Americans are experiencing their first near-normal holiday weekend, though masks are still required for all traveling at airports and on planes, buses and trains. We take a look back and forward at where the U.S. may be heading in the pandemic.
Debt Piles Up for Low-Income Renters
As the end of federal and state eviction moratoriums looms, renters who fell behind on payments during the pandemic now face staggering amounts of debt. June 1, 2021, 5am PDT | Diana Ionescu |
Renters who fell behind during the pandemic face staggering debts, with many teetering on the edge of eviction, writes Stefanos Chen for the New York Times. According to a report from NYU s Furman Center that analyzed low-income New York renter households, the average rent owed by households with arrears through the year ending February 2021 jumped 66 percent. Additionally, [t]he share of households that owed more than $3,000 increased 65.5 percent, to 2,059 from 1,244; and the share of households owing $10,000 or more jumped 140 percent, to 672 from 280.
Federal Bill Proposes $10 Billion for Transit Accessibility
The program would fund improvements such as elevators, ramps, and accessible ticketing equipment to bring the nation s transit stations up to ADA standards. June 1, 2021, 6am PDT | Diana Ionescu | According to data from the FTA, nearly 20% of the nation’s transit stations were not ADA accessible in 2019, the most recent year data was available. In New York City, 200,000 disabled New Yorkers lived in neighborhoods without an accessible station. The bill would create a $10 billion grant program to help local and regional agencies address accessibility issues. Smaller systems may struggle to gather the funding it takes to retrofit stations built before the ADA was passed. Under the ADA, transportation facilities built after January 25, 1992, must be readily accessible and useable by people with disabilities. If an agency alters a facility built before that date, those altered portions must also be readily access
Returning to the Office: Will Vaccinations Be Required?
A survey by Kaiser Health News of 15 of America s largest companies found that none are considering vaccine mandates, but most offer employee incentives. Mandates may be more of consideration after the FDA approves the vaccines. May 27, 2021, 8am PDT | Irvin Dawid Share
A Gallup poll from last month showed that 51 percent of U.S. workers are still working from home, writes Renuka Rayasam in the POLITICO Nightly newsletter on May 25. But as we approach summer, with half of U.S. adults fully vaccinated, the company-wide emails are rolling in: Planning our return to the office.