Letter from the Editor: It’s been a long, long time

 

Almost before we understood what we were facing, we were in the middle of a COVID-19 crisis that pulled us away from each other, shuttered doors of some businesses and all schools, canceled important events and even had people turning on each other over how they chose to deal with it.

Not that it didn’t have a good side. As one reader told us, “It been interesting getting to know the people living in my house.”

Given the go-ahead by the Governor’s Office in mid-May, businesses cautiously tested the waters of fully re-opening. Owners and management studied guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and their respective industries to make sure they were covering all the bases. Still without knowing the final toll the crisis will have on their books, small business owners are at the heart of the pandemic’s impact on the community.

In the June issue if InMaricopa magazine, we want to spotlight those coming back from forced hibernation and those who found ways, often inventively, to provide limited service during the 10 weeks of shutdown. We were there as doors opened to still-leery customers. We talked with those tasked with shouldering the demands of food supply and broadband internet. We also look at early economic signs and how the local government tried to prepare for the long-term hit.

Not forgotten are hundreds of high school graduates and the adults who were determined to give them the sendoff they deserved.

It was a long 10 weeks. Thanks for being resilient, Maricopa. Let’s all help each other come back.

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This column appears in the June issue of InMaricopa.