Join a series of digital town halls to talk about the effects of COVID-19 in Lexington
Monday in my house will look like this: I’ll be working from home, connected via Slack and email and texts and Google hangouts to the Herald-Leader news staff, most of whom are working in similar remote fashion to continue to bring you the news.
My wife will be doing the same at her job. Two of our kids will be starting back to “school” in Fayette County, also virtually, with online video classes and work sent home via the internet. Our now-home-from-college daughter will be virtually returning from her home-bound spring break, taking her first classes online, hundreds of miles away from her professors.
And all of us will have to interact carefully with the household microwave, which has a maddening tendency to knock out the wifi and bring the whole virtual thing crashing to a halt.
On Monday, that will be my tiny little slice of a “Stay Healthy at Home” world none of us could have imagined even a month ago.
From work and school to healthcare and religion, from how we gather to how we shop, COVID-19 has changed every aspect of how we live.
For the Herald-Leader news staff, it has dramatically changed how we gather the news, with most reporters and editors now working remotely and all of our journalists having to take extra precautions if covering a story in the field. We remain committed to bringing you vital news and information about this public health crisis, and the many life, health and economic changes it has brought for all of us.
We believe solid, fact-based local news and information is more important now than ever. The Herald-Leader staff has been working non-stop since this crisis began, and I am incredibly proud of the work they have done and continue to do under difficult circumstances.
In the month of April, the Herald-Leader will be partnering with the non-profit CivicLex to help connect the community further and convene digital discussions on the community impacts of COVID-19. The digital town halls are intended to “keep people informed, engaged, and connected during a time of social distancing,” said Richard Young, the executive director of CivicLex.
CivicLex, which also has an excellent online resource guide for COVID-19, has been leading a series of Digital Town Halls on the impact of coronavirus, including one last week on the impacts on the non-profit community in Lexington.
We’re excited to work with them in April on these additional virtual town halls, on topics including the arts, agriculture, basic needs and more. On Monday at 3 p.m., the Digital Town Hall will focus on information and journalism in the COVID-19 age, and I’ll join that discussion to talk about the steps we’ve taken at the Herald-Leader to inform the community. Look for Op-Eds on the editorial page in April in conjunction with many of these virtual town halls.
During the forum, participants will have opportunities to hear from those with direct experience in the topic and will be able to talk with each other about how the topic is impacting their lives. The Digital Town Halls, conducted via Google, have a maximum participation of 250.
Here’s the schedule for additional COVID-related digital town halls scheduled in April:
- Monday April 6 - Journalism
- Thursday, April 9 - Arts Organizations
- Tuesday, April 14 - Basic Needs I
- Thursday, April 16 - Independent Contractors
- Tuesday, April 21 - Basic Needs II
- Thursday, April 23 - Local Agriculture
For more information, and for the link to join, go to the CivicLex Facebook page.
As Gov. Andy Beshear has noted repeatedly, we’ll get through this unprecedented crisis together. These digital town halls are a unique way to keep our community connected, from home, and I hope you will join in the discussion there and on our Opinion pages throughout April.
Peter Baniak is the editor and general manager of the Herald-Leader. Reach him at 859-231-3446 or pbaniak@herald-leader.com.
