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Today we highlight a story by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.
Reporter Bridget Fogarty profiles Milwaukee pastor Greg Lewis, founder and president of Souls to the Polls and Pastors United. He is ramping up service to members of his community — and pushing for social justice — while recovering from a bout of COVID-19, which put him in a hospital Intensive Care Unit, where he struggled to breathe.
“Lewis is back to what he does best: lifting up his community through faith, organizing and civic engagement,” Fogarty reports. “…Through Lewis’s leadership, Pastors United created programs that help residents in congregations across the city focus on building their credit to overcome the financial barriers to homeownership.”
Top Stories
COVID-19 forced him to fight for his life. Now he’s fighting for others. — Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
UW-Madison restricts student movement, activities for 14 days as COVID-19 spreads — Wisconsin State Journal
Return to the office? Employers moving cautiously as only one in five workers feel the time is right — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
McConnell: Senate to vote on ‘targeted’ virus aid — Associated Press
Experts project autumn surge in coronavirus cases, with a peak after Election Day — The Washington Post
Some area sports officials adjust to COVID-19 guidelines while others opt out of fall season — Janesville Gazette
What are we missing? And how are you coping? Help us provide critical information and accountability by filling out this form or emailing us at tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
Quotable
“People look to government as their backstop when things are completely falling apart. If they feel like there’s no support there, they lose faith and they run for the bunker and pull back on everything.”
— Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, speaking to The New York Times about how massive state budget cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic could shake consumer confidence.
“For the spring, we were in crisis. None of us could have foreseen this coming and so it was immediately, how do we ensure that kids are safe and healthy and being fed and that there is some continuation of learning? Every district pulled together resources and assets a little differently, but every district tried to make sure that all of their kids had food to eat, whether it was the grab-and-go’s or a bus delivering to neighborhoods. There were packets of information that were sent out to kids. So since then, we’ve had an opportunity to plan.”
— Carolyn Stanford Taylor, Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction, speaking to NBC15
Data to note
Here’s a look at Wisconsin Hospital Association’s coronavirus data dashboard, which shows that hospitals as of Tuesday afternoon were treating 289 COVID-19 patients — 31% of whom were in intensive care.
Meanwhile, 78% of total hospital beds statewide were occupied with patients of all kinds.
https://bi.wisconsin.gov/javascripts/api/viz_v1.jsResilient Wisconsin
People helping others and showing resilience during this time of anxiety. Send suggestions by tagging us on social media — @wisconsinwatch — or emailing us: tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
Traveling the U.S. to where she is needed, Green Bay nurse typifies booming labor niche during COVID-19 — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Epic Systems records help find COVID-19 answers company is sharing online — Wisconsin State Journal
For area educators, riding out COVID-19 pandemic provides many benefits — Wisconsin State Journal
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
