Northwest Region Stories | Community Development Digest

Times Columnist Questions U.S. Affordable Housing Policy

Thomas Edsall, a political columnist for the New York Times, argues that the affordable housing industry is largely responsible for the concentrated poverty characterizing the United States today.

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Declining Snowpack in the West Exacerbates Drought

Warm temperatures in February contributed to further snowpack decline in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, according to data from the third 2015 forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Snowpack in Nevada, Utah and Idaho also fell further behind normal.

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Senate Bill Extends New Markets Credits, Empowerment Zones

The Senate Finance Committee's tax extender bill includes provisions extending Empowerment Zones, New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) through Dec. 31, 2013. Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) initially had 72 extenders planned for the bill, but redu...

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Idaho Supreme Court Backs State's Eminent Domain Claim

The Idaho Supreme Court rejects a Boise business's attempt to win $7.5 million in damages and lost access rights after the Idaho Transportation Board (ITB) took aportion of its land via eminent domain to improve a highway interchange. The ITB took land owned by HI Boise, which owned and operated ...

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Union Pacific Foundation Offers Community Grants

Union Pacific Foundation (UPF) is offering up to $10,000 in awards through its Community-Based Grants Program. Schools, community-based groups and nonprofits in areas served by the railroad are eligible for grant funding. They are urged to file a preliminary application earlier than the Aug. 14 post...

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HUD OIG Seeks CO City Stimulus Money Recapture

HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) says $22,000 in Public Housing Capital Fund stimulus money should be recaptured from the Aurora (CO) Housing Authority (AHA) and seeks justification of $206,000 in city stimulus-funded procurements and contracts. The OIG's report says the city failed to obli...

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Idaho CDBG Funds to Go for Job Creation

Idaho state development officials will focus on job creation when funding future state Community Development Block Grant projects. With less CDBG money coming from HUD and even less expected in years to come, Idaho is faced with making tougher choices about which projects it can fund after having a...

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UT Continues Success Fighting Chronic Homelessness

Chronic homelessness fell in Utah 9% between January 2011 and January 2012, but periodic homelessness in the state reached an all-time high. The state announced the annual homelessness numbers based on the annual "Point in Time" count conducted Jan. 26. State Division of Housing and Commu...

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CO Bill Would Use Eminent Domain to Complete Beltway

A draft bill expected to soon emerge in the Colorado legislature would give a new entity charged with completing a beltway around Denver "super eminent domain" powers that suburban cities fear could result in unrestricted property taking. Senate President Pro Tempore Betty Boyd (D) and Re...

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Casper, WY Seeks Answers to CDBG Cut

Officials in Casper, WY are trying to get information from the Census Bureau and HUD concerning the calculation that resulted in a 33% reduction in the city's FY 2012 Community Development Block Grant funding. New data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey is being used in Casper's CDB...

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