• States straining to repair budgets, By Peter Slevin, July 7, 2009, Washington Post: “Illinois has stopped paying $1,655 a funeral to bury the indigent dead. California is issuing IOUs in place of tax refunds. Ohio’s rainy-day fund has dwindled from nearly $1 billion to exactly 89 cents.  Nearly a week into the new budget year, all three states are stymied, unable to balance their books and unable to decide whether to fill the huge gaps with tax increases, spending cuts or both. Either way, it will hurt…”
• Budget nightmare: 10 most broke states, By Scott Mayerowitz and Nathalie Tadena, July 7, 2009, ABC News: “The economic problems of American families are now pounding many state governments which are in turn slashing services to balance their budgets in one of the most difficult years in decades.  High on the chopping block are benefits to the poor, money for education, highway repairs, hours that state offices are open and even closures of state parks and recreation areas…”

• Summer brings a wave of homeless families, By Julie Bosman, July 6, 2009, New York Times: “As the school year sailed to a close last month, Arielle Figueras crossed the stage in her cap and gown and proudly accepted her fifth-grade diploma.  The next day, she was homeless.  Arielle, a petite 11-year-old, and her parents, brother and sister packed their belongings and arrived at the intake center for homeless families in the South Bronx. Though they had been fighting with their landlord for months and their gas and electricity had long been shut off, they refused to leave their apartment while school was in session…”
• Homeless, and on a college path to independence, By Amanda M. Fairbanks, July 5, 2009, New York Times: “For many college students, survival means keeping up on assigned reading, maintaining an acceptable grade-point average and squeezing in extracurricular activities.  But for those at Advantage Academy, a program offered by the city’s Department of Homeless Services and St. John’s University to provide homeless and formerly homeless people with the chance to earn an associate’s degree, survival looks like something altogether different…”

In prisoners’ wake, a tide of troubled kids, By Erik Eckholm, July 4, 2009, New York Times: “Herbert Rashad Scott, whose parents were in and out of prison throughout his childhood, vowed to break his family’s cycle of self-destruction.  The circumstances were not promising. Mr. Scott, 20, was awaiting sentencing for drug possession and robbery, but he was allowed supervised release from jail in May to attend a job preparation class — a chance to turn his life around…”

• Higher minimum wage coming soon, By Aaron Smith, July 7, 2009, CNNMoney.com: “The federal minimum wage is set to increase later this month as the job market shows signs of further decay.  The federal minimum wage will go to $7.25 an hour on July 24 from its current level of $6.55, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.  The impact will be felt in 29 states, and many of them plan to match the federal minimum when it goes through…”
• Minimum-wage increase comes at a bad time for weakened job market, By Kris Maher, July 6, 2009, Wall Street Journal: “The federal minimum wage goes up this month just as job losses are sending new alarms about the economy, giving traction to perennial fears that higher wages will hurt job creation.  In the past, minimum-wage increases have done little to dent job creation. And pouring more money into people’s pockets — especially low-wage workers who are likely to spend the increase to meet living costs — would normally boost the economy.  But these aren’t normal times…”

Boost in food-stamp funding percolates through economy, By Roger Thurow and Timothy W. Martin, July 7, 2009, Wall Street Journal: “The lush red strawberries caught the attention of Rachel Patrick, a mother of five shopping at a farmers market along the Mississippi River here. She selected two cartons and ignited a little-noticed chain reaction that is an important part of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan…”

Farmers markets reach out to food stamp recipients, By Dionne Walker (AP), July 2, 2009, Chicago Tribune: “The luxuries of the East Atlanta Village Farmers Market — where shoppers peruse European-style breads and organic dog biscuits along with locally grown produce — are a stark contrast to the neighborhood, where Census officials have estimated 20 percent of families live beneath the poverty line.   But Kate Barney hopes to draw her lower-income neighbors to the market, and she’s giving them an incentive: Starting this month, the market will double the value of food stamp benefits used at the market, letting shoppers get twice the fresh fruits and vegetables…”