The health of the Las Vegas economy depends on the health of its small businesses.
At special legislative sessions, by their nature, it seems as if there’s always something wrong, something going sideways. The 32nd Special Session of the Nevada Legislature conducted recently addressed significant policy issues that could not wait until the regularly scheduled legislative session.
By now it’s well-known that Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered a moratorium on all commercial and residential evictions. Through various subsequent directives, the moratorium was extended and set to expire on July 1. Shortly before this expiration, the governor issued an emergency directive on June 25, allowing evictions for nonpayment of rent to proceed with a phased in approach.
Even if all you had to worry about were the quality of your company’s products or services and continued growth of its customer base, running a business would be challenging enough. No one can precisely predict what factors can impact the economy. Sometimes, they seem to come out of nowhere, as with the coronavirus outbreak, which in addition to its personal toll, has made companies of all sizes rethink their short- and long-term plans.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, new forms of health care technology emerged allowing patients to continue to access care during the crisis. Telehealth skyrocketed in popularity, allowing many people to visit with their provider via a phone call or a video conference appointment.
There’s no denying that thousands of Nevadans are having trouble paying their mortgage for obvious reasons. Still, I was glad to see the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s July 21 story headlined “ Southern Nevadans falling behind on mortgages amid pandemic ” included some of the more balanced statistics we’ve been tracking at the Nevada Bankers Association.
Having worked in Las Vegas and in the gaming/hospitality business for just about 28 years, I’ve seen and experienced a lot. I’m closer to the end of my career than the beginning and thought maybe the most important work I would do is behind me, and I was OK with that. 2019 wasn’t a great year and whenever I would talk to people about what we were going through, we all pointed to 2020 ahead and the certainty it would be a better year. That was the focus — next year will be better. If only we knew how good we had it in 2019.
Although businesses are beginning to reopen, the post-COVID workplace is evolving and what we knew as “normal” may never return completely. While many Americans have adjusted to working from home — some even feeling more productive than in a traditional office space – others are looking to go back to the office for a sense of normalcy amid the pandemic. With the costs associated with upholding an office space, the pandemic has made more employers than ever consider the switch to work from home, which begs the question: is work from home here to stay?
The way we design, build and inhabit cities may never be the same. The new restrictions placed on society have provided a catalyst to rethink much of what we take for granted in the built environment.
The year 2020 will likely go down in the history books as both unprecedented and game-changing on a multitude of levels. The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge — and transform — social and economic structures around the world.