Daily Archives: March 7, 2021

A $1.9 trillion U.S. coronavirus relief package took a step forward Saturday when the Senate voted 5049 to approve a bill that will be sent back to the House of Representatives because the Senate changed the legislation originally approved by the House.

Known as the American Rescue Plan Act, H.R. 1319, the bill will be sent to President Joe Bidens desk to be signed into law if it passes the House without changes. Congress is under pressure to get Bidens signature on the bill before legislation authorizing $300 a week in federal funds added to unemployment checks expires on March 14.

The Senate bill retains most of the tax provisions in the House bill unchanged. However, under the Senate bill eligibility for the recovery rebate credits (to be paid to most taxpayers in advance as economic impact payments) would phase out more quickly than it did in the two previous rounds.

For single taxpayers, the phaseout will begin at an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $75,000 and the credit will be completely phased out for taxpayers with an AGI over $80,000. For married taxpayers who file jointly, the phaseout will begin at an AGI of $150,000 and end at AGI of $160,000. And for heads of households, the phaseout will begin at an AGI of $112,500 and be complete at AGI of $120,000.

Under the House bill, the phaseout range was $25,000 for single taxpayers (i.e., from AGI of $75,000 to AGI of $100,000), $50,000 for joint filers, and $37,500 for heads of household.

The Senate bill also:

The legislation will provide funding for state, local, and Tribal governments; K-12 schools and colleges and universities; COVID-19 testing and support of the vaccine rollout; and small businesses.

Ken Tysiac (Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com) is the JofAs editorial director. Alistair M. Nevius, J.D., (Alistair.Nevius@aicpa-cima.com) is theJofA's editor-in-chief, tax

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Senate passes amended $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill - Journal of Accountancy

HONOLULU (KHON2) U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hironowere among several lawmakers to vote on a bill that would offer $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 funding.

If the bill passes, Hawaii could get $6.1 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act, of which a portion would go toward bolstering state and local budgets that have sustained significant tax revenue loss due to the pandemic.

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The newest COVID-19 relief bill includes money for unemployment assistance, small businesses, rent relief, vaccine distribution, schools, health care workers and Native Hawaiian programs.

This is just a really useful and urgently needed piece of legislation for the state of Hawaii, explained US Senator Brian Schatz. So, Im real proud of this work, and I think its going to provide the kind of help that we need to get us through the next several months.

Sen. Schatz and other senators spent 27 hours finalizing the bill, which passed the Senate this morning.

As its currently written, households making under $75,000 and couples earning up to $150,000 will be eligible to receive a one-time payment of $1,400.

Unemployment insurance benefits, which were set to expire on March 15, will also get a $300 federal plus up through the first week of September.

Hundreds of millions of dollars will go to rent and mortgage relief, small business assistance and reopening of schools.

State and county assistance At least $2.2 billion for Hawaii

Funding may be used to bolster state and local budgets that have sustained significant tax revenue loss due to the pandemic

An additional $116 million will also go to the State of Hawaii for critical capital projects to enable work, education and healthcare in response to the pandemic.

This money is actually for the purpose of plugging a budget hole, explained Sen. Schatz. So, Im quite confident that both state and county governments should be able to avoid the kinds of cuts that were being contemplated. Laying off or furloughing teachers and other government workers just shouldnt be necessary anymore.

Unemployment assistance At least $575 million in estimated funding for Hawaii workers

Rent and mortgage relief Estimated $226.5 million for Hawaii

Hawaiian Housing Assistance $6.5 million For Hawaii

Small businesses and non-profits $60 billion nationally

Vaccine distribution and procurement At least $20 million for Hawaii

Testing, contact tracing and mitigation $47.8 billion nationally

Health care Estimated $150 million for Hawaii

Direct cash payments Estimated $1.7 billion to Hawaii residents

Nursing homes $1.4 million for Hawaii

Education At least $634 million in estimated funding for Hawaii schools

Electric and water utility assistance $6 million for Hawaii households

Child care and welfare programs $138 million for Hawaii

Early childhood education $3.5 million for Hawaii

Transportation $380 million in estimated funding for Hawaii

Senior and disability support programs $9.2 million for Hawaii

Arts and humanities At least $2.37 million in estimated funding for Hawaii

Expansion of the Child Tax Credit

Health insurance

In Hawaii, a family of four with an income of $120,000 is projected to save $551 per month on their premium payments.

Emergency federal employee paid leave $570 million nationally

Food and nutrition programs

Agriculture $4 billion nationally

Billions of dollars are coming to Hawaii to help families and small businesses. This new package will deliver immediate help to people who have lost their job or cant make their rent. It provides funding for schools and health care and will give our state more resources to get people vaccinated.

The COVID-19 pandemic has touched every family and community in Hawaii and across our country. With so many people still out of work and unable to pay their mortgages and bills, it was crucial for the Senate to pass a sweeping relief bill that meets the urgency of the moment facing our country. By passing the American Rescue Plan, the Senate has taken bold action to put money into peoples pockets, help our schools re-open safely, support state and local governments, speed vaccine distribution, expand health care access, and so much more. I urge the House of Representatives to pass this legislation as soon as possible so that President Biden can sign it into law.

The bill will now go to the House of Representatives, then to the Presidents desk to be signed into law.

The plan from the House is to is to finish the bill on Tuesday and then I know it will go straight to the Presidents desk, itll be law by the end of Tuesday or the beginning of Wednesday, Sen. Schatz said. For Congress to move this quickly on the second biggest rescue package in American history, at the beginning of the Biden administration, it was a really big achievement.

I was really proud of the work we did, We stayed on the Senate floor for 26 and a half straight hours. So it was long, it was dozens of votes, it was lots of arguing and zero sleep, but its all worth it because help is on the way for the people of Hawaii, Sen. Schatz concluded.

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$6B coming to Hawaii in federal COVID-19 relief bill - KHON2

HONOLULU (KHON2) Exactly one year ago, the first case of coronavirus was detected in Hawaii. Since then, the pandemic has killed hundreds in the state, crippled the economy and made protective face masks the norm.

On March 6, 2020 the states Department of Health confirmed the first case of COVID-19: an Oahu man who had contracted the virus while on board the Grand Princess cruise ship in Mexico.

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Within a week, the University of Hawaii suspended athletics and announced classes would continue online.

Then, on March 23, Former Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced a stay-at-home, work-from-home order. Two days later, the entire state shut down, turning Hawaii into a ghost town.

By late March, the state implemented the mandatory two-week quarantine for travelers. All the while, unemployment claims reached 82,963.

Less than three weeks after the first case, Hawaii recorded the first confirmed coronavirus fatality.

Two weeks following the first recorded death, the states overall death toll rose to nine, while the total case count ballooned to 500.

In late April, officials required everyone to wear protective masks in Hawaii, ahead of the rest of the US. Thats one of the things Lieutenant Governor Josh Green said should have happened sooner across the country.

If we had had a mask mandate from the federal government last summer, we would have saved 300,000 lives, Green said. We would have prevented 15 million cases.

By early May, Hawaiis cases began to decline and restrictions were slowly lift through June.

But the community, having endured closures, stay-at-home orders and mask mandates, had already begun to experience pandemic fatigue.

Clearly by the Fourth of July weekend it was like the virus was not existent, Governor David Ige said.

Then, the states progress began to take a turn.

In late July, Hawaii recorded its first daily triple-digit case count, with 109 reported by the state Department of Health. By Aug. 4, total cases climbed to 3,000, with 31 dead. Schools were left with no choice but to begin a new year with distanced learning.

Cases continued to soar through August, with one record-breaking daily count after another. Lt. Gov. Green announced 355 new cases, the highest single day total to-date, on Aug. 13, 2020.

The state would then see itself forced into another lockdown.

An outbreak at Oahu Community Correctional Center resulted in 181 inmates testing positive and a cluster at Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo infected almost every patient there, leading to the loss of 27 lives.

In late September, Honolulu entered Tier 1 of its four-tier reopening strategy, and shifted to Tier 2, four weeks later. The City remained there until Feb. 25, 2021.

On the anniversary of Hawaiis first COVID case, Green said 27,838 have been infected and 444 have died.

As he reflected, he said there were things he wished were handled differently.

If we had been contact tracing and testing adequately, during the springtime, we could have avoided such a steep mountain of cases in the summer, Green said. That was one clear thing we could have done better.

Even though Hawaii seemed to be able to contain the virus better than the rest of the country, the lieutenant governor says many lessons were learned.

You have to be aggressive in these circumstances, for safety, and then use your analytics to make the decisions, he shared.

Now that the vaccine is available and being administered to more residents each day, Green says things should return to some sense of normalcy within the next six months. But he added that the economic and psychological impacts will take much longer to recover from.

And although protective masks may no longer be required by late summer, Green says theyll likely continue to be used by many to prevent catching illnesses as simple as the flu.

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One year of COVID-19 in Hawaii: Could it have been handled better? - KHON2

CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Indians third baseman Jos Ramrez and slugger Franmil Reyes have been isolated from their teammates at spring training after breaking COVID-19 protocols.

Manager Terry Francona said Sunday that the two players have been sent to their temporary homes in Arizona as the Indians await word from the league as to when they can rejoin the team.

Francona said Reyes drove to the Indians' exhibition game on Friday in Mesa and went to get a haircut following the 10-4 win.

Reyes, who had a similar misstep last year when spring training resumed after the coronavirus-caused shutdown, told the Indians that he and Ramirez then went out to dinner and were indoors, which violates COVID-19 guidelines established by Major League Baseball and the players' union.

Francona said Reyes and Ramirez came to the team's complex on Saturday and were immediately sent home. They did not have contact with any other players or team personnel.

"We're pretty fortunate here," Francona said. "We have some medical people who are right on top of things and they came right to me and they said: 'Look, this is what we're doing. We're informing the league.' The players themselves actually self-reported that they had made a mistake.

"So we told them: 'This is not our rules. These are the rules that the players' association and Major League Baseball came up with. We have to enforce them.'"

Francona said he has spoken to both players, who understand they could have put others in jeopardy.

"They were both upfront and honest with us about what happened," Francona said. "We're not trying to put guys in the penalty box. We try to talk to guys almost every day. 'Hey, this is gonna happen if -- it doesn't matter if you agree with it or not. These are the protocols that are in place and you have to live by it.'"

Last season, the Indians were forced to isolate starting pitchers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac when they broke COVID-19 protocols by going out to eat while the team was in Chicago. Clevinger was traded to San Diego a few weeks later.

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Cleveland Indians' Jose Ramirez, Franmil Reyes break COVID-19 protocols, away from team - ESPN

With each day and each vaccination, the US inches closer to the finish line of what has been a brutal battle against Covid-19.

But its not over just yet.

Infection numbers, after weeks of declines, now seem to have plateaued at high levels. The US has averaged more than 60,000 Covid-19 cases daily in the past week. More than 41,000 people remain hospitalized with the virus nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project. And an average of more than 1,700 US Covid-19 deaths were reported every day for the past seven days.

And highly contagious variants that are already circulating have experts worried another Covid-19 spike could be just weeks away. More than 2,700 cases of variants first spotted in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but the agency has cautioned thats not the total number of cases in the country, but rather those that have been spotted with the help of genomic sequencing.

The vast majority of these cases at least 2,672 are the more contagious variant known as B.1.1.7, first spotted in the UK. The variant has been found in 46 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC.

That strain is increasing exponentially, its spiking up, infectious diseases specialist and epidemiologist Dr. Celine Gounder told CNN Saturday. So we are probably right now on a tipping point of another surge.

Speaking on the dangers of that variant, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, warned CNN on Friday, that virus is about to take off in the United States.

The variants are a big reason why experts have repeatedly warned that now is the time to double down on measures that work to curb the spread of the virus and not ease Covid-19 restrictions.

There are so many reasons why you dont want to pull back just now, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN late last week. You want to plan that you will be able, within a reasonable time, to pull back. But not at a time when we have circulating variants and when you have what looks like a plateauing of the decline in the cases.

Despite health leaders warnings, several state leaders announced they were easing Covid-19 restrictions.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday he was lifting the statewide mask mandate and doing away with any capacity limits on businesses, beginning March 10.

It is now time to open Texas 100%, he said.

On the same day, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he was lifting all county mask mandates and would allow businesses to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced revisions to public health orders on Tuesday, including dropping a 300-person limit for events at banquet centers. On Thursday, he said that when the state reaches 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks, all health orders will be lifted.

Meanwhile, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled a series of eased restrictions, including expanded capacity for restaurants, retail, gyms, stadiums and other facilities.

And in Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards also loosened restrictions. The majority of businesses including restaurants and salons are now allowed to operate at 75% capacity, while religious services no longer have capacity limits.

On Friday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also said he was lifting occupancy limits on businesses including restaurants, gyms and theaters. A similar announcement came from West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who said restaurants, bars and other businesses including gyms and museums could begin to operate at 100% of their capacity. Justice also upped the social gathering limit to 100 people.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order Friday rescinding the face covering requirements in state government offices, buildings and facilities as well as in restaurants.

Meanwhile in California, all of the states amusement parks, including Disneyland, Magic Mountain and Universal Studios along with sports and concert venues will be allowed to reopen with limited capacity starting April 1, Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly announced Friday.

We feel like now is the appropriate time to begin to reintroduce these activities in some fashion, and in a guarded way, in a slow and steady way, Ghaly said.

In their announcements for eased restrictions, several state leaders pointed to the growing light at the end of the tunnel and expressed an optimism fueled by the growing vaccination numbers.

But experts have cautioned the US likely still has a few months to go before enough Americans are vaccinated to help suppress the spread of the virus. So far, less than 10% of the countrys population has been fully vaccinated.

Heres when the US could reach herd immunity through vaccinations alone

More than 57.3 million Americans have received at least their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, CDC data shows. And more than 29.7 million have received two doses of a vaccine, according to the data. Thats roughly 9% of the US population.

The countrys vaccination effort has been in many ways a race against time, experts have said as state officials work to get as many shots into arms as possible before dangerous variants potentially take over.

Last week, new research offered reassuring news: theres now more evidence that the B.1.1.7 variant poses little threat to the efficacy of vaccines.

The research, published Thursday, shows that while the variant can hide a little bit from the immune system, its not enough to decrease the value of vaccines significantly and it doesnt threaten to reinfect people who have recovered from the previous dominant variant of the virus.

These findings indicate that variant B.1.1.7 is unlikely to be a major concern for current vaccines or for an increased risk of reinfection, the researchers wrote in their report, published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.

Receiving both doses in a timely manner is encouraged for maximum efficacy in areas where the variant is circulating, the researchers said.

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US is at a tipping point of another Covid-19 surge, expert says. That's why safety measures remain crucial now - ABC17NEWS - ABC17News.com

The Indian men's boxing team's final campaign at the 35th Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain was derailed by a positive COVID-19 case in the side, resulting in three withdrawals from the final matches.

Olympic-bound Ashish Kumar (75kg) tested positive for the virus and as a result of being his roommates, Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) were forced to withdraw from the finals on Sunday night.

All three of them ended with silver medals, which could have been gold but for the unforeseen circumstances.

"What started as a great competition has ended in an anti-climax," Indian boxing's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva told PTI from Castellon.

Ashish is "asymptomatic and is doing fine". He will serve his quarantine in Castellon for two weeks before heading back to India.

Hussamuddin and Sumit have tested negative and are travelling back with the team, which will land in Mumbai on Monday.

Veteran Satish Kumar (+91kg) was also unable to compete in the final due to "sickness".

Manish Kaushik (63kg) ended up being the sole gold medal winner for the side, beating Denmark's Nikolai Terteryan in the final to complete a brilliant comeback from a knee injury which kept him out of action for a year.

Among the women, Simranjit Kaur (60kg), who is also bound for the Olympics, was forced out of her final after her semifinal opponent -- Kiria Tapia of Puerto Rico -- tested positive for the virus. The Indian, however, has returned a negative test.

"Because of local government regulations, she could not compete," Indian women's boxing's high performance director Rafaelle Bergamasco said.

Vikas Krishan (69kg) was the only other male boxer to compete on Sunday, losing a gruelling contest to Spain's Youba Sissokho. The Indian was left with a cut above his right eye in the ferocious contest.

In the women's draw, Pooja Rani (75kg) and Jasmine (57kg) also signed off with silver medals after being beaten by superior opponents in American Melissa Graham and Italian Irma Testa respectively.

India's campaign thus ended with one gold, eight silver and one bronze medal that was claimed by six-time world champion M C Mary Kom.

Read more:

COVID-19 case hits Indian boxers in Spanish tourney, three men pull out from final - ESPN

School variance:The Williamsville Central School District, the regions largest suburban district, reported the most cases on-site with 283 through February. Frontier reported 179; Niagara Falls, 172; Orchard Park, 160; North Tonawanda, 143; Ken-Ton, 126; Starpoint, 115; and Lockport, 112.

Buffalo Public Schools, which didnt reopen classrooms to students until Feb. 1, reported 90 cases.

Early in January and early February, it was two a day. In a week, we probably had 12 to 14, said Mark Laurrie, superintendent of the Niagara Falls City School District.

This week, were probably going to have two to four cases, Laurrie said on Feb. 25. I feel for the first time like theres light at the end of the tunnel.

Other districts reported far fewer on-site cases, including Springville, 7; Depew, 12; Iroquois, 15; Eden and Cheektowaga Central, each 20; North Collins, 24; and Maryvale, 25.

Safe schools:Despite the winter surge, school and health officials maintain schools are not a major spreader of the virus and that transmission rates are lower than in the general population because of adherence to the protocols wearing masks, social distancing and reducing capacity in the buildings.

They have some cases, dont get me wrong, but schools have been seen as very low risk, said Daniel Stapleton, Niagara Countys health director.

Read more here:

Fully reopen schools? Here's what the Covid-19 numbers say - Buffalo News

COVID-19 might soon be a thing of the past now that several vaccines are widely available. But some adaptations to deal with the novel coronavirus are likely here to stay.

Housing market heats upLois Surmi, president of the Durango Area Association of Realtors board of directors and managing broker with R1 Colorado Durango, said in March that 2020 looked grim in the real estate industry as public health orders took effect.

A year ago, we went through a period where we werent able to even get into our own listings to take photos. We couldnt go in, and we thought, How long is this gonna last? she said.

It turns out, it wasnt long at all.

When showings were allowed to resume in summer, small mountain towns across Colorados Western Slope had become popular destinations for homebuyers looking to flee densely populated cities vulnerable to the coronavirus.

The median price for a home in La Plata County jumped 15.8% to $449,000 in 2020, up from $387,750 in 2019.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, from October to December, the median price for a home in La Plata County rose more than 40%, to $631,807 from $450,277.

A big factor was the sale of homes valued $1 million or more.

Rick Lorenz, who compiles statistics for Team Lorenz, said strong demand drove up median and average prices. A limited supply of new housing also helped.

In 2020, Lorenzs statistics showed 100 homes sold for $800,000 to $1 million, compared with 34 homes in 2019. Ninety-eight homes sold for $1 million and up, compared with 49 in 2019.

Surmi said that even in the seasonably slow winter, heavy demand for homes in La Plata County continues.

I know its winter, but were seeing the same kind of urban refugees. Its not letting up, she said, adding, Things may level off at some point, but the demand is real.

Bump-outs debutThe city of Durango will resume its bump-out program March 15. The outdoor patio dining areas helped Main Avenue businesses endure indoor dining restrictions that limited capacity, sometimes down to 25%.

In 2021, the city plans to add concrete planters and other design tweaks to make bump-outs safer.

Their vulnerability became apparent Sept. 16, when a drunken driver plowed into Tequilas patio space and sent four people to the hospital.

Still, bump-outs were popular with customers, and restaurateurs said they helped keep doors open.

Assistant City Manger Kevin Hall told The Durango Herald: We are getting a lot of positive feedback. We did restrict the road a bit and chewed up a little bit of parking, but it seems to be working.

Workers go remoteOffices across the country allowed employees to work remotely when it became apparent in spring that large gatherings threatened to spread COVID-19.

Miguel Munoz, an e-commerce entrepreneur working remotely in Durango, said the pandemic accelerated an already strong movement to work remotely by five to 10 years.

Munoz and his wife, Ina Ropotica, relied on remote work for the pandemic and moved to Durango from Spain in August for a better work-life balance. They see it as the way of the future.

In November, FIS Worldpay closed its 81,380-square-foot building, which housed about 250 people in Durango, to transition employees to remote work.

Members of Durango City Council, including Mayor Dean Brookie, are asking how remote work might impact the use of city facilities. Many city employees now work in a remote-and-office hybrid model after going all-remote for months last year.

Office space increasesA consequence of remote work has been a glut of office space in Durango.

John Wells, owner-broker of the Wells Group, told the Herald: We have seen some increased vacancy rates based, obviously, on all this occurring this year as part of the COVID.

Employers learned they could do with less space, and telecommuting didnt decrease productivity.

Some of those employers may have discovered they were still operating efficiently, and they didnt need the cost of 4,000 (square) feet, he said. Maybe they just need 1,000 or 2,000 square feet, some conference rooms and meeting rooms, and then a certain percentage of their employees are going to want to continue to work from home. They realize they dont need all that office space.

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Some COVID-19 adaptations will have legs - The Durango Herald

If youre wondering why Zack Britton has yet to make his spring debut: hes coming along slowly due to a bout with COVID-19 this winter.

Per beat writer Dan Martin, Britton told the New York Post that he contracted COVID-19 in January, and it hit me pretty good.

I lost a good amount of weight. Physically, Im all good now but trying to be smart, Britton said in an email to the paper.

Britton further said the Yankees are building him up slowly he has participated in drills but not thrown off a mound in a week but he expects to be ready for Opening Day.

The Yankees did have another player affected by COVID this winter in Gio Urshela, who told The Post earlier this winter that surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow was delayed because he contracted the virus. Urshela has recovered from both the illness and the surgery, and made his spring training debut this week.

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Sports Zack Britton reveals bout with COVID-19 in January - 1010WINS