• North Dakota Voters to Decide Property Taxes' Fate
• BY: McClatchy News   |   North Dakota   |   May 4, 2012
• The Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce and The Dickinson Press sponsored a measure to abolish property taxes in North Dakota.
• 1 Comments

• Denver’s Better Way to Battle Homelessness
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   May 2, 2012
• A comprehensive, multifaceted partnership balances support and compassion with an expectation of self-reliance. And it saves money.

• Homeless Camping Ban Advances in Denver
• Source: Denver Post   |   Denver   |   May 2, 2012
• Ultimately, the council voted 9-4 to preliminarily approve a law that would ban unauthorized homeless camping pending a final vote May 14.

• Revisiting the Hope VI Public Housing Program’s Legacy
• BY: David Raskin   |   May 2012
• Hope VI developments, which replaced huge projects with smaller units that matched the scale of the neighborhood, were supposed to represent a new way of thinking about low-income housing. They didn’t always get it right.

• Goals Unmet for Affordable Housing Tax Credit Program in Texas
• Source: Houston Chronicle   |   Texas   |   April 24, 2012
• Texas has awarded $9.7 billion in tax credits to developers to build or refurbish affordable apartments, but the units have ended up primarily in impoverished minority neighborhoods, raising questions about whether the program promotes segregation.
• 1 Comments

• New York City Rent Stabilization Case Rejected by Supreme Court
• Source: New York Times   |   New York City   |   April 24, 2012
• Tenants in nearly a million apartments subject to New York City’s rent regulations could breathe a sigh of relief, as the United States Supreme Court, after indicating it might be interested in hearing a challenge to the regulations, decided to let them stand.

• Report: Zoning Laws Could Hinder Low-Income Student Achievement
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Nation   |   April 19, 2012
• Local zoning laws could be limiting access to a quality education for low-income children, according to a new report by the Brookings Institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program.
• 1 Comments

• Foreclosure Mediation Bill Becomes Oregon Law
• Source: Oregonian   |   Oregon   |   April 12, 2012
• Gov. John Kitzhaber signed a bill that creates a foreclosure mediation program and requires banks to meet with borrowers who elect to participate. It also outlaws lenders' practice of initiating foreclosure proceedings while simultaneously negotiating for a possible loan modification.

• Foreclosures at Lowest Level Since 2007
• Source: Washington Post   |   Nation   |   April 12, 2012
• The numbers show that, in March, foreclosures were filed on just fewer than 199,000 properties, a 17 percent decrease from a year earlier and the first time the monthly total has dipped below 200,000 since July 2007.

• Virginia Ballot to Include Eminent-Domain Question
• Source: Washington Post   |   Virginia   |   April 9, 2012
• Virginians will decide at the polls this fall if the state Constitution should be amended to make it harder for government to seize property by eminent domain. The measure was inspired by a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the right of governments to take private property for economic development projects.

• Property Taxes Under New Attack in Pennsylvania
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Pennsylvania   |   April 9, 2012
• The legislature once again is considering bills to eliminate the property tax, oft-criticized for being unfair, antiquated, and baffling. For a variety of reasons, the levy has come under fresh attack in the Keystone State.

• Are Cities' Pledges to End Homelessness Working?
• BY: Jonathan Walters   |   April 2012
• Though the number of homeless has increased since numerous pledges were made in the early 2000s to end it, some progress has been made on the nation's understanding of the phenomenon.
• 5 Comments

• U.S. Rep. Rangel to Pay Fine for Campaigning from an Apartment
• BY: The Associated Press   |   New York   |   March 27, 2012
• Congressman Charles Rangel and his campaign have agreed to pay $23,000 stemming from his use of a rent-stabilized apartment in New York City as a campaign office.

• Fannie, Freddie Lawsuit Could Give Michigan Millions
• Source: Detroit Free Press   |   Michigan   |   March 27, 2012
• Michigan's school aid fund could get a windfall of up to $100 million, and 82 of Michigan's 83 counties could collectively claim millions more under a judge's ruling last week that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac illegally withheld payments of transfer taxes in property sales.

• Ban on Illegal Immigrant Renters Trying to Survive in Texas Town
• BY: The Associated Press   |   Farmers Branch, Texas   |   March 26, 2012
• A Dallas suburb has spent five years and nearly $5 million trying to ban illegal immigrants from renting apartments within city limits, but court challenges have kept the law from taking effect. Still, city officials say they're likely to press on.