Breakfast links: As DC schools shift to online learning, one group wants to provide students with laptops
An empty classroom by Tobias Leeger licensed under Creative Commons.
DCPS students will need more laptops
With DC Public Schools starting remotely this fall, a Ward 6 mutual aid group is raising money to buy laptops for students in the hope of bridging the city’s digital divide and having sufficient technology for each student to attend class online. (Andrew Giambrone / DCist)
Purple Line contractors must work for another month
A Maryland Circut Court Judge ruled that despite an ongoing payment dispute about cost overruns between the Maryland Transit Administration and the Purple Line Transit Partners contractors, the PLPT cannot halt work on the rail line until September 14th. (Bruce DePuyt / Maryland Matters)
OurStreets is shutting down during the pandemic economy
A year and a half after its founding, OurStreets (formerly How’s My Driving) is ending its business operations on August 15. Here’s what happened and what’s next for its driver safety crowdsourcing app. (Michelai Graham / Technical.ly)
DC man charged with PPP fraud
A local man has been charged with embezzling from the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and fraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Program loans which he used to buy a rowhouse, a car, and a boat. (Spencer Hsu / Post)
Arlington has used hotels for quarantining
Arlington County rented rooms in the Highlander Motel in Virginia Square and the Days Inn on Columbia Pike for people who tested positive for COVID-19, or were high risk but had no other way to isolate themselves. 39 people are currently using hotel rooms for this purpose, and 108 have used them since April. (ARL Now)
DC will offer mortgage assistance during the pandemic
The DC Housing Finance Agency will offer up to $5,000 per month for mortgage payments to homeowners who have lost income during the pandemic and do not qualify for other types of relief from their bank or the federal government. (Nathan Diller / DCist)
Multifamily landlords must share mortgage relief
Updated Federal Housing Finance Agency rules say that any multifamily landlord receiving federal mortgage forbearance must inform their tenants in writing, and must stop evictions, waive late rent fees, and accept repayment plans from tenants. (Nena Perry-Brown / Urban Turf)
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