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Remote Controls
There are plenty of good — and possibly bad — aspects about so many people working away from their offices
This coronavirus pandemic could mark the biggest shift to the workplace since the adoption of computers.
![Under special city permit, a nail salon in Vista, CA has moved its operations outside to avoid having to close again during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Shutterstock photo)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/shutterstock_1787888552.jpg?1599588956)
Coronavirus Shutdowns Are Hitting Vietnamese-Owned Nail Salons Hard
About 70 percent of California’s nail salon workers are Vietnamese-American, according to a 2019 report, and the pandemic is taking a heavy toll on a small business niche that’s been shut for five months now.
![Christopher Callahan is president of University of the Pacific. (Photo by Ryan Angel Meza)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0920_sept_discourse_ryan-angel-meza.jpg?1598977272)
Positive Signs in Trying Times
University of the Pacific President Christopher Callahan on leading an educational institution during an unprecedented time
Christopher Callahan, who became president July 1, is overseeing the institution’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
![(Shutterstock photo)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/shutterstock_1676998303.jpg?1598892973)
The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Made the Education Process More Challenging
Comstock’s president and publisher considers the difficulty of starting a new school year in the midst of the pandemic.
![A hospital employee enters Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland on August 24, 2020. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/082420_healthcareworkers_aw_sized_04.jpg?1598549686)
California COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Claims Soar
Workers’ compensation claims for COVID-19 have spiked dramatically in the past two months. Those claims could mean more than $2 billion in costs for employers and their insurers.
![Maya Suzuki Daniels sits with her 14-month-old at the table where she teaches high school English. She expects that her baby will make frequent appearances during her Zoom lectures. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters via Google Hangout)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/082020_unioninfluence_09.jpg?1598476034)
Blackboard Brawl
How California’s teachers hope to avoid 60,000 layoffs
As crises collide, teachers already stretched thin are leaning on powerful unions to make online classes work. Is this a new beginning or the beginning of the end for school as we know it?
![Shawnee Whaley, 57, wears a mask as she rests on a cot at the Ulatis Community Center in Vacaville after evacuating her home on August 18, 2020. Whaley said she and her mother, who lives across the street, had to leave in a matter of minutes, leaving almost everything behind. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/081920_vacavilleevacuation_aw_sized_01.jpg?1598045074)
A Collision of Crises: Central Valley Suffers Searing Heat, Smoke and Virus Hot Spots
Californians, particularly people with serious health conditions, are caught in a collision of crises: Fires are churning out dangerous smoke amid a record-baking heatwave and the relentless coronavirus pandemic.
![(Illustration by Carly Cornejo)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/the_big_fix_employment.jpg?1597173757)
Thinking Differently About Our Workforce Amid the Pandemic
In our series, The Big Fix, industry experts explore how the region can rebound from the coronavirus shutdown
Thinking differently about post-COVID life is a chance to reimagine and update our systems to be more agile, inclusive and efficient.
![The Mercy General Hospital Alex G. Spanos Heart & Vascular Center in East Sacramento is part of the CommonSpirit Health system. (Photo by Emily Hagopian, courtesy of Dignity Health)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0820_blog_mmp_miller_lead.jpg?1597679281)
A Healing System
Jahmal Miller of CommonSpirit Health talks about the pandemic and health care inequity
Miller runs a department at CommonSpirit that is responsible for equity initiatives, including race and ethnicity data collection pertaining to COVID-19 and how to better serve communities.
![(Illustration by Carly Cornejo)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/the_big_fix_education.jpg?1597173356)
The Pandemic Has Shown That Virtual Learning Can Be Quality Learning
In our series, The Big Fix, industry experts explore how the region can rebound from the coronavirus shutdown
Sacramento State will look very different this fall, when only 7 percent of courses will be held in-person, because of COVID-19 and social distancing.