesterday, locked away safe in my home following along on Twitter, I saw some of the most wonderful and peaceful protests bookended around one incidence of violence and escalation by the Richmond Police Department. Early evening, protestors had gathered downtown with, at least to my eyes, an entirely different vibe from previous nights. Organizers led folks in chants, in silence, in sitting down quietly while folks spoke—I saw lots of masks! Eventually the protestors made their way to the Robert E. Lee monument and gathered there ahead of the 8:00 PM curfew. About 30 minutes before curfew began, without warning, Richmond police officers shot tear gas into a calm and peaceful crowd. Any goodwill either the RPD or, by extension, the Mayor had left after the last couple of days most likely evaporated when cops swaggered their way through clouds of teargas, chased people down—people who were running away—and sprayed them point-blank with pepper spray. The lasting visual of Richmond’s police department from yesterday will be their choice to use fear and violence against Richmond humans to protect a Confederate statue.

RPD’s reaction to folks' outrage, in the moment, was…not great. First they started with: “To our peaceful protestors: We are sorry we had to deploy gas near the Lee Monument. Some RPD officers in that area were cut off by violent protestors. The gas was necessary to get them to safety.” Videos and first-hand reporter accounts don’t support that position at all, and, you can imagine the response people paying attention had to a “we are sorry but” tweet. It was not positive. RPD followed that up with: “To our peaceful protestors: We stand with you today and will keep supporting your rights to express your opinions in safety.” Which, after the whole machismo, Resevoir Dogs-through-the-cloud-of-tear-gas moment, didn’t ring super true. And, finally, about two hours after the original event, they posted: “Chief Smith just reviewed video of gas being deployed by RPD officers near the Lee Monument and apologizes for this unwarranted action. These officers have been pulled from the field. They will be disciplined because their actions were outside dept protocols and directions given.” This pretty much contradicts their original statement, so it’ll be interesting to see who accepts responsibility for what or how things get spun this morning.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 54 °F, and today’s weather looks absolutely brilliant. Expect highs in the 70s and lots of sunshine. Later this week expect temperatures to heat up into the classic Richmond summer zone.

Water cooler

A lot has happened since we last spoke. For the last three nights protesters have gathered in Downtown Richmond, angry about the murder of George Floyd by a White police officer, to demand police and criminal justice reform. The situation is obviously a lot more layered and complex than that previous sentence, but it’s a good place to start.

On Friday night, protesters—which, in the moment, following from afar on Twitter, seemed largely peaceful and chill—burnt and destroyed a GRTC Pulse bus. While both operators and riders were unharmed, GRTC did suspend evening bus service on Saturday, all bus service on Sunday, and will again suspend evening service tonight. March Cheatham at the Cheats Movement has photos of the burned-out bus wreckage, which, even three days later, still shock me (or is it 600 days later? it’s hard to tell at this point).

Good morning, RVA! It’s 54 °F, and today’s weather looks absolutely brilliant. Expect highs in the 70s and lots of sunshine. Later this week expect temperatures to heat up into the classic Richmond summer zone.

Water cooler

A lot has happened since we last spoke. For the last three nights protesters have gathered in Downtown Richmond, angry about the murder of George Floyd by a White police officer, to demand police and criminal justice reform. The situation is obviously a lot more layered and complex than that previous sentence, but it’s a good place to start.

On Friday night, protesters—which, in the moment, following from afar on Twitter, seemed largely peaceful and chill—burnt and destroyed a GRTC Pulse bus. While both operators and riders were unharmed, GRTC did suspend evening bus service on Saturday, all bus service on Sunday, and will again suspend evening service tonight. March Cheatham at the Cheats Movement has photos of the burned-out bus wreckage, which, even three days later, still shock me (or is it 600 days later? it’s hard to tell at this point).

As part of my ongoing plans to expand the scope of GMRVA while sticking to its two major distribution platforms (the email and the podcast), I thought I would talk with someone directly involved in putting together the new two-stage budget review process and whose life will be directly impacted by it: 1st District Councilmember Andreas Addison.

This sort of thing is a new, fun, and, I hope, informative direction to take GMRVA, but does take a long time to put together. If you’d like to see more, please consider becoming a GMRVA Patron.

This past week, Richmond's City Council passed RES. 2020-R035 which created a two-stage budget review process for City Council and the Mayor’s team to follow for (at least) this upcoming fiscal year. I wrote a bunch of words about how that process works, which you can read here. I sent 1st District Councilmember Addison a couple of questions about the process, asked him to send me back a voice memo with this thoughts, and now you get to hear straight from the 1st District horse’s mouth!

Good morning, RVA! It’s 73 °F, and probably raining. You can expect the chance of rain to persist throughout the day while the temperature—and humidity—rise. I think we did it. I think it’s warm now!

Water cooler

As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 907 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 45 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 106 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 50, Henrico: 33, and Richmond: 23). Since this pandemic began, 172 people have died in the Richmond region. I think this is the most new coronavirus deaths reported in a single day since VDH started releasing data. Compared to 2017 (the most recent data on this CDC website), COVID-19 is now the 9th leading cause of death in Virginia, killing 1,281 people—more than Septicemia (1,249) and Flu/Pneumonia (1,245). At the current rate (about 30 new deaths each day), the coronavirus will pass Kidney Disease in 12 days and Diabetes in 23 days.

Since the Governor chose not to grant the Mayor’s request for a modified entry into recovery, at 12:00 AM, Richmond will join Henrico and Chesterfield and jump right into Phase One. What’s that mean? The City has set up a reopening guidance page with both “allowed activities” that correspond to the State’s guidance and the “Mayor’s Best Practices,” which are some of the things Mayor Stoney unsuccessfully requested from the Governor—but based on local public health guidance! We’ve gone over this before, but the gist from the State: retail can open up to 50% of their capacity, restaurants can open up to 50% of their outdoor capacity, salons and barbershops are open by appointment, places of worship can open up to 50% of their capacity, and fitness-based businesses can host outdoor classes. However, the Mayor recommends that places of worship continue meeting digitally or, if they must meet, do so outside. He also suggests restaurants keep a log of patrons to make the inevitable contact tracing easier. I hope and believe that most faith groups and restaurants in the City will do these things! By far, the best part of Richmond’s reopening guidance page are these two sentences: “The state has not released guidance on what Phases 2 and 3 will look like throughout the state. All localities are waiting for guidance from the Governor and the Virginia Department of Health to learn what Phases 2 and 3 will allow or keep restricted.” You and me both, all localities. I’d love to know what metrics the Governor will use to decide to move the state into Phase Two, what that timeline looks like, and what restrictions will lift. Maybe at today’s presser?