Good Tuesday morning, CivMixers.
So today I made the mistake of – after checking if I indeed had to show up for jury duty, which, thankfully, I do not. (I want to do my civic duty, but the idea of doing so during a pandemic really gives me pause, I have to admit) – Googling “days until spring.”
This is not something I recommend. It is surely not for the faint of heart, nor for those who might have peeked ahead at the forecast and seen what’s in store for the next 24 to 48 hours, not to mention the weekend.
Oh, how many days, you’re asking? Because you think you’re tough and all…OK, it’s 53. There, I said it, are you happy?
Apparently, a good number of people are already planning ahead for happier, healthier times. Experts are predicting a post-pandemic travel boom, though it’s up in the air as to exactly when that will occur.
News of the vaccines being developed caused an uptick in hotel room bookings.
But a Harris poll early this month found that only 14 percent of Americans have booked out-of-state trips so far, and 28 percent say they’ll travel outside their respective states once they get the vaccine – whenever that happens, because nationwide, the percentage of people who have received a dose is still in the single digits.
I’m not going through this merely because I’m dreaming of getting away…although there are quite a few international hiking trips on my bucket list. Today is National Plan for Vacation Day, and yes, that’s a thing.
The day was created by the U.S. Travel Association as part of an effort called “Project Time Off,” which is intended to get Americans to actually use their vacation time, which is something we, collectively, as a country, are very bad at.
While other countries have mandated vacations – in France, for example, most of the population takes an extended, multi-week break in the summer. Workers receive – and take – 30 days off a year.
The U.S. doesn’t even break into the top 11 list of countries that vacation the most. We are not a relaxed people. Not even close.
Each year, according to the U.S. Travel Association, more than half of Americans leave vacation time on the table, accumulating to 768 million days in 2018.
Now I must confess to being one of those people. I have not taken a true, extended, not checking the phone or working here and there vacation in…three years? At least. This is not good. Don’t be like me. Vacations help you rest and recharge and be more productive when you ARE at work. There are multiple scientific studies that back this up.
Vacations are also good for your health. Those who vacation have lower stress, lower occurrences of heart disease and an overall better outlook on life, not to mention, a higher degree of motivation to achieve goals.
When I start taking my own advice, I’ll let you know.
Today is the anniversary of the tragic 2020 California helicopter crash that killed nine people, including basketball star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. A final NTSB report on the crash is due out Feb. 9.
There’s a winter weather advisory in effect from noon to 10 a.m. tomorrow for the Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, Lake George Saratoga region, central and northern Taconics, and southern Adirondacks of eastern New York, and western Massachusetts.
We’re in for some snow – between 3 to 6 inches of it, unless you’re in the higher elevations, in which case, it’s 8 inches. Expect slippery road conditions for the commutes tonight and tomorrow morning. Snow will start this afternoon. Temperatures will be in the high 20s.
In the headlines…
House impeachment managers yesterday walked to the U.S. Senate an article of impeachment accusing former President Donald Trump of inciting the January 6 Capitol riot, allowing his trial to begin.
It was the second time in just over a year that the House sent an article of impeachment against Trump to the Senate for trial, thrusting his political fate into the hands of 50 Republican senators who for now appear reluctant to convict him.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Senate president pro tempore, is expected to preside over Trump’s impeachment trial when it formally begins on Tuesday, assuming a role filled last year by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
President Joe Biden says he thinks Trump’s second impeachment trial “has to happen,” though he acknowledged the effect it could have on his legislative agenda and Cabinet nominees.
While senators will be sworn in as jurors this week, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have agreed to start the trial the week of Feb. 8 to allow both sides more time to prepare.
Trump has officially opened an office in Florida that will serve to continue his political agenda.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle confronted the Biden administration on its $1.9 trillion economic recovery package, lobbying the newly installed White House to take a more targeted approach.
The Justice Department’s inspector general said his office will investigate whether department officials “engaged in an improper attempt” to overturn Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Dominion Voting Systems sued Rudy Giuliani, saying former Trump’s personal attorney defamed the company by spreading accusations that it rigged the 2020 election for Biden.
Just 20 days on from one of the most shocking moments in modern U.S. history, Biden will make his most detailed policy moves yet on racial inequality with a series of executive orders.
Biden also today will direct federal agencies to determine how expansive a ban on new oil and gas leasing on federal land should be, part of a suite of executive orders that will effectively launch his agenda to combat climate change.
Vice President Kamala Harris ceremonially swore in Biden’s defense secretary pick, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, the first Black individual to host that post, on a day that also saw the President reverse his predecessor’s transgender military ban.
Biden’s new order overturns a ban ordered by Trump in a tweet during his first year in office. It immediately prohibits any service member from being forced out of the military on the basis of gender identity.
Biden’s administration will require all federal agencies to expand their understanding of the court’s ruling to protect L.G.B.T. people from discrimination in numerous areas, including housing, education, employment and health care.
Lawmakers confirmed Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary, making her the first woman in American history to hold the position.
McConnell announced he will allow the 50-50 Senate to officially organize so Democrats can take control of key committees after a weeklong battle with Schumer over the rights of the minority to stall legislation.
Biden signed an executive order aimed at promoting the “Buy American” agenda he campaigned on last year, which seeks to bolster U.S. manufacturing through the federal procurement process.
The new policies will include tightening the government procurement rules to make it harder for federal agencies to purchase imported products, revising the definition of American-made products and raising local-content requirements.
Women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct will be compensated from a $17 million fund after a Delaware bankruptcy judge approved a plan to liquidate his former film studio.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, 38, who served as White House press secretary under Trump, announced that she was running for governor in Arkansas, her home state, competing for a seat once held by her father.
Twitter said it had permanently barred Mike Lindell, the chief executive officer of the bedding company MyPillow and a close ally of former Trump, from its service.
Godiva Chocolate is closing all of its North American stores as a result of the pandemic. The mass closure will affect all of the Belgian chocolate brands’ 128 stores in the United States and Canada.
Minnesota health officials confirmed yesterday the first U.S. case of a more contagious coronavirus variant, originating in Brazil.
As the coronavirus assumes contagious new forms, two drug makers reported that their vaccines, while still effective, offer less protection against one variant and began revising plans to turn back an evolving pathogen that has killed more than two million people.
Moderna aid its Covid-19 vaccine appeared to protect against emerging variants of the coronavirus in lab tests, but as a precaution it would test whether a booster shot improves immune responses and develop a new vaccine targeting the strain.
Pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. said it is dropping development of two vaccine candidates it had been pursuing after sparking a subpar immune response.
Anheuser-Busch said it won’t devote a Super Bowl commercial to its flagship Budweiser beer brand this year for the first time since 1983, pledging to redirect spending for the airtime to marketing campaigns related to Covid-19 vaccinations instead.
Biden, under pressure to speed up the pace of coronavirus vaccination, said he was now aiming for the U.S. to administer 1.5 million vaccine doses a day — a goal 50 percent higher than his initial target but one the nation already appears on track to meet.
An optimistic Biden painted a much rosier immunization picture than New York’s political leaders, saying coronavirus vaccines will be available to anyone in the nation by spring.
New York will start relaxing economic restrictions that were imposed after Thanksgiving to respond to an increase in novel coronavirus cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Cuomo said in Buffalo that the state would allow elective surgeries to resume in Erie County, where they were halted on Dec. 4. The DOH will review other restrictions that cover parts of New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and New Rochelle.
Cuomo said he wasn’t re-examining the state’s ban on indoor dining in New York City “at this point.” After a court ruling, indoor dining is allowed, with restrictions, in all other areas of the state.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio took sides in a food fight, backing legislation during the coronavirus pandemic that will dramatically increase the number of street food cart permits opposed by local restaurateurs.
Cuomo announced that the vaccination rate among the state’s health care workers has surpassed 70 percent, reaching a milestone set for communities to obtain herd immunity.
Plans to convert Yankee Stadium and Citi Field into large-scale coronavirus vaccination sites have officially been postponed indefinitely — while 15 existing city inoculation hubs will remain closed as New York continues to struggle with a supply shortage.
Capital Region doctors’ offices say they are growing increasingly frustrated at their inability to obtain coronavirus vaccines, despite having years of experience administering inoculations and the ability to quickly identify eligible populations.
Downstate legislators have introduced a bill that would guarantee public workers four hours off, with pay, to get vaccinated.
People booking vacation rentals in New York on sites like Airbnb Inc. could soon start paying sales taxes that home-sharing companies would collect under a proposal included in Cuomo’s $193 billion budget.
Gothamites who live in the outer boroughs are far more hesitant about taking the coronavirus vaccine than their counterparts in Manhattan, a new survey revealed.
The number of students applying to attend one of the State University of New York’s 64 campuses plummeted by 20 percent this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, Chancellor James Malatras said.
Malatras will deliver his 2021 State of the University System address today.
Cuomo plans to convene a commission to study the crucial but oft-criticized role that mental health officials have in New York’s Family Court system.
State education officials will submit a request for permission from the federal government to forgo state testing this spring in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Reopening city schools will hinge largely on teacher vaccination rate, but NYC has yet to say how many educators have taken the shot thus far.
The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal by former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who is serving a more than six-year federal prison sentence after being convicted on corruption charges.
Plans to replace the aging Wadsworth Center facilities in Albany and Slingerlands have stalled amid New York’s budget crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Sen. James Skoufis proposed legislation that would mandate providing free internet access to all residents in state-run group homes, underscoring the need for the service as families isolate to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Skoufis, the top Democrat on the state Senate Investigations Committee, threatened to subpoena the state Health Department to release the total number of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19, because he’s tired of their months-long stonewalling.
New York Police Department detectives are searching for a dozen suspects in a daylight robbery that occurred at a busy intersection in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chinatown, police officials said.
People close to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. say he’s unlikely to seek a fourth term, leaving a crowded field of eight candidates vying for the most prestigious law enforcement job in New York City.
The NYC Investigation Department is mulling a probe into a city-contracted language interpretation company after workers told the Daily News they earned as little as $4 an hour translating for the city’s public schools and hospitals.
When New York announced new vaccine eligibility guidelines two weeks ago covering millions of additional state residents, one particularly hard-hit group remained unmentioned: the nearly 50,000 people incarcerated in the state’s prisons and jails.
Most inmates at Rikers Island are being held in jails over 50 percent capacity despite continued pressure on jail leaders to keep housing areas half-full, stats and court papers show.
NYC said it would be “impossible” to quickly install Wi-Fi in homeless shelters for remote learning. Some shelter operators have proven them wrong.
A New York City activist who founded the conservative #WalkAway campaign walked into a world of trouble — and federal criminal charges — when he took part in the siege on the Capitol, prosecutors said.
The Port Authority has been told to pay developers $105 million because of losses incurred during construction of the replacement Goethals Bridge connecting New Jersey and Staten Island. The bistate agency said it intends to challenge the decision.
Marcia Sells — a former dancer who became an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn and the dean of students at Harvard Law School — has been hired as the first chief diversity officer of the Met Opera, the largest performing arts institution in the U.S.
Capital Region coronavirus deaths have passed the 800-mark, as area counties confirmed another 16 deaths due to the virus.
Despite the city of Schenectady taking a financial beating from the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Gary McCarthy pledged in his State of the City address that community improvement projects will continue — albeit slower than anticipated.
Schenectady County is the latest locality to take a bite out of skyrocketing food delivery app fees.
Bethlehem Central School District is cracking down on the use of problem-solving apps that help students cheat on math tests.
