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Long before the deadly coronavirus left thousands of Rhode Island residents ill and completely paralyzed the state’s economy in the process, legislative leaders were already predicting a difficult budget year. Back in January, the state was facing a $200 million shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1, and House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio made it clear that they were unlikely to approve new spending. Yet they outright rebuffed one of Governor Gina Raimondo’s signature revenue-generating proposals: the legalization and taxing of marijuana. (McGowan, 4/22)

Rhode Island had its highest number of new cases of coronavirus in the previous 24 hours Tuesday, a sign of both more testing for the disease and the extent of its spread throughout the state. Another 394 Rhode Islanders have tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, bringing the total number of cases to 5,500, according to the state Department of Health. The state reported 16 new fatalities, bringing the state’s death toll to 171. Most of those who have died from the disease have been residents of nursing homes. (Milkovits, 4/21)

Texas Medical Center hospital systems Wednesday will begin phasing back more care of people with ailments not involving the coronavirus, a tacit acknowledgment they now feel equipped to handle COVID-19 and can’t overlook the community’s other health needs. The resumption of some such care follows Gov. Greg Abbott’s order last Friday relaxing restrictions he’d placed on non-urgent elective surgeries a month ago and that medical center hospitals, among others, had imposed on themselves a few days earlier. (Ackerman, 4/22)

A high school class that requires to students to use math and science skills in practical applications is helping frontline workers in the fight against the coronavirus. Manufacturing students at Gwinnett County’s Maxwell High School of Technology have developed an accessory to make the medical face shields worn by health care workers more comfortable. (Smith Broady, 4/21)

The coronavirus pandemic has put all other issues on the back burner. But still heating up — at an increasing pace — is the existential threat of climate change. Will Massachusetts' ambitious climate goals survive the virus crisis? In January, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the commonwealth was adopting an ambitious new climate plan. Massachusetts would not just reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 80% by mid-century, as state law required; instead, Baker committed to a goal of net zero emissions. (Gellerman, 4/22)

As Gov. Gavin Newsom prepares for a Wednesday press briefing in which he plans to detail the progress made with regard to “six key areas as part of our roadmap to recovery,” the governor said 60 more people who have tested positive for COVID-19 have died. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, data recorded by the California Department of Public Health shows 33,261 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,268 people have now died. (Crowley, 4/21)

Kaiser Permanente, one of Northern California’s largest health care providers, is building a $14 million lab in Berkeley that will boost the system’s coronavirus testing capacity from about 1,200 tests a day to 5,000 by the time the lab opens in early June, Kaiser officials said. Kaiser is conducting one of the highest volumes of COVID-19 diagnostic testing in the region — it has 4.5 million members in Northern California — so its ability to increase testing will play a critical role in the state’s efforts to lift shelter-in-place restrictions. (Ho, 4/21)

Thousands of people lacking health insurance in Santa Clara County could soon access discounted or free care thanks to a newly-expanded county program. In an unanimous vote Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors broadened the income requirements for the county’s stopgap insurance plan. The goal is to get health coverage for people in the “missing middle” during the pandemic and beyond, while also lessening the burden on local emergency rooms. (Kelliher, 4/21)

California and Sacramento again had some of the poorest air quality in the nation, its skies made worse by the effects of climate change and years of catastrophic wildfires, with worrying implications for those most at risk of developing COVID-19, officials say. The American Lung Association’s sobering State of the Air report released Tuesday examined data for 2016 through 2018. (Smith, 4/21)

Race and patterns of segregation are closely associated with the spread of coronavirus in Milwaukee County, according to a new report from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "Segregation has helped create concentrated disadvantage in certain areas of the city," said Joel Rast, one of the report's authors and director of UWM's Urban Studies Programs. (Luthern, 4/21)

Black residents of Louisiana are dying of coronavirus at vastly higher rates than people of other races and new data shows those dramatic disparities are occurring across the state, regardless of demographics of different communities. (Adelson, Rddad and Roberts, 4/21)

The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday unanimously approved allowing citations to be issued to people purposely violating the state's safer-at-home order, which is aimed at limiting the spread of the deadly coronavirus and which Gov. Tony Evers has extended until May 26. The measure approved by the council allows a middle ground in which police can issue citations, Nick DeSiato, chief of staff to Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales, said during a special meeting of the Common Council's Public Safety and Health Committee Tuesday. (Dirr, 4/21)

New Orleans police plan to set up checkpoints throughout Orleans Parish to "verbally provide information" about the current stay-at-home order related to the coronavirus pandemic. Police also will check that everyone is wearing seatbelts, the driver is licensed and the vehicle is registered and insured. (Kollath Wells, 4/21)

Plasma collected from the blood of people who have recovered from COVID-19 is now being used to treat patients in the Las Vegas Valley who are hospitalized with the disease. At least two area hospitals, St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Siena campus in Henderson and Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center in the southwest valley, began to use the experimental treatment this week as part of a national study. (Hynes, 4/21)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Tuesday abruptly canceled a no-bid contract to help track the spread of the coronavirus in Michigan, a day after announcing the hiring of a state Democratic consultant and a national firm that has worked for prominent Democratic causes. The reversal comes amid complaints that the governor tapped politically connected firms to collect health data on state residents and monitor sensitive medical information. It also comes as Whitmer’s profile is rising — she is considered a possible running mate for likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, and she has become the target of Republican attacks. (Viser and Dawsey, 4/21)