The pandemic highlights the best among all of us, whether we are talking about the early leadership of Jay Inslee in Washington State, or the medical professionals and first responders who go to work every day — or the leadership on display this past week by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The image is from yesterday’s address to the National Guard that Cuomo made. If you haven’t seen it, you might want to watch it and be lifted up, not just by the sheer power of his words, but by the fact that — like every great leader — both his head and his heart are engaged.

I have been self-isolating since the day after I taught my last university class on March 6. All of Washington State is now under executive order to do so, even as some argue the definition of an “essential service.” I believe that Governor Inslee waited perhaps too long to do so, as today we are looking at the deadliest day in reported coronavirus deaths in this country and in several others as well.

In Washington D.C., two of the three branches of government are shaping and reshaping the largest relief package ever created in the history of this country, targeted at workers and families, at small and medium sized businesses, but also in the form of loans to large corporations. That financial relief cannot come soon enough.

Today marks 15 days since I was last in the classroom in front of students. I’ve been sheltering in place since March 6, participating in meetings via videoconferencing and completing work that will result in the close of the winter quarter today. I have made a plan to live and work this way until June out of an abundance of caution.

We may never know what it was that caught the president’s attention and made him a believer. He now understands that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in our country, and that thousands have been tested and found to be infected. Thousands will die. This is a frighteningly different phenomenon than the annual flu season. And, finally, all the powers and resources of the federal government are being marshaled on behalf of its citizens.

Exploring issues outside the classroom is still very much part of my work. Here are some of the appearances I’ll be making this spring.

We’ve just concluded off-year elections, including many local races and referendums. In Seattle, only around one third of registered voters exercised that fundamental right.

Annie stepped down recently from the Seattle Public Library Foundation after twelve years.

Annie has published a third edition of Advice From A Risk Detective as well as a fifth volume of Reflections on Risk. Our other large project was threefold: rearchitect, improve content, and migrate our ten year old website to the SquareSpace platform.