Thousands wait for unemployment aid; court limits WI early, absentee voting; LGBTQ celebration highlighted; state targets broadband, job training to meet COVID-19 challenge
Of note: This week we highlight unemployed Wisconsinites struggling as they wait weeks to receive government assistance. WPR/Wisconsin Watch reporter Bram Sable-Smith talked to 16 jobless residents, including welder David Ficke, who found himself living out of his minivan after he ran out of money waiting for Wisconsin to issue his unemployment benefits. Sable-Smith found the agency tasked with paying claims was understaffed and hobbled by an ancient computer system breaking under the strain of millions of jobless claims.
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Lives on hold: Pandemic exposes failures of Wisconsin unemployment insurance system
Wisconsin Watch — June 29, 2020
Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance system has failed to deliver for thousands of residents at a time when they most need it, leaving many to miss bill payments, rack up new credit card debt, lean on food pantries and face eviction — even homelessness. The crisis was years in the making.
As the nation reckons with race, a mother awaits unemployment aid — and Wisconsin officials lack research
Wisconsin Watch — June 30, 2020
Alfreida Casterlow could hardly bear her first weeks working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. Disrupted routines upset her 20-year-old autistic daughter. Casterlow, 43, would try to keep her daughter engaged. She would lie alongside her, rubbing her forehead to soothe her — all while continuing to operate switchboards for Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee. Then she lost her job.
Pride for Black lives: Intersectionality celebrated in Madison during LGBTQ Pride month
Wisconsin Watch — June 30, 2020
June is LGBTQ Pride month, and this year it was also a time of reckoning over racial injustice and police misconduct as nationwide protests erupted over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Appeals court limits Wisconsin early voting to 2 weeks before election, stops voters from receiving ballots via email, fax
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — June 29, 2020
In a sweeping decision that took more than three years to come out, a panel of federal judges on Monday reinstated limits on early voting and a requirement that voters be Wisconsin residents for at least a month before an election. The three judges also banned most voters from having absentee ballots emailed or faxed to them and told a lower court to continue to tweak the system the state uses to provide voting credentials to those who have the most difficulty getting photo IDs.
WEDC proposes broadband upgrades, training incentives in report on COVID’s impact
Wisconsin State Journal — July 1, 2020
A new report from the state’s top economic development agency recommends Wisconsin rebuild its economy by increasing training opportunities for the unemployed, expanding statewide broadband, and supporting new businesses and startups.
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