Archive for Poverty
10.9% Increase in HUD Funding
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This email from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities hit my inbox.
On December 16, the President signed into law an omnibus funding bill for fiscal year 2010 that includes funding for affordable housing and community development programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This law provides a total of $46.1 billion for HUD for fiscal year 2010, an increase of $4.5 billion (10.9 percent) above the 2009 level and $578 million (1.3 percent) above the President’s request.
The following are the highlights of the 2010 funding law for the three major federal rental assistance programs:
Bellamy Bringing the Broadband?
Posted by: | CommentsHunter Goosmann, the management mastermind behind the ERC’s regional broadband service, twittered a link to stimulus money dedicated to expanding broadband access:
Schedule and Milestones
Procurement for Grants Program Assistance Services March – June 2009
Award Contract for Grants Program Support June 2009
Preparation for Initial Solicitation for Proposals April – June 2009
Publish Notice of Funds Availability June 2009*
Initial Proposal Processing and Review Sept – Dec. 2009
Initial Grant Awards Made December 2009
Second Solicitation for Proposals Oct – Dec 2009
Third Solicitation for Proposals April – June 2010
All Awards to Be Made September 2010
Milestone Completion Date Award Contract for Grants Program Support 06/30/2009 Initial Grant Awards Made 12/31/2009 All Awards to Be Made 09/30/2010
Mayor Bellamy’s had her eye on it. Mtn. X:
The push to expand broadband Internet access in and around Asheville may be building steam, thanks to federal stimulus money. Mayor Terry Bellamy is meeting with state representatives and looking for ways to use money made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help make it happen.
In April, Bellamy was invited to attend Innovation Generation, a policy summit in Washington, D.C., whose guest list featured industry leaders, federal representatives and other mayors, touting broadband’s importance in leveling the field in education, technology and industry. Cheaper than laying new cables and other infrastructure, it also has a broader reach.
Earth Week Commences
Posted by: | CommentsLots of earthy goodness going on this week all over the globe. Take the time now to listen to “the opening Plenary Session of the 2008 Aspen Environment Forum, [where] speakers Majora Carter and Josh Dorfman share “big ideas” about modern society and its relationship to the environment.”
The Home You Ain’t Got
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s the short film shown at last Saturday’s Extravablogiversapaloozathon, where we raised a thousand dollars for AHOPE, a homeless shelter and part of the larger Homeward Bound program. A lot of you who came couldn’t hear the film too well, and lots of you couldn’t come. So here it is. Enjoy:
Project Connect
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Homelessness in Asheville is an ongoing problem, but there are a great number of service providers doing their level best to help. As part of BlogAsheville’s Extravablogiversapaloozathon benefit for AHOPE, a Homeward Bound program, I’m spreading the word about an important event this Friday. Amy Sawyer, the City of Asheville’s Homelessness Initiative Director, asked me to let folks know that they are still seeking volunteers for this Friday’s Project Connect.
AC-T:
The third annual Project Connect, an event to link homeless people with resources, is set for Friday at the First Baptist Church, 5 Oak St. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. with a short ceremony and runs until 2 p.m.
The homeless or anyone at risk of homelessness is welcome to attend. More than 40 service providers will be on hand to offer housing referrals, mental-health service referrals, health-care referrals, legal support and disability services.
Volunteers for this event don’t have to have any experience working with homeless people. They’ll have coordinators to guide them. If you’ve been looking for a non-political way to help your fellow Americans, this is a great way to do so.
Amy Sawyer
Office: (828) 259-5851
Email: asawyer@ashevillenc.gov
Myths Vs. Facts on Homelessness
Posted by: | CommentsThe big BlogAsheville Extravablogiversapaloozathon this year is also a benefit for AHOPE, a Homeward Bound homelessness shelter/program. Since we’re raising money for this group, I thought it would be a good chance to do some education on the subject. The following comes from Amy Sawyer, the Homelessness Initiative Director for the City of Asheville:
Homeless people not only suffer from the hardship of their condition, but also must deal with the alienation and discrimination brought about by the myths and stereotypes about homelessness. What follows are some of the myths and the realities about homelessness.
Myth: Homeless people are a fixed population who are usually homeless for long periods of time.
Fact: The homeless population is quite diverse relative to their length of homelessness and the number of times they cycle in and out of homelessness. Research indicates that 40% of homeless people have been homeless less than six months, and that 70% of homeless people have been homeless less than two years.
Myth: Homeless people are mostly single men.
Fact: Families constitute a large and growing percentage of the homeless population. A recent study found that families comprise 38% of the urban homeless population. Other research has found that homeless families comprise the majority of homeless people in rural areas.
Myth: Homeless people don’t work and get most of their money from public assistance programs.
Fact: Many homeless people are among the working poor, and a relatively small percentage of them receive government assistance. A nationwide study in 1987 found that only 20% of 1,704 homeless people received public assistance. A study done in Chicago found that 39% of the homeless people interviewed had worked for some time during the previous month.
Myth: They’re to blame for being homeless.
Fact: Most homeless people are victims. Some have suffered from child abuse or violence. Nearly one quarter are children. Many have lost their jobs.
Myth: They are dangerous and they break the law.
Fact: In general, the homeless are among the least threatening group in our society and are more likely to be victims of crime. Although they are more likely to commit non-violent and non-destructive crimes, they are less likely to commit crimes against person or property.
Myth: Charitable groups will take care of the homeless.
Fact: The growth of homelessness has far exceeded the capacity of charitable groups. Homelessness is a societal problem that requires a partnership between private charities and the government, with active public support.”
crossposted from blogasheville
Happy Birthday, Katrina!
Posted by: | CommentsThree years ago this morning, Tropical Storm Katrina was upgraded to hurricane status two hours before making landfall in the southern tip of Florida and gained strength as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico toward Louisiana…
Analysts Say More Banks Will Fail
Posted by: | CommentsThe NYT is reporting “As home prices continue to decline and loan defaults mount, federal regulators are bracing for dozens of American banks to fail over the next year.
But after a large mortgage lender in California collapsed late Friday, Wall Street analysts began posing two crucial questions: Just how many banks might falter? And, more urgently, which one could be next?
The nation’s banks are in far less danger than they were in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when more than 1,000 federally insured institutions went under during the savings-and-loan crisis. The debacle, the greatest collapse of American financial institutions since the Depression, prompted a government bailout that cost taxpayers about $125 billion.
But the troubles are growing so rapidly at some small and midsize banks that as many as 150 out of the 7,500 banks nationwide could fail over the next 12 to 18 months, analysts say. Other lenders are likely to shut branches or seek mergers…”
Read the rest of the article.
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This, coupled withe possible failure of Freddie Mac and Frannie Mae, does not bode well for the American taxpayer. Ugh..
Political Theater Today at City/County Plaza
Posted by: | CommentsAt 5 pm today (Saturday, June 28) in the shade of the mighty Magnolia on City/County Plaza, a group of creative, freedom-loving Americans will create some weird, weird theater to illustrate, eviscerate, and protest the sale of public park land to a private developer.
Food Not Bombs, now evicted from Pritchard Park, is sponsoring the event and will be providing a free meal to all who attend. This group has the dubious honor of being spied on by the Bush FBI and for being blanket-phrased with the anarchist label. Of course, all they really want is see war end and everyone eat. Radicals! Motivated, compassionate, war-hating, hopemongers!
The performance falls during the ongoing Magnolia vigil which takes place daily from 4 – 7 pm. So come early, stay late. Bring a picnic or a frisbee. Definitely bring a camera and a friend.
5 sharp, people! Today!
Et tu Sushi?
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$1,000 Sushi Roll
The Huffington Post is reporting “There have always been high-ticket meals available to those who can afford them. But Koi restaurant may bring a sea change to high-priced dining with a sushi roll — yes, just one roll — that sells for $1,000 So what do you get for your money? Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a sweet succulent Lobster called Langoustine, White Alba truffles and a 100-year balsamic oil…”
Can’t speak for anyone else, but our family stopped eating sushi in the fall of 2007, when all the local sushi bars in Asheville seemed to raise their prices by a $1 per roll.
Maybe when the Bush rebate check’s come in, we get out and get on some spicy tuna rolls.
=)


