Editorial Staff

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: Will we see a spike in crime?; Ranking states on social distancing; Ramping up remote learning; Secrecy about case numbers & more!

/0 Comments/in , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders. We hope you are staying safe, and we welcome your thoughts; you can always reach out to us via email:  pioneer@pioneerinstitute.org.

Our Top Picks for COVID-19 Pandemic News:

William Smith, Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences: A patient advocacy organization discusses COVID-19 treatments on its podcast. Also, here is a policy change that could get any vaccine out faster.
Don’t miss Dr. Smith’s new report warning about a methodology that poses a threat to older Americans who are more vulnerable during COVID-19.

Mary Z. Connaughton, Director of Government Transparency: A beancounter’s delight – this product’s generally sleepy sales sprinted into high gear as the public prepared their pantries for the long haul, according to the New York Times. Also, if a family member becomes infected with COVID-19, here’s a home-care kit you should have in your house, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Also from Mary: How well is your state or county doing in social distancing? Check out this site from Unacast.

Rebekah Paxton, Research Analyst: To understand the economic impact of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, we’ll need more in-depth analysis. Pioneer’s new series on Massachusetts economic trends draws on MassEconomix.org to provide invaluable data by industry and geography. Read our new report.

Andrew Mikula, Peters Fellow: Will the surge in unemployment in the U.S. cause a spike in crime? Intuitively, it makes sense that people replace legitimate business with theft and fraud during desperate times. But during a recession in which leaders are asking would-be workers to shelter in place, things might be different. According to OSU economist Bruce Weinberg, “People sitting in their houses don’t make great targets for crime. People going out spending cash and hanging out in big crowds do.” Tragically, though, rates of domestic violence are reported to be increasing.

Micaela Dawson, Communications Director: Our World in Data provides interactive charts and maps that allow you to view and compare country-level information on COVID-19 testing, cases (total and per million), fatalities (total and daily new confirmed), doubling time, trajectory, and more.

Our Picks for Public & Private Sector Best Practices:

Jim Stergios tips his hat to Florida Virtual School and greater Boston-area Catholic schools for their success with distance learning and offers some constructive suggestions for ensuring our public school students can benefit from remote learning as well, in this Boston Globe op-ed. Read our additional curricular resources for parents and guardians.

Jamie Gass, Education Policy Director, shares a story about a familiar figure to Pioneer, who is leading an effort to teach 40 million kids at home! And, a history lesson about the worst epidemic the United States has ever known. Before it was over, more than 600,000 Americans perished. Hear more about the parallels with COVID-19 from Stanford historian David Kennedy, this week’s guest on “The Learning Curve” podcast (new episodes every Friday at 11 am).

Barbara Anthony, Senior Fellow in Healthcare: Why is there such secrecy around city and town COVID-19 case numbers in Massachusetts? Right now, the state releases data by county only. In the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Barbara explains why that policy should change.

Questions for Our Public & Private Sector Leaders:

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts

During COVID-19 Outbreak, Compounding Challenges for Special Education Students

0 Comments
/
In Massachusetts, there’s a staunch and persistent negative…

Stargazing: Five Astronomy Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Kids During COVID-19

0 Comments
/
Here are some resources for parents, teachers, and students of all ages. Our hope is to cultivate the curiosity within us, in order to better understand the heavens and stars above us.

UVA Law Professor Kimberly Robinson On Legal Debate About Education As Federal Right

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Kimberly Robinson, Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and the Curry School of Education, about her new book, "A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy," and the need for states to establish a “floor of opportunity” to ensure educational equity.

The past seven weeks of Massachusetts unemployment claims total 25.8 percent of the civilian workforce.

0 Comments
/
The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly report on jobless claims Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m., reporting that Massachusetts received 55,448 initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims during the week ended May 2. This brings the total of regular UI claims filed in Massachusetts since March 14, the beginning of the unemployment surge, to 781,110. 

National Study Finds Most States Lack Healthcare Price Transparency Laws

At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has caused massive shifts in state policies on telehealth and scope of practice in healthcare, a new Pioneer Institute study underscores that most of the 50 states continue to suffer from weak laws regarding price transparency.  The study identified states that have laws that require carriers, providers or both to provide personalized cost information to consumers before obtaining healthcare services.  Fully 33 states placed in the lowest of the three broad analytic tiers on the strength of their state healthcare transparency laws. 

Explosion in ESL enrollment creates new opportunities, challenges

0 Comments
/
  The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, between 2010…

COVID-19 will likely lead to a recession. Can Massachusetts municipal budgets handle one?

0 Comments
/
Using municipalities' experiences during the Great Recession, a new policy brief examines the likely impact of COVID-19 on local property taxes, as well as political implications for state aid. We list the municipal revenues by category among the least tax-reliant communities in Massachusetts, show the trajectory of tax revenue growth rate in Massachusetts state and local governments, and rank stabilization fund assets per capita among Massachusetts Gateway Cities.

Conquering COVID-19: When and From Where Will Vaccines and Therapies Emerge?

0 Comments
/
This week on Hubwonk, Host Joe Selvaggi is joined by Pioneer’s Bill Smith, Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences, and Dr. Peter Kolchinsky, Harvard-trained virologist, biotech investor and author of the new book, The Great American Drug Deal, to learn how the SARS-CoV2 works, what a vaccine may look like, and how we might produce it to scale.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: Human testing of a vaccine; NYT best-selling author John Barry on COVID-19 & warmer weather; Just who’s getting stimulus $?; Latest unemployment #s; What will reopening look like?; Tipping point for Telehealth & more!

0 Comments
/
Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders.

New York Times #1 best-selling author John M. Barry on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic & lessons for COVID-19

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by John M. Barry, author of the #1 New York Times best seller, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.