. @ManikkaB: "We have to remember that we are not the enemy — the virus is. Just because the School Committee voted to restore in-person learning for those who want it, doesn’t mean we are ignoring the health, safety or opinions of teachers." wickedlocal.com/story/cambridg… #CambMA

"Exclusionary zoning" isn't some aberrant application/recent misuse/unintended side effect of zoning. Economic segregation is and always was the point of zoning. The sooner we dispense with the ahistorical "factories in residential neighborhoods" origin story, the better.

Two great papers out today on how to improve compliance with restrictions and thus make real, lasting inroads against viral transmission, getting us out of the tunnel faster. Turns out the answer is not blunt instruments, slogans, threats and fines (who knew?) Micro-thread:

This very long article from the New Yorker describes ideas on what happened in India with the sudden turning off of hospitalization from COVID-19. By the way, immunity happens; it is not a bad word. newyorker.com/magazine/2021/…

Since Jan 1, 2020, 35,000 kids under the age of 18 died in the US. Just 200 of them involve COVID-19. Out of 500,000 COVID-19 deaths. We shut down schools for millions of kids for a disease that accounted for less than 1% of all children deaths and 0.04% of all COVID deaths.

CDC misinterpreted our research on opening schools. It should loosen the rules now usatoday.com/story/opinion/… via USA TODAY

This is well done. Personally, I think one takeaway is it's hard to solve COVID through lockdowns alone. There's a limit on how much people are willing to limit social contact, many jobs can't be remote, some people live in crowded living quarters, etc. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

I feel like the J&J vaccine pause is a real world example of the "Trolley Problem".

Totally. Outdoor mask mandates were always a distraction. They allowed us to be angry at one another and could not have done more than very little/ nothing to change the trajectory of the pandemic. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

Aerosol scientists kept telling me that plexiglass barriers might be making things *worse* by blocking ventilation. Just out in Science. Desk shields associated with *increased* illness risk in schools. Closing playground? Also uptick. So many upshots. science.sciencemag.org/content/early/…

The Kids Were Safe the Whole Time nymag.com/intelligencer/… via Intelligencer

I saw my kids acting workshop performance today. Sadly all the kids were masked so it was hard to understand them at times. This despite the fact that they required proof of vaccination to attend.

I just downloaded and updated the firmware in my Christmas tree lights.

I just made a recipe out of an old Betty Crocker cookbook without obsessively searching recipes online. Felt liberating

My new way of playing Wordle. My first guess must be a word I found in Spelling Bee the same day.

Cambridge kids can! #CambMA ⁦Backsliding on eighth-grade algebra in ⁦Cambridge Schools⁩ must stop. Equity & Inclusion are non negotiable. Love for our students demand we step up. Young PeoplesProject⁩ ⁦⁦The Algebra Project, Inc.⁩ cambridgeday.com/2023/05/02/dis…