For all the festive warmth surrounding Christmas, the following day — Saturday — is a dire date on the calendars of more than a quarter million Coloradans. That’s when the federal CARES Act expires, bringing an end to crucial benefits for so many who’ve struggled since the pandemic swept into the state last March.
With Congress still at work on a possible successor to the $2 trillion package, Denver Post reporters Noelle Phillips and Joe Rubino check in with some of the Coloradans who’ve lost work due to COVID-19, who’ve barely made ends meet through CARES Act aid and who now are looking at a looming financial cliff.
Yet even action by Congress won’t come soon enough for some, as any new stimulus won’t come fast enough to prevent a gap in benefits to the state’s neediest.
“We’ve passed the point of no return,” Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project, tells The Post. “Itap the day after Christmas and rent is due. Itap a terrible time for a cliff.”
For so many Coloradans in need, a terrible year could soon get much worse.
— Matt Sebastian, The Denver Post
Federal pandemic aid expires in a week. With no safety net in place, many Coloradans face financial ruin.
Five don’t-miss stories from last week
What happened to the Colorado Republican Party?
This is a low point for the Colorado GOP, now with less electoral power than at any time since World War II.
We examined data and spoke to more than 20 Republicans and found most attribute the powerlessness of a party that was competitive here just a few years ago, and dominant as recently as 2002, to a mix of factors: allegedly mismanaged campaign money; fundamental disagreements within the party over its direction and message; the increasing strength of the Democratic Party; demographic shifts that contributed heavily to the GOP’s disadvantage in voter registration; and the unpopularity of President Donald Trump, whom one pollster referred to as a “rocket booster” for Colorado Democrats. Read More…
FAQ: What Coloradans need to know about COVID-19 vaccines
More than nine months into the pandemic, the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Colorado this week — and within hours hospitals began injecting doses into the arms of staffers who work most closely with virus-stricken patients. Here are answers to questions about the vaccine and how Colorado’s distribution will work. Read More…
Staff shortages, extended lockdowns in coronavirus-ridden Colorado prisons create “tenuous” situations
A combination of extended lockdowns, short staffing and rising anxiety about COVID-19 has created a situation in Colorado’s prisons that the director of the state’s prisons called “tenuous” and that has outraged inmates’ families. Read More…
How much more expensive will Colorado homes become in the next 10 years?
If the next 10 years are like the past 10 when it comes to home price appreciation, Colorado will become one of the most expensive states in the country for housing, according to Renofi, a website that helps consumers find financing for home renovations. In the case of Colorado, another 82.2% gain would push the average home price to $763,309, double the U.S. average of $382,000. or metro Denver, the average home price by September 2030 would reach $928,267. Read More…
The local and national investors who bought Denver’s Tattered Cover book stores have watched as reactions roll in to their purchase, ranging from joy at the local chain’s apparent salvation to fury that its owners would dare claim it as the nation’s largest Black-owned book store.
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