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| Shaba and Inhlonipho Have Developed A Sweet Bond (San Diego Zoo 6.16.21) |
It was a pretty darn good day. I was super productive this morning, it wasn't nearly as hot as expected, and there are so many rad shows the Casbah will be announcing that I'm looking forward to going to shows again, albeit still with some trepidation.
By afternoon, I dragged Darren to the San Diego Zoo with me for a couple hours, giving the kid some time and space alone before she went to night skate at San Diego Derby United.
The zoo was almost like pre-pandemic times. The parking lot appeared full, even though we scored the very first spot at the best row by the bus loading zone. Some people were masked and others weren't, so we kept ours handy whenever anyone came in our orbits. A lot of the plastic barricades that gave extra distance from animals and hand railings are gone, and some plexiglass is gone- like on the maned wolf habitat and the extra-plexi on Skyfari- though some remained, like by the red-tailed and swamp monkeys in the Ituri forest. Skyfari is no longer skipping cars, and the buses are running again. In fact, the Kangaroo Bus (where you can jump on and off) wasn't even asking for people's memberships. The elevator is unmanned, but people were pretty cool about still not mixing families in cars, at least when we took it.
Tourists are definitely back...it isn't often you see a man in wranglers and cowboy boots wandering around these parts...and I actually enjoyed hearing all the accents and foreign languages, albeit from a distance. People were genuinely ecstatic to be there. Well, except for the two or three kids who'd been there all day and were whining, "why can't we just go home already?!?"
Besides all that, there's this really cute thing happening. A few months back, two young male elephants were relocated to the zoo. The three females are all older and this is their retirement village, but they brought in a 9 and 10 year old...one from Tucson and one from San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The boys seem to be getting along. We actually saw them engaging in some sexual activity a few weeks ago which is apparently normal in the absence of mating females. But twice this week we've gone and Shaba, the older African elephant female has totally taken a shine to Inhlonipho. They're separated by steel wire, but he adores her. She waits for him to eat and then when he's done he comes to her and they caress each other with their trunks, bump tusks, and hug as best that elephants separated by fencing and wire cables can. It's wholesome and beautiful and I could sit and watch them for hours. It definitely warms the heart.
Which is maybe why I'm in such a good mood. Biden and Putin meeting were the main news, but the bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday passed congress, which means it just needs Biden's signature now. We've been trying to find the right time to get Nova a kitten, but were kinda seeing how things are going with 21 year old Kiwi, but she's still hanging on, so we have to just move on it, which was why I was so happy to see the "Smitten With A Kitten" promotion going on at the Humane Society (info below.) We didn't really know what to get her for her 8th grade promotion gift, so this will actually work out spectacularly if we can pull it off. And this afternoon we were catching up with our late night comedy snippets and caught Governor Newsom on The Late Late Show with James Corden and our local Congresswoman Sara Jacobs was on Tooning Out The News.
People are laughing again.
People are smiling again.
It's okay to still be cautious while also being hopeful and optimistic and happy again.
I'm warming up to it all.
Stay safe out there.
- COVID-19:
- CDC releases framework for treating COVID-19 long-haulers - Becker's Hospital Review (6.16.21)
- Experts “extremely worried” about Delta variant as US death toll hits 600,000. Vaccines are effective against the variant, but experts worry about low vaccination rates. - ars Technica (6.15.21)
- The Delta variant is spreading. What does it mean for the US? Covid-19 cases have fallen far below the winter peak, but the Delta variant has roughly doubled every two weeks in the US. - The Guardian (6.16.21)
- Regeneron antibody saves lives in some hospitalized Covid patients, study finds - STAT News (6.16.21)
- More evidence suggests COVID-19 was in US by Christmas 2019 - AP News (6.15.21)
- California & Local Stuff:
- Congresswoman Sara Jacobs made an appearance on satire show Tooning Out The News segment "The Establishment with Tory Hughes," and it was pretty funny. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube.
- California Governor Newsom appeared on The Late Late Show with James Cordon. Watch it on YouTube here.
- Updated Limited Order of the Health Officer - San Diego County HHS (Effective 6.15.21)
- California Roars Back: At Six Flags Magic Mountain, Governor Newsom Announces $4.5 Million Six Flags Ticket Giveaway as California Fully Reopens - Gov. Newsom Newsroom (6.16.21)
- As part of historic Vax for the Win program, 50,000 Californians aged 12+ will get a free ticket to Six Flags upon receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine dose at select clinic locations
- California’s full reopening on June 15 marked the end of social distancing, capacity restrictions, county tiers and masks for vaccinated Californians
- California was one of the only states in the country to achieve a week-over-week increase in the rate of vaccinations as part of a historic Vax for the Win program
- Mayor Gloria’s Statement on California Reopening (6.15.21)
- White House:
- Remarks by President Biden in Press Conference
- Remarks by President Biden Before Air Force One Departure
- U.S.-Russia Presidential Joint Statement on Strategic Stability
- Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Meeting with Members of the Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives
- Statement From Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders on Vice President Kamala Harris’s Meeting with Texas State Legislators on Voting Rights
- News:
- Excessive Heat Warning Continues. Flex Alert Issued for Thursday, June 17. 5-10pm:
- Excessive Heat Warning extended for San Diego Valleys through Friday 6/19/21, at 9:00 p.m.
- ISO issues Flex Alert for energy conservation tomorrow. Extreme heat forecast; consumer help will be key to preventing outages. - California Independent System Operator (6.16.21)
- Rotating power outages - California ISO
- California, Texas Urge Energy Conservation to Avoid Outages as Heat Wave Builds - California News Times (6.16.21)
- San Diego Humane Society is running a promotion called "Smitten With A Kitten". Through June 30th, they're adopting kittens for just $25 and $5 more if you adopt a second one. They currently have 180 kittens that need adoption. Appointments are no longer necessary, but walk-ins are first come, first served.
- Congress approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday - AP News (6.16.21)
- Who are the 14 House Republicans who voted against a Juneteenth holiday? And why? - USA Today (6.16.21)
- Other Reading:
- Who to Call for Help When You Don’t Want to Call the Cops. 911 isn’t the only option—and it might not be the best one. Here’s a basic guide to how to handle emergency situations without involving the police. - Vice (6.16.21)
- Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 6.16.21 ):
- 176,960,993 Known Cases
- 3,830,346 Known Deaths
- US COVID-19 Stats
- CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
- JHU
- 33,498,145 Cases
- 33,498,145 Deaths
- CDC Data Tracker:
- +12,322 New Cases/33,315,272 Known Cases
- +373 New Deaths/597,965 Known Deaths
- 375,186,675 Doses Delivered
- 312,915,170 Doses Administered
- 175,053,401 Partially Vaccinated
- 146,456,124 Fully Vaccinated
- California COVID-19 Stats:
- State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
- Vaccination progress dashboard
- R-effective: 0.78
- 47,261,000 Doses Delivered/39,928,211 Doses Administered
- 3,631,304 Partially Vaccinated/18,970,053 Fully Vaccinated
- 699 New Cases/3,698,626 Total Cases (2.0 new cases/100k)
- 19 New Deaths/62,534 Total Deaths (0.04 new deaths/100k)
- 0.8% 7-day test positivity rate
- 1,256 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (+5 patients, +0.4% from prior day)
- 268 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (-4 patients, -1.5% from prior day)
- 2,443 ICU beds available (-145 from prior day)
- San Diego County
- Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
- VaccinationSuperstationSD
- Vaccination Dashboard
- San Diego County Of Education School Reopening Dashboard
- Evening COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics Coming to North, East, South County
- State Data:
- R-effective: 0.93
- 61 New Cases/281,375 Total Cases
- 0 Deaths/3,770 Total Deaths
- 1.9 cases/100k population (Assessed on 6/15. Unadjusted Case Rate)
- 1.1% Test Positivity (Assessed on 6/15)
- 1.2% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 6/15)
- 84 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (+5 patients, +6.3% from prior day)
- 24 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (0 patients, 0% from prior day)
- 280 ICU beds available (-6 from prior day)
- County Data:
- 48 New Cases/281,422 Total Cases
- 0 New Daily Deaths/3,770 Total Deaths
- 4,244,615 Doses Received/3,918,701 Doses Administered
- 2,123,647 Partially Vaccinated/1,776,647 Fully Vaccinated (63.4% 12+ Population/53.1% of Total Population)
- +13,280 Newly Fully Vaccinated Since Yesterday
- 0.6% Daily Test Positivity/1.0% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/0.8% Test Positivity (14-day average)
- 1.3 cases/100k population (Assessed on 6/15. Adjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.)
- 97.3% Case Investigation
- -0.9% Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (69 patients. -38% over 30 days)
- 38% ICU Capacity (20 patients. -51% over 30 days)
- 59 Staffed ICU Beds Available
- 1 New/2 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
- Universities:
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