DES MOINES, Iowa — Strong concern about a second wave of coronavirus infections is reinforcing widespread opposition among Americans to reopening public places, a new poll finds, even as many state leaders step up efforts to return to life before the pandemic. Yet support for public health restrictions imposed to control...
Trump Threatens Funds for States Easing Voting in Pandemic
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to hold up federal funds for two election battleground states that are trying to make it easier and safer to vote during the coronavirus pandemic. He backed away from that threat but stuck with his unsupported claim that widespread voting by mail promotes “a...
Virus-Sapped Bus Lines See Road to Ruin Without Federal Help
LEWISTON, Maine — The nation's 3,000 or so private bus lines — and the millions of people who rely on them for cheap, basic travel — fret that they'll go under without the same kind of federal help trains and planes are enjoying as a pandemic-immobilized America tries to get...
Kings, Madera, and Merced Counties OK’d for Restaurant Openings & More
More Valley communities are lifting COVID-19 restrictions as the state approves their plans for containing the deadly coronavirus. Madera, Kings, Merced and Kern counties were all given a green light from the state Wednesday to immediately reopen dine-in restaurants, retail stores and other local businesses shuttered by the pandemic. Two...
US Says California Order Discriminates Against Churches
LOS ANGELES — The head of the federal Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division told Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday that his plan to reopen California discriminates against churches. In a letter to the governor, Eric S. Dreiband said that despite a coronavirus pandemic “that is unprecedented in our lifetimes,” Newsom should...
Oprah Winfrey Gives Grants to ‘Home’ Cities During Pandemic
NEW YORK — Oprah Winfrey is giving grants to the cities she’s called home through her $12 million coronavirus relief fund. She announced Wednesday that her Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will donate money to organizations dedicated to helping underserved communities in Chicago; Baltimore; Nashville, Tennessee; Milwaukee; and Kosciusko, Mississippi, where...
Nearly 500 Future Teachers Lose Jobs in Local Pandemic Layoff
As the economy starts to slowly reopen in Fresno County amid COVID-19 restrictions, many companies are reporting large layoffs, according to the Employment Development Department. The most recent unemployment data through March shows Fresno County at 10.8% unemployment, nearly double the 5.6% state rate. One of the largest employers to...
Nearly a Third of Small, Independent Farmers Are Facing Bankruptcy by the End of 2020, New Survey Says
[aggregation-styles] The Counter It seems an oasis of good news in a desert of bad: Small farmers who saw restaurant sales evaporate and farmers’ market sales erode, in the wake of COVID-19, have found alternative ways to sell produce. They contribute to boxes sold by shuttered restaurants, sell their own...
The Rise of the Anti-Lockdown Sheriffs
[aggregation-styles] The Marshall Project After weeks of closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said Wednesday that retailers and churches in the state may open at partial capacity, but that gyms and salons must stay closed, and that residents must wear face masks in public....
As COVID Cases Surge, Tulare County Reopens ‘Effective Immediately’
Tulare County supervisors voted to broadly reopen businesses on Tuesday, far exceeding COVID-19 guidelines authorized by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The action came as the county's health department reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases and 4 new deaths. The 3-2 decision gives almost all local businesses and organizations in the...