Month: March 2020

Whitmer Orders All Bars, Restaurants, Theaters and More to Close

Anthony Gockowski

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a sweeping executive order Monday that orders the closure of several public places in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Under the executive order, the following places of public accommodation were required to close: restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, bars, taverns, brewpubs, distilleries, clubs, movie theaters, indoor and outdoor performance venues, gymnasiums, fitness centers, recreation centers, indoor sports facilities, indoor exercise facilities, exercise studios, spas, and casinos.

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Michigan Coronavirus Cases Up to 53

Jordyn Pair

Michigan currently has 53 confirmed cases of the coronavirus after 20 more cases were recently confirmed, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced on Sunday.

The virus, identified by medical professionals as COVID-19, has been confirmed in seven different counties: Washtenaw County, Oakland County, Macomb County, Kent County, Wayne County, Ottawa County and St. Clair County. It has also been confirmed in the city of Detroit.

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Whitmer Expands Unemployment Benefits for Those Impacted by the Coronavirus

Jordyn Pair

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive order extending unemployment benefits for Michigan workers impacted by the spread of the coronavirus in the state.

Under the expanded eligibility, unemployment benefits are available to workers who are sick, quarantined or immunocompromised and who do not have access to paid time off; workers who have “unanticipated family care responsibility” such as ill family or additional childcare responsibility due to school closures; and first responders who are ill or quarantined because of the coronavirus. The extended eligibility is in effect until April 14.

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The State of Ohio Will Buy Back Excess Liquor from Restaurants and Bars

Admin

Ohio is buying excess liquor from restaurants as state leaders continue to roll out measures aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 in the Buckeye State.

Under DeWine’s order, restaurants with take-out and delivery options can still operate, and the state Department of Commerce is offering a “one-time liquor buyback option to support bars and restaurants.” The move is an effort to help restaurants that stockpiled “high-proof liquor” leading up to St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday.

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Ohio Hides Number of Coronavirus Tests It Is Conducting

Jason M. Reynolds

Ohio leaders are so busy sending restaurant workers to the unemployment line over fears of the coronavirus they apparently do not have time to actually test for the presence of the virus among their citizens, nor do they want you to know how many they have tested.

As Monday afternoon, Ohio had 50 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to The COVID Tracking Project. Out of 551 tests that have been taken, 140 were negative and 361 results are pending.

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Minnesota Legislature Will Meet on As Needed Basis for Next 30 Days, Bars and Restaurants Ordered Shut

Anthony Gockowski

The Minnesota Legislature will be meeting on an “on-call” basis for the next 30 days, leaders announced Monday morning.

During that time, much of their legislative work will focus on responding to the coronavirus outbreak, which reached 54 confirmed cases in the state as of Monday afternoon.

“Over the next few weeks, the Minnesota Legislature will continue to work, but by alternative means. We expect to operate efficiently and safely to aid Minnesotans with COVID-19 preparedness and response, and to continue our work to address other pressing needs of the state,” leaders of both the House and Senate said in a joint statement.

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Government Red Tape May Keep Nashville Business Owners from Getting Tax Relief During Coronavirus Emergency

Chris Butler

Nashville Democratic Mayor John Cooper hinted Monday that city officials will help businesses in the city that have either had to shut down or limit capacity because of the Coronavirus emergency, per city orders.

Will city officials offer tax relief?

Metro officials say a maze of government rules complicate matters.

On Sunday members of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and Davidson County declared a public health emergency that forced business owners to either close their doors or limit capacity, according to the city’s website.

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Governor Bill Lee: ‘I Urge Every School District in Tennessee to Close As Soon As Practically Possible’

Chris Butler

Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Monday that he wants all school districts in the state to close as soon as possible and to remain closed until the end of this month.

“As the response to COVID-19 evolves, I urge every school district in Tennessee to close as soon as practically possible, with all schools expected to close by Friday, March 20, 2020 at the latest. Schools should remain closed through March 31, 2020 to further mitigate the spread of this infectious disease and we will issue further guidance prior to March 31,” Lee said in a statement.

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Commentary: The Anti-Climactic Joe and Bernie Debate Show Draws an Audience of Zero

Admin

“This is weird,” I said to myself as the eleventh 2020 Democrat presidential primary debate commenced in the isolated (quarantined?) CNN studio in Washington, DC on Sunday night. Originally conceived by the DNC as a means to narrow down the remnants of the party field ahead of the next round of consequential primaries, events and circumstances instead turned the evening into an even slower-moving snooze-fest between two long-past-prime rivals going through the motions one final time before people stop tuning in and impatiently wait for the summer political fireworks to commence.

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Jeff Webb Commentary: Corporate Responsibility During the Coronavirus Pandemic Economic Crisis

Admin

by Jeff Webb   For the past several decades large corporations operating in the United States have made business decisions significantly influenced by the widely held belief they have social responsibilities that extend beyond their fiduciary responsibility to maximize profits. The current economic slowdown created by the Coronavirus pandemic presents every company in the country–and particularly large multinationals–the opportunity to demonstrate by their actions that they are the good corporate citizens they have claimed to be. Doing good deeds in a community has long been considered the best demonstration of corporate social responsibility. Now the most important thing companies can do is first, protect their own employees, and second, protect their business partners–the vendors and contractors that help enable their businesses to operate as  successful companies. The president’s declaration of a national emergency on Friday, combined with the shutting down of virtually every event in the country that involves crowds of almost any size, have confirmed this economic crisis. No one knows how severe the peak of this pandemic in the United States, which as of Sunday has already caused the deaths of at least 59 of our fellow country men, will be. Estimates from public health care experts and…

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A New Jersey Hospital Has Six Male ICU Patients with Coronavirus, All Ages 28 to 48

Jason M. Reynolds

One New Jersey hospital in the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak shows startling statistics as its section of the Garden State braces for more cases.

Of 11 cases at Holy Name Medical Center, six are in the ICU, and all six are men between the ages of 28 to 48, according to a story by ROI-NJ. Forty more patients are under observation at the Teaneck, NJ hospital, according to CEO Mike Maron.

“From what we’ve seen, it’s not impacting children at all — or pretty much anybody under 20,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they don’t have it. They may just process it in a better way, a faster way. That’s the beauty of being young.

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President Trump ‘Strongly Considering’ Full Pardon for Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn

Admin

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is “strongly considering” a pardon for Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser who pleaded guilty in the special counsel’s probe to lying to the FBI.

Trump cited an unspecified report that the FBI and Justice Department “lost” records related to Flynn, a retired Army general.

“How convenient,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I am strongly considering a Full Pardon!”

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Commentary: What’s in Your Chinese-Supplied Medication?

Admin

The New York Post last week published an article with the ominous headline, “Pharmacists quietly panicking over looming respiratory drug shortage.” The gist was that in addition to the rush on personal protection products such as face masks, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and rubber gloves, the supply chains for various important prescription drugs, especially generics with components made in China, are fraying.

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President Trump Praises Fed as Interest Rates Are Slashed to Near Zero

Admin

The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to near zero on Sunday as part of a series of measures intended to combat the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The central bank cut rates to 0% to 0.25%, the central bank announced in a statement. The Fed will also purchase $700 billion worth of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities through quantitative easing, a measure previously used during the Great Recession to get money flowing back into the markets, The Washington Post reported.

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Governor DeWine Says Ohio Schools Could Remain Closed for Rest of Academic Year, Orders All Restaurants to Close

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday morning that Ohio’s public schools could remain closed for the rest of the academic year.

DeWine ordered all K-12 public schools to close for three weeks beginning at the end of the day Monday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, said that closing for eight weeks or more would have a greater impact on mitigating the spread of the virus.

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Marsha Blackburn Wants to Distance American Universities from China-Funded Confucius Institutes

Chris Butler

U.S. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said she wants to minimize Chinese efforts to exert inappropriate influence on American university campuses through Confucius Institutes, which she said repress free speech and discourage transparency.

Blackburn introduced the Transparency for Confucius Institutes Act, which is designed to require program participation agreements between Confucius Institutes and American institutions that house them to address the ways China exerts undue influence.

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Sanders, Biden to Debate Without Studio Audience

Admin

The last two major U.S. Democratic presidential candidates – former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders – are debating Sunday night in a world turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, seated in a Washington television studio without any people attending it. 

The two long-time politicians will be trading their thoughts – and likely more than a few barbs at each other – over two hours.  

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Americans Could Face More Restrictions Due to Coronavirus

Admin

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning that more needs to be done to reduce personal interactions throughout the country.

“I would like to see a dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see in restaurants and in bars,” Fauci said. “Whatever it takes to do that, that’s what I’d like to see.”

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Commentary: Globalization Helped Export China’s Coronavirus

Admin

In the current environment, something not seen in America in living memory, the fear and panic of the Chinese coronavirus make it near impossible to look ahead. But while everyone who can is working on the “here and now,” it is vital that we think about how this situation came to be, what we can learn from it, and how the crisis we are now experiencing can be prevented in the future.

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