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VHC News Clips, volume 2011-29 (September, 2011)
NEW STUDY HIGHLIGHTS ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INVESTING IN A HOUSING TRUST FUND
The Campaign for a Virginia Housing Trust Fund will be releasing a report detailing the economic impact that a Housing Trust Fund would have on Virginia at a breakfast meeting in Richmond on Thursday September 8 . The report is being prepared by Chmura Economics and Analytics, a respected Richmond consulting firm that is a frequent economic analyst for state and local government in Virginia . The session will be held on the 24th floor of the SunTrust building located at 919 East Main Street in downtown Richmond . A continental breakfast will be available beginning at 7:30 am. The presentations will begin at 8am. A telephone press conference will be held immediately after the event at 9:30 AM.Housing Market Fix: Speed Up Foreclosures?
Experts: Solution To Poor Housing Market Is To Speed Up The Inevitable
WCYB-TV 5, August 31, 2011
(RECAP: If the Obama administration really wants to save the housing market, it should speed up the foreclosure process -- not prolong the inevitable, experts say.)Home contracts forecast economic drag: Contracts to buy homes fell 1.3 percent in July
WAVY-TV 10, August 29, 2011
(RECAP: The number of people who signed contracts to buy homes fell in July, further evidence that the depressed housing market remains a drag on the economy. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its index of sales agreements fell 1.3 percent in July to a reading of 89.7. A reading of 100 is considered healthy by economists. The last time the index reached that level was in April 2010, the final month that buyers could qualify for a federal tax credit.)Beach can do better for its homeless than 'tent city'
The Virginian-Pilot, August 29, 2011
(RECAP: Cheryl Molinet, a supervisor in Virginia Beach 's Human Services Department and someone who reaches out to homeless individuals, and two other department employees connect with people who lack permanent housing. It's a vital task. However, their effort doesn't hide the fact that the commonwealth's largest city refuses to open or organize an emergency, overnight shelter. Such a center would help people who don't fit the guidelines for the Beach's array of homeless programs.)What's Ahead in Mount Vernon : Transportation and development are major overarching issues in the coming year.
Mount Vernon Gazette. August 25, 2011
(RECAP: The Department of Defense (DOD), following the 2005 decision by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), has built a billion dollar 1.2 million square foot Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, four times the size of the current DeWitt Army hospital (and projected to receive 572,000 patients and visitors annually), and added twice the number of hospital medical staff (3,000) to the new hospital.)
Supervisors discuss risk in guaranteeing renovation
nvdaily.com, August 25, 2011
(RECAP: The Board of Supervisors has balked at guaranteeing a renovation project at the Toms Brook School will get done because it's unclear what liability Shenandoah County has if the nonprofit doing the work defaults on the terms of a grant. The panel was asked to authorize County Admin istrator Doug Walker to sign off on the sub-grant agreement with People Inc., the county's community action agency.)HITT Contracting breaks ground on $28 million project in Arlington County
Virginia Business, August 24, 2011
(RECAP: Falls Church-based HITT Contracting Inc. has started work on the $28 million Arlington Mill Community Center . The project includes a five-story, 55,000-square-foot building and a 110,000-square-foot, two-story, underground garage. Upon completion, it will include a fitness center, gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, a community learning center, retail space, outdoor public plaza and playground.)Groundbreaking for Arlington Mill Community Center
ARLnow.com, August 24, 2011
(RECAP: A groundbreaking was held this morning for the new Arlington Mill Community Center . County Board members Walter Tejada and Chris Zimmerman, County Manager Barbara Donnellan and Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization Executive Director Takis Karantonis were among the officials in attendance, along with construction company representatives and county employees.)My house is your house: The difficult road to reinventing Charlottesville 's public housing
c-ville: Charlottesville News & Arts, August 23, 2011
(RECAP: The redevelopment of Charlottesville 's public housing system is like a complex, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle involving people, money and politics. All of its pieces are vital to creating a more vibrant and less racialized image for the city, but just like in a puzzle, when one piece goes missing, the picture fails to come to life.)Construction on Treesdale Park On Track
WVIR-TV NBC-29, August 22, 2011
(RECAP: Construction on an Albemarle County affordable housing project is moving along quickly. Treesdale Park , located on East Rio Road , is made up of 88 units split up in four buildings. Albemarle Housing Improvement Program says the complex is expected to serve 880 families and more than 2,000 people in the next 50 years. Crews broke ground late last year, and have been working non-stop to finish the project.)At The Beverley in Staunton , despair over disrepair: Longtime tenant says, 'You're supposed to fix things'
The Newsleader, August 20, 2011
(RECAP: The cracked window on the front door, secured by duct tape, is symbolic of the current state of the once-grand building constructed just over a century ago. Now an apartment building that serves as affordable housing for many low-income residents, The Beverley has fallen into troubling disrepair. Its once-local co-owner, Natalio Armando Scotto-Lavina, lives out of state and is in personal bankruptcy. City inspectors are concerned he won't be able to address maintenance and repair issues, including some potentially serious structural problems, cited in notices of mounting code violations.)Lack of housing stands in the way of treating the mentally ill
Daily Press, August 19, 2011
(RECAP: A lack of supported housing is one of the biggest problems facing the state's behavioral health system, said Chuck Hall, executive director of the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board. Last year, the shortage clogged the flow of patients into and out of Eastern State Hospital , a state inpatient mental health facility in James City County . Since patients couldn't be discharged into supervised placements, new patients couldn't be accepted. That backup is finally easing, Hall said.)Richmond names new planning director
Richmond Times Dispatch, August 19, 2011
(RECAP: The planning director of Madison , Wis. , was named Friday as Richmond 's new director of planning and development review. Mark Olinger will begin work at City Hall on Sept. 12, filling the vacancy created by the departure of high-profile planner Rachel O. Flynn in March.)Williamsburg Notebook: PC Approves Mixed-Use Development Request
Williamsburg Yorktown Daily, August 19, 2011
(RECAP: The Williamsburg Planning Commission approved a plan Wednesday for a mixed-use development on land between Second Street and Penniman Road . On Monday, the Northeast Triangle Focus Group will meet to talk about its vision. And in September, the Board of Zoning Appeals will consider a special exception request to add a shower to an outbuilding.)A Man with a Mission: Q&A with Dean Klein, director of The Office to Prevent & End Homelessness
Fairfax Station – Clifton Connection, Wednesday, August 17, 2011
(RECAP: In 2009, Fairfax County hired Dean Klein to oversee its newly created Office to Prevent and End Homeless (OPEH), a critical piece of its 10-year mission to prevent and end homelessness by 2018. In the past two years, Klein has managed to navigate through an unsteady and insecure economy, as well as a trend toward the suburbanization of homelessness, to reduce the county's homeless population by 15.6 percent. In December, 2008, Fairfax County counted 1,835 people who were homeless; in Jan. 2011, that number was 1,549.)News Clips Archives
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