I don't think you're missing much in AZ. The last few years, late May's been a crapshoot, heat-wise. Sometimes we'll have excellent weather (temperatures in the 90s are somewhat reasonable so long as humidity is low) other times it can be a blast furnace with temps in the mid-100's Fahrenheit.

My parents, grandmother, gf and I were supposed to go to NYC in early October, but that's been put on hold. Apparently our hotel reservation is valid for another year or two. We got airfare vouches, but who knows what the US domestic airline industry will look like this time next year, much less if United Airlines will still be in business or will have merged with/bought another airline? I wasn't, and am still not, looking forward to flying into Newark but whatever.

Looking like potentially June for a potential NYC reopening. "Potentially".

I am driving (not flying) to Upstate NY to visit family sometime in June or July and will pass through NYC on the way up. Hopefully it will still be quiet enough to get some decent photos without the throngs of tourists.

I would be all over London with a pair of DSLR's taking advantage of the empty streets.

Los Angeles County beaches will reopen this Wednesday with some restrictions.

From deadline.com:

L.A. County Coronavirus Update: Los Angeles Beaches Reopening On Wednesday


By Tom Tapp
May 11, 2020 4:06pm

UPDATED WEDNESDAY, 4 PM On Monday afternoon, a notice appeared on the Los Angeles County Twitter feed announcing that L.A. County beaches would reopen on Wednesday, May 13.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXxE3CnU...jpg&name=small

Shortly thereafter came confirmation that the news was, indeed, true.

Los Angeles County officials announced that area beaches, which have been closed since March 27, will reopen Wednesday for active use only, but parking lots, piers and boardwalks will remain off limits.

L.A. beaches have been shut down even as the coastline reopened for active use in Orange County.

“Active use only” only means no sunbathing, sitting on the sand, setting up canopies or picnicking, according to the Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Beach parking lots will remain closed, as will beach bike paths and all piers and boardwalks, according to the county.

Beachgoers will also have to wear masks and maintain a six-foot buffer between themselves and others under continued social-distancing requirements.

Despite active-use-only restrictions, many people have recently been seen in Orange County lying on towels and sunbathing, in apparent defiance of the requirements.

In Los Angeles County, surfers have already been taking to the waves for the past couple days with no interference.

Authorities have said they would try to educate people in violation of the rules instead of issuing citations.

Manhattan Beach Mayor Richard Montgomery asked residents to adhere to the rules.

“I urge everyone to follow all Public Health Orders for your safety and your neighbors, and please use the beach responsibly by practicing physical distancing,” he said in a statement.

“The beach will be open for active uses only, such as walking, running, surfing and swimming,” said Montgomery. “If beach visitors do not follow all the rules, the state of California or Los Angeles County can once again close our beaches.”

Earlier on Monday, when asked specifically about reopening on Wednesday, L.A. County Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer demurred.

Ferrer said that the county was working on a plan and hoped to reopen beaches “this week.” She was not more specific about exact timing.

“It will be with a lot of restrictions in place, so there won’t be overcrowding” she said. “It’ll be for active recreation only.”

[...]

Link: https://deadline.com/2020/05/l-a-cou...ay-1202931893/

The numbers for the city tourism are going to be horrific this year. Summer is a massive peak season for the NY Metro, especially internationally. I think it may be a while before tourist numbers go back to what they use to be. I'd imagine a lot of vacation savings got wiped out from this pandemic (Americans, and international folks).

67 million visited NYC in 2019. I wonder what 2020's numbers will yield.

You know, when all this started(and I, like many, thought this would be over in 2-4 weeks as far as lockdowns go) I was so thankful about *when* all this started. Imagine if this happened a month before Christmas, holy shit. Or if it started in May, destroying the summer. Now, it is looking like it will still destroy some of the summer for some people, but it could have been worse.

But yeah, if this started like a week before Thanksgiving...Jesus.

You're not allowed to sit on a beach in Southern CA? And this is "reopening"? Completely absurd.

What if I sit on a rock in the tide pools? Is someone gonna lock me up for not social distancing from the sea urchins?

after the virus wrecks the economy, the landscape is going to look very different. rip the quirky little guys, like gem spa newsstand.


https://champ.gothamist.com/champ/go...anently-closed


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http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9bzchrzb.jpg

About an hour south of where I live is Greenville, SC, home to one of the finest downtowns to be found in any small American city.

Lunchtime along Main Street quiet as Greenville restaurants begin reopening indoor dining
By Haley Walters

Source.

Can we please be accurate in our language? The virus has done very little to the economy, very little. The government is probably responsible for 70-80% of economic issues.

You must compare this to the economic damage the virus would have done in the absence of government action.

Economic volatility is 100% emotional reaction. That will never change. If the government never shut things down and infection/ fatality rates were higher than they were, there would have been panic and people would have self isolated on their own killing off a lot of hospitality and 'non essential' businesses anyway. The markets would have still had a free fall and layoffs would have still occurred. Price of oil would have still tanked over lack of demand. The only unknown would be if and when people would feel comfortable return normalcy...assuming the pandemic was left to 'burn itself out' without intervening.

Yeah, let daily US deaths get to the five figures...that would go well.

The do-nothing scenarios got into the 1,500,000-dead range in the US alone, with tent cities full of people basically left to die.

I'm searching for the article I read in the NYT yesterday that showed the drop in consumer spending in several areas (entertainment, restaurants, etc) had dropped by 20-40% in the couple of weeks before any government shutdowns even started.

If anything the shutdowns were the best shot to SAVE the economy from a longer lasting depression. A chance to give some stability with a plan, some dates, some benchmarks. Letting it "burn itself out" and the ensuing chaos and confusion would just create a prolonged panic. Unfortunately, now we have confusion AND shutdowns. Our country really botched this whole thing.

How to protest when you’re immuno-compromised and can’t hit the streets? ‘Plane banner!’
By Josh Shaffer

Source.

https://www.newsobserver.com/latest-..._NC_TEL_01.JPG
Source.

Metro St. Louis is turning into a mess.

Jefferson and St. Charles County (this is St. Louis' high growth county) reopened when the governor lifted his "restrictions" earlier this month. The city and St. Louis County are allowing restaurants and bars to reopen at 25% capacity on the 18th, although both will still have more restrictions than places like St. Charles County.

Meanwhile, in Illinois, Madison County, which makes up one of the primary Illinois suburban counties, just voted to reopen against Pritzker's orders.

Someone grab the popcorn.

NYC Figures (As of time of this post):

Queens has 56,899 cases.
Brooklyn (Kings) has 50,079 cases.
Bronx has 41,746 cases.
Manhattan at 22,771 cases.
Richmond (Staten Island) at 12,733 cases (least dense borough).

Total of 27,477 deaths in the 5-boroughs AND NY State. 1/3 in Nursing homes.

21,845 being within 5-boroughs.

As a Hornets cheerleader, she’s been sidelined. As a nurse, she’s most definitely not.
By Theoden Janes

Source.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/ne...F4745DF43F.JPG
Source.

This is such a false statement. Restaurant reservations dropped by around 90% before stay at home orders. Most major festivals, concerts, conferences, sporting events, etc canceled voluntarily as well. And the airline industry collapsed entirely on its own. We were going to see a major recession spurred by a collapse of the entertainment/travel/hospitality industry regardless of what actions state governments took in March/April.

Totally. And even here in SoCal, people who were able to, were encouraged by employers to work from home well before California's stay-at-home order. Traffic was already getting lighter during rush hour by mid or late February.