About this episode
Hometown's top headlines: please click here
Business: Vista Metals Georgia of Adairsville to idle 120 employees by Saturday.
32nd Bartow resident, 14th Gordon resident die as regional total hits 59; state death toll now 1,317. More than 30,000 people now 'positive' including 708 here.
Dining: Mother's Day brunch amid the pandemic -- what to know. Updates on River District dining.
Business: Georgia net tax collections plummet near 36% in April or by more than a billion dollars.
Politics: Tonight, a second 14th Congressional District Republican candidate debate on Facebook Live. Plus: First House debate as well as those for PSC, U.S. Senate.
Public Safety Committee meeting: Police, fire calls way down in March because of sheltering-in-place. Concerns about social distancing.
RANT OF THE DAY: A new information source? Maybe.
The pandemic has forced many of us to do things we never tried before. From church leaders suddenly embracing Facebook Live to independent restaurants successfully converting to curbside service, we've had to learn things on the fly in recent months. And we're not done yet.
For governments, from city and county commissioners to governor's office, Facebook Live and Zoom have become critical assets. The same for the business world and even politics. As we'll see again later this evening, the herd of hopefuls for the 14th Congressional District will appear on computer screens for two hours while we watch who's Zoomin' who.
It all comes down to a ton of new content delivered a different way. We wonder: Is there something more we could be doing with all this, even after we ease up a bit on social distancing?
But the bigger question is this: How do we tie the community into all this?
Is there a away to expand citizen participation in daily government -- and community life -- with all these Zoom meetings, church and prayer services, chamber business education seminars and such?
We're about to find out.
