 |
 |
As Connecticut has begun its cautious reopening, taking it in carefully planned phases, those who are still employed here (because way too many have lost their employment or had it greatly diminished) may find the guidelines extensive and all too detailed.
In looking through this newspaper’s coverage over the past weeks, much of what wasn’t taken over by the need-to-know details of the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic was information gathered by our reporters on the Northwest Corner towns’ municipal and education budgets.
It’s a natural to be grateful for many things at this moment, and not so grateful for others. The facts of exactly how a worldwide pandemic became the defining reality for 2020 are still unclear, but the results for all of us are all too inescapable.
Like so many other businesses in the Tri-state region, The Lakeville Journal Company applied for a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, or, hopefully, grant. Like some, but not all, that applied, this company was approved to receive money from the program.
It was the second week in March when Connecticut, and the country, went into a state of emergency in response to the pandemic that had worked its way across the globe to the United States. At that time, businesses deemed nonessential were closed.
It was about 20 years ago when Anthony Piel contacted The Lakeville Journal to see if we might be interested in running any opinion pieces from him. One of the most memorable conversations with him about his choice of topics occurred soon enough. It was after 9/11, and he felt strongly that the approach of the U.S.
If you look through some of the ads in this newspaper in recent weeks, it will become obvious just how intensely small businesses of all kinds, for-profit and nonprofit alike, are being affected by the COVID-19 restrictions on operations. For those that are not essential services, as so deemed by the state, their doors are closed.
During this week when our national leaders are telling us this will be our Pearl Harbor or 9/11 event, it is surely difficult for many of us to find the strength to face the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are so many struggling with the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with few well-defined paths to good outcomes right now. The time is unique, but it gives us some feeling of control and comfort, it seems, to compare it to other times and look for historic ways of coping that have worked before and might work now.
Copyright The Lakeville Journal
860-435-9873
PO Box 1688, Lakeville, CT 06039
All Rights Reserved
