The Pandemic Hasn’t Stopped This School District From Suing Parents Over Unpaid Textbook Fees ProPublica 12/12/2020
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This story was co-published with the South Bend Tribune.
When Hannah Watts received a reminder notice in the mail in January for the $701.56 she still owed for her childrens’ textbook fees from last year, she decided to use her tax refund to pay it off in the spring. But two months later, the coronavirus pandemic shut down Indiana. Watts is a dental assistant, and her hours at work were slashed. She had no choice but to use the refund to cover household expenses.
This story was co-published with the South Bend Tribune.
When Hannah Watts received a reminder notice in the mail in January for the $701.56 she still owed for her childrens’ textbook fees from last year, she decided to use her tax refund to pay it off in the spring. But two months later, the coronavirus pandemic shut down Indiana. Watts is a dental assistant, and her hours at work were slashed. She had no choice but to use the refund to cover household expenses.
Watts, of Mishawaka, Indiana, says she didn’t hear anything else about the bill until Aug. 7, when a notice appeared on her door. School City of Mishawaka, the public school district her three children attend, had filed a lawsuit against her.
Mishawaka schools is still suing parents during the pandemic over unpaid book fees southbendtribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from southbendtribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
IU survey shows state of cyber risk
Attorney general hopes report raises awareness of threat
DAVE GONG | The Journal Gazette
As more of American life goes digital, many Hoosier businesses and government agencies are increasingly concerned about cybersecurity, a recent Indiana University Bloomington report found.
The report, titled “State of Hoosier Cybersecurity 2020” surveyed more than 300 public and private organizations throughout the state to determine how many are concerned about cybersecurity and how many had dealt with an attack since 2017.
“This is the first time we have a state-level snapshot of both cyber hygiene practices as well as how businesses and local governments are using cyber risk insurance as a tool to mitigate the risks they face,” said Scott Shackelford, chair of the Indiana University cybersecurity program.
In 1886, Carl Benz patented a vehicle that ran on a gas-powered engine. In 1888, George Eastman created a consumer-friendly camera called the Kodak. A few years earlier, in 1884, Lewis Waterman revolutionized human communication when he patented the design for a fountain pen.
The internally inked pen provided a quiet revolution in technology. Previously, handwriting technology had not changed significantly over thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians used reed writing tools that prefigured feather quill pens and, eventually, metal nibs.
âFountain pens were available before 1880, but they didnât work. The story of how Waterman invented the fountain pen is [that] he was an insurance salesman, and he was using the fountain pen of the day for every contract, note, and to-do list he wrote every day. The clencher? When a big customer tried to sign their name, the pen blotted ink all over the page, rendering the contract meaningless,â says Neal Frank, who owns Santa Fe Pens (