Tag: COVID

Colorado Springs military contractors mostly untouched by COVID job losses | Colorado Springs News

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Even as the COVID-19 battered the Colorado Springs economy, costing tens of thousands of jobs, the defense contracting industry stayed strong.

Why? Thank U.S. Space Command and the new Space Force, at least in part. The arrival of the joint command, the creation of the new military branch and a greater emphasis on space have triggered a major wave of growth for local defense contractors.


Competitors in 25 states woo U.S. Space Command, but local leader remains confident

Industry officials say the defense industry is thriving in Colorado Springs, where more than a third of the local economy depends on military spending, because the U.S. Space Command is based at Peterson Air Force Base, at least temporarily, and much of the operations of the new Space Force also are spread across area bases.

“The opportunity (from U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command) is on par with when NorthCom (U.S.

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Bank’s COVID relief turned to financial pain for BMO customer, now reimbursed for her trouble

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a woman wearing a dress: Marissa Stowe's application to BMO's COVID-19 financial relief program led to almost five months of confusion as she was passed back and forth between numerous bank employees, while receiving calls from the bank's collection department and watching her credit score take a nose dive.

© Ben Nelms/CBC
Marissa Stowe’s application to BMO’s COVID-19 financial relief program led to almost five months of confusion as she was passed back and forth between numerous bank employees, while receiving calls from the bank’s collection department and watching her credit score take a nose dive.

The Bank of Montreal is waiving a Vancouver woman’s entire credit card balance and lowering her interest rate after a botched application to its COVID-19 financial relief program drove her further into debt. 

The problems started at the end of March, when Marissa Stower, 33, applied for a credit card payment deferral program with BMO shortly after being laid off from her job at a restaurant.

That application led to almost five months of confusion as she was passed back and forth between numerous bank employees, while receiving calls from the bank’s collection department and watching her credit score take a nose dive. 

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Trulieve Cannabis Corp (OTC:TCNNF) – Trulieve CEO Outlines Two Ways To Maintain Authentic Customer Relationships During COVID

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This special presentation from Trulieve comes from Benzinga’s Virtual Cannabis Capital Conference that took place on August 18. Click here for more coverage of this event with presentations from some of the top CEOs, investors and lenders in the cannabis space.

CEO of Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL)(OTCQX: TCNNF) Kim Rivers joined the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference to discuss how to continue delivering a positive customer experience during COVID-19.

Trulieve currently has 58 dispensaries nationwide with 56 locations open in the state of Florida. This is a state that is used to hurricanes so at the earliest beginnings of COVID, they got their preparedness team together to start planning across the entire organization. Clearly, this is a big effort. So even before all 56 stores were deemed essential, the Trulieve team asked themselves, ‘How can we, as a company, maintain our brand promises and relationships with our customers during this

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Doja Cat got COVID after downplaying it

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In March, Doja Cat appeared flippant about the coronavirus outbreak.

Last Friday during an interview with Capital XTRA, a hip-hop and R&B radio station in the U.K., Doja Cat revealed that she has the coronavirus.

“It’s been alright. I’ve stayed at home. I got COVID,” Doja Cat told the hosts.

She has allegedly stayed at home for the past few months, though she did make light of the virus and fears surrounding it in previous months.

READ MORE: Doja Cat issues second apology, denies being in racist chat rooms

In March, Doja Cat appeared flippant about the coronavirus outbreak, XXL Magazine reported.

“I’m not scared of a coronavirus or the beer version of that shit,” she said, according to XXL.

Waka Flocka Flame, Trick Daddy, Post Malone, and Casanova were other rappers who had doubts about the virus in March.

As of now, “I’m okay, now,”

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UM professors upset over school’s plan to have in-person classes amid rising COVID cases

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As Miami-Dade County — the epicenter of the pandemic in Florida — reports thousands of COVID-19 cases each day, some faculty and staff at the University of Miami are pushing back over the school’s plan to reopen its campuses, feeling the administration has ignored their pleadings over personal safety.

The private university, based in Coral Gables, granted its nearly 17,000 students the power to decide how to learn, but failed to do the same for many of its approximately 16,000 faculty and staff, full and part time, some employees said.

Students got two choices: Take classes entirely remotely, or return to campus and take some classes in person and some online, which UM describes as a “hybrid protected model.” UM encouraged professors who qualify as vulnerable with underlying medical conditions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to request accommodations, but didn’t do same for those who

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With an Assist from Millennials, Online Auctions Are Thriving in the Covid Era

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Click here to read the full article.

Some people still balk at buying a pair of designer loafers online and relish the tactility of trying a dress on in person; but a $1.34 million jewel encrusted bracelet or Babe Ruth’s 1921 home-run baseball bat just shy of $1 million, all unseen? No problem. The Covid crisis has created many a new world, and buying blind is one of them. For those with deep pockets, the money is still there, and with buyers itching to spend, the industry has adapted fast.

“Our online sales program launched in 2016,” says Brooke Lampley, Sotheby’s vice chairman, where the Cartier bracelet was sold last month. Here, record prices were also achieved for Cognac ($118,580) sold in any auction (including live sales). “What’s new is really the volume and scale of the program: In 2020 to date, we have held 92 online auctions, totaling $150+

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How the Miami school district has been uniquely prepared for the COVID pandemic

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School reopenings have become a hotly debated issue across the U.S. as the Trump administration is threatening to withhold funds from schools that do not open in-person as scheduled. A number of public school systems such as New York have begun to plan for the new year. Many plans call for an extension of online-only learning through the fall.

One school system that may be better prepared for a reopening despite its state’s rising COVID-19 cases is that of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) school district.

Operating under extremely challenging environmental conditions isn’t new for the district, Alberto M. Carvalho, the district’s superintendent, told Yahoo Finance.

“The reason why we had the seamless transition from traditional schooling to distance learning is because we had been somewhat influenced by the fact that we are coastal towns subject to periodic hurricane threats,” he said. “So we do have experience in shutting

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‘I lost my business to COVID’ alleged bank robber writes on note to teller

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Police in Houston, Texas, are on the hunt for an alleged robber who held up a bank with a note that says he did not receive a stimulus check or funds from the government to save his business.

Moments after the Woodforest National Bank opened on July 8, a man walked in with his face covered with a black bandana and wearing a hoodie over his head.

Police said the unidentified man approached the teller to request a withdrawal and passed over a folded piece of paper.

MORE: Manhunt continues for white robber who wore blackface in Maryland bank holdup: Police

“I didn’t get a stimulus or that 10k loan. I lost my business to Covid so please make this easy and comply,” the note read.

PHOTO: Houston police are looking for a bank robbery suspect who used a note blaming COVID-19 as a reason why he is holding up

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Some shoe and clothing boutiques devastated by COVID

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CBS News is chronicling what has changed for the lives of Americans in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In the next 30 days Jill Rubinstein will make a decision about whether to permanently close her specialty shoe store, Footloose, after 33 years and take the store totally online. Rubenstein, a third-generation shoe store owner, has been losing money by keeping her Pittsburgh boutique open this year and was forced to get a second job to cover her family’s health insurance. 

“[Business] was dwindling, but now it’s like putting the nail in the coffin,” she said. The pandemic has driven her sales down by 90%. 

Lisa Rubinstein, in her shoe store, Footloose, Pittsburgh. / Credit: Lisa Rubinstein
Lisa Rubinstein, in her shoe store, Footloose, Pittsburgh. / Credit: Lisa Rubinstein

Stories like Rubinstein’s have become commonplace across the retail industry. COVID-19 is leaving millions of Americans jobless or working from home and as a result, they’re buying less. Clothing and shoe sales dropped nationally

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