CARES Act
The rent is coming due. Will Congress offer more relief as it gets back to work?
WASHINGTON — The nation’s political leaders return to the capital this week with their sights on a fifth — and perhaps final — round of coronavirus relief before the November elections. The stakes are high and the timetable is short: Three weeks remain before Congress is set to adjourn for its August recess — though […]
Ohio’s K-12 public schools got cuts. Private, charter schools got cash.
Ohio educators were at home celebrating “Teacher Appreciation Week” in May when they learned cuts would be made at every public school district in the state. These cuts came just as hundreds of private and charter schools in Ohio were approved to receive millions of dollars from the federal government to keep their workers on […]
More than 500,000 Ohioans couldn’t pay rent last month, census survey estimates
A survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that more than 500,000 Ohioans were unable to pay rent last month because of financial insecurity amid the coronavirus pandemic. The bureau’s Household Pulse Survey studies COVID-19’s impact on social and economic factors like employment, finances, food insecurity, housing, health and schooling. The latest poll indicated […]
Legislators ask for increased public school funding in next appropriations bill
The members of the Democratic caucus of the Ohio Legislature are calling on their U.S. Congress counterparts to bring more funding to the state’s public school systems. In a letter sent this week to the Ohio Congressional Delegation, the state legislators asked that U.S. representatives and senators push for education funding in the next appropriations […]
Beware of politicians writing columns in newspapers
Early in my career as a newspaper editor, I felt ambivalent about the subject of public officials submitting opinion columns. Over time, though, my viewpoint soured. Confession: There came a point when I started deleting them the moment they reached my inbox, the way I would for spam and irrelevant press releases about music albums […]
Employers can save jobs with Shared Work Ohio
A little-known program that’s part of Ohio’s unemployment compensation (UC) system could help keep more workers on the job and allow many employers to bring laid-off employees back to work as they ramp up operations. It’s called Shared Work Ohio, and it’s an example of how government can tackle problems and support working people and […]
Universities get aid they can’t share with DACA students
WASHINGTON — Colleges and universities across the country are getting emergency federal aid for COVID-19, but some of the most vulnerable students won’t be eligible for assistance. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said the emergency grants — part of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief act that Congress approved last month — can’t go to undocumented […]
Planned Medicaid cuts seem reasonable, says policy analyst
Cutting funding from Medicaid might not seem like the best idea in the midst of a global pandemic. But an analyst of state Medicaid policy on Wednesday said cuts planned for the Ohio program seem reasonable, based on what’s known about them so far. State tax revenue has plummeted with the state economy choked down […]
What you should know about changes to unemployment compensation during the pandemic
Both the state and federal government have announced changes to unemployment benefits in response to COVID-19. These include eliminating the usual waiting period for benefits, reducing job search requirements for applicants and clarifying the availability of benefits for workers who have been ordered to stay home. Ohio is still in the process of putting new […]