Monthly Archives: May 2020

(May 21, 2020 4:54 PM) Effective May 26, 2020, Michigan’s nearly 48,000 farmers can start enrolling for coronavirus relief payments as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s $16 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).   “Michigan is fortunate to be home to a strong, resilient and diverse food and ag sector, said Gary McDowell, director, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “There is an army of people who grow, process, and retail our food who have also been hit hard by COVID-19. Governor Whitmer and MDARD continue to work with our partners at USDA to ensure our farmers and ag community members have access to the aid they need to weather this pandemic.”  Under the CFAP program, the aid is prorated -- meaning farmers will receive 80 percent of payment in the initial distribution with the remaining 20 percent paid as funds remain available. Farmers should start receiving payment within a week of enrolling, with payments being capped at $250,000 per individual recipient.   Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local USDA Farm Service Agency office. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020. FSA has streamlined the sign-up process by not requiring an acreage…

(May 21, 2020 3:14 PM)  Michigan reported 501 coronavirus (COVID-19) positive test cases today, with the state reported total now at 53,510. The State of Michigan is reporting 69* COVID-19-related deaths today, bringing the state total to 5,129. State Cumulative Total of Recovered COVID-19 Cases (as of 5/15/2020): 28,234.  This information is updated daily at 3 p.m., with COVID-19 results included as of 10 a.m. *Note on deaths (05/21/20): Regular reviews of death certificate data maintained in Vital Records reporting systems are conducted by MDHHS staff three times per week. As a part of this process, records that identify COVID-19 infection as a contributing factor to death are compared against all laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Michigan Disease Surveillance System (MDSS). If a death certificate is matched to a confirmed COVID-19 case and that record in the MDSS does not indicate the individual died, the MDSS record is updated to indicate the death and the appropriate local health department is notified. These matched deaths are then included with mortality information posted to the Michigan Coronavirus website. As a result of the most recent assessment, today’s data includes 31 additional deaths identified by this methodology. Confirmed COVID-19 Cases by Jurisdiction updated…

(May 21, 2020 12:28 PM) The City of Jackson today announced a proposal that will use $385,000 in federal funds to administer homeless prevention initiatives that will focus on water shutoff protection, foreclosure prevention, and eviction protection. The City is set to receive more than $756,000 in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These funds are to be specifically used for COVID-19 relief efforts. The first step of the City putting these dollars into action is a public hearing to receive resident feedback during the Tuesday, May 26 City Council meeting. A summary of the proposed relief is as follows: Water shutoff protection:  $125,000 Foreclosure prevention:  $60,000 Eviction protection:  $120,000 Subtotal:  $305,000 An additional $60,000 is budgeted for the City of Jackson and $20,000 for the Community Action Agency (CAA) to administer these programs. After resident feedback is collected and plans are approved, eligible residents will be able to apply to participate in these relief funds. CAA is working with the City to administer these planned programs. “This partnership will allow us to provide needed services to the greatest number of people both in the City of Jackson and Jackson County…