2021
August
02
Monday

Monitor Daily Podcast

August 02, 2021
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Laurent Belsie
Senior Economics Writer

The call came from the school this morning. Madeleine’s work supervisor wanted our permission to treat her and two other students to lunch at Chipotle because they had not missed a day of work at the six-week summer training program at the high school.

Madeleine hasn’t said a lot about her experience, but the supervisor was highly complimentary about her skills and dedication. Those are especially soothing words for parents of a child in a special-education track. Many parents like us have the same questions as their children approach the end of school and the beginning of a working life. What can my child do? Are there employers out there with the willingness and patience to find and tap their unique mix of talents?

In a way, the pandemic may have produced a ray of hope for such workers. In a bid to retain employees who are working at home, companies have gone out of their way to make accommodations, including for those with disabilities. The big question is whether those accommodations will continue.

One positive sign is that the percentage of people with disabilities who are on furlough is approaching pre-pandemic levels, according to a report from the Kessler Foundation, although the unemployment rate remains far above what it was. And new firms are cropping up with the explicit aim of employing such workers.

In March, for example, Megan Elder started the Moose and Me Bakery in Naperville, Illinois, with two workers with developmental challenges and has plans to expand and hire more.

Last week, rapper Trae tha Truth opened Howdy Homemade Ice Cream in Houston with a similar idea. One parent of a Howdy Ice Cream worker told the Houston Chronicle, “Yes, it takes longer to train them. It takes more repetition to learn the skills, but once they have it, they have it, and they are joyous.”


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona (center), joined from left by Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Rob Portman, speaks to reporters just after a vote to start work on a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, at the Capitol in Washington, July 28, 2021. Senate colleagues credit Ms. Sinema with coaxing the difficult talks forward.
Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald/AP
People outside the Versailles Cuban restaurant in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami protest during a demonstration in solidarity with Cubans who took to the streets July 11, 2021, in one of the largest protests to take place on the island.
Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune/AP
Shyenne Lee (left foreground), the older sister of St. Paul Olympian Sunisa Lee, reacts alongside Souayee Vang and other family and friends as they watch Sunisa Lee clinch the gold medal in the women's gymnastics all-around at the Tokyo Olympics, July 29, 2021, in Oakdale, Minnesota.

Q&A

White Studio, © New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Composer Eubie Blake is surrounded by chorines in a publicity still for the 1933 revival of "Shuffle Along." The original production opened in 1921 and ran for 504 performances.

The Monitor's View

Reuters
Fans and relatives welcome Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui, who won the Olympic swimming gold medal in the men's 400m freestyle, upon his arrival home in Tunis July 31.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Christian Petersen/AP
Gold medalists Mutaz Barshim (left), of Qatar, and Gianmarco Tamberi, of Italy, celebrate on the track upon deciding to share the gold medal after reaching a tie in the men's high jump at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, on Aug. 1, 2021. They could have gone to a jumpoff instead. “I know for a fact that for the performance I did, I deserve that gold. He did the same thing, so I know he deserved that gold,” Mr. Barshim said. “This is beyond sport. This is the message we deliver to the young generation.”
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

That’s a wrap for today. Join us tomorrow when we take a look at the spirit behind new Olympic sports on display in Tokyo.

More issues

2021
August
02
Monday
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