This is a photograph of a lay out for a bride getting married on July 4, 2020. She began her wedding process with approximately 250 guest and a wedding party of 6 not counting herself and the groom. She is now down to 50 guest, and a wedding party of 3, not counting herself or the groom. She had us move the chairs to a circular pattern around her rather than looking into a void of empty space by leaving them in an aisle. This is a representation of how much COVID-19 has altered plans made by individuals and the thought process that must be applied to rectify them and have some semblance of happiness.

This is a photograph of the past weekend from my bridal shower. Everyone who came was more than willing to utilize hand sanitizer and brought mask if it made them feel comfortable. However, we did break the social distancing rule in order to snag a group picture. It was so nice to break out of the quarantine mind set and enjoy a day with friends celebrating my upcoming wedding!

This is a picture of our venues calendar in May. All of the white out spots that you see are dates which couples either chose to cancel/postpone their wedding, or our venue staff was forced under mandates to tell them they had to reschedule. It has been a very messy battle that included two law suits and endless disappointment on our venue's end and especially on the couples end. COVID-19 is robbing people of their mile stones and we are so ready for it all to be over. This is also a good example of how detrimental COVID-19 has been on small businesses. The amount of money they have lost makes it extremely hard to stay afloat.

The way the restaurants advertise is typically by word of mouth or since the emergence of social media, food influencers. Food influencers specialize in creating social media posts that garner the attention of followers and persuade them to patron the restaurant. As the article by Jenny Dorsey points out since the coronavirus pandemic hit restaurants have had to re-evaluate their relationships with influencers and influencers have had to re-evaluate themselves. Restaurants can no longer comp meals to influencers and they want influencers to be more skilled to create story-driven reviews that give a heart to the restaurant. One of the most important parts of this article is the desire to know the line cook who continued working during the pandemic. The people who kept the restaurants alive and continued to serve the community and the push for influencers to include their stories with their posts.

This article discusses the emergence of the phrase “quarantine 15” and the impact of anti-fatness on our society even as it is being ravaged by a global pandemic. Author Virgie Tovar ties the phrase to people's need to connect and the ease of doing so through self-deprecation. Dr. Lindo Bacon attributes the trend to the anxieties of dealing with isolation and other factors directly connected to the coronavirus pandemic and our social stigma against mental health issues. Which reason is more accurate is tough to say and may differ from individual to individual. What is certain is that while people are dealing with changes to their food habits and environmental stressors they are also being pressured to lose weight.

Due to the closer quarters and overcrowding in the nation's prisons they are a breeding ground for easy transmission of the coronavirus. As this article states the "public health catastrophe" inside the country's prisons was "predictable and preventable." California has over 25,000 covid positive inmates as of this article’s writing (05/20/2020), and more in other detention facilities. The outbreak doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon. This article discusses the conditions inside of California prisons based on inmate communications and talking with family members. HST580, ASU

Since the covid pandemic reached the United States a discussion began relating to the nation's prison inmates. With the inability to protect oneself from the virus in a prison environment the question has become, should nonviolent and other inmates receive an early release to protect them from the possibility of dying from covid. This question has resulted in a deeper discussion regarding the humanity of inmates and if a prison sentence should be allowed to turn into a death sentence. This news story covers the early release of Felix Walls. ASU, HST580

As covid-19 spread across the nation it's inmates began expressing their fear of dying. The living situation inside prisons and other similar facilities, like jails and detention centers, make social distancing impossible and right now frequent hand washing, and wearing a mask are the only tools the world has to combat the virus. Prisoner's and their advocates state that a prison sentence should not be turned into a death sentence. In this phone interview and article published by ACLU Smart Justice Michigan, inmate, Quentin X Betty, shares his fear of dying and the reality that employees and the prison do not see inmates as humans with a right to life. HST580, ASU

The covid pandemic has shown the world, especially the US, how suceptible certain populaations are to any communicable disease. The virus has hit hard in places where social distancing is at best difficult. Places like elder care facilities, meat packing plants, and prisons. In the final installment of her three part series, covering covid inside Arkansas State prisons, NPR reporter Anna Stitt, looks at the history and future of the Arkansas prison system. Much of her focus has been on the Cummins Unit. A prison opened in 1902 and named after one of the plantations who formerly owned the land. Upon opening and through present day the prison operates a farm that is worked by inmates for no pay. They were still farming cotton, with guards on horseback, holding rifles, in the 1990's. An image that looks like it could have been taken one hundred years ago. This prison has been part of numerous scandals and appears to be in the midst of one today. When the NAACP Legal Defense Fund sued to gain early release for the medically vulnerable the judge denied the request saying there wasn't sufficient proof that the Corrections Department was mishandling the pandemic. Inmates report being denied testing even once exposed to the virus. When inmates attourney's requested security footage the Department of Corrections filed a motion to block the request but the judge allowed the attorney's to see the footage. The treatment of inmates has resulted in their families and friends staging a protest outside the Arkansas Governor's Mansion on May 16th and a coalition of organizations delivering demands to the governor on June 1st. HST580, ASU

This article is the first of a three-part series covering the covid pandemic inside the Arkansas State Corrections facilities. NPR reporter, Anna Stitt, interviewed several prisoners and focused her reporting on the Cummins Unit, the state’s largest and oldest facility. While no cases were reported inside the prison until one month after the state had issued a stay at home order, once the virus entered the facility it spread quickly. Stitt covers the different stories reported by employees and officials as opposed to the inmates at the prison and other facilities in the state. The inmates report lack of access to bathroom facilities, being ignored when sick, and many other problems. The officials on the other hand tell a very different story.

A number of Nebraska National Guard soldiers have tested positive for COVID-19 following missions to assist law enforcement amid protests in Omaha and Lincoln. None of the affected soldiers have been hospitalized and all are isolating in their homes. Protests have flared across the country following the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, while in custody. Many of the protests have individuals packed tightly in large groups, many not wearing masks or following other recommended guidelines to slow the spread of the virus.

At the start of the Bay Area's shelter-in-place orders, there was a lot of uncertainty about the food supply chain. Given that we live with a couple of high-risk individuals, we wanted to ensure that we had access to fresh food without risking exposure to COVID-19. We quickly got to work and planted squash, tomato, pumpkin, peppers and pea plants. We involved our children from the beginning and have had a lot of fun gardening as a family as it has brought us comfort and has been incredibly therapeutic during these trying and uncertain times. Preparing Garden Soil: March 28, 2020. Plants Begin to Sprout: April 15, 2020. A Garden Grows in Danville: May 30, 2020.

Cousins, Claire Gagnon (1), Taylor Anderson (10), Jessie Anderson (6), Logan Gagnon (5), and Delaney Gagnon (8), have sheltered-in-place together since March 13, 2019. They have had incredible attitudes and have shown true resiliency in their abilities to process this new normal. After over 11 weeks of eating home cooked meals, the adults decided it was time for pizza delivery! The kids were ecstatic and exclaimed over and over, "This is the BEST meal of my life!" It was sweet to see them take such joy in something they likely took for granted before this experience.

The Golden Gate Bridge protest, that occured on June 6, 2020, was entirely organized and lead by two local East Bay youths. Tiana Day and Mimi Zoilia secured the permits that led to the first ever Black Lives Matter protest on the iconic San Francisco landmark. The outpouring of support for the pair has been strong. They have inspired youth across the San Francisco Bay Area to speak out for justice. Tiana's speech reveals the realities of growing up Black in what many consider to be an incredibly liberal region of the United States.

Amidst school closures across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, University of San Francisco doctoral students, Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton and Gertrude Jenkins, founded and launched Making Us Matter Virtual High School in March 2020. While educational equity issues compounded as a result of nation-wide school closures, Hamilton and Jenkins built an educational platform in which a collective of Black educators would create challenging and empowering curriculum focused on social justice and Blackness. Making Us Matter is offered, free of charge, to any student interested in curriculum focused on Black-inclusion. While educational institutions have scrambled in their attempts to serve students during the COVID-19 pandemic, Making Us Matter is a shining example of how educational leaders can disrupt education and build learning experiences that challenge the shortcomings of traditional educational models.

Amidst school closures across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, University of San Francisco doctoral students, Eghosa Obaizamomwan Hamilton and Gertrude Jenkins, founded and launched Making Us Matter Virtual High School in March 2020. While educational equity issues compounded as a result of nation-wide school closures, Hamilton and Jenkins built an educational platform in which a collective of Black educators would create challenging and empowering curriculum focused on social justice and Blackness. Making Us Matter is offered, free of charge, to any student interested in curriculum focused on Black-inclusion. While educational institutions have scrambled in their attempts to serve students during the COVID-19 pandemic, Making Us Matter is a shining example of how educational leaders can disrupt education and build learning experiences that challenge the shortcomings of traditional educational models.

“Indigenous peoples from different corners of Bangladesh are suffering from severe starvation due to the coronavirus pandemic. Engaged in low-income occupations and working at family houses, as house guards or drivers, most have lost their jobs. Moreover, public and non-governmental development programmes have been limited and many villages are no longer receiving any relief.”

“Aboriginal people from remote communities in lockdown are risking prosecution under biosecurity laws to go into regional centres to buy food and essentials, because their community stores can’t source enough supplies. A group of 13 Aboriginal organisations from across the Northern Territory is calling on the national cabinet to do more to guarantee food security for remote communities.”

“If Native American tribes were counted as states, the five most infected states in the country would all be native tribes, with New York dropping to No. 6, according to a compilation by the American Indian Studies Center at U.C.L.A.”

During the quarantine period, schools were closed and parents were thrown into new roles as teachers. Most parents didn’t even understand 4th grade math or how to deal with all of the curriculum thrown at them literally overnight. This meme deals with one aspect of school life—the school picture day which is a special day where photographers come in and everyone in the whole school has individual portraits done along with the group class photos. The humor here is that quarantine and home schooling was hard on everyone and so many of us were stressed and pushed to the max—including the kids. So by dressing up in his finest and announcing it was time to take the school photo, either the kid was very sweet and trying to recreate his past life, or he was cracking under the pressure—like his parents were on the brink of doing.

When the Coronavirus struck and most all of the stores closed, the streets were deserted. It truly did look like the apocalypse had come. The humor here is that the bookstore jokingly said that it was putting all the Sci Fi post-apocalyptic books into the current events section.

When COVID-19 hit and we were all quarantined with our families, the cracks in our relationships began to fracture in some cases. There were a lot of jokes about marriage and this meme shows that this particular couple had fissures so big and the wife was so desperate, she was digging a grave. Her husband was clueless about her plans, but who knows? Maybe he had similar plans of his own. This is funny because of course no one will actually kill his/her spouse no matter how badly they might want to! Right?

Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia is one of the most diverse school districts in VA. They are often looking for new ways to reach their diverse student population. They were one of the first districts on the east coast to close when COVID-19 hit. They were able to do this because all of their students already have devices in their hands every day. They repurposed bus drivers to deliver lunches, pick up student devices for tech work, and to redistribute student devices when they were fixed and ready to go. Now, as they look into an uncertain fall semester they have teamed up with a tech organization to drop books to students via drones. While educators understand the important role that technology can play in the learning process it's important to remember that reading books is priceless.

Nuestro compromiso por los océanos es promover el consumo responsable de productos marinos, impulsar las pesquerías sostenibles y trabajar con las instituciones para mantener nuestras playas libres de plásticos de un solo uso.

En el marco de la Nueva Convivencia, hoy participamos de la presentación de espacios públicos para la reubicación temporal de los comerciantes ambulatorios del Cercado de Lima. Esto les permitirá ofrecer sus productos de manera ordenada y respetando medidas de bioseguridad.

Identifico 100% con este meme. Una de las pocas cosas que me consuela es el humor y mi red social. Tantos memes me han hecho reír y sentir no tan horrible. No salva todo, pero puede salvar un momento.

"Indigenous communities are resilient, and, empowered with ancestral knowledge, organized communities, Indigenous languages, and their own forms of communication and media, they are taking action."

"Radio stations can be a voice to call for a calm and unified community prevention strategy. Community radio stations have opportunities to also promote and defend human rights as many governments are abusing their power during the pandemic. Another example included is how radio stations can become educators and serve as a space for community teachers trying to reach children that do not have access to the internet and cannot attend online schooling."

"Cody Two Bears, who is behind North Dakota's first 300-kilowatt solar farm, is bringing power to Standing Rock."

The spread of coronavirus has highlighted people and places who are most at risk for contracting and spreading the virus and the nation's incarcerated people are high risk for both. The people entering the prison system come from already vulnerable populations and half of the incarcerated population already has at least one chronic illness. This puts them at greater odds of contracting and dying from the disease. This article explains what measures the Federal Bureau of Prisons have taken to limit the spread of the disease and the authors, three doctors, suggest a three prong approach but fall back on the real way to slow the spread is to release people who are not likely to be a public threat. HST580, ASU

This meme is a comparison of U.S. Fall holiday jokes. Normally, we joke that in the fall the stores start changing out their holiday items the day after a holiday. For example; the day after thanksgiving stores will be stocked and ready for Christmas. This meme is joking that we have not even recovered from Covid-19 and another disaster has already begun.

For those who protested the worry now is that they may have Covid-19. This screenshot was taken from the BLM facebook page. The poster is urging people to please get tested for Covid if they have been involved in the protests.

Right now there is so much uncertainty with opening schools this Fall. One of the concerns is if teachers and students should be wearing masks or not. My sons school says they will not require masks for students. I am a teacher and the district I work for is saying all students and teachers must wear a mask. Teachers may wear a face-shield so that students can see our face and expressions. I started looking around for places that sell masks. A lot of them are overpriced so my plan is to sew myself a few for next year. I work with low-income students so I highly doubt they will be able to afford some. The California Teachers Association has sent out info-graphics including this one. It describes the distance a droplet can travel. Most classrooms are very small and it would be impossible for a teacher to avoid being within 6 feet of a student. With so much uncertainty right now it is difficult to know where we are all going to be in the Fall and what our education system will look like.

Amazing street art is popping up addressing Covid-19. Some of the work is spectacular and moving. This painting is now on t-shirts and face-masks. It highlights the contribution of Nurses around the world who continue to care for the sick in-spite of tremendous hardships and danger.

I saw this photograph on my Facebook feed and took a screenshot. As protesters take to the streets the choice between protecting oneself from the pandemic falls short of the pressing need to fight for racial equality. I heard an interview with a woman who is immuno-compromised. She said that she understood the danger she was putting herself in but that this was a non-decision. She would rather risk her health than to do nothing. Millions are protesting around the world, all faced with the reality of this movement during a plague year.

I was hopeful that the stores would recover quickly from the panic buying taking place in March. But here we are in June and the local Walmart, once restocked only stays that way for a day. For a while my neighbors were trading supplies, toilet paper for sugar, garbage bags for dish-soap. But at this point it is getting frustrating. I always had my favorite brands before all of this started. Now, I am lucky if I can even find a similar product. I left the store on June 4th just happy I was able to find cheese at all. Every recipe I cook tastes a little bit off because I had to replace one or two ingredients. I just don't understand all of this. I heard that farms are dumping milk and killing off their entire farm. Meanwhile we are being told there is going to be a meat and dairy shortage. Hopefully things start to look more normal now that they have re-opened California. We are supposed to be going to stage four soon.

Using the #PPE hashtag, I discovered this story from the AFYA Foundation about how the Metro Doula Group in New York is creating birthing kits from donated #PPE for regional families.

This is a screen shot of a post shared by Dyami Thomas. She does not name the young man, but says he was unable to graduate because of Covid-19 so he took a photo in his cap and gown as the protests took place behind him. As a teacher, it has been incredibly difficult to watch my students struggle during what would have been the time of their lives, graduating and starting their next chapters. I just received news that several of my students lost their jobs and returned to work in the fields with their families because they needed the income. Some of my students are attending protests daily for BLM. I worry for them all, even this young man in the photo I have never met. They are experiencing the most turbulent year I have ever seen, and they embarking on their adult lives amidst the chaos.

"In a country where most people visit healers, some are stepping in to bridge the trust gap between the old and the new."

"Dozens of Naga tribes yearn to reunite the 3 million living in India with their 400,000 estranged cousins in Myanmar"

Pan American Health Organization warns the virus is spreading rapidly in Amazon areas between Brazil, Colombia, Peru.

June 5, 2020 marked our 10 year wedding anniversary. Due to the uncertainty of things, we had no plans to celebrate. Literally none. Our extended family, however, could not let this moment go uncelebrated. We live on the same property as my mother and father-in-law, as well as my sister-in-law and her 3 girls. They decided to surprise us with a dinner for two at "Cafe de Gagnon." They sent us an invitation asking us to dress our best and to knock on the door of my in-laws promptly at 5:30 p.m. Upon arrival, our 3 children greeted us, dressed to the nines, with warm smiles. They proceeded to serve us a multiple course dinner, prepared by my father-in-law. While it wasn't what we had imagined for our 10-year wedding anniversary, it was absolutely perfect. And a great reminder that true joy is possible during these challenging times.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so much has changed for our children. They have faced school closures, altered family dynamics, the loss of extracurricular activities and nationwide protests. The reality of this new unprecedented world is impacting how children are playing. This photograph was shared with me by a friend who was observing her daughter quietly playing in their backyard a couple of months into our region’s shelter-in-place orders (May 29, 2020). She went over to check on her daughter and noticed that she had placed a mask on her Barbie. The mom sent me the photo along with a text that read "Cute and clever but heartbreaking at the same time." This simple photograph shows how much our children are absorbing and adapting as they navigate life during a pandemic. Shelter-in-place orders in the San Francisco Bay Area have been more strict than in other areas in the state and throughout the country. Will children in this region be impacted in ways that other children will not?

I was moved by a photograph that I saw of a protestor holding this painting in what appears to be a peaceful march in Sacramento, California. The message is clear - it is time for America's leaders, and for all of America, to listen.

Youth and children played an integral role in the protests that occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area in the aftermath of George Floyd's death. They showed courage and strength as they peacefully protested and advocated for change. Our children deserve to grow up in communities where they feel safe and accepted for the beautiful individuals that they are.

This skeptic believes COVID-19 is a conspiracy to allow testing, tracking, poisoning, and chipping. This person refuses to also wear a mask, believing masks to be part of the conspiracy. The person who shared this post on http://reddit.com/r/insanepeoplefacebook sarcastically states amount of people already dead to refute the conspiracy claim.

During March, there was fear of food shortages. This person posted “tip” that if food runs out, go to a Bernie Sanders supporter’s house, as they will not have a gun to defend themselves. This demonstrates how early into the pandemic, there as already politicization. This was shared on http://reddit.com/r/insanepeoplefacebook, but someone who referred to it as an “insane tip.”

This COVID-19 skeptic believes that the pandemic is false, and that it is being used to usher in a “New World Order.” Among the things he is protesting against are: martial law, mandatory vaccines, one currency, and a cashless society - all things he believes the pandemic is helping to foster. The person who shared this on reddit.com/r/insanepeoplefacebook sarcastically uses “sheeple,” as this might be how the protester would refer to those who do not question the pandemic.

During the recent protests sweeping the Bay Area, Warrior's basketball players Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson joined a protest led by fellow teammate, and native of Oakland, Juan Toscano-Anderson. Toscano-Anderson's "Unity March" took place at Lake Merritt in Oakland. Peaceful protestors chanted George Floyd and Breonna Taylor's names as they walked around the lake. Curry and Thompson are beloved leaders throughout the Bay Area. Their decision to publicly participate in the protests showed their depth of character and further demonstrates their unwavering commitment to their local communities.

The Twitter page, run by the independent news and media outlet Warriors Talk, posted a video of a young girl chanting "no justice, no peace" during the recent protests in the San Francisco Bay Area. Protests spread throughout the country, including the Bay Area, following George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020. The large presence of children in the protests has been especially noticeable.