Economy
Medicaid funding increase sought by Colorado advocates as enrollment surges
Even before the coronavirus pandemic hit, it was hard enough for Joaquín Garcia, a student and father of two who lives in Alamosa, to find steady work to fit around his class schedule. With the economy suffering and his children home from school, it’s become harder than ever. “I basically have to stay (home), and […]
‘14,000 attempts.’ Balky technology, expiring benefits worry workers, state leaders.
Congress is continuing to squabble over whether to extend a federal supplement to unemployment insurance and if they do, by how much. But as they argue over whether to continue the supplement at $600 a week or some fraction of that, out-of-work Americans are left to worry whether they can survive on state benefits that […]
More than 1 in 3 Coloradans struggling to afford food amid COVID-19 crisis, poll finds
A bipartisan group of advocates and state lawmakers is calling on Colorado’s congressional delegation to support an expansion of federal food-stamp programs, as a new poll shows an unprecedented number of Coloradans struggling with food insecurity. Roughly a third of Coloradans report struggling to provide enough food in their household within the last three months, […]
‘Matter of life and death’ when federal unemployment benefits lapse, Denver marchers say
Outside the headquarters of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in Denver on July 24, unemployed restaurant workers and labor groups held a mock funeral to protest the expiration of the $600-per-week federal unemployment benefit authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March. They held cardboard coffins and gravestones […]
‘Green stimulus’ could mean thousands of jobs plugging oil and gas wells, says report
As environmental activists in Colorado continue to worry about a potential spike in the number of abandoned oil and gas wells due to the industry’s financial struggles, a new report suggests that a “green stimulus” program by the federal government could solve both problems at once — employing laid-off oil and gas workers to plug […]
Keeping people housed, like masks, should not be political
Like mask mandates, stopping evictions shouldn’t be political. This is simple: People need homes to stay safe. Keeping Coloradans housed means preventing the spread of the virus. It is a public health issue, which is why Republican governors who rarely side with tenants have stepped up to stop evictions in Florida, Arizona and Indiana. When […]
Colorado ranked 9th in U.S. for gap between renters’ income and housing cost
Workers earning minimum wage in Colorado — many of whom have served as essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic — need to work a total of 71 hours per week to afford a fair market, one-bedroom rental home, according to a national study published on Tuesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a research […]
Gov. Polis signs bill that bans housing discrimination based on source of income
Gov. Jared Polis signed into law on Tuesday afternoon a bill that bans housing discrimination based on a tenant’s source of income. Under the new state law, House Bill 20-1332, landlords are prohibited from refusing to rent or lease an apartment based on a person’s source of income or if the individual uses housing subsidies […]
Gov. Polis extends order requiring 30-day eviction warning
Gov. Jared Polis has extended an executive order requiring Colorado landlords to give tenants a 30-day warning before initiating eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent, as advocates continue to call for stronger action to prevent a looming eviction crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “To be Safer at Home, Coloradans impacted financially by COVID-19 must […]
More abandoned oil and gas wells likely in Colorado — but how many?
At some point in the next few weeks, PetroShare Corp., an Englewood-based oil and gas producer that has operated in Colorado since its founding in 2012, will legally cease to exist. Under a bankruptcy plan approved in May, its assets, which include 80 producing or shut-in wells scattered across Weld, Adams and Arapahoe counties, will […]
U.S. Supreme Court hands victories to religious employers in health care, employment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Trump administration effort to exempt employers with religious or moral concerns from complying with a “birth control mandate” in the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era law that requires employer-provided insurance plans to cover contraceptives. Reproductive rights advocates say the ruling potentially affects hundreds of thousands of […]
Oil and gas, real estate and law firms top list of Colorado PPP loan recipients
More than 104,000 Colorado businesses received between a total $7.9 billion and $14.9 billion in emergency funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Small Business Administration lending initiative authorized by Congress earlier this year to help employers cope with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data released by the SBA this week. […]