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VHC News Clips, volume 2009-29 (January 21, 2010)

Making a Difference: Group Achieves Better Access for the Disabled
Fairfax Times, January 19
(RECAP: Fairfax County resident Ken Fredgren is a living testament that one person can make a difference.)

Beach Dumping Zoning Rules for Growth
The Virginian-Pilot, January 18
(RECAP: Efforts to redevelop 17th Street have foundered over the years, but Virginia Beach officials say they hope they finally have a way to spur a renaissance on 17th Street and other older corridors at the Oceanfront. They want to overhaul the city's zoning code.)

Demand for Beach Age-Restricted Housing Over, Builders Say
The Virginian-Pilot, January 18
(RECAP: When real estate was hot, upscale, age-restricted developments were all the rage. But now the fad has run its course. The poor economy, a glut of age-restricted units and older consumers jittery about retirement finances contributed to the demise.)

Foreclosure Rates in Danville , Pittsylvania County Better than Va. , U.S.
GoDanRiver.com, January 17
(RECAP: Rates of foreclosure filings in Danville and Pittsylvania County fare better than state and the nation.)

Tips on Avoiding Foreclosure
GoDanRiver.com, January 17
(RECAP: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine created the Virginia Foreclosure Prevention Task Force under the leadership of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade in November 2007 to help monitor and mitigate the problem. Leaders put more Virginia Housing Development Authority counselors on the street.)

Construction of Senior Community Center Set to Begin in March
Progress Index, January 16
(RECAP: The Better Housing Coalition and Restoration of Petersburg Community Development Corporation will begin the initial construction of the Claiborne Square Apartments sometime in early March. This new, affordable three-story senior housing community will be located on Halifax Street .)

U.S. Foreclosure Assistance Increasing, but Slowly
The Washington Post, January 16
(RECAP: The Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program reached about 850,000 homeowners through December, including more than 50,000 in the Washington region, according to Treasury Department data released Friday, but the effort continues to struggle to make a significant impact.)

Loan Modification Recipients Fall Short, Drop Out
Bloomberg Press, January 15
(RECAP: About 25 percent of homeowners who received trial loan modifications through President Barack Obama's main foreclosure prevention plan are failing to keep up with their new reduced payments, the Treasury Department said.)

The Community Builders lands $79M
Boston Business Journal, January 15
(RECAP: The Community Builders announced Friday it will receive $79 million in funding from the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development to work in Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.)

Congress Returns for Second Session of 111 th Congress; Housing Issues on the Agenda
from NLIHC's Memo to Members, January 15
(RECAP: Both houses of Congress are back in session as of January 19. Among the housing issues that are continuing from the 2009 session are housing vouchers, assisted housing preservation, and public housing.)

Don't Come Around Here
Alexandria Gazette Packet, January 14
(RECAP: Del. David Englin (D-45) has introduced a measure he calls the Housing Authority Barment Due Process Act. He sees the legislation as a solution to what he calls the “untenable situation” of Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority residents and the “hostile work environment” for law enforcement officers.)

HUD, Treasury and FHFA Announce Completion of Initiatives to Assist State and Local HFAs Mortgage Professional, January 13
(RECAP: The U.S. Department of the Treasury, together with HUD and the FHFA, has announced the completion of all transactions under the recently-introduced state and local Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Initiative, a key element of the Obama Admin istration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP).)

Plan for Building to be Presented at Hearing
NV Daily, January 13
(RECAP: An Abingdon-based nonprofit is seeking to renovate the old Toms Brook Middle School into about two dozen apartments if the Town Council applies for and secures an expensive housing grant.)

U.S. State/Local Housing Finance Aid Program Ends
Reuters, January 13
(RECAP: The program, which expired December 31, allowed state and local housing finance agencies to sell bonds to the Treasury, reducing their borrowing costs, and provided a temporary liquidity facility to help the agencies maintain financial viability.)

Housing Tax Credit not Enough to Push 2009 Sales Above 2008 Levels
Daily Press, January 12
(RECAP: Sales of all housing types on the Peninsula and Middle Peninsula were down nearly 5 percent in 2009, compared to 2008, according to the Real Estate Information Network Inc.)

NCB Capital Impact Receives $1.2 Million Grant for Homeownership Initiative
DSnews.com, January 12
(RECAP: In an effort to expand access to an innovative form of affordable homeownership that can stabilize neighborhoods and help families build wealth, the Ford Foundation, a nonprofit grant-making organization based in New York, has given a $1.2 million grant to NCB Capital Impact, a nonprofit community development organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.)

A Collaboration of Hope
Fairfax Times, January 12
(RECAP: Connections for Hope, consisting of six private nonprofit organizations and the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, will move into a new 10,000-square-foot facility in Herndon next week. The facility will allow the nonprofits to deliver their programs more consistently and cost-effectively, as well as more conveniently, for program recipients.)

$3.8 Million to Help in Training for Green Jobs
The Roanoke Times, January 12
(RECAP: A federal grant is providing a lot of green -- to the tune of $3.8 million -- to establish training opportunities in the New River Valley region in green building techniques.)

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