Day 60 and a Local Government Challenge

Tomorrow marks 60 days from California's state-wide stay-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the news is full of "when do we reopen" and we all think about getting back to something more like "normal", thoughts move away for pandemic to what's next. While they are not nearly as severe as looming non-medical collateral damage of this pandemic (think 36 million in the US unemployed, to name one), people at some point will once again start paying attention to city issues.

During the peak of this stage of the pandemic, I think there are major reasons why City of Alameda issues have slipped to the background, among them: 

-  We have all been occupied with the immediate health risks of COVID-19

-  Watching on-line Council meetings is a far cry the public attending and speaking out at meetings in City Hall

-  Public notice through City of Alameda public information channels is dominated by restated County and State information, with little notice of ongoing city business

- The sole local newspaper, the weekly Alameda Sun, is hampered by reduced circulation
- With guidelines against people gathering, there are fewer opportunities for people to talk, a common way, pre-pandemic for City news to spread in Alameda   

In light of long term restrictions on public gatherings, adapting to a drastically different post-pandemic-peak "normal", anticipating a virulent return this winter and non-medical repercussions which are out there, we will need to know what's going on.

I think the City's public information system really needs to up its game to fill the gaps and meet the COVID-19 challenge, especially in dealing with some pretty painful realities we're facing.