Hey there! It’s Wednesday, and my dog, Princess Leia, ate my entire Caesar salad when I left my desk for two minutes. And then she ate my husband’s dinner. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Does Chicago need to rethink downtown?

About 68% of real estate in Chicago’s Loop area is dedicated to office space, according to an analysis in The New York Times, which raises questions about the future of downtown business districts that suffered during the pandemic.

Downtown areas, which are typically the economic heart of a city, are more sustainable when they offer a diverse mix of residential buildings and civic attractions in addition to offices, researchers told the newspaper.

Relying too much on offices is a risky bet, as the pandemic has shown, because that means a city’s downtown tax base is tied too closely to office property values. And even before the pandemic, offices were vulnerable to recessions. [NYT]

2. Biden briefed on the shooting of federal agents during Chicago area visit

President Joe Biden made his first visit today to the Chicago area since being sworn in, and the trip came after two federal agents and a Chicago police officer were shot earlier in the day near a police station on the Far South Side.

According to the Chicago Tribune, White House officials said Biden had spoken with Mayor Lori Lightfoot during the flight to Chicago about the shootings and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

The mayor briefly met with Biden after Air Force One landed at O’Hare International Airport. It’s not clear what exactly was said between the two, but Lightfoot told reporters earlier in the week that she would press the president for help with reducing crime and “common sense gun control.” [Chicago Tribune]

3. COVID-19 vaccines remain effective against the delta variant, studies show

The highly contagious delta variant is now the most dominant strain of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for more than 51% of new infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But several studies show vaccines remain effective against the variant. The New York Times takes a look at multiple studies which have helped to fill in some of the gaps in what we know about the delta variant and vaccines. [NYT]

Health experts say the delta variant is more of a risk for people who are not fully vaccinated. In Chicago, just over 58% of residents eligible for shots are fully vaccinated, and about 65% are partially vaccinated.

A little over 66% of residents who are 65 and over, and are more at risk of developing a serious illness, are fully vaccinated. [COVID Dashboard]

4. Why the New York City mayoral race could be important for Democrats across the country

Eric Adams, a former police captain, this week declared victory in the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, and party strategists believe they now have a playbook for tackling one of the top policy issues in the nation: policing.

As Axios reports, Adams ran on a message of “the justice we deserve and the safety we need,” arguing that police reforms, not defunding, should be taken just as seriously as crime.

Democrats are concerned that Republicans will tie efforts to “defund the police” — a slogan used by advocates for rethinking traditional policing — to a national rise in crime as they seek to gain more congressional seats in next year’s midterm elections. [Axios]

Meanwhile, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week declared gun violence a “disaster emergency” as part of a strategy that tackles violence as a public health issue. [Axios]

5. The assassination of Haiti’s president puts an already unstable nation in more turmoil

Haitians are bracing for more violence today after Jovenel Moïse, the nation’s embattled president, was assassinated at his home, an attack that comes as Haiti faces rising gang violence and soaring inflation.

Prime Minister Claude Joseph said a group of people attacked Moïse’s home early today and also wounded the nation’s first lady, whose condition is not known. Authorities have declared a “state of siege” and closed Haiti’s international airport.

Moïse had been under pressure to resign in recent months as legal scholars and political opponents claimed his five-year term had ended. But Moïse clung to power and ruled by decree for more than a year. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• Former President Donald Trump announced today that he will sue Facebook, Twitter and Google, claiming he has been wrongly censored by the big tech companies. [AP]
• The death toll of the Champlain Towers South building collapse rose to 46 today. [AP]
• An Olympic ban on a swimming cap designed for natural Black hair will be reconsidered. [NPR]
• This week’s Nerdette Book Club discusses Version Zero, a futuristic thriller about a group of friends who discover the dark side of the internet and decide to do something about it. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

It’s a question scholars have debated throughout the ages: Who has the best pizza, Chicago or New York City?

According to two dudes who ate nearly 400 pies across the nation, it’s neither.

Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya, co-authors of the upcoming Modernist Pizza, say the best pizza can be found in Portland, Ore.

Myhrvold told Bloomberg that when it comes to the “best pizza” title, he’s looking at a place that offers different styles of great pizza, and Portland fits that bill. [Bloomberg]

Tell me something good …

It seems like everyone I know is buying house plants or gardening, so I’d like to know what you’re growing, planting or buying this summer.

Nancy Hanson writes:

“I am the ‘garden lady’ at the Boulevard Medical Respite Center on Chicago’s West Side. The residents of the Boulevard are ill and injured homeless men and women who need a place to continue their healing after they have been discharged from the hospital.

“The residents and I work together to grow vegetables in the raised garden beds that are in the front yard. We coordinate what to plant with the food service staff who use the produce to prepare meals for the residents. This year we have peppers, tomatoes, egg plant, zucchini, lettuce, collards, mustard greens, kale and lots of mint.

“Many of the residents are new to gardening, and others helped their grandparents and parents when they were children. We try to find a task for everybody, because being outside in the sunshine and nurturing the vegetables is wonderful healing therapy. We use only organic fertilizer and natural products for insect control, so everything is safe for eating right out of the garden. The Boulevard is the only Medical Respite Program in Chicago, having served over 10,000 residents since we opened our doors in 1995.”

Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

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