Apartment Choice

LEWISTON — The city is seeking a large federal grant that would address housing and other issues in the poorest areas of downtown Lewiston , and neighborhood advocates say the funds could go a long way toward implementing goals they've had for years.  If successful in its bid, Lewiston could receive $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and what's known as a  Choice Neighborhood Planning and Action Grant. The city council approved the application last week, and will commit $237,500 in local Community Development Block Grant funds during implementation if the grant is successful.  The city hopes the funding can lead to long-term changes in the downtown neighborhood , where nearly half of residents live below the federal poverty level . According to 2015 census figures, the median family incomes in downtown census tracts 201 and 203, are $12,417 and $16,047, respectively.  The main purpose of the funds is to plan and execute major housing...

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler promised during his 2016 campaign that he would tackle the city's affordable housing crisis if elected. His second day in office, he took over the housing bureau , putting himself in charge of its big decisions on top of his already ambitious workload. But eight months into his term, the mayor has little to show for it. No groundbreakings. A single deal to bring an affordable apartment complex to Northeast Portland . A key policy position on his staff vacant five months after his housing expert quit . He has yet to tell developers what the city will fund if they work to put roofs over needy Portlanders' heads. Wheeler's insistence on painstaking public involvement and the lack of housing expertise on his staff have hampered progress on what he said was an urgent priority. The mayor has also made no decisions about how the city should spend the largest pool of money ever available to address Portland's affordable housing shortage . Wheeler ...

Orlando will soon have a new community down near Disney — the Four Seasons Private Residences — where home prices start around $5 million. Bully for all our new neighbors ... and the $24,514 in homeowner’s association fees they’ll pay each year. Ironically, though, many of the people who already live here — the ones who work full-time in the tourist industry that attracts the Four Seasons folks — can’t afford homes of their own. Heck, they can’t even cover the HOA dues. Central Florida , you see, is in the midst of an all-out housing crisis . Our affordable- housing shortage is so severe that the National Low Income Housing Coalition recently found just 18 rental units available for every 100 low- income families — one of the lowest rates in America. As a result, we have families living in cheap motels and relying on government subsidies. And with rents rising, it’s only getting worse. This isn’t exactly the kind of thing our chambers of commerce or visitors bureaus like to promo...

Women’s soccer fans who follow only the U.S. national team might not have heard of Maddy Evans, unless they knew of her when she was growing up in the Philadelphia region . But Evans’ name is very much one worth knowing, because her story says a lot about the present and future of the sport in this country. A 26-year-old product of Abington High and Penn State, Evans retired from playing last week after a five- year pro career . Among the reasons: She couldn’t earn enough money in the job to sustain a living. Evans’ salary this season with the Orlando Pride of the National Women ’s Soccer League was set to be approximately $16,000, just above the league minimum of $15,000. In previous seasons — with the Boston Breakers from 2013 to 2015 and the Pride after that — she received half that sum or less. Players are paid only during the time of year when teams are on the field. It’s a far cry from the glamorous lives led by the globa...

SUBHEAD: The Texas capital plan for sustainability does not include some minority neighborhoods. By Raj Mankad on 15 August 2017 for Grist - (https://grist.org/article/the-newer-greener-houston-isnt-for-everybody/) Image above: In some cases, little more than a fence separates Manchester homes from neighboring fossil fuel industry . Photo by Paul Hester. From original article. Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery. Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a ci...

An aerial view of Manchester. Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery . Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a city housing department , for a union, for a law clinic, and on a campaign that stopped a PVC factory from being built in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” For the last decade, he has served as executive director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (better known as t.e.j.a.s.). Part of his work is leading tours past the heaping piles of scrap met...