So What's Going on in your part of the country?

Parent Cafe
21

I am so sick and sad about the West Coast right now, and especially Oregon, which is close to my heart. I lived there as a kid and loved it.

Portland is such a wonderful city, and I am sad to think of the mess it’s in right now.

Last summer, we were in another part of Oregon where there are currently terrible fires. I have friends there who have evacuated. They return to their home every day and water the house down. I hope it rains.

My mom passed away in May and lived on the Oregon coast. It was so beautiful and lush. I am thankful she hasn’t had to see the tragedy unfolding there now, especially with all the crazy and discredited conspiracy theories about how those fires began.

22

I agree that NYC seems to get a little more lively every day. Some of the private schools are back in session and others aren’t, but it’s really nice to see groups of little kids having their gym class outside. Restaurants are still outdoors and look to be busy. I’m just hoping the weather holds as long as possible because I’m not comfortable dining inside once that’s in place. Mask use very good in my neighborhood, but there is a definite difference in male vs female mask use.

What’s happening on the west coast is heartbreaking.

23

Here in the NC Triangle. No fires or anything like that, but seems like daily house fires, car accidents, and my god the shootings in Durham!! There were 3 shootings just last night!! Very disheartening.

Then there’s daily bad news of all sorts coming out of UNC. Furloughed coaches, $300million deficit, History Dept not taking any grad students, kids going hungry b/c they’ve had to move off campus and have lost their jobs… it’s all just so much!

I haven’t had a chance to talk to S19 yet, but most of his friends are either from SoCal or Wash/Oreg. Hopefully his friends’ families are safe. Just gut wrenching watching what’s going on!

24

My neck of the woods (near Chicago burbs) -

Preface: I feel like my judgement is skewed from the majority on this board because I’ve been working since the end of May at the office (medical deemed essential) so I’m out of the house every day.

That said, we only go to the market 1 x/week (I used to go every day or every other day) and it seems like many people are still utilizing home delivery and avoiding the market.

Mask compliance is still very, very high here. 100% indoors and I would say close to 100% when you can’t socially distance. Everyone carries masks with them, even on the trails, and will mask up when people are approaching if they can’t covid shuffle out of the way.

People are starting to gather more but it’s all outdoors, socially distanced, with masks.

Lots of peaceful protests and marches. One incident of looting early on from outsiders but very calm since.

Schools are fully online for at least another month and then the priority is getting high risk kids back first.

Positivity rate has been around 1- 1 1/2% all summer long. Hoping it stays that way now that some of the college students have returned.

Read this morning that we are starting to have pollution from the fires…all the way in IL. I can’t imagine what it must be like for those of you on the west coast. :frowning:

25

I’m in the Philly area and do not know what @stradmom’s BIL is referring to regarding looting/rioting, unless he is referring back to June events immediately following George Floyd’s death. There was a smallish protest for Jacob Blake but it was peaceful. The city is currently dealing with a homeless encampment issue, but no civil unrest that I have heard about.

Regarding covid, it’s been a pretty quiet summer. Case counts have dropped significantly and then leveled off. People are enjoying being out and about, going to hair and nail salons, eating outside, and some are back in the gym. Youth sports are happening and our local pools were open this summer. People are catching up with medical and dental appointments. Many families have spent time at the Jersey shore this summer, either at their own beach house, at a weekly vacation rental, or taking day trips to the beach. Mask compliance is high where mandated and on the streets in the city (at least it was when I was downtown in June.) Not as high in suburban social settings such as backyard BBQ’s. Families with young children in our neighborhood have extended their kid’s social bubbles but still keeping boundaries around them. Parents were very stressed over the summer waiting for school decisions to be made, but they seem to be settling into the new routines now - the chatter about school on our community facebook page has died down.

Weather here is gorgeous right now!

26

We also are experiencing pollution due to smoke from the fires … all the way in the Detroit area. What should be bright blue fall skies have been dull white yesterday and today.

I went to the dermatologist today, and the medical building was hopping. Everyone had on masks, and everyone kept their distance. A few elderly people were waiting in the hallways to be even more distanced. I am glad to see that people are doing what is necessary to allow life to go on with some sense of normalcy.

27

CT…it feels like early fall…and it’s a nice change from our very hot summer. Leaves are now starting to change, and it is supposed to be a beautiful foliage season.

Nice time to be outdoors with a light jacket or sweatshirt. Great outdoor walking weather.

28

In Colorado, the heat and smoke from the wildfires is definitely affecting quality of life. There have been several “unhealthy air quality” days which means closed windows and limited outdoor exercise, which a lot of us are doing to stay sane during the pandemic. The 8" of snow we got last week helped but we desperately need more moisture. There are still areas of the state where one can escape the smoke and breathe maskless and many people have retreated to second homes, long-term rentals, and campsites.

Our 7-day CV19 positivity rate hovers at 3% but many schools remain closed for in person learning. Boulder’s numbers have spiked due to college parties in the local neighborhoods even as the CU campus is closed to most undergrads. Compliance with the statewide mask mandate is high and the governor just extended the mandate for another 30 days through mid-October.

Life is simple these days: mask up, pray for snow, and head for the hills at the end of the workweek. Stay safe, everyone.

29

I live by by coast in San Diego and the air quality here has not been as bad as other places in California. Masks are worn indoors by everyone, but at some of the beaches with a lot of tourists mask compliance is not as good.

I live within walking distance of UCSD and our neighborhood is concerned about the university bringing back 7,500 students to live on campus over the next few weeks. We believe there will be a spike in Covid cases in our area when the students return and many don’t follow the rules. SDSU brought back fewer students to their campus and they now have almost 650 positive cases. We have really loved not having many students here as the UCSD campus is very large and gives us a great place for our evening walks to get our 6 to 7 miles in.

30

NH. Starting to cool off (finally), and the haze has reached us. Has not rained much in the past few months, so it will be interesting to see how leaf season goes.

31

Need to send hurricane Sally to the west coast. Plenty of rain!

32

Relatively quiet here in NJ. Definitely a haze in the air from the West Coast, but delightfully fall-like weather. Keeping an eye on the hurricane maps as always, but none look to be heading this way.

Protests and rallies happen here and there still; have continued to be peaceful as they were all summer. Continued kudos to the city police departments (particularly Camden and Newark) for their pro-citizen responses.

I spend time at both ends of the state–I don’t stop anywhere in between and think of my car as a tube I traverse from one spot to the other, no stops along the way. Haven’t been anywhere else. Mask wearing is universal inside, and fairly prevalent in crowded areas like busy streets and parks at the north, much less at the south (the Shore.) But overall, very little overt protests or incidents about them.

Even though the positive rate has stayed low, we are very gun-shy about returning to the horror of last spring, and we have seen other states open up too much and the bad results. Of course, there is a minority of “open-the-state!” folk online, but most have accepted the very slow loosening of restrictions.

Schools started last week, or the week before, and are mostly hybrid or all online. Our town was going to do hybrid, but started online because schools couldn’t guarantee air filtering. After a lot of parent concerns, things seems to be going well. The local FB board is filled with positive comments.

I am teaching four online college classes. They seem to be going well, and students are participating and learning. My college has some hybrid classes, but I am one of many who opted for all online for the fall.

I haven’t done any outdoor dining out, of the storied “abundance of caution” and so I can stay bubbled with family. But it seems to be going really well. Limited indoor just started, and hopefully that won’t bump up the numbers.

I have enjoyed the daily outside-ness that we’ve had with eating, meeting friends, and just walking/biking. I do worry about how isolation will take hold more when the weather gets too cold.

But I will enjoy this beautiful day.

33

Haze from the fires have reached us here at the Jersey Shore. The weather has taken a turn for the cooler. It’s a little too chilly for my liking. September is traditionally “local summer” with warm days and the ocean warm enough for swimming but no tourists left. This year, it got chilly quickly and the ocean is constantly wild from the many tropical storms out at sea. Feels like a very quick switch to autumn, in a year when we could really use a little Indian summer to extend the outdoor dining and entertaining season.

Schools are back in session with a hybrid plan. While we’ve opted to keep my D24 fully remote, it is a pleasure to see the playground at the elementary school across the street full of happy children again.

Traffic has increased significantly all summer. We were up in NYC about six weeks ago for a daytime appointment, and it was very quiet, though we were in a notoriously quiet area (UES). I have heard from friends that downtown is starting to feel alive again.