How on earth is it really mid-November and there are only 45 days left in the year? How is 2022 nearly upon us? Who else feels simultaneously very young and very old? Is this what Schrödinger’s cat feels like?
This morning, Mayor Bowser held a COVID-19 situational update. I live-tweeted the event, which you can read here, thanks to Thread Reader App. The key takeaways in the update are as follows:
The mask mandate will be lifted next Monday, November 22. You no longer have to half-heartedly keep your mask on at restaurants! Some parts of the mandate do remain in place, however: Masks are still required at schools, government offices, aboard transportation, at nursing homes and correctional facilities and other places where people congregate. However, places like churches, businesses, gyms, etc. will require masks at the discretion of owners or leaders.
DC Health is moving toward focusing on the endemic nature of COVID. No longer will we foolishly focus on getting to zero cases. COVID won’t go away. SARS CoV-2 is on its way to becoming a respiratory virus that circulates endemically through the population, and as such, the focus of DC Health will be on mitigation strategies (like masking..?) and on vaccination efforts. GET VACCINATED! If you’re on Twitter, please vote on the poll below. The more answers, the more significant the results 😉
What else is going on?
Did you love the voting and election changes introduced last year? They may become permanent. Washington Informer
Even though there is much work to be done, the District and the U.S. Marshals service have entered an agreement to fix the troubling conditions at the DC Jail. In today’s update, city administrator Kevin Donahue mentioned that only about 100 prisoners had been moved out of the area, down from the original number of about 400. Washington Post
Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune will have a second statue in the neighborhood– specifically, at the Capitol Visitors Center. Her likeness will replace the statue of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith as one of two statues representing the state of Florida at the statuary. Yahoo!News/Atlanta Black Star
Looks like 319 Pennsylvania may break the curse with a little bit of Mexican cuisine. The Delaware restaurant group behind Harvest Tide on 7th Street (at the former Acqua al 2 spot) are bringing Zoca to the western end of the neighborhood. Zoca promises jumbo margaritas in many different styles, which is probably one of the most exciting things ever. We predict that if this place takes off, it may become a spot to spot many a politico. Eater DC
You may recall that the spot, formerly home to Stanton and Greene and, for many years, to the Pour House and PoliTiki, was going to become a sportsbet and a queer safe space– neither of which came to fruition. THIH
As You Are, the queer bar and safe space that was going to be at 319 Pennsylvania and then not, will now be coming to the corner of 8th and E Streets SE. You may recall this as the former home of Banana Cafe and subsequently of District Soul Food. Looks like things are off to a good start. They’ll open sometime in 2022. Wonder if there will be karaoke, like Banana used to have upstairs? WCP
Butter Chicken Company has left H Street for, apparently, nationwide? It seems the owners want to take the franchise to a national level. Luckily for the fans of the flavors, Bombay Street Food 2 is still going strong on Barracks Row. PoPville
Speaking of franchises, our friends at LawnStarter have an infographic on fast food. DC is the 18th best city in the country for fast food lovers. The dubious number one honor goes to Orlando, Florida. Peas and carrots? More like Mac and Mickey, amirite? Anyway, it’s good to know that while the quality of the food isn’t great here, the accessibility is tops. The Popeyes rats would agree.
Speaking of rats, and with apologies to all of you for even going there again, did you know that the National Zoo has an exhibit called “Life Inside the Walls of DC”? I’ll leave you with this visual and a wish for sweet dreams.