COVID-19 Update: August 18: #WeMakeEvents

As the pandemic is largely obscured by the Democratic convention, the most interesting event is the appearance on those shores of #WeMakeEvents, the initiative started in the UK by PLASA and other industry organizations. Plans are afoot for a massive effort to demonstrate the industry's perilous state by lighting 1,500 buildings in red. (See link below.) The plan is well-timed: According to a new survey, American consumers don't support bailouts for cinemas and concert venues unless their survival is at stake.

The latest:

The details of the president's executive order enhanced unemployment plan are, well, vague: wapo.st/2Q3857B.

To a startling degree, consumers don't support bailouts for cinemas and concert venues, unless they feel it is a matter of life or death: tinyurl.com/y6m9q4jq.

COVID-19 cases are up in US nursing homes: bit.ly/2E79Q1d.

People of color are underrepresented in vaccine trials, a worrying trend: bit.ly/3kTk8m1.

Food for thought:

A review of Covidwise, America's first coronavirus-exposure app: wapo.st/322tfbA.

Unhinged, a thriller starring Russell Crowe, opens on August 21, making it the first major film release since the pandemic began. If you release it, will they come? bit.ly/3iURyie.

The psychological toll of being a nurse during the pandemic: bit.ly/3kVdKL9.

How the pandemic is reshaping the airline industry: bit.ly/2Q32G0h.

Around the country:

In California:

The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to test all 600,000 students for COVID-19: bit.ly/2Q6jlQF.

Kern Country, hit hard by the pandemic, is further stymied by conflicts between local and state officials: bit.ly/2CCFEdw.

In Florida:

New COVID-19 infections decline but deaths continue to rise: bit.ly/3azj16c. Then again, the state has a substantial one-day jump: bit.ly/3kQ2mjL.

Miami City Ballet cancels its season, replacing it with digital and outdoor performances: hrld.us/31cfkk9.

In Massachusetts:

American Repertory Theatre, working with the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has issued the latest edition of its Roadmap for Recovery and Resilience for Theatre: bit.ly/2YcLTME.

In New Jersey:

A judge upholds an order keeping cinemas closed: bit.ly/2YdVByu.

In North Carolina:

University of North Carolina -- Chapel Hill switches to distance learning following a coronavirus outbreak: wapo.st/2Q284k6.

In Texas:

The beleaguered Pizza Hut franchise sees the closure of 300 stores: bit.ly/3hbAPa7.

Around the World:

In Cuba:

The dollar is back on the island, it's economy hobbled by the pandemic: bit.ly/2CB6QJA.

In Italy:

The country tightens restrictions as infections rise again: wapo.st/3aAT4mK.

Mobilization:

#WeMakeEvents announces a plan to light 1,500 buildings in red on August 27: bit.ly/2FBCU1e.

In the weeks to come, it will be vital that your national legislators hear from you. NITO (National Independent Talent Organization) has a tool available to directly communicate with your representatives: nitolive.org/resources/take-action/.

Robe helps to light South Africa red: bit.ly/2CH5htQ.

Education:

The Elation Innovation Hour returns with a look at the Fuze FR Wash: bit.ly/2Yc3rIG.

Sennheiser's live Crew Calls series continues with four members from Ed Sheeran's live touring crew: On September 8 at 2:00pm ET, hosts Andy Egerton and Tim Moore will welcome Chris Marsh (production manager, FOH sound), Mark Friend (tour manager), Matt Jones (lighting director), and Dave White (guitar/chewie tech). Be sure to sign up early for this exceptional live round table with the world class touring crew behind Ed Sheeran's world record-breaking Divide Tour: bit.ly/2CGMnmQ.

Entertainment:

Here's this week's lineup of streams from Metropolitan Opera: bit.ly/34auAzH.

Next up from Tanglewood Online: August 18 at 8:00pm: The Best of Tanglewood on Parade, a free video stream of highlights from past Tanglewood on Parade concerts featuring the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood Music Center orchestras, as well as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and Boston Symphony Children's Choir, in selections led by conductors Andris Nelsons, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, James Burton, and Seiji Ozawa, hosted by James Taylor. August 23 at 2:30pm: "BSO Encore Performances" (August 2019) of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, soprano Nicole Cabell, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, tenor Nicholas Phan, bass Morris Robinson, and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, hosted by Jamie Bernstein. Learn more at: www.bso.org/.

For your pleasure:

Christine Ebersole, Debbie Gravitte, and Rebecca Luker in "Sing for Your Supper," from Rodgers and Hart's The Boys from Syracuse: bit.ly/2Q6nkN7.

That's all for today. Stay safe. -- DB

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Previous LSA COVID-19 Updates: plasa.me/lsacovid19resources.