Editorials

    If you are a local business owner that has been seriously impacted by the ongoing pandemic, you may have considered applying for a forgivable loan through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), which was recently created by Congress as part of a stimulus bill. If you haven’t had time yet to investigate the program, it’s something you should consider as a benefit for your employees.

By Rik W. Hafer
Governor Parson recently announced a coronavirus-induced freeze of over $170 million in planned spending by the state.  His decision to target higher education as a major source of savings, while not surprising, is shortsighted.  

By Rik W. Hafer
You already have seen how efforts to thwart the spread of the coronavirus have led to significant jobs loss. Early forecasts see it getting worse before it gets better. All areas of the country or the state will not, however, suffer the same employment losses.

By Phill Brooks
The coronavirus pandemic has raised some difficult journalistic questions for which there are not easy answers.
Journalists are facing conflicts between stessing good health practices while, at the same time, holding public officials accountable for their actions and, sometimes, inaction.

    “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” According to Wiktionary, this phrase likely originates from a saying of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, which appears in his Aphorisms: "For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure, as to restriction, are most suitable." We’re in desperate times.

By Tawni Hunt Ferrarini, Ph.D., Economist, author, and professor
The health and well-being of everyone in our communities is everyone’s top priority. We understand the concern and uncertainty that people may be experiencing surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19). As educators, we are committed to being responsive to everyone’s information needs as the situation evolves and is reflected in the economic viability of our community’s households and businesses.