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Plus, drafting a fourth stimulus bill before the $2 trillion package is sorted out, considering recession scenarios, state positioning as economy shudders, and credit ratings could be more vulnerable than budgets.
The $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. So what does it mean for cities and residents? “The challenge is unprecedented, so the stimulus must also be unprecedented.”
Tennessee has created a statewide program that will give cities and counties $200 million to offset the economic damage by the coronavirus. But the relief fund isn’t available until the new fiscal year begins on July 1.
State legislators are now revising their previous prediction, saying the state budget could be short up to $2 billion. New Mexico has been hit extra hard as oil and gas prices have dropped, which the state relies on for revenue.
The coronavirus has delayed immigration processes, suspended jobs that might have provided VISAs and made the future for non-citizens even more uncertain. “There are many people who are struggling right now.”
Instacart shoppers want health protections and extra pay while they work during the coronavirus outbreak, but the workers are all independent contractors. If they strike, they don’t get paid.
While many businesses are making financial cuts, some Silicon Valley companies have benefited from the online and remote shift, especially those that favor online interactions, purchasing and education.
California’s governor believes that residents should be persuaded but not punished into abiding by the stay-at-home order. The governor has urged cities to do the same, but some cities are enacting their own rules.
More than 100 years ago, the world struggled with another epidemic, known as the Spanish Flu. In many cities at the time, streetcars were the main form of transportation, so cities set strict rules on social distancing.
Municipalities, like Framington, Mass., are having to plan for how the coronavirus pandemic might impact their finances, services and communities. Some are looking to historical events, like 9/11, to prepare.
The Department of Public Health is asking cities to stop the release of coronavirus case numbers in their communities. But the request doesn’t prohibit communities from releasing the data and some have no plans to stop.
New York attorneys have claimed that the Social Security Administration was risking disabled applicants’ health by requiring in-person appointments at a Buffalo health clinic. The SSA says it was done for fraud prevention.
Several primary elections have been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. The extra time will allow voters to register for mail-in ballots and allows polling stations to implement health precautions.
The coronavirus crisis has made it clear that technology is essential to continuity of government. CIOs may see more of their wish lists fulfilled, but investing in IT will be tough with budgets heading south.
Communicating during a crisis calls for government to deliver a balance of credible, correct and timely information. It’s not easy, but tested strategies and tools are available.
Pittsburgh is looking to implement a hyperloop to speed up transportation. But even smaller counties, like Beaver County, are starting to think about their futures and “how they want to propel [themselves] into the mid-21st century.”
Not only do officials have to mitigate the real concerns brought on by COVID-19, they also have to manage the infodemic that’s spreading misinformation. “Part of what I spend my day doing is just dispelling that.”
According to Washington state’s Employment Security Department 133,464 residents filed for unemployment last week, five times greater than any week during the Great Recession, and the influx is creating tech issues.
Gavin Newsom and Andrew Cuomo have seemed to take on managing the coronavirus pandemic as they govern the two states with the most cases. Even the federal government is taking notice of ‘America’s Governors.’
Nearly half the nation's legislatures have adjourned or canceled sessions. Where they're still meeting, lawmakers are improvising to keep a safe distance from one another.
The economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic is making benefit programs more important than ever. It's critical to get information to people who need it and simplify application processes.
California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has experienced an 82 percent drop in visits since requiring customers to have an appointment. Frustrated, concerned workers are still required to come in.
The employees that work in a field that has been deemed “essential” stil have to go to work every day. How is “essential work” determined and what are the risks for those that are working normally?
Once heralded as the solution to most election woes, our affinity for paperless voting technology has dimmed. Today, experts consider it one of the biggest liabilities, and favor a return to paper ballots.
As unmanned aerial technology advances, millions of dollars in new business activity and innovation need regulatory clarity from federal, state and, in particular, local authorities.
The decisions governments are making to cope with the spread of the coronavirus will disproportionately impact low-income communities. These decisions need to be made through an equity lens.
In an emergency like the coronavirus pandemic, local leaders can use powerful tools for visualizing data to highlight our residents' interconnectivity and the need for collective action.
A new book's exploration of how places that have been battered by powerful forces have succeeded or failed has much to teach us about our own communities.
Coronavirus’ lockdowns and social distancing have created a massive societal shift toward the online world. ‘Artificial Intelligence’ jobs are predicted to grow in a time when many other jobs are faltering.
Nine days before the WHO announced it, a tech startup found a news article about the not-yet-named COVID-19. If pertinent social media data was public, they might have spotted the disease even earlier.
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