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In the last month, the COVID-19 pandemic has flipped our country on its head.
As Washington state enacted stay-at-home orders, rural residents were suddenly cut off from their work and school. While broadband access has been a long-term issue, COVID-19 is finally bringing eastern Washington’s digital divide to the forefront.
Though Georgia has a large financial reserve, it relies on income and sales taxes to provide the salaries for many of its state workers. Some predict the state could see a $1.27 billion loss in sales tax revenue.
California is divided on the implementation of 5G: many are concerned of the potential adverse health effects it could cause, while others believe it could help make remote learning and working better.
We’re at the height of this epidemic, so the collapse of the Mandan Indian Nation in North Dakota in the late 18th and early 19th centuries from outbreaks of smallpox is a reminder of how ignorance can be so deadly.
This week’s newsletter looks at how the crisis has brought new challenges to cybersecurity leaders and what they are doing about it. And, will contact tracing — a key to helping us return to normal — jeopardize our privacy?
Muskegon, Mich., Community College has approved a 4 percent tuition increase for the next year. While the college needs the financial increase, many students suffering from coronavirus impacts might not be able to afford it.
Corporations are also receiving financial aid from the coronavirus stimulus package, but their refunds are much greater than for families. It could end up costing the federal budget $275 billion over the next decade.
California said it secured 200 million masks per month, but the Newsom administration won’t pay until there is assurance that the masks are coming. In total, the state plans to spend $7 billion on coronavirus response.
The House is slowly moving toward a remote voting system that would require each member to vote and wouldn’t be susceptible to hacking. But many are still concerned about the plan’s allowance for proxy voting.
Colleges and universities face a worse situation than the Great Recession. States are bound to cut their budgets, while every other revenue source — tuition, dorm fees, donations, endowments — are under pressure.
California had planned to spend $187 million on ensuring an accurate Census count. However, much of that money was going to be spent on face-to-face outreach. Now the state must rely on online outreach until things reopen.
Alaska’s plan for increasing broadband has ended after its partnering satellite broadband company filed for bankruptcy due to the coronavirus. “Rural Alaska is really hurting for additional capacity.”
Though the economy restart may be a month or more away, Connecticut’s governor has started discussion on what that could look like. Many are concerned that it requires too much public surveillance.
COVID-19 is hitting African Americans the hardest. Public officials could do far more about the social determinants of health that underlie the coronavirus's disparate impact.
The need to protect public health in the remaining primary elections, and uncertainty about the state of the coronavirus pandemic in November, are forcing legislators to consider changes to voting guidelines.
As governors take leading positions on how to manage the pandemic, the nearly forgotten cornerstone of the Constitution is relevant again. It’s a reminder of how federalism and our form of government works.
Three California cities have explored locating chargers for electric vehicles in the public right of way. The changes promise to help normalize zero-emissions vehicles across the state.
Schenectady, N.Y., is several millions short of completing its Smart City work that was planned for this year. Officials are hesitant to move forward with the plans in the midst of the coronavirus’ financial crisis.
Maine barely began reporting last week its numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and still doesn’t provide information on non-resident cases despite having the highest proportion of vacation homes in the country.
Approximately 710,000 Ohio households don’t have any Internet service at home, leaving them unable to connect to work, school, health care or shopping during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Walz said the state would restart its economy once it was testing 5,000 people for coronavirus each day. Since the beginning of the virus, the state has tested fewer than 38,000 people in total.
Los Angeles County is bracing for sales tax revenue losses of 50 to 75 percent, while other counties are furloughing workers and planning to cut back on vital public services. Reserves might cushion the blow.
The pandemic has raised concerns about keeping this year’s voting process healthy and safe. Allowing voters to send in their ballots by mail could be the answer, but it will be costly and some worry about potential fraud.
Daytona Beach, Fla., police are using drones with speaker equipment to remind residents that public gatherings are prohibited during social distancing. Some Mass. police are impressed and may adopt similar methods.
Scammers prey on consumers in a time when many people are desperately seeking health and fiscal assistance. The Federal Trade Commission has received nearly 17,000 coronavirus-related fraud complaints so far.
Pennsylvania will join five other states in coordinating plans to reopen their economies after the coronavirus outbreak has subdued. The aligned efforts are aimed at preventing neighboring states from enacting policies that conflict.
Clay Jenkinson, Governing’s editor-at-large and humanities scholar on Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt, tells us how literature and history can help inform leaders in this time of global national crisis.
Thousands of Floridians are desperately waiting for their unemployment benefits as the state’s system falls further behind. The state hopes to process 80,000 claims this week, though the backlog is more than 560,000.
While overall sales are down, grocery sales might have increased, which would be good for the city’s revenue. While officials expect some declines, overall they are optimistic about the strength of the financial reserves.
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