Daily Digest for August 7, 2020 Posted at 6:15 a.m. by Mike Mulcahy |
Good morning and happy Friday.
Teachers worry about reopening schools. As more school districts in the state decide how to go back to school this fall, many teachers feel uneasy about returning to the classroom in the middle of a pandemic, Riham Feshir reports . Educators say the governor’s back-to-school plan allows for hundreds of students to be back in any given school building — a decision, they say, that makes it tricky to implement measures to keep them safe. The state’s guidance gives each district the flexibility to decide based on COVID-19 data in their area. But teachers say — other safety measures are just as important. School administrators are still working out the logistics to figure out exactly how to keep students from congregating in the hallways or the lunchroom, and how to get kids to keep their masks on and maintain the cleanliness of classrooms.
Parents too are looking for ways to manage the new school year. Once she found out that Minneapolis Public Schools would be starting the year with online learning, Katy Armendariz started texting two other families about how they could get through it together. They decided to form a “learning pod” for their children and hire a part-time teacher to help. The pod of six to seven students, the parents hope, will allow for some social- and group-learning experiences while providing the supervision and child care necessary to allow them to continue their own work. “We needed a plan,” Armendariz said. “We wanted to try to find someone to help.” In Minnesota and nationwide, parents are rushing to hire teachers and form such pods, similar to models that some home-schoolers use. Mara Klecker of the Star Tribune has that story.
Clearing another encampment at a Minneapolis park . The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is trying to get residents of a large homeless encampment in Powderhorn Park to move out. Even as officials cleared a camp from the park’s east side last month, they allowed one on the west side to remain. But neighbors, police and community groups say it has become a magnet for crime and is unsafe for those living there. A week ago, people living in dozens of tents along 10th Avenue began receiving hand-delivered letters encouraging them to pack up and go elsewhere. But unlike the 72-hour notices that the east encampment residents received last month, this letter from Superintendent Al Bangoura was headlined “notice of transition,” Matt Sepic reports. “There is not a set time frame for those departures, but we’re working to reduce the site incrementally,” Bangoura said. “We have been working with our partners and providing staff and transportation on site to assist the relocating of people.” Bangoura said the encampment needs to be vacated because it’s not in line with new rules that limit sites to 25 tents each at 20 city parks. He also points to major health and safety problems.
Washington negotiators far apart on a relief package. Top Democrats and the White House clashed anew on Thursday over an economic recovery package as a jobs report loomed over stalled negotiations on the plan, raising the stakes of an agreement even as a compromise appeared to be nowhere in sight, the New York Times reports . Grasping for leverage, President Trump threatened to act on his own if no bipartisan deal could be reached, telling reporters that he could move as soon as Friday or Saturday to sign executive orders to forestall evictions, suspend payroll tax collection and provide unemployment aid and student loan relief. But it was not clear that he had the power to do so without Congress, which controls spending, or that any set of executive actions could stabilize an economy devastated by the pandemic. After more than three hours of talks in the Capitol Hill offices of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, negotiators emerged without an agreement and said stark divisions remained. Ms. Pelosi, of California, described a “consequential meeting” where “we could see the difference in values that we bring to the table.” “We’re very far apart; it’s most unfortunate,” she added after the meeting.
Many worried about loss of enhanced unemployment benefits. Around the country, across industries and occupations, millions of Americans thrown out of work because of the coronavirus are straining to afford the basics now that an extra $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits has expired, the Associated Press reported . “My worst nightmare is coming true,” said Liz Ness, a laid-off recruiter at a New Orleans staffing agency who fears she will be evicted next month without the added help from Washington. “Summer 2020 could be next year’s horror movie.” Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are struggling to work out an agreement that would restore some federal jobless aid. Even if they do reach a deal, the amount is likely to be less than $600. And by the time the money starts flowing, it could be too late for many Americans who are already in dire straits “Members of Congress may have the luxury to come to an agreement this week and vote next week and then roll it out over several weeks,” said Brian Gallagher, CEO of United Way Worldwide. “Families don’t have that luxury — they are out of money tomorrow.” In the meantime, up to 30 million Americans, their jobs lost or income slashed by an outbreak that has paralyzed the economy and killed close to 160,000 people in the U.S., are trying to get by solely on state unemployment benefits, which on average are less than $400 a week.
|
|
|
|
|
