Washington governor extends eviction moratorium to Sept. 30
By RACHEL LA CORTEJune 24, 2021 GMT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday he was extending the state’s eviction moratorium to Sept. 30, with some modifications, to ensure that federal COVID-19 relief funds intended for rental assistance are able to be accessed in time.
Inslee’s announcement came hours after the Biden administration extended the nationwide ban on evictions for a month, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this latest federal extension is intended to be the final one. Last week, Seattle extended its city moratorium until Sept. 30.
Inslee said he also wanted to make sure that programs approved by state lawmakers including a tenant protection bill and a “right to counsel” measure that ensures low-income tenants have legal representation when faced with an eviction are up and running before moratorium protections were fully lifted.
Ohio ends incentive lottery with mixed vaccination results
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINSJune 24, 2021 GMT
The state’s not alone in mixed results for prize giving.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s May 12 announcement of the incentive program had the desired effect, leading to a 43% boost in state vaccination numbers over the previous week. But numbers of vaccinations have dropped since then.
“Clearly the impact went down after that second week,” DeWine acknowledged Wednesday.
Multiple other states followed Ohio’s lead, including Louisiana, Maryland, and New York state, with the impact on vaccinations hard to pin down.
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Under New Mexico’s “Vax 2 the Max” sweepstakes program, vaccinated residents could win prizes from a pool totaling $10 million. The rewards include a $5 million grand prize that will be drawn later this summer. The sweepstakes kept the vaccination rate from declining further but the initial boost was small. According to the governor’s offi
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Kids 12 and older are now eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon and Washington state, health officials announced Wednesday night. The announcement by the Wester States Scientific Review occurred just hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accepted U.S.
Gov. Brown decides against closing minimum security prison
May 13, 2021 GMT
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) A minimum security state prison in southern Oregon that was slated to close in 2022 will remain open.
Gov. Kate Brown told the Lake County Prison Committee this week that the Warner Creek Correctional Facility will stay open through the rest of her term, The Herald and News reported.
She told Lake County commissioners and stakeholders that she would leave the decision to the next governor. Brown also thanked them for the “thoughtful presentation” they gave in April advocating for the facility to remain open.
More than 100 Lake County residents work at the prison. Closing it would have displaced hundreds of residents.