Ohio minimum wage increases to $8.30 in 2018, By Olivera Perkins, October 17, 2017, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Ohio’s hourly minimum wage will increase to $8.30 Jan. 1, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. Ohio’s minimum wage is currently $8.15. The $8.30 rate applies to non-tipped employees. The minimum wage for tipped workers will increase to $4.15 from $4.08…”
Florida minimum wage rises to $8.25 in 2018, By Marcia Heroux Pounds, October 17, 2017, Sun Sentinel: “Florida’s minimum wages will rise 15 cents to $8.25 an hour on Jan. 1, an increase from $8.10 an hour this year. While higher, the state’s minimum is a far cry from the $15 an hour some labor groups and legislators have been seeking in recent years. At the same time, many South Florida employers and top retail employers already pay more than minimum wage to recruit the workers they need in a tighter labor market, economists say…”
10% of New York City public school students were homeless last year, By Elizabeth A. Harris, October 10, 2017, New York Times: “The number of homeless students in the New York City public school system rose again last year, according to state data released on Tuesday. The increase pushed the city over a sober milestone: One in every 10 public school students was homeless at some point during the 2016-17 school year…”
Central Florida’s homeless students top 14,000, By Kate Santich, October 10, 2017, Orlando Sentinel: “Mimi is 16, the oldest of six kids, all living in a single room at an Orlando homeless shelter with their mom. Between high school and a fast-food job, she is up most weekdays until midnight. Then she sets three alarms each morning — at 4, 4:30 and 4:40 — to ensure she catches the 5:37 a.m. bus. ‘I always jumped from school to school every couple of months,’ she said. ‘It was stressful, but I got used to it. This was just how we live.’ These days, it’s how a lot of Central Florida kids live…”
Tennessee to reinstate work requirements for able-bodied food stamp recipients, By Anita Wadhwani, September 18, 2017, The Tennessean: “Tennessee will reinstate work requirements for food stamp recipients a decade after they were eased during the height of the economic recession, Gov. Bill Haslam announced Monday…”
No power means no food stamps for Miami’s neediest in Hurricane Irma’s wake, By Alex Harris, September 15, 2017, Miami Herald: “Friday morning, Michael Mighty took a bus to 58th Street for a free plate of Curry Gold and peas and rice at one of his favorite Jamaican restaurants. ‘I told them to make it as hot as possible,’ he said. ‘I’m tired of eating sandwiches.’ It might be his only meal for the day. Mighty, 58, still doesn’t have power in his Overtown apartment, and for most of this week, neither did the grocery stores he relied on. Without power, he couldn’t use his food stamps, which come on a debit card-style system these days…”
Walmart to allow food stamp users to buy groceries online, By Leada Gore, September 20, 2017, AL.com: “Walmart is rolling out a pilot program that will allow food stamp recipients to order groceries online and pick them up at stores. The nation’s largest retailer is currently offering online ordering for food stamp and other EBT users at one store in the Houston market and four more in Boise, Idaho. More markets will be added throughout 2017, Walmart said in a statement…”
