vox--2020-10-08--Charges announced in plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan

Six men have been arrested and charged with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer ( D ) , the federal government revealed Thursday .
Angry at the governor ’ s policies to combat the spread of Covid-19 , the men deemed Whitmer a “ tyrant ” and spent months planning to kidnap her , the government claims .
They zeroed in on a plan to “ use deadly force ” to attack Whitmer ’ s vacation home , and planned to purchase additional supplies this week , FBI special agent Richard Trask wrote in an affidavit .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Croft , Ty Garbin , Kaleb Franks , Daniel Harris , and Brandon Caserta — are being charged with conspiracy to kidnap the governor .
The government says the conspirators were in contact with a militia group based in Michigan — training in tactics and weapons with the group , and attempting to build an explosive device with a militia group member .
Though the group is not named in the federal government ’ s court papers , Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel identified the group as the Wolverine Watchmen , and said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of its members under the state ’ s anti-terrorism act ( in addition to the federal government ’ s charges against the previous six men ) .
Nessel said the charged men hoped to “ instigate a civil war.
” According to Trask ’ s affidavit , Fox and Croft had been “ discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components ” since at least early 2020 , asserting that they believed state governments were violating the Constitution .
In June , Fox focused his attention on Gov .
Whitmer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and livestreaming a video “ in which he complained about the judicial system and the State of Michigan controlling the opening of gyms , ” the government claims .
“ Snatch and grab , man .
Grab the fuckin ’ Governor .
Just grab the bitch , ” Fox said in a July conversation recorded by the FBI .
Harris also suggested in an encrypted group chat to “ have one person go to her house , knock on the door , and when she answers it just cap her , ” but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government says .
Fox allegedly expressed hope that the plot would inspire similar overthrows of governors in other states .
“ I can see several states takin ’ their fuckin ’ tyrants .
Everybody takes their tyrants , ” he said , according to the government .
This plot looks like it wasn ’ t just idle talk Trask ’ s affidavit goes on to give several details of the alleged conspiracy that make it seem like it wasn ’ t just empty talk — the planning had advanced quite far .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off by meeting secretly in the basement of Fox ’ s business , through a trapdoor that Fox kept covered with a rug .
Fox didn ’ t permit cellphones to be brought down there ( but one attendee was wearing a wire ) .
• Over the summer , the men trained in tactics and weaponry at the home of one of the militia group ’ s members .
They discussed storming the Michigan Capitol but soon concluded that Whitmer would be more vulnerable at either her vacation home or the governor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s a perfect fuckin ’ setup .
Out of everywhere that she resides , this is the only one that ’ s probably actually feasible , ” one plotter said in a recorded conversation .
• Eventually , some of the men made two trips to surveil Whitmer ’ s vacation home and discuss logistics for the kidnapping .
They proposed bombing a nearby bridge to slow any police response .
They also discussed setting off bombs elsewhere to distract the police while the kidnapping unfolded .
• Fox said in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an 800,000-volt taser for use in the operation , and he and several others planned to meet with someone ( unknown to them , an undercover FBI agent ) Wednesday to buy explosives .
This week , investigators made their move .
According to Robert Snell of the Detroit News , the FBI raided a Michigan home Wednesday night , and the six men accused in the federal complaint were arrested .
On Thursday , Nessel said her office has filed state charges against seven of the militia group ’ s members , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well .
She charged them under the state ’ s anti-terrorism act .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Six men have been arrested and charged with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), the federal government revealed Thursday.
Angry at the governor’s policies to combat the spread of Covid-19, the men deemed Whitmer a “tyrant” and spent months planning to kidnap her, the government claims. They zeroed in on a plan to “use deadly force” to attack Whitmer’s vacation home, and planned to purchase additional supplies this week, FBI special agent Richard Trask wrote in an affidavit.
Six men — Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta — are being charged with conspiracy to kidnap the governor.
The government says the conspirators were in contact with a militia group based in Michigan — training in tactics and weapons with the group, and attempting to build an explosive device with a militia group member.
Though the group is not named in the federal government’s court papers, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel identified the group as the Wolverine Watchmen, and said her office has arrested and charged seven of its members under the state’s anti-terrorism act (in addition to the federal government’s charges against the six other men). Nessel said the charged men hoped to “instigate a civil war.”
According to Trask’s affidavit, Fox and Croft had been “discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components” since at least early 2020, asserting that they believed state governments were violating the Constitution.
In June, Fox focused his attention on Gov. Whitmer, calling her a “tyrant bitch” and livestreaming a video “in which he complained about the judicial system and the State of Michigan controlling the opening of gyms,” the government claims.
“Snatch and grab, man. Grab the fuckin’ Governor. Just grab the bitch,” Fox said in a July conversation recorded by the FBI.
Harris also suggested in an encrypted group chat to “have one person go to her house, knock on the door, and when she answers it just cap her,” but the group settled on kidnapping, the government says.
Fox allegedly expressed hope that the plot would inspire similar overthrows of governors in other states. “I can see several states takin’ their fuckin’ tyrants. Everybody takes their tyrants,” he said, according to the government.
This plot looks like it wasn’t just idle talk
Trask’s affidavit goes on to give several details of the alleged conspiracy that make it seem like it wasn’t just empty talk — the planning had advanced quite far. The government claims:
The group started off by meeting secretly in the basement of Fox’s business, through a trapdoor that Fox kept covered with a rug. Fox didn’t permit cellphones to be brought down there (but one attendee was wearing a wire).
Over the summer, the men trained in tactics and weaponry at the home of one of the militia group’s members. They discussed storming the Michigan Capitol but soon concluded that Whitmer would be more vulnerable at either her vacation home or the governor’s official summer residence. “It’s a perfect fuckin’ setup. Out of everywhere that she resides, this is the only one that’s probably actually feasible,” one plotter said in a recorded conversation.
Eventually, some of the men made two trips to surveil Whitmer’s vacation home and discuss logistics for the kidnapping. They proposed bombing a nearby bridge to slow any police response. They also discussed setting off bombs elsewhere to distract the police while the kidnapping unfolded.
Fox said in an encrypted chat that he had bought an 800,000-volt taser for use in the operation, and he and several others planned to meet with someone (unknown to them, an undercover FBI agent) Wednesday to buy explosives.
This week, investigators made their move. According to Robert Snell of the Detroit News, the FBI raided a Michigan home Wednesday night, and the six men accused in the federal complaint were arrested.
On Thursday, Nessel said her office has filed state charges against seven of the militia group’s members, all of whom are now in custody, as well. She charged them under the state’s anti-terrorism act.


vox--2020-10-08--12 great movies to look forward to this fall (and winter)

Normally at this time of year we ’ d be headed into another season of heavily marketed prestige films catapulting themselves into theaters after triumphant film festival premieres .
But nothing is normal in 2020 .
The major fall festivals , which often launch movies toward the Oscars , largely shifted to drive-in and virtual formats .
And movie theaters are still closed in the important markets of New York and Los Angeles , while studios ’ splashiest titles continue to have their release dates delayed .
Yet even in this weird moment , I was able to “ attend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to see the debuts of stellar films from around the world .
Many of those films still will be released this fall and winter , in theaters and virtual cinemas , at drive-ins , or on digital streaming services .
So here are a dozen of my favorite fiction films from 2020 ’ s fall festival circuit ( and one that snuck in from last year ) that you won ’ t want to miss .
I can not understate my love for Another Round , a movie about four middle-aged Danish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re willing to admit to themselves or one another .
One night , though , a cordial birthday dinner turns into a weeping confessional , and from thence into a rager , and they realize , with the ancients , that in vino veritas .
The men decide to embark on an experiment , reasoning that the human body is naturally 0.05 percent deficient in alcohol and that they can test whether maintaining a low buzz all day will enable them to live a better life .
Obviously , things escalate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sophomoric and possibly horrible premise for a film , but instead director Thomas Vinterberg has made a truly wonderful movie about trying to come to grips with life , anchored by terrific performances from Mads Mikkelsen , Thomas Bo Larsen , Magnus Millang , and Lars Ranthe .
It ’ s funny , and gutting , and great .
How to watch it : Another Round was acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films .
It is awaiting a release date .
Mike ( director and co-writer Michael Angelo Covino ) and Kyle ( co-writer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who see their friendship fracture when Mike tells Kyle that he slept with Kyle ’ s fiancée .
But that ’ s not the end of The Climb , a very funny story of a long-enduring friendship .
The film occasionally slides into flights of fancy , even magical realism , while feeling very true to the kinds of twists and turns real friendships can take .
It ’ s a triumphant feature debut for Covino and Marvin , and at Cannes in 2019 it was awarded the “ Coup de Coeur ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ) by the Un Certain Regard jury .
How to watch it : The Climb premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and was initially scheduled for release in the spring of 2020 .
It is now scheduled for limited theatrical release on November 13 .
Directed by Pedro Almodovar , The Human Voice is really a short film — a 30-minute adaptation of Jean Cocteau ’ s play of the same name .
Tilda Swinton doesn ’ t just star in the film ; she is the film .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through a breakup and slowly disintegrating before our eyes , progressing from resignation to despair to nonchalance to outright aggression .
She wanders around an apartment set that ’ s built on a soundstage , which only serves to emphasize both the performativity and privacy of grief during the end of a relationship .
Mostly , though , it ’ s just really fun to watch Swinton rage .
How to watch it : The Human Voice was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics .
It is awaiting a release date .
A standout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the story of Korean immigrants Jacob ( Steven Yeun ) and Monica ( Yeri Han ) who move their two small children ( Noel Kate Cho and Alan S. Kim ) from California to Arkansas so that Jacob can pursue his dream of farming .
But Jacob and Monica ’ s marriage is on the rocks , a circumstance that doesn ’ t improve as they ’ ve hoped when Monica ’ s mother ( Yuh Jung Youn ) comes to stay with them .
Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set in the 1980s , Minari feels deeply personal .
It ’ s both a family drama through the eyes of a Korean American boy and a moving tale of love and loss in the American heartland , exquisitely told .
How to watch it : Minari premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and is currently playing at festivals in a virtual format .
A24 will release the film in the coming months .
A prisoner named Roman ( Koné Bakary ) in Côte d ’ Ivoire ’ s largest prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : He must tell a story to the other prisoners all night — one so engaging that they will stay absorbed in it until the sun comes up — or he will lose his life .
Philippe Lacôte ’ s Night of the Kings clearly plays homage to One Thousand and One Nights , weaving a tale in which a powerful older inmate named Blackbeard ( Steve Tientcheu ) runs the prison with the tacit approval of the guards , and appoints Roman to a powerful post : The prison ’ s official @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an elaborate story that contains its own elaborate story , and it weaves magic into what feels a bit like madness .
How to watch it : Night of the Kings premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 , then played at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival .
It is currently awaiting distribution .
Unmoored from home by choice or economic necessity , an increasing number of retirement-aged Americans are crisscrossing the country , living in vans and RVs and following patterns of seasonal work .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ nonfiction book , Nomadland melds fiction and reality to tell their story .
Frances McDormand plays Fern , a woman who leaves her small town in Nevada after the death of her husband and finds herself part of the nomad community — most of whom , in the movie , are played by themselves .
Director Chloe Zhao ( who made 2017 ’ s The Rider and the upcoming Marvel film Eternals ) crafts an aching reminder of the loneliness and loss many older Americans face in a country that has no place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against a backdrop of rolling hills and wide open plains almost too beautiful for words .
How to watch it : Nomadland premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 , then played at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival .
It is scheduled to open in theaters on December 4 .
Sofia Coppola returns with a deceptively frothy comedy about Laura ( Rashida Jones ) , who starts to suspect her husband Dean ( Marlon Wayans ) is cheating on her .
When Laura tells her affectionate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bill Murray ) about it , he insists they follow Dean in an attempt to catch him .
On the Rocks is light on its feet , but it ’ s not lightweight ; it becomes clear that Laura ’ s relationship with her father — who left her mother for a series of younger women when Laura was still a child — is part of what ’ s fueling her worries about Dean .
And she ’ s also feeling unmoored from her sense of self now that she ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who works all the time .
On the Rocks is energetic and Murray is in top form , so it remains fun , but there ’ s something serious to chew on underneath , too .
How to watch it : On the Rocks premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2020 .
It opened in limited theatrical release on October 2 and will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on October 23 .
One of the most buzzed-about films out of the Toronto International Film Festival was One Night in Miami , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Watchmen ) .
Kemp Powers adapted the screenplay from his own stage play , which imagines a single night in 1964 .
Muhammad Ali — still going by Cassius Clay at the time ( and played by Eli Goree in the film ) — had defeated Sonny Liston and become Heavyweight Champion of the World .
To celebrate , he gathered in a motel with NFL star Jim Brown ( Aldis Hodge ) , singer Sam Cooke ( Leslie Odom Jr. ) , and Malcolm X ( Kingsley Ben-Adir ) .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events , the men also argued about the challenges they faced as Black athletes , performers , and leaders in a rapidly changing America : the pressure to cater to white audiences ; colorism ; police violence ; and religious identity .
One Night in Miami sidesteps the trap of stage-iness that films adapted from plays can fall into , and it boasts four equally spectacular performances from its leads — truly a testament to King ’ s skill as a director .
How to watch it : One Night in Miami premiered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , then played at the Toronto International Film Festival .
It will open in limited theaters on December 25 and begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on January 15 , 2021 .
It can be difficult to translate some of humanity ’ s most horrifying moments onto the big screen without flattening what happened , trying too hard to convince the audience to care , or turning people into object lessons .
But Quo Vadis , Aida ?
does the job with stunning deftness , telling the story of what happened on July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Serb army murdered more than 7,000 civilians , mostly men , and raped women in the town of Srebrenica .
Director Jasmila Zbanic grounds the tale in a strong perspective , centering the film on Aida ( Jasna Djuricic ) , a translator working with the UN who struggles to find her own family and save them , if she can .
It ’ s harrowing , to be sure , but it ’ s absolutely vital — a study of intense evil in our time and a reminder that the past never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fades .
How to watch it : Quo Vadis , Aida ?
premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 , then played at the Toronto International Film Festival .
It is awaiting distribution .
Actor David Oyelowo ’ s directorial debut feels like an old-fashioned family film from a bygone era — and that ’ s what makes it great .
Oyelowo and Rosario Dawson play the parents of Gunner ( Lonnie Chavis ) , an artistically inclined kid who ’ s carrying around a lot of anxiety ; his dad has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abroad , and his mom has cancer .
He wants to find a cure .
One day , with his new friend Jo ( Amiah Miller ) , he takes off into the forest in search of a figure called the Water Man who will have what his mother needs to get better .
His father must go find them .
Produced by Oprah Winfrey and also starring Maria Bello and Alfred Molina , The Water Man is a film about grief , both for father and son , but filtered through a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ courage .
How to watch it : The Water Man premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020 .
It is awaiting distribution .
The Whaler Boy was one of my favorite discoveries at TIFF — a deceptively small film about a teenager named Leshka ( Vladimir Onokhov ) in the remote Russian village of Chuktoka , just across the Bering Strait from Alaska .
He hunts whales with the other men in the village and hangs out with his one friend , but there ’ s not much else to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off from the world except , as it turns out , through the internet .
The men have become interested in cam girls , who represent sex and desire and , even more , a world far away .
Leshka ’ s interest evolves into obsession with one particular girl , who cams from Detroit , and he starts to believe they have a special relationship — and that takes him on a startling journey .
Director Philipp Yuryev managed to blend just enough fantasy into his realism to keep you guessing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often surprising film about coming of age and the ways dreams lead us astray .
How to watch it : The Whaler Boy premiered at the Venice Film Festival , then played at the Toronto International Film Festival .
It is awaiting distribution .
Wolfwalkers is a gorgeously animated Irish folk tale , created by the artists behind The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea .
It ’ s the story of a little English girl named Robyn Goodfellowe , who travels with her father , a hunter , to Ireland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wiping out the wolves , which the Lord Protector of the village decrees must be destroyed lest they menace the villagers any further .
But one day , she befriends another girl , Mebh , who lives in the woods and transforms into a wolf at night .
Mebh is a wolfwalker .
And through their friendship , Robyn ’ s view of the world , and her role in it , changes drastically .
It ’ s a beautiful , rich story with plenty for the whole family to discuss .
How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released on Apple TV+ this fall .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of sustaining our resource-intensive work .
If you have already contributed , thank you .
If you haven ’ t , please consider helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world : Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Normally at this time of year we’d be headed into another season of heavily marketed prestige films catapulting themselves into theaters after triumphant film festival premieres. But nothing is normal in 2020. The major fall festivals, which often launch movies toward the Oscars, largely shifted to drive-in and virtual formats. And movie theaters are still closed in the important markets of New York and Los Angeles, while studios’ splashiest titles continue to have their release dates delayed.
Yet even in this weird moment, I was able to “attend” a few festivals from my couch and to see the debuts of stellar films from around the world. Many of those films still will be released this fall and winter, in theaters and virtual cinemas, at drive-ins, or on digital streaming services. So here are a dozen of my favorite fiction films from 2020’s fall festival circuit (and one that snuck in from last year) that you won’t want to miss.
Another Round
I cannot overstate my love for Another Round, a movie about four middle-aged Danish men who are much more miserable than they’re willing to admit to themselves or one another. One night, though, a cordial birthday dinner turns into a weeping confessional, and from thence into a rager, and they realize, with the ancients, that in vino veritas. The men decide to embark on an experiment, reasoning that the human body is naturally 0.05 percent deficient in alcohol and that they can test whether maintaining a low buzz all day will enable them to live a better life. Obviously, things escalate from there.
This sounds like a sophomoric and possibly horrible premise for a film, but instead director Thomas Vinterberg has made a truly wonderful movie about trying to come to grips with life, anchored by terrific performances from Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe. It’s funny, and gutting, and great.
How to watch it: Another Round was acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films. It is awaiting a release date.
The Climb
Mike (director and co-writer Michael Angelo Covino) and Kyle (co-writer Kyle Marvin) are two longtime friends who see their friendship fracture when Mike tells Kyle that he slept with Kyle’s fiancée. But that’s not the end of The Climb, a very funny story of a long-enduring friendship. The film occasionally slides into flights of fancy, even magical realism, while feeling very true to the kinds of twists and turns real friendships can take. It’s a triumphant feature debut for Covino and Marvin, and at Cannes in 2019 it was awarded the “Coup de Coeur” (essentially “blow to the heart”) by the Un Certain Regard jury.
How to watch it: The Climb premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and was initially scheduled for release in the spring of 2020. It is now scheduled for limited theatrical release on November 13.
The Human Voice
Directed by Pedro Almodovar, The Human Voice is really a short film — a 30-minute adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s play of the same name. Tilda Swinton doesn’t just star in the film; she is the film. She plays a woman who’s going through a breakup and slowly disintegrating before our eyes, progressing from resignation to despair to nonchalance to outright aggression. She wanders around an apartment set that’s built on a soundstage, which only serves to emphasize both the performativity and privacy of grief during the end of a relationship. Mostly, though, it’s just really fun to watch Swinton rage.
How to watch it: The Human Voice was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. It is awaiting a release date.
Minari
A standout at Sundance earlier this year, Minari is the story of Korean immigrants Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica (Yeri Han) who move their two small children (Noel Kate Cho and Alan S. Kim) from California to Arkansas so that Jacob can pursue his dream of farming. But Jacob and Monica’s marriage is on the rocks, a circumstance that doesn’t improve as they’ve hoped when Monica’s mother (Yuh Jung Youn) comes to stay with them. Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung (Munyurangabo, Lucky Life) and set in the 1980s, Minari feels deeply personal. It’s both a family drama through the eyes of a Korean American boy and a moving tale of love and loss in the American heartland, exquisitely told.
How to watch it: Minari premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and is currently playing at festivals in a virtual format. A24 will release the film in the coming months.
Night of the Kings
A prisoner named Roman (Koné Bakary) in Côte d’Ivoire’s largest prison finds himself tasked with a terrifying challenge: He must tell a story to the other prisoners all night — one so engaging that they will stay absorbed in it until the sun comes up — or he will lose his life. Philippe Lacôte’s Night of the Kings clearly plays homage to One Thousand and One Nights, weaving a tale in which a powerful older inmate named Blackbeard (Steve Tientcheu) runs the prison with the tacit approval of the guards, and appoints Roman to a powerful post: The prison’s official storyteller. The film is fantastical, an elaborate story that contains its own elaborate story, and it weaves magic into what feels a bit like madness.
How to watch it: Night of the Kings premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020, then played at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. It is currently awaiting distribution.
Nomadland
Unmoored from home by choice or economic necessity, an increasing number of retirement-aged Americans are crisscrossing the country, living in vans and RVs and following patterns of seasonal work. Based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book, Nomadland melds fiction and reality to tell their story. Frances McDormand plays Fern, a woman who leaves her small town in Nevada after the death of her husband and finds herself part of the nomad community — most of whom, in the movie, are played by themselves. Director Chloe Zhao (who made 2017’s The Rider and the upcoming Marvel film Eternals) crafts an aching reminder of the loneliness and loss many older Americans face in a country that has no place for them. And she does it against a backdrop of rolling hills and wide open plains almost too beautiful for words.
How to watch it: Nomadland premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020, then played at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. It is scheduled to open in theaters on December 4.
On the Rocks
Sofia Coppola returns with a deceptively frothy comedy about Laura (Rashida Jones), who starts to suspect her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) is cheating on her. When Laura tells her affectionate, philandering, and impulsive father (Bill Murray) about it, he insists they follow Dean in an attempt to catch him. On the Rocks is light on its feet, but it’s not lightweight; it becomes clear that Laura’s relationship with her father — who left her mother for a series of younger women when Laura was still a child — is part of what’s fueling her worries about Dean. And she’s also feeling unmoored from her sense of self now that she’s a parent and the wife of a man who works all the time. On the Rocks is energetic and Murray is in top form, so it remains fun, but there’s something serious to chew on underneath, too.
How to watch it: On the Rocks premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2020. It opened in limited theatrical release on October 2 and will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on October 23.
One Night in Miami
One of the most buzzed-about films out of the Toronto International Film Festival was One Night in Miami, a triumphant directorial debut for Regina King (Watchmen). Kemp Powers adapted the screenplay from his own stage play, which imagines a single night in 1964. Muhammad Ali — still going by Cassius Clay at the time (and played by Eli Goree in the film) — had defeated Sonny Liston and become Heavyweight Champion of the World. To celebrate, he gathered in a motel with NFL star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir). And, at least in this version of events, the men also argued about the challenges they faced as Black athletes, performers, and leaders in a rapidly changing America: the pressure to cater to white audiences; colorism; police violence; and religious identity. One Night in Miami sidesteps the trap of stage-iness that films adapted from plays can fall into, and it boasts four equally spectacular performances from its leads — truly a testament to King’s skill as a director.
How to watch it: One Night in Miami premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020, then played at the Toronto International Film Festival. It will open in limited theaters on December 25 and begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on January 15, 2021.
Quo Vadis, Aida?
It can be difficult to translate some of humanity’s most horrifying moments onto the big screen without flattening what happened, trying too hard to convince the audience to care, or turning people into object lessons. But Quo Vadis, Aida? does the job with stunning deftness, telling the story of what happened on July 11, 1995, when the Bosnian Serb army murdered more than 7,000 civilians, mostly men, and raped women in the town of Srebrenica. Director Jasmila Zbanic grounds the tale in a strong perspective, centering the film on Aida (Jasna Djuricic), a translator working with the UN who struggles to find her own family and save them, if she can. It’s harrowing, to be sure, but it’s absolutely vital — a study of intense evil in our time and a reminder that the past never leaves us, even when the violence fades.
How to watch it: Quo Vadis, Aida? premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020, then played at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is awaiting distribution.
The Water Man
Actor David Oyelowo’s directorial debut feels like an old-fashioned family film from a bygone era — and that’s what makes it great. Oyelowo and Rosario Dawson play the parents of Gunner (Lonnie Chavis), an artistically inclined kid who’s carrying around a lot of anxiety; his dad has recently returned from a tour of duty abroad, and his mom has cancer. He wants to find a cure. One day, with his new friend Jo (Amiah Miller), he takes off into the forest in search of a figure called the Water Man who will have what his mother needs to get better. His father must go find them. Produced by Oprah Winfrey and also starring Maria Bello and Alfred Molina, The Water Man is a film about grief, both for father and son, but filtered through a story of imagination, fear, and courage.
How to watch it: The Water Man premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020. It is awaiting distribution.
The Whaler Boy
The Whaler Boy was one of my favorite discoveries at TIFF — a deceptively small film about a teenager named Leshka (Vladimir Onokhov) in the remote Russian village of Chuktoka, just across the Bering Strait from Alaska. He hunts whales with the other men in the village and hangs out with his one friend, but there’s not much else to do, and they’re largely cut off from the world except, as it turns out, through the internet. The men have become interested in cam girls, who represent sex and desire and, even more, a world far away. Leshka’s interest evolves into obsession with one particular girl, who cams from Detroit, and he starts to believe they have a special relationship — and that takes him on a startling journey. Director Philipp Yuryev managed to blend just enough fantasy into his realism to keep you guessing, and the result is an unforgettable and often surprising film about coming of age and the ways dreams lead us astray.
How to watch it: The Whaler Boy premiered at the Venice Film Festival, then played at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is awaiting distribution.
Wolfwalkers
Wolfwalkers is a gorgeously animated Irish folk tale, created by the artists behind The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea. It’s the story of a little English girl named Robyn Goodfellowe, who travels with her father, a hunter, to Ireland. His task is to aid in wiping out the wolves, which the Lord Protector of the village decrees must be destroyed lest they menace the villagers any further. But one day, she befriends another girl, Mebh, who lives in the woods and transforms into a wolf at night. Mebh is a wolfwalker. And through their friendship, Robyn’s view of the world, and her role in it, changes drastically. It’s a beautiful, rich story with plenty for the whole family to discuss.
How to watch it: Wolfwalkers will be released on Apple TV+ this fall.


vox--2020-10-08--Louise Glück just won the Nobel for literature. This poem will introduce you to her work.

On Thursday morning , the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Louise Glück , a poet whose immense simplicity of voice belies the biting irony and richness of her work .
Glück is one of America ’ s most celebrated poets , and the Nobel was just about the only literary award she hadn ’ t already won .
She won the Pulitzer in 1993 , won the prestigious Bollingen Prize for Poetry in 2001 , and served as the US Poet Laureate from 2003 to 2004 .
In Thursday ’ s announcement , the Nobel committee noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.
” Glück has been publishing poetry since 1962 , when she was just 19 years old , and she had developed her distinctive pared-down voice by 1975 , when she published her second book , The House on Marshland .
“ The hugeness of what Glück will not say is like some big masonry wall , ” wrote Dan Chiasson in the New Yorker in 2012 .
“ What little is said shimmies through a narrow breach in the mortar.
” It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says , and the immense omission of everything else , that grants her poetry its intense emotional power .
Often her work is animated by a sense of grievance : at the world , at her own imperfections , at the horribleness of being embodied in the world and at everyone else who dares to be embodied too .
But with the poem , she is vindicated .
Her closing lines sometimes seem to quiver with suppressed triumph .
In honor of Glück ’ s Nobel , let ’ s take a look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , October .
It was first published in 2004 , but it feels especially fresh and urgent now , in an October of a plague year whose days have gone slippery : Is it winter again , is it cold again , didn ’ t Frank just slip on the ice , didn ’ t he heal , weren ’ t the spring seeds planted didn ’ t the night end , didn ’ t the melting ice flood the narrow gutters terror and cold , didn ’ t they just end , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and planted— I remember how the earth felt , red and dense , in stiff rows , weren ’ t the seeds planted , didn ’ t vines climb the south wall I can ’ t hear your voice for the wind ’ s cries , whistling over the bare ground when was I silenced , when did it first seem pointless to describe that sound what it sounds like can ’ t change what it is— didn ’ t the night end , wasn ’ t the earth safe when it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeds , weren ’ t we necessary to the earth , the vines , were they harvested ?
Glück is writing ferociously around trauma here , around some wound in the year that has left scars and made the fact of October seem impossible .
And in 2020 , it ’ s easy to read the trauma of pandemic into the elisions of her work , into the space that has made the passage of time fall apart and sound lose sense .
Because Glück has , as the Nobel committee said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is her great gift .
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On Thursday morning, the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Louise Glück, a poet whose immense simplicity of voice belies the biting irony and richness of her work.
Glück is one of America’s most celebrated poets, and the Nobel was just about the only literary award she hadn’t already won. She won the Pulitzer in 1993, won the prestigious Bollingen Prize for Poetry in 2001, and served as the US Poet Laureate from 2003 to 2004. In Thursday’s announcement, the Nobel committee noted they were awarding Glück “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.”
Glück has been publishing poetry since 1962, when she was just 19 years old, and she had developed her distinctive pared-down voice by 1975, when she published her second book, The House on Marshland. “The hugeness of what Glück will not say is like some big masonry wall,” wrote Dan Chiasson in the New Yorker in 2012. “What little is said shimmies through a narrow breach in the mortar.”
It’s the spareness of what Glück says, and the immense omission of everything else, that grants her poetry its intense emotional power. Often her work is animated by a sense of grievance: at the world, at her own imperfections, at the horribleness of being embodied in the world and at everyone else who dares to be embodied too. But with the poem, she is vindicated. Her closing lines sometimes seem to quiver with suppressed triumph.
In honor of Glück’s Nobel, let’s take a look at an excerpt from her book-length poem, October. It was first published in 2004, but it feels especially fresh and urgent now, in an October of a plague year whose days have gone slippery:
Is it winter again, is it cold again,
didn’t Frank just slip on the ice,
didn’t he heal, weren’t the spring seeds planted didn’t the night end,
didn’t the melting ice
flood the narrow gutters wasn’t my body
rescued, wasn’t it safe didn’t the scar form, invisible
above the injury terror and cold,
didn’t they just end, wasn’t the back garden
harrowed and planted— I remember how the earth felt, red and dense,
in stiff rows, weren’t the seeds planted,
didn’t vines climb the south wall I can’t hear your voice
for the wind’s cries, whistling over the bare ground I no longer care
what sound it makes when was I silenced, when did it first seem
pointless to describe that sound what it sounds like can’t change what it is— didn’t the night end, wasn’t the earth
safe when it was planted didn’t we plant the seeds,
weren’t we necessary to the earth, the vines, were they harvested?
Glück is writing ferociously around trauma here, around some wound in the year that has left scars and made the fact of October seem impossible. And in 2020, it’s easy to read the trauma of pandemic into the elisions of her work, into the space that has made the passage of time fall apart and sound lose sense. Because Glück has, as the Nobel committee said, made “individual existence universal.” That is her great gift.


vox--2020-10-09--Funeral homes have been changed by the coronavirus. Here’s what it’s like to work in one.

The Hellum Funeral Home has offered a drive-thru memorial service for decades .
The idea , first germinated during a 1980 remodeling after a fire , was to give the people of Murfreesboro , Tennessee , the opportunity for a kitschy viewing service — a slow parade of cars peeling through the parking lot to pay their respects without ever leaving the vehicle .
To that end , they installed a big rectangle window peering out from the home ’ s back wall and a cubby big enough to hold a casket .
Wendy Hellum , the owner of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never took advantage of the service .
Now , in the middle of a pandemic and statewide limitations on gatherings , she ’ d guess that drive-thru funerals are 90 percent of her business .
Hellum Funeral Home can still hold in-person ceremonies .
But under Tennessee policy , the number of attendees needs to be restricted to 10 or fewer .
For now , it is simply more efficient , and more communal , to summon a cavalcade of friends and family , each individually sheltered by their own sedans and SUVs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with as many witnesses as possible .
Hellum holds up her end of the bargain ; her employees hand out bookmarks and programs to each car .
They sign each attendee ’ s name in the guest book .
They wear masks emblazoned with the funeral home logo .
It was difficult to imagine the mechanics of an automated memorial service three months ago , but Hellum generated a socially distant workaround at a remarkable pace .
Wendy Hellum believes that someday , things will go back to normal .
But she also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will stick around for months , not weeks .
It is heartening , she says , to watch her clients honor the departed as best they can , considering the circumstances , but she feels awful that they aren ’ t able to mourn together .
Elbow-bumping at a funeral just isn ’ t the same .
Read our conversation below .
When did you start noticing the pandemic affecting your business ?
When the state started closing down stuff with social distancing and everything [ on April 2 . ]
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We didn ’ t have to cancel anybody coming in , but now we ’ re having 10 people show up at a time .
People are coming and going , one batch at a time .
How did you end up with a funeral home with a drive-thru window ?
We had a fire , and we rebuilt in 1980 .
So we put a window in , and we didn ’ t really use it until now .
But now it works out perfectly .
My employee brought it to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can start using this drive-thru window now !
” I said , “ Yeah , this is the perfect time.
” As soon as we started shutting down , that ’ s when we started it up .
How do all these proceedings work ?
“ We put flowers on top of the casket .
People never have to come out in the cars.
” I have the window open , and we have the remains in there , which you can see as the bereaved drive through .
We put flowers on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to come out in the cars .
I have people out there signing register forms .
We have family members greeting people while they ’ re coming through .
It really fits the bill .
And you have employees signing the register books and everything ?
Yeah , they have the register books .
We ’ ll have a girl writing everyone ’ s name down in them .
And we have programs .
We ’ ll have someone handing out the programs and bookmarks [ through the car windows . ]
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ all stocked up in PPE during these ceremonies .
Yes , masks on , gloves on .
I got someone to make the masks .
They ’ ve all got our funeral home logo on it , so everybody knows .
I want the family members to be safe as well as us .
How appreciative have people been that you ’ ve found a way to stay open despite the circumstances ?
They ’ ve been very appreciative .
I ’ m glad we can give people some sort of closure .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ guys changed any of your sanitation policies when it comes to prepping bodies during this pandemic ?
We ’ ve only had three Covid cases .
But we ’ ve still been busy .
I ’ ve always felt that anyone that comes in contact with a body should be taking precautions anyway .
But it ’ s doubled now .
We ’ re especially careful .
More bleach , more hand sanitizer , more wipes .
“ I feel bad for my clients because they can ’ t grieve in the traditional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re serving , do they expect this to be the only funeral they have for the deceased ?
Or do they expect to have a more formal ceremony when people can gather again ?
I ’ ve never had anyone say that , but I ’ ve offered it to them .
That we could hold it later , free of charge , if they ’ re still grieving .
But this is the new normal .
And I think everybody has to get used to it .
Either way , I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whatever they want to do is fine .
So it ’ s started to dawn on you that this is going to be the way you ’ ll be forced to do things for a long time .
Yeah , I say that we ’ ll be doing this for a long time , but eventually things will go back to normal .
But for now , everything has been canceled ; everything has changed .
Have you felt any more pride in your work right now , given how important it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time ?
Yeah , I feel bad for my clients because they can ’ t grieve in the traditional way .
Our community is a hands-on , touchy-feely , kissy-huggy place .
We love on each other .
Now we ’ re just bumping and dapping .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

The Hellum Funeral Home has offered a drive-thru memorial service for decades. The idea, first germinated during a 1980 remodeling after a fire, was to give the people of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the opportunity for a kitschy viewing service — a slow parade of cars peeling through the parking lot to pay their respects without ever leaving the vehicle. To that end, they installed a big rectangle window peering out from the home’s back wall and a cubby big enough to hold a casket. Wendy Hellum, the owner of the facility, tells me that people almost never took advantage of the service. Now, in the middle of a pandemic and statewide limitations on gatherings, she’d guess that drive-thru funerals are 90 percent of her business.
Hellum Funeral Home can still hold in-person ceremonies. But under Tennessee policy, the number of attendees needs to be restricted to 10 or fewer. For now, it is simply more efficient, and more communal, to summon a cavalcade of friends and family, each individually sheltered by their own sedans and SUVs, to send off a loved one with as many witnesses as possible. Hellum holds up her end of the bargain; her employees hand out bookmarks and programs to each car. They sign each attendee’s name in the guest book. They wear masks emblazoned with the funeral home logo. It was difficult to imagine the mechanics of an automated memorial service three months ago, but Hellum generated a socially distant workaround at a remarkable pace.
Wendy Hellum believes that someday, things will go back to normal. But she also expects that the realities of drive-thru funerals will stick around for months, not weeks. It is heartening, she says, to watch her clients honor the departed as best they can, considering the circumstances, but she feels awful that they aren’t able to mourn together. Elbow-bumping at a funeral just isn’t the same. Read our conversation below.
When did you start noticing the pandemic affecting your business?
When the state started closing down stuff with social distancing and everything [on April 2.] That’s when it all started for me. We didn’t have to cancel anybody coming in, but now we’re having 10 people show up at a time. People are coming and going, one batch at a time.
How did you end up with a funeral home with a drive-thru window?
We had a fire, and we rebuilt in 1980. So we put a window in, and we didn’t really use it until now. But now it works out perfectly. My employee brought it to my attention, like, “We can start using this drive-thru window now!” I said, “Yeah, this is the perfect time.” As soon as we started shutting down, that’s when we started it up.
How do all these proceedings work?
“We put flowers on top of the casket. People never have to come out in the cars.”
I have the window open, and we have the remains in there, which you can see as the bereaved drive through. We put flowers on top of the casket. People never have to come out in the cars. I have people out there signing register forms. We have family members greeting people while they’re coming through. It really fits the bill.
And you have employees signing the register books and everything?
Yeah, they have the register books. We’ll have a girl writing everyone’s name down in them. And we have programs. We’ll have someone handing out the programs and bookmarks [through the car windows.]
I would imagine that your employees are all stocked up in PPE during these ceremonies.
Yes, masks on, gloves on. I got someone to make the masks. They’ve all got our funeral home logo on it, so everybody knows. I want the family members to be safe as well as us.
How appreciative have people been that you’ve found a way to stay open despite the circumstances?
They’ve been very appreciative. I’m glad we can give people some sort of closure. Especially in these times.
Have you guys changed any of your sanitation policies when it comes to prepping bodies during this pandemic?
We’ve only had three Covid cases. But we’ve still been busy. I’ve always felt that anyone that comes in contact with a body should be taking precautions anyway. But it’s doubled now. We’re especially careful. More bleach, more hand sanitizer, more wipes.
“I feel bad for my clients because they can’t grieve in the traditional way”
For the clients you’re serving, do they expect this to be the only funeral they have for the deceased? Or do they expect to have a more formal ceremony when people can gather again?
I’ve never had anyone say that, but I’ve offered it to them. That we could hold it later, free of charge, if they’re still grieving. But this is the new normal. And I think everybody has to get used to it. Either way, I’ve offered it to them. So whatever they want to do is fine.
So it’s started to dawn on you that this is going to be the way you’ll be forced to do things for a long time.
Yeah, I say that we’ll be doing this for a long time, but eventually things will go back to normal. But for now, everything has been canceled; everything has changed.
Have you felt any more pride in your work right now, given how important it is that your business stays open during this time?
Yeah, I feel bad for my clients because they can’t grieve in the traditional way. Our community is a hands-on, touchy-feely, kissy-huggy place. We love on each other. Now we’re just bumping and dapping.


vox--2020-10-09--A coronavirus consultant shares how she advises businesses on reopening

Dr. Dana Lerman was on the verge of launching a mobile Botox service with her business partner Andrea Stone .
They were hoping to improve the reputation of traveling Botox with their company Social Remedy , based in Denver , Colorado .
They had a website , lawyers , insurance , and a planned launch date of the first weekend of June .
Then the coronavirus hit .
“ My business partner and myself are very ambitious entrepreneurs , and we ’ re just not the type of people to sit and watch and just wait , ” Lerman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
They knew they needed to pivot for the times .
While their initial idea was to mobilize coronavirus testing ( people “ were sitting in their homes , terrified , ” Lerman said ) , the concept evolved when they couldn ’ t get insurance .
The Covid Consultants , a firm dedicated to advising entities from restaurants to nursing homes about how to reopen with minimal risk , was born .
Now , as states have begun to reopen , businesses are desperate to serve customers in person and gain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shutdown .
Covid Consultants advises them on how to do so with minimal risk .
Even beyond Lerman ’ s company , there is a huge market for coronavirus consulting .
Many projects and deals from before the virus hit have been delayed , forcing consultants to adapt and businesses to seek help navigating the demands of the coronavirus .
Vox spoke with Lerman about the tips she has for businesses and Americans to deal with the coronavirus safely as the country reopens amid rising infection numbers and fears of a coming second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wave issue .
This is a roller coaster , and this ride is not over anytime soon , ” she said .
This interview has been edited for clarity and length .
What do the Covid Consultants do , and why is there a demand for your business ?
Not only do you have these struggling businesses who are losing money left and right , but it ’ s impossible for them to get through these extensive guidelines .
These people are not medical experts ; they ’ re just trying to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re worried and scared and they want to make sure that they ’ re doing it safely or responsibly .
That ’ s where we decided we would come in .
We came together , created the Covid Consultants , and we are a consulting firm that helps businesses of any size and any function responsibly reopen .
We do these extensive on-site evaluations , looking top to bottom and helping them correctly interpret the guidelines and get through those .
We generate our own set of guidelines that compiles all the different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand that we ’ re all human beings , and we try to be realistic about expectations .
Another thing that we do is we help people not waste their resources .
Now , a lot of times , people think that Covid Consultants are going to come into our place of work and they ’ re gon na recommend that we get UVC [ ultraviolet germicidal irradiation ] lighting and foggers and all these really expensive things , but that ’ s actually the total opposite of what we do .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsibly use your resources and not be wasteful about them .
There is a lot of waste going around in a time when you really need to conserve those resources because everyone and their mother needs them .
How do you communicate and meet with your clients ?
We go to their place of business , we walk through , we evaluate from the moment you can visibly see the establishment .
We go to top to bottom .
We comment on signage , we comment on placement of hand sanitizers , furniture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look at your cleaning products .
We run them through EPA [ Environmental Protection Agency ] websites to ensure that they ’ re coronavirus-certified .
What does the day-to-day of your job look like ?
For instance , yesterday we went to an assisted living facility and we met with the staff there , they gave us a tour , we discussed plans for the future .
We discussed generating our own guidelines for them , [ and ] specific questions that they might have for their particular facility .
Then , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is ringing off the hook , because we also sell PCR [ polymerase chain reaction ] tests .
How do you sell PCR tests ?
There ’ s PCR tests that look for active coronavirus , and then there ’ s antibody tests , which look for previous infection .
So we actually do both and continue to have antibody testing sites where we go to schools , athletic clubs , churches , and we offer those antibody testings to the community .
We own our own centrifuge and we centrifuge the specimens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them overnight to Washington .
We get results within 48 hours .
We also , in terms of looking for active coronavirus or screening asymptomatic people , we actually have a relationship with travelers to Alaska , because right now you can not travel to Alaska , Hawaii , or French Polynesia without having a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to departure .
So we partner with a laboratory in which we send clients a postmarked box ; inside it is a specimen cup and directions .
It ’ s a saliva @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cup , put it in the box , send it through FedEx , and that arrives in our laboratory in 24 hours , and we have results in 48 hours .
It ’ s a luxury service that people are really appreciative of .
There ’ s a lot of mixed information out there about antibody tests .
How effective are they ?
I think it depends on which antibody tests you ’ re using .
Obviously you want to use a test that is approved by the FDA under emergency use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people that we test come in and say , “ I swear January , February , I was so sick .
I ’ ve never been sick like that before in my life .
It ripped through my whole office ; we all had it.
” And then you get back your negative antibody test .
What I think is happening is I think that they did have it , but you know we ’ ll never know because of the test inefficiencies that we were previously dealing with when this first happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re seeing now in some of the early data that ’ s coming out about antibody testing is that the antibodies don ’ t last long .
So these people very well may have had it and their antibodies just went away .
The common cold is [ a ] coronavirus .
It ’ s just a different kind of coronavirus .
You can get the common cold several times in the season , and that ’ s because you probably developed these antibodies ; they ’ re short-lived , and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re susceptible again .
What is some general advice you give business owners about reopening ?
You already know those tips .
People know them .
But we ’ re human beings , and they don ’ t act on them .
I can go into facility after facility , a restaurant or whichever kind of place , when they see me come in , they put their mask on .
And to me , you know , I think it ’ s lovely , thank you for putting your mask on to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got there , you didn ’ t have your mask on .
So people know what to do ; it ’ s just challenging to do it .
I ’ m human , and I understand .
I don ’ t like wearing a mask all day either .
It ’ s really uncomfortable , and it ’ s annoying to have to go wash your hands all the time and to not hug your friends and to maintain a social distance of 6 feet from all people .
That is not how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is how we need to live , at least right now , and I ’ m sure for the near future , at least , because this is not going anywhere , unfortunately .
This is going to be here for a while .
Can you tell me a little bit more about that ?
You ’ re seeing these cases and people talk about waves , but this is not a wave issue .
This is a roller coaster , and this ride is not over anytime soon .
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partners and I talk about this all the time .
I would love for there to not be a need for my services .
That would be really great for me , because I ’ m also a human .
I ’ m a mom , I want to send my kids to school , I want them to be able to go to their jiujitsu class and be face to face with their music teachers , but this is just not the reality .
We are all subject to this coronavirus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together .
People need to wear masks .
What a lot of people don ’ t know is that it ’ s not about you .
It ’ s not about an individual person .
It ’ s about transmitting it throughout the community , and that ’ s what people are really failing to understand .
What have you noticed about restaurants reopening ?
I went to my first restaurant last week , and I ate like I hadn ’ t had food in months .
I sat outside because I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside .
I strongly recommend outdoor eating over indoor eating , any day of the week .
But I look inside , and I see that the tables are not 6 feet apart .
That ’ s a real easy measure to implement — just rearrange the furniture .
A lot of people don ’ t even want to go to a restaurant ; a lot of people are not ready .
But for those people who are ready , they should be able to walk into a place that has their best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knows what they ’ re doing .
Again , it ’ s not a challenge .
Just move the tables apart .
So that ’ s one thing .
Providing hand sanitizer when you walk in , that ’ s another thing .
Having menus that are not reusable .
I personally have been to restaurants where I ’ ll look over and see someone ordering , looking at their menu , and they literally sneeze right into the menu .
Then they leave that menu , and whether or not they wipe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then the next person comes and opens , it touches it , and then goes and eats .
So that is how people get sick .
And it ’ s not just coronavirus right ; it ’ s influenza , it ’ s all the other viral illnesses that are out there , and bacterial illnesses .
Minimizing touchpoints is important , wearing masks when you can .
What do customers need to know about restaurants reopening ?
Just because it ’ s allowed doesn ’ t mean it ’ s safe .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have friends who recently went out to eat together .
They ’ re a group of 20-year-old kids .
They did everything right , and a few days after that dinner , one of our friends learned that a few people at that dinner got coronavirus .
While she knew she was exposed , she didn ’ t understand that she was supposed to quarantine .
So people don ’ t even know the basic rules .
If you went to dinner with people , and then a few days later you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with coronavirus , that means that you could potentially have it too .
And you could be asymptomatic and you need to stay home for 14 days and seek testing .
But when you don ’ t know that , and you go out into the community , that ’ s how it ’ s spread around .
It ’ s also understanding that when you go to a restaurant , that is a risk in and of itself .
I ’ m not at all discouraging it , it ’ s just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If the people at your dinner table all have coronavirus the next day , that means you need to act on that .
How do you advise restaurants on reopening ?
It ’ s about employees and it ’ s about restaurants ’ patrons .
We recommend that employees get temperature screened when they come to work [ and ] fill out a form of whether or not they have any symptoms , and if they have any symptoms at all they go home .
Make sure your employees are safe at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ the ] virus to your other employees or people who come and eat at the restaurant .
You might have a restaurant waiter or waitress who ’ s over 65 or who has diabetes or hypertension or heart disease .
Those people are at increased risk of coronavirus , and maybe you wait until the next phase of reopening to bring back that vulnerable employee .
We recommend that they have clear signage on the front door , this is what we expect of our customers .
Wear a mask when you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hands , use our provided hand sanitizer upon entry .
Please do not come into our restaurant if you have a fever or if you have symptoms of coronavirus or if you ’ ve recently been exposed to someone with coronavirus .
Things like that .
We also recommend that , like I said , they get rid of their reusable menus , condiments that are used by many people .
We would prefer there are touchless condiment dispensers .
I don ’ t know if people can buy those yet , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While I do not want to create waste and I think this is gon na be an awful consequence of our times , I think right now that makes more sense than having a reusable ketchup bottle that everyone is grabbing .
So it ’ s really those kinds of measures and socially distancing the tables .
I think that those are the most important things .
How has the experience of starting the Covid Consultants been ?
It ’ s just such an outrageous time as a physician and as an entrepreneur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been leveled .
I mean , before , it was so hard to come up with something novel and interesting , and because you ’ re competing with years and years of people doing the same thing over and over .
But then when you have a viral pandemic and you happen to be an infectious disease physician from New York , it ’ s just so wild to me how I can have such an impact and help so many people .
Even if Covid Consultants shuts down today and goes no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think it ’ s my greatest accomplishment in my life .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Dr. Dana Lerman was on the verge of launching a mobile Botox service with her business partner Andrea Stone. They were hoping to improve the reputation of traveling Botox with their company Social Remedy, based in Denver, Colorado. They had a website, lawyers, insurance, and a planned launch date of the first weekend of June. Then the coronavirus hit.
“My business partner and myself are very ambitious entrepreneurs, and we’re just not the type of people to sit and watch and just wait,” Lerman, an infectious disease specialist and entrepreneur, said. They knew they needed to pivot for the times.
While their initial idea was to mobilize coronavirus testing (people “were sitting in their homes, terrified,” Lerman said), the concept evolved when they couldn’t get insurance. The Covid Consultants, a firm dedicated to advising entities from restaurants to nursing homes about how to reopen with minimal risk, was born.
Now, as states have begun to reopen, businesses are desperate to serve customers in person and gain back revenue that was lost during the shutdown. Covid Consultants advises them on how to do so with minimal risk. Even beyond Lerman’s company, there is a huge market for coronavirus consulting. Many projects and deals from before the virus hit have been delayed, forcing consultants to adapt and businesses to seek help navigating the demands of the coronavirus.
Vox spoke with Lerman about the tips she has for businesses and Americans to deal with the coronavirus safely as the country reopens amid rising infection numbers and fears of a coming second wave.
“This is not a wave issue. This is a roller coaster, and this ride is not over anytime soon,” she said.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What do the Covid Consultants do, and why is there a demand for your business?
Not only do you have these struggling businesses who are losing money left and right, but it’s impossible for them to get through these extensive guidelines. These people are not medical experts; they’re just trying to have their business survive, and they’re worried and scared and they want to make sure that they’re doing it safely or responsibly. That’s where we decided we would come in. We came together, created the Covid Consultants, and we are a consulting firm that helps businesses of any size and any function responsibly reopen.
We do these extensive on-site evaluations, looking top to bottom and helping them correctly interpret the guidelines and get through those. We generate our own set of guidelines that compiles all the different ones and makes them readable. We understand that we’re all human beings, and we try to be realistic about expectations. Another thing that we do is we help people not waste their resources.
Now, a lot of times, people think that Covid Consultants are going to come into our place of work and they’re gonna recommend that we get UVC [ultraviolet germicidal irradiation] lighting and foggers and all these really expensive things, but that’s actually the total opposite of what we do. We go in and we help you to responsibly use your resources and not be wasteful about them. There is a lot of waste going around in a time when you really need to conserve those resources because everyone and their mother needs them.
How do you communicate and meet with your clients?
We go to their place of business, we walk through, we evaluate from the moment you can visibly see the establishment. We go to top to bottom. We comment on signage, we comment on placement of hand sanitizers, furniture. The list is endless. We look at your cleaning products. We run them through EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] websites to ensure that they’re coronavirus-certified.
What does the day-to-day of your job look like?
For instance, yesterday we went to an assisted living facility and we met with the staff there, they gave us a tour, we discussed plans for the future. We discussed generating our own guidelines for them, [and] specific questions that they might have for their particular facility. Then, while we are doing that, our phone is ringing off the hook, because we also sell PCR [polymerase chain reaction] tests.
How do you sell PCR tests?
There’s PCR tests that look for active coronavirus, and then there’s antibody tests, which look for previous infection. So we actually do both and continue to have antibody testing sites where we go to schools, athletic clubs, churches, and we offer those antibody testings to the community. We own our own centrifuge and we centrifuge the specimens on site, and then we ship them overnight to Washington. We get results within 48 hours.
We also, in terms of looking for active coronavirus or screening asymptomatic people, we actually have a relationship with travelers to Alaska, because right now you cannot travel to Alaska, Hawaii, or French Polynesia without having a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to departure. So we partner with a laboratory in which we send clients a postmarked box; inside it is a specimen cup and directions. It’s a saliva test, so our clients spit in the cup, put it in the box, send it through FedEx, and that arrives in our laboratory in 24 hours, and we have results in 48 hours. It’s a luxury service that people are really appreciative of.
There’s a lot of mixed information out there about antibody tests. How effective are they?
I think it depends on which antibody tests you’re using. Obviously you want to use a test that is approved by the FDA under emergency use access, and then a lot of people that we test come in and say, “I swear January, February, I was so sick. I’ve never been sick like that before in my life. It ripped through my whole office; we all had it.” And then you get back your negative antibody test.
What I think is happening is I think that they did have it, but you know we’ll never know because of the test inefficiencies that we were previously dealing with when this first happened. But I think that what we’re seeing now in some of the early data that’s coming out about antibody testing is that the antibodies don’t last long. So these people very well may have had it and their antibodies just went away. The common cold is [a] coronavirus. It’s just a different kind of coronavirus. You can get the common cold several times in the season, and that’s because you probably developed these antibodies; they’re short-lived, and then once they go away, you’re susceptible again.
What is some general advice you give business owners about reopening?
You already know those tips. People know them. But we’re human beings, and they don’t act on them.
I can go into facility after facility, a restaurant or whichever kind of place, when they see me come in, they put their mask on. And to me, you know, I think it’s lovely, thank you for putting your mask on to protect me, but also before I got there, you didn’t have your mask on. So people know what to do; it’s just challenging to do it. I’m human, and I understand. I don’t like wearing a mask all day either. It’s really uncomfortable, and it’s annoying to have to go wash your hands all the time and to not hug your friends and to maintain a social distance of 6 feet from all people. That is not how we are used to living, but that is how we need to live, at least right now, and I’m sure for the near future, at least, because this is not going anywhere, unfortunately. This is going to be here for a while.
Can you tell me a little bit more about that?
You’re seeing these cases and people talk about waves, but this is not a wave issue. This is a roller coaster, and this ride is not over anytime soon. I’m just being realistic, and my partners and I talk about this all the time. I would love for there to not be a need for my services. That would be really great for me, because I’m also a human. I’m a mom, I want to send my kids to school, I want them to be able to go to their jiujitsu class and be face to face with their music teachers, but this is just not the reality. We are all subject to this coronavirus, and that should really be bringing people together. People need to wear masks.
What a lot of people don’t know is that it’s not about you. It’s not about an individual person. It’s about transmitting it throughout the community, and that’s what people are really failing to understand.
What have you noticed about restaurants reopening?
I went to my first restaurant last week, and I ate like I hadn’t had food in months. I sat outside because I think that sitting outdoors is safer than sitting inside. I strongly recommend outdoor eating over indoor eating, any day of the week.
But I look inside, and I see that the tables are not 6 feet apart. That’s a real easy measure to implement — just rearrange the furniture. A lot of people don’t even want to go to a restaurant; a lot of people are not ready. But for those people who are ready, they should be able to walk into a place that has their best interest at heart and is educated and knows what they’re doing. Again, it’s not a challenge. Just move the tables apart. So that’s one thing.
Providing hand sanitizer when you walk in, that’s another thing. Having menus that are not reusable. I personally have been to restaurants where I’ll look over and see someone ordering, looking at their menu, and they literally sneeze right into the menu. Then they leave that menu, and whether or not they wipe that down, who knows, and then the next person comes and opens, it touches it, and then goes and eats. So that is how people get sick. And it’s not just coronavirus right; it’s influenza, it’s all the other viral illnesses that are out there, and bacterial illnesses. Minimizing touchpoints is important, wearing masks when you can.
What do customers need to know about restaurants reopening?
Just because it’s allowed doesn’t mean it’s safe. That’s a huge misunderstanding. We have friends who recently went out to eat together. They’re a group of 20-year-old kids. They did everything right, and a few days after that dinner, one of our friends learned that a few people at that dinner got coronavirus. While she knew she was exposed, she didn’t understand that she was supposed to quarantine. So people don’t even know the basic rules.
If you went to dinner with people, and then a few days later you find out that they were all sick with coronavirus, that means that you could potentially have it too. And you could be asymptomatic and you need to stay home for 14 days and seek testing. But when you don’t know that, and you go out into the community, that’s how it’s spread around. It’s also understanding that when you go to a restaurant, that is a risk in and of itself. I’m not at all discouraging it, it’s just you have to know how to act. If the people at your dinner table all have coronavirus the next day, that means you need to act on that.
How do you advise restaurants on reopening?
It’s about employees and it’s about restaurants’ patrons. We recommend that employees get temperature screened when they come to work [and] fill out a form of whether or not they have any symptoms, and if they have any symptoms at all they go home. Make sure your employees are safe at work, they’re not transmitting [the] virus to your other employees or people who come and eat at the restaurant. You might have a restaurant waiter or waitress who’s over 65 or who has diabetes or hypertension or heart disease. Those people are at increased risk of coronavirus, and maybe you wait until the next phase of reopening to bring back that vulnerable employee.
We recommend that they have clear signage on the front door, this is what we expect of our customers. Wear a mask when you’re not eating, wash your hands, use our provided hand sanitizer upon entry. Please do not come into our restaurant if you have a fever or if you have symptoms of coronavirus or if you’ve recently been exposed to someone with coronavirus. Things like that.
We also recommend that, like I said, they get rid of their reusable menus, condiments that are used by many people. We would prefer there are touchless condiment dispensers. I don’t know if people can buy those yet, but reusing those little packets with ketchup. While I do not want to create waste and I think this is gonna be an awful consequence of our times, I think right now that makes more sense than having a reusable ketchup bottle that everyone is grabbing. So it’s really those kinds of measures and socially distancing the tables. I think that those are the most important things.
How has the experience of starting the Covid Consultants been?
It’s just such an outrageous time as a physician and as an entrepreneur because the entrepreneurial playing field has just been leveled. I mean, before, it was so hard to come up with something novel and interesting, and because you’re competing with years and years of people doing the same thing over and over. But then when you have a viral pandemic and you happen to be an infectious disease physician from New York, it’s just so wild to me how I can have such an impact and help so many people. Even if Covid Consultants shuts down today and goes no further, besides my children, I think it’s my greatest accomplishment in my life.


vox--2020-10-09--College towns without college students have small businesses struggling

Most weekends from around 8 am to 2 pm , Lou ’ s Restaurant & Bakery is packed .
Some choose to pick up a pastry and a cup of coffee at the quick service area near the front of the restaurant .
For those who want to dine in , there are classic 1950s diner booths , but they ’ re often filled with hungry students .
Most of the time , down the center of the dining room there ’ s a line of Dartmouth kids and locals waiting to be seated .
But since the coronavirus outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campus , the booths at Lou ’ s have remained empty .
Hanover , New Hampshire , is a small town with a tight-knit community , where local businesses rely on college students to survive .
“ It still is a little bit eerie that the dining room is just empty all the time , ” said Lou ’ s owner Jarret Berke .
The Covid-19 pandemic forced college students around the country to evacuate campuses in mid-March .
Many departed for spring break and never returned .
Professors scrambled to move courses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the remainder of the spring semester with no clear return date in sight , and seniors had their graduation ceremonies canceled as colleges and universities were forced to navigate higher education in a remote world .
But when students left school , they abandoned more than just messy dorm rooms .
Local businesses in college areas suffered economic losses as their regulars finished the academic year from their homes all over the world .
“ A big chunk of our customer base left town so it made it very difficult , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the students left , when really the whole country went into lockdown , we saw about a 70 percent decline in sales.
” By innovating and finding new sources of revenue like takeout and revised menus , Lou ’ s now is able to maintain around 75 percent of its normal sales .
“ We ’ re still not doing great .
We still would love to have the students back , but it ’ s enough that we can survive for a while , ” Berke said .
In a 2017 article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how , in recent years , small colleges have been thought of as mechanisms to save and develop local economies : “ The main benefits of educational institutions are twofold : They often produce research and technology that can be parlayed into new businesses , creating jobs nearby .
And they bring to the area students , who spend money on restaurants and services , and attract professors and administrators , who do the same and also buy houses and cars , ” Semuels wrote .
As Gallup ’ s principal economist Jonathan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic and college students leaving campuses will significantly impact the cities and towns where they ’ re located .
Zeller explained that college towns and neighborhoods are appealing places to move to because of local restaurants , coffee shops , and bookstores .
But those businesses need students to be successful .
“ If that source of demand disappears for an extended period of time , those businesses are going to disappear , and that ’ s going to make that neighborhood a much less attractive place , ” Zeller said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ just overall depressing effects on the local economy.
” “ If that source of demand disappears for an extended period of time , those businesses are going to disappear ” When students are away from home , they often find comfort and community in local restaurants and cafes surrounding college campuses .
Tim Norris , the owner of Mom ’ s Dream Kitchen , a Southern cuisine restaurant in Jackson , Mississippi , said that students from nearby schools like Jackson State University often gravitate toward the home-cooked meals at his restaurant .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ were away from home , ” he said .
But like other local restaurants , Mom ’ s Dream Kitchen suffered from the loss of student customers .
“ Since the pandemic , school pretty much shut down so a lot of our college students were no longer on campus , so we lost a lot of business , ” Norris said .
The sharp decline of local businesses in college towns has impacted Americans all over the country .
Restaurants and shops near Bowdoin College were described as “ reeling ” after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill considered closing .
The neighborhood surrounding the University of Pennsylvania “ lost its life.
” Some colleges and universities have even stepped in to help temper the effects of students leaving campuses by waving rent expenses for businesses that lease commercial spaces from them .
Cornell University gave $ 100,000 to a fund in order to support Ithaca businesses .
Students and alumni have also made efforts to save local restaurants and shops as the pandemic costs them significant revenue .
Middlebury College alum Nicholas Milazzo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than $ 10,000 for five Middlebury , Vermont , restaurants .
Milazzo , who formerly worked as an EMT and is applying to medical school next year , wanted to find a concrete way to make a difference without putting his family at risk of contracting the virus .
“ Middlebury already has trouble keeping its businesses going just because they ’ re so reliant on the students , and the students are gone for half the year , ” Milazzo said .
“ So I figured , well , if restaurants in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I bet the same is happening in Middlebury.
” Milazzo started distributing the money among five local businesses around a month ago , with each receiving more than $ 2,000 .
“ Right away , a lot of people , before they left or when their families were picking them up , got gift cards or bought gift cards online , ” said Matthew Delia-Lobo , co-owner of Royal Oak Coffee in Middlebury .
The GoFundMe cash , he said , was “ insanely helpful.
” Royal Oak , which Delia-Lobo opened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alessandra , mainly employs students from Middlebury College .
When their employees had to leave campus , the Delia-Lobos were forced to run Royal Oak alone .
They also lost revenue they usually make from graduation events and summer programs , both of which were canceled .
Royal Oak has two locations , and because of the lack of business , the Delia-Lobos had to temporarily close the one closer to campus .
“ Both of us just hustled and worked every single day ” “ Both of us just hustled and worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Until students can return to college campuses , local businesses are finding new revenue streams to survive .
Lou ’ s , for example , created a dinner menu targeted toward families , and Mom ’ s Dream Kitchen has been doing more delivery orders through GrubHub , Waitr , and Uber Eats .
As some colleges prepare to bring students back to campus in the fall , businesses are reimagining what their day-to-day will look like .
At the same time , they are grappling with fears surrounding the risks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world back to college campuses .
“ A big kind of draw to any coffee shop in a college town is ‘ I can sit and study or do homework , ’ or , you know , sit inside and socialize , ” Alessandra Delia-Lobo said .
“ So I ’ m a little worried that , you know , that draw won ’ t be there if we can ’ t open inside , because I ’ m worried things won ’ t improve fast enough.
” Business owners remain cautiously optimistic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the dangers of reopening during a pandemic .
While many colleges and universities are doing whatever it takes to get students back on campus , from dorms on tennis courts to contact-tracing apps , there is no way to ensure safety until a vaccine is widely available .
“ The thought of a couple thousand people from all over the country , all over the world , coming into Hanover where we haven ’ t had an active case in about four weeks , it ’ s a little scary , ” Berke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Most weekends from around 8 am to 2 pm, Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery is packed. Some choose to pick up a pastry and a cup of coffee at the quick service area near the front of the restaurant. For those who want to dine in, there are classic 1950s diner booths, but they’re often filled with hungry students. Most of the time, down the center of the dining room there’s a line of Dartmouth kids and locals waiting to be seated.
But since the coronavirus outbreak forced students to leave Dartmouth’s campus, the booths at Lou’s have remained empty. Hanover, New Hampshire, is a small town with a tight-knit community, where local businesses rely on college students to survive.
“It still is a little bit eerie that the dining room is just empty all the time,” said Lou’s owner Jarret Berke.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced college students around the country to evacuate campuses in mid-March. Many departed for spring break and never returned. Professors scrambled to move courses online, students moved home or off-campus for the remainder of the spring semester with no clear return date in sight, and seniors had their graduation ceremonies canceled as colleges and universities were forced to navigate higher education in a remote world.
But when students left school, they abandoned more than just messy dorm rooms. Local businesses in college areas suffered economic losses as their regulars finished the academic year from their homes all over the world.
“A big chunk of our customer base left town so it made it very difficult,” Berke said. “Initially, after the students left, when really the whole country went into lockdown, we saw about a 70 percent decline in sales.”
By innovating and finding new sources of revenue like takeout and revised menus, Lou’s now is able to maintain around 75 percent of its normal sales.
“We’re still not doing great. We still would love to have the students back, but it’s enough that we can survive for a while,” Berke said.
In a 2017 article for the Atlantic, Alana Semuels explained how, in recent years, small colleges have been thought of as mechanisms to save and develop local economies: “The main benefits of educational institutions are twofold: They often produce research and technology that can be parlayed into new businesses, creating jobs nearby. And they bring to the area students, who spend money on restaurants and services, and attract professors and administrators, who do the same and also buy houses and cars,” Semuels wrote.
As Gallup’s principal economist Jonathan Zeller told Vox, the reality of the pandemic and college students leaving campuses will significantly impact the cities and towns where they’re located. Zeller explained that college towns and neighborhoods are appealing places to move to because of local restaurants, coffee shops, and bookstores. But those businesses need students to be successful.
“If that source of demand disappears for an extended period of time, those businesses are going to disappear, and that’s going to make that neighborhood a much less attractive place,” Zeller said. “It’s going to have just overall depressing effects on the local economy.”
“If that source of demand disappears for an extended period of time, those businesses are going to disappear”
When students are away from home, they often find comfort and community in local restaurants and cafes surrounding college campuses.
Tim Norris, the owner of Mom’s Dream Kitchen, a Southern cuisine restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi, said that students from nearby schools like Jackson State University often gravitate toward the home-cooked meals at his restaurant.
“They wanted home cooking because they were away from home,” he said.
But like other local restaurants, Mom’s Dream Kitchen suffered from the loss of student customers.
“Since the pandemic, school pretty much shut down so a lot of our college students were no longer on campus, so we lost a lot of business,” Norris said.
The sharp decline of local businesses in college towns has impacted Americans all over the country. Restaurants and shops near Bowdoin College were described as “reeling” after students left campus. Businesses near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill considered closing. The neighborhood surrounding the University of Pennsylvania “lost its life.” Some colleges and universities have even stepped in to help temper the effects of students leaving campuses by waving rent expenses for businesses that lease commercial spaces from them. Cornell University gave $100,000 to a fund in order to support Ithaca businesses.
Students and alumni have also made efforts to save local restaurants and shops as the pandemic costs them significant revenue. Middlebury College alum Nicholas Milazzo launched a GoFundMe that has raised more than $10,000 for five Middlebury, Vermont, restaurants. Milazzo, who formerly worked as an EMT and is applying to medical school next year, wanted to find a concrete way to make a difference without putting his family at risk of contracting the virus.
“Middlebury already has trouble keeping its businesses going just because they’re so reliant on the students, and the students are gone for half the year,” Milazzo said. “So I figured, well, if restaurants in New York City are getting hit hard, I bet the same is happening in Middlebury.”
Milazzo started distributing the money among five local businesses around a month ago, with each receiving more than $2,000.
“Right away, a lot of people, before they left or when their families were picking them up, got gift cards or bought gift cards online,” said Matthew Delia-Lobo, co-owner of Royal Oak Coffee in Middlebury. The GoFundMe cash, he said, was “insanely helpful.”
Royal Oak, which Delia-Lobo opened around a year ago with his wife Alessandra, mainly employs students from Middlebury College. When their employees had to leave campus, the Delia-Lobos were forced to run Royal Oak alone. They also lost revenue they usually make from graduation events and summer programs, both of which were canceled. Royal Oak has two locations, and because of the lack of business, the Delia-Lobos had to temporarily close the one closer to campus.
“Both of us just hustled and worked every single day”
“Both of us just hustled and worked every single day,” Alessandra Delia-Lobo said.
Until students can return to college campuses, local businesses are finding new revenue streams to survive. Lou’s, for example, created a dinner menu targeted toward families, and Mom’s Dream Kitchen has been doing more delivery orders through GrubHub, Waitr, and Uber Eats.
As some colleges prepare to bring students back to campus in the fall, businesses are reimagining what their day-to-day will look like. At the same time, they are grappling with fears surrounding the risks of bringing students from all over the world back to college campuses.
“A big kind of draw to any coffee shop in a college town is ‘I can sit and study or do homework,’ or, you know, sit inside and socialize,” Alessandra Delia-Lobo said. “So I’m a little worried that, you know, that draw won’t be there if we can’t open inside, because I’m worried things won’t improve fast enough.”
Business owners remain cautiously optimistic about their prospects while harboring fears about the dangers of reopening during a pandemic. While many colleges and universities are doing whatever it takes to get students back on campus, from dorms on tennis courts to contact-tracing apps, there is no way to ensure safety until a vaccine is widely available.
“The thought of a couple thousand people from all over the country, all over the world, coming into Hanover where we haven’t had an active case in about four weeks, it’s a little scary,” Berke admitted.