Monthly Archives: May 2020

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As a result, community building comes second to transitioning curriculum online or managing the logistics surrounding online class facilitation. But even the most successful distance education programmes have drop-out rates that are 10% to 20% higher than traditional education, which is primarily the result of a lack of student engagement and community building platforms, and overarching feelings of isolation.

Instead of just accepting social distancing and self-isolation as a reality of COVID-19, educators have the opportunity to utilise these as tools for engaging in authentic discussions and promoting a more engaged and inclusive student body. As a result, educators not only build student support and community systems in this new, temporary reality, but also build stronger communities in social distancing that can thrive after students return for their classes in person.

From my experience as both an online doctoral student and an educator amidst the COVID-19 shift to online classes, below are some of the strategies that I have found effective in building stronger university communities.

Humanise the classroom experience

Community and socialisation do not only occur outside the classroom and educators can take intentional steps to model their own vulnerability and humanise the classroom experience in order to promote increased student engagement. In doing so, students also demonstrate greater persistence in their education. A few specific actions educators can take to humanise their online classes include:

Check-in first: Begin class with a check-in, where faculty ask students how they are doing. Faculty can use this as an opportunity to model their own uncertainties and vulnerability during this time as well. For larger lecture-style classes, faculty can rotate through the student roster and have a few students share at the beginning of each class.

Publish your faculty profile: Include a personalised faculty profile with a photo on the course learning platform. The profile can be different from a professional biography and include more personalised information about the faculty member. In doing so, this builds more trust and rapport between faculty and students.

Disclose personal information: Throughout class, faculty should make a more intentional effort to share personal anecdotes and experiences within the academic content. When faculty model this behaviour, students are more likely to reciprocate, request support outside of the classroom and maintain trust with their faculty and peers.

One-on-one student follow-ups: Faculty should make a more intentional effort to follow up with students one-on-one. In online settings, students are less likely to seek help from faculty, which means that faculty need to initiate these follow-ups in order to strengthen community and trust.

Ongoing small group activities

While small group activities may be common practice in traditional classroom settings, they are often forgotten in the transition to online learning. However, during times of isolation, these platforms for student engagement need to be overemphasised rather than reduced or eliminated. When larger communities are broken down into smaller groups, the overall community, as well as student learning outcomes and creativity, are strengthened.

Furthermore, not only do small group activities lead to learning communities and give students a platform to discuss questions about course material, but they also help students strengthen peer relationships and build connections within social distancing in an academically productive way.

To facilitate more impactful small group activities, faculty should explore the features on their learning platforms that allow for smaller group engagement and utilise them on a regular basis. For example, Zoom Breakout Rooms allow faculty to either pre-identify or randomly assign small groups and then monitor the discussions within each group.

Following these small group activities, faculty should solicit feedback from students to identify other ways to use small groups as a platform for building community. By engaging in small group activities and soliciting feedback from students, students and faculty become both leaders and active participants within their online academic communities.

Create online coffee shops

As faculty deliver rigorous curriculum and academic content requirements, there likely isnt enough time during the regular class period to engage in more personal discussions with students. However, faculty can still play a role in building a social community among students outside the classroom as a way to further build trust and engagement with students.

Ultimately, building social community and connection improves overall student engagement and persistence in their education. One way this can be done is by hosting virtual coffee shops for students and faculty to engage with one another, celebrate their accomplishments and support each other in their challenges.

By arranging loosely structured, optional platforms for social networking and connectivity, faculty are ultimately promoting their students overall academic engagement and perseverance in their learning despite isolation. Not only does this build trust and outlets for social connectivity for students while in isolation, but it also builds a strong foundation of community that can be further expanded upon after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

While many of these ways of building community are common in traditional classroom settings, they are easy to neglect when conducting classes online. This holds particularly true when the universitys focus is primarily on surviving the shift to online education as a temporary solution, rather than strengthening the existing community in a way that aligns with and outlasts the pandemic.

With the abrupt shift from in-person connection to isolation and online learning, students need more community-building and engagement platforms than ever before. Faculty play a key role in providing this. Once we shift our mindset to seeing this as an opportunity to build healthy foundations for community and engagement, COVID-19 becomes an opportunity to improve learning and student engagement long term, rather than simply managing a temporary bump in the road.

Kara Neil is head of academics and lecturer at Vatel Hotel and Tourism Business School Rwanda campus and a Doctor of Education candidate at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

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Using social distance to strengthen university communities - University World News

Current studies, according to South Pasadena author Alexandria Levitt, show that isolation and loneliness can lead to adverse health consequences.

So, finding a way to live that promotes happiness, mental health and real autonomy is more important than ever, stressed Levitt, who co-wrote State-Of-The-Art Cohousing: Lessons Learned from Quimper Village with Charles Durrett. Few of todays adults would be satisfied with the limited options that were available for senior living to our parents generation. That is why we must explore better alternatives now, and I think cohousing is one of those alternatives.

The principle behind cohousing, explained Levitt, is the recognition that most people would prefer and are happier to stay in their own homes as long as possible. At the same time, she added, most feel better when they are connected to others. Levitt says cohousing, which may include a common dining area, kitchen laundry, and recreational areas, is the best of both worlds.

Originally created in Denmark, cohousing is an intentional community of private homes whose owners cooperatively own and use outdoor spaces around the homes, and commonly owned indoor spaces, explained Levitt. Cohousing members manage their communities together and actively come together to learn, support each other, and enjoy life, but its important to stress that everyone has their own apartment or cottage. Privacy matters. Groups decide to have dinner together several times a week and take turns cooking for each other and in many other ways collaborate and contribute. It isnt a commune. There is no joint economy. Its really a great independent and active way for people to get older and to not just live in community but engage in it.

Though cohousing, households maintain private lives and independent incomes but take part in community activities, meetings, gather for shared meals, parties, movies and other neighborly events. Forming clubs, organizing child and elder care or carpooling are all made easier.

Cohousing for adults 55-plus has proven to be an innovative and cost-effective model that illustrates how living in a highly functional neighborhood improves health, reduces the need for senior services, enhances individual contributions on a larger scale, and makes life more affordable and fun, said Levitt.

Several years ago, she met the residents of Quimper Village during a weekend conference, in what Levitt described as a remarkable cohousing project in Port Townsend, Washington.

Resident shared the story of their journey and the positives of a cohousing lifestyle.

After it was over, Levitt told Durrett, the architect of Quimper Village, what she heard would make an excellent book. We used their initial narrative, conducted interviews with many residents and used our experience as well to paint a portrait of this project, said the local writer. My favorite part, of course, was interviewing them and visiting Quimper Village, eating meals together and seeing their neighborhood thrive. Id love to live in such a place. It really radiates warmth and a sense of purpose and real caring for each other.

Along with being an architect and author, Durrett is an advocate of affordable and socially responsible design as a major force behind more than 50 cohousing communities in North America. He is also the author of The Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent Living, and the co-author of Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities.

Levitt has an accomplished background herself, as a gerontologist the study of aging. I am most interested in progressive models of housing for older adults, she said. Ultimately, I want to develop housing for people that does not just show off a lifestyle imagined by corporate developers but one that reinforces the qualities that help us most as we get older friendship, community and purpose, as initially created in cohousing in Denmark. Cohousing is an intentionally designed community with tremendous benefits for those who live there.

A South Pasadena resident since 1996, she and her husband moved to the city for its highly regarded schools after they had their first child. She was a Girl Scout leader for 13 years, a PTA president at Marengo Elementary School for two years and for the past six years has been a member of the citys Senior Citizen Commission while serving as both chair and vice-chair in the past.

She hopes the book, available on Amazon, will act as a tool to move others in taking a hard look at cohousing. I am very familiar with the many challenges facing us as we get older and the remarkable connection between health (both mental and physical) and social engagement, Levitt said. I lead workshops on Aging and Thriving with Cohousing and informational presentations on cohousing for adults 55-plus.

This book, added Levitt, is really about the strength we have when we work together, pointing the old saying: If you want togo fast,go alone. If you want togo far,gotogether.

She says State-Of-the-Art Cohousing is a wonderful illustration of that philosophy, insisting, by coming together, pooling their skills, listening and building on strengths, the members of Quimper Village created something amazing. Certainly, in a time of crisis such as we are in now, working with, and helping others is key to not only our survival but to our ability to thrive and flourish.

In a way, noted Levitt, the story of how Quimper Village, the state-of-the-art senior cohousing community in Port Townsend, Washington, was created, designed, and built, isnt much different than college life, for those wanting to make a comparison. You made decisions together, you ate together, you always had someone to do things with, she said. Cohousing isnt so different. This book shows how one group of inspired and determined folks made it happen for them.

Now that State-Of-The-Art Cohousing has been published, Levitts goal is to move the needle in the creation of cost effective, appealing, environmentally friendly housing that can be home for active, engaged older adults. Currently in Southern California, we have no cohousing of any kind, not intergenerational or older adult, she said. Id really like to see that change, and I hope some of you do too.

To learn more about cohousing, go to Cohousing.org or Levittcoho.com

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The Benefits of Cohousing | Local Author Advocates for Innovative Senior Living - The South Pasadenan

Business News Live Business Top Stories By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 14 May 2020

Music consultancy Sound Diplomacy has launched a new globally-focused campaign called #BetterMusicCities which it describes as a call to action to ensure music is at the heart of [post-COVID-19] recovery in cities around the world.

A report published by the company begins with a foreword from the CEO of the UKs Association Of Independent Music Paul Pacifico, who explains: The opportunity to listen to music, practice an instrument, take a dance class or participate in Zoom choirs has been an anchor to many of us in this time of crisis. Music, like almost nothing else, has fostered and perpetuated a sense of community and connection in moments of our most profound isolation.

He goes on: For decades, sport has successfully made the case that it delivers unarguable returns on investment in terms of public health and wellbeing. But music has never quite managed to make its case in that arena. Now, in the most bleak moments of this current crisis, we see clearly the need, the impact and the results of music and culture in delivering positive outcomes in both physical and mental health. Music has demonstrated the power and benefits of social prescribing like never before.

Cities, governments and music communities around the world should embrace this, Sound Diplomacys report argues. The consultancys founder Shain Shapiro says: There are few music offices in cities around the world. Music education is in decline. Many relief programmes to support creatives are challenging for musicians to access. In some countries, there are little intellectual property protections for musicians.

Yet, we all need music, he adds. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates music as a global unifier from balconies in Europe to bedrooms live streaming raves around the world. But music as an ecosystem lacks investment. We can change this and together, build #BetterMusicCities.

The report provides a nine-point plan for cities to embrace, enhance and support music and the music community. It suggests cities:

1. Put artists to work: Incentivise creation from crisis.2. Convert creativity into community investment vehicles.3. Create a city music registry.4. Start a cultural infrastructure plan.5. Create emergency preparedness plans (venue, event, city-wide).6. Ensure music, arts and culture language is included in policy frameworks.7. Commit to genre agnosticism.8. Plan and develop a night time economy policy.9. Set-up city-wide artist compensation policies, music liaison services and fair play schemes.

The company says these things will support cities to better leverage their music economies from artists to education, venues to local scenes to create more inclusive, prosperous music communities as we move towards recovery. To do so, we require intentional policy that includes musicians and music representatives in discussions around recovery and resilience.

You can download the full report at bettermusiccities.com

Excerpt from:

Sound Diplomacy says cities should put music at the heart of the post-COVID-19 recovery - Complete Music Update

The Cavalier Dailys Facebook comment section can be an infuriating hotbed of activity. Many commenters are older alumni or some not even alumni voicing their opinions about events and decisions made at the University, and frequently, these commenters attack The Cavalier Daily and sometimes single out the writers themselves. While media outlets should be critiqued and publicly in some instances (thats why The Cavalier Daily employs a public editor) in order to do their job better, some commenters seem to have never heard the advice against shooting the messenger.

The comments are brutal. For example, in a comment posted under one of the most recent articles, Richard said, Please go to class. Perhaps you will learn why what you said is absurd. When Virginia Athletics adopted its new logos, Allen said, This is probably the most ridiculous thing ever published. On another, Conan said, For a news outlet at an educational institution, it is shocking how uneducated you are in how a business and this economy works. And a particularly sexist comment, Donald said, At least half of the female students are deranged and need immediate help. I didnt even have to go back a month to grab most of these comments from the Facebook page. They are so frequent and aggressive, the opinion section made a video of columnists reading mean comments on their own articles.

When I first started reading these comments at the beginning of my tenure as Editor-in-Chief, I took the comments personally. Then, I found comments such as Johns, which said Get over it. If you dont like UVA, transfer.You have a chip on your shoulder about something. Dont blame the University. Ali agreed with his comment, saying, Oh wow, another Cav Daily article sh*tting on UVA.

I love the University, and in my role as editor, I spent a significant amount of time writing, editing and publishing stories about the University some negative, some positive, some that were just news. I worked some 50 hours a week at The Cavalier Daily because I love the University and along with many students, faculty, staff and administration, I want the University to improve. I want to try to do my part in working to make Grounds a better place more welcoming, inclusive, supportive, informed, intellectual, happy and so on.

Journalists love their communities. Thats why they do their jobs. They actively work to hear and tell peoples stories from the position of genuine truth whatever that may be. And frequently, journalists uncover injustice or pain and suffering because of a flaw in the system, or heartbreak because of something simply unavoidable. These stories may not be what people want to hear. No one finds joy in reading or writing a story about COVID-19, for instance. When the world is overwhelmed in death, unspeakable grief and struggle, someone has to do the job of getting the information out, looking back to see what could have been avoided or how people can protect themselves and move forward.

Journalists do their jobs out of a love for their communities because one of the strongest loves is being able to see the flaws in the community that they love. And then they take the active, intentional step of working to correct that flaw by conveying the news the truth.

Much like the frequent verbal attacks on journalists from political figures, and particularly President Donald Trump, student journalists face these Internet trolls on social media, and I think its important to remember the job student journalists are doing and why they do it.

I love U.Va., and I see its problems but I also see the University working every day to improve. I think we can all agree nothing can be perfect, but I believe it can be better. So John from the comments, this is why I am passionate about The Cavalier Daily and about journalism. This is why I published critical stories about the University and its administration and frequently from the perspective of students to make Grounds better.

Im sad Im not writing my parting shot at a picnic table outside Newcomb, that I wont be wearing my cap and gown to walk the Lawn May 16, 2020, that I never got to say goodbye to the people I love my friends, professors, coworkers, the University goodbye to my community I called home for 3.75 years, and most importantly, goodbye to the wonderful office and staff of The Cavalier Daily in the basement of Newcomb Hall.

I miss my final few weeks at a place that has made me so happy. Charlottesville in the springtime is enchanting, filled with all of my favorite things perfect weather, live music in the outdoors, the Downtown Mall, vineyards, Final Fridays at the Fralin and on and on. Even the grass on the Lawn seems to be extra plush in April as the Rotunda glows pink at sunset.

I loved my experience at the University, and because I loved it, I was a journalist who wrote about its achievements and its failures. Through The Cavalier Daily, I tried to do my part in making the University a better place for everyone.

Gracie Kreth was the Editor-in-Chief for the 130th term of The Cavalier Daily. Prior to this, she served as Assistant Managing Editor for the 129th term and Life Editor for the 128th term.

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PARTING SHOT: Criticism means we care - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey arrives at the "Tech for Good" Summit in Paris, France May 15, 2019.

Charles Platiau | Reuters

Twitter has told employees that they can keep working from home "forever" if they wish.

In a statement, Twitter said it was "one of the first companies to go to a WFH model in the face of COVID-19, but [doesn't] anticipate being one of the first to return to offices."

BuzzFeed Newspreviouslyreported the announcement.

The company said if employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue doing so "forever," then "we will make that happen."

"If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel it's safe to return," the statement reads.

The company said with very few exceptions, offices won't open before September. It added when they do open it will be "careful, intentional, office by office and gradual." It said there will also be no business travel before September "with very few exceptions" and no in-person company events for the rest of 2020.

"We're proud of the early action we took to protect the health of our employees and our communities. That will remain our top priority as we work through the unknowns of the coming months," it said.

The company's acceptance of a mostly remote workforce predates the coronavirus pandemic. On the company's fourth-quarter 2019 earnings call in February, Twitter CEO Jack Dorseyembracedthe idea of remote work while expressing dissatisfaction that so many of Twitter's of employees are based in San Francisco.

"Our concentration in San Francisco is not serving us any longer, and we will strive to be a far more distributed workforce, which we will use to improve our execution," he said at the time.

Other tech giants have updated their employees on work from home measures for the foreseeable future, as experts expect remote work to become much more common after the pandemic, with business travel rarer.

Facebook said last week that most of the company's employees will be allowed to continue to work from home through the end of 2020, while Google parentAlphabet said employees can expect a "staggered" and "incremental" return to the office starting in June, but that some employees would probably be working from home for as long as the rest of the year.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in BuzzFeed.

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Twitter tells employees they can work from home 'forever' - CNBC

COVID-19 is a dangerous new reality, spreading indiscriminately and without regard for skin color or cultural background. Yet many black and brown Americans are dying at disproportionately high rates. Will this be the time that we stop talking about structural racism and finally do something about it?

By all accounts of science and chance and with equal levels of exposure and risk the rates of infection and death across all communities should be the same. But as we have learned from responsible news reporting, the rates of infection and death are not the same, particularly along racial lines. As our country surpasses 1.3 million infections and more than 80,000 deaths, black people so far represent nearly 30 percent of all infections yet only 13 percent of the national population. In some cities, the number is even higher. However, we should not be surprised.

For communities of color in the United States, COVID-19 has transformed an otherwise protracted assortment of chronic health issues associated with poverty, overcrowding, and uneven access to public space or quality housing among them cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and asthma turning them into abrupt and immediate death sentences. We have a name for the uneven distribution of exposure and risk along racial lines, and its not COVID-19. Its structural racism.

Where this coronavirus is lacking in racial bias, the United States has made up for with a resilient and highly adaptive white supremacist capitalist racial ideology. It is an ideology that is etched into our national DNA, rooted in the exploitation of human beings for economic gain the perverse logic of slavery and which has laid a long and injurious legacy for black and brown communities. It has justified spatial and economic exclusion (segregation and red lining), racial terrorism (Jim Crow laws and community massacres), community theft (block-busting and predatory lending), targeted community removal (urban renewal and federal highway programs), criminalization of blackness and loss of voting rights and citizenship (mass incarceration and deportation), or simply blanket ethnic exclusion (anti-immigration orders against what our President has named shithole countries).

As if all of that was not enough, communities who experience higher levels of exposure and risk to the coronavirus have now become our essential workers, positioned at the front lines of this pandemic. They are the transit workers, doormen, janitors, health care workers, food producers, grocery store staffers, and warehouse and delivery workers those on which every one of us is relying to get us through this crisis. They are underpaid, underinsured, and they are very often black or brown.

Our nations willingness to accept collateral damage in exchange for capital gain is proven; especially during national disasters like the one we are experiencing now. As was the case for Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and the poisoned water crisis in Flint when black and brown people were disproportionately affected, a national discussion about race is once again underway. But promising as these race-facing (and racism-naming) national discussions can seem while they are taking place, they always turn out to be fleeting. If action is taken at all, it relies on a rising tides lift all boats framing rather than an explicit commitment to racial justice.

Though the COVID crisis has put the lethal legacy of slavery on full display, the CDC only recently started collecting and disaggregating data by race. Their slowness to act decisively is either from political embarrassment, willful ignorance, or ambivalence to the immediate and life-saving significance of this information, and so when the US President and many in his political party push to reopen the economy prematurely, we shouldnt be surprised. Once again, economic concerns in this country are taking priority over public health concerns and human life, as they often do when black and brown people are involved. A more strategic rollout of this information could have allowed Americans to get on board with a strategy, supported by race-disaggregated data, to ensure that resources were directed to the right communities.

Structural racism is insidious. It doesnt rely on decision-makers to themselves be racists. Instead, it is a generations-old system of norms and parameters which provide the framework for almost every decision we make. As history confirms, the roots of American society lie in a slave economy, and our racially-structured political and economic system is reinforced by a legal system that relies on history (which is precedent) for administering justice. In most cases, instead of radical transformation, our system delivers us a watered-down version of what we already are; in other words, when the gavel drops or the bill is passed, we are simply left with white-supremacist capitalist racial ideology-light. So, it should come as no surprise that racial equity transformation is slow, and that it never comes without a fight.

When you water something down, it becomes a diluted version of itself. What we need right now is something altogether different. Instead of passing up yet another opportunity to right a four-century-old wrong, its time to finally ensure that a post-COVID-19 recovery benefits both sides of the color-line and that we as a nation truly begin to address the structural roots of racial inequality. So, what is the organizing work, political work, and accountability work that needs to happen in order to ensure that the public good serves all of us equally? In many cases, tools for advancing racial equity already exist. Some can be hacked while others will need to be completely reimagined. But heres where we can start:

Economic Development

Housing

The Public Domain

For communities of color, a cure for the harm caused by COVID-19 needs to go far beyond developing a vaccine. We also need social and economic policies that take on the underlying, longstanding, and persistent problems of structural racism.

Reflecting on this countrys long history of intentional racist planning and policy-making, todays planners, designers, and policy-makers have an ethical obligation to realign our priorities and adopt intentional antiracist agendas that address the legacy pockets of inequity in black and brown communities. The time to act is now! Because if we choose to wait and it will be a choice we will once again miss an opportunity to ensure that the very same people who are keeping our recovery afloat can finally be treated equally.

EDITORS NOTE: Weve clarified some of the numbers around infection rates.

Stephen F. Gray is an Assistant Professor of Urban Design at Harvard Graduate School of Design and founder of Boston-based design firm Grayscale Collaborative. His work acknowledges the intersectionality of race, class, and the production of space, and he is currently co-leading an Equitable Impacts Framework pilot with the High Line Network and Urban Institute aimed at advancing racial equity agendas for industrial reuse projects across North America.

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COVID-19 Puts Structural Racism On Full Display Will We Finally Do Something to Correct It? - Next City

In cities around the world, restaurants are taking to the streets. Theyre transforming parking lots and plazas, spilling onto sidewalks and coming up with parklets for more patio space. After months of closed dine-in service, these gathering places are counting on fresh air and more room for social distancing to keep employees and customers safe and businesses alive through the summer months.

Denver could be next to adopt the charge. After eight weeks of running on takeout and delivery only, restaurants and their business improvement districts, as well as volunteer planners across the city, are advocating now for further loosened restrictions on alcohol permitting and temporarily closed-off streets and parking lots to serve diners again.

By Memorial Day, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he expects to announce instructions for restaurants that are looking at a late May or early June reopening. A variance given to Mesa County this month allows for restaurants there to reopen at 30% of their usual fire-code capacity, and in a press conference on Wednesday, Polis said that a greatly reduced capacity should be expected indoors as more restaurants start to open around the state, but we also want to find ways that they can expand tables outdoors he said, mentioning sidewalks and parking spaces as potential options.

We know restaurants are eager to reopen in a way that protects the health of their patrons, and (they) see measures like expanded patio space as one way to do that, Denver Mayor Michael Hancocks office announced on Tuesday. (We) have been taking and evaluating requests from various stakeholders on what measures, including expanded patio space, could be implemented to support restaurants once theyre able to reopen.

This week, the Downtown Denver Partnership shared plans of its rapid activation of commercial streets, which was also proposed to Hancock earlier this month. The group gave nine examples of core blocks in various Denver neighborhoods where vehicle through-traffic and car parking could be temporarily blocked, allowing for pedestrian walkways and al fresco dining areas as seen in Europe or elsewhere in the United States during festivals and events.

This concept is not new to Denver, the DDPs president and CEO Tami Door told The Denver Post. We have done this many many times, as have great cities around the world. What is particularly intriguing about it now is its an amalgamation of wins.

Those wins, according to Door, include allowing individuals to gather safely again and letting neighborhoods and many of their retail businesses return to life, all while monitoring the viability of these types of gathering spaces long-term.

We know for the future that this isnt going away anytime soon, so we really need to understand how our public spaces can create safe spaces, Door said. In order to do that, she and the DDP have proposed a five-month pilot period from Memorial Day to Oct. 31 that would take advantage of Colorados sunshine while allowing restaurants to serve diners in more spaces outdoors.

I can make this happen literally yesterday, restaurateur Beth Gruitch said of the time she would need to open up her dining rooms outside. Gruitch co-owns two restaurants in Larimer Square (Rioja and Bistro Vendome) and two more at Union Station (Ultreia and Stoic & Genuine). She and her team closed down a fifth restaurant, Euclid Hall, permanently at the start of the shutdown.

She knows that closing off Larimer Square to cars will take longer to implement and face more opposition, but at Union Station, in my opinion, its a why not? she said. Why wouldnt we? Let us open up our patios, let us space our tables out, let us fill that space with energy and fun.

At Union Station, Gruitch envisions the surrounding plaza dotted with dining tables from each of the halls various restaurants. She pictures it working just as to-go orders have, but with the added bonus of table service and summery alcoholic beverages.

Its an appealing image that recalls tables set on Italian piazzas and in Parisian alleyways. But for other Denverites, the idea of turning not just plazas but also city streets into dining rooms is more romantic than practical.

Look, I couldnt be more heartbroken for what has happened to the restaurant and bar trade, Steve Weil, who owns Rockmount Ranch Wear on Wazee Street, told The Denver Post. Its a perfect storm for them. They have few options, and I dont begrudge supporting them how we can. But giving them the public right-of-way monopolizes public access perhaps in a way thats detrimental to everyone else.

For Weils business to reopen now, he says downtown Denvers streets need to stay open for vehicles, which his customers use more than public transportation or other forms of transport. Downtown has become an insufferable, incoherent puzzle of how to get from A to B, Weil explained. And this will make it worse.

Hes especially concerned about paying property taxes come June. Theres no relief on that. We need to do everything within our power to safely restart this economy, and not just for one segment but for every segment. What we do for one should not hurt the other.

But Door thinks the Downtown Denver Partnership and other stakeholders can use this summer-long outdoor dining trial to answer concerns like Weils, plus other questions that will surely arise: Where do outdoor dining zones fit in? How long can they operate? Who uses them? Are they inclusive and equitable? And what about them doesnt work?

This isnt about closing every street in the city; its about being strategic, being intentional, Door said. And its not one-size-fits-all, so its a good opportunity to explore.

Across Denver, outside business centers on Colorado Boulevard, along neighborhood roads in North Park Hill and just off Federal Boulevard by Jefferson Park, urban designer Matthew Bossler and a small cohort of community organizers are creating templates for outdoor dining areas of all sizes and shapes.

Bossler says hes excited to see grassroots organizations planning their own versions of this effort, but hes most eager to help out the businesses that wouldnt otherwise have resources to dedicate now.

Most communities of color dont have business improvement districts in place, he told The Denver Post. Thats why were being intentional about taking the momentum BIDS have and supporting them, but really dedicating resources to those areas that dont have that staff on hand or the money set aside.

On Thursday morning, hes giving a talk for Downtown Colorado Inc.s 500 statewide members. Bossler will discuss the playbook he and his team are creating basically just to cut out all the guesswork that everybodys trying to figure out on their own in little pieces all across the city right now, he said. Hell go over transportation consideration, design logistics, licensing, permitting and liability.

The organizational work and facilitation thats the majority of the work that weve been doing, Bossler said. And we foresee that that need will persist for at least the next month in order to knock down those barriers.

Meanwhile, at the city and state level, restaurateurs like Gruitch say this is a time to determine what Denver looks like over the summer and then for years to come.

What are we willing to sacrifice in order to grow our city in the direction of a place that we want to live in? she asked. We could be a city where there arent any good restaurants, where the retails not there, and downtown is desolate, and then we wont have to worry about the parking. It wont be an issue. But Id rather have an incredibly vibrant, successful city with some challenges than just kind of placating what we have now.

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The near future of Colorados restaurants could depend on our biggest asset: the outdoors - Loveland Reporter-Herald

In 2018, there were 815 youth who were unaccompanied by an adult recorded by the Knoxville Homeless Management Information System who were experiencing homelessness in Knoxville.

Youth aged 12 to 24 may make up a small percentage of Knoxvilles 187,500 population counted by the U.S. Census Bureau that same year. However, the number represents a growing issue within the country.

The homeless population encompassing college students aged 18-24 has been growing, including in Knoxville.

In its 2017 annual report, KnoxHMIS stated that on a single night, 41,000 youth were homeless across the U.S. with 88% between the ages of 18 and 24. In Knoxville, around 747 homeless youth were registered as homeless by KnoxHMIS.

The KnoxHMIS system, a partnership between the University of Tennessee College of Social Work and the Social Work Office of Research and Public Service, has been recording data on homelessness within Knoxville since 2007. Started in 2004 by endowed professor of mental health research and practice David Patterson, the program fosters a greater understanding of the social consequences, human impact and other deleterious effects of homelessness.

The data has helped the City of Knoxville and UT have a better understanding of who makes up the homeless populations and what can be done to help.

Michael Dunthorn, homeless program coordinator at Knoxvilles Office of Homelessness, explained that recently the city has been trying better to identify young adults who may be homeless in the city.

We've been more intentional about trying to find youth and young adults and reach out to them. A lot of folks who are particularly young adults aren't going to even see themselves as homeless if they're couch surfing, you know, living in somebody else's place, Dunthorn said. Certainly somebody just starting out doesn't want to identify as homeless and so they're not necessarily looking for homeless resources.

Through better and more deliberate study of the college homeless population, the proper institutions can step up to help address their needs such as housing, food and support for education.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also started an initiative to reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness through their Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.

The City of Knoxville applied again for this coming year for the grant which Dunthorn explained offers cities a way of trying new innovative ideas to solve a problem with the idea that you demonstrate something that works well and that it would be something that could be replicated in other places.

To be able to qualify for the funding, Knoxville has to have a youth advisory council or according to HUDs website about the YHDP, a Youth Action Board which has to be made of youth who are currently or in the past experienced homelessness.

Communities must also: bring together different stakeholders in the community like housing providers, school districts, the juvenile justice system, local and state child welfare agencies and workforce development organizations; assess the needs of special populations at higher risk of being homeless including racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ youth, parenting youth and youth involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems and create a coordinated community plan to assess the needs of youth either at-risk or currently experiencing homelessness.

Knoxville has the Youth WINS (When in Need of Support) program which has youth advisors between the ages of 18 to 22. These advisors work to assist other youths find stable housing and connect them to community resources. In addition, the board advises the city on what actions are needed to help.

Annette Beebe, case manager and Youth WINS program manager at the Community Action Committee, said the board, which has over 44 members, meets twice a month and all the meetings by the youth council are closed to the public.

The board, Beebe said, is proactive with their mission on ending youth homelessness, currently working with the city to come up with solutions, but focuses mostly on supporting peers going through similar experiences.

I think the reason why it's so popular is because it offers community, Beebe said. It offers a platform for their voice to be heard, and they are getting recognized in our community.

Dunthorn said the local city government has access to an affordable rental housing fund which can help fill the gap in the funding package that's required for developers to develop apartments.

The idea is that nobody should be paying more than a third of their income in rent. And so for people who don't have a lot of income, the cost of the apartment has to be fairly low, Dunthorn said. Most market rate developers are not looking for that. So they'll build the upscale stuff on their own and that's fine. In order to make the money work to be able to come out with a decent apartment that is ultimately affordable to somebody can sometimes require a little bit of help.

The program could then increase the supply and long-term availability for those with modest incomes looking to rent apartments. Additionally, Dunthorn said that for young adults, the process of building affordable housing also needs to consider what resources are critical for helping students start their lives.

In addition to the citys aim to receive funding to help get the homeless population off the streets, UT has also aimed at increasing awareness of the situation in Knoxville. Through several resources offered on campus, the university aims to help meet every students needs.

The university is increasing awareness through events like participating in National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The university hosted its second Hunger and Homelessness Summit in November 2019, participating in an event held in more than 700 different locations.

The summit brought guest speakers to campus including founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger Rachel Sumekh and Larry Roper, a professor and coordinator of college student services at Oregon State University. Speakers and events were directed to focus on addressing students needs through connecting resources across campus.

As the conversation around college youth food and housing insecurity continues to grow, there is a hope that more students will be able to step forth and receive the help they need to continue on their college career.

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How the City of Knoxville, UT aim to end college youth homelessness in Knoxville - UT Daily Beacon

But will this historic space become a Black history memory due to the coronavirus?

Most of the 300,000 restaurant workers in Massachusetts are furloughed or laid off. And according to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, the losses are expected to be as high as $2.3 billion.

When Congress rolled out that $2 trillion relief package, there was supposed to be assistance for small businesses in the form of loans, tax breaks, and paycheck protection. But the application process was hard. Not even lawyers agree on how it works. And in order to get loan forgiveness, a business owner must spend the money within eight weeks, keep the same number of employees it had before the pandemic, and use 75 percent of it on payroll.

To make it harder, a lot of big businesses like Ruths Chris and Kura Sushi were getting money meant for the little local joints. Shake Shack may have returned its funds, but a lot of small restaurants are on their own.

Restaurants owned by immigrants, Black people, and other people of color have historically struggled to get business loans, liquor licenses, and contracts. Now, COVID-19 is amplifying the inequities in how those businesses will stay open.

The first place we saw coronavirus shutter was Chinatown, where businesses experienced a dwindling number of customers due to xenophobia months before social distancing, shutdowns, and widespread infection.

Now, were seeing how the virus could close down the few Black-owned restaurants we have, like District 7 Tavern. Smith, along with the owners of Darryls Corner Bar & Kitchen, the renowned Wallys Caf, Savvor Restaurant & Lounge, and Soleil Restaurant & Catering have formed the Boston Black Hospitality Coalition in an effort to survive.

They are challenging city and state officials to create a task force specifically for Black-owned businesses and restaurants and looking for community support.

Smith says he estimates each of them have about another month before they have to consider closing their doors for good. District 7 Tavern closed in mid-March and is already $120,000 under. Collectively, the five businesses will have lost over $1 million by the end of the month. Smith applied for the federal Paycheck Protection Program but hasnt received any funds. Hes rethinking his business model.

Its a problem so dire minority-owned microbusinesses nationwide are facing closure without major government support.

Last week, US Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senator Kamala D. Harris introduced the Saving Our Street (SOS) Act to lend federal support to small businesses during the crisis. The act, if passed, would establish a Microbusiness Assistance Fund of $124.5 billion and provide up to $250,000 directly to microbusinesses: the tiny operations with staffs of fewer than 10 people 20 if half the staff is from a low-income community. The application process would require demographic data, to ensure minority-owned businesses arent excluded.

In the Massachusetts Seventh [congressional district], our smallest neighborhood restaurants and businesses are the backbones of our communities. These businesses need real help now, but so far too many have been left out and left behind by federal relief efforts," Pressley said in a statement.

We cannot allow the systemic barriers that have long prevented Black business owners from accessing capital to persist amid this crisis. Our relief efforts must be intentional and race-conscious to ensure minority-owned small businesses get the resources and support.

The Boston Black Hospitality Coalition isnt asking for much: $500,000 as a collective. The NAACPs Boston branch contributed the first $25,000.

Ultimately, Smith says, they want the fund to benefit not just the owners involved, but also to boost Black-owned businesses like ZAZ in Hyde Park, The Coast Cafe in Cambridge, and the hundreds of musicians out of work.

If we aint getting money, they aint getting money," Smith says. When it comes to minority businesses and minority dollars banks and companies want to invest in, Black people are the minority of the minority. Theres a lot of zeros floating around. We are just looking to survive.

And their survival is vital to an entire people.

The Teachers Lounge comes together most often at Black-owned restaurants to uplift Black educators and educators of color. Market Sharing helps feed the homeless, thanks to their relationship with Savvor. Queens Co. often holds its women empowerment events at Black-owned restaurants.

These places arent just places to eat and drink. This is often where Black Boston builds, networks, and thrives.

Farrah Belizaire, founder of LiteWork Events, says Black ownership is a key part of economic mobility and sustainability in our community. Her organization is dedicated to curating events for professionals of color, so keeping the doors open at places like La Fabrica and Darryls and Cesaria is important. Before social distancing, she was a guest bartender at District 7 Tavern.

Im often having to combat the stereotype that Black people dont exist in Boston, she says. One way to change that narrative is to amplify the existence of social spaces owned and occupied by Black Bostonians. During these times its especially important to make sure these places can stay afloat.

Smith says 2020 was supposed to be the year Black Boston showed up and showed out. Hes right. The NAACP was scheduled to bring its national convention to Boston this year, putting the city and Black-owned businesses in the spotlight.

He and the rest of the hospitality coalition first came together to advocate for city contracts and a seat at the table in discussions on liquor licenses, preferred vendors, and contracts. They were hoping to make a big impact, starting with the convention. And then coronavirus postponed life as we know it.

We have to wait to have some of those conversations, he says. The focus is on coronavirus right now, as it should be. But what happens when the lights turn back on?

The new normal cannot be to add more inequities to the pot.

We have to make sure people not only have places to return for work, for their food, drink, and camaraderie. We have to make sure we are crafting recipes that dont leave them in the dark.

Jene Osterheldt can be reached at jenee.osterheldt@globe.com and on Twitter @sincerelyjenee

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Black restaurant owners in Boston want to see relief on the menu - The Boston Globe

Year In Review

Anand Raman, the head of Skaddens Consumer Financial Services (CFS) practice, began the conference by providing a summary of notable events and trends over the past year relating to consumer financial services compliance and enforcement, including enforcement actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and prudential regulators, statutory and regulatory changes, and activity by state regulators.

Key issues discussed in this session included:

CFPB Staffing Changes and Enforcement Trends. The CFPB hired new Associate Director of Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending Bryan Schneider at the end of 2019 and hired new Enforcement Director Thomas Ward early in 2020. The impact that these new hires will have on the CFPBs enforcement strategy is not yet clear, but the CFPB continues to actively investigate consumer compliance issues and initiate enforcement actions.

Notably, enforcement actions over the past year have disproportionately come in the form of lawsuits, rather than consent orders, compared with earlier years. For example, of the 20 actions that were filed between April 1, 2019, and April 1, 2020, 12 were lawsuits and eight were consent orders. In contrast, between April 1, 2015, and April 1, 2016, the CFPB filed 43 enforcement actions, of which 18 were lawsuits and 25 were consent orders.

On March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the matter of Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consider two questions: (i) whether the vesting of substantial executive authority in the CFPB, an independent agency led by a single director, violates the separation of powers; and (ii) whether, if the CFPB is found unconstitutional on the basis of the separation of powers, 12 U.S.C. 5491(c)(3) can be severed from the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB argues that the single-director structure is unconstitutional, and a decision by the Court invalidating the single-director structure could affect how the Bureau pursues enforcement in the future. The Courts decision is expected in the coming months.

Prudential Regulators. Anand noted that the prudential regulators also continue to actively examine consumer compliance issues including in the areas of fair lending and unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP) with a particular emphasis on nonpublic resolutions of consumer compliance matters. Key issues that the prudential regulators have reviewed over the past year include overdraft fee assessment practices, commercial lending disclosures and broker compensation.

Fair Lending. The CFPB and the federal prudential regulators did not enter into any public fair lending enforcement actions over the past 12 months, although the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development entered into settlements relating to redlining and automobile loan pricing.

Statutes and Regulations. The CFPB proposed revisions to Regulation F, which implements the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The proposed revisions would prohibit a debt collector from calling a consumer about a particular debt more than seven times within a seven-day period and from engaging in more than one telephone conversation with a consumer about a particular debt within a seven-day period.

The CFPB also issued a final rule delaying the implementation of the underwriting requirements of its 2017 payday lending rule, which had originally been proposed under the Bureaus former Director Richard Cordray. The underwriting requirements would have made it an unfair and abusive practice to make certain payday and vehicle title loans without determining that the borrower had an ability to repay the loan, but the CFPB subsequently determined that these ability-to-repay provisions would unduly restrict access to credit.

With respect to small business data collection under the Dodd-Frank Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the CFPB agreed, as part of a settlement of litigation against the agency relating to its delay in issuing a rule, to publish an outline of proposals under consideration and alternatives considered by September 15, 2020. The CFPB also agreed to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review panel, which would, among other things, issue a report on the subject.

On September 10, 2019, the CFPB issued new or revised policies relating to no-action letters, Compliance Assistance Sandbox approvals and trial disclosure approvals, all of which are administered by the CFPBs Office of Innovation. The purpose of these policies is to encourage institutions to provide innovative products and services to consumers by addressing or resolving regulatory uncertainty that may be preventing the institutions from implementing a product or service.

State Update. States have aggressively enforced consumer financial protection laws, particularly in light of a perceived reduction in activity by the CFPB, with the New York Department of Financial Services, Massachusetts Attorney General, and California Department of Business Oversight as notable examples. State agencies have taken action across a variety of industries, and have been particularly active in the auto lending space.

Audience questions submitted during the presentation included:

Skadden counsel Austin Brown and associates Nicole Cleminshaw andAndrew Hansonled a discussion of hot topics in consumer compliance over the past year, including emerging issues regarding fair lending and unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the consumer compliance enforcement activity over the past year has related to UDAAP, with several enforcement actions also relating to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Although there were no public fair lending enforcement actions by the CFPB over the past year, the CFPB entered into a consent order against mortgage lender Freedom Mortgage Corp. for submitting erroneous Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data under Regulation C in June 2019. The presenters pointed out that the Freedom Mortgage Corp. order related primarily to the reporting of race, ethnicity, and sex information, which the CFPB alleged was reported incorrectly on an intentional basis in many cases.

Key issues discussed in this session included:

Compliance With Foreclosure, Forbearance and Other Loss Mitigation Guidance and Regulations. The presenters discussed efforts by federal and state governments to address the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including requirements and guidelines prohibiting foreclosures and encouraging or requiring loan servicers to offer forbearance and other loss mitigation options to borrowers. Under the CARES Act, for example, a borrower with a federally-backed mortgage loan experiencing a hardship due directly or indirectly to the COVID-19 emergency may request forbearance from the borrowers servicer, and such forbearance shall be granted where the borrower provides a certification of hardship. Likewise, servicers may not pursue foreclosure processes for federally-backed mortgage loans over the 60-day period that began on March 18, 2020. These and other similar requirements at the state level for nonmortgage loans raise fair lending risk, inasmuch as institutions may not be treating similarly situated customers consistently.

The presenters outlined best practices to potentially mitigate fair lending risk relating to foreclosure, forbearance and other loss mitigation programs, including:

Risks Related to Implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program has led to a number of compliance issues, including fair lending risks under the ECOA relating to the prioritization of existing customers for PPP loans. In particular, it has been widely reported that some institutions have issued guidelines prohibiting from eligibility loan applicants who do not already have a loan account with the institution. Several reasons have been offered for such a policy, including minimizing the burden on staff, who are already stretched thin by COVID-19 issues and concerns, to compliance with know-your-customer rules.

The presenters highlighted that, depending on the composition of the existing customer base, a customer-only policy could lead to a higher denial rate for minority-owned businesses. In addition, any other underwriting overlays could create denial rate disparities and expose institutions to further fair lending risk. The presenters recommended that institutions carefully monitor underwriting decisions relating to the PPP program to determine whether minority-owned businesses are being adversely affected by policies and procedures. They noted that fair lending enforcement relating to the PPP program could take months or even years to develop, necessitating careful documentation of decisions and attention to treating similarly situated customers equally.

Emerging Fair Lending Issues. Loan pricing continues to be an area of fair lending scrutiny by regulators, particularly with respect to relationship and competitive discounts. In particular, regulators continue to investigate whether institutions are offering competitive price matching and relationship discounts equally to minority and nonminority borrowers. The presenters discussed best practices in this area, including:

A second fair lending hot topic is the enhanced regulatory scrutiny resulting from the banking industrys shift into digital banking. As banks reduce their physical footprint, fair lending risk may arise inasmuch as branches are closed disproportionately in majority-minority communities, or an institution leaves majority-minority communities altogether. Steps to mitigate fair lending risk relating to the closure of branches potentially include documenting the specific reasons for any particular branch closure and evaluating whether branch closures will disproportionately affect majority-minority communities.

Emerging UDAAP Issues. The presenters discussed several emerging UDAP and UDAAP issues, focusing on the application of the UDAP prohibition to small business lending practices, recent rulemaking relating to the prohibition against abusive acts or practices, and the development of debt collection rules tied to UDAAP. Although the application of UDAP to small business lending practices is not new, regulators have recently focused their enforcement activities on protecting small businesses from unfair or deceptive acts or practices, including with respect to the disclosure of material terms and conditions of contracts. The presenters made the point that enforcement actions in the consumer space may foreshadow small business enforcement in the future, and encouraged participants to consider issues such as payment processing, credit reporting and overdraft practices affecting small businesses through a UDAP lens.

The presenters also described the CFPBs recent application of UDAAP principles to debt collection practices, including a recent enforcement action alleging that the number of debt collection calls to a borrower constituted an unfair practice.

Audience questions submitted during the presentation included:

Skadden counsel Darren Welch led a discussion regarding machine learning, digital marketing and other emerging technology-based issues in consumer financial services. Machine learning an advanced computing methodology which helps identify predictive patterns from large data sets without human involvement has the potential to result in more predictive models, increased access to credit, and better terms and conditions, thereby benefiting the industry and consumers alike. As with other advances in technology, however, machine learning also presents a number of compliance issues including unique challenges as well as some issues present in traditional models in the areas of fair lending, fairness and technical compliance. Darren discussed these compliance issues and a number of recommended best practices.

Key issues discussed in this session included:

Fair Lending Testing. With the prevalence and complexity of machine learning models used for underwriting and other purposes, it is important for companies to assess the adequacy of fair lending testing methodologies. Two key types of fair lending testing are (i) to identify potential less discriminatory alternatives and (ii) to assess whether variables may serve as a close proxy for a prohibited factor. While regulators have not clearly articulated expectations regarding fair lending testing methodologies for machine learning models, important questions include how to determine whether an alternative is materially better than the challenged practice, whether an alternative must be considered if it results in some drop in model performance, and how to assess different and conflicting impacts of an alternative on different borrower groups. Skadden has worked with clients to develop metrics and protocols to address these questions.

Explainability. It is important that lenders understand how complex models work, and that they are able to explain to consumers the reasons why a model resulted in an adverse outcome. In addition, to mitigate fair lending risk, lenders may wish to ensure that they can provide intuitive reasons as to why nontraditional data elements are predictive of risk.

Nontraditional Data. The use of nontraditional data elements i.e., data not found in traditional credit bureau reports or reported by the consumer on the application in lending models has the potential to expand access to credit in some circumstances, as regulators have indicated. However, these data elements can present elevated compliance risk, and it is important to consider appropriate fair lending risk management, including carefully reviewing data elements, documenting the rationale as to why nontraditional data elements are predictive, fair lending testing for alternatives and proxies, and considering other options to mitigate fair lending risk resulting from third-party models.

Digital Marketing. Recommendations in recent regulatory guidance regarding internet marketing include monitoring audiences reached by marketing, understanding third-party algorithms, carefully reviewing geographic filters and offering consumers the best products for which they are eligible. Regarding marketing through social platforms, including Facebook, while certain targeting options have been eliminated for credit models, other algorithms used by social media platforms that cannot be controlled by advertisers may consider prohibited basis variables, and Darren recommended that lenders consider whether and how they use such platforms for marketing.

Audience questions submitted during the presentation included:

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Summary of 28th Annual Conference on Fair Lending and Consumer Financial Protection - JD Supra