Year: 2021

Yahoo News

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A county in southern Oregon says it is so overwhelmed by an increase in the number and size of illegal marijuana farms that it declared a state of emergency Wednesday, appealing to the governor and the Legislature’s leaders for help.

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners said law enforcement officers and county and state regulators and code enforcers are overwhelmed and warned of an “imminent threat to the public health and safety of our citizens from the illegal production of cannabis in our county.” Continue reading “Overwhelmed by illegal pot, Oregon county declares emergency”

US Energy Information Administration – Winter Fuels Outlook, October 2021

As we head into the winter of 2021–22, retail prices for energy are at or near multiyear highs in the United States. The high prices follow changes to energy supply and demand patterns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect that households across the United States will spend more on energy this winter compared with the past several winters because of these higher energy prices and because we assume a slightly colder winter than last year in much of the United States.  Continue reading “Energy costs skyrocketing”

CBS News

Walgreens said it will close five more stores in San Francisco next month because of organized retail theft in another blow to a city that has earned an embarrassing reputation for widespread shoplifting.

The stores will close next month, SFGATE reported. It said Walgreens has closed at least 10 stores in the city since 2019. “Retail theft across our San Francisco stores has continued to increase in the past few months to five times our chain average” despite large increases in security, Walgreens spokesperson Phil Caruso said. Continue reading “Walgreens closes five more stores in San Francisco due to thefts”

Business Insider – by Chad Fisher

Have you heard the term dead peasant life insurance? It refers to a life insurance policy an employer holds on an employee.

The employer is listed as the beneficiary and collects a death benefit if the employee dies. Continue reading “Does Your Company Have A ‘Dead Peasant’ Life Insurance Policy Out On You?”

Patch – by Justin Heinze

PENNSYLVANIA — Officials in Pennsylvania and around the nation are making preparations to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to children, once final approval is granted at the federal level.

A week ago, Pfizer formally submitted their request to the FDA for emergency use authorization for the vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. The FDA is scheduled to discuss Pfizer’s data at a meeting on Oct. 26, and a shot for kids could be approved as soon as Halloween or early November. Continue reading “PA Preparing To Distribute COVID Vaccine For Children”

Forbes – by Ashlea Ebeling

The Social Security Administration announced key numbers today that affect workers and retirees—a substantial increase in the taxable wage base for workers and the biggest increase in benefits for retirees in decades.

First the wage base news. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax will rise 2.9% to $147,000, from $142,800 in 2021. That means a bigger tax bill for about 12 million high-earning workers. The increase in the wage base reflects any real wage growth. The maximum Social Security tax per worker will be $18,228—or a maximum $9,114 withheld from a highly paid employee’s 2022 paycheck. Workers and their employers each pay a 6.2% Social Security tax; the self-employed pay both sides of the tax. (The benefits boost is based on the Consumer Price Index, and a different index measuring wage growth determines annual increases in the wage base.) Continue reading “Maximum Social Security Taxes Will Increase 2.9%, While Benefits Will Rise 5.9% In 2022”

Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist

Last month, despite claiming he wouldn’t issue one, President Joe Biden announced a vaccine mandate for all companies in the United States with more than 100 employees. If these companies refuse to comply, they could face massive fines, upwards of $700,000. Not wanting to go out of business from massive fines, companies across the country — under state coercion — have issued an ultimatum to their employees, take the jab or kick rocks.

As many folks don’t want or need a vaccine due to already having COVID-19, or are opposed to it for religious reasons, Biden’s mandate is causing a storm of worker shortages, affecting all industries. Millions of people are quitting or being fired from their jobs over the mandate, adding fuel to the already massive dumpster fire that is the US economy. Continue reading “Nat’l Guard — Who Have Until 2022 to Be Vaccinated — To Replace Unvaxxed Health Care Workers, Law Enforcement”

CNBC

Workers left their jobs at a record pace in August, with bar and restaurant employees as well as retail staff quitting in droves, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Quits hit a new series high going back to December 2000, as 4.3 million workers left their jobs. The quits rate rose to 2.9%, an increase of 242,000 from the previous month, which saw a rate of 2.7%, according to the department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The rate, which is measured against total employment, is the highest in a data series that goes back to December 2000.  Continue reading “A record 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in August, led by food and retail industries”

AP

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker activated up to 450 members of the Massachusetts National Guard on Tuesday to help deal with COVID-19 challenges.

Up to 200 guard members will aid in COVID-19 testing in schools throughout the state, and as many as 250 members will be available to offset potential staff shortages at the state Department of Correction due to a vaccine mandate. Continue reading “Massachusetts National Guard to Aid COVID-19 School Testing”

Breitbart – by Neil Munro

President Joe Biden’s border security chief is promising to end the workplace enforcement of migration laws and to help illegal migrants get higher wages from their U.S. employers.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Cuban-born refugee and pro-migration zealot who now runs the Department of Homeland Security, portrays his “Worksite Enforcement Strategy” as a benefit for both illegals and Americans. He wrote:  Continue reading “DHS Mayorkas to Help Illegals Get Jobs, Higher Wages”