Pints for Pandas

As of July 28, Zoo Atlanta has raised a total of $61,000 in support of the Give So They Stay campaign. Now, lovers of the beloved black-and-white bears and followers of award-winning local brews can add momentum to the cause, merely by raising a glass! Join friends and fans at Pints for Pandas, a special tasting event held at SweetWater Brewing Company on Friday, August 14 at 9 p.m. SweetWater Brewery is located at 195 Ottley Drive in Atlanta. Ticket proceeds will directly benefit Zoo Atlanta’s global grassroots initiative to keep giant pandas in Atlanta. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased through PayPal at www.pintsforpandas.blogspot.com

Can’t join us for a pint? Learn more about other ways to help! Stay tuned to the Give So They Stay campaign website at www.givesotheystay.org for ongoing news, announcements and special updates on new and convenient ways to ensure that Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda family continues to have a home in Atlanta.

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Georgians to Receive Increase in Food Stamp Benefits

Georgia households currently receiving Food Stamp benefits will see an increase in those benefits beginning in April.

The increase is the result of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was designed to create jobs, restore economic growth and strengthen America’s middle class. The legislation provides funds that protect those in greatest need, including Food Stamp recipients.

Additional Food Stamp benefits will be automatically added to EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards after April 1. The amount of the benefit increase depends on the size of a household.

Most households will receive the following Food Stamp benefit increase each month:

Number of People in Household Additional Monthly Benefits

1 $24

2 $44

3 $63

4 $80

5 $95

6 $114

7 $126

8 $144

Georgia citizens can apply for Food Stamps by contacting their local Department of Family and Children Services or by visiting online at https://compass.ga.gov.

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Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone

U.S. Department of Labor Announces Boost in Weekly Unemployment Benefit Amounts

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced a weekly increase in unemployment compensation, as provided for in the stimulus legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, enacted on Feb. 17.

The new temporary Federal Additional Compensation program will provide a $25 weekly increase in unemployment compensation for eligible workers. These extra benefits are 100 percent federally-funded.

The stimulus legislation also extended the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which was scheduled to expire on Aug. 27, 2009. "The program has been extended to Dec. 31, 2009, for new applications, with a 'phase-out' period ending May 31, 2010," said Secretary Solis. "Both the Emergency Unemployment Compensation and the Federal Additional Compensation programs provide temporary financial support to unemployed workers to help them pay for basic necessities such as food, clothing, medicine and gasoline while they look for new jobs."

To qualify for these benefits, unemployed workers must first be determined eligible for unemployment benefits by the appropriate state workforce agency. Workers must have earned sufficient wages from prior recent employment and have been separated from employment for non-disqualifying reasons (as determined under state law). Eligible workers must also be able to work and be available for work while receiving these unemployment benefits.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have executed agreements with the U.S. Department of Labor to administer these programs. States will begin to make the extra payments as early as the week of March 1, 2009, for weeks of unemployment effective Feb. 22, 2009.

For information on unemployment compensation, visit http://www.dol.gov/.




FACT SHEET

EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION AND FEDERAL ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION UNDER AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009

Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08) - Program Extension
-- The EUC08 program, created on June 30, 2008, provides up to 20 weeks
of federally-funded benefits to eligible unemployed workers who have
collected all their regular state unemployment benefits. An
additional 13 weeks of EUC are available in states with high levels of
unemployment.
-- The EUC08 program was scheduled to expire on Aug. 27, 2009. The
stimulus legislation, Public Law Number 111-5, which was enacted on
Feb. 17, 2009, extends the expiration date of the EUC08 program to May
31, 2010.
-- The period during which an individual may establish eligibility for
EUC08 is extended from March 31, 2009, to the week of unemployment
ending on or before Dec. 31, 2009, and the "phase-out" or expiration
date of the program is extended from Aug. 27, 2009 to May 31, 2010.
-- The stimulus legislation does not provide additional weeks of benefits
for individuals who have or will exhaust their EUC08 benefits.
Federal Additional Compensation (FAC)
-- The stimulus legislation also created a new FAC program that provides
a $25 supplement that is payable to individuals receiving state
unemployment compensation (UC) or Federal UC. The $25 supplement does
not apply to state-financed Additional Compensation programs.
-- All 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands executed agreements with the
secretary of labor to administer this new program on behalf of the
federal government on or before Feb. 21, 2009; therefore, the program
is effective Feb. 22, 2009, in all states/jurisdictions.
-- States are modifying their automated benefit payment systems to
implement FAC. Many states will begin to make payments during the week
of March 1, 2009, for weeks of unemployment effective Feb. 22, 2009.
However, due to the complexity of changing automated systems, some
states have advised that they may implement later, making payments
retroactively.

States will calculate the individual's weekly benefit amount and make any adjustments in accordance with state law to account for any earnings, and any other deductions (for example, severance and retirement/pension payments).

-- The $25 supplement is taxable. Therefore, states will include the
total benefits received including the $25 increase(s) in issuing a
1099G to claimants.
-- The $25 supplement/payments will be paid from federal general
revenues. States will receive administrative costs associated with
implementing the $25 add-on.

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Seniors Getting Largest Social Security Increase Since 1982

(SPM Wire) While the economy may be hurting, good economic news for senior citizens is coming from the Social Security Administration which has announced that seniors can expect a 5.8 percent benefit increase in 2009.

The largest benefit increase since 1982, this boost in funding will come in the form of a "Cost-of-Living Adjustment."

The 5.8 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment is beginning with benefits that over 50 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2009. Increased payments also will be coming to more than seven million Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries.

While benefits increase yearly to compensate for inflation, based on rises in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' "Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers," the largest increase in 26 years in Social Security is more than welcome in the current economy.

These changes, though, will not necessarily come as a blessing to all, as more payout by the Social Security Administration necessarily means more pay-in by taxpayers around the country.

Of the estimated 164 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2009, about 11 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2009 can be found online at www.medicare.gov.

More information about Social Security benefits can be found at www.ssa.gov.

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2008 Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride

The 2008 Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride
September 13 - 14, 2008 (8:00 a.m. start each day)
Callaway Gardens (Pine Mountain, Georgia)
www.bikemsatlanta.org

Cox Enterprises and other marquis Atlanta-based companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Turner, UPS and Georgia Power, among many others, are putting the pedal to the metal to fight multiple sclerosis (MS) this weekend. In addition to corporate support, many family and friend teams are hitting the pavement to support the cause as well. The 2008 Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride bike tour is a two-day fundraising ride through Callaway Gardens and Pine Mountain, Georgia. For the first time, multiple distance routes will be offered to encourage participation from riders of all levels.

The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride is celebrating its 22nd year and benefits the National MS Society-Georgia Chapter, which supports more than 8,500 people with MS and their families all over Georgia. The Bike MS: Cox Atlanta Ride's goal is to recruit 1,300 riders and raise more than $1.2 million in proceeds. Currently, Cox Enterprises has the largest team with 155 riders -- a Georgia Chapter record.

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