Although only 24 years old, Josué Ramírez has taken on a leading role in working with grassroots community leaders to…
Category: Disaster Recovery
From preparedness, planning, and equity to rebuilding and mitigation, disaster recovery encompasses issues deeply important to the rehabilitation and recovery of low-income communities living in disaster-prone areas in Texas.
Once again recovery from a hurricane bypasses the poor
A New York Times editorial laments the type of government neglect that public housing residents in Texas know all too…
Austin American-Statesman: State should ask HNTB for a refund
The following editorial is from an editorial in today’s Austin-American Statesman. A state disaster relief contract has itself been declared…
State report: 29% of TX first round HUD disaster funds drawn down, 0% 2nd round
Recent stories in the Austin American-Statesman, the Texas Tribune and the New York Times have chronicled the slow pace of…
Candidate for most outrageous quote of 2012: HNTB says Texas disaster recovery program is “on target and on budget”
Austin American Statesman reporter Brenda Bell has an amazing quote from HNTB in her story today about the HUD audit of…
Federal Audit Questions $8 Million Paid to HNTB — General Land Office | The Texas Tribune
In the second article in as many days, Texas Tribune reporter Becca Aaronson has disclosed a HUD inspector general’s report…
Amid Finger-Pointing, Hurricane Relief for Texans Lags – NYTimes.com
The NYT ran a story written by Texas Tribune reporter Becca Aaronson on the state of disaster recovery in Texas… Nearly…
Hurricane Ike and Dolly home reconstruction drags on at unacceptable rates
According to a State of Texas report covering the period through January 31 2012, only 38 percent of houses destroyed…
Couple lives in tent waiting for Ike-damaged home’s repair | khou.com Houston
Just when you think you have seen the worst government can do to Hurricane Ike victims along comes this story.…
Fewer than 500 Texas homes repaired in three years since Hurricane Ike
Official figures from the State of Texas show that fewer than 500 homes have been repaired or rebuilt under the…
On 3rd anniversary 200 tell Houston City Council reforms are needed in Hurricane Ike recovery program
The following testimony was presented before the Houston City Council on the third anniversary of Hurricane Ike, September 13, 2011.
Protesters say city slow to repair Ike-damaged houses – Houston Chronicle
Bearing photos of homes that still have blue tarps on the roofs, more than 100 protesters held a rally at…
Senior’s city-built home lacked insulation – Houston Chronicle
After months of delay in getting its housing repair program under way, Houston’s housing department was eager last month to…
Three Years After Ike, Many Still Await Assistance | Public News Service
AUSTIN, Texas – Today marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Ike, and many low-income Texans, particularly in the Houston area,…
September 13, 2011 is the three year anniversary of Hurricane Ike
Please take a few moments to consider the plight of the tens of thousands of elderly and disabled Texans who…
Mississippi auctions remaining Katrina cottages | Gulfport – SunHerald.com
Editors note: Katrina Cottages were an alternative to the much disparaged FEMA trailer. They look more like homes and won…
Thousands still recovering from Hurricane Ike | abc13.com
The community organization TOP held an information fair for low-income Houston homeowners Saturday to help them find out when they…
It’s finally time to get rid of those post-Ike blue tarps | Houston Chronicle
September 13, 2011, will mark the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Ike making landfall along the upper Texas coast. Residents of…
Colonia Resident Worried About Tropical Storm Don
Channel Five in McAllen ran a story tonight on a resident of a colonia in Cameron County who was dreading…
Austin case study: Postdisaster housing policy and low-income survivors
Several very smart people from the University of Texas and myself just had a paper published in the Journal of…
Where Texas border housing and community development issues stand after the legislative session
Earlier this week I spoke to the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders about developments during the last session…
HUD pointedly directs Galveston to rebuild its public housing
In an unusual joint letter to Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski, three top HUD leaders told Galveston to move forward to rebuild…
A “new sheriff” takes over Texas disaster recovery
(Photo: Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, from Texas Tribune) Readers will recall Governor Perry passed responsibility for the Hurricane…
Wait gets longer for public housing in Galveston | Houston Chronicle
There is an interesting and sobering story about rebuilding Galveston public housing that ran in today’s Houston Chronicle. The story…
Texas colonia self-help centers reauthorized by Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature acted today to preserve a key program in the state’s efforts to address the substandard living conditions…
The racism of New Berlin is growing in Galveston
We noted yesterday the United States Department of Justice brought suit alleging the City of New Berlin, Wisconsin had violated the…
I woke last night to the sound of thunder
As other parts of the state literally burn and the Governor calls on Texans to implement a critical part of…
Governor Perry switches agencies responsible for disaster recovery funds
Shakeups in the State’s troubled disaster recovery program continue. In the wake of the virtual elimination of the Governor’s designated…
Short term 2 year extension in works for Texas housing department
Well placed Capitol sources tell TxLIHIS that Governor Perry’s staff have indicated they will insist on only a short-term two-year…
Analysis: Governor Perry’s veto of Texas Department of Housing
On Friday Governor Perry vetoed the “Sunset Bill” for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) that would…