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Locked down in their homes, the four former California governors clicked into a Zoom call and one after another described how they dealt with the crises that had defined their time in office. For Pete Wilson, it was the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Gray Davis evoked the electricity disaster that drove him out in a recall election, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown lamented the Great Recession. But the former governors agreed that nothing they confronted was as dire or will be more consequential than what the current occupant of the office, Gov. Gavin Newsom, now faces. (Arango and Fuller, 5/26)

The number of working African American business owners in the United States plummeted more than 40 percent as the coronavirus shut down much of the economy — a far steeper drop than other racial groups experienced, according to an analysis confirming fears the pandemic would deepen inequalities in the business world. Closures and social distancing to slow the virus’s spread have taken a disastrous toll across racial groups, with the total number of active business owners dropping 22 percent from February to April, based on granular data from the federal government’s employment surveys that was made available last week. (Knowles, 5/25)

In a pandemic, single mothers must shoulder all the responsibilities at home — educating schoolchildren, caring for aging parents, cooking, cleaning and household management. Now single moms have been hit particularly hard by the unemployment crisis, losing jobs at a far higher rate than other families with children, according to a Stateline analysis of census microdata provided by the University of Minnesota. (Henderson, 5/26)

The economic devastation caused by the coronavirus has hit women particularly hard, a contrast to the 2009 downturn that was known as "the men's recession." The latest employment figures show that women, by a 10-point margin, have seen the majority of the job losses as large parts of the economy have shut down. The difference could have implications for the recovery and what policymakers need to do to ensure it’s not drawn out. (Elis, 5/25)

Inside crowded courtyard buildings, where blue-collar Latino families share apartments meant for one, the sick are multiplying. Isabela Rivera was the first in her home to test positive for the novel coronavirus. Unable to fully isolate in the three-bedroom apartment she and her husband, Danilo, share with two other Northern Virginia families, the Riveras sent their 7-year-old son to live with a family friend. (Olivo, Lang and Harden, 5/25)

Seattle provides a pronounced version of the nation’s economic divide between companies and workers who can operate primarily online through the coronavirus pandemic and those who can’t. The Emerald City’s high-tech image stems from companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. —both based in the Seattle area and among its largest employers. Their businesses have remained strong during the national downturn, providing job security to headquarters employees who can generally work from home. Neither company has announced staff layoffs in the region since much of the country’s economic activity shut down in March to prevent the virus’s spread. (Mackrael and Tangel, 5/24)

The two-­bedroom apartment near an old cemetery in Glassboro, N.J., may not look like much, but it means everything to Chekesha Sydnor-­Jones and her family. After an eviction, they spent 2018 crammed into a motel room. After scrimping and saving, Sydnor-­Jones’s family was able to put a month’s deposit down on a rental in this middle-­class town and move into an actual home. The space is tight — Sydnor-­Jones’s three adult daughters shared the finished attic with her 10-year-old daughter; her 18-year-old son has one bedroom on the main floor, and she and her partner have the other. (Hannah-Jones, 5/23)

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed differences in how society values and treats workers and has led to a few temporary measures to modify the inequities baked into the system. Many relatively low-wage workers were deemed essential and have had to continue showing up at work during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Lawrence, 5/26)