Jefferson County Reopening Courthouses Friday, With Some Restrictions
By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
The new normal begins Friday in Jefferson County as the County Commission reopens its courthouses and county facilities. The commission’s order to close county facilities to the public expires Thursday.
“You’ll see some changes when you come in the courthouse,” county manager Tony Petelos said. “We’re doing everything that we possibly can to protect our employees and to protect the public.”
An emergency commission meeting was to have been held Wednesday, but that was canceled in a press release announcing the reopening, which comes with some changes.
“General Services for the last two weeks has been building Plexiglass panels in front of all the counters so that our employees are behind the Plexiglass panel,” Petelos said. “We’re still asking our employees to work remotely when possible. Also, we’re going to ask the public to do as much business with the county online without having to come to the courthouse.”
All visitors to county facilities are required to wear protective face masks or some type of facial covering. Staffers will wear masks and gloves.
The county’s judicial branch is unaffected by the reopening of county facilities as judges have not decided when cases will be heard.
The canceled emergency meeting likely would have been a platform for commissioners to discuss the county’s share of the $2 trillion stimulus bill, the Cares Act. Jefferson County’s share, $115 million, was given to blunt the impact of an economic downturn set in motion by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Petelos said he had taken part in a conference call with the National Association of Counties about those funds. “We’re looking now to see what the rules of engagement are on those before we can do anything with that,” he said. “It can’t supplement lost budgets or revenues.”
Public media stations in rural America say emergency-alert funding is in jeopardy
Without Congressionally-approved funding, public media stations say communities will be left with aging infrastructure amid growing risks from extreme weather.
Video: Echoes of Katrina – Two decades of struggle and strength
NPR station photographer and New Orleans native Tyrone Turner travelled back to Louisiana to document the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The federal government is taking over D.C.’s Union Station. What does that mean?
The Department of Transportation says it will be "reclaiming management" of the transportation hub, which it has owned since the 1980s. D.C.'s mayor says that would be an "amazing initiative."
Whatever happened to the women in the ‘No Sex for Fish’ group?
NPR first wrote about the group "No Sex for Fish" in 2019 — Kenyan women out to end the practice of trading sex to a fisherman in exchange for his catch to sell. Since then they're faced tribulations.
Why billions of folks can’t easily get a drink or flush a toilet
A report from the World Health Organization says 1 in 4 people lack access to safe water to drink. Even more don't have water for sanitation. We asked someone who grew up that way to share childhood memories.
With no federal facial recognition law, states rush to fill void
Nearly two dozen states have passed laws regulating how tech companies collect data from our faces, eyes and voices. It comes as Congress has yet to pass any facial recognition technology.
