The Virginia Housing Coalition and the VHC Information Service would like to extend a special thank you to the VHDA for sharing their news clipping service.
To view headlines and summaries of recent news articles related to housing, with links to the full article, simply click on the appropriate link below.
VHC News Clips, volume 2010-03 (July 22, 2010)
An Invitation to a Teleconference Listening Session about HUD's Transforming Rental Assistance Program
Department of Housing and Urban Development, July 21
(RECAP: You are invited to participate in a Teleconference Listening Session about the President's proposal to transform rental assistance through the Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act . We want to get your feedback on the conceptual basis for the Transforming Rental Assistance Initiative.Embattled Nonprofit Finds New Property Manager
Washington Post (blog), July 22
(RECAP: The Washington affordable housing nonprofit facing financial ruin in the wake of fraud allegations involving a former executive director has found a new property management firm to oversee its 430 residential units in Northern Virginia .)Arlington Officials See Little Local Impact on Change to Proffer Rules
Arlington Sun Gazette, July 21
(RECAP: Arlington officials will not be significantly affected, but officials from other jurisdictions in Northern Virginia are adjusting their development-planning processes in the wake of a bill signed in April by Gov. McDonnell, which pushes back the time when local governments can collect proffer moneys for residential construction projects.)Minimum Lot Size: What is it Good for? Absolutely Nothing.
Bacon's Rebellion, July 21
(RECAP: I recently wrote about some policy choices that would help remove restraints on the free market that are currently preventing the production of more affordable housing. This month, I would direct your attention to policy choice number three from last month's column: the abolition of minimum lot sizes.)Mixed-Use Developers Hopeful About Future; Skeptics See Empty Promises
Loudoun Times-Mirror, July 21
(RECAP: The dust surrounding county leaders' latest mixed-use development approval may have settled, but debate over the multimillion dollar Kincora development's future – and the role of other developments in Loudoun County – is hardly over.)Smith School 's Uses Probed: Housing could be an option
Tasley Eastern Shore News, July 21
(RECAP: A plan to transform Mary Nottingham Smith School into a community center and housing for low-income families is progressing, but there are still hurdles to overcome to make the dream a reality -- including finding the money to do so.)More than 40 Percent Leave Obama's Mortgage Aid Program
Richmond Times Dispatch, July 20
(RECAP: The number of people dropping out of the Obama administration's program main program to help those at risk of losing their homes outstripped those who received aid for the second consecutive month.)Appropriations Bills Begin to Move
NLIHC's Memo to Members, July 16
(RECAP: Both the House and Senate are planning to take up HUD appropriations bills the week of July 19. The House Appropriations Committee will mark up the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development FY11 appropriations bill on July 20, at 3 pm in room 2359 of the Rayburn House office building. The T-HUD subcommittee passed its FY11 spending bill on July 1.)Forum Held on Residents' Rights and Participation in PETRA
NLIHC's Memo to Members, July 16
(RECAP: On July 13, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Urban Institute, and Abt Associates, Inc., held the first of a three-part briefing on the Obama Admin istration's proposed Preservation, Enhancement, and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act. The forum focused on issues relating to residents' rights and participation under PETRA .)HUD Publishes Four New Multifamily Portfolio Datasets
NLIHC's Memo to Members, July 16
(RECAP: Advocates interested in the preservation of affordable rental housing have a few new resources available to them. HUD posted four new datasets to its website on July 9, two of which provide information about the status of Section 8 contract renewals. Such data are critical to those working to preserve privately owned subsidized housing because it allows them to track whether an owner plans on opting out of the Section 8 contract, an action that could lead to the loss of affordability at the property.)NLIHC 2010 Advocates' Guide Available for Order
NLIHC's Memo to Members, July 16
(RECAP: NLIHC's 2010 Advocates' Guide to Housing and Community Development is now online and available for purchase in book form. The Guide contains updated chapters on 70 housing and housing-related programs and issues, from the National Housing Trust Fund and the Housing Choice Voucher program to the mortgage interest deduction and the Federal Housing Admin istration )NLIHC Submits Comments on Small Area Fair Market Rents
NLIHC's Memo to Members, July 16
(RECAP: NLIHC submitted comments on July 13 on HUD's proposed Demonstration Project of Small Area Fair Market Rents in response to a May 18 HUD notice. In its comments, NLIHC restated its general support for moving toward smaller area FMRs and provided comment on how the program might best be implemented.)Highlights from HUD-DOT-EPA Live Chat about Sustainable Communities
TheCityFix.com (blog), July 16
(RECAP: Yesterday, the White House Office of Urban Affairs hosted a live-streamed, hour-long Q&A session on the Obama administration's Sustainable Communities Initiative, featuring representatives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and was moderated by the Special Assistant to the President on Urban Policy at the White House.)Fight Now Looms Over Fannie, Freddie
Wall Street Journal, July 16
(RECAP: The fight over the changes to U.S. financial regulation was bruising. The coming debate over what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac promises to be even more contentious. The revamp of the nation's financial infrastructure didn't address the fate of the mortgage-finance giants that helped fuel the housing bubble and were taken over by the government in 2008. So far, the U.S. has spent $145 billion to keep the companies afloat.)Charlottesville Housing Authority Wraps Up First Stage of Revitalization Hearings
C-ville Weekly, July 15
(RECAP: Community members had their final chance to provide feedback on the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority's plans for neighborhood revitalization at a final master plan meeting Tuesday evening.)Purcellville Denies Autumn Hill Annexation Request
Leesburg Today, July 15
(RECAP: The Purcellville Town Council Tuesday night voted to deny the annexation application submitted by Brookfield Homes, owner of the 75-acre Autumn Hill property north of town. The property is zoned PDH-6, and governed by conditions proffered to the county as part of the Autumn Hill affordable housing rezoning that was approved in the early 1990s before the town and county entered into an annexation agreement. That rezoning allowed development of up to 492 quadraplex housing units.)Obama Admin istration Backs Private Twist to Public Housing
Washington Post, July 14
(RECAP: The Obama administration has set off a pitched debate among housing officials and advocates by promoting far-reaching legislation to overhaul the way the nation's 2,400 public housing authorities operate, with potentially major ramifications for their 2.3 million residents. At the heart of the bill is a bold proposal to encourage housing authorities to rely more heavily on private financing to pay for their $30 billion in renovation needs.)Kincora Village Approved By Divided Board
Leesburg Today, July 13
(RECAP: Two and half years after the development was voted down in its first incarnation, five members of the Board of Supervisors Monday night cast votes in favor of a proposal to develop mixed-use center Kincora Village near the Rt. 7/Rt. 28 interchange.)Ribbon Finally Cut For Augusta Woods
NBC29, July 13
(RECAP: The ribbon cutting was years in the making, but more than a decade of design, redesign and renegotiation has paid off for Augusta Woods. The huge manufactured home park is finally open and county officials say it offers much-needed affordable housing.)HUD's Plan to Transform Rental Assistance Requires Some Transforming
Washington Post, July 9
(RECAP: IN HIS 1935 State of the Union address, Franklin Delano Roosevelt identified "the security of decent homes" as an essential part of the security of American families. Today, 4.5 million Americans depend on the federal government to pay their rent, either in public housing or in private subsidized housing. But every year for more than a decade, the United States has lost 10,000 units of affordable housing to deterioration and demolition.)Norfolk Losing Millions on Unpaid Property Taxes
The Virginian-Pilot, July 6
(RECAP: The city has a huge backlog of seriously delinquent properties, due to lax collection practices and an outdated tax sale system. Hundreds of homeowners and land owners haven't paid property taxes in years - some in decades, leaving the city out of $13 million that could ease budget problems.)Housing Market Relatively Strong, Officials Say
Henrico Citizen, July 1
(RECAP: Now is a great time to buy a home, many local realtors say. The housing market has slowed down since the federal housing tax credit ended on Apr. 30, and is still struggling through shaky economic times, but is expected to eventually bounce back, realtors say. The market in Henrico County is stronger than the Central Virginia market in general, said Laura Lafayette, chief executive officer of the Richmond Association of Realtors. Activity was strong through April due in part to the federal housing tax credit.)Charity Joins Top Home Builders' Ranks: Habitat for Humanity Keeps Putting Up Houses as Nation's Biggest Companies Cut Back; 'A Lot Less Tied to the Market'
Wall Street Journal, July 1
(RECAP: A dozen female volunteers gathered recently to help form the entryway of an 1,100-square foot home for Cheri Sabolenko and her two young children. The Sabolenko house will soon join more than 5,000 other homes expected to be built, repaired and rehabilitated in the U.S. this year by a well-known addition to the upper echelon of America 's largest home builders: the nonprofit group Habitat for Humanity International.)News Clips Archives
To access previous issues, including prior fiscal years, of News Clips click here.
