On Our Radar

AP News, May 10, 2024, Woman Was Living Inside Rooftop Grocery Store Sign With Computer And Coffee Maker For A Year Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: A 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer […]

The New York Times, May 13th, 2024, Priced Out of Housing, Communities Take Development Into Their Own Hands As the owner of the coffee retailer Higher Grounds Trading Company, Chris Treter had a problem: Business was booming, but his new hires couldn’t find affordable places to live. “Traverse City is becoming Myrtle Beach meets Hilton

The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2024, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg To Resign Following Report Detailing Sexual Harassment At Agency Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg bowed to pressure to resign from the bank regulator after an external investigation found widespread sexual harassment at the agency and lawmakers of both parties berated his leadership. In an email to staff

Planetizen, May 20, 2024, Biggest US Housing Gains In Southern And Western States “The United States has added almost 5 million housing units since 2020, most heavily in the South and most of them single-family homes, making a housing shortage look conquerable in much of the nation,” reports Tim Henderson for Stateline. According to Stateline

Fierce Healthcare, May 15, 2024, UnitedHealth’s Investments In Affordable Housing Top $1B UnitedHealth Group’s investments in affordable housing have topped $1 billion, with the program a keystone in its overarching strategy to address health equity and disparities. The company has made investments in housing since 2011 and, in that time, has supported the development of

The Washington Post, May 14, 2024, Are Home Prices Still Rising? See How Prices Have Changed In Your Area. Many first time home buyers are struggling to break into the U.S. housing market as prices continue to rise. Since 2019, home prices have surged 54 percent. In the last year, prices increased 5.8 percent —

The Guardian, May 13, 2024, Banks Have Given Almost $7tn To Fossil Fuel Firms Since Paris Deal, Report Reveals The world’s big banks have handed nearly $7tn (£5.6tn) in funding to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris agreement to limit carbon emissions, according to research. In 2016, after talks in Paris, 196 countries signed

American Banker, May 13, 2024, Judge Blocks Credit Card Late Fee Rule From Taking Effect WASHINGTON — A federal judge granted an injunction pausing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s credit card late fee rule, a major setback for the bureau as it tries to bring one of President Joe Biden’s major bank policy priorities into reality. 

Marketplace, May 14, 2024, Animal Shelters Had A Strong 2020. Then Came The Affordable Housing Crisis. KC Pet Project, an animal shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, opened a brand-new facility in January 2020. It came just in time: Last year, they took in 16,000 animals — more than double they took when they opened in 2012.

Wbur, May 13, 2024, Affordable Internet Program Set To Expire. What Does That Mean For Digital Equity? The Affordable Connectivity Program has helped 23 million households connect to the internet at a discounted rate since it was enacted in 2021. But now the federal subsidy program is set to run out of funds by the

JDSUPRA, May 13, 2024, Colorado General Assembly Passes Trendsetter Affordable Housing Initiatives Colorado’s General Assembly passed two bills this legislative session dedicated to improving the state of affordable housing in Colorado. HB24-1316 and HB24-1434 aim to supplement the State’s oversubscribed affordable housing programs and alleviate a stressed housing market. Representative Lindstedt, Representative Lindsay and Senator

Gizmodo, June 13, 2024, Disney Buries The Hatchet With Ron DeSantis In Huge New Land Deal Disney has finally reached an accord with governor Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis allowing the state to build new infrastructure—a mutually beneficial deal between the media giant and state of the Florida—since all roads lead to Disney World. The agreement will allow Disney

Marketplace, June 12, 2024, He Assesses Climate Risk On The Housing Market, And He Wants Your Attention Nearly half of all homes in the United States are at risk of “severe or extreme” damage from events like flooding, high winds and wildfire, Realtor.com estimates. And rising insurance costs — in part because of those risks — are making

The Guardian, June 13, 2024, Broken Toilets, Bed Bugs And Rats: US Firefighters Are In A Housing Crisis The bathrooms in Ben McLane’s barracks haven’t worked for the last three years. It’s just one of several “embarrassing” problems with the living quarters offered by the US government to the federal fire captain’s poorly paid crew.

NPR, June 7, 2024, Homes Have Popped Up On The National Mall – Showing They Can Be Built Fast And Cheap “We know that access to a home is one of the most pressing things for families across the country, whether you’re renting or wanting to become a first-time homebuyer. And one of the ways