Hello CivMixers, and welcome to December. Sorry for the extended break. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Let’s get right to our headlines for the day, shall we?

  1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new quarantining period for those who have had been exposed to COVID-19. According to the CDC’a incident manager, Dr. Henry Walke, there are now two shortened options for those exposed to the virus and either test negative or show no symptoms.

    According to Dr. Walke, those who have been exposed but remains a-symptomatic can end the quarantine after ten days. If you are tested, get a negative result and also have no symptoms, you can complete your quarantine after seven days.

    The CDC has been researching and modeling data to come up with the shortest safe quarantine period possible. According to Dr. Walke, this was to improve adherence to quarantine protocols. Many public health partners have reported that people tend to cut their quarantines short due to the burden of missing work, or a lack of daycare, and general mental stress.

    The CDC is hoping that shortening the quarantine period for these two specific categories of people will improve compliance , increase cooperation with contact tracers, and ultimately help to lessen the spread of COVID.

    With the no symptom 10-day quarantine, the risk of infection after the fact is at one percent. For the seven-day, no symptom and negative test quarantine, the risk is at around five percent.

    Both Walke and the CDC stress that the longer, 14-day full quarantine is best for anyone who can follow that procedure without it negatively impacting their mental, physical, or financial health in any way.

  2. Gabriel Sterling, implementation manager for Georgia’s voting system, called on President Donald Trump not only to condemn those threatening violence as the state ends its second recount of the election recount, but also to “stop inspiring” unrest, power, and terrorism.

    A clearly enraged Sterling related that in Gwinnett County, a 20-year-old election machine tech had received death threats and was the subject of an image circulated online that condemned him of treason suggested he should be hung for his crimes.

    “It has to stop. Mr. President, you have not condemned these actions or this language. Senators, you have not condemned this language or these actions. This has to stop. We need you to step up. And if you’re going to take a position of leadership, show some.”
    -Gabriel Sterlin, GA Secretary of State Election Implementation Manager

    Mr. Sterling was likely referring to the two Republican senators engaged in the Jan. 11 runoff elections, as neither received the 50% minimum of the votes needed to win the state, according to o GA’s election laws.

    The second recount that the Trump campaign requested in GA should be just about complete. The first recount was state-ordered and reaffirmed a win by the Biden-Harris ticket. According to that recount, President-elect Joe Biden carried the state by 12,284 votes.  

    That lead to the certification of the vote in Georgia. Since then, the GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp – both members of the Republican Party have been receiving threats. According to Sterling, Secretary Raffensperger has had trespassers on his property. There have been caravans driving past his home and office.

    Raffenspergetr’s wife has reported threats of a violent sexual nature on her cell phone. Sterling himself has police protection outside of his home. Trump responded to the press conference by reaffirming his claims that the election was rigged. He did not condemn violence or call for calm.

    Trump has not conceded the race, and insists he expects to win his legal challenge, though he has also said he will depart the White House if Biden wins the electoral college vote.
  3. Yesterday the state Thruway Authority approved a new toll payment schedule, under which rates will increase by 30% with a $2 surcharge for anyone who does not use an EZ-pass transponder.

    If you do not have a transponder, you will receive a toll bill in the mail under the newly instituted cashless tolling. This will be based on the license plate captured by the cameras and tracked in the DMV system for the address.

    If you have EZ-pass, your rates will not change. The Thruway Authority is hoping that the surcharge and rate increase will encourage people to sign up for EZ-pass. Republican state Sen. Jim Tedisco has said he feels this will be an undue burden for people under the federal poverty line. He will be introducing a bill to waive the fee for those fitting that criteria.
  4. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Sheriff Craig Apple have announced a new public safety pilot program funded via a partnership between the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and the state Department of Mental Health.

    There will be other funds provided by legislative investments. This program is about making better responses and improving the outcomes that happened between the public and law enforcement.

    As the program gets more fleshed out, there will be more information available.
  5. In light of the season, I will be trying to put here an event or local charity that you can participate in or donate to. First up is local Toys-For-Tots events for 2020.
    1. 12/04/2020 – 6 PM – 9 PM – Ballston Spa Parade: Santa will light the village Christmas tree from a fire truck’s bucket in Wiswall Park. * All NYS COVID social distancing and mask requirements will be followed and attendance limited. Following the tree lighting Santa will parade through neighborhoods in the village, along with the Ballston Spa Police and Fire Departments and Community Emergency Corps’ ambulance collecting Toys for Tots.
    2. 12/05/2020 – 9 AM – 5 PM – Dirty Sweatshirts Paintball: Capital Combat Zone in Troy, NY.
    3. 12/11, 12/12, 12/13 – 10 AM – 9 PM – Rotterdam Christmas Market: ViaPort Rotterdam (formerly Rotterdam Square Mall).
    4. 12/18 and 12/19 – 6 PM – 9 PM – Quick Response Lights Display and Toy Collection: Drive through the beautiful Holiday lights display, donate a toy to celebrate Quick Response’s 20th Anniversary of the light show!
    5. 12/20/2020 – 9 AM – 1 PM – Breakfast with Santa: Albany Capital Center

Stay steady, stay healthy, stay safe.

Stay Woke.