Author: Brian Lund
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HUD just cut how much rent two voucher programs will cover, and agencies have 60 days to comply
Housing agencies across the country are working against a deadline that lands in the first half of October. It was set on August 10, when HUD issued a four-page notice to every public housing agency that runs a voucher program, giving them 60 days to bring two special voucher programs back inside a rent ceiling…
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California is putting $894 million of credits on power bills this year, worth up to $49.36 a household
The California Climate Credit reaches a household by subtraction rather than by application. Money raised when large emitters buy allowances under the state’s Cap-and-Invest Program is routed back to residential utility customers as a line item on the bill, applied by the utility without a form, an income test, or an enrollment window. In 2026…
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Prosecutors say a man cashed his dead mother-in-law’s Social Security checks for nine years, then moved online
A federal grand jury returned an indictment on June 18. An arraignment followed the next month in Binghamton, New York, before a magistrate judge, and on July 28 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York announced the charges. Zvonko Klapan, 68, of Liverpool, New York, faces multiple counts of wire fraud,…
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Renters at apartments that used RealPage software since 2018 can claim part of a $359 million settlement
Three dates now govern this settlement, and only one of them is comfortably far off. September 1, 2026 is the deadline to opt out of the class or to file an objection. October 15, 2026 is the fairness hearing at which a federal judge in Nashville will decide whether to grant final approval. January 29,…
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AT&T’s fee schedule lists a $4.99 charge on every line, and the company says it is not a tax
Section I.A of AT&T’s Mobility Fee Schedule is a four-row table of monthly recurring charges, and the first row is the largest flat one on it. The entry is called the AT&T Administrative and Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee, and the amount column reads $4.99 per line per month. It is not a plan price, it…
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Your $800 duty-free limit on imported packages is gone for good, a trade court ruled August 13
A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade spent thirty pages on a single question this month: whether a president who cannot impose tariffs under emergency powers can nonetheless switch off the rule that let packages worth $800 or less enter the country duty free. On August 13, 2026, the panel answered yes…
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Veterans get their 2027 disability raise decided in October, and the law says it must match Social Security’s
Three dates govern a veteran’s next disability increase, and none of them has arrived. Social Security announces its cost-of-living adjustment in October, the new percentage takes effect December 1, 2026, and it first appears in the payment veterans receive in January 2027. Until that October announcement, there is no 2027 VA disability figure of any…
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Providence Health Plan is closing entirely after a rescue deal for its 64,000 Medicare Advantage members collapsed
In May, Providence Health Plan told its markets it would exit most of its insurance business for 2027 and carved out a single exception. The Oregon-based insurer said it was negotiating with an unnamed national carrier to keep its Medicare Advantage line running under new ownership, so that members could stay covered and, in most…
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Four senators say they will introduce a bill to stop student loan collectors from taking 15 percent of a Social Security check
On August 17, the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders put out a release announcing legislation the Vermont independent has not yet filed. The bill is called the Stop Social Security Garnishment Act of 2026, and it would bar the federal government from withholding any Social Security payment, including disability insurance, to collect a defaulted federal…
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Social Security’s SSI savings limit stayed at $2,000 while the payment rose to $994
The federal SSI payment standard for an individual rose to $994 a month for 2026, up from $967 the year before. The amount of savings an SSI recipient is permitted to hold did not move at all. It remains $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, the same two figures that governed in…