Ruby Bugarin News Today

Americans have a “hefty” appetite for avocados — one that's adding to widespread food price pressures and general scarcity.

when he got a loan in May from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Getting the $45,000 wasn’t easy, Cristofaro said. The website crashed 30 times as he tried to fill out the application. Then, the first round of funding ran out; federal data show much of it was scooped up by large corporations. In the meantime, business disappeared, including a $69,000 job from a major client. “I’m about to tell my employees, ‘Hey, we’re going to have to stop working,’” said Cristofaro, 56, ...

By Published: January 25, 2021 Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. LOS ANGELES (Tribune News Service) — Market researcher Dave Cristofaro was down to his last $1,500 and on the verge of laying off his final four full-time employees — down from seven before the pandemic — when he got a loan in May from t...