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Wyoming Rep. Charles Pelkey, commenting on businesses that don’t require or even allow their employees to wear masks and the danger that they are imposing on their employees. Wyoming has enacted a law that protects businesses from liability lawsuits in response to COVID-19, but many are concerned that the law will protect businesses that were acting in disregard to coronavirus protections. (PEW — August 11, 2020)
The proportion of daily COVID-19 cases in the Americas that are from the United States, amounting to 50,000 cases each day.
Legislators want to know if the state agency inadvertently abetted the scam by lowering fraud detection protocols to speed up legitimate claims by hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians left jobless by the pandemic.
A former elections supervisor is alleged to have used election security funds to cover up personal spendings. Along with a lack of oversight, officials also have to sign nondisclosure agreements. “It’s political corruption.”
California has fixed a glitch that underreported the state’s COVID-19 data and the director of the Department of Public Health suddenly resigned. But many are skeptical of the response and worried they’re being misled.
The pandemic's disruptions have raised awareness of the digital divide and energized localities' initiatives to narrow it. To continue making progress, policymakers need to make sure the funding is there.
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The technology community has a critical role to play in this fight by driving the creation of innovative tools and putting them into the hands of medical and scientific experts that are leading the way.
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Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program serves families of children who otherwise would receive free or reduced-priced meals in school lunchrooms
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The COVID-19 pandemic created a huge rise in remote government work, and enhanced citizen expectations for agencies to adapt to today’s always-on, digital world.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Patrick Foye, in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging the tech company to develop new technology that would allow iPhone users to unlock their phones without taking off their masks. (AP News — August 10, 2020)
The number of states and Washington, D.C., that enacted eviction moratoriums to assist renters during the coronavirus pandemic; 24 of those states’ moratoriums have expired. As of July 29, 43 percent of renters were unable to make rent, putting them at risk for eviction.
Miami-Dade public schools will be virtual until at least Oct. 5, but many teachers and parents are uncertain about what comes next. “If we could have some standard precautions, I’m not afraid of being in the classroom.”
Gov. Mike DeWine has said that he does not know if Ohio will be able to afford the $100 state match needed to extend the $400 weekly federal unemployment benefits. Ohio isn’t the only state with financial concerns.
While Latinos are only 13 percent of Washington’s population, they make up 43 percent of the state’s positive COVID-19 cases. Public officials are struggling with why the rate is so high and what can be done to reduce it.
The state has spent $43 million suing the Trump administration, resulting in billions of dollars in savings. Since Trump took office, the attorney general’s office has filed over 90 lawsuits against the administration.
Silicon Valley was going to help America keep track of COVID-19 with badly needed technology. Yet, states never embraced the idea, and tech firms couldn’t overcome privacy concerns. But the idea is getting a reboot.
What’s it like to be a front-line government official in the COVID era? The mayor of Hattiesburg, Miss., talks candidly about "awful moments,” as he navigates a pandemic, an economic meltdown and racial tensions.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, commenting on CARES Act spending that is used to repair roads and highways instead of providing direct aid to citizens and businesses. (PEW — August 7, 2020)
The amount that the U.S. Postal Service has lost from April to June as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Officials predict that the service could see a total loss of $20 billion over the next two years.
There are approximately 325,000 rural Marylanders and 40 percent of households in Baltimore that can’t access high-speed Internet. While digital equity isn’t a new issue, it’s now urgent as many work and learn from home.
Many officials are urging greater openness in contact tracing to help combat COVID-19. But as case numbers keep rising, contact tracers are outnumbered, making the data even more difficult to track.
The bill would require employers to promptly notify employees and health officials if one of their workers is exposed to COVID-19. Some believe the existing law does not have clear enough requirements for employers’ reporting.
To address racial disparities, they need to collect and analyze more data to evaluate promising policies and better inform their indictment decisions and sentencing recommendations.
While it's helped a lot of Americans who are displaced from their offices get their work done, it's fallen short in areas like education and disease tracking and has once again highlighted the digital divide.
It’s the country’s most famous road, and like so many other iconic pieces of mid-century Americana, it has been nearly obliterated by progress. But a few bits remain if you know where to look.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, speaking about the state’s free COVID-19 tracking app that was launched earlier this week. The app will automatically notify people if they’ve been exposed to the virus. Virginia is the first state to use the pandemic technology from Apple and Google. (AP News — August 5, 2020)
The number of lawsuits and other legal actions that the ACLU has filed against the Trump administration, 174 of them dealing with immigrant rights.
The state’s Census fund has more than $1.3 million that hasn’t been spent. Advocates want the money to be spent to encourage hard-to-count communities to participate in the 2020 Census as the Sept. 30 deadline draws near.
While the city’s Wi-Fi service will not be available ahead of this school year, officials hope that it will be ready before next year’s academic schedule. “We are getting closer to closing the digital divide.”
Two-thirds of Black and Latino voters reported that the virus was a major health threat while less than half of white voters reported the same. And 69 percent of voters agreed that COVID-19 is increasing inequality.
