Whoever at CNN wrote the headline above does not understand what happened in the Las Lomas colonia. The headline says, “Impoverished border town grows from shacks into community”. The headline should say, “Impoverished border community grows from shacks to a town”. The transformation of Las Lomas took place because it always was a strong community. That community [...]
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CNN says, “Impoverished border town grows from shacks into community” – not exactly
July 9, 2011
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What really impedes progress in Texas colonias?
July 8, 2011
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A story in today’s Texas Tribune and the Texas edition of the New York Times presents a sad and confused picture of the problems facing impoverished colonia homeowners. Amid a number of self-congratulatory statements from well-meaning government officials here is one that stands out, ”…being in public service, you have to learn the system, and be patient.” [...]
Read more A “new sheriff” takes over Texas disaster recovery
July 6, 2011
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(Photo: Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, from Texas Tribune) Readers will recall Governor Perry passed responsibility for the Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Dolly disaster recovery programs to Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson effective July 1. This afternoon I met with Gary Hagood, Deputy Commissioner of GLO and the new man responsible for overseeing [...]
Read more Effect of Elected Official Letters on the 2011 LIHTC Round
July 1, 2011
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Abstract: Letters written by Texas State Representatives and Senators regarding the development of low income housing in the state had the effect of moving development to lower income, higher poverty areas of the state.
Read more Opportunity to tame public corruption lost in veto of TDHCA Sunset bill
June 28, 2011
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When Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed the TDHCA Sunset Bill a week or so ago one thing that was lost was two years of work by the Texas Sunset Commission to reform a system of allocating Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) that has sent a dozen or so Texans to the federal penitentiary. It [...]
Read more Conference committee strikes anti-NIMBY provisions from TDHCA legislation, continues agency 2 years
June 27, 2011
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The Texas House/Senate Conference Committee on SB 1 has reached agreement to extend the life of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs two years. The committee also voted to strike provisions in the Sunset Bill requiring disaster planning as well as Texas Sunset Advisory Commission recommendations designed to reduce Fair Housing violations that plague the [...]
Read more Texas colonia self-help centers reauthorized by Texas Legislature
June 27, 2011
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The Texas Legislature acted today to preserve a key program in the state’s efforts to address the substandard living conditions in Texas colonias. The Texas Senate passed SB 2 which allows the Governor authority to transfer administration of the CDBG program for non-entitlement jurisdictions and disaster recovery to an agency other than the current administering [...]
Read more DOJ to Intevene in Texas Developmental Disability Segregation Case
June 23, 2011
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According to a press release by the US Department of Justice, the Justice Department today filed papers seeking to intervene in a case filed on behalf of thousands of Texans with developmental disabilities to enforce their right under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to receive services provided by the state in the most integrated [...]
Read more Report: Texas Efficiency Rent 90% of SSI Payments
June 21, 2011
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“Priced Out,” a new report by the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) shows the severe housing affordability problems of people with disabilities. According to the report, a person with a disability receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) would have to pay 90% of their monthly income to rent an [...]
Read more Governor Perry switches agencies responsible for disaster recovery funds
June 20, 2011
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Shakeups in the State’s troubled disaster recovery program continue. In the wake of the virtual elimination of the Governor’s designated lead agency for disaster recovery, the Texas Department of Rural Affairs and a veto of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Governor has informed HUD of his intention to change lead disaster [...]
Read more Short term 2 year extension in works for Texas housing department
June 20, 2011
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Well placed Capitol sources tell TxLIHIS that Governor Perry’s staff have indicated they will insist on only a short-term two-year extension of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Last Friday the Governor vetoed the Sunset Bill for the State’s housing department, citing objections to requirements placed in the Sunset Bill at the behest [...]
Read more Analysis: Governor Perry’s veto of Texas Department of Housing
June 19, 2011
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On Friday Governor Perry vetoed the “Sunset Bill” for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) that would continue the agency in operation for 12 more years. Without passage of the Sunset Bill the state housing agency will wind down operations and cease to exist. The Governor says he vetoed the bill because [...]
Read more Governor Vetos Tenants Rights Bill, Austin Homestead Preservation District Bill
June 17, 2011
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In addition to the TDHCA sunset bill, Perry also vetoed two three other housing related bills: HB 1429 (Deshotel; Carona) – which required landlords to provide leases to tenants and prohibited retaliation for tenant organizing. Perry veto statement excerpt: “The litigation expenses incurred by landlords as a result of this bill could be significant, and [...]
Read more Governor Vetoes TDHCA Sunset Bill
June 17, 2011
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Per the Governor’s Office: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: Pursuant to Article IV, Section 14, of the Texas Constitution, I, Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, do hereby disapprove of and veto House Bill No. 2608 as passed by the Eighty-Second Texas Legislature, Regular Session, because of the following objections: House Bill 2608 [...]
Read more Housing Tidbits and Round-up
June 17, 2011
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Housing news crossing our desk that didn’t turn into full blog posts this week: TDHCA and TSHAC received $620k through the fifth round of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program (a program of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act). They expect to pass these funds through to local non-profits to reimburse counseling for up [...]
Read more State Rep Riddle says she wants no low-income housing in her district
June 14, 2011
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To appreciate the fair housing problem in Texas just watch this video. Back in February, at a hearing on the budget for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), Texas State Representative Debbie Riddle, House District 150, which comprises much of northwest Harris County (51% Anglo. per capita income $25,272, 28% renters), asked Mike [...]
Read more Problems Found with Accessibility Modifications to Smith County Manufactured Home
June 8, 2011
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KLTV reports that a Habitat for Humanity of Smith County is facing criticism over home accessibility modification work done through its “Rehabitat” program. ReHabitat helps low-income seniors and low-income individuals with disabilities with emergency home repairs and modifications. According to the KLTV, a man in Smith County asked Habitat to make his manufactured home scooter-accessible, [...]
Read more Section 8 Waitlists In Texas
June 1, 2011
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Previously here at Texas Houser’s, we noted the Dallas Housing Authority lost 13,000 applications to its Section 8 program. Under the Section 8 program, officially termed the “Housing Choice Voucher Program,” families may apply to receive vouchers to help them pay a percentage or portion of their rent. Dallas reopened its Section 8 waitlist for [...]
Read more TDHCA Sunset bill passes House and Senate
May 30, 2011
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The TDHCA Sunset bill passed the Texas House and Senate last night. The final bill differed in several aspects from the Commission’s recommendations. We’ll recap those differences here at Texas Housers sometime over the next few days. Text of final bill (pdf)
Read more San Antonio Haven for Hope homeless facility receives HUD design award
May 27, 2011
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The Haven for Hope homeless facility in San Antonio, Texas is one of three recipients of the HUD Secretary’s 2011 Housing and Community Design Award for excellence in residential housing design. The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects, selected the Haven for Hope homeless facility [...]
Read more Hurricane Disaster Spending–an opportunity to repair homes *and* create jobs in affected communities
May 27, 2011
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Texas Low Income Housing Information Service is working with residents in Galveston, Houston and the Valley to make sure that under-employed and unemployed Texans get as much work as possible from the Hurricane Recovery dollars. Section 3 says that when HUD dollars are spent on housing or infrastructure projects and low-income people in the affected [...]
Read more Houston Town Hall on Disaster Single Family Home Repair
May 26, 2011
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On Saturday, May 21, 2011, Texas Organizing Project (TOP) along with other supporting organizations spearheaded a record attendance Town Hall meeting to address the City of Houston’s lack of attention to Single Family Home Repair due to Hurricane Ike. Over 300 attendants packed Jerusalem Baptist Church to receive information about the ongoing slow progress of [...]
Read more 60 minutes on Texas Farmworkers
May 25, 2011
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Last weekend 60 minutes ran a story on migrant youth farm labor. The story features a Texas family staying in a TDHCA-licensed migrant labor housing facility. In the short online-only ‘extra’ clip below, 60 minutes reporter Byron Pitts is astounded at the fact the family is charged a damage deposit to stay at the facility. [...]
Read more Houston SRO Development wins Urban Land Institute Award
May 25, 2011
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New Hope Housing at Bray’s Crossing, Houston, Texas was one of ten winners of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Awards for Excellence: The Americas competition. The winners of the awards competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program, were announced last week in Phoenix at the 2011 ULI Real Estate Summit [...]
Read more Thoughts on the Washington Post Investigation of the HOME Program
May 19, 2011
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5/20 update: HUD has posted a more detailed response to the WP article that includes an re-analysis of the entire data set. That response is available here: “Setting the Record Straight: What the Washington Post Got Wrong About the HOME Program” The Washington Post article last weekend that discussed the Beaumont HOME development failure is [...]
Read more TDHCA releases map of total affordable rental units by county
May 18, 2011
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The Housing Resource Center at TDHCA has just released an interactive google map of the affordable rental units funded by the department. An image of the map appears below–double clicking on the embeded image will take you the interactive map itself.
Read moreWashington Post Focuses on Beaumont Housing Failure
May 16, 2011
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Saturday’s Washington Post ran a story on a failed HOME development in Beaumont: BEAUMONT, Tex. — At the dusty intersection of Texas and Elm streets, two partially completed houses sit empty on an unkempt corner lot across from 86-year-old Gardine Grogan’s dilapidated home. Three years ago, a local developer walked off the job without finishing [...]
Read moreHUD Approves Phase I of Texas Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing
May 13, 2011
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One of the conditions of the TxLIHIS – Texas Appleseed – State of Texas Fair Housing settlement on hurricane recovery is that the state would update its Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing. (See our post Introduction to an “Analysis of Impediments” for discussion of what an AI is). Today, HUD approved the first phase [...]
Read more John Henneberger Testimony at TDHCA Board Meeting on Disaster Recovery Housing Programs
May 9, 2011
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John Henneberger, a Co-Director of the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, spoke at the May 5, 2011 board meeting of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) regarding the status of and proposed changes to the Hurricane Ike Disaster Recovery Housing Programs in Houston and Galveston. Youtube videos of selections of his [...]
Read moreValley Tops List of Housing Cost Growth
May 6, 2011
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This week the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released “Out Of Reach,” a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in the United States. The report includes a tool to generate local summaries of the status of renters. Below are NLIHC’s summaries of the State of Texas and Starr County, as well as a map [...]
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- Mitt Romney at private fundraiser: I might eliminate HUD – The Washington Post
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Bo’s housing news clips: Study finds zoning segregates lower-income students in lower-scoring schools.
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Texas LIHTC housing program rocked by second earthquake in two months
- Low-Income Housing Program Compels Building in Poor Texas Areas – NYTimes.com
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Bo’s housing news clips: National home foreclosures and Galveston housing woes are top stories in recent weeks
