Yesterday, hundreds of protestors gathered to demand an end to the Line 3 pipeline construction by Enbridge in Aitkin County, Minnesota. The group blocked traffic on U.S. Highway 169 and MPR is reporting eight people were arrested. The pipeline construction will bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. Tar sands oil is one of the most carbon intensive forms of energy and the US Congressional Research Service found it produces 14% more carbon emissions than conventional crude oils. If global carbon emissions continue to follow their current trajectory, the global temperature will rise roughly 5.4 degrees (F) by century’s end, resulting in catastrophic changes to the planet. Enbridge has been working on construction of the 338-mile pipeline since December -- claiming it will create thousands of construction jobs. Recently, a lawsuit was filed asking a federal court to halt construction, stating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to address several environmental issues and tribal treaty rights when it approved a water quality permit.

“Chef” Tom Dickinson is the Culinary Instructor for Fairfield High School in Northern California. A native of Oregon, Tom shares his journey in overcoming his personal challenges as a student with Autism who was often dismissed by his educators, to becoming a beloved teacher himself. He is currently organizing the development of a comprehensive culinary program that teaches students essential life and job skills. Tom reflects of the effects Covid-19 has had on his life, community, and students. He reflects on the challenges of online learning and shares the creative ways he has tried to connect with students using technology during the pandemic.

This is an oral history of Ellen Galindo, a teacher in Orange County, California. The date of this interview was three days shy of the one year anniversary of when her school shut down. She has been teaching online for a year now. She is also expecting her first child. Her oral history is focused on her experience teaching through Distance Learning and her feelings on being pregnant during the pandemic.

Abstract: Josh Colson grew up in Southern Illinois. He attended Welch College, earning a BS in Christian Ministry and an MA in Theology. Additionally, he is currently a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School, pursuing an MTS. Mr. Colson is currently the pastor of Brandon’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Bumpus Mills, TN. The church is part of a small rural community, being in one of the smallest counties in middle Tennessee. In addition, Mr. Colson is the Faith Representative for the community health board. In this interview, Mr. Colson recounts the effects COVID-19 has had on his duty as a member of the clergy, his congregation, and his community.

I heard about David Smith's COVID tree from the interwebs and set out to find it "in the wild" on Sunday, March 7th. The initial article says he created a total of seven giant viruses, and I was able to snap this photo of one in the tree, along with a giant Pfizer vaccine syringe, and a sign at ground-level that reads, "WEAR YOUR MASK."

One year ago today my daughter and I went to Disneyland for spring break and little did we realize we would be lucky enough to be there right before it closed down due to the pandemic. We had four awesome days for our "girl getaway" and three days after we came home Disneyland was closed. We are waiting with anticipation to return to Disneyland when it reopens.

I wrote this article for Police1 to promote law enforcement submissions to the JOTPY COVID-19 archive. At the time of this publication, Police1 enjoys approximately three million unique visits per month to its website. The site published my article on 03/09/2021, and I intend to use this article to encourage further promotion of the archive's Law Enforcement collection.

An interesting consequence from being locked inside day in and day out for almost a year. My collection of books has grown considerably, to the point of needing yet another bookshelf.

CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen on the new CDC guidelines for full vaccinated people. While Dr. Wen agrees with many of the CDC guidelines, she does believe some are too cautious and others are not cautious enough.

As North Dakota continues COVID-19 vaccinations, it has been revealed that many doses have gone to out-of-state residents. Although the state isn't fully against this, they do have exceptions for some out-of-state residents that enables them to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in North Dakota. These exceptions are healthcare workers from out-of-state and patients of healthcare providers in North Dakota. There are a few other exceptions as well.

"In Vancouver last month, the benchmark price for detached homes rose by 13.7 percent compared with a year earlier, reaching 1.6 million Canadian dollars. In the Toronto area, the average selling price for detached homes rose by 23.1 percent over the same time period, and a composite price that includes all kinds of housing topped 1 million dollars."

Tempe Public schools sent a reminder email about in-person classes starting next Monday. Right now, the kids are on spring break, while having more time at home to argue about media use isn't ideal, at least we can say the days of online learning are behind us.

During the 2019-2020, I was living at Vista Del Sol, the apartment style housing available to upper division Barrett students at Arizona State University. I was fortunate to share my apartment with three close friends, and over the course of the school year, we had often gotten together with some of our other friends to hang out and enjoy the college lifestyle in our apartment. After we all returned from spring break, we discussed how uncertain our futures would be with the pandemic, and with so little information or precedent available to us, we all faced uncertain circumstances. Three of us were from Tucson, but our fourth roommate was an out of state student, but we all wanted to remain in our room until the conclusion of the semester (when we were sure the whole situation would be over). However, with added stress from our parents, we found out over the course of a week, that all of our parents expected us to return home, where they presumed we'd be safer and better monitored, instead of leaving us to our own devices. Packing and spending those moments together were heartbreaking, and would only be amplified in the coming months as we were unable to see each other and spend time together, even for special occasions such as birthdays or other events. As a last hurrah, the weekend before our first roommate moved out, we threw ourselves a little goodbye party, with a roommates photoshoot that we reference even now, a year later.

I worked on a campaign over the past election cycle from August to November 2020. COVID brought new challenges to campaign work as everything we did had to be fully remote when before the staple for campaign work was going door to door to talk to prospective voters. This most recent election cycle was very draining as we had to use remote training methods which ended up being frustrating for many volunteers as the instructions were harder to understand. As a campaign worker, I was also left feeling frustrated and strained for much of my employment. Typically in a campaign, we would all share in our victories and defeats together but the distance between me and my coworkers made me focus more heavily on my defeats and shoulder them fully myself rather than sharing in them with my colleagues. COVID made the campaign work significantly harder and more emotionally draining than in other campaigns.

Not only was 2020 the year of the pandemic, it was also the year of one of the biggest elections in history. I am a political science and history major at ASU and I wanted to volunteer for a campaign. I had a few friends who were working on Mayor Kate Gallego's campaign and through them I was able to volunteer for the mayor herself. Normally you would meet with everyone and do volunteer work together but since it was a pandemic we had to all do it over zoom at home. Most of the volunteer work was making calls and helping voters. I got the opportunity to send my ballot in early and all of us who voted put our stickers on our laptops. Now every time I go to open my computer I am reminded of all the hard work I put in during the pandemic.

This Christmas my father unfortunately contracted COVID-19. He was unable to leave his house for two weeks, and it was obvious it hit him hard. My father lives alone and is 71 so my brother and I took it upon ourselves to help him as much as possible and isolate ourselves. We would bring him food and medicine and leave it at his bedroom door to keep a safe distance. During Christmas it was just the three of us eating dinner, but my brother. and I ate in a separate room as our father. It was very lonely but he is all better now with the vaccine so next holiday will be better.

Early December 2020, a local election was held in my city for mayor (and deputy mayor). We didn’t pick between candidates, but between a candidate and an empty candidate box. So, no one else was running against the candidate, but we still had to vote. Apparently this was the first time in the city's history that there was an empty candidate box. This wasn’t my first time voting, but it was my first time voting during a pandemic. I didn’t have to go, and neither did any of the members of my neighborhood community. Like always, we would be given invitations to vote if we’re eligible, and I had gotten my invitation a few days before. My brother was appointed as one of the assistants of the neighborhood voting stations — to manage people voting and to help count the votes. This wasn’t his first time doing this either, and considering how he had to work restlessly until the votes were tallied the time before, I was rather worried. He and the rest of the staff voted a day or so before the voting was available to the public. Again, we didn’t have to go. However, I was informed that only an estimated 300 people in my neighborhood were given approval to vote this time around. Later, I found out that at this voting station, only about half showed up and voted. I don’t know what the usual estimate was before for reference, but I must say that there used to be around three voting stations within walking distance of my house. The factors that come into play here, to my knowledge, are the pandemic and that this was a local election. Besides that, our invitations had specific times for when we should’ve gotten there, like appointments, but we didn’t get to choose when that was. I got a bright and early 7:00AM - 8:00AM. I doubt they were going to be strict about this, but I still got there a little after 7:00AM. As for the voting process, it was the same as always. Provide my invitation and identification card, wait for verification, get my paper ballot, show a panel that my ballot was free of tampering, cast my vote, drop it into the box, get my pinky finger inked (it was marker refill ink) for proof, and was on my way. The difference here was that we had to wash our hands at a makeshift sink area, wear plastic gloves (the type you handle food with), and well, keep our masks on. We all threw away our plastic gloves after voting, then washed our hands again. https://tirto.id/siapa-pemenang-pilkada-balikpapan-rahmad-thohari-vs-kotak-kosong-f7Wj (for context)

It's rare to see trash or even discarded masks on campus. The university does a good job of keeping the grounds tidy and clean-looking. I found this mask near the back stairs of the COOR building.

It feels a little strange to be sharing this on this platform since it’s not typically on the hobbies-to-try lists. It’s roleplaying. It’s like acting, but with writing. Instead of on your own, it’s with a partner, a community, and so on. I’ve been roleplaying for over five years now, and I’d always find solace in joining the community of writers. If one group didn’t work out, there was always another that was a quick search away. I started because I wanted to live vicariously through my characters. Everyone has different reasons for doing this, and a common one is just to escape from real life. With the pandemic, it’s easy to see people cling onto this hobby if they already had it or wanted to start. There’s been a lot of escapism behaviors during the pandemic, and this is easily one of them. What I noticed, however, was many of those groups closing their doors. Some long-running communities with likely a hundred different writers just stopped because they couldn’t find joy in it anymore, it got too hard to manage, or otherwise. I’ve also seen a great deal start brand new groups only to close down within a month, or not even get to open (one of which closed due to the group manager getting covid-19). As a result, these writers have been left “homeless” in a way, because now they have lost their safe haven to get creative and use the groups as their stress-relief. I’m sharing this because I know many roleplayers wouldn’t even share this hobby with others who don’t share it. I feel like it’s a niche that’s neglected in the mainstream world. I also think this is a part of fandom culture that doesn’t get talked about because it’s so common nowadays that we’ll simply assume that it’ll always be there; that we’ll always know without any context.

I came across this white fabric mask while walking from home to the university. It was near the corner of Roosevelt and 5th.

This photo was taken at the last show I went to before the my university, school, and the world all shut down seemingly within around a week. It was in the middle of ASU spring break. It had around 100 people there, all outside. At that point, people were aware of Covid-19 and I expressed concerns going with my friends but we still went. The only protocols that people there were taking was hand sanitizer but at that point there were no established protocols with Covid-19 beyond hand hygiene (at least to the general public). I at that point had wore disposable face masks to my classes as the ASU health services were giving them out for free in the lobby and ASU seemed to be downplaying the threat.

This story tells about a overlooked aspect of the pandemic. It offers some background into why this person thinks this issue is important and uses eyewitness and second hand accounts as evidence for her position

This story relates how Corona began for me. It is a valuable primary source covering a person's lived experience with how Corona began and covers a unique circumstance.

I have always been a good student. However, I always make sure to have a "homework buddy" in every class that I am. That homework buddy is someone I can ask clarifying questions about coursework, exams, or quizzes, and vice versa. Usually, this study buddy is someone I already know in the class, or I just end up naturally making one. Of course, with online classes replacing in-person lectures, finding a study buddy has been completely different. I would say that I was extremely lucky to find my first study buddy. We met through our class Slack channel. We have been through time-consuming projects, grueling homework practice, and exam preparations...yet we have never met each other. We also only somewhat know what we look like (we both have social media accounts with little pictures). Despite this, I have never felt like we were strangers, and I am pretty positive that we would get along exactly the same way when we met in real life. We were both surprisingly nonchalant and neutral about our personal life details. While this is certainly not the most traditional relationship I've ever made, I view my study buddy the same way as I do to all my other friends. I have also joined group chats for my classes. These chats are fine; everyone is cordial and helpful. I would say none of us are friends, but questions get answered, tips are given, and it is still a beneficial group to be in. I am not sure I could get used to the new way of networking. Next semester, my university is supposed to be back in person. I do miss face-to-face human interaction, so I hope that I can make friends and study partners the traditional way again.

I did not discover Dunkin' Donuts until the summer of 2021. I was never fond of their donuts, so I never paid much attention to them. It was only until the rise of TikTok that I found out Dunkin' sold coffee as well. Although, I did hear about Dunkin' Donuts changing their name to just Dunkin'. It is safe to say that I have visited Dunkin' more during the pandemic than I ever have in my lifetime. Even pre-pandemic, I have never dined-in at Dunkin'. Dunkin's drive-thru service provides a very speedy exchange. The issue with Dunkin's is that they lack consistency. Depending on the location's training, the quality of the drink can certainly be a gamble at times. It is safe to say that speed is the priority of Dunkin' Donuts. I have never been in a line at Dunkin' Donuts. A drink can be in your hands after ordering in less than a minute. As for quality, I would say that it is very decent at its affordable price point. Dunkin is an establishment that I frequent often during the pandemic. It is less wait than Starbucks, and cheaper. The short lead times allow for an easy and quick coffee run. My friends and I love going for a sweet coffee treat. In fact, the highlight of our first pandemic summer was getting Dunkin' donuts iced coffees together and catching up. The service was quick, so we did not have to interact much with the employees.

Mask trash spotted on the walk back from Whole Foods near the intersection of 5th and Hardy.

Fabric mask spotted on the corner of Mill and University near Campus.

I came across this post on Instagram tonight. I read it as a joke at first, until it hit me that it actually (and sadly) isn't a joke. I scrolled through the comments and realized that so many people replied to this post in memory of their lost loved ones. What comes off as a joke about government and taxes suddenly hits you hard when you take a second to reflect on the statement. Last year I did know anyone who had lost a loved one to covid, a year later I don't know anyone who hasn't.

It is March and everyone is talking about how it has been an entire year since the pandemic began. For me, honestly this time has gone by very quickly. However, I am not surprised at all that it is not over. I knew in March 2020 this was going to last at least a couple of years and the effects would last for decades to come. It affected the entire world and people within the same government can't even agree on how to handle things. People are so divided on what needs to be done I don't see an end to this anytime soon.

Artist Kristina Libby and the Arizona nonprofit Marked by COVID teamed up to create a COVID-19 memorial. The memorial features a digital art piece showing flower petals falling from a rose. Each petal represents one person, and every two seconds represents one day. Libby also started the Floral Heart Project, another flower art project honoring COVID-19 victims.

Mondays are "no media Mondays," at our house. I went out with the family to the river walk along Rio Salado. On our way back to the car, I found this black, fabric, reusable mask on the path just down from the Tempe Center for the Arts.

They say humor is the best medicine and they weren't wrong. A lot of couples are spending a whole lot of time together recently with quarantines and social distancing orders. It was really cute at first, working side by side on laptops and having our morning coffee together. That got old real quick though. This funny take on "How to Not Hate Your Partner During a Pandemic" advises couples how to get through issues like working from home and homeschooling kids.

Through my journey of motherhood, I have often felt like my "superpower" derived from simply having no other option. As a military spouse, a grad student, and a mother of two I often go the "I could never do it" talk from kidless friends and family. I wouldn't say that Covid has created more of these conversations, but I do feel like mothers have been more vocal about this aspect of motherhood. I feel so connected to my role as a mother through this global pandemic. Mothers are coming together and sharing the ups AND downs. It's hard, it's exhausting and draining, mothering during a pandemic seems impossible, but mothers get it done, just as we did a year ago before Covid. This Instagram post says mothers have not been given a superpower to get through this pandemic, I think Covid has shown me my superpower though. My tribe of mom friends encourages me, uplifts me, and grounds me at the same time. We laugh together, we cry together, and on tough days, we drink together.

Although we live in a time where mental health is getting so much recognition it is still nice to be reminded that it is ok to take a minute and reflect. It's been a year since Covid hit, almost a year since our first quarantine here in Arizona and it seems like so many people are trying their best to get back to "normal" life. We are trying too hard to work, study, parent, and live as we did over a year ago. The sad truth though is that people are still dying, they are dying in high numbers and we see those numbers daily. I'm one who has felt bad for not being "productive" especially when Covid directly affected my family, but posts like these remind me that it is not only normal but healthy to feel. Posts like these remind me of the importance of the grieving process. I have lost a lot this past year, but I will not lose my humanity.

"A gravedigger wearing protective gear walks among fresh plots in between burials of COVID-19 victims at Cementerio do Alto de Sao Joao in Lisbon on Feb. 25. Portugal has recorded over 800,000 cases and more than 26,000 deaths, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University. Amid a national lockdown earlier this week, @apnews reports, the country's daily tally of new cases dipped below 1,000 for the first time since October. Photograph by Horacio Villalobos-Corbis/@gettyimages"

covid street art seen in Hollywood, California using a 27 time Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu champ to encourage people to keep their distance from each other.

The CDC now requires all people returning to the United States from abroad to provide a negative COIVD-19 test. To assist travelers with this, Delta Airlines' package program is only offering international hotels that provide on-site COVID-19 testing for convenience.

Disposable masks are everywhere, I found this one stuck in my neighbor's fence.

An article discussing how racial disparities can be viewed in regards to Black communities and the coronavirus.

An article and short podcast discussing how difficult it is to get vaccinated in Black neighborhoods, mostly due to lack of vaccinations and locations.

The article discusses how the coronavirus is affecting Americans, especially how communities of color are suffering disproportionately (especially in regards to Black Americans and their life expectancy).

This photograph of desert mountains in Tucson, Arizona, USA, shows the beauty and the power of nature. The image is associated with our creation of an Environment collection in the archive. We seek to collect stories about the environment: how it has been impacted by the pandemic, with changes in pollution levels, increased levels of trash, and alterations in human interactions, and how humans have interacted with the environment during the pandemic, using it decrease stress, get out of the house, grow food, and gain a greater knowledge and appreciation of it.

The twitter page CovidWhileBlack shared a story, which I have linked, titled "COVID-19 Exposes the Black Community's Long History of Housing Instability." The struggle to keep a roof over one's head had been even more difficult through this pandemic, but even more so for many Black people. This article describes the shocking statistics of the inequalities. With many people losing their jobs, and with only 47% of the Black US population owning their own homes, the pandemic had caused many Black Americans to face evictions. These are sad statistics showing the state of inequality against Black citizens, especially during this pandemic. Real change needs to be made.

When I was pregnant and going to birthing classes, I learned the terrifying rates of mortality for Black women giving birth. The numbers were horrifying, so there is no wonder to me why a high percentage of Black Americans do not plan on getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The American healthcare system has failed them. But a group of Black doctors are standing up to tell their communities that not taking the vaccine is to risk their life, and they deserve better. This video, shared to NowThisNews on twitter, describes what the doctors' message is and why it is so important. Black lives do matter, which is why these doctors are urging everyone to get the vaccine. The video states that more Black Americans have died from COVID than any other ethnic group. Hopefully, the vaccine will stop these deaths.

This tweet is about the very real and valid fear that many black people have regarding the vaccine. The United States has a dark history of using black bodies for medical experimentation so it makes sense that this community would be wary of receiving vaccines for fear of them just being another medical experiment. This creates tension when paired with a mass push to vaccinate the whole nation and black peoples with very reasonable concerns against getting vaccinated. The goal now for black leaders is working to convince black people to still get vaccinated and trust this collective medical push.

This is a twitter account that makes art. This account decided for everyday of black history month they would create a different piece of art based on black history. This one specifically is day 27 and is the muses from Hercules. If you go through their twitter you can see many more fascinating pieces. I found this to be an interesting take on black history month and a very unique way to honor it as well.

This is an instagram post made in dedication to black history month. This instagram posts just talks briefly about a woman named Kimberly Anyadike. Kimberly was the youngest female black pilot to fly across the United States. She went from California to Virgina and is now speaking across the country about her adventure to inspire others.

This is a Facebook post made by the Phoenix Zoo. In this post the Phoenix Zoo interviewed an African American zookeeper, specifically for the elephants, on her life journey becoming a keeper. It shows that black history month is important to the Phoenix Zoo and gives a different perspective on this occasion.

As is common with many other facets of BIPOC receiving access to healthcare in westernized countries black people are falling behind their white counterparts in receiving the vaccine. Only 5.7% of black U.S. citizens have received the vaccine as compared to 11.3% of white U.S. citizens. The disparities reflect a general inability for black people to receive adequate care in the United States while white people are generally able to receive a higher level and more care. Vaccines are especially important with regard to COVID as it represents a path back to normal life. Black people are receiving the vaccine at a rate almost half of that of the next racial group.

The article describes how the pandemic has affected the natural environment in Arizona: the building of the border wall between the US and Mexico (with great effects on animals), the changes to how firefighters will put out fires during this time to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and the increase in trash in federal natural areas. It has described how some people have gained a new appreciation for the environment during these times.