Washington State Offers Eviction Help; California’s Jobless Claims Soar

AP: Eviction Protections In Washington State Extended To Oct. 31
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday the state’s eviction protections will remain in place through the end of October because counties aren’t getting federal and state COVID-19 relief funds intended for rental assistance out fast enough ahead of the current moratorium that was set to expire Sept. 30. Under an eviction moratorium “bridge” that Inslee announced in June, landlords were prevented from evicting tenants for any past-due rent owed from Feb. 29, 2020 through July 31, 2021. (La Corte, 9/23)

Bay Area News Group: California Unemployment Claims Rocket Higher
Unemployment claims in California rocketed to their highest level in five months last week, raising fresh uncertainties about the strength of a statewide economy attempting to recover from coronavirus-spawned maladies. California workers filed 75,800 initial claims for unemployment during the week ended Sept. 18, an increase of 24,200 from the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday. (Avalos, 9/23)

The Washington Post: Disappearing Pandemic Unemployment Aid, Evictions Create Economic Uncertainties For D.C.-Area Residents
For the first time in 18 months, many jobless people in the Washington region and beyond in September did not receive enhanced payments from federal programs designed to help them weather the pandemic. These programs expired Labor Day, when many people hoped the pandemic would have effectively ended and a new season of economic opportunity would have begun. But instead, the delta variant emerged with vengeance and hamstrung efforts to boost the economy — leaving millions of workers without extra government support while still struggling to find gainful employment. (Davies and Hilton, 9/23)

Vox: America’s “Economic Recovery” From Covid Isn’t For Everyone 
Cassie Norris is stuck in what can feel like an inescapable poverty trap. Her family hasn’t been able to afford child care, so she watches the kids — ages 1, 2, 5, and 9 — during the day while her husband goes to work for a little more than minimum wage as a small-engine salesman and technician at a local shop. She’s depressed and desperate to start working again, but it would cost hundreds of dollars to send their youngest children to day care while she looks for a job. Mississippi, where she lives, has child care assistance programs, but Norris says she would have to already be working to qualify. You can see the conundrum: Given their finances, she can’t buy herself that time. “One week of child care would completely change our entire situation,” Norris says. (Stewart, 9/22)

KHN: Low Wages And Pandemic Gut Staffing Support For Those With Disabilities 
Ernestine “Erma” Bryant likes her job, but the pay is a problem. She works in a caregiver role as a “direct support professional” in Tifton, Georgia, helping people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities with basic functions such as dressing, bathing and eating. Bryant said it’s fulfilling work. “You can help people be successful — people who are confined to the bed,” she said. “It gives me joy knowing that I can help that person get out of the house.” But she said she’s being paid less than $10 an hour and is trying to get a second job. (Miller, 9/24)

CBS News: How Past Housing Discrimination Is Still Affecting American Families Today: "It's A Story Of Our Country" 
1964 was a record-breaking boom year for the U.S. economy, and CBS News followed along as Corbett Rachal and his wife Sallye tried to buy their piece of it. It's the same area where "CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dokoupil's grandfather found a home just a decade earlier. But as the Rachals visited real estate offices and asked to see properties, they ran into a problem that Dokoupil's grandfather did not. CBS News documented in rare hidden-camera footage the Rachals repeatedly being turned away by real estate agents because of they were Black. "So, what do you have that you can show me today?" Corbett is seen asking in the 1964 CBS News clip. "Nothing in this price range. Nothing at all," a real estate agent replied. (9/23)

Also —

NBC News: Rep. Lauren Boebert Improperly Used Campaign Funds For Rent, Utilities
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., improperly spent thousands of dollars in campaign funds on rent and utilities, her campaign acknowledged this week in a filing with the Federal Election Commission, but it said the money had been paid back. The FEC had asked Boebert's campaign treasurer in a letter last month for more information about $6,000 in payments that had been listed in her quarterly filing as a "personal expense of Lauren Boebert billed to campaign account in error." The filing said the money had already been paid back. (Gregorian, 9/23)