COLUMBUS (AP) — A company partly owned by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is among those that received loans from a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program.
The data released Monday shows DeWine Seeds-Silver Dollar Baseball received a loan under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program for a range of $150,000 to $350,000.
The company owns the Asheville Tourists, a minor league baseball team in North Carolina, which was purchased by the governor’s family in 2010.
DeWine’s son, Brian DeWine, currently serves as president of the baseball team.
The Paycheck Protection Program’s objective is to help smaller businesses stay open and keep Americans employed during the pandemic but recipients include some surprises, such as Kanye West’s clothing line, law firms, high-dollar hedge funds and the Girl Scouts.
As much as $273 million was awarded to more than 100 companies owned or operated by major donors to President Donald Trump’s election efforts.
Ohioans who exhaust both the maximum 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits from the state and 13 weeks of federally-provided Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation are eligible to receive up to 20 weeks of extended benefits.
The program is available through Dec. 26 and provides up to 13 weeks of additional benefits for Ohioans who exhaust their maximum 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits on or after July 1.
The additional weeks are possible because Ohio’s insured unemployment rate exceeded a minimum threshold, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services director Kimberly Hall announced Monday.
“Although high unemployment rates are never welcome news, we are happy that we can offer this extra support for Ohioans who are unemployed through no fault of their own and who are having difficulty finding work,” Hall said.
The insured unemployment rate is a measure of the number of people receiving unemployment benefits as a percentage of the labor force.
Under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law on March 27, Ohioans may also qualify for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides up to 39 weeks of benefits to many who historically have not qualified for unemployment benefits, such as self-employed workers, 1099 tax filers, part-time workers, and those who lack sufficient work history; and, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which provides an additional $600 per week through July 25.