New consumer spending patterns fuel investment in entertainment venues.
Future in Context
Future in Context
Baltimore City and County vaccine mandate has gone into effect, but vaccine rate information for several police and fire departments in the area is incomplete or unavailable. Maryland’s vaccination rate is at more than 80 percent.
The state received a warning from the federal government in May 2020 to avoid overly lenient qualifications for pandemic unemployment assistance. The state didn’t update its requirements until June 2021.
Analysts attribute the surge in background checks for firearm purchases to a fear of COVID-related closures, a summer of protests and a contentious presidential election in the fall. But the increase in purchases has created shortages.
The state’s vote-by-mail number has climbed nearly 220,000 ahead of the November general election. Camden County has the state’s highest rate of participation and will be mailing ballots to all registered voters.
A coalition of police officers, firefighters and other city employees have claimed that the city’s COVID-19 vaccine and testing rules are discriminatory. The city has a vaccination rate of approximately 78 percent.
Approximately 44 percent of Texas workers will be required to get a COVID vaccine under the Biden administration’s federal mandate. But for the remainder of workers, the implications of the governor’s order are still unclear.
Most state CIOs expect remote work to continue and for digital services to keep proliferating. That introduces a host of shifting priorities, including a renewed need for cybersecurity enhancements and identity tools.
The law, which ensured employees two weeks of COVID-related paid leave, has expired, forcing many low-wage workers, especially those in agriculture, to choose between their health or their salary.
The state is one of 33 across the nation in which a driver’s license may be suspended if you cannot pay traffic-related fines or fees. Research shows that this disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations.
Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin signed an executive order that bans vaccine passports and mandatory COVID testing in schools while Gov. Little was visiting the southern border. Was that within her constitutional power?
Gov. Ned Lamont’s mandate will place state workers who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on unpaid leave for up to 45 days, and they will also be ineligible for jobless pay. 2.2 percent of workers are still noncompliant.
About 1 percent of Kaiser Permanente employees have been placed on unpaid administrative leave for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 by the Sept. 30 deadline. To return to work, they must be vaccinated by Dec. 1.
Responses to most diseases don't fall along partisan lines, but COVID-19 has been an exception. Anti-vaccine sentiments used to be bipartisan but now are held mostly by Republicans.
Issues at every level of the supply chain—from a dearth of truck drivers and warehouse workers to droughts and heat waves—as well as staff shortages in the school lunch workforce have schools asking: How do we feed our kids?
Thousands of Arizonans fell victim to identity theft during the pandemic and had their relied-upon jobless payments denied or delayed. Now the state will modernize and upgrade the system’s security to prevent future fraud.
Most Read
