Back in March, we saw almost an overnight shift. Companies went from operating in an office to their employees’ homes, and experts say this is not something that is going away any time soon.
Before COVID-19, just 5% of the population was working from home, and now over 40% is working from home according to Flex Jobs.
Career development manager Brie Reynolds with Flex Jobs, a remote job search site, says remote work is only going to grow in the coming months into 2021. She says in the last seven months, they have seen interesting increases in certain career fields looking for employees to work from home or remotely. Here are the top seven to expect in 2021.
Computer and IT
Customer service
Education and training
Accounting and finance
Medical and health
Marketing
Business development and Sales
“If you have any previous remote experience, you want to make sure that you are putting that on your resumes, talking about that in your cover letter, and that can be occasional remote work or 100% full-time remote work,” Reynolds said. “As long as you had that experience, communicating remotely away from other people, using your phone or email or whatever that might be, that can count.”
She said you should have a technology skills section on your resume that shows employers you’re capable of using different systems to successfully work from home.
When should you start applying for remote jobs for 2021?
Reynolds said a big misconception is that hiring slows down during the holidays. She says you should actually start looking and applying now.
She says a lot of job seekers fall off around this time, so there will be less competition, and applying now could land you a job at the start of the new year.
Coronavirus has hit people hard in many ways. For some families, that means financial hardship and the threat of eviction looms overhead.
The Texas Eviction Diversion Program is designed to help families in the county who may be struggling with financial hardships and back rent.
Harris County is one of nine counties in Texas testing out the program after receiving Federal Cares Act money for the program. Gulf Coast Community Services Association in Houston received $600,000 to help landlords and tenants.
Attorneys with Lone Star Legal Aid were present in the courtroom on Tuesday morning to help guide tenants through the process and answer any questions during eviction dockets.
“The program will pay up to six months of rent,’ said Jonna Treble with Lone Star Legal Aid, “That’s five months back into the past, as late as April, and one month into the future.’
However, Treble said that things did not go as planned.
“This morning in the last hour we have seen zero takers,” Treble said. “In every single instance, the judge has asked the parties if they are aware of the program which presents a win-win option for landlords and tenants, with the landlords getting up to six months of rent paid back and the tenant gets to stay in their home and gets back on their feet.”
Families have to be in the eviction process to qualify and it is still available.
“The goal here is to make sure the tenant as well as the landlord, once they go thru the process, that at the end of the program it needs to end with a zero balance,” said Amanda Shelton with Gulf Coast Community Services, “That will alleviate some of those hard choices and decisions that many families have been making.”
HPD said Jason Frank Vazquez is the person who was seen in surveillance video talking to accused murderer Robert Soliz after the deadly shooting.
Houston police have identified the person of interest who is wanted for questioning in connection to the shooting death of Houston Police Sgt. Sean Rios earlier this month.
Houston police said Jason Frank Vazquez, 24, is the person who was seen in surveillance video talking to Robert Soliz after the deadly shooting.
Rios was shot to death on Nov. 9. According to the probable cause argument made by prosecutors last week, witnesses told police that Soliz and Rios got into a shootout at a business near the Taj Inn Suites just off the North Freeway at about 1:30 p.m. A prosecutor said Soliz was inside the shop shooting at Rios and Rios was firing back at Soliz.
After being wounded, Rios retreated to the motel, where he died.
After the shooting, according to the prosecutor, Soliz drove his car to a transmission shop that belonged to a family member. The prosecutor said he told his family member he was shot at on the freeway and left his car there. Prosecutors said Soliz left the shop with a man in a black Chevy truck, who police have now identified as Vazquez.
Prosecutors said video surveillance captured Soliz and Vazquez talking about the shooting. Prosecutors said the video recorded Soliz saying “my (expletive) jammed,” and “he almost hit me.”
Soliz was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Nov. 10.
Investigators are asking anyone who may have seen or heard anything between the 3900 and 7900 blocks of the North Freeway, north of North Interstate Highway 610 and south of Gulf Bank Road, or know the whereabouts of Vazquez to contact the HPD Special Investigations Unit at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Dr. Umair Shah, Harris County’s public health director who has led the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will step down from his role by the end of the year, the agency announced Tuesday.
He will begin his new role in Washington as Secretary of Health for Gov. Jay Inslee, effective Dec. 18, according to Elizabeth Perez, communication director.
“Under Dr. Shah’s tenure, HCPH started as a 500-person, $60 million agency in 2013 and grew over the years into a 700-person, $100 million agency (pre-COVID),” read a statement from Perez. “Growth aside, he has instilled the department’s cornerstone values of innovation, engagement, and equity and paved the way for HCPH to continue improving the health and wellness of Harris County residents.”
Shah has served as executive director for Harris County Public Health since 2013, and first joined the agency in 2004 to work in disease control and clinical prevention.
As the county’s public health authority, Shah helped the county navigate through the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and helped roll out state-of-the-art mosquito testing laboratory. His time at the agency also included public health responses to Hurricane Ike, Zika, H1N1, and the Ebola virus, according to Harris County Public Health.
Most recently, Shah was responsible for coordinating the COVID-19 public health response in the county, including implementing testing and contact tracing strategies. He has been front and center during public COVID-19 updates, and was outpoken in pushing for face coverings and social distancing among the public. He was also one of the public officials recommending schools in the Greater Houston area open virtually, and has been outspoken against complacency in the face of Texas “reopening” its economy.
Shah is set to leave as the COVID-19 crisis continues to worsen in throughout the region. The Texas Medical Center on Monday reported a seven-day average positivity rate of 5.1% in its hospitals, up more than a percentage point month-to-month, and that the spread of the virus is continuing to increase throughout the region. Hospitalizations continue to trend upward, according to TMC data.
SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived Monday at the International Space Station, their new home until spring.
The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The linkup occurred 262 miles above Idaho.
“Oh, what a good voice to hear,” space station astronaut Kate Rubins called out when the Dragon’s commander, Mike Hopkins, first made radio contact.
“We can’t wait to have you on board,” she added after the two spacecraft were latched together.
This is the second astronaut mission for SpaceX. But it’s the first time Elon Musk’s company delivered a crew for a full half-year station stay. The two-pilot test flight earlier this year lasted two months.
The three Americans and one Japanese astronaut will remain at the orbiting lab until their replacements arrive on another Dragon in April. And so it will go, with SpaceX — and eventually Boeing — transporting astronauts to and from the station for NASA.
This regular taxi service got underway with Sunday night’s launch.
Hopkins and his crew — Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi — join two Russians and one American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan. Glover is the first African-American to move in for a long haul. A space newcomer, Glover was presented his gold astronaut pin Monday.
The four named their capsule Resilience to provide hope and inspiration during an especially difficult year for the whole world. They broadcast a tour of their capsule Monday, showing off the touchscreen controls, storage areas and their zero gravity indicator: a small plush Baby Yoda.
Walker said it was a little tighter for them than for the two astronauts on the test flight.
“We sort of dance around each other to stay out of each other’s way,” she said.
The weeks from Thanksgiving to the New Year are usually filled with celebrations, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to sharply limit their social interactions in the name of public health.
“The hard fact is that, if we want this pandemic to come to an end, this year’s holiday season must look different than it has in years past,” said Michael Calderwood, MD, MPH, infectious disease specialist and associate chief quality officer at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
“While it may be difficult not to spend the holidays traveling to and gathering with friends and family, it’s what we must do to protect each other and ensure we will be able to resume these traditions in the future.”
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health offers these tips for making celebrating the holiday season safe this year:
Gather only with people in your “bubble.” As we move into the winter, it is critical to establish who will be in your “COVID-19 bubble,” or small group you feel safe spending time with, which may include household members, neighbors, family and friends who live close by, have limited exposure to large groups of people and public places, and practice the safety precautions of masking, hand-washing and physical distancing.
Outdoors is better than indoors. While gathering outside becomes more difficult as the weather gets colder, it is the better option if possible. If you have access to outdoor heat lamps or fire pits, this can be a good way to enjoy a holiday gathering outside while keeping warm. You may also consider gathering with friends and family for a physically distanced walk or hike instead of a large indoor meal.
Keep gatherings small and short. The fewer people you can have in person at your holiday gatherings, the better. Spending less time in contact with people outside your household is also advised; current guidelines suggest not to spend more than 15 minutes in a 24-hour period in contact with people you don’t live with when possible. The elderly, pregnant women, people with pre-existing health conditions and others in high-risk groups should avoid group gatherings altogether.
Create new traditions. If you can’t safely practice family holiday traditions, consider trying new ones. Add new recipes to your meal, do a holiday-themed puzzle or art project with immediate family, host a group video chat with loved ones you can’t be with, or donate food to a local food pantry for its holiday dinner.
Take part in religious services safely. Many families’ Christmas and Hanukkah traditions include attending holiday religious services. Most houses of worship that have reopened are closely adhering to COVID-19 guidelines, and you should inquire with the clergy at your church, temple or mosque about the safety measures that are being taken and decide if attending services is right for your family.
If your house of worship is offering virtually streamed services, this is an even better choice.
Skip large group public gatherings. Black Friday shopping, sporting events, parades, and other large gatherings with people in close proximity to each other are not safe and should be avoided.
Jennifer López acaparó los reflectores no solo por el premio que recibió en esta edición de los People´s Choice Awards 2020, también porque decidió asistir con un vestido rojo ceñido al cuerpo con una falda en corte “V” con pliegues y una capa que cubría su pecho y su espalda, el cual, fue diseñado por Christian Siriano para su colección primavera de 2021 y que complementó con una clutch del mismo color, unas zapatillas de PVC creadas por Gianvito Rossi, un labial rojo y un peinado de cola alta que se amarró con su mismo pelo y que en las puntas tenía rulos. Todo esto bajo la guía del fashion stylist Rob Zangardi.
No era para menos, Jennifer Lopez recibió el galardón como “People´s Icon of 2020” en la entrega número 46 de los People´s Choice Awards que se celebraron en uno de los hangares del Aeropuerto de Santa Mónica, mejor conocido como “Barker Hangar” y que se usa para ceremonias de premios y conciertos. El pasado domingo 15 de noviembre, la intérprete de “On the floor” fue reconocida por su destacada trayectoria en la música, el cine, la televisión y la moda, desde su participación en la película Selena en 1997 hasta su colaboración junto a Shakira en el show del medio tiempo del Super Bowl LIV en febrero de este 2020
Sin embargo, la celebridad, no solamente acaparó la atención por su sexy outfit y el premio, también porque al momento de recibir el galardón, Jennifer Lopez pronunció un discurso que erizó la piel. “Como latina y como mujer, tenemos que trabajar el doble de duro para obtener las oportunidades, a veces mis grandes sueños y mis ambiciones, eso puso nerviosa a la gente a mi alrededor”, comenzó diciendo y continuó. “Cuanto más decían que no podía, más sabía que tenía que hacerlo. Así que ahora estoy muy agradecida de saber que la verdadera medida de mi éxito no está en los números de taquilla ni en los discos vendidos, sino en el amor que tengo. Lo siento de todos ustedes”, dijo durante la ceremonia en vivo que se transmitió por en la canal de E! Enterteiment.
Barbie Extra: The five dolls in Mattel’s latest Barbie line each come with a pet
There are five dolls in the new Barbie Extra line. each selling for a suggested retail price of $24.99 at Target, Walmart and Amazon.
Described as curvy, this Barbie Extra doll has 8.5 inches of long and shimmery, two-tone pink and purple fantasy hair. She wears an iridescent ruffle dress over a cloud print shirt, fish net tights and sneakers and her pet dog wears a jeweled “boss” collar.
With Afro puffs and braided hair details, this Barbie wears a rainbow fur coat with a matching athleisure red top and shorts set, glittered boots and socks. Her pet poodle wears puppy heels and has a puppy purse with treats.
This Barbie has rainbow braided hair and wears a love t-shirt under a denim jacket with flame and fringe detail, jean shorts and heeled boots. Her pet Rottweiler puppy with pink car.
MATTEL, INC.
This Barbie Extra doll has blonde hair with pink streaks and wears a fluffy pink jacket with jeans and winged boots. Her pet pig comes with a unicorn flower crown headband and removable unicorn wings.
MATTEL, INC.
Mattel describes this Barbie Extra doll with bright blue hair as curvy. She wears a tie-dye shirt with a sateen bomber jacket, white denim shorts and neon sneakers. Her pet twin kittens wear tiaras.
After four long years of construction and delays, the SH-288 toll lanes are open.
SH-288’s 10.3 miles of new freeway, including huge flyovers and managed toll lanes, stretch from downtown Houston to Clear Creek.
The project broke ground in 2016. It was supposed to take 1,000 days from start to finish, but that original mid-2019 completion date got pushed back over and over thanks to repeated weather events including Harvey, and construction delays.
Instead of opening the roadway one segment at a time, the entire new project opened at once, including the brand new Southmore Bridge and the direct connectors at Holcombe going into the Texas Medical Center.
Don’t forget, you have to pay to use the toll lanes. Adjustable pricing is based on time of day and volume of traffic.
In other words, if the lanes get too congested, toll prices will increase to control traffic.
“I think you have to realize that the tolls will be managed based on time of day. If you’re in the tolls during peak, it will cost a little more. If you’re driving off peak, it will be less. And that’s how they’re designed,” said Raynese Edwards with Blueridge Transportation Group.
But there is some good news about the tolls.
The fees are being waived until Nov. 30.
New drainage has been installed throughout the project.
“What we did was upgraded and put in brand new drainage along all 10.3 miles of the project in areas we put into drainage. We also added detention ponds. So you kind of look over here, you’ll see the detention ponds and when you go back to 610, those are designed to help slow the flow of the water,” said Edwards.
While you may be more familiar with a retention pond, which has a constant pool of water, a dry detention pond usually doesn’t have a permanent pool of water and will remain dry until there’s a storm.
Moderna ha desarrollado una “vacuna de ARN”, lo que significa que parte del código genético del coronavirus se inyecta en el cuerpo, lo que permite la producción de proteínas suficientes para entrenar al sistema inmunológico
La compañía farmacéutica Moderna ha anunciado que la vacuna que está desarrollando contra el coronavirus tiene una efectividad del 94.5% y que cumple los criterios de eficacia exigidos para su comercialización, según un comunicado.
En la nota la compañía afirma que es un “gran día” en la lucha contra el coronavirus, dice que ha cumplido con los criterios establecidos en el protocolo para estudiar su eficacia y que en los próximos días presentará la documentación para su aprobación definitiva.
El estudio, conocido como estudio COVE, reclutó a más de 30 mil participantes en los Estados Unidos y se ha realizado, dice el comunicado, de acuerdo con el Instituto Nacional de Alergias y Enfermedades Infecciosas (NIAID) y los institutos de salud de Estados Unidos, parte de los Institutos Nacionales de Salud (NIH) y el Instituto Biomédico.
Los resultados llegan inmediatamente después de resultados similares de Pfizery aumentan la confianza en que las vacunas pueden ayudar a poner fin a la pandemia. Las dos compañías han utilizado una aproximación novedosa para diseñar sus vacunas.
Moderna ha desarrollado una “vacuna de ARN”, lo que significa que parte del código genético del coronavirus se inyecta en el cuerpo, lo que permite la producción de proteínas suficientes para entrenar al sistema inmunológico.
Según explica el comunicado de Moderna, el criterio de valoración principal del estudio se basa en el análisis de los casos de Covid-19 confirmados y adjudicados a partir de dos semanas después de la segunda dosis de vacuna.
“Este primer análisis intermedio se basó en 95 casos, de los cuales se observaron 90 casos de Covid-19 en el grupo de personas a las que se administró un placebo, frente a cinco casos observados en el grupo que recibió la vacuna”, dice el comunicado.
Como segundo criterio de valoración se incluyó que los once casos graves se desarrollaron todos ellos en el grupo al que se le administró el placebo y no la vacuna.
Los 95 casos de Covid-19 incluyeron a 15 adultos mayores (mayores de 65 años) y 20 participantes que se identificaron como pertenecientes a diversas comunidades (incluidos 12 hispanos o latinos, 4 negros o afroamericanos, 3 asiáticoamericanos y 1 multirracial), dice la compañía.
Moderna afirma que al revisar las contraindicaciones se llegó a la conclusión de que “en general, la vacuna fue bien tolerada” y que la mayoría de los “eventos adversos fueron de gravedad leve o moderada”, además de ser de corta duración.
“Los eventos graves con una frecuencia mayor o igual al 2% después de la primera dosis incluyeron dolor en el lugar de la inyección (2.7%), y después de la segunda dosis incluyeron fatiga (9.7%), mialgia (8.9%), dolor de cabeza y enrojecimiento en el lugar de la inyección.
En el comunicado de la compañía, el director ejecutivo Stéphane Bancil dijo que “este es un momento crucial en el desarrollo de nuestra vacuna candidata Covid-19. Desde principios de enero, hemos perseguido este virus con la intención de proteger a la mayor cantidad posible de personas en todo el mundo. Todo el tiempo hemos sabido que cada día es importante”.
“Este análisis intermedio positivo de nuestro estudio de fase 3 nos ha dado la primera validación clínica de que nuestra vacuna puede prevenir la enfermedad COVID-19, incluida la enfermedad grave”, dijo Stéphane Bancel en un comunicado.
