The following editorial is from an editorial in today’s Austin-American Statesman. A state disaster relief contract has itself been declared a disaster by federal auditors who recommend that Texas repay $9 million in overcharges collected by HNTB to administer disaster relief grants. Federal auditors found instances of overbilling by the company and poor oversight by [...]
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Tag Archives: Hurricane rebuilding
State report: 29% of TX first round HUD disaster funds drawn down, 0% 2nd round
March 14, 2012
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Recent stories in the Austin American-Statesman, the Texas Tribune and the New York Times have chronicled the slow pace of the Texas Hurricane Ike and Dolly disaster recovery program using federal funds. Let’s step back and look at a snapshot of the state’s entire disaster recovery effort to get some perspective. Here are the numbers [...]
Read moreAmid Finger-Pointing, Hurricane Relief for Texans Lags – NYTimes.com
March 9, 2012
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The NYT ran a story written by Texas Tribune reporter Becca Aaronson on the state of disaster recovery in Texas… Nearly four years after Hurricanes Ike and Dolly wreaked havoc on the Texas coast, thousands of Texans are still waiting for housing assistance. The long-term disaster recovery effort financed by the federal government has made little [...]
Read more Hurricane Ike and Dolly home reconstruction drags on at unacceptable rates
February 13, 2012
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According to a State of Texas report covering the period through January 31 2012, only 38 percent of houses destroyed by Hurricanes Ike and Dolly and contracted to be repaired by local governments have been completed. A second, far larger round of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funded home repair contracts are expected to [...]
Read more Couple lives in tent waiting for Ike-damaged home’s repair | khou.com Houston
September 17, 2011
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Just when you think you have seen the worst government can do to Hurricane Ike victims along comes this story. This is funded with the $3.1 billion State administered disaster recovery program. Is no one monitoring how local recipients of the funds treat the people who are being “assisted” under the program? (Watch the video) [...]
Read more Fewer than 500 Texas homes repaired in three years since Hurricane Ike
September 15, 2011
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Official figures from the State of Texas show that fewer than 500 homes have been repaired or rebuilt under the State of Texas Hurricane Ike/Dolly disaster recovery program as of this week, the 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Ike. A minimum of $1.7 billion in available federal funds provided to the state are aside for housing [...]
Read more On 3rd anniversary 200 tell Houston City Council reforms are needed in Hurricane Ike recovery program
September 14, 2011
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The following testimony was presented before the Houston City Council on the third anniversary of Hurricane Ike, September 13, 2011.
Read more Protesters say city slow to repair Ike-damaged houses – Houston Chronicle
September 13, 2011
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Bearing photos of homes that still have blue tarps on the roofs, more than 100 protesters held a rally at City Hall on the third anniversary of Hurricane Ike on Tuesday and pleaded with the City Council to accelerate its repair program. “I’m tired of the city telling me to be patient,” said Elvis Malveaux at [...]
Read more Senior’s city-built home lacked insulation – Houston Chronicle
September 13, 2011
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After months of delay in getting its housing repair program under way, Houston’s housing department was eager last month to show off the first batch of new homes built to replace those damaged by Hurricane Ike. But one of the homes wasn’t quite finished when it was turned over to the homeowner. The contractor neglected to [...]
Read more Three Years After Ike, Many Still Await Assistance | Public News Service
September 13, 2011
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AUSTIN, Texas – Today marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Ike, and many low-income Texans, particularly in the Houston area, have yet to recover from its devastation. Hundreds of affected residents plan to converge on City Hall today, carrying symbolic blue tarps and photos of unrepaired homes, charging that the city has neglected them while [...]
Read more September 13, 2011 is the three year anniversary of Hurricane Ike
September 12, 2011
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Please take a few moments to consider the plight of the tens of thousands of elderly and disabled Texans who are still waiting for help to repair their homes. Some tell their stories in this video produced a year ago for TxLIHIS by former staffer Melissa Cha. The people in the video are still waiting [...]
Read more Mississippi auctions remaining Katrina cottages | Gulfport – SunHerald.com
August 1, 2011
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Editors note: Katrina Cottages were an alternative to the much disparaged FEMA trailer. They look more like homes and won somewhat more acceptance in cities than did FEMA trailers. But many communities still rejected them because of their temporary nature. Costing from $30,000 – $52,000 plus moving and set-up costs, the Katrina Cottages ended up [...]
Read more Thousands still recovering from Hurricane Ike | abc13.com
July 31, 2011
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The community organization TOP held an information fair for low-income Houston homeowners Saturday to help them find out when they can expect to see home repairs through the City of Houston’s long-delayed CDBG disaster recovery program. The following is from a TV news report. It’s been almost three years since Hurricane Ike hit, and thousands [...]
Read more It’s finally time to get rid of those post-Ike blue tarps | Houston Chronicle
July 30, 2011
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September 13, 2011, will mark the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Ike making landfall along the upper Texas coast. Residents of the Houston-Galveston area remember all too well the death and destruction Ike left in its path. This community has made remarkable progress over three years recovering from Ike. Yet for too many Houstonians, particularly those [...]
Read more HUD pointedly directs Galveston to rebuild its public housing
July 15, 2011
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In an unusual joint letter to Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski, three top HUD leaders told Galveston to move forward to rebuild public housing destroyed by Hurricane Ike or face the loss of federal funding. The July 13, 2011 letter was signed by Mercedes Marquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, John Trasvina, HUD Assistant Secretary for [...]
Read more Wait gets longer for public housing in Galveston | Houston Chronicle
July 2, 2011
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There is an interesting and sobering story about rebuilding Galveston public housing that ran in today’s Houston Chronicle. The story is exerted below. The Galveston Housing Authority (GHA) needs to address the fears of the community that rebuilding will take too long — in fact it already has taken too long. The GHA board of [...]
Read more The racism of New Berlin is growing in Galveston
June 25, 2011
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We noted yesterday the United States Department of Justice brought suit alleging the City of New Berlin, Wisconsin had violated the Fair Housing Act by denying a developer permission to build a mixed senior, family development financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). I just read the Justice Department’s compliant in the case. The same [...]
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 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 moreChronicle on Houston Disaster Recovery Repair
May 23, 2011
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Saturday’s Houston Chronicle ran a short story on the status of the single-family housing repair program funded with Hurricane Ike disaster relief. The full story quotes TxLIHIS Co-Director John Henneberger: Houston on track to repair 44 Ike-damaged homes Some owners skeptical the delay is finally over City housing officials say they’re on track to have [...]
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 moreCurrent FEMA disaster recovery policy will leave low-income hurricane survivors unassisted
July 1, 2010
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Lower income Texas families whose homes are damaged by Hurricane Alex and future hurricanes this season will be denied financial assistance due to an undocumented Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) repair policy. FEMA’s policy of refusing to assist households whose homes needed repairs before a hurricane (termed “deferred maintenance”) came to light in the wake [...]
Read moreNew York Times praises State of Texas/TxLIHIS disaster recovery settlement
June 14, 2010
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The New York Times published this editorial Monday about our settlement with the State of Texas. Editorial HUD Steps Up in Texas Published: June 13, 2010 Washington too often looks the other way as state governments rob low-income victims of their fair share of federal disaster aid. The Department of Housing and Urban Development did [...]
Read moreStatement on our Fair Housing settlement with the State of Texas
May 25, 2010
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HUD ACCEPTS $1.7 BILLION REVISED DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN PRIORITIZING REBUILDING HOMES OF SURVIVORS An historic agreement between affordable housing advocates, HUD and the State of Texas redirects hundreds of millions in federal disaster recovery funds to benefit low-income survivors and devastated communities while ensuring fair housing opportunities. Austin, TX – In an historic victory for [...]
Read moreThe TxLIHIS / TX Appleseed / State of Texas fair housing settlement agreement
May 25, 2010
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The settlement agreement can be viewed as a PDF document on the HUD website: http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-106/conciliationagreement.pdf
Read moreHUD announces approval of TxLIHIS – Texas Appleseed – State of Texas Fair Housing settlement on hurricane recovery
May 25, 2010
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HUD has issued an announcement of their approval of of the settlement agreement to the TxLIHIS/Texas Appleseed fair housing complaint against the State of Texas. HUD APPLAUDS REVISED $1.7 BILLION TEXAS DISASTER PLAN Proposed plan targets more funding to high-need areas and housing activities WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today applauded a revised [...]
Read moreHouston Chronicle profiles Texas Grow Homes
April 12, 2010
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Widespread destruction of low-income neighborhoods, toxic FEMA trailers, countless homes rotting, vulnerable populations such as the elderly left homeless or in permanent exile from their communities. These problems have, on occasion, won the media’s attention following recent natural disasters. Rarely has the media examined solutions to these problems. But this week, the Houston Chronicle did, [...]
Read moreA conversation series dedicated to developing a disaster housing reconstruction program for low income homeowners
January 15, 2010
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The Texas Grow Home Conversation Series will consist of eight meetings held every third Wednesday from 4pm – 6pm (location to be announced). Each meeting will discuss and develop recommendations for various topics associated with low-income homeowner recovery. Recommendations developed during each meeting will be used to inform the work of the Natural Disaster Housing [...]
Read moreHouston Chronicle reports hurricane rebuilding fund diversion
January 11, 2010
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Mike Synder of the Houston Chronicle this weekend picked up on the story about Governor Perry’s diversion of funds away from hurricane impacted areas. Read the full story here. A Texas plan for distributing hurricane recovery funds provided less than half the money needed for housing and business recovery in Galveston and Orange counties while [...]
Read moreThe Texas plan directs rebuilding money away from those in need
January 11, 2010
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There is really no other way to characterize the plan Governor Perry submitted to HUD to spend $1.7 billion in federal disaster recovery funds. The Texas plan is to take money away from those suffering and in need to give to those not in need – reverse Robin Hood. HUD’s research, summarized in the map [...]
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Bo McCarver’s housing news clips for May
- 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
