Rabbit, Rabbit, it’s a socially distant rabbit. The stay-at-home order is extended until May 4th with all nonessential businesses to remain closed.
While the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education empowered the Commissioner of Education to waive statutory requirements and deadlines during their board meeting, a growing number of states have closed schools for the year. Will Massachusetts follow in their footsteps?
The Department of Public Health has barred short term rentals from hosting vacationers while a bill preventing evictions and other tenant-homeowner protections could pass the state Senate today.
In Washington, Congressional leadership’s next steps to repair the economy have taken a (more) partisan turn.
- Governor Charlie Baker has extended the stay-at-home order, originally set to expire on April 7th, to May 4th. For now, restaurants may continue take-out and delivery service and other essential store are allowed to operate, but ll nonessential businesses must remain closed. For an updated list of essential services and businesses, click here.
- Governor Baker also issued an official order through The Department of Public Health that all hotels and short-term rentals including motels, AirBnB, inns and bed and breakfasts, are prohibited from hosting vacationers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Exceptions to this order allow for these lodgings to be utilized for first responders, displaced persons from fires or any other unforeseen circumstances.
- The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved an emergency regulation giving Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeff Riley the authority to “to suspend, extend or waive any timeline or due date in the Board’s regulations…” The ruling comes the day before school districts were required to submit funding and improvement plans under the 2019 Student Opportunity Act. A decision on whether to postpone, modify or cancel this year’s MCAS exams have not yet been made.
- Meanwhile sates across the country are closing schools for the year. California is the latest, with their state Superintendent of Public Instruction releasing a statement late last night citing safety concerns and the need to continue social distancing. Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, Virginia and Vermont have previously announced they would keep schools closed with others, including Michigan expected to follow suit.
- Senate leadership on Beacon Hill has come to consensus on a much-anticipated housing security bill that will provide temporary protections for renters and homeowners during the COVID-19 emergency. Provisions of the bill include a freeze on all nonessential rental evections, prevents landlords from imposing late fees for nonpayment of rent and delays foreclosures for 90 days after the bill becomes law.
- In Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is working with Democrats on the next iteration of bills to save the health and vitality of the nation’s economy while many congressional republicans have expressed hesitation citing their desires to see the impact of the recently passed $2.2 trillion CARES Act before acting on additional legislation.
- In a follow up to the safety concerns of the MBTA and its operators, the first phase of a plan to stop the spread of COVID-19 is being rolled out today. Driver’s at the South Boston Cabot Street garage, will have their temperature checked prior to the start of each shift.
- Here’s a YouTube video of beagle puppies playing outside for the first time. Let’s be honest, we all need this.