April 27, 2020 Update

Welcome back after the weekend!  Things were kind of busy for our family - in a social distancing kind of way.  We participated in a family event with 40 other Zoom participants, and got some good work done in and around the house and yard.  Hope you all had a productive weekend.

Coronavirus Stats

Nationally, there have been 957,875 cases and 53,922 fatalities according to the CDC.

State of Utah:

Utah County:  828 cases with 42 hospitalizations and 7 fatalities.

News of Interest

• Mayor Kaufusi wrote a guest editorial in the Daily Herald this weekend explaining why she and other mayors have not issued mandatory stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.
• We continue to work on the planning for a limited reopening of some city facilities in the near future.  More announcements will come later this week, but there is a very intense staff-led effort to be prepared for action at the state level to begin to reopen government services.
• The Provo Library is starting curbside service today as the first step in their return to serving our residents more directly.
  

Provo Social Media

• Downtown Provo is sponsoring a "sticker challenge."  They have commissioned some custom, limited edition stickers and will give out some to people who patronize downtown businesses and records their experience on social media. 
• The Provo Police Department shared a story on social media last week about a supportive relationship between Master Officer Robyn Newell and an elderly Provo resident.  You will want to read about this story on Facebook.

The Mayor's Day

Today, the Mayor's calendar included:

• Meeting with Chief Ferguson
• Meeting with Chief Miguel
• Weekly staff meeting
• Two meetings on finalizing budget recommendations for FY 2021
• Conference call with the County Commissioners, Utah County Mayors and the Utah County Health Department on pandemic related issues
• Meeting with several different Mayor's Office staff members
• Meeting with City Attorney Robert West
  

Resources for Employees During the Pandemic

• Last week we shared a couple of resources about mindfulness and meditation.  This little infographic has some great tips for taking your efforts at meditation to the next level.

Fun Stuff

So, I have been asked from time to time (usually at parties) about my most embarrassing moment.  While there are probably many to choose from, one stands out from the others in a big way.

I was serving as a scoutmaster many years ago, and my 12 year old son was one of my scouts.  We were at the old Provo indoor pool one evening doing a swim skills test before summer scout camp.  At the end of the skills test, some of the adults with sons put their sons on their back and did a game of "chicken fight" in the pool where the boys on the dads' shoulders try to knock each other off.

 

Well, my son looped his legs over and beneath my shoulders and inadvertently stuck his feet in the pockets of my swim trunks.  As a boy in our competition knocked my son off my shoulders, my son's feet came with him, and tore the side seams of my swim trunks on both sides.  I didn't quite know what had happened until I looked down and saw that the front and back half of my swim trunks were floating up around my waist.  I quickly grabbed and tried to close what remained of my swim trunks and very carefully walked to the side of the pool where my son grabbed my towel and helped me wrap up in it as I left the pool and went to get dressed.  My wife snapped this picture after we got home and we told her the story.  So - super glad the City's CAO wasn't cited with indecent exposure in the pool that evening.  And glad I was able to make a swift and fairly modest escape from a situation that might otherwise have been even more humiliating.

 Have a great day - we will check back in tomorrow.

Wayne