A year ago, the business pages of Texas’ daily newspapers uniformly ran stories saying the national downturn in housing was…
Author: John Henneberger
I started my commitment to housing justice for people and communities with low incomes in 1975 in Austin's Clarksville community. These years of working side-by-side with dedicated community leaders to find solutions to housing and community development challenges have taught me some things and I’m learning new things every day.Florida Housing Trust Fund raided to balance state budget
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the Florida Legislature raided the Florida Housing Trust Fund to cope with the state’s budget…
National housing advocates urge changes to economic stimulus bill
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is urging changes to the draft economic stimulus bill. Support Needed for National Housing…
Dallas public housing authority hires new director
The Dallas Morning News reports the Dallas Housing Authority’s board of commissioners on Thursday hired a new president and chief…
Major funding for low income housing proposed in economic stimulus bill
In the next two weeks, Congress will be considering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. Today, House Appropriations…
Bad decisions on hurricane rebuilding will force cuts in critical Texas services
The implications of screwing up the Hurricane Ike recovery effort by pursuing the course outlined in the Texas draft recovery…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 1/14/2009
The rental housing market begins to feel the recession as vacancy rates increase and rents drop. Analysts cite unemployment as…
Fix the Texas Hurricane Ike and Dolly rebuilding plan
We have posted our comments to the State of Texas regrading the State’s proposed hurricane rebuilding plan. We offer fifteen…
Texas will be forced to ration hurricane home repair grants
Texas should allocate the limited disaster funds so that they take care of the housing needs of Hurricane Ike/Dolly survivors…
Watch “The Old Man and the Storm” on-line
In case you missed the broadcast, I urge you to watch the Frontline film, The Old Man and the Storm…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 1/6/2009
Among the foreclosures and general decline in the housing market, this week we witness a huge drop in occupancy of…
Let’s resolve to win a serious housing trust fund for Texas
TxLIHIS is ringing in the New Year with a long list of resolutions – from ensuring that low-income hurricane survivors…
PBS film documements role of race, class and politics in rebuilding hurricane damaged homes
Watch the trailer for the PBS Frontline film, “The Old Man and the Storm.” Several of President Bush’s top aides…
87 percent of Texas communities exceed US poverty rate in new survey
My New Year’s resolution is to put doing something about the high levels of Texas poverty on our state’s agenda…
SRO housing organization shows how to earn community support
Houston’s New Hope Housing is a leader in providing a solution to homelessness through building and managing Single Room Occupancy…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 12/30/2008
The year ends on a dead beat as the housing industry continues to free-fall with no landing place in sight.…
Governor Perry must act to let hurricane victims move into apartments
More than half of 5,000 Galveston County families displaced by Hurricane Ike and given federal vouchers to rent homes or…
Woman, whose fight for housing repair revealed government waste, dies in her home
The woman who blew the whistle on fraud in the City of Houston’s home repair program, featured in a front…
Houston’s Tropical Storm Allison home repair debacle provides warning regarding Hurricane Ike funds
The State of Texas is considering turning over administrative responsibility for $1.3 billion in Hurricane Ike rebuilding funds to local…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 12/23/2008
Unquestioned, over-sold and under-regulated, the American Dream has collapsed and brought down a whole house of cards. Efforts to resurrect…
Changes to TX Residential Construction Commission do not fix the problem
In an earlier posting I applauded the decision of the Texas Sunset Commission staff to recommend the abolition of the…
It is time to stop pretending the COG disaster housing rebuilding program is the answer
In Wednesday’s blog entry I reported on the performance of the Councils of Governments (COGs) in carrying out Round 1…
Proposal to include housing in economic stimulus
President-elect Obama has proposed a massive highway construction and public building energy retrofitting effort to serve as the basis of…
Examining claims of local effectiveness in administration of housing disaster funds
There have been a lot of claims voiced by Councils of Governments (COGs), local officials and the Texas Office of…
Bo McCarver’s weekly housing news compilation – 12/18/2008
The eminent administration change refocuses policies to relief of low and middle income households rather than the financial industry. This…
Texas official in charge of disaster assistance refuses to state housing needs will be funded
I predicted the process for allocating funds set out in the draft ORCA Hurricane Ike/Dolly Disaster Plan will result in…
Put an end to FEMA trailers by moving people quickly into permanent housing
She says it far better than I can. We shot this interview with a woman whose home suffered major damage…
My suggestions for a Texas disaster housing program
In developing a plan to help Texas survivors of Hurricanes Ike and Dolly rebuild their homes I believe the starting…
Lawsuit alleging race discrimination in Texas housing tax credit program clears hurdle
The Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas has denied a motion by the Texas Department of Housing…