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Stacey Abrams, former leader in the Georgia state legislature, commenting on the delayed election outcome that Americans should expect for the Nov. 3 election. (Reuters — August 4, 2020)
The number of people across the nation who are at risk of losing their home once the eviction moratoriums expire.
After months of delay, the Portland city council voted unanimously to ban use of facial recognition technology. The ordinance will begin in 30 days. The police say they have no intention of using it.
The focus has been on ensuring hard-to-count neighborhoods are included in the 2020 Census. But now wealthy neighborhoods aren’t responding due to COVID-19. Census workers have until Sept. 30 to get the full count.
Latest unemployment figures show the state has recovered about 500,000 jobs so far. While some industries have mostly rebounded, others, like government, travel and education, still struggle.
Which states have shed the most public employees? Which have added the most? And what types of jobs are leading the pack? New numbers from the Census Bureau help to illustrate the big picture.
As president and CEO of the New York YMCA, Sharon Greenberger is constantly working to make New York a healthier, happier community. Now she uses her decades of experience to transform The Y into a place of hope amid COVID-19.
Heather Morton, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, commenting on the states’ struggle to expand broadband using the CARES Act funding while also adhering to the short spending timeline. To comply with the rules of the CARES Act, states must implement broadband projects by Dec. 30, 2020, even though broadband projects often take years to complete. (AP News — August 1, 2020)
The number of student laptops that have gone missing from South Carolina’s Greenville County school district, amounting to $1.2 million. Since the end of the school year, the district has made multiple attempts to retrieve the missing Chromebooks, but have been largely unsuccessful.
The Legislature has approved an IT bond bill that aims to improve cybersecurity and technology use in several sectors. The bill includes $50 million for remote learning technology and $20 million for police body cameras.
Courts across the state made major hardware and software upgrades as the pandemic forced people to stay home and socially distance. After seeing the benefits, many courts will keep the improvements after the pandemic.
As voters stay home to avoid COVID-19 risks, the amount of absentee ballots has greatly increased. But election clerks must also prepare in-person precautions for the Tuesday primary. “You have to be prepared for the unknown.”
Last February, Stockton, Calif., began providing 125 of its residents with a monthly payment of $500 as an economic experiment. Now the idea is gaining national traction as lawmakers see the benefits of stimulus payments.
Over a half-century in office — and running for office — this man of paradox broke virtually every rule in the politico's rulebook. Californians loved him for it.
The volume of 311 calls New York City received in a single day at the height of the pandemic. On average, the city takes 25,000 calls for assistance.
Mayor Leeman Kessler of Gambier, Ohio, home of Kenyon College, commenting on the special problem facing college towns during the pandemic. In many cases, half or two-thirds of their population abruptly packed up and left, months ahead of their usual summer migration. (Governing – July 27, 2020)
Gov. David Ige vetoed a spending plan that would have added $100 in state weekly unemployment benefits, and hopes Congress comes up with a compromise to continue the $600-a-week federal benefit or something close to it.
Following a whistleblower lawsuit alleging illegal spying on citizens and a data breach that exposed thousands of confidential intelligence reports, state police showcased to the media how the center provides assistance.
The fired former director of the unemployment office told lawmakers officials did nothing about a data breach that allowed some people who logged onto the system to see other people’s sensitive information for at least a day.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, questioning Apple CEO Tim Cook, claiming that Apple changed some of its commission policies to earn more revenue while companies have been forced to switch to digital methods. (The Hill — July 29, 2020)
The decrease in American GDP during this year’s second quarter, the sharpest decline since 1947.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, California proposed a law that would punish police who fail to intervene while witnessing a situation possibly involving excessive force. Law enforcement thinks the bill is unfair.
The city’s school district superintendent has pledged Internet connections for thousands of students by September. The current plan will continue virtual learning at least through Nov. 17.
Gov. Newsom announced the formation of a team that will focus on resolving nearly 1 million backlogged unemployment benefit claims and then will work to streamline the process for future claim processing.
COVID-19 cases are on the rise, and citizens can't shelter in place if they're evicted. Legislators in some states are proposing moratoriums on evictions for as long as a year after the end of the health emergency.
Europe is heading in that direction. If the idea begins to catch on here, states and localities will need to be at the federalism policymaking table to share in the revenues.
Federal money and innovative housing-first programs have provided much needed support for the nation’s half-million homeless. But with the pandemic continuing, helping this vulnerable population will remain a challenge.
Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, commenting on a plan that DHS has made with Oregon Governor Kate Brown to begin a phased withdrawal of federal troops from downtown Portland. (Reuters — July 29, 2020)
The number that the U.S. coronavirus death toll surpassed on Wednesday, the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in the world, amounting to 23 percent of the virus deaths, globally. The U.S. also ranks sixth in deaths per capita, with 4.5 deaths per 10,000 people.
Some states have put millions of relief dollars into unemployment insurance trust funds to keep business taxes as bay. But some think the money would be better spent directly assisting workers and local governments.
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