It s too early to know how local entities can use their latest federal stimulus money.
Des Moines County Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom Broeker stressed that message at a forum Friday, saying there hasn t been any guidance yet on the scope of local spending.
Broeker was the only elected official to speak at the Greater Burlington Partnership s Eggs and Issues forum, at which representatives from the county, cities and school districts of Burlington and West Burlington were asked to share their plans for money received from the American Relief Plan Act. We don t expect clarification until after the arrival (of the money), Broeker told the forum s virtual attendees.
WATERTOWN â During its meeting last week, the Watertown City School District Board of Education approved a proposed 2021-22 budget of $78,377,057.
Following a budget hearing on May 4, this budget will be voted on by taxpayers on May 18.
The proposed budget is up about $1.37 million from the previous yearâs budget. Within the next few weeks, the district will be sending out a newsletter with details on the budget, encouraging community members to tune into the virtual budget hearing.
The hearing will be conducted via Zoom at 5:30 p.m. May 4 prior to the districtâs Board of Education meeting to go through the details of the budget for the community ahead of the budget vote on May 18. Meeting link details will be available on the districtâs website.
Unemployment claims improve dramatically, drop to 13-month low
For 55 consecutive weeks, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits was worse than at any time during the Great Recession. Not anymore.
A person files an application for unemployment benefits on April 16, 2020, in Arlington, Va.Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images file
April 15, 2021, 1:20 PM UTC
BySteve Benen
As regular readers know, progress on weekly unemployment claims has been hit or miss in recent months, but the new report from the Labor Department is encouraging on multiple levels.
In the week ending April 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 576,000, a decrease of 193,000 from the previous week s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week s level was revised up by 25,000 from 744,000 to 769,000. The 4-week moving average was 683,000, a decrease of 47,250 from the previous week s revised
Miller-Meeks riding on president s coattails when convenient
Riding on President Joe Biden’s coattails, 2nd District Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted against the American Relief Plan but is making hay from a tour administering COVID-19 vaccine shots.
She even sent a letter to Biden offering “targeted, meaningful” coronavirus relief before voting to oppose the plan. If Democrats did not make this program possible, Miller-Meeks would not have access to the vaccine. She wouldn’t be vaccinating at Medicap Pharmacy in Newton without Biden’s commercial pharmacy distribution plan.
Her only aim is to get re-elected by demonstrating compassion she doesn’t possess, using funding she opposed, trying to fool an already over-burdened electorate. That takes chutzpah!