Thursday’s thumbs

A new way of biking tried in Bentonville

It’s Thursday and another chance to fire off a few thumbs about some of the activities going on in our covid-19 world these days:

We’ll acknowledge being in the mood for news that offers a glimpse of future normalcy, and so it was with a sourpuss look on our face that we received the news that California’s largest four-year public university system has already declared students won’t return to campus in the fall. They’re going fully online again for the fall, and time will tell if they’re demonstrating wisdom or an overreaction. From what we hear of Arkansas’ higher education leaders, the intent as of mid-May is for students to return to campus after the summer. We hope Arkansas’ right, but in any case, it’s too early to know what the fall should look like. It’s so overused, but “plan for the worst and hope for the best” certainly seems the best approach at the moment.

In the “really great idea” department, Bentonville and the nonprofit BikeNWA are pairing up for a “Slow Streets” initiative to close select streets to through traffic for brief periods so residents can ride bikes and walk without concerning themselves with motorists. Several cities across the nation have tried out the temporary street closures as a way to expand community space for outdoor activities in a period when social distancing is a primary weapon in the fight against covid-19. Will it prove an inconvenience for someone? Probably so, but the key element is its temporary nature, just a few hours. It sounds like a dose of pandemic-inspired creativity that can easily be adjusted along the way to make it work.

It can be confusing: Experts give Americans dire prognoses for the future

and politicians paint rosy pictures as they move to reinvigorate the economy. It’s a natural push and pull that can seem like one side or the other has to win or be viewed as right. The response to covid-19 just isn’t that easy. Believe this, though: The medical experts are right when they say the pandemic isn’t over and Americans still need to take serious precautions to keep its spread in check. That still means washing hands often, wearing masks, maintaining distances between people in public and getting tested if symptoms — fever, cough or shortness of breath — arise.

How much would you pay for a chance to get advice from Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha? The investment guru recently offered a nugget of wisdom to a friend who had come into some extra cash. What should the friend do with it? If you’re carrying debt on a credit card, use the money to pay it off, Buffett said. Getting rid of debt that costs 18 percent, for example, is a better return than anything Buffett said he knew to invest in. “You can’t go through life borrowing money at those rates and be better off,” he said. At the recent Birkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, Buffett told a 14-year-old shareholder his advice to young people “would be just to don’t get in debt.” “It’s very tempting to spend more than you earn, it’s very understandable,” he said. “But it’s not a good idea.”