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 2010-07 (August 19, 2010)
No Quick Fix for Fannie and Freddie Seen from Meeting
The US Daily, August 17, 2010
(RECAP: The Obama administration will pick the brains of housing finance leaders on how to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but made one thing clear on Tuesday: there is no going back to their pre-crisis structure. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, on restructuring the two government-controlled mortgage finance giants, called that task one of the most "consequential and complicated" problems facing the United States.)Affordable Housing Dwindles As Need Grows
Talk of the Nation, National Public Radio, August 16
(RECAP: Funding for low-income housing has been falling for years. And nationwide, many public housing units have been torn down. The wait for housing vouchers in some cities can now last a decade, just as the recession has left more Americans struggling to pay the rent. Guests: Dean Faust, Adjunct Professor Of Journalism, Emory University and Linda Couch , Senior Vice President For Policy, National Low Income Housing Coalition.)Mortgage Buoy Sinks Some Homeowners in Hampton Roads
The Virginian-Pilot, August 16
(RECAP: Michele McBeth was not behind on her house payments and never had been. But money was tight for the Norfolk elementary school teacher in 2009. McBeth contacted her mortgage company to see whether it could lower her payments. The company offered help through the U.S. Treasury Department's Making Home Affordable program. Now, almost a year later, McBeth is facing foreclosure.)Can a Toll Serve as an Effective Growth Boundary in Virginia?
Greater Greater Washington , August 13
(RECAP: It's a commonly accepted axiom among many of the contributors of this blog that freeway tolls help drivers internalize the cost of their housing and transportation decisions. Could Virginia use tolls as a substitute for a statutory growth boundary? Tolls are one item in the cost-shifting bucket sometimes available to governments to affect demand, along with "vehicle-miles traveled" fees and gas taxes.)UI Report: CHA's Transformation Improves Housing Circumstances, But Challenges Persist
NLIHC's Memo to Members, August 13
(RECAP: The Urban Institute released a report that examines the current living conditions and well-being of households from one of Chicago 's largest public housing complexes that was redeveloped using HOPE VI funds as part of the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation. The report finds that families are faring much better in their new circumstances. However major challenges remain for these residents.)White House Schedules Conference on Future of Housing Finance
NLIHC's Memo to Members, August 13
(RECAP: The Obama Administration is hosting a conference on August 17 on the future of federal housing finance policy. NLIHC President Sheila Crowley will attend the conference. The conference is another opportunity for the Administration to gain public input as it prepares a comprehensive reform proposal that will determine the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.)Shaping the City: Overcoming the Obstacles to Regional Cooperation
The Washington Post, August 13
(RECAP: Most Frederick County residents are unlikely to care much about how Prince William County meets its affordable-housing targets, improves its schools or alleviates its traffic congestion. Likewise, few residents of the District, Alexandria or Manassas worry about affordable housing, schools or traffic in Bowie or Rockville . This is why effective, regionally based planning and problem-solving are so hard to achieve.)Guest Commentary: Is the F.C. Council Being Fiscally Responsible?
Falls Church News-Press, August 12
(RECAP: In the name of "fiscal responsibility" the new City Council is already taking and not taking actions that will affect not only the pocketbooks of taxpayers today, but also the long term sustainability of the City, and indeed its very mission. A City Council majority effectively terminated an office/parking/ affordable housing development project that leveraged $10 of federal, state, and private funding for every $1 of City money.)News Clips Archives
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