Story of the Week Stories | Community Development Digest

Why Community Planners Should Ponder the DNC Server Hack

If heightening defenses against so-called “cyber warfare” is an important concern for cities, counties, and states, then recent reports about Russia’s purported hack of the Democratic National Convention’s email server is something for community developers and planners to ponder.

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Cooperatives Seen Gaining Importance in Community Development

Cooperatives, once largely overlooked in the community development field, have become an important part of the community wealth-building discussion. It was not long ago that not only did community development ignore co-ops, but co-op developers often ignored community development.

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Bill Would Delay Implementation of Labor Dept.’s OT Rule

The legislation proposed Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) would delay implementation of the Labor Department’s final rule on overtime pay, a rule that calls for the automatic updating of the salary threshold for employees eligible for mandatory overtime pay.

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Alaska Congressional Delegation Addresses King Cove Road Issue

After working for more than three decades to obtain what they consider a life-saving road corridor linking their isolated community to an all-weather airport 25 miles away, the people of King Cove, AK are a little closer to seeing their dream become reality.

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NFIB Paints Gloomy Portrait of Small Business Jobs Growth

Even though the Labor Department’s June jobs report highlights significant improvement last month in the U.S. employment picture, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) counters with its own report showing the small business employment outlook actually weakening in June. Accor...

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U.S. Economy in June Makes Strong Comeback from May’s Lows

Continued criticism from opponents of the Obama administration about the purported lackluster performance of the U.S. economy is not supported by the latest jobs report from the Department of Labor.

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Pessimism about Prolonged Housing Affordability Crisis on the Rise

While stable, affordable housing is viewed as a fundamental component of economic security for American families, nearly seven in ten adults (68%) believe that it is more challenging to secure such housing today than it was for previous generations. Still, more than three in five adults (63%) believe a great deal or fair amount can be done to address problems of housing affordability, and the same proportion (63%) believes this issue has not yet received enough attention from presidential candidates.

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Federal Agencies Partner to Reduce Vet Homelessness

Two federal agencies -- the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD and the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) -- have teamed up to award nearly $38 million in funding aimed at helping more than 5,200 homeless vets find permanent homes.

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Bipartisan Policy Center: Integrate Housing, Healthcare Systems

A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) underscores the critical need for the United States to better integrate America’s health care and housing systems. The report provides evidence showing tightly linking the two can improve health outcomes for seniors, reduce health care costs, and enable millions of Americans to age safely and comfortably in their own homes and communities.

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SBA’s Advocacy Office to EPA on Proposed Rule: Cool Your Jets

The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to modify its proposed rule governing accident prevention and safety precautions for small businesses that use and distribute hazardous chemicals.

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