Hello, CivMixers.

Well, the weather certainly made a statement today. It was undoubtedly bracing. My daughter is excited, just waiting for the snow she feels the cold weather should bring instantaneously. She also asks me every morning if it’s Christmas Eve yet.

Onto our five things

1) As the numbers of COVID cases continue to rise rapidly, so do fears of another lockdown. This has caused consumers to go back to hoarding. Shelves are quickly being stripped of paper products and cleaning supplies.

As you’ll recall, this first occurred back in March as shoppers panic purchased, thinking it could be weeks before they would be able to leave the house. This time around, retailers have stocked up and are better prepared to withstand the swarms of people rushing their shelves, but they are still struggling to keep up.

Even Amazon is sold out of most disinfectant products and said they’re working with multiple manufacturers to replenish supplies. Many large chains are again putting limits on how much of specific products consumers can buy at one time.

Though the CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, Geoff Freeman, has said he expects the supply chain is better prepared this time around, there are still weak spots.

Approximately 10 percent of the manufacturing workforce is out of work – either sick, laid off, or quarantine. Paper products are again in high demand, with customers panicking and buying a lot of toilet paper and paper towels in their fear of again being placed in lockdown.

2) In one of the country’s best known true crime stories at the moment, the NorCal Rapist, Charles Waller, 60, was found guilty today on all counts (46). He was charged with attacks across six Northern California counties, spanning 15 years and nine separate women.

Waller was finally caught when DNA from one of his relatives was loaded into GEDMatch, the public genealogy website. The chief deputy DA assigned to the case, Steve Grippi, thanked the jury members for their quick decision, stating that the nine female victims had been waiting for justice for over two decades.

3) According to paperwork from a federal lawsuit filed by Sander Saba, the state has thus far failed to enact its plan to allow for a nonbinary option of X for gender identification.

Saba is a nonbinary transgender New York City resident and filed the lawsuit through Lambda Legal over the summer. The state says it indeed intends to add the “X” option, but it may take over a year to change the system.

The state wants the lawsuit dismissed, saying the change is indeed coming – just not right away. Lambda was happy to hear that, but is not satisfied.

The DMV has offered to let Saba fill out the manual application to get an X marker on their license, but it is unclear if they intend to do so.

4) The 14th case of COVID that can be tied back to the Bethlehem School District was confirmed today. The 12th case was reported tied back to the high school, and the other two were at the elementary school in Slingerlands.

The person who tested positive was last on school property back on November 10. The Albany County Health Department was notified, and they have confirmed that there was no exposure from this case in the school district.

5) For the 41st straight year, Schenectady’s Concerned for the Hungry is getting ready to feed individuals on Thanksgiving Day. They are also looking for volunteers to help with the process, which, due to the pandemic, is going to look a little different than usual.

Next week, volunteers will be needed to help assemble the boxes used to hold the meals, unload and sort the food donations, pack the food into the boxes, and deliver them.

Volunteers this year will have to sign up at the organization’s website. Masks will be worn throughout the shift.

Stay steady, stay healthy, stay safe.

Stay woke.