WASHINGTON The arts in Austin, from the performing arts and live music clubs to at least one museum, are poised to get relief from the pandemic that has left the cultural world without audiences or much income.
A new $16 billion federal grant program swung into gear last week, nearly a month after an initial start was derailed when the system crashed on the day it opened.
“Things are in a very good place now,” Elisbeth Challener, managing director of Zach Theatre, said of the restart. “Fingers and toes crossed.” The Zach is applying for $2.6 million in funding after having had to lay off or furlough more than 80% of its staff and seeing a 60% decline in revenue in 2020, compared with 2019.
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EXETER Sen. Jeanne Shaheen toured the New Hampshire National Guard’s COVID-19 vaccination site at Exeter High School Friday to thank them for their hard work, and to let them know more federal resources are on the way.
Shaheen, D-NH, said this week’s approval of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan relief package will help the state further ramp up its vaccine distribution efforts. She said the new legislation doubles the amount of grant monies New Hampshire receives to administer the vaccine.
“One of the challenges that New Hampshire and 11 or 10 other small states had, is that when the funding went out in early January, from the December package, the Centers for Disease Control decided to use a per capita formula, as opposed to what had been used in the past under the public health emergency preparedness grant program,” Shaheen said. “So, New Hampshire, Maine was only going to get about half of what we thought we needed. That s been rectified in the COVID relief
Courtney talks about funds for businesses, landlords
NORWICH During a forum this week, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney called chambers of commerce around the country “unsung heroes.
The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce held the virtual forum with Courtney on Wednesday afternoon, with him talking about various opportunities for COVID business relief, and taking questions from chamber members.
Courtney shared information related to the federal HR-133, passed in Dec. 2020, including the second round of Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. Some of the changes made included operations and property damage from public disturbances as eligible expenses and having farm credit institutions be able to lend out PPP loans.
Even though navigating the various programs established to help businesses weather the pandemic storm can be difficult, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut is ensuring it clarifies things for its members.
On Tuesday morning, Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Director Glendowlyn Thames and U.S. Small Business Administration District Director Catherine Marx addressed the chamber members in a virtual meeting about what kinds of loans, grants and other assistance is available, and they also gave viewers a chance to ask questions.
Bysiewicz said that businesses have been using the DECD Grant program, which awards $5,000. Bysiewicz said that 18,000 businesses have applied for it, and Thames said $7,000 have received money. The program will wrap up this week with 10,000 businesses total receiving grants.