Quarentimes #2 – Quarantine Census Consensus |Marita Garrett, Sara Innamarato, Gina Winstead

The Drinking Partners, in conjunction with the City of Pittsburgh’s Inclusive Innovation, podcast from their porches with a trio of dazzling and consequential women. Listen in as Ed and Day interview Mayor Marita Garrett, Representative Sara Innamarato, and Director of Diversity and Inclusion with the Pittsburgh Technology Council Gina Winstead. Up first, of course, is what they are sipping on: a port wine, an IC Light Mango, and a pretzel beer, which Ed and Day fear is a major flex on them. After a steady supply of jokes, Mayor Garrett and Rep. Innamarato discuss community engagement during pandemic times, while Ms. Winstead explains the technical side of the digital shift and how essential it is to help small businesses make the change. The central focus of this Drinking Partners episode is the importance of the US Census and how technology impacts the 2020 census. “If you’re not counted, you literally do not count,” Mayor Garrett reminds listeners, especially in Black and Latinx communities. Rep. Innamarato expands upon this by explaining that the number counts are used to help bring money back into communities, from infrastructure to school lunches to healthcare. The women answer and address concerns about the privacy of the census answers, gerrymandering, how this census is the first that can be done online, and various other concerns. Midway through, during a question and answer segment from those watching on Zoom, the responses become a bit more animated and lot more amusing. A classic Drinking Partners interview, with the as-expected mixture of merriment and useful information.