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Leaders from special districts in California, Illinois and New Jersey, with widely varied responsibilities, talk about maintaining operations, as well as functioning remotely, during the pandemic.
The governors are calling for a quick $500 billion to offset plummeting tax revenues. But we don't know how long a pandemic recession will last or how deep it will be. We should be guided by hard data.
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In the last month, the COVID-19 pandemic has flipped our country on its head.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner wrote in a letter to Ajit Pai, the head of the Federal Communications Commission. (The Hill — April 16, 2020)
The number of malware and phishing emails related to the coronavirus that Google saw each day during the first week of April.
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?
Martin Long, a longtime North Oaks, Minn., council member, said during the city’s council’s work-from-home meeting on April 9. (StarTribune — April 16, 2020)
The amount of Paycheck Protection Program low-interest loans for which 1.5 million U.S. companies have applied in response to the economy-stopping coronavirus.
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.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, said of technology companies’ roles in the coronavirus response. (Business Insider — April 16, 2020)
The estimated number of unemployment claims that have been filed in the past month. Some economists predict the unemployment rate could rise to 20 percent by the end of the month.
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.
Pulitzer-prize winning Historian David Kennedy commenting on the size of the federal government today compared to its limited resources at the start of the Great Depression. (Governing — April 13, 2020)
The amount that Illinois has paid in the past month for medicine and personal protective equipment to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
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.
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