Economic Justice : Affordable housing & the homeless |
Dealing with the decline in low income housing opportunities and the rise of homelessness associated with poverty, incarceration, de-institutionalized mentally ill, etc. Social treatment of poor and homeless. Community efforts to deal with their problems.
10/19/08 With mortgage foreclosures and evictions reaching 10,000 per week in the United States, huge tent cities called Hoovervilles during the great depression are beginning to be sprout up in cities across the country. Interviews with their residents indicate that many were victims of "balloon" mortages which they were unable to pay when they were "adjusted" out of the sight of their budgets. (Maybe some of that $700 billion "bailout" should find its way to Hooverville?) http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44322
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Analysis & Views 1/17/08 Occupants of backyard homes, many of them wendy house designed as children's play houses, are ignoring orders by officials in Cape Town, South Africa to vacate those houses, many residents saying they can't afford to live elsewhere. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=124&art_id=vn20080115113749433C161892 11/11/07 Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Argentine civil rights group formed to oppose earlier dictatorship, is now engaged in ambitious project to provide low cost housing in Buenos Aires for the descendants of the victims of the suppression. http://www.latinamericapress.org/article.asp?IssCode=&lanCode=1&artCode=5359 8/6/07 Good news and bad about British housing. Average price of a home expected to increase by 40% in next five years. This is good news for homeowners who will see the value of their homes increasing; but very bad news for first time home buyers. As foreclosures are starting already to escalate, older homeowners may find hemselves having to bail out their children for mortgages on expensive property. http://money.guardian.co.uk/houseprices/story/0,,2142388,00.html 8/4/07 Home crowd in Copenhagen cheers the Danish homeless team in its victory over homeless teams from seven other European and African countries, in the 4th annual Homeless World Cup. http://www.cphpost.dk/get/102973.html 5/15/07 Many housing developers in Ireland pay local councils a fee in lieu of providing affordable housing in their projects. Although these funds are designated for the councils themselves to provide affordable housing, they are yet to spend the money for this. http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/0515/1178743002019.html 5/13/07 Affordable housing and environmental issues rise to top of agenda of political concerns in Britain as Labour leader Gordon Brown promises to build 100,000 housing in 5 "eco-towns" to "zero-carbon" standards. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2536857.ece 5/8/07 Housing authority in Scotland seeks to promote affordable housing by making developers' provision of it a condition of public subsidies. http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1381393.0.0.php 4/14/07 While Scotland has the best record in Britain for providing affordable housing for public service workers, 90% are still unable to afford available housing. http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1329129.0.0.php 4/4/07 B.C. government makes $80 million commitment to address the housing needs resulting from east Vancouver re-development. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070403.bc-housing04/BNStory/National/home 3/3/07 Eviction of squatters from a downtown hotel in Copenhagen results in a night of violent protest and 188 arrests. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070303/ap_on_re_eu/denmark_clashes;_ylt=AmK1N2261mn.wrMSPS4PWHhw24cA 1/12/07 Report warns that half of the billion people expected to be added to world population in next 25 years will live in sub-standard housing and "slum" conditions in world cities. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0111-06.htm 1/11/07 In France, a group called "children of Don Quixote" are tilting at the windmill of French bureaucy in attempting to advocate for the interests of the homeless. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0111/p01s04-woeu.html 1/3/07 Homeless moves to top of the political agenda in France as homeless advocates make squatter encampments in upscale buildings and tent cities in the streets. 6/7/06 As housing costs soar in South Africa, home buyers are now turning to purchase of shanty dwellings erected during country's period of apartheid. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/world/africa/07safrica.html?th&emc=th 5/18/06 New report shows an alarming trend: affordable housing is rapidly disappearing in Canada http://money.canoe.ca/PersonalFinance/2006/04/05/1520978-cp.html 4/19/06 Toronto will conduct a citywide survey of the homeless despite opposition: http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/story/to_homeless20060418.html 3/14/06 Many English people finding affordable homes on Britain's river canals: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/13/AR2006031301684.html?referrer=email 3/11/06 Luxury Tokyo apartments at $30,000 a month and Rest Box Motel rooms at $14 a night highlight disparity of housing of rich and poor in Japan: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031002288.html?referrer=email 2/20/06 Executive gives Edinburgh extra 15 million pounds for affordable housing http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=262522006
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Websites: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Housing Policy: http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/housing.htm Homes for the Homeless: http://www.homesforthehomeless.com/ National Affordable Housing Network: National Coalition for the Homeless: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/ National Coalition for Homeless Veterans: The Campaign for Affordable Housing: Urban Institute: Homelessness (abstracts of published articles and papers): http://www.urban.org/health/insurance.cfm Urban Institute: Housing Market and Choice: (abstracts of published articles and papers): http://www.urban.org/housing/markets.cfm
Analysis & views: 10/19/08 With mortgage foreclosures and evictions reaching 10,000 per week in the United States, huge tent cities called Hoovervilles during the great depression are beginning to be sprout up in cities across the country. Interviews with their residents indicate that many were victims of "balloon" mortages which they were unable to pay when they were "adjusted" out of the sight of their budgets. (Maybe some of that $700 billion "bailout" should find its way to Hooverville?) http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44322 10/19/08 A New York Times article highlights the fall from grace in the house building industry of Henry Cisneros, the chief housing official in the Clinton administration and later a dedicated developer of low-income housing, in both roles being an aggressive promoter of loosening the loan restrictions against mortgage loans for people of lower incomes. With the mortgage market now having gone to ruin (including scores of foreclosures in the Lago Vista development in his home town of San Antonio), he wonders when people will begin to lay at his feet the responsibility for the crash. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/business/19cisneros.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp 7/22/08 People seeking affordable housing did not get a "seat at the table " for Congressional decision on mortgage policies So complains an advocate of housing for low and moderate-income families as Congress nears a decision to cut off as too "risky" a system by means of which house-sellers could reimburse those charities that agree to provide the 3% FHA-required down payment for those lacking the funds. A member of the Black Congressional Caucus blames the Bush administration and pins his hopes on a reversal by the "next" administration. 12/22/07 "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did": This statement, attributed to a Republican Congressman from Louisiana, epitomizes the sway of "disaster capitalism" by means of which those with an agenda of "starving the beast" of public services including housing are riding high in post-Katrina New Orleans. In a drama repeated daily (though largely ignored by the media), that agenda is being carried out as public housing is being demolished to be replaced by pricey condos, and those who protest are dealt with severely. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-klein/the-shock-doctrine-in-act_b_77886.html 12/20/07 Opinion: the political leadership of Baltimore is AWOL on issue of affordable housing. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.rodricks20dec20,0,3494488.column 12/20/07 Affordable housing complex in Boulder CO area goes begging for renters, advertises "free rent" to promote occupancy. http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/dec/20/cheap-housing-gets-cheaper/ 12/19/07 Federal Reserve finally acknowledges the crisis in sub-prime home mortgage lending, requiring would-be borrowers to "show" a financial status and credit history indicating they are likely to keep up payments; and for purveyors of "exotic" mortgages to "show" the hidden costs and risks associated with their bargain basement offers http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/business/19subprime.html?th&emc=th 12/17/07 As supply of affordable housing in Baltimore shrinks, the number of people applying for rent subsidies rises by 30% 12/4/07 HUD prepares to distribute its Christmas presents in New Orleans: In the city with an affordable housing crisis post-Katrina, HUD is planning a Christmas seasonal project of bulldozing 4600 subsidized housing units to be replaced with 744 such units, while 1000 more "market value" units will be built for sale at $400k level. The poor vow to protest these coals in their Christmas stockings while developers, who have infiltrated the ranks of HUD, just say thank you, SantaHUD. http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley12032007.html 12/3/07 Homeless for the holidays not a happy prospect for Alaskans unable to afford housing at the minimal wages they can get. http://www.adn.com/life/neighbor/story/9495728p-9406649c.html 8/30/07 Police are removing homeless from sleeping in Boston Common as part of their "crackdown" on drug dealing in the area. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/30/curfew_targets_crime_on_common/ 6/11/07 Housing still not affordable to average homeowner in Boston area despite falling house prices, which remain an average at 5.4 times average family income, when "affordability" standard is 3.5. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/06/11/home_costs_stay_beyond_reach_of_many/ 5/4/07 Seattle moves to help builders acquire low-income housing sites in city's escalating real estate market. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/314385_housing04.html 4/20/07 Home mortgage foreclosures in Boston showed a four-fold increase between 2005 and 2006. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/04/20/home_foreclosures_rise_fourfold_in_hub/ 4/18/07 Affordable housing complex unveiled in Hempstead, Long Island, featuring $160 k two-bedroom condos for low-income persons. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-licoop0418,0,2500902.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines 4/14/07 "Stop arresting, start housing" says a banner in a protest demonstration in Los Angeles, where a "Safer Cities" initiative for dealing with the homeless, partly in anticipation of encroaching gentrification of Skid Row, leads to police action which displaces the homeless more than it deals with their need for homes. http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/4672 4/12/07 Baltimore officials defending their practice of threatening foreclosures on homeowners who do not pay water bills. 4/7/07 From homeless to mansion in Honolulu: wealthy Japanese benefactor is giving homes to several families of Hawaiian native descent. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/07/us/07hawaii.html?th&emc=th 4/2/07 30-day limit for shelter residence in Anchorage Alaska is putting many homeless on the street in 25 degree weather. http://www.adn.com/front/story/8759813p-8661409c.html 3/24/07 An unpaid water bill can cause you to lose your home in Baltimore. 3/18/07 "Hello? There's a baby here." Squatter residents of still-undemolished Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago live in incredible chaos and squalor in the midst of a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/us/18cabrini.html?th&emc=th 3/12/07 Priced out of the market? That seems to be the case in California, where rising house prices have resulted in the fact that only 1/4 of Californians can afford an "entry level" home and the sales of homes falls as the prices continue to rise. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0312/p01s03-usec.html 2/28/07 Seattle may go to a development plan that allows builders to construct higher-rise projects in return for conributing to an affordable housing fund. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003592843_planning28m.html 2/12/07 University of Washington moves toward building affordable housing for its faculty in Seattle. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/303304_uuwhousing12.html 2/10/07 Police officials are accusing Kaiser Permanente Hospital of releasing a paraplegic homeless man on Skid Row, bereft of his wheelchair and dragging a colostomy bag as he crawled through the street; only one of at least a dozen such charges made against area hospitals. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070210/ap_on_re_us/homeless_dumping;_ylt=AnXWq6mdoxZaMkwv3eo5wRdG2ocA 2/4/07 Massachusetts Inspector General says that five developers of affordable housing concealed profits in excess of those allowed by state law. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/04/ig_says_builders_hid_profits/ 1/30/07 Advocates are noting the prevalence of children among the homeless, both those in homeless families and unaccompanied street residents. http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/4208 1/17/07 Condominium markets in Washington, Boston, Miami, Las Vegas and other cities "collapse," and units which were for sale are now being offered for rent. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/realestate/16rentals.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin 12/31/06 "We just want to go home": HUD is using money designated for Katrina victim housing relief to demolish some sound public housing projects that could be affordable to the residents who were re-located from them at a cost in repair of them much less than that of demolishing the units, and most former residents will be denied the opportunity to return to their homes in New Orleans. http://counterpunch.org/quigley12292006.html 12/18/06 National trend toward suburbanization of homelessness is demonstrated in Maryland, where burden of providing for needs of homeless shifts from city of Baltimore to Baltimore County. 12/16/06 Bilking the homeless: health clinics and stores in LA's skid row find ways to exploit food stamp and Medicaid benefits for the homeless, giving them 50 cents on a dollar for food stamps and charging for medical tests not given. 12/13/06 Law of supply and demand for housing in Albuquerque is repealed as sales keep dropping and prices keep rising. http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/13/home-prices-increase-despite-saturation-houses-mar/ 12/10/06 Baltimore Sun investigative report shows that hundreds of Baltimore residents are being turned out of their rented homes based on archaic laws that allow the holders of "ground rent" to re-possess houses located on ground with unpaid rent. 12/5/06 With housing costs skyrocketing in Hawaii, homelessness is increasing despite a "good" economy in the state; on one 13 mile stretch of beach in Oahu, 1,000 people camp in tents on the beach. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/us/05hawaii.html?th&emc=th 11/29/06 To protect health of the homeless, Fairfax County Virginia is forbidding the distribution of food cooked in home or church kitchens that are not approved by the county's health department. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112801583.html?referrer=email 11/28/06 Much-delayed work may finally start on redevelopment of Herman Gardens on west side of Detroit, razed in 1996 as a "notorious" public housing project, with plans now to build many units of affordable housing. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061125/METRO/611250372/1003 11/27/06 In parts of Baltimore undergoing gentrification, Habitat for Humanity takes advantage of having bought houses before new building that escalated average house costs in these areas, and are building "affordable" housing that the poor can buy at a fraction of the prices of other homes in their neighborhoods. 11/24/06 Homeless people are people: so rules a California judge in response to Fresno police practice of seizing personal effects of the homeless during raids on their camps, violating their property rights. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/23/AR2006112300974.html?referrer=email 11/24/06 Affordable housing group has to pay the bills: a project in south Philadelphia, the life work of a now-deceased pioneer in affordable housing, is now deeply in debt and is selling off units to a luxury housing developer. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/16085816.htm 11/21/06 Requirements to provide minimum number of parking spaces for each urban condo are adding to their selling price, as developers are adding these to the price whether the resident is using them or not. http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=5756&state=52 11/18/06 Post-Katrina "relief" agencies are providing financial relief for corporations but little or nothing in relief to displaced persons requiring affordable housing, including no funds at all for rental subsidies. http://www.reconstructionwatch.org/index.php?s=20&n=87 11/14/06 Baltimore to install collection boxes on downtown parking meters to collect donations for homeless services. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-homeless1114,0,315008.story?coll=bal-local-headlines 10/23/06 Olathe Kansas: a rapidly-growing Kansas City suburb with mortage-free mansions of the very wealthy and mortgages and especially rents that middle income people are unable to pay. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/23/us/23olathe.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin 10/22/06 Gainesville take note: Los Angeles police ignore court ruling that the city's treatment of homeless represents "cruel and unusual punishment: and continues its harassment practices in areas of the city targeted for gentrification. http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3777 10/15/06 Super-stars for affordable housing: Oscar de la Hoya, Magic Johnson and Keyshawn Johnson are professional athletes who are taking advantage of good investment opportunities in funding projects to create affordable housing in inner cities. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/business/14goldenboy.html?th&emc=th 9/7/06 Is the real estate industry starting to get "the point": that housing is pricing itself out of the market? In July, prices rose "only" by about 1% while home sales dropped by 4% and inventories of unsold houses reached an all-time high. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15447727.htm 8/24/06 Gentrification meets condo conversion and housing market inflation throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/welcome-to-gentrification-city/14285/ 8/21/06 The changing face of homelessness; increasingly it's the face of a baby. 8/12/06 Homeless people in Phoenix being given liquid materials confiscated from airplanes, supposedly material that might be explosive. Does this say more about callousness in treatment of the homeless; or the sincerity of belief that material confiscated from citizens might be explosive? http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-can-they-give-confiscated-airport.html 8/12/06 Will one of the White House "ten years plans to eradicate homelessness" actually eradicate the homelessness on LA's skid row? Not likely. http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/dying-to-get-off-skid-row/14113/ 7/26/06 In a familiar urban refrain, columnist notes the "vacuum" of (middle class) affordable housing in downtown Albuquerque, the abandoned leg of a three-legged stool of downtown redevelopment based on retail, entertainment and housing. http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_columnists/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19856_4868837,00.html 7/17/06 As Massachusetts goes? Real estate agents there, faced with a "glut" of available homes for sale, are advising their clients to lower their prices for quicker sales. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/07/17/to_fights_down/?page=1 7/15/06 Saginaw, Michigan allocates $1.6 million to end homelessnes in the city. http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1152958887254590.xml&coll=9 7/14/06 Affordable housing availability index for Maryland shows that would-be first home buyers have only 42.6% of the income sufficient to afford the average-priced house; in 2001 the corresponding percentage was 80%. 7/5/06 Alcholic-addicted homeless people are now being offered government-financing housing in Seattle without the usual accompanying efforts to "reform" through AA, church or whatever. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/us/05homeless.html?th&emc=th 6/15/06 As long expected, post-Katrina housing in New Orleans will be subject to a gentrification process: 5000 public housing units to be razed, to be replaced with housing for people with a "wider income range." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/us/15housing.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin 6/15/06 Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine signs an affordable housing initiative into law today, aimed at providing more affordabvle housing in the Arlington area after home prices have risen drastically in the last few years. The centerpiece of the initiative is a "large" affordable housing project in the region. How "large"? 20 affordable units: http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=822291 6/15/06 Massachussetts town approves a new affordable housing law that requires develppers to to reserve ate least 10% of new projects for affordable housing: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/06/15/affordable_housing_bylaw_okd 6/13/06 California court rules that San Diego's "inclusionary housing law" under which developers are required to set aside units as affordable housing is un-constitutional. http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=5462&state=5&res=800 6/11/06 Departure of a "guardian angel" director of homeless shelter in San Francisco highlights the problem of trying to maintain such programs when they could pay their director only $38,000 per year; try to "live" in SF for that. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/11/BAG14JCDI71.DTL 6/7/06 Same all over: Housing prices in King County (Seattle) soar to average of $427,000 per house. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/273033_housing07.html 5/26/06 Citing crisis in housing costs as prices rise and wages are stagnant in Connecticut, coalition is formed to find ways to improve affordable housing in the state. 5/18/06 City in California mulls reviewing it's harsh ban on sleeping in public areas after Circuit Court ruled that the city cannot enforce it: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/14608184.htm 5/18/06 The harrowing number of homeless military veterans in the U.S. is at last getting some much needed attention from Congress. But will anything really get done? http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1978786&page=1 5/18/06 Jackson, Mississippi shows that it is concerned with a lack of affordable housing in the city. How? By giving a developer money to build eight houses. Huh? http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article/OPINION 5/17/06 San Francisco is apparently ahead of schedule in finding homes for over 3,000 homeless in the city under a controversial plan: http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2006/05/17/n/HeadlineNews/resources_bcn_html 4/22/06 Salt Lake City set to abandon public housing for conversion to rentals. City officials say it will increase the availability of affordable housing. But 100 residents will become homeless: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_3733664 4/19/06 Faced with likely falling home prices and rising mortgage rates, homeowners may be threatened with inability to keep their homes: http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/18/real_estate/agents_bearish_in_blogs/index.htm?cnn=yes 4/18/06 Lawrence, Massachusetts, an old industrial city with a bad "reputation," begins to attract new residents with (relatively) affordable housing: http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/04/18/affordable_housing_becomes_draw_for_lawrence/ 4/15/06 Concern grows in Oakland over soaring housing prices and the dwindling supply of affordable housing. The issue could determine the outcome of upcoming mayoral election: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/california/14350028.htm 4/15/06 Los Angeles federal court bars police from arresting homeless for sleeping in public places, calls the long-standing practice "cruel and unusual punishment." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/15/us/15homeless.html?th&emc=th 4/12/06 Housing groups oppose affordable housing tax breaks for luxury apaprtments in New York City: 4/12/06 Lack of provision for affordable housing in San Francisco condos leads Supervisors to suspend their construction: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/12/BAG3KI7IO51.DTL 4/12/06 Political battle breaks out between Seattle's homeless advocates and city officials: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/266353_share12.html 4/10/06 City in New York mulls plan requireing new developments to include 20% affordable housing: http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?s=&newsdate=4/10/2006 4/10/06 Maryland residents are openly hostile toward plan to house homeless near their neighborhood: http://www.washingtonpost.com/04/09/AR2006040901160.html 4/9/06 New Jersey bill would raise funds for homeless veterans: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey 4/7/06 Maine Governor signs homeless-protection bill: http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/04/06/governort_homeless_from_attacks/ 3/23/06 Affordable housing in Delaware is non-existent, while the state legislature balks at confronting the issue: http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll//NEWS/603230369/-1/NEWS01 3/22/06 Wilmington N.C. institutes ban on feeding the homeless: http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=4662876&nav=menu70_23 3/21/06 1/4 of Boston mortgage-holders spend at least half their income on housing, a trend threatening housing access for minorities: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0321/p01s02-ussc.html 3/19/06 In situation of poverty and lack of housing availability, some women are vulnerable to Internet ads offering to exchange apartment or house residence for sex: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14133891.htm 3/9/06 New York City proposes new and larger fees on poor residents to cover budget gap in affordable housing programs: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/nyregion/09housing.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
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FLORIDA
STATEWIDE
Websites: Florida Coalition for the Homeless: http://www.flacoalitionhomeless.com/ Housing Roundtable of Central Florida: http://www.housingroundtable.org/
Analysis & views: 11/13/07 Mortgage foreclosures rise in Florida as many find that, not only can they got afford to pay their mortgages, they cannot afford the charges required under bankruptcy proceedings. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/nov/13/na-owners-go-bankrupt-to-keep-home/ 4/12/07 Florida renters as well as homeowners may get tax breaks in proposal under consideration in the legislature. 4/9/07 Florida is No. 1 again: this time in the number of homeless people who are the victims of beatings. http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070409/LOCAL/704090326/-1/news 3/26/07 Employer-assisted housing: Can it save the old Florida from the new Florida? By generally-accepted affordability standards, a family can afford to buy a home 3 times the amount of the family's annual income. With the ratio of housing prices to household incomes now approaching 8-1 in some south Florida communities, some employers like the Baptist Hospital System are building and subsidizing housing for their own employees. But will it be enough to stem the tide of south Floridians who are giving up on affordability of living in the state and moving to the "new Florida" of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina? 3/15/07 Florida legislature considers including the homeless among categories of people whose victimization could be designated as hate crimes. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/031507/met_8618243.shtml 3/14/07 Making the mortgage payment is getting harder in South Florida. Despite a robust "economy," rising housing costs in Broward and Miami-Dade County and the prevalence of "subprime loans" to buyers considered more risky borrowers, the rate of mortgage foreclosures triples for the first two months of 2007 compared to a year ago. http://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/40715.htmlhttp://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/40715.html 3/12/07 In a "soft" housing market in which people in existing homes have trouble selling their houses as a condition of buying another elsewhere, some south Floridians are resorting to "house swapping" by the use of internet sites that offer connections to barter homes in one region for those in another. 2/17/07 Massive efforts underway to prevent beans, corn and homeless from freezing from the current cold snap in south Florida. 11/29/06 Housing market in Florida continues to behave in erratic manner. Statewide in October sales for existing houses dropped 22%, and median prices fell in 11 of 20 Metro areas, by 44% in Ft. Myers; while Orlando prices rose by 5%. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-homes2906nov29,0,6083351.story?coll=orl-home-headlines 11/1/06 Clipping the wings of the snow birds: Many people from the North who maintained second homes in Florida are finding that escalating property taxes, which discriminate against those not year-round residents, are turning their dream homes in Florida into a fiscal nightmare. 9/22/06 Property appraisers of Lee, Brevard and Palm Beach County are launching a statewide "Save Our Homes Portability" project for legislation to allow people who move to retain the tax advantages they enjoyed under the Save Our Homes program. http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/content/news/briefhomestead0921.html 8/10/06 Florida public housing agencies face the same problem as private homeowners: Tampa Housing Agency finds the rates for the housing it insures will double this year. http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBVX3NLOQE.html 5/5/06 House and Senate pass a weak $514 million affordable housing bill, and send it to Gov. Bush for signing: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/14504553.htm 4/13/06 Legislation now pending in Florida legislature would make significant contribution toward providing affordable housing to public service employees like teachers and firefighters: 3/22/06 Major push toward affordable housing funding being debated in Tallahassee: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060322/CAPITOLNEWS/603220322 3/10/06 Escalating Florida housing prices lead to legislators' efforts to increase funding to support middle and low income access to housing: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/CAPITOLNEWS/603100354/1011 3/9/06 State lawmakers consider bill to increase penalties for attacks on homeless people: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14052848.htm 2/20/06 Floridians feel affordable housing crunch http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/NEWS/602190869 2/20/06 Spiraling home prices create serious problem of housing affordable for middle-income Florida families: http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060220/NEWS/60220007/1078 2/9/06 Legislature: with rising housing prices, Florida is becoming a "dream state that only the wealthy can afford." http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060208/NEWS01/602080323/1011/NEWS02
Other information sources:
FLORIDA LOCALITIES
Websites:
Broward Co. The Cooperative Feeding Program: Homeless assistance in South Florida http://www.feedingbroward.org/
Analysis & views: Sanford: 8/2/08 '"The sky is falling! They're busing in hundreds of homeless people " This "Chicken Little" e-mail helped convince city officials to cancel a planned event to provide social services for the homeless in downtown Sanford, Florida. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-homeless31x08jul31,0,5971031.story Palm Beach Co.: 3/3/08 Unable to afford to continue the project, Westgate Tabernacle in Palm Beach County FL will turn out most of its homeless population tonight. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/03/03/0303wgt.html Daytona Beach: 2/1/08 Life on the street for "Dog" is described as part of a Daytona Beach News-Journal feature with interviews of local homeless people. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST02020108.htm Miami: 1/24/08 Feds clean house at Miami-Dade housing agency. HUD has assumed control of the agency responsible for low-income housing support programs in the area and federal officials comment on the "mess" that was left them to clean up. For section 8 entitlements, for example, many landlords furnishing assisted housing were sent incorrect (too high or low) amounts of re-imbursement from the agency, an error now being "corrected" with letters sent to landlords. It remains to be seen whether HUD will do any better than Miami-Dade. http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/391282.html Daytona Beach: 1/24/08 HUD is "reviewing" operations of Daytona Beach Housing Authority, with indications of numerous "trouble spots" beginning to appear. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/EastVolusia/evlEAST03012408.htm Palm Beach Co.: 1/22/08 Palm Beach County school district is partnering with a housing development to help provide affordable housing for district's teachers. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/22/m3b_skhousing_0122.html Orlando: 1/18/08 Life in the woods off of John Young Parkway near Orlando:. It is home to many "homeless" people, an area in which many assaults and homicides occur, but local police are reluctant to intervene and, if they do, are unable to prosecute cases against crime perpetrators. They make sporadic efforts to "clear out" the area of their transient residents, but they have been trying to do this for 25 years and the people always come back. http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=12079 Daytona Beach: 1/17/08 Daytona Beach set to require "sweat equity" for public housing, requiring community service in return for subsidized housing. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/EastVolusia/evlEAST04011708.htm Gainesville; 1/17/08 Spending thousands to save millions. Alachua County commissioners decide to spend $21.5k to mail out a brochure to voters explaining that approval of the property tax amendment on the January 29 ballot will result in loss to the county of millions of dollars in tax revenue. http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080117/NEWS/801170316 West Palm Beach: 1/17/08 Repeal is being sought in Palm Beach County of a regulation requiring developers of new housing units to build certain number of affordable housing units. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/17/s1b_affordable_0117.html Miami: 1/2/08 After the feds take over the Miami-Dade housing assistance program:. The October 2007 takeover followed exposes of the corruption and inefficiency of the county's housing agency. So how is HUD now "fixing" the situation? According to the Miami Herald, whose exposes led to the takeover, families in need of assistance are now mired in a "paperwork mess" that keeps them out of needed housing. Agency officials blame their predecessors for failure to follow rules for determining client eligibility and say it will take time to "untangle" that mess. http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/363718.html Tampa: 12/30/07 Tampa charities providing for homeless and hungry face depletion of their resources as demand rises and donations decline. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/30/me-local-charities-see-drop-in-donations/?news-breaking Miami: 12/23/07 Miami's "mega-plan" for downtown development is being scrutinized as perhaps being too "risky" of the possibility of having funds diverted from fulfilling commitments for affordable housing in existing areas of poverty http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/354740.html Tampa: 12/3/07 Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tampa, which has permitted homeless people to sleep on its steps, withdraws that permission as number of users grows. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/03/me-church-tells-homeless-steps-now-off-limits/ Miami Gardens: 11/25/07 Not in their backyard: Miami Gardens says no to affordable housing. City, fearing they are playing the "ghetto game," are moving away from workforce and low-income housing projects, feeling that attracting people of lower income erodes the "tax base" used to provide services to these residents. http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/319741.html Miami: 11/13/07 Affordable housing advocates in South Florida are concerned with the disappearance of mobile home parks with condo and hotel development, about 20 of them having been closed in the last three years. http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/304592.html Alachua Co.: 9/12/07 Alachua County Commission (all Democrats) votes unanimously for the county to join the city of Gainesville in forbidding "solicitation" from road right of ways from pedestrians to auto passengers. The prohibition in both city and county includes charity drives like the Gainesville Fire Rescue people who stand in traffic medians in "Fill the Boot" campaigns. The boot-fillers plan to continue their solicitations by holding signs asking motorists to pull off the road into parking lots where they can make their solicitations. No word on whether "private" panhandlers will do the same. http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20070912/NEWS/709120326/1002/NEWS West Palm Beach 9/11/07 Downtown redevelopment funds in West Palm Beach take a big hit with downturn in housing market and reduced property taxes http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/09/11/c2b_cra_0911.html Orlando 9/8/07 Orlando City Council is considering a ban on night-time panhandling. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-mbeg0807sep08,0,3650433.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout Gainesville: 9/6/07 Gainesville's Downtown Community Plaza is a "space for everybody"...Or is it? Homeless advocates assert, and the Plaza's developer denies, that the city is engaged in a concerted effort to drive them from the downtown area. In support of this assertion, there are several recent actions in that regard: plans for a "one-stop" homeless service center far from downtown, the agreement of two social service agencies not to serve meals in the Plaza, the re-location of an RTS bus stop from its Plaza location, panhandling ordinance which has driven panhandlers to the city limits, and plans being made to re-locate a farmer's market into the Plaza, pre-empting some space that is now a "hangout" for the homeless. Does all this add up to a "concerted effort?" http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20070906/NEWS/709060320/1002/NEWS Ganiesville: 9/5/07 Gainesville will use velvet glove approach to evicting homeless from a Tent City, clearing one campsite at a time and offering vouchers for temporary location in hotels and help in locating permanent residence http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20070905/NEWS/709050331 St. Petersburg: 9/4/07 Young, pregnant and homeless: an increasing reality among the homeless of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/04/Northpinellas/Female_homeless_popul.shtml Gainesville 8/14/07 Gainesville City Commission votes to issue eviction notices to 100-200 residents of a Tent City for the homeless. http://www.gainesville.com/article/20070814/SUNFRONT/708140318 Miami: 8/14/07 Impending HUD take-over of affordable housing program in Miami-Dade raises anxiety of Liberty City residents: Scandal in M-D housing agency led to programs to relocate residents of Scott-Carver project, efforts now being threatened by the uncertainty of HUD's plans once the federal government assumes control. http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/202343.html Gainesville: 8/6/07 Organizer in Gainesville tries to start a homeless soccer team, inspired by current World Homeless Cup competition in Copenhagen. http://www.gainesville.com/article/20070806/LOCAL/708060310 Ft. Lauderdale: 8/4/07 Food Not Bombs group defies threat of police arrest for feeding homeless in public places by descending on a park in Ft. Lauderdale. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-flbhomeless0804nbaug04,0,1461284.story?coll=sofla_tab01_layout Palm Beach Co.: 8/2/07 Palm Beach County woman is a one-percenter (percentage of poor people who are described as able to rise out of poverty), a formerly homeless teenager who went through Covenant House program and plans a "hot ticket" program to help children in that category today. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/08/02/s1b_minor_0802.html Gainesville; 8/1/07 Alachua County and Gainesville are confronting the high costs involved in its programs to combat homelessness. http://www.gainesville.com/article/20070801/LOCAL/708010332 Miami: 7/20/07 Miami Mayor appears at dedication of an affordable rentable housing project, as the city tries to get back on track after the troubles of its Housing Agency http://www.miamiherald.com/884/story/176379.html Miami: 6/3/07 Miami Herald resumes its "House of Lies" series on the crisis of affordable housing in Miami-Dade. This installment focusses on the skewed effort at housing development in the region, as the area with the nation's "least affordable housing" allows projected affordable housing projects to be delayed while projects for the wealthy proceed apace. http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/houseoflies2/index.html Gainesville: 6/1/07 Tent City homeless in Gainesville get an eviction reprieve, until July at least. http://www.gvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070601/LOCAL/706010327 Gainesville: 5/29/07 Gainesville activists consider actions to try to prevent eviciton of homeless in city woods. A "loose coalition" appears at a local rally, at which a liberal city commissioner advises against saber-rattling and for negotiation. http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/LOCAL/705290324 Ocala: 5/29/07 Traditional family picnic in Marion County turns into a fundraiser for the homeless. http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/NEWS/205290319/1025/NEWS Gainesville: 5/27/07 Tent city of homeless off S. Main in Gainesville appears headed for the fate of the one in St. Petersberg, as city officials are taking actions looking toward its removal. http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070527/SUNFRONT/705270329 Orlando: 5.22.07 Housing costs are lowered for some in Orlando area as housing sales slump forces many condos back into rental pool and owners are offering them at "competitive rates" to renters. Tampa: 4/23/07 Giving homes to the homeless may not be the panacea it is thought to be, illustrated by Tampa family struggling to adapt to apartment living after years of honing their survival strategies on the street. http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBAF6IBU0F.html Daytona Beach: 4/20/07 10-year-old boy is released from custody for his role in beating of a homeless man, as he agrees to testify against two other boys. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD03042007.htm Miami: 4/14/07 As Florida leads the nation in attacks on the homeless, a program is unveiled in Miami-Dade County to expose school children to more sympathetic information about the homeless. Gainesville: 4/13/07 Survey shows 20% drop in number of homeless in Alachua County FL http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070413/LOCAL/704130330/-1/news Daytona Beach: 4/7/07 Assaults by youth on homeless people reach "crisis point" in Daytona Beach. But not to worry, Volusia County officials acknowledge they have a "problem" and expect to address it by a "forum on homelessness" later this year. Gainesville: 3/31/07 One-way bus ticket for the homeless? Maybe not as heartless as it sounds. Gainesville FL follows pioneering lead of San Francisco by instituting a program, with support of homeless advocates, to assist homeless to return to places where they have friends or families for support, a program with "safeguards" that prevent repeat "strandings" and in which case workers do follow-ups at the places to which the homeless return. http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070331/LOCAL/703310352 Daytona Beach: 3/30/07 10-year-old boy known as a neighborhood "terror" in Daytona Beach is among the three youngsters being accused of assaulting a homeless man. Daytona Beach: 3/28/07 Attacks against homeless men in Florida continue, as three Daytona Beach teenagers are arrested for an assault with a piece of concrete. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD05032807.htm Gainesville: 3/27/07 Gainesville FL City Commission votes to locate new "one stop center" for homeless in an underutilized commercial downtown area rather than on Waldo Road, a site objected to by those seeing it as another "dump" of undesirables on East Gainesville, further complicating plans for developing the east side of a city which is listing sharply westward. http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070327/LOCAL/703270352 Palm Beach Co.: 3/18/07 Robin hood policy being considered in Palm Beach Fl County: institute a tax on luxury homes to help provide affordable housing for the region's workforce. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/03/18/s1c_fees_0318.html Ormond Beach: 3/7/07 Problem of affordable housing in Ormand Beach FL is seen as intractable for now. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Neighbors/North/evlNN01030107.htm St. Petersburg: 3/1/07 St. Petersburg's "tent city" for the homeless may be on the move again. http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBQUSYKQYE.html Miami: 2/25/07 HUD says it will launch investigation of management procedures of Miami-Dade County's troubled public housing agency. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16772282.htm Delray Beach: 2/21/07 Large construction project for affordable and work force housing is built on the site an abandoned public housing project in Delray Beach FL; the "population" to be served by the new housing will be different than the poor population served by the public housing project. Palm Beach Co.: 2/14/07 Palm Beach County FL may allow developers some waivers from having to provide affordable housing in "pricey" neighborhoods in western part of the county, to protect some of the Agricultural Reserve from further development by giving "bonus" additional unit permits as incentives to building affordable housing. Tampa: 2/7/07 Affordable housing problems go upscale in Tampa as many condo purchasers are unable to afford their payments and their purchases face foreclosure. http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBG96VBVXE.html Miami: 2/5/07 Moving Federal housing assistance out of South Florida to where it will be used: Miami-Dade and other housing authorities have section 8 voucher funds to assist with rentals for low-income people that remain unused because of low enrollment in their programs. New legislation will likely cut the funding to these areas and move it to those areas where authorities are actually spending the allocated funds. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16618305.htm Orlando: 2/4/07 A sign of the times as Orlando joins many cities across the U.S., especially "tourist" ones like Las Vegas, in attempting to control their growing homeless populations by criminalizing their public activities. Also, signs don't yet say DON'T FEED THE HOMELESS but this is the intent of laws prohibiting activities which are thought to "encourage" homelessness. "Bombs not food" seems to sum it up. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DO_NOT_FEED_THE_HOMELESS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US Daytona Beach: 2/3/07 One fourth of the homeless who are served each day in emergency assistance centers in Volusia and Flagler counties in Florida are military veterans. http://www.news-journalonline.com/local.htm Collier Co.: 2/2/07 Florida Housing Finance Corporation turns down an affordable housing proposal from Collier County, citing lack of adequate local contribution to the project. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/jan/21/grant_refused_collier_work_force_housing_plan/?housing West Palm Beach: 1/21/07 Court trial in West Palm Beach involving a church that has sheltered homeless in violation of county zoning ordinances highlights the struggle between "Christian duty" and the duty of public officials to uphold community standards. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/01/31/s1a_WESTGATE_0131.html Miami: 1/29/07 Cold snap in south Florida will probably spare citrus crop but leave the homeless scrambling for shelter. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16569305.htm Orlando: 1/27/07 Public service workers in Orange and Osceola Counties will benefit from a grant from a Florida housing agency that will provide incentives to developers to set aside affordable housing units; how well the program will work remains to be seen. Volusia Co.: 1/27/07 Plans for a "homeless village" in Volusia County are put on hold as the affordability and availability of a site for the 5,600 bed project are problematic. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD03012707.htm St. Petersburg: 1/20/07 St. Petersburg FL police are fed up with a homeless tent city: slash and destroy the tents while anguished residents look on. Fox 13 video: Bradenton: 1/18/07 Bradenton FL police officer, arresting a homeless person, drags a shopping cart with her possessions outside his patrol car on the way to station house. Homeless advocates are impressed by his "heart," police chief says his action was "dangerous" and "not by the book." http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/16485423.htm Orlando: 1/16/07 Developers in Orlando are struggling to implement requirements that they "set aside" certain numbers of units of new housing developments as affordable housing units. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-affordable1607jan16,0,4647203.story?coll=orl-news-headlines Miami: 1/16/07 Umoja in Miami: a shantytown of makeshift shelters rises in the shadow of Miami's upscale building boom projects, providing symbolic protest of the plight of the homeless along with a practical approach to caring for their needs. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/us/16umoja.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin St. Petersburg: 1/14/07 Efforts of city of St. Petersburg FL to eliminate a tent city for the homeless seem to have resulted only in the "decentralization" of the city, as tents simply move to nearly locations. http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBS9ZSYWWE.html Deland: 1/13/07 Deland FL developer seeks to solve problems of downtown crime in the city by re-locating homeless to an outlying community built especially with homeless housing in mind. Critics doubt that the homeless would use it or find it convenient for their needs. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newWEST01011307.htm Ft. Lauderdale: 1/12/07 Street assaults on the homeless continue: a year after a Rodney King-style video showed a helpless homeless person being beaten by a Ft. Lauderdale teenager, a national advocacy organization for the homeless reports a sharp rise in such incidents in south Florida and throughout the nation. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16441434.htm Daytona Beach: 1/10/07 Daytona Beach is increasing its facilities available for feeding and sheltering of homeless on colder winter nights. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST01011007.htm Miami: 12/31/06 Mixed news at year's end about affordable housing in Miami-Dade County: new homes, many built by Habitat for Humanity, are starting to sprout up in areas like Liberty City and the Housing Agency has closed deals with developers for other affordable housing projects. However this still hardly "makes a dent" in the backlog of 41,000 families awaiting housing in one of the country's areas with the most expensive housing. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16354096.htm Jacksonville: 12/19/06 Move along: Police actions against homeless in downtown Jacksonville has shifted many of the homeless in outlying areas. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/121906/met_transients.shtml Miami: 12/15/06 Miami City Commissioners lose their patience with a 51-day protest for affordable housing staged in a shantytown encampment in Liberty City, voting 3-2 for ordinance requiring protesters to obtain a permit to assemble for protest, which the minority says would violate freedom of expression. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16243772.htm Orlando: 12/11/06 Battle between police and homeless and their advocates grows in Orlando as suits are filed against police seizure of homeless property in a raid and against enforcement of a law against feeding the homeless on public property. http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3967 Ormond Beach: 12/10/06 Ormond Beach kids hanging out in the street all night: about 50 of them from a church youth group take up cardboard shelter encampment on two cold nights to learn about the plight of the homeless and to raise funds for charity causes. West Palm Beach: 12/4/06 Another Florida county (Palm Beach) considers a federally-mandated 10 year plan to end homelessness in the county. (If the homeless can wait 10 years; meantime a cold wet unsheltered winter impends for many here and elsewhere). Gainesville: 12/2/06 Civil disobedience kicks off Gainesville City Commission race: a homeless advocate, a candidate for a commission seat, hands out doughnuts and bananas to homeless in defiance of a city ban on feeding people in the Downtown Plaza. GPD ignores the violation, calling it not a "significant act." http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061202/LOCAL/61202014/-1/news Gainesville: 11/28/06 Some level at least: Gainesville City Commission provides some additional facilities for winter shelter for the homeless, which will "at least allow some level of service in winter months." This "level" will be lower than last winter's. http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061128/LOCAL/211280331/1078/news Gainesville: 11/27/06 Gainesville, once one of "America's meanest cities" in its treatment of homeless, is getting meaner again, as city commissioners ponder the distribution of diminished funds for the sheltering the homeless over the winter. http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061127/LOCAL/211270332/1078/news Naples: 11/27/06 Affordable housing for teachers: as part of extended series on affordable housing crisis in southwest Florida, Naples News focuses on Collier County efforts to to build special housing units for sale or rental to teachers, as well as other private/public housing initiatives. http://www.naplesnews.com/affordable_housing/ Orlando: 11/24/06 Ex-TV reporter attends Salvation Army holiday feeding of the homeless and plans to make a video on people's "random acts of kindness," but gets booted from the event when it appeared he was doing it for self-promotion. Orlando: 11/23/06 Thanks to agencies like Second Harvest in Orlando, which is an efficient system for cycling food supplies to the needy which would otherwise be discarded as waste. Palm Beach: 11/23/06 A hole in the system for feeding the hungry in Palm Beach County: when Publix in September announced it would no longer donate fresh meat and produce to area food banks, it disrupted an already-delicate network of elements of the system. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2006/11/23/s1c_foodchain_1123.html Orange Co.: 11/22/06 Residents of a College Park (Orange County) mobile home park have been given eviction notices for a planned redevelopment project, but they still wait for the County or other agency to find a way to compensate them for their losses. Miami: 11/21/06 An "oasis" of affordable housing in expensive east Miami becomes a mirage as demolition prepares the way for still another condo project. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16062034.htm Ft. Lauderdale: 11/20/06 Cupboards are relatively rare at many south Florida food banks as Thanksgiving approaches. 50% reduction in donations is attributed to hard economic times squeezing household budgets. Orlando: 11/17/06 Orlando city workers remove belongings of homeless camped along CSX railroad and police warn all homeless people to leave by today. Lee County: 11/3/06 Lee County developer is buying condos at Osprey Cove in Estero to sell to teachers and other professionals at reduced costs with some additional loans available; despite this, many remain untaken as teachers have trouble affording even this "affordable" housing. http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061103/NEWS0108/611030398/1075 Volusia County: 10/28/06 Churches in Volusia County are working to expand the Interfaith Hospitality Network's program of family-based assistance to the homeless. Boynton Beach: 10/23/06 People camp out the night before a sale of "affordable housing" (300-400k range) at Boynton Beach in a housing project yet to be started. All 134 units are sold out within 5 hours. |