Cece Linder was living in a 770-square-foot apartment outside Washington, D.C., last spring when the area went into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Music blares from a boom box, as Dan Melendez works in the lobby of Historic Hemet Theater (HHT) to finish the work that consumed his last year. Finding himself a man alone with his art through the Covid-19 lockdowns, his art deco details and large murals speak of his talent.
When the pandemic passed the one-year mark, Lisa Phillips wasn't exactly eager to walk down memory lane. She had developed symptoms and quarantined with a suspected case of COVID-19 last spring, lost her mother to the disease in July and been hospitalized in November from what she describes as a nervous breakdown fueled by grief and isolation.
President Joe Biden has met his goal of having most elementary and middle schools open for full, in-person learning in his first 100 days in office, according to new survey data, but the share of students choosing to return has continued to lag far behind.