HUD

May 5 2011

Homeowners warned about loan modification tricks

“It’s OK to say no to paying for a loan modification.”

That comment from Lori Gay, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services (LANHS), underscored the seriousness of a new national campaign that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has launched in three pilot cities—Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.

Mar 24 2011

Fifth motion for contempt field

After Katrina, St. Bernard Parish issued an ordinance restricting rental of single-family dwellings to people related by blood. It also put a moratorium on the construction of multifamily dwellings. Both of these steps were perceived as efforts to prevent African Americans from moving into the parish, and the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) won federal injunctions to overturn both of these policies.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Mar 17 2011

The Company Store gives back for 100th anniversary

In recognition of The Company Store’s 100th anniversary, representatives recently announced the launch of it’s Kids’ Design Contest, a program geared at inspiring creativity while supporting art education and charitable work among America’s youth. Under this initiative, The Company Store will accept original artwork from children 12 years and under, and then select one winning piece, whose design will be transformed into a comforter print for their ongoing Buy One, Give One (BOGO) comforter donation program.

Nov 29 2010

Affordable housing

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The cities of Huntington Beach and Inglewood will get a total of $6 million in federal funds to support community development and produce more affordable housing, federal officials announced.

The funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also will pay for emergency shelter operations in Inglewood, according to the agency.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 4 2010

Defend yourself in public housing

LANCASTER, Calif.—At last week’s Lancaster City Council meeting, Mayor R. Rex Parris asked Dorian Jenkins, deputy executive director of housing programs with the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, if there was a way to confiscate Section 8 vouchers from tenants who did not enroll their children in school. He asked Jenkins if he would look into federal enforcement of state laws requiring children to attend school. Parris said that it would be beneficial for the whole community. 
 

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.