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VHC News Clips, volume 2011-32 (October 20, 2011)
Save the Date – December 1 st , 2011!
(RECAP: Make plans to join the Virginia Housing Coalition and our partners for our executive workshop on Thursday, December 1 st , Raising the Bar Beyond Excellence . Join us as we welcome Dr. Raymond A. Bell, Jr., for this innovative and interactive session that will help you cultivate your strengths and find your focus to make you a more effective leader in the affordable housing arena and every area of your life. This program is not designed to grow leaders, but to grow better leaders by speaking to the leader in YOU.)Group changes name to better reflect its mission
Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 19, 2011
(RECAP: ElderHomes is changing its name today to project_HOMES to more accurately reflect its mission. For nearly 20 years, the nonprofit has helped low- and moderate-income homeowners in central Virginia in need of critical home repairs.)Danville Partners with Rental Property Owners to Improve Energy Efficiency
Chatham Star Tribune, Tuesday, October 18, 2011
(RECAP: The city of Danville has launched a new service to help rental property owners reduce energy costs for tenants. Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the city will pay up to 50 percent of the cost for specified energy efficiency improvements (total work cost not to exceed $6,500). Low interest financing will be available to help owners with remaining costs. The service is available for housing units occupied by income-qualified residents.)
Manassas offers help for homeowners
Inside NoVA, October 18, 2011
?(RECAP: Area homeowners looking for help with affording their mortgages came to Osbourn High School on Saturday. As part of the Manassas City Housing Event sponsored by the City of Manassas Housing Advocacy Program, struggling homeowners were able to meet with representatives from Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae in an effort to find assistance with avoiding foreclosures.)Fair assists homeless and those who want to help: Homeless advocates want to spread the word about their services
The Free Lance-Star, October 17, 2011
(RECAP: The troubled economy has many area families teetering on the brink of poverty. Most social services agencies have seen a dramatic increase in demand. But thanks to local efforts, the Fredericksburg area has also seen a decrease in the numbers of people living on the streets.)Candidates Take Stand on Social Justice Issues: Forum gives legislators chance to talk about issues confronting ‘most vulnerable citizens.'
Mount Vernon Gazette, Monday, October 17, 2011
(RECAP: Immigration reform, affordable housing, predatory lending and poverty topped the list of issues discussed by 15 Virginia General Assembly candidates at the annual social justice forum on Saturday, Oct. 15. The 18th annual forum, hosted by Social Action Linking Together (SALT), Virginia Organizing and other social advocacy groups, took place at the Arlington-Fairfax Elks Lodge.)Ashburn Residents Weigh In On Community Needs
Leesburg Today, October 14, 2011
(RECAP: The first of four meetings to let community members share their hopes and desires for the future of Ashburn brought out about a dozen residents to Eagle Ridge Middle School in Broadlands last night. The initiative is part of the Board of Supervisors-directed outreach effort called the Ashburn Community Outreach Project.)Community-minded woman to be honored by Lynchburg foundation
Lynchburg News and Advance, October 14, 2011
(RECAP: You might say Jane White has the fix-it gene. “When Jane says you've got to do something, you usually end up turning your attention to it and doing it,” said Laura Dupuy , executive director of the nonprofit Lynchburg Neighborhood Development Foundation . “She's quite amazing. To her, it's simple. If something's wrong, you need to fix it.”)House Hearing on Federal Home Loan Bank Oversight
NLIHC's Memo to Members, October 14, 2011
(RECAP: On October 12, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing, “Oversight of the Federal Home Loan Bank System.” Subcommittee Chair Randy Neugebauer said the purpose of the hearing was to understand the core mission of the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), evaluate whether they have deviated from their mission, and assess whether the bank system is operating in an optimum way. Each of the witnesses spoke about the overall impact of the FHLBs in mortgage financing and suggested that modifications to the FHLB system would negatively impact the banks' successful operations.)House Hearing on Mortgage Finance Systems
NLIHC's Memo to Members, October 14, 2011
(RECAP: The House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade held a hearing, “The U.S. Housing Finance System in the Global Context: Structure, Capital Sources, and Housing Dynamics,” on October 13. The hearing in part considered H.R. 2413, the Secondary Market Facility for Residential Mortgages Act of 2011. H.R. 2413 would merge the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government-held corporation.)House Hearing on Voucher, Moving to Work Bills
NLIHC's Memo to Members, October 14, 2011
(RECAP: On October 13, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing on a new discussion draft of the Section Eight Savings Act of 2011 (SESA) and a discussion draft for the Moving to Work Improvement, Expansion, and Permanency Act of 2011. Neither bill has been introduced.)HUD and White House Convene Advocates to Push For HUD Budget and Project Rebuild NLIHC's Memo to Members, October 14, 2011
(RECAP: On October 12, the White House and HUD convened dozens of housing and community development stakeholders from 28 states to discuss HUD's FY12 budget and the American Jobs Act. The participants heard from HUD Secretary Shaun Donavan and Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, as well as several other White House officials and HUD Assistant Secretaries.)Notice Details Penalties for Obstructing Tenant Participation at Multifamily Housing
NLIHC's Memo to Members, October 14, 2011
(RECAP: HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing issued Notice 2011-29, presenting the penalties that may be enforced if owners or managers of HUD-assisted private multifamily housing violate the tenant participation requirements found at Part 245 of the regulations. These regulations pertain to tenants at properties assisted with Project-Based Section 8, Section 202, Section 811, and a variety of other older programs. Part 245 does not pertain to public housing or housing choice vouchers.)Ex-Beverley resident gets extension at lodging
Staunton News Leader, Oct. 13, 2011
(RECAP: Social workers have arranged extended temporary housing for one former Beverley Hotel resident who feared he'd be out on the street Thursday, in their continuing effort to help families who still haven't found a permanent place after the city ordered the decrepit apartments vacated last month.)Apartment plan draws fire at first hearing: Concerns over plan's impact on schools, crime rate dominate first Planning Commission meeting
Powhatan Today, October 12, 2011
(RECAP: Last week's Planning Commission meeting drew around 200 citizens, many of them there to speak out against the proposed Shady Oaks apartment and townhouse complex at Stavemill Road and Route 60, across from the site where a planned Wal-Mart will sit. Many of the vocal opponents of the plan live in areas adjacent to the proposed apartments, such as the Hollymeade and Cedar Cross subdivisions.)Lynchburg begins talks about city's housing needs
Lynchburg News and Advance, October 10, 2011
(RECAP: For the first time, Lynchburg is initiating a citywide conversation about its housing needs. Fueled by a planning grant, the city is bringing government officials, business leaders, nonprofits and citizens together in hopes of developing a strategic plan to guide its future housing decisions.)Programs target empty houses
Progress Index,October 10, 2011
(RECAP: One house on Varina Avenue in Walnut Hill has come out of foreclosure, thanks to the efforts of a local nonprofit agency working through a three-year-old federal program. Pathways-Va Inc., a nonprofit economic development group, headquartered on West Washington Street, bought the house out of foreclosure and rehabilitated it with part of a grant it received under the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.)Partnership Names Housing Honorees
Arlington Connection, October 06, 2011
(RECAP: John Milliken and Charlie Rinker will be honored by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing at its annual fundraiser on Oct. 19, from 5-8 p.m., at the Clarendon Ballroom.)New apartments in Southeast Community in Newport News encouraging sign, officials say
Daily Press, October 06, 2011
(RECAP: A new apartment complex is being constructed in the Southeast Community, the largest private development in at least the last 10 years, probably longer, officials say. The gated community in a wooded area off of Marshall Avenue will include 248 units of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments priced in the $600 to $900 range. )Feds say project could stabilize Richmond home prices
WTVR CBS 6, October 5, 2011
(RECAP: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones toured the 800 block of North 27th Street in the Church Hill neighborhood to demonstrate how President Obama 's proposed American Jobs Act and Project Rebuild can help stabilize home prices, revitalize neighborhoods, create jobs, and support local economies throughout the City of Richmond. )

