Category Archives: Progress

ABERDEEN From downtown development to ongoing preservation projects, potential was a theme of March 15s Save Aberdeen Landmarks meeting.

Aberdeen Main Street Director Ann Tackett gave an update on recent business activities and an upcoming planning meeting for a performing stage at Acker Park.

We do have very few vacancies downtown. We have three places under construction and other than that, Ive got two people wanting to buy a building, she said. Yesterday, I understand someone bought the old KFC building and will offer pizza.

Aberdeen Main Street received a $25,000 grant last year for planning a stage at Acker Park. The USDA grant was through the Mississippi Main Street Association. Acker Park was adopted by Save Aberdeen Landmarks years ago and has since underwent improvements.

Tackett said a meeting for the project is planned for May.

For us to get on the right path, you cant start and worry about some of these things out here. We have got to worry about the foundation. If we cant this foundation right, you arent going to get anything else right, she said.

A Mississippi Main Street resource team and design firm Orion Planning + Design will help officials develop a plan and help find grant funding to implement it.

Tackett also talked about the potential of developing walking and bike paths through parts of downtown to encourage healthy living and more handrails for city sidewalks downtown.

Save Aberdeen Landmarks Chairman Dwight Stevens recapped the organizations success story of preserving the Kimmel building years ago. It now houses three upstairs apartments and two downtown businesses generating income to pay off the projects loan.

Any project you start, you think youve got enough money but you never do, he said. Our initial loan was $265,000 and now were at $80,000. When we get the building paid for, well have a pretty good income from that.

Save Aberdeen Landmarks acquired ownership of the former Phoenix drugstore building downtown roughly a decade ago, but its restoration has stalled in recent years.

We have turned it over and took it to a vote with board members and decided we have someone who is going to build it back. Hes going to put the floors and ceiling back and put the roof all the way back, and its going to be two store buildings. We dont really care how were going to save these buildings. If its giving it away, we accomplished the saving of the building. Thats our biggest eyesore downtown, Stevens said.

Also during the meeting, Traci Kent and Randy Emerson were elected to serve on the board, with Kent serving as secretary.

Toni Reece also spoke on behalf of the Aberdeen Animal Shelter and Rescue, saying efforts are underway to attract a veterinarian and pet groomer to town once a week. She added there will be a pet adoption day April 17.

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Save Aberdeen Landmarks meeting focuses on progress | News | djournal.com - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

While the administration at Penn State embraces the spirit of a new report detailing the challenges the authors say are faced by Black professors, the university argues that progress is being made.

Part Two of the More Rivers to Cross report was released Thursday with the authors finding that Black professors are underrepresented in the university system as hiring and retention remain flat over 15 years, and eight out of 10 Black faculty members reported experiencing racism from students, administrators or colleagues.

Obviously, it is with considerable distress and disappointment that we read about the racist experiences described by faculty who completed the More Rivers to Cross survey, university officials said in the statement released Sunday evening. No one in our community should have to endure such treatment.

While university officials say such discrimination and biases have no place at Penn State, they do take issue with some facets of the More Rivers to Cross report.

We embrace the spirit, but not the pessimism, of this report produced by an independent group of faculty members and we share the commitment of its authors that more must be accomplished., officials said.

However, the authors took issue with their report being seemingly dismissed as pessimistic and released a statement Monday saying, One cannot be optimistic about racism, especially when it is ones lived experience.

But university officials say that while more must be accomplished it is important to recognize the tangible progress being made.

The university points to significant increases in the diversity of the student body and the leadership of the university. Students from underrepresented groups represent 13.6% of the student population, an increase of 2.2% between 2019 and 2020, the university states.

Penn State officials also said since the formation of the Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias, and Community Safety last year, university-wide initiatives are underway to combat racism and hate and to increase diversity, equity and inclusion. Key recommendations include:

The university also points to several new programs that include:

One of the More Rivers to Cross reports main findings was the lack of recruitment and retention of Black faculty members. The university noted in its response that Penn State President Eric Barron addressed this to the University Faculty Senate, saying every faculty member plays a vital part of the universitys efforts to increase the hiring of Black faculty, as hiring decisions are largely in the hands of the faculty itself.

University officials do admit progress must be improved and sustained, and the university acknowledged it is troubling that the number of Black faculty members has remained stagnant for the last 15 years.

We will not rest until every student, staff and faculty member feels represented, welcomed and supported. The president, provost, deans, chancellors and administrators across the institution are fully committed to this goal, university officials pledged in their statement.

The university also said efforts are underway that address some of the specific concerns in the report, from a comprehensive study on salary equity to modifying the use of student evaluations, which the report noted are unfair to faculty members of color.

But the authors of More Rivers to Cross said in their statement Monday that the university response seemingly dismisses the perspectives and experiences of Black faculty members. They wrote that our report presents a truth that the administration would do well to consider with serious reflection rather than a perfunctory response and a laundry list of actions that echo the universitys historical and perpetual responses to institutionalized racism.

The authors say the universitys response seems to be more aimed at maintaining the credibility of a process and of a commission that has not yet produced results and does not address the authors recommendations for changes. Those recommendations included:

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Penn State says its making progress on diversity and inclusion despite critical report from Black faculty - PennLive

Paly librarian Sima Thomas said in an interview with The Paly Voice that she feels more protected due to her COVID-19 vaccinations. Thomas has already received her first dose of the vaccine and is expecting her second dose on Monday; she said her vaccinations have eased her worries about visiting her parents, who have received both doses of their vaccines. It doesnt mean I feel like being reckless, but it just feels safer, like I have protections, she said. Compared to six months ago, it just feels like we have so much more control over our exposure and our experience than [we used to]. The vaccine is definitely like a huge part of that. Photo: Andy Robinson

As COVID-19 vaccination rates continue to increase for Palo Alto High School staff, many are expressing relief at a safer on-campus environment.

Santa Clara County educators have been eligible to receive vaccines since Sunday, Feb. 28, with many teachers at Paly already receiving their first doses.

Being vaccinated does make me feel better about returning to campus, though I am wary of getting too comfortable, science teacher Samuel Howles-Banerji said.

According to Howles-Banerji, who said he has received his first dose of the vaccine and is awaiting a second, scheduling the vaccination was not a simple process.

I live in San Mateo county, Howles-Banerji said. At the time that I scheduled mine, they released a block of appointments at 8 a.m., and they were all booked by 9 a.m. If one wasnt waiting for them [vaccine appointments] at that time, they would be difficult to get.

Howles-Banerji said though he feels safer due to his vaccinations, he remains concerned about his personal safety in a classroom setting with students and staff who have not received the vaccine.

I will not be fully vaccinated until the end of March, and even then I will still be in a classroom with a number of unvaccinated individuals from different households, he said. This is still considered a risk, even if its substantially reduced. It is also still a risk for students who are not vaccinated to be in that setting, as well as for their families who may not be vaccinated yet.

Other educators, including math teacher Steve Marsheck, have expressed concern that the vaccine should be prioritized to other groups.

I think it is good teachers are getting vaccinated, Marsheck said. But to be honest, we are not more important than lots of essential workers who have had no choice but to go to work for months without a vaccine.

According to California All, the California state government website dedicated to COVID-19 pandemic updates, agriculture and food, education and childcare, and emergency services workers are deemed to have a high chance of exposure, and are currently receiving vaccinations under Phase 1B. Individuals 50 and older will be eligible for vaccinations beginning April 1, with the process for all Californians over age 16 starting on April 15.

Paly librarian Sima Thomas echoed the sentiments of Marsheck, saying she is unsure whether the vaccination timeline and stratification system has been the most effective, efficient, and equitable for all local residents.

I guess they feel really conflicted, Thomas said. I know it was a hard decision to make. I felt really good about the food industry and the agricultural industry getting vaccinated because [these] people have much more high risk situations than Im in.

Despite these concerns, Thomas said she is ultimately satisfied with the countys decision to vaccinate teachers before opening the process up to all individuals over 16.

Selfishly, Im glad I got to go when I got to go, [and] it does kind of make sense that we want to get schools back open, she said. If we have the vaccine then it feels respectful to say alright teachers, were going to vaccinate you and were going to open schools because we want to get students back to campus and get students back into the classroom.

Thomas said she hopes that the vaccination process will continue to expand in order to return to some sense of normalcy.

The faster we can get vaccination done and get towards herd immunity, [the better], Thomas said. Im not in the lets just all return to normal and go out and not wear masks [group] but it is nice to know that at least for the last month of school my son, whos in second grade, will get to go to school every day. Its nice to feel like some parts of life that feel very essential can return.

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Faculty relieved at vaccination progress - palyvoice.com

Actualizado 31/03/2021- 12:10

Top seed Daniil Medvedev powered his way into the Miami Open quarter-finals, along with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev on Tuesday.

Medvedev won in straight sets against unseeded American Frances Tiafoe, hitting 24 winners.

Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas won in straight sets against 24th seed Lorenzo Sonego, although the second went to a tie-break which the Greek dominated.

Medvedev beats Tiafoe to make first Miami quarter-finalPerform

World number eight Andrey Rublev got past Marin Cilic in straight sets to book his last-eight spot.

Fifth seed Diego Schwartzman was the major casualty on Tuesday, losing to unseeded American Sebastian Korda in three sets. Seeds Josh Isner, Milos Raonic and Taylor Fritz also exited.

World number nine Schwartzman was knocked out in three sets by Korda 6-3 4-6 7-5 as he continues his super run.

Florida resident Korda, 20, reached his maiden ATP 1000 quarter-final, showing fight after the Argentinian raised his game in the second set, winning after an early break in the last.

Rublev made light work of former US Open champion Marin Cilic, triumphing 6-4 6-4.

Bautista Agut got past 18th seed Isner 6-3 4-6 7-6 (9-7), while Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev's conqueror Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3 6-2.

Alexander Bublik, seeded 32nd, sent down 23 aces as he beat Taylor Fritz 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4.

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Medvedev leads the way as Tsitsipas and Rublev progress at Miami Open - MARCA.com

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Axel Kicillof relished the role he played in the Argentine government years ago: the brash left-wing economy minister who clashed at every opportunity with foreign investors. They hated him and he loved it.Today, Kicillof is once again locked in a bruising battle with financiers in New York and London. This time its as governor of Buenos Aires, which, along with nearly a dozen other provinces, called for debt restructuring talks last year as the federal government began negotiations of its own with creditors. But unlike the others, Buenos Aires has yet to emerge from default. In fact, 10 months after Kicillof halted payments on $7.1 billion worth of bonds, barely any progress has been made in talks.With the bonds now languishing at just 35 cents on the dollar in secondary markets and not a penny of interest income flowing their way, creditors are growing tired of the stalling and the disinterest displayed by Kicillofs aides. Last week, funds from the Buenos Aires Ad Hoc Bondholder Group sued the province in U.S. court for unpaid principal and interest.This gambit, analysts say, may help jump-start the process by forcing the province to take a more active role in negotiations. But, they warn, theres another dynamic at play that threatens to only embolden Kicillof to further radicalize his hard-line approach. The federal government -- under the growing influence of Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, a mentor to Kicillof -- is aggressively pushing for concessions to refinance a $45 billion failed program with the International Monetary Fund.The governments newly restructured sovereign bonds, like the defaulted Buenos Aires bonds, now trade below 40 cents on the dollar, a reflection of how badly the countrys economy and finances have been battered by the pandemic and lack of credibility.For Kicillof, this is political, said Diego Ferro, founder of M2M Capital in New York, a veteran debt investor who doesnt hold bonds of the province. Which means that unless he gets a deal consistent with what Argentina got, it will reflect poorly on him.And as August primaries and October mid-term elections get closer, politics will play an ever larger role in shaping all aspects of policy. Cutting a deal with the IMF or provincial bondholders isnt a priority, especially during a pandemic.Buenos Aires has extended the deadline on its debt proposal no fewer than 13 times. But last week, the province published details of a new one shown to New York-based hedge fund GoldenTree Asset Management, one of its largest creditors. It was swiftly rejected -- as was the counteroffer.The next day, the creditor group, including GoldenTree, submitted two legal claims against the province in the U.S District Court of New York seeking $366 million in unpaid interest and principal.Theres definitely more pressure with the litigation now ongoing, said Carlos de Sousa, an emerging market portfolio manager at Vontobel Asset Management in Zurich. Kicillof is quite ideologically driven and close to Cristina. And thus his lack of cooperation with creditors until recently.The provinces bonds due 2027 fell 0.3 cent to 37.7 cents on the dollar at 4:50 p.m. in Buenos Aires.Those who observed Kicillof as Economy Minister between 2013-2015 under then president Fernandez de Kirchner know that he doesnt quickly surrender in high profile conflicts with creditors. Back then he battled Paul Singers Elliott Management and other holdouts, insisting that Argentina couldnt comply with a ruling in their favor and eventually opted to default again with the presidents blessing.And while hes delegated negotiations this time around as governor to his provincial Economy Minister Pablo Lopez, hes very much involved.Read More: Buenos Aires Province Weighs Next Steps After Creditor LawsuitThe legal claims are only a strategy to pressure the government and the province will still have 60 days to respond, Lopez said in an interview last week. While Kicillof, 49, doesnt directly participate in conversations with bondholders, Lopez frequently discusses the debt restructuring process with him, he said.He is focused and interested, Lopez said. The debt negotiation is determined by the provincial government.The province is bigger than many countries and represents half of the debt from regional governments. Home to almost 18 million people and accounting for two-fifths of Argentinas GDP, its a critical political battleground in any election.Last week at an event, Fernandez de Kirchner, who hand-picked Alberto Fernandez as the presidential candidate in 2019, railed against the IMF and the terms being sought to renegotiate the largest credit agreement ever struck with the Washington-based lender. Bond prices fell.We cant pay because we dont have the money, she said, with Kicillof nodding in the background. While they spoke, Economy Minister Martin Guzman was wrapping up a trip to Washington after meeting IMF officials.After Fernandez took power in December 2019, Buenos Aires Province was the first to default on its debt payments in May. Days later, the federal government followed suit, along with several other provinces over the course of the next months.Since then, the government and eight provinces have settled with creditors. Deals ranged from about 55 cents on the dollar for the government while many regional authorities agreed to much smaller discounts, between 83.4 and 96.3 cents considering a 10% exit yield. While a few small provinces also remain in talks, Buenos Aires, which offered to pay about 65 cents, is the last major holdout.As economy minister, Kicillof negotiated a settlement with Spains Repsol SA after the government seized its stake in oil producer YPF SA in 2012, agreeing to compensate the company with bonds. He also struck a deal with the Paris Club of creditors.Those events give some investors hope that hell eventually come around to an agreement. Still, his rhetoric remains combative. Speaking at an event on Friday, Kicillof called investors unsupportive and intransigent.Court claims arent going to lead to solutions to the root problems, he said. We remain open to dialogue to reach an agreement thats convenient to creditors and that the province can pay.Even after the lawsuit was filed, Kicillof has little financial incentive to reach a settlement soon or offer concessions to creditors. The province realistically has no chance of tapping international markets for fresh funding, so it has little to lose in dragging out talks. And if a court ruling were to go against it, the provinces lawyers could appeal the case several times, and that could stretch the saga into the next gubernatorial elections in 2023.I dont see a situation where Kicillof agrees to a deal thats better than what the sovereign agreed to, Ferro said.(Updates with bond move in 11th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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Progress Software Stock Is Estimated To Be Fairly Valued - Yahoo Finance

Airlines bosses across the United States are starting to smile again as domestic travel begins to rebound strongly. The big carriers like United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines are all enjoying strong bookings and forward demand. But underscoring the sunny forecast is an ongoing warning against traveling and the possibility of further waves of COVID-19.

Yesterday, Simple Flyings Jay Singh reported domestic travel bookings at American Airlines earlier this week were running at 90% of 2019 levels. Seat utilization across Americans domestic flights last week was also good, averaging 80%.

Airline database RadarBox.com paints an even more positive picture. In the week between March 26 and April 1, American Airlines is scheduling an average of 4,034 domestic flights a day. In the same week in 2019, the airline scheduled an average of 3.039 domestic flights a day.

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Over at Delta Air Lines, the outlook is equally good. Between March 26 and April 1, Delta is running an average of 3,694 domestic flights a day. In the same week last year, the airline operated just an average of 1,345 flights a day. In the same week in 2019, well before COVID-19 struck, Delta ran an average of 3,267 domestic flights a day.

United Airlines is also running above its 2019 domestic flight levels this week, if by a smaller margin. Between March 26 and April 1, United is operating an average of 2,438 domestic flights a day. Across the same week in 2019, the airline flew an average of 2,341 domestic flights a day. Just one year ago, United was running an average of 843 domestic flights a day.

Similarly, Alaska Airlines is also storming back, operating an average of 975 domestic flights a day this week. Over the same week in 2019, the Seattle-based airline flew an average of 736 domestic flights a day. This time last year, Alaska was flying just 551 domestic flights a day.

Interestingly, neither Southwest Airlines nor Hawaiian Airlines is performing so well. Hawaiian Airlines is running 32.34% fewer domestic flights this week than in the same week in 2019. Likewise, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is also operating substantially fewer domestic flights this week than it did in the comparable 2019 week. However, Southwest Airlines is now running more domestic flights than it did this time last year.

What to make of this? On the surface, its great news. Its not just last-minute bookings either. United States-based airlines are reporting booking periods are starting to widen again, and they are even contemplating a return to yield management. From these perspectives, its a reassuring sign some normality is returning.

In the past six weeks, weve seen that move-out, so that bookings that are beyond 60 days are almost flat to 2019 levels, just down a few points, CAPA quotes Deltas Glen Hauenstein saying recently.

But the threat of COVID-19 continues to lurk in the background. According to the CDC, over 95 million or nearly 29% of the United States population have had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. 52.6 million people, or nearly 16% of the population, have had both doses. The rollout of the vaccination program in the United States and its takeup have been good. Thats driving confidence, and thats getting people back into the air.

But theres no guarantee the vaccination will work against any new COVID variants. That is a key threat that may yet derail aviations rebound. And while the vaccination rate is good, its still a long way shy of total vaccination, and the CDC continues to warn against travel. That warning will deter some travelers and may have insurance implications.

But overall, its good news for Americas airlines. The airlines CEOs will be crossing their fingers and hoping the rebound continues beyond the short term.

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United States Airlines Making Good Progress In COVID Recovery - Simple Flying

Africa has suffered about three million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemicat least officially. The continents comparatively low number of reported cases has puzzled scientists and prompted many theories about its exceptionalism, from its young population to its countries rapid and aggressive lockdowns.

But numerous seroprevalence surveys, which use blood tests to identify whether people have antibodies from prior infection with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), point to a significant underestimation of African countries COVID burden. Undercounting could increase the risk of the disease spreading widely, hinder vaccine rollout and uptake, and ultimately threaten global efforts to control the pandemic, experts warn. Wherever the virus is circulatingespecially in regions with little access to vaccinesnew mutations are likely to arise, and it is crucial to identify them quickly.

Viral variants are already complicating vaccination drives around the world. New SARS-CoV-2 variants first detected in South Africa, Brazil and the U.K. have raised concerns that they could be more transmissible or make available vaccines less effective. And drugmakers are scrambling to develop vaccine boosters to protect against them. (The currently authorized vaccines still provide strong protection against severe disease and death.)

Undiagnosed transmission of COVID in African countries increases the risk of new variants taking hold in the population before authorities have a chance to detect them and prevent their spread, says Richard Lessells, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform in South Africa. That nation has the highest number of recorded cases on the continent (many of them caused by a new variant). And officials suspect that its surveillance network is only catching one in every 10 infections.

Mutations develop spontaneously as a virus replicates and spreads. While many of them are innocuous, they can sometimes make the pathogen more transmissible or deadly, as seen in the SARS-CoV-2 variant first detected in the U.K.

If you allow it to continue to spread, it will continue to evolve, warns Lessells, who was part of the team that first identified the new variant in South Africa. The threat of mutation is greater if the virus is moving unhindered through large swaths of a countrys or regions population. Lessells emphasizes that Africa is not the problem and that new variants could just as easily emerge elsewhere. Rather the issue is vaccine equity. It is clear that if we leave Africa behind on the vaccine front, then theres clearly a risk that it gets more challenging to control transmission, he says.

The underestimation of COVID cases feeds into a narrative that African countries do not need vaccines as urgently as other nations. After all, if there are relatively few cases and deaths, then some people may say, Good, no problemthey dont need vaccines, says Maysoon Dahab, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her research estimated that only about 2 percent of COVID deaths in Khartoum, Sudan, were correctly attributed to the illness between last April and September.

Many African countries have initiated limited vaccination programs, mainly procured through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility. Vaccines are earmarked for health care workers and extremely vulnerable groups. They are simply not available to inoculate entire African nations in the short to medium termboth as a result of global demand and because of rich countries hoarding doses.

Currently, rich nations accounting for 16 percent of the worlds population have bought 60 percent of the global vaccine supply, wrote World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Foreign Policy last month. Many of these countries aim to vaccinate 70 percent of their adult population by midyear in pursuit of herd immunity, he wrote.

Vaccine-induced herd immunity is not likely for African countries in the near future. A spokesperson for COVAX co-leader GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, told Scientific American that the initiative aims to vaccinate 20 percent of people in its member countries by the end of the year. COVAXs work has only just begun: it is vitally important that manufacturers continue to support COVAX and governments refrain from more bilateral deals that take further supply out of the market, the spokesperson said.

But if reported COVID cases are low, officials may struggle to persuade people to get a shot even if they are in a position to do so. The low reported disease numbers are bolstering vaccine hesitancy, warns Catherine Kyobutungi, executive director of the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi, Kenya. People are asking why they need to be vaccinated when theyve already gotten rid of the virus without vaccines, she says.

Kenya has officially had 122,000 cases, but a nationwide blood-bank survey found that about 5 percent of more than 3,000 samples taken between last April and June contained SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. If extrapolated, this finding points to the possibility of millions of undiagnosed cases in Kenya, although some scientists say that the survey was not representative of the general population and could have had skewed results. Nevertheless, the country aims to vaccinate 30 percent of its populationa figure Kyobutungi describes as a drop in the oceanby 2023.

Without widespread access to vaccines, African countries are relying on basic public health measures such as mask wearing and handwashing alone to control the diseases spread. And, as with vaccination, people could dismiss these measures as unnecessary if the numbers misrepresent the risk of infection.

Governments may also take the statistics at face value and downscale their COVID surveillance efforts, Kyobutungi warns. That is, they may do so until something terrible happens or, a year down the line, theres a Malawian variant, a Ugandan variant or Sudanese variant, she says. If new lethal variants emerge in Africa, Africa gets cut off from the rest of the world, or the variants spread like the first cases in China. Then you have cases everywhere, and we need to vaccinate the whole world all over again.

Others, however, are less concerned about undercounting and its potential consequences. Epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim, co-leader of South Africas ministerial advisory committee, says that the only way to completely protect the public is to presume everybody is potentially infected and institute universal health measures such as mask wearing. Vaccines are an important part of our prevention tool boxprobably the most important part, Abdool Karim says. But they arent enough on their own.

Ngoy Nsenga, WHO Africas program manager for emergency response, agrees that variants are a concern and that the best response is implementing public health interventions. Of course, we wish we could have vaccines to vaccinate everyone and stop the chain of transmission, but because of availability, that is not possible, he says.

Without worldwide concurrent vaccination, COVID will continue to spread. With the disease, African countries are here for the long haul, Nsenga says. And if that is true for the continent, it could well be true for the rest of the world. If any place, any country, is not safe in this world, no country will be safe, he says.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific American here. And read coverage from our international network of magazines here.

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Hidden Toll of COVID in Africa Threatens Global Pandemic Progress - Scientific American

Headlines would have you believe COVID-19 has left Americans in financial tatters, but when looking at the broad data, I cant make the same conclusion.

Make no mistake, COVID and the resulting restrictions have left a great many people struggling with their finances. Until we are back to business as usual, the situation for those folks is unlikely to get substantively better. But the narrative that COVID has upended our financial system is an easy one in which to get wrapped up and even easier on which to extrapolate. Remember, perspective is everything.

Looking at our progress is a great reminder of how far weve come.

I believe the data is pointing to substantial progress obfuscated by attention-grabbing and distracting headlines. Data seems to indicate that American individuals, families, and businesses may be in better shape than they have ever been when looking at several important measures.

First, consider companies that are now sitting on the largest cash hoard ever. Moodys Investor Services reports that non-financial companies are sitting on $2.1 trillion, an increase from a record $2 trillion peak in 2017. While cash holdings shot up in 2020, companies took on record amounts of debt to strengthen their balance sheets and refinance their previous obligations. Companies borrowed $2 trillion, another record going back before 2006. Businesses increased their operating flexibility during an uncertain time by borrowing at 30-year record low-interest rates. This would be like an individual obtaining an inexpensive line of credit from the bank to use if they need some extra savings. Flexibility is a smart move.

Speaking of financial institutions, the Federal Reserve announced in January 2021 that banks passed their stress tests and are in better condition than expected. As such, the Fed is allowing banks to raise dividends and buy back stock. Instead of paying down low-interest debt with surplus cash, I believe banks will reinvest in their businesses, pursue mergers and acquisitions, and find other opportunities beneficial to shareholders, such as dividend increases or share buybacks.

Businesses and banks look strong, so what about American households? Amid a pandemic, American incomes in 2020 were far higher than in all of history. Yes, some of that income included government stimulus and unemployment, but private wages, average hourly earnings, and average weekly earnings all made new highs. Unlike what we have seen historically, many Americans did not spend a significant amount of the increases on frivolities. They acted conservatively, paid down credit card debt (to the tune of $100 billion), and increased their savings.

The bull market tailwind helped improve retirement plan account values, and home values continued to increase. In summary, we are at a record high household net worth level of some $128 trillion and record low household debt obligations. Across the country, 37% of U.S. homeowners do not owe any outstanding debt on their primary residence! No mortgage, no home equity loan, nothing. Overall, household debt as a percentage of assets is 11%, down from more than 19% in 2008.

The average American household is in the best financial shape of all time, with more cash and fewer debts than ever. This is not a surprise and not always a wonderful thing. Behaviorally, people tend to accumulate cash and pay down debt because of the emotion of fear. They prefer the security that comes with a cleaner balance sheet.

Fear can also be seen in the movement of money, specifically inflows and outflows of investment dollars. Over the past three years (since Jan. 31, 2018), the flow of money out of investments in what some consider risky investments like common stock totaled about $562 billion. The same period saw flow into what some consider safe investments like bonds of about $1 trillion. Thats roughly a $1.5 trillion swing from risk-on to risk-off.

With interest rates recently rising, investors may see bonds lose value as rates rise. In February alone, the 10-year bond rose from 1.09% to 1.46%, the largest monthly increase since 2016. Investors not attentive to this will wake up later this year and wonder why the economy is stronger, but they lost money. As interest rates rise, bond prices decline. Even Warren Buffett reminded investors in his annual letter, bonds are not the place to be these days.

There are about nine million fewer jobs in the country than there were a year ago, and to a great extent, many of those jobs will be lost by the people who can least afford to lose them. We will see more widespread economic growth once we open our economy and remove government-imposed barriers preventing businesses from running at 100% capacity. The most effective antidote to poverty and inequality humankind has ever devised are jobs, commerce and economic growth. Eventually, an economy can grow its way out of even the most severe problems; it cannot re-distribute its way out of them. The latest data around infections, vaccinations, and deaths all seem to be trending positive, yet several overly restrictive measures remain in place.

Bureaucratic hurdles need to be quickly resolved. The longer we wait, the more severe the economic damage becomes. Perhaps this would be a better focus of our governments time, rather than passing an additional stimulus package, which is a hammer solution to a scalpel problem.

Businesses and people need to be released and be free to reopen. The financial seeds of an economic recovery have been sewn. The long-term prospects for the economy, and of the great companies that comprise it, are extremely positive. Perhaps more so at this moment than any time since World War II. We have all the pieces needed to build a better future. We need only the opportunity to do so.

Steve Booren is the founder of Prosperion Financial Advisors in Greenwood Village. He is the author of Intelligent Investing: Your Guide to a Growing Retirement Income. He has been named by Forbes as a 2021 Best-in-State Wealth Advisor, and a Barrons 2021 Top Advisor by State. This column is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations.

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Improving Investor Behavior: Progress and perspective - The Denver Post

BOSTON Delays in issuing autopsy reports and death certificates have plagued the States Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for years. Now, the agency says its well on its way to clearing the backlog.

But some families still searching for answers about a loved ones death say the OCME needs to do better.

This week, grieving families took their concerns directly to the chief medical examiner, Dr. Mindy Hull, during a virtual meeting of the Commission on Medicolegal Investigation, which oversees the OCME.

My wife passed away in 2015. I have written several times, Ive asked for any notes, anything regarding her case. And Ive received nothing, said Michael DAmbrosio, a widower from Charlestown who spoke during the meetings public comment portion.

25 Investigates first interviewed DAmbrosio early in 2020.

He had been waiting for more than four years to find out how his wife, Debra, died after a sudden illness in 2015. Following our reporting the agency told DAmbrosio her death was the result of internal bleeding. But he questions that finding because he said an autopsy was never performed on her, and he is continuing to press the OCME for answers.

Theres absolutely no closure on this. Its, you know, one day my wife was there the next day, she wasnt with no answer. No explanation. Its an impossible situation to be in, he said.

The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) requires most autopsy reports be completed in 90 days.

As 25 Investigates reported last year, the OCME was working hard to meet the requirement because its accreditation depends on it. Cases that exceed 90 days like Debra DAmbrosios no longer count toward the highly coveted accreditation. At the time, two sources familiar with the OCME told 25 Investigates that Dr. Hull, the Chief Medical Examiner, does not prioritize older cases because they dont help her with accreditation. Internal emails provided by one of the sources showed Dr. Hull highlighting cases in jeopardy of missing the 90 day mark.

Maggie Mancuso, a Dorchester mother who waited nearly three years to find out the cause of death of her newborn son, also addressed the Dr. Hull during the Commission on Medicolegal Investigation meeting.

In 2019, 25 Investigates reported on Mancusos experience with the OCME. She told investigative reporter Ted Daniel that an OCME staff member told her on a few occasions that her babys case was not a priority.

Since then, Mancuso has made it her mission to improve the way the OCME communicates and treats grieving families.

Hearing from a doctor would ease the family so immensely, she told the commission and Dr. Hull. Its not an extensive phone call. It would just be a few minutes, just to tell the family exactly whats going on at that moment.

The chief medical examiner was receptive to Mancusos suggestion and assured her that it would be taken into consideration.

Dr. Hull also assured DAmbrosio she would review the particulars of his wifes case and get back to him.

All Im looking for is answers for my family, said DAmbrosio.

During the virtual meeting, Hull also laid out a number of recommendations to improve interactions with grieving families, including implementing a recorded phone line and the hiring of a communications coordinator.

In an email, a spokesperson for the OCME tells 25 Investigates:

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner remains focused on its core mission of determining the cause and manner of deaths that occur under violent, suspicious, or unexplained circumstances. Under Dr. Hulls leadership, OCME has reduced the number of open cases preceding her appointment by more than 70%, while completing 96% of autopsy reports and death certificates on new cases within 90 days. OCME staff have made it a priority to deliver these necessary services in a shorter period of time without sacrificing accuracy, including prioritizing cases whenever possible for family members seeking information on their loved ones deaths.

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States Medical Examiner Office says its making progress, but grieving families say more is needed - Boston 25 News

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State lawmakers are weighing sweeping changes to Pennsylvanias election laws as candidates cautiously test the waters for a 2022 mid-term election that could once again put the state in the bulls-eye of the national debate over election reform.

In Pennsylvania, where unsuccessful court challenges to the 2020 presidential election continued for months, about two dozen proposed changes to the Election Code run a broad spectrum. They range from a bill that would repeal the no-excuse mail-in balloting law, passed in 2019, to several that would expand the deadline for voter registration up to Election Day.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that tracks such issues nationally, proposals to tighten election and registration restrictions here outnumber those that would expand voter rights by about 2 to 1.

While it appears the 2019 law will remain in place for the May 18 primary election, those monitoring the issue say questions likely will resurface when voters begin casting ballots.

Ray Murphy is state coordinator for Keystone Votes, a coalition of 42 civil rights, civic and community groups that advocated for mail-in voting. He fears the upcoming election will serve only to magnify concerns about the states election laws.

We have to start thinking about this. The primary election in Pennsylvania will start in two weeks. Mail ballots already have been requested. Were going to have a batch of new problems in May, he said.

He predicted issues with provisional ballots and remaining questions about allowing voters to cure faulty mail-in ballots with minor issues will remain at the forefront of the debate. He said its critical that the state resolve such issues before the 2022 midterm elections, when open seats in the governors mansion and the U.S. Senate will again cast the critical swing state into the national spotlight.

Murphys coalition supports measures such as establishing drop boxes at convenient locations where voters can deposit ballots before Election Day; establishing a procedure and timeline for election officials to notify voters of minor oversights on mail-in ballots and allowing them to make corrections so ballots can be counted; accepting ballots postmarked by Election Day if they are received within three days; and allowing county election officials to begin precanvassing mail-in ballots as they arrive.

They say precanvassing, which allows election officials to check in mailed ballots as they arrive and set them aside for counting on Election Day a process that has been widely adopted in states with longstanding mail-in balloting would greatly streamline the process for local election officials.

Although there has been bipartisan support for precanvassing, Democrats and Republicans havent reached an agreement on the specifics of such legislation.

The GOP majority in the Legislature, however, has come down firmly in favor of issues such as requiring signature verification on mail-in ballots and limiting counting to those received by Election Day. They say Pennsylvanias Supreme Court cast the integrity of the 2020 election into question and created a landscape ripe for abuse when it ruled against signature verification, allowed drop boxes and said ballots received in the mail up to three days after Election Day could be counted.

State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, who was reelected in November, is among those firmly advocating for change as House and Senate committees continue to hold hearings on the issue.

Without question, a top priority that needs to be addressed is the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts overreach during the last election cycle, Ward said. The Pennsylvania Supreme Courts decision put into question the integrity of our states election laws by allowing for the authorization of drop boxes, elimination of signature requirements and permitting late ballot arrivals. In both the state and U.S. Constitution, its clear that the state legislature sets the time, place and manner of elections, not the state Supreme Court.

Changes ahead

Republican lawmakers in 43 states have been pushing changes to adopt restrictions in state election law in the wake of false narratives of election fraud in the 2020 election, which helped spur the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Several states, including Iowa and Georgia, already have passed bills restricting absentee and early voting.

Such measures could face a brick wall in Pennsylvania, where last fall Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill that would have banned drop boxes and changed the time period in which voters can request a mail-in ballot from seven days to 15 days before an election even though it included a three-day period for county election officials to precanvass mail-in ballots.

Ward said Republicans are prepared to take another route to make changes if Wolf refuses to sign off on their changes this year.

If that happens, it means the only way to protect the constitution will be, yet again, another constitutional amendment, to put the decision into the hands of the people, Ward vowed.

She says its all about ensuring election integrity. Others arent so sure the issue that the GOP seized upon in the wake of Donald Trumps defeat is the sole issue driving the debate.

Chris Deluzio, a lawyer who studies election issues as policy director of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security, said its unclear where Pennsylvania election law will land.

But Im most concerned about the volume of restrictive proposals that are bouncing around the General Assembly that would make it more difficult for people to register or vote. There are so many proposals to end no-excuse mail-in voting, proposals to end the permanent early voting list, proposals to eliminate drop boxes and to mandate more aggressive signature matching, which we know is fraught and can carry significant risks of disenfranchising folks, he said.

Im worried that what the Republicans in Harrisburg are up to is to restrict voting so they can continue to win elections, he said.

While such proposals are indeed pending, at the county level where elections are held, officials simply are looking for changes that will make it easier to handle mail-in voting.

Electronic poll books, training, education and adequate time to send out and process ballots are high on the lists of those who administer elections.

Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew is scheduled to testify Tuesday before the state Senate Special Committee on Election Integrity and Reform. He said officials in the county of 350,000 residents were stressed handling the new law and expanded volume of mail-in ballots when ballot approvals were delayed for several weeks last fall because of legal challenges.

Having an earlier date to request mail-in ballots would provide time for lost ballots or delayed ballots to be resent using the U.S. Postal System, without resorting to extraordinary means either by the county or the voter, he said.

Moreover, he said the state needs to clarify gray areas of the law that resulted in counties receiving conflicting guidance last year.

While officials in Harrisburg hold hearings and weigh changes to the state Election Code, Democrats in Congress are promoting H.R. 1, a Biden administration bill that would mandate early voting and same-day registration, and overhaul campaign finance and congressional redistricting.

Republicans have condemned the bill, which would eliminate state-to-state variations in election law, as an assault on states rights to conduct elections.

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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