Companies Start to Think Remote Work Isn’t So Great After All, Wall Street Journal “Four months ago, employees at many U.S. companies went home and did something incredible: They got their work done, seemingly without missing a beat. Executives were amazed at how well their workers performed remotely, even while juggling child care and the distractions of home. Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc., among others, quickly said they would embrace […]

Bowser says people coming from coronavirus hot spots must quarantine for 14 days when arriving in D.C, Washington Post “Visitors arriving from most states to the nation’s capital soon must self-quarantine for 14 days to help slow the increasing spread of the novel coronavirus. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said her order, which takes effect Monday, will help the city battle a recent increase in coronavirus infections.” Keith’s note: […]

The crisis that shocked the world: America’s response to the coronavirus, Washington Post “Six months after the coronavirus appeared in America, the nation has failed spectacularly to contain it. The country’s ineffective response has shocked observers around the planet. Many countries have rigorously driven infection rates nearly to zero. In the United States, coronavirus transmission is out of control. The national response is fragmented, shot through with political rancor and […]

James Webb Space Telescope to launch in October 2021, ESA “The launch of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana is now planned for 31 October 2021. NASA has announced the decision, based on a recently completed schedule risk assessment of the remaining integration and test activities before launch, accounting for impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and technical challenges. […]

Florida reports biggest one-day increase in COVID-19 deaths since pandemic started, Reuters “Florida reported on Thursday the largest one-day increase in deaths from the novel coronavirus since the pandemic began and its second-largest increase in cases ever. Florida announced 13,965 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the state and the center of the latest outbreak to over 315,775, according to the state health department. Florida’s […]

California closes indoor restaurants, movie theaters and all bars statewide as coronavirus cases rise, CNBC “Newsom said the state recorded 8,358 new cases on Sunday. The state’s positivity rate, or the percentage of all tests returning positive, has ticked up to 7.4%. “The data suggests not everyone is acting with common sense,” Newsom said at a press conference Monday. California hospitals also reported an increase in the number of coronavirus […]

Coronavirus: Texas governor mandates wearing of face masks, CNN “Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued an executive order that all Texans don face coverings in public in counties with 20 or more Covid-19 cases. Texas has seen a surge of hospital admissions in recent days, hitting a record high of more than 8,000 virus cases in a single day on Wednesday. “Wearing a face covering will help us to keep […]

Florida breaks new daily record with 9,585 coronavirus cases, Orlando Sentinel “The Florida Department of Health reported 9,585 new coronavirus cases Saturday, shattering the previous daily high for positive COVID-19 infections made just the day before. The state has now registered 132,545 positive cases to date. The previous record for a single-day increase of 8,942 cases was reported Friday, followed by 5,508 cases reported Wednesday.” Texas Gov. Orders Bars To […]

Alabama sees second highest total for daily coronavirus cases, records 25 more deaths, Al,com “Alabama added 954 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a large increase over case counts from recent days, and the second highest single-day uptick since the start of the pandemic. The new cases pushed the state’s 7-day rolling average up to almost 673, an 80-case increase over Tuesday’s average.” New record: Florida sees all-time high of 5,511 […]

Top Challenges Facing Federal Agencies: COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Response Efforts (NASA Excerpt) “As of May 5, 2020, NASA has committed approximately $8.5 million of the $60 million in emergency funding. The majority of the committed funds relate to contractor impact claims, information technology services, and cleaning supplies. Future use of the remaining funds are expected to include increased cleaning efforts at each NASA facility as well as purchases of […]

Bridenstine says that NASA has to protect the workforce at KSC. After #Demo2 there are Mars 2020 and Crew-1 launches. — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 29, 2020 The visitor center is going to be open and we expect that visitors will follow guidelines for social distancing. But mission essential personnel will be protected – @JimBridnestine — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 29, 2020 Oddly @Astro_CabanaBob happily mentions this photo of a […]

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairwoman Horn Holds Bipartisan Teleconference on NASA’s Response to COVID-19 “Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a bipartisan teleconference with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Dr. Mike Watkins, Director at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The purpose of the teleconference was for Members to discuss NASA’s uniquely skilled workforce and their activities […]

Keith’s note: Look what I stumbled across in a Google news alert for “Ames Research Center”: “Founder of Philadelphia life sciences firms targets RNA as key to knocking out Covid-19 “Aishwarya said his companies are already collaborating on Covid-19 research and related programs with Dr. Afshin Beheshti, principal Investigator at the NASA Ames Research Center, Dr. Masad Damha and his collaborators at McGill University in Canada, and three U.S. universities […]

NASA Live Virtual Town Hall NASA Adminstrator Jim Bridenstine: “I will host a live virtual town hall at 10:30 am EDT Wednesday, May 6 along with other agency leaders to answer your questions about the agency’s approach to increasing on-side work. Please read this message, then, to submit questions, go to http://www.nasa.gov/townhall and click on “Ask The Administrator: Return to On-Site Work”. Enter your center name, then post your question […]

WRT #Demo2 @JimBridenstine says "We are asking people to watch from home. We are asking people not to travel to KSC. That makes me sad to even say it. I wish we could make this into something spectacular. The best way to do that is to do so while being safe." — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 1, 2020 Unlike NASA, sheriff asks people to come to Brevard to see historic […]

SpaceX launch: local officials scramble to plan for crowds on heels of coronavirus, Florida Today “The launch is set for May 27, but Gov. DeSantis has not indicated yet what will be reopened by then. The governor did say Tuesday during a trip to the White House that he will make an announcement Wednesday about “Phase 1” of his reopening plan for Florida. “We’re gonna approach it in a very […]

NASA to Announce Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Moon Missions, NASA “NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, to announce the companies selected to develop modern human landing systems (HLS) that will carry the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and develop sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade. Audio of the call will […]

Agencywide Message To All NASA Employees: Update on Official Travel for May and June “NASA leadership continues to assess upcoming travel for the month of May and June as well as monitoring conferences and other events. Out of an abundance of caution, the agency continues to restrict all domestic and international travel. Only mission-critical travel will be considered and a Request for Travel Exception form must be submitted prior to […]

NASA Internal Memo: Website Modernization and Enhanced Security Protocols 15 May 2019 (PDF) “Currently there are an estimated 3,000 public-facing NASA Web sites, yet the top 10 sites receive 80 percent of all Web traffic. Additionally, some NASA partners operate Web sites on our behalf outside of the Agency, creating redundancy and accumulating unnecessary costs. Not only does this duplication of information cause confusion, each Wen site provides potential access […]