[image_credit]MinnPost photo by Jessica Lee[/image_credit][image_caption]Mayor Melvin Carter[/image_caption]
Clinics shifting to telemedicine for more visits. MPR’s Mark Zdechlik reports: “Laura Geislinger’s boys, 5-year-old Charlie and 9-year-old Ben, are due for medication checks with their primary caregiver. … ‘We actually had an appointment scheduled last week and decided we didn’t want to risk bringing them into the clinic, so we canceled that appointment,’ said Geislinger. ‘We just don’t want to risk being out in public.’ … In order to get their medicine, the kids need to be seen by their doctor. They have an appointment next week and, for the first time, it will be a virtual visit. They were first offered a telephone visit, but then scheduled a video chat.”
More internet access. The Star Tribune’s Caitlin Anderson writes: “Internet service providers in Minneapolis have opened up their public Wi-Fi hot spots for free public use. … US Internet and Comcast, major service providers in the city, have unlocked hot spots to keep people connected through the outbreak. … USInternet spans the city of Minneapolis, running the city’s public Wi-Fi service with about 2,500 hot spots.”
Help needed. For City Pages, Patrick Strait writes: “Each week, approximately 2,000 recovering addicts and alcoholics step foot inside the Alano Society of Minneapolis, the oldest continuously operating AA club in the world. But with people asked to stay in and keep their distance to stop the spread of coronavirus, the club is dangerously close to going dark. … While there are plenty of groups that have maintained their regularly scheduled meetings online, and there are numerous online AA resources, speaker recordings, and other tools available, for many the Alano Society of Minneapolis is the only hope they have of maintaining their recovery. … The problem, says club treasurer Cheryl Larson, is finding volunteers to keep the doors open.”
In other news…
Useful: “Calculate how much you’ll get from the $1,200 (or more) coronavirus checks” [Washington Post]
Heartwarming: “Minnesotans hurt by COVID-19 receiving anonymous gifts” [KARE]
This is fun: “Portraits of Northland artists in isolation” [Duluth News Tribune]
Don’t need more people in the ER: “‘COVID-19 Is Not A License To Speed’: MN State Patrol Says Reports Of Aggressive Driving And Speeding Up During Pandemic” [WCCO]
Oof: “Life Time Fitness CEO: ‘No choice’ but to furlough 90 percent of 40,000 employees” [KMSP]
To the Mayor and City Council of Saint Paul from a citizen:
Just STOP IT. We can’t afford this.
Actually, we can. This is a very wealthy country. In an unprecedented crisis like this, we can sacrifice to make sure everyone’s basic needs are met. It actually shouldn’t take a crisis to do that, but with what is going on now, its the least we can do.
Proud of my mayor.
And the Federal Government just authorized 2 trillion for just that. My point is that the city has other responsibilities.
A lot of that federal money is being spent in the wrong places and won’t begin to cover what some people are facing. This is and should be the city’s responsibility.
We can’t afford it! Not enough people pay to support all these giveaways. My wife and I are struggling to pay our 1st half of property taxes that went up 23% this year. Up 40% in 3 years . The presumed $2400 Federal check won’t even cover our 1st half property tax bill.
This is ridiculous. How many different layers of government do we need handing out cash? You’ve got the Federal government stepping in, which makes sense. But then the State of MN wants to pile on some more, and now the City??? Who is going to administer all of this? Is it OK if people collect from all 3 layers of government? Is anyone double checking to see if anyone is scamming the system?
Finally, who is going to pay my property tax when all of the dust settles and the bills come due?
This doesn’t do anything for single people who are struggling. Why are we always penalized for not having kids
Agree with Mike Schumann and John Johnson. The federal and state governments have delayed payment of taxes due to July. Why aren’t the County and the City also delaying payment of property taxes due in May? Why is the City handing out cash to young people when we older people who own our homes can’t pay the property taxes on the homes we own? Why is the grinning Mayor Carter less sympathetic to us? Delaying property taxes doesn’t cost the City anything? Handing out cash to people does.