Items

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  2020-09-30

  Incarcerated Children Are Getting Covid Too

  Months ago the media did report on the outbreak of Covid cases in the nations jails and prisons. Though Covid continues to spread in correctional facilities it seems to have largely fallen off the media's radar and I haven't seen any coverage of the children in correctional facilities who are also sick with Covid. It saddens me to even write this because the phrase "incarcerated children" should not have meaning.
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  2020-08-21

  'Severe inhumanity': California prisons overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks and approaching fires

  This Tweet and article concern the conditions inmates in California's prisons are experiencing. First they had to deal with Covid-19 and figure out how to slow the spread of the disease within overcrowded facilities where social distancing is impossible and mask wearing presents its own set of issues. Second incarcerated people are living in a near constant state of lockdown, visitation and even communication with family and friends is gone. Third they are facing the threat of wildfires within a few miles of several prisons causing the people inside the buildings to breath air filled with smoke. To add insult to injury the state of California uses prison labor to fight these same fires. This article illustrates how we as a society treat those most at risk among us. Even those in a correctional facility for the terminally ill in hospice care are not being evacuated.
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  2020-03-27

  Our Forgotten Parks

  May 5th, 2020 COVID-19 has a larger impact than just our economy and the shut in of our population. With schools being closed and classes being moved to online, it is also our public education that is being afflicted by this virus. While economic recessions come and go, missed opportunities for education are sometimes looked over and forgotten, missing their mark on improving someone’s life. Many parks, historical sites, and zoos are currently closed and unable to provide the people an opportunity to explore the world around them. The photo above is the Salem Pioneer Village in Forest River Park and offers a genuine educational look at the puritan ways of life in early Salem. The park offers tours and select hours of operation, meaning it isn’t always open for the public. So a forced closure of this public park has a significant impact, very similar to many other locations that are not privately owned. While this park is small, there are many very large parks that are completely closed and inaccessible to the public. Some of these places being of significance, Acadia National Park, the only national park in New England is currently closed. Another is the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, better known as the AT, is currently closed off to hikers during the best time of the year to accomplish this great feat. COVID-19 will present a significant obstacle in the recovering phase of many of the parks and educational sites throughout the U.S.; however, it does provide an opportunity for nature to relax and not deal with human interaction.
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  2020-03-19

  Think of those who have been forgotten during this pandemic

  The Suffolk Journal, Suffolk University's student run newspaper, reports on the personal affects of the pandemic.