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With unemployment hotline overloaded and stimulus on hold, PA boosts chatbot 90x

Layla A. Jones

October 13, 2020 |

Billy Penn |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Accessing information about unemployment compensation online just got easier for residents of Pennsylvania. The current chat box capacity is 500 but will be increased to 50,000 by the end of the year. The phone hotline currently receives about 20,000 daily calls and has been difficult to get through since the unemployment benefits began in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown. The website also features a virtual assistant, which answers hundreds of commonly asked questions.

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How will Lithuania's contact-tracing app work?

Giedrius Vitkauskas

October 13, 2020 |

Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Lithuania

Lithuanian officials are launching a contact-tracing app to better trace the path of coronavirus cases and alert people when they have potentially been exposed. Although there have been delays in the roll-out of the app, other countries have already released the technology and have seen success in people downloading the app as well as quarantining when alerted that they've been in contact with the virus.

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‘Smart Buses' roll WiFi to students without access

Lex Gray

October 12, 2020 |

WAVY-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Virginia

In order to bridge the digital divide one school district in Virginia is putting Wi-Fi routers on its school buses. They call them Smart Buses. They buses drive out to neighborhoods where students don't have access to fast, reliable internet. “Four of the Smart Buses go out every day. Each can serve about 40 students, covering about three-quarters of the need in the district.”

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College recruiting of California students turns virtual during pandemic

Larry Gordon

October 12, 2020 |

EdSource |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

High schools and colleges across California are turning to virtual campus tours and remote recruiting in order to appeal to college-bound students. College representatives are hosting Zoom sessions to connect with students and hosting college fairs online. Although the virtual aspect has decreased the excitement of being on campus in person, it has also widened accessibility to students who wouldn't have otherwise been able to attend for a variety of reasons.

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'I feel human again' — At three hotels, formerly incarcerated New Yorkers get the support they need

Ilyssa Daly

October 12, 2020 |

Queens Daily Eagle |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

When jails and prisons released people early as a pandemic precaution, New York City responded to the threat of increased homelessness by temporarily housing more than 400 people in hotels while providing them with re-entry services aimed at preventing new crimes. Exodus Transitional Community, the city's contractor, provided a combination of emergency shelter and counseling that would be unavailable in standard homeless shelters. No COVID-19 cases have been reported in the hotels, while residents praise the service for giving them the stability and safety they need to restart their lives.

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What smaller Texas communities can learn from startups about COVID-19 economic recovery

Alyssa Goard

October 12, 2020 |

KXAN-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Texas

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses in Texas are struggling to stay afloat. A university-sponsored crash course might help struggling businesses find solutions catered to their community. Fifty-eight communities participated in the Regional XLR8 program sponsored by the IC institute at the University of Texas at Austin. The “secret sauce” for innovation the institute has used for decades involves getting people to work with one another as opposed to working separately.

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Old learning concept can help students without resources learn online amid the pandemic

Lori Jane Gliha

October 12, 2020 |

KDVR-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

In Denver, learning pods are helping students access virtual classes during a pandemic. At the Adams 12 school district, 4000 students, district-wide, participate in the pod. Similarly, HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-Op launched a learning center. Students can sit in a classroom, access Wi-Fi, and count on the support of an adult. They also distributed 600 computers, 400 webcams from PCs, and 1,077 laptops to enrolled middle and high school students.

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Grieving Murdered Children During A Pandemic

Jason deBruyn

October 12, 2020 |

WUNC |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

The nationwide surge in gun violence during the pandemic has forced support groups for grieving survivors to persevere in their work using different tools and strategies in a process that depends on intimate forms of counseling. In Durham, one "grief circle" associated with the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham still hosts anti-violence vigils after each killing. Its support group for parents and grandparents of victims, led by fellow survivors for maximum effect, shifted to Zoom and telephone calls. Among the beneficiaries of the support: the organizers themselves, whose work gives them purpose.

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How one school district is closing the equity gap with a school bus and a card table

Laney Valian

October 12, 2020 |

KXAN-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Hutto, Texas

While virtual learning can work for some, for special education students, many services and lessons get lost. “When it comes to those occupational needs and those speech needs, they’re not getting those services met because they’re not in school.” In Texas, one school district is using a bus to provide curbside education to special education students. A teacher, a table, and materials are all inside the bus. Once inside, students receive lessons from specialists. “As soon as Arwyn got on the bus the first time, she was super excited to see her teachers, to see her occupational therapist."

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How one state is sending thousands of WiFi hotspots to keep students in school

Anne Maxwell

October 12, 2020 |

WSPA-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Travelers Rest, South Carolina

In South Carolina, 180,000 households don’t have access to Wifi, according to estimates. A problem for students who are trying to attend virtual classes. Using CARES funds, the state purchased hotspots. In one county, almost all of the students are connected. “The hotspots are working well, with just about all of the county’s 77,000 students logging on to learn.”

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