Good Monday morning, CivMixers. Welcome to a nice, short holiday workweek.
Of course, to use a phrase that has employed so many times recently it’s already a cliche – it’s going to be a very different Thanksgiving (or should be), as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Large gatherings are (supposed to be) out in an effort to try to curb the spiking infection rate.
But even for those of us who are planning to do more or less nothing, (and I will like it, thanks very much), a bit of a break in the routine will be welcome.
Over the weekend, you might have missed National Adoption Day, (though there’s some disagreement on the interwebs as to whether it was this past Saturday or today). At any rate, it’s a collective effort to raise awareness of the more than 120,000 children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States.
The argument for Saturday is as follows:
The first National Adoption Day was inspired by the innovative efforts of Michael Nash, a former presiding judge of Los Angeles County’s Juvenile Court. He opened the court on Saturdays, engaged the volunteer efforts of court personnel and finalized adoptions to reduce the backlog of one of the busiest courts in the nation.
Approximately 2 million Americans are adopted, with about 150,000 adoptions happening each year, including about 50,000 through foster care. (There are about 400,000 foster care kids in the country, according to the DHS).
U.S. adoptions may be either domestic or international. Domestic adoptions can be arranged either through a state agency, an adoption agency, or independently.
It will probably come as no surprise that the pandemic has stressed the foster care system and created unusual challenges for it.
There is no debate that I can find over the fact that today is National Espresso Day. It’s a misconception to think that an espresso is as sort of specific bean or roast. Rather, it speaks to the method by which the drink in question is brewed – by forcing pressurized hot water through finely ground coffee to create a concentrated coffee topped with a delicate foam, called crema.
For more about the espresso origin story, because naturally it has one, click here. Also, Dunkin’ is among those with special offers to mark this day. I will just leave that there for you to consider, and say nothing of my personal opinion about the beverages offered at this particular locale.
Oh, and for those of you who ARE doing the turkey day thing this year, but for the first time planning to do it all yourself, because COVID, here’s a little map of where you should be right now in terms of meal prep.
So, basically, you’re already way behind. You’re welcome.
We’re in for something of a roller coaster week, temperature-wise. Today could hit 50, while tomorrow will be in the high 30s. It’s raining as I write this, but that’s supposed to clear up for a partly cloudy afternoon.
In the headlines…
Thanksgiving travel is surging as new coronavirus cases approach 200,000 a day in the United States. On Friday, the number of travelers screened at US airport security checkpoints topped 1 million for only the second time since March.
Even though the CDC called on Americans to cancel their travel plans as a result of spiking COVID-19 infections, TSA data shows 1,019,836 passengers were screened by TSA on Friday and an additional 984,369 were screened on Saturday.
November isn’t even over, and the U.S. has already seen more new Covid-19 cases than any other month of this entire pandemic. More than 3 million new cases were reported between November 1 and 22.
Confirmed cases have reached more than 12 million since the onset of the pandemic. The most recent 1 million cases were reported within less than a week.
The U.S. recorded a drop in newly reported Covid-19 infections following an all-time high, but it also reported record hospitalizations for the 12th straight day as the coronavirus pandemic rages.
Another vaccine has been reported to be highly effective against COVID-19.
AstraZeneca said there were no serious safety events related to the vaccine and it was well tolerated across different dosing regimens. Efficacy ranged from 62% to 90% depending on the dosage given, the partners said.
The first Americans to receive a COVID-19 vaccine could get it as early as next month.
Some economists are starting to embrace the idea that a prospective Covid-19 vaccine could allow people to once again spend money on travel, restaurants and other services—and drive up prices in the U.S.
New York and other states have for decades been planning for a mass vaccination under emergency response programs honed after the 9/11 attacks, which ignited fears of bioterrorism on American soil.
U.S. health officials agreed to allow emergency use of a second antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental medicine that Trump was given when he was sickened last month.
The treatment, made by the biotech company Regeneron, is a cocktail of two powerful antibodies that have shown promise in early studies at keeping the infection in check, reducing medical visits in patients who get the drug early in the course of their disease.
More House members have tested positive for COVID-19.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s campaign says the Georgia Republican’s previously inconclusive Covid-19 test has come back negative, but that she will continue to undergo testing for the virus.
As record numbers of coronavirus cases overwhelm hospitals across the United States, there is something strikingly different from the surge that inundated cities in the spring: No one is clamoring for ventilators, but there aren’t enough experts to operate them.
Even after the pandemic ends, there are a number of reasons why this new stay-at-home economy will likely be an important part of the new normal.
As the nation cracks down on group activities so close to the Thanksgiving holiday, Democratic Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has told her state’s residents to call the cops if they see coronavirus violations.
Lockdown measures in the United Kingdom are slated to be scaled back early next month amid the coronavirus pandemic, but firm restrictions will remain in place, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced.
A defiant President Trump continued efforts to contest the outcome of the election, as his legal options narrowed and a number of Republicans expressed frustration with his refusal to acknowledge defeat.
Trump’s campaign filed a narrow appeal yesterday in its long-shot bid to have Trump declared the victor in the presidential race in Pennsylvania despite lagging more than 71,000 votes behind President-elect Joe Biden.
Trump’s effort to overturn the election he lost is being increasingly undermined by the inanity of his legal claims and is causing some high-profile Republicans to peel off even with most of his party mute amid his constitutional arson.
Trump’s struggle to deny the results of the election is now up against an existential threat: a rapid succession of states due to certify their election results before the critical date of December 8.
Trump’s distanced itself from Sidney Powell, saying that the lawyer who has been alleging voter fraud in the November election is “not a member of the Trump Legal Team.”
Biden intends to nominate Antony Blinken to serve as secretary of state, turning to a trusted diplomat and foreign-policy adviser to oversee his work to rebuild U.S. relationships around the globe. Other cabinet picks are also coming today.
Biden vowed to put an emphasis on diversity when building his team, and he has already picked women for a series of key positions.
Biden’s chief of staff, said that the inauguration ceremony will be altered to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as cases continue to spike across the country.
The NYC Sheriff’s Office broke up a sex club where more than 80 people gathered for a party in a section of Queens currently under increased COVID-19 restrictions.
At around the same time, another group that grew to about 120 revelers was just starting to gather and dance at an illegal club in Manhattan. This gathering was also busted.
Many New Yorkers say they are making their Thanksgiving meal an intimate and, yes, al fresco one. And they are choosing any number of settings, from a rooftop to a backyard to even Central Park.
New York City residents packed COVID-19 testing sites yesterday, ahead of traveling to visit family over Thanksgiving against the urging of officials.
Just for the record: A negative test is a snapshot in time and does not necessarily mean you can safely socialize.
A Brooklyn synagogue should be investigated over reports that it hosted a secret wedding with thousands of unmasked guests earlier this month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
“If that happened, it was a blatant disregard of the law,” Cuomo said. “It’s illegal. It was also disrespectful of the people of New York.”
Upper Manhattan and parts of Staten Island and Long Island are set to land back into restrictive COVID-19 zones this week, the governor said.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected this week to say whether it will hear a challenge by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn to the restrictions that Cuomo placed on parts of the borough in October.
As long as the seven-day average is lower than 3 percent, Cuomo says schools in New York may reopen.
The city and state use different approaches for calculations regarding when schools should close, and that has led to confusion and has a big impact on which restrictions are adopted.
Parts of the city of Syracuse are headed for an “orange zone” unless the number of coronavirus cases changes dramatically in the next few days.
A rise in COVID-19 cases has parts of Nassau and Suffolk potentially facing new restrictions on gatherings and dining this week as well as mandatory testing of some students and staff.
The Capital Region’s coronavirus infection rate rose above 3 percent yesterday, putting the region on course for new restrictions if the number doesn’t dip below that threshold over the next nine days.
Cuomo warned New Yorkers that he expects COVID-19 infection rates to climb throughout the holiday season and shortly after, potentially reaching dangerous levels unseen since the height of the pandemic this spring.
ICYMI: Cuomo is getting an Emmy for his coronavirus briefings.
Yelling “Free New York” and “Lock them up!” and waving signs and American flags, several dozen people protested yesterday morning against Covid-19 restrictions outside of the Delaware Avenue home of Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz.
Doctors and health care professionals from across Western New York pleaded with the community to heed the advice of public health officials amid the region’s rising number of Covid-19 cases.
The corpses of hundreds of New Yorkers remain frozen in trucks on the Brooklyn waterfront more than six months after the coronavirus first struck Gotham.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams held a fundraiser for his mayoral bid inside an Upper West Side restaurant where some supporters were reportedly spotted mask-less before eating.
A Daily News reporter asked Adams to comment on why he continued with holding a fundraiser as COVID-19 rates continued to soar across the city, Adams did not respond, instead chastising the reporter for “secretly” taking video of the interview.
The fundraiser came as Deputy Brooklyn BP Ingrid Lewis-Martin apologized for attending tightly packed birthday party, which had other Brooklyn Democratic power players in attendance, without wearing a mask, violating state guidelines that mandate masks be worn.
A group including the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is aligned with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has its sights on powerful Sen. Liz Krueger, unhappy because she hasn’t pushed hard enough to raise taxes on the ultra-rich.
New York City is figuring out how to keep homeless people safe as it prepares for a resurgence of Covid-19, with shelters doubling down on strict safety protocols and advocates pushing to continue a program that turns certain hotels into shelters.
Black Restaurant Week got its start in Houston, Texas back in 2016. It has since expanded to other cities across the country. Organizers are excited that for the first time, New York City and the surrounding region are taking part.
A NY law legalizing e-scooters, which have been widely used regardless of their illegal status, takes effect today.
MTA bosses ignored the alarms sounded by transit workers for years over six dilapidated boiler rooms that heat subway buildings across the city, according to a scathing report due today from the agency’s Inspector General.
Cuomo said an incoming report will poke a hole in plans to fix a pair of 110-year-old Hudson River rail tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The Poor People’s Campaign will memorialize the nearly 250,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 with a mourning caravan that will circle the state Capitol starting at 1:30 p.m. today.
The state Senate majority is just one declared victory away from snagging a much-sought supermajority in their chamber following Friday’s win in the 46th District by Democrat Michelle Hinchey.
Long Island was one of the few places in New York where Republicans were playing offense in the 2020 election campaign, trying to oust a handful of freshman Democrats in the State Senate. It looks as if they succeeded in just one race, at most.
The Rockefeller Center skating rink opened Saturday, and skaters glided out to practice their moves.
Five months have passed since the town announced plans to hire an outside law firm to look into now-retired Town Comptroller’s Paul Sebesta’s Facebook post two years years ago that showed him in blackface, and the results of that probe have yet to be released.
A white inmate in a New York prison is significantly more likely on average to be released on parole than a Black or Hispanic person — and that gap has widened in 2020, according to a TU analysis of the nearly 19,000 parole board decisions over the last two years.
A state Supreme Court judge has ruled in favor of town residents fighting a proposal by Pyramid Companies, which owns Crossgates Mall, to build a 160,000-square-foot Costco and 222 apartment across five buildings along Rapp Road.
The former chief operating officer of a Lewiston waste disposal business testified before a federal grand jury earlier this year about campaign donations to Mayor Byron W. Brown and the company’s contracts with the City of Buffalo, two sources said.
A car pedestrian accident on Troy Schenectady Road Sunday night claimed the life of a well-known Capital Region businessman: Nicholas Huban, owner of the popular ice cream stand On the Farm.
Pat Quinn, 37, the New York man who co-founded the viral “Ice Bucket Challenge”, died yesterday after a long battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis — the disease he tirelessly raised awareness for until he succumbed himself.
A tiny owl that was found dehydrated and hungry in the branches of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is eating its way back to good health and was set to be released back into the wild this weekend.
Taylor Swift won her third consecutive artist of the year prize at the American Music Awards, but she missed the show for a good reason: She said she’s busy re-recording her early music after her catalog was sold.
