LOOK BACK | THE BLACKOUT FOCUS | LEGAL AFFAIRS: Law schools adapt instruction for the COVID-19 classroom. PAGE 10
NEO had a big role in a dark day for many. PAGE 23
CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I AUGUST 10, 2020
SMALL BUSINESS
Flexibility key for employers and working parents
RETAIL
AILING MALLS FACE ANOTHER THREAT WITH COVID-19
Uncertain school year presents many hurdles BY RACHEL ABBEY MCCAFFERTY
In March, everything changed. On the fly, employers had to find ways to accommodate employees who were suddenly balancing child care and work in a new way, as schools went remote and child care centers closed when the COVID-19 pandemic came to Ohio. This fall is sure to hold similar Child care, with conditions: Ohio child care centers can return to pre-pandemic student-teacher ratios, but they must follow a host of safety and hygiene measures. Page 21
SouthPark Mall in Strongsville is seeing a slow return of foot traffic, despite social distancing requirements. | DAVID KORDALSKI/CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
Foot traffic, a key indicator of mall health, has fallen 40% from January numbers BY STAN BULLARD
Northeast Ohio’s already ailing enclosed malls are wrestling with growing problems as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, with shoppers continuing to stay away after lockdown orders ended and more tenants shutting shops, declaring bankruptcy and closing down. Foot traffic is a key indicator in mall performance, following only sales and rents. Information from Orbital Insight, a geospatial data provider based in Palo Alto, Calif., show how Northeast Ohio’s remaining 11 enclosed malls are suffering, even since the
Ohio stay-at-home order ended. Foot traffic at the malls as of July 25 is running 40% below what it was in January, according to Orbital. And that’s an improvement from the 85% decline they suffered as Ohio’s March shutdown order hit. The question that will plague the owners of the properties, and increasingly the communities where they are located, in the future will be how many come back as the coronavirus lingers and prompts legions of shoppers to test online buying and permanently alter their spending patterns. See MALLS on Page 22
Losing traditional anchor stores like the Sears at Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted is another reason malls are suffering. | STAN BULLARD/CRAIN’S
challenges. The only difference? Employers have time to plan ahead for the inevitable. And how they respond now could have implications for the future. In the spring, there was a tangible end in sight for those balancing work and their children’s virtual learning. “It felt like there was a term to it,” said John Bernatovicz, founder of staffing and consulting firm Willory in Bath. “We can do this for four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks. I can figure this out, even though it was stressful.” Heading into the fall and the new school year, there’s more stress, he said. School districts are all handling the start to the year differently, and there’s the knowledge that, no matter how they start, schools could have to go remote again. And this uncertainty could last the whole year. See CHILD CARE on Page 21
NONPROFITS
Nonprofits face challenges in engaging volunteers during pandemic NEWSPAPER
VOL. 41, NO. 29 l COPYRIGHT 2020 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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BY LYDIA COUTRÉ
After the pandemic put many volunteer opportunities on hold, nonprofits have spent the summer working to safely bring back volunteers, who are a vital component to the work of many organizations. But social distancing requirements and other protocols to mitigate risk of COVID-19 spread have meant working with far fewer volunteers. Some
organizations have been able to bring them back at a fraction of previous capacity in new or modified ways, while others are still largely unable to put their volunteers to work again, including many nonprofits that are heavily reliant on their volunteer workforce. At the same time, 33% of nonprofits reported an increased demand for their services, according to a July survey by Business Volunteers Unlimit-
ed (BVU), which works to connect businesses and nonprofits to solve community issues in the region. Organizations are doing more with less, asking themselves daily how to best serve the community, said Nancy Dzurnak, program manager at Greater Cleveland Volunteers, an organization that connects volunteers with about 100 nonprofits each year. See VOLUNTEERS on Page 18
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