March 29, 2020

New Mexico public schools closed for rest of year

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico public schools will remain closed for the rest of the current academic year, and local districts and charters will be tasked with continuing to educate students from a distance – a colossal charge that will unfold in the coming weeks.

Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said Friday that a statewide school closure will be extended for the rest of the academic year, due to rising coronavirus infection rates.

“It’s quite clear that it’s not yet safe to be able to bring our students back into school,” Stewart said during a virtual news conference.

Public preschools and K-12 schools across the state were ordered to shut down effective March 16 to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Students were initially scheduled to go back to school April 6, though Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently warned that the closure could end up being even longer.

Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/1437299/nm-public-schools-to-stay-closed-for-rest-of-year.html

March 29, 2020

Coronavirus: Rutgers to graduate medical students early to help at area hospitals

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School is joining universities in Boston and New York in expediting the graduation of its students so they can join the front-line fight against coronavirus in hospitals, which are facing a shortage of equipment and manpower as they work to deal with an escalating number of patients.

Some 192 graduates of the state medical school will be eligible to begin residencies at hospitals in the coming weeks, providing a backstop for healthcare workers swamped by the pandemic.

Typically, the students would have finished their coursework in April, followed by graduation in May.

That will be cut short to get them on board at critical care centers. There will be 154 who graduate on April 10, followed by another 38 on April 21.

Read more: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2020/03/28/coronavirus-rutgers-graduates-med-students-early-bolster-hospitals/2934592001/

March 28, 2020

Les Rita Mitsouko - Ding Ding Dong (Ringing At Your Bell)

March 28, 2020

A Progressive Perspective: It's the President, Stupid!

by Irwin Stoolmacher


“The economy, stupid” was a phrase coined by James Carville during the 1992 presidential campaign to emphasize the then-prevailing recession in the United States. In an attempt to keep the campaign on message, Carville hung a sign in Bill Clinton’s Little Rock headquarters with the now famous slogan on it.

I’d suggest that the Biden campaign post a little sign on its headquarters with the phrase: “It’s the President, stupid” on it to reinforce the notion that the focus of the campaign should be on President Trump’s lack of leadership skills. While there are literally thousands of examples that demonstrate the president’s lack of leadership, in this column I’m going to concentrate on his handling of the deadly outbreak of coronavirus.

From the start of the crisis, President Trump has been downplaying and minimizing the risk of the coronavirus. He has repeatedly made false, misleading, careless, dangerous and narcissistic statements based on what’s best for his re-election not what is best for the American people. He has relied on his “hunches” and misinformation, rather than on facts provided by experts like Anthony Fauci, the long-time Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Trump’s missteps and mendacity started with, “We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” It proceeded to:

“When it gets a little warmer, it [the coronavirus] miraculously goes away.”

Read more: https://www.trentonian.com/opinion/a-progressive-perspective-it-s-the-president-stupid-irwin-stoolmacher/article_9f7324ca-6e03-11ea-bf8e-63c661c5fb1f.html

March 28, 2020

Murphy orders N.J. businesses to disclose protective equipment they have to fight coronavirus

All companies and non-hospital facilities in New Jersey with protective and medical equipment that heath-care workers could use to battle the coronavirus outbreak must send the state government an inventory what they have on hand, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday.

Those businesses had until 5 p.m. Friday to submit information on their inventories to Covid19.nj.gov/ppereport.

That includes respirators, masks, gloves, goggles, and ventilators.

“I expect full compliance,” Murphy said in Trenton during his daily coronavirus press briefing.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/murphy-orders-nj-businesses-to-disclose-protective-equipment-they-have-to-fight-coronavirus.html

March 28, 2020

Johnson & Johnson donates 10,000 goggles and $50M to fight coronavirus

Johnson & Johnson is one of several companies making donations to aid New Jersey’s battle against the coronavirus.

The New Brunswick-based pharmaceutical company pledged to donate 10,000 goggles for New Jersey’s healthcare workers.

“Those at the front lines are our colleagues, family members, customers and partners," said Michael Sneed, Johnson & Johnson’s Executive Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs & Chief Communication Officer. "So we join the millions around the world who put them front and center right now, to support them as they provide care amidst COVID-19.”

Johnson & Johnson also announced on Friday the company was donating $50 million to the immediate COVID-19 response, aimed at aiding healthcare workers on the frontline of containing the pandemic.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/johnson-johnson-donates-10000-goggles-and-50m-to-fight-coronavirus.html

March 28, 2020

Sanders files to run in N.J. Democratic primary

Bernie Sanders filed nominating petitions today to run in the June New Jersey Democratic presidential primary.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump have already filed. The deadline is 4 PM on Monday.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) filed his petitions today, the first time in a nearly 30-year political career that he will run in a Republican primary. He switched parties in December.

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton) filed for the 22nd time to seek the GOP nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 4th district.

Read more: https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/sanders-files-to-run-in-n-j-democratic-primary/

March 28, 2020

NH delegation, governor slam FEMA's aid response

The state’s congressional delegation sent a harshly critical letter to Trump administration officials, charging the Federal Emergency Management Agency with a “poor response” to their request for medical supplies.

The federal agency has been guilty of a failed bureaucratic incompetence that included the delivery of useless materials, they said.

These mistakes have included delays in delivering supplies, providing expired equipment, dispersing materials that can’t be used in most medical settings due to allergens, and sending shipments of resources in bits and pieces instead of full allotments.

“Our understanding is that an error at the national supervisory level at the Federal Emergency Management Agency resulted in the March 17th request sitting ‘unprocessed’ for four days. This type of delay is unacceptable and puts the health of Granite Staters at risk,” said the letter signed by U.S. Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen as well as U.S. Reps. Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster, all D-N.H.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/health/coronavirus/nh-delegation-governor-slam-fema-s-aid-response/article_46b1e146-e3a9-51e7-b283-8e55e7ccd518.html?block_id=883785

March 28, 2020

Sununu issues stay at home order until early May, as number of cases statewide climbs

CONCORD — New Hampshire became the last New England state to issue a stay-at home order for COVID-19, with many non-essential businesses told to close and residents to limit their movement for more than a month starting Friday at 11:59 p.m.

News of the stay at home order came as 21 additional New Hampshire residents have tested positive for COVID-19, upping the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 158, health officials said Thursday.

Of the 21 new confirmed cases, one is a teenage boy, 5 adult males, and 15 adult females. Eleven live in Rockingham County, four in Manchester, one additional case in Hillsborough County (in communities outside of Nashua and Manchester), two in Merrimack County, and one each in Chesire, Grafton and Sullivan counties.

Five of the new cases can’t be linked to known risk factors. Officials said 25 of the 158 positive cases in the state — or 16 percent — have been hospitalized. Three of the new cases are currently hospitalized.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/health/coronavirus/sununu-issues-stay-at-home-order-until-early-may-as/article_23915a1c-8ecc-527b-8545-3df92c56937d.html

March 28, 2020

Clark County suspends 14 business licenses for defying shutdown order

Five liquor stores are among more than a dozen unincorporated Clark County businesses that have had their business licenses pulled for remaining open during a state government-ordered shutdown.

According to county officials, 14 business licenses were revoked between Saturday and Wednesday because they remained opened following Gov. Steve Sisolak’s March 17 order to close all nonessential businesses in the state due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Sisolak’s order, which is good for 30 days, was made in an effort to limit social activity and interaction in Nevada as the state prepares for what could be a large spike in coronavirus infections during the coming days and weeks.

Issued through the county’s department of business licensing, the suspensions are scheduled to last until the end of the state’s 30-day shutdown.

Read more: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/mar/27/clark-county-suspends-14-business-licenses-defying/