It appears that the rebuilding of the 569 public housing in Galveston demolished in the wake of Hurricane Ike may be back on track. Sources tell me that the Galveston Housing Authority voted today 4-1 to accept the requirements of the Texas General Land Office concerning the rebuilding of public housing. Last week the Galveston City […]
Read more
Tag Archives: public housing
State halts Galveston funding over failure to build public housing: TX Land Commissioner Patterson explains
April 11, 2013 
1 Comment
By Jerry Patterson The city of Galveston has a choice to make as we try to move forward with plans to complete the recovery from Hurricane Ike: Either quit dragging its feet and comply with the federal requirements as well as the city of Galveston’s own council resolution to rebuild public housing adopted on Sept. […]
Read more Once again recovery from a hurricane bypasses the poor
November 9, 2012 Comments Off
A New York Times editorial laments the type of government neglect that public housing residents in Texas know all too well. “Ten days after the hurricane [Sandy] struck, thousands of people in New York City’s public housing are still without heat, water, electricity or food. Many people needed assistance after the storm, but the most […]
Read more Housing authority shake-up may be under way – Houston Chronicle
February 29, 2012 Comments Off
The Houston Chronicle reports… Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday replaced the board chairman of the Harris County Housing Authority, starting what appears will be an extended shake-up at the agency following revelations of imprudent spending. … Tuesday’s appointment comes as the authority is negotiating with CEO Guy Rankin IV about the terms of his departure […]
Read more The Harris County Housing Authority gets motivated to act like the top 1 percent
February 27, 2012 Comments Off
If the previous blog post was not a sufficient indictment of the outrageous spending by the Harris County Housing Authority check out Mike Morris’ Houston Chronicle blog post. He documents the cost of getting the housing authority staff motivated through… A $5,500 fee for motivation speaker Garrison Wynn to address authority staff at their July 30, […]
Read more Harris County Housing Authority’s excesses exposed by Houston Chronicle
February 27, 2012 1 Comment
“Appalling. … One of the greater abuses of appointed office that I’ve seen,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett told the Houston Chronicle. That does not overstate the bizarre expenditures at the Harris County Housing Authority, based on today’s story by Mike Morris in the Houston Chronicle. Yet inexplicably, the Harris County Housing Authority boasts it is HUD’s highest-performing housing authority in the […]
Read more HUD plays Grinch with its poorest tenants
February 17, 2012 1 Comment
A single mother with two children in Texas is potentially eligible to receive $260 per month from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). She might be able to get Food Stamps to help feed the kids. But the $260 per month has to cover the other living expenses. There is basically no option except to […]
Read more HUD Secretary Donovan’s letter to PHAs about accepting ex-offenders
July 20, 2011 Comments Off
I commented earlier on HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan‘s letter to public housing authorities asking them to reconsider their policies on admission to public housing by ex-offenders. In my opinion, the letter is carefully constructed to send the proper message. It does not order PHAs to change their policies but reminds local PHAs that they have […]
Read more HUD pointedly directs Galveston to rebuild its public housing
July 15, 2011 1 Comment
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 Comments Off
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 NLIHC Newsletter for Renters, Residents and Tenants
June 16, 2011 Comments Off
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has just released the second issue of Tenant Talk, a newsletter for low income renters, residents and tenants, and for anyone who cares about issues that affect the lives of low income people. Tenant Talk provides information on actions the federal government is taking on issues related to housing […]
Read moreBooks we are reading
No data found
