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🗣 "I don't always know the right thing to say"
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🗣 "I don't always know the right thing to say"

Deep breaths, Orlando. | Thanks for the tag, @the_sleepy_engineer. Want to see your photo here? Tag #pulptown to be featured in our Instagram of the day. We welcome some internet cheer!

What Orlando is talking about

Yesterday was the fourth day of protests in downtown Orlando with the largest turnout we’ve seen yet.

More than 2,000 people attended a Justice for George rally at City Hall mid-afternoon. Local community members including State Attorney candidate Monique Worrell, former Orange County Black Caucus President Russell Drake, President of the Osceola County Black Caucus Tamika Lyles, and others spoke to the crowds, calling for change.

During the rally, police officers were staged around City Hall in a bicycle barricade.

Over the next seven hours, protestors marched through downtown, around Lake Eola, down Amelia Street, over to OPD headquarters and back again, and they chanted “No justice, no peace”, “Silence is violence”, “Say his name”, and “Black Lives Matter”.

Then the few hundred protestors that were left, staged a sit-in back at City Hall just before curfew. There, police used smoke and tear gas and arrested people for throwing rocks and bottles, though Twitter is abuzz with conflicting stories about how things went down.

In related news…

Orange County remains under curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. until further notice. Mayor Jerry Demings said the curfew was intended as a proactive measure and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and that it “really had nothing to do with trying to stifle individuals from being able to express their First Amendment rights … my goal, again, is to stop the spread of the virus.” Demings warned that protests could lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases, in turn delaying the next phase in Orange County’s reopening plan. (Click Orlando)

And in other news… 

According to a recent survey by AAA, 42 percent of Floridians say they are less likely to evacuate for a major hurricane this year due to fears of contracting COVID-19. And 29 percent said they wouldn’t leave their homes if told to evacuate. (AAA)

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cristobal became the third named storm of the 2020 hurricane season yesterday. It’s projected to stay in the Gulf of Mexico but will likely send heavy rains to Central Florida by the weekend. (Orlando Sentinel)

The rocket booster used in Saturday’s launch of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station arrived safely back in Port Canaveral yesterday. (Click Orlando)

Ceviche is not reopening. The tapas bar and restaurant announced its permanent closure yesterday on Facebook. (Bungalower)

Looking for COVID-19-related news? Keep reading. 👇

Updates on COVID-19

COVID-19 By the numbers 

📊 As of yesterday, there have been 57,447 positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Florida (up 4,162 from Monday) and 2,530 deaths reported (up 166). There are 2,048 cases in Orange County, 709 in Osceola, 493 in Seminole, and 306 in Lake.

So far, 1.05 million tests have been conducted in the state and 5.5% of those tests have been positive, meaning 992,305 have been negative for COVID-19.

It’s still not clear how many people have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida. Our current numbers reflect retests and according to the Miami Herald, only test results from state labs, not private ones — and private labs are completing more than 90 percent of state tests.

Things to know 

🏠 Gov. DeSantis extended the suspension of evictions and foreclosures until July 1, though tenants are still expected to pay back their rent. Orange County has a helpful FAQ about eviction protections and housing assistance here.

Clarification 

😷  On Monday, we shared news from Tampa Bay Times that said Florida’s death toll from COVID-19 could be anywhere from 17 to 58 percent higher than current numbers. We should’ve also acknowledged (thank you Caleb P. for holding us accountable) that according to health researcher Troy Quast who worked with TBT on the analysis, “The testing for coronavirus is not 100 percent accurate. You have false positives and false negatives.”

*Today’s newsletter is a bit long, so the helpful resources you would usually find here have been removed for brevity but can still be found in Monday’s newsletter.

Free books? Summer Reading Program? Online classes?
(📸: Pulptown)

Share your ideas

We are excited to launch a summer project that you will definitely want to check out.

Over the next few months, we’ll be declaring our love for the Orange County Library System with a series we’re calling: 101 Things We Love About The Library.

Why 101 reasons? To celebrate 101 E. Central Blvd — the headquarters for OCLS.

To jump-start our list of 101 Things We Love, we wanna know: What do you love about the library? What are some of your favorite resources, programs, or groups? Have an amazing tip you wanna share?

Add your thoughts to this form and you may see them pop up this summer.

Advertisement for Orange County Library System produced by The Pulptown Creative Studio 

Today

🏥 Hear from health experts on how to safely get back to work in a world with COVID-19 (Online)

🗣 Learn the importance of legislation and preservation of Florida's natural lands (Online)

Tomorrow

🗣 Want to really impact change? Get to know who you're voting for, then vote! (Online)

🍿 Swirlery is hosting another drive-in movie and wine night (SoDo)

Friday

💻 Take a crash course in Central Florida History 101 (Online)

🗣 Join this virtual conversation about race and unity, hosted by UCF (Online)

Saturday

🍩 Celebrate National Doughnut Day a day late with Little Blue Donut Co. (Audubon Park)

🌈 Tune in to get the scoop on plans for Gay Days Halloween (Online)

One last thing...

Many of you have reached out to ask for a comprehensive guide of black-owned businesses — we’re working on it, promise (stay tuned). But a really good place to start is the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida’s member directory.

There’s also this web post we published in August chockfull of black-owned businesses, these lists by News 6 and Orlando Weekly, and this roundup by The Milk District.

Now, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, and if you’re protesting today, COVID-19 is still around and the CDC still recommends wearing a mask and social distancing.

See y’all again on Friday!

–Pulptown

P.S. Today’s newsletter was written while listening to the Stay in the Know playlist on Spotify, a compilation of various podcast episodes talking about America’s history of racism, how we got here, and what we can do next. ❤️  Give it a go. Then please respond and tell me what you’re reading/watching/listening to.

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