How to avoid disaster recovery Groundhog Day
There is no question that natural disasters will hit Texas again. We hope Mother Nature will keep the peace, butContinue Reading
Tag: Hurricane Dolly
Video: Texas Housers board member Dr. Shannon Van Zandt on colonia social vulnerability and disaster recovery
Our board member Dr. Shannon Van Zandt, a professor and interim head of Texas A&M University’s Landscape Architecture and UrbanContinue Reading
Texas Senate to study disaster rebuilding – trying to get it right next time around
Unfortunately, Texas has a lot of experience administering governmental programs to help Texans rebuild their homes in the wake ofContinue Reading
TxLIHIS policy analyst Josué Ramírez supports colonia residents’ search for solutions
Although only 24 years old, Josué Ramírez has taken on a leading role in working with grassroots community leaders toContinue Reading
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 declaredContinue Reading
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 ofContinue Reading
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 ofContinue Reading
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 reportContinue Reading
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 destroyedContinue Reading
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 dreadingContinue Reading
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 sessionContinue Reading
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 HurricaneContinue Reading
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 his disaster response program, prayer for rain, here in the Valley rain clouds are rolling in. As I’ve been writing this post, the lights in my downtown Edinburg office have gone out, interrupting my work. The city streets flood terribly with even ordinary rainstorms like today’s, but colonias have it much worse.
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 designatedContinue Reading
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 wouldContinue Reading
New York Times praises State of Texas/TxLIHIS disaster recovery settlement
The New York Times published this editorial Monday about our settlement with the State of Texas. Editorial HUD Steps UpContinue Reading
Statement on our Fair Housing settlement with the State of Texas
HUD ACCEPTS $1.7 BILLION REVISED DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN PRIORITIZING REBUILDING HOMES OF SURVIVORS An historic agreement between affordable housing advocates,Continue Reading
The TxLIHIS / TX Appleseed / State of Texas fair housing settlement agreement
The settlement agreement can be viewed as a PDF document on the HUD website: http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-106/conciliationagreement.pdf
HUD announces approval of TxLIHIS – Texas Appleseed – State of Texas Fair Housing settlement on hurricane recovery
HUD has issued an announcement of their approval of of the settlement agreement to the TxLIHIS/Texas Appleseed fair housing complaintContinue Reading
The Texas plan directs rebuilding money away from those in need
There is really no other way to characterize the plan Governor Perry submitted to HUD to spend $1.7 billion inContinue Reading
HUD pushes Governor to redirect hurricane rebuilding funds to hurricane impacted counties
Things did not slow down during the holidays over the shape of Hurricane Ike and Dolly rebuilding programs in Texas,Continue Reading
What the State of Texas must do to fix the Hurricane rebuilding plan (and what we plan to do to make sure it does)
People have asked me what we want from the Texas CDBG Disaster Rebuilding Plan that we have criticized and thatContinue Reading
HUD Rejects State of Texas CDBG Disaster Recovery Plan
HUD has rejected the State of Texas Plan to spend $1.7 billion in CDBG disaster recovery funds for Hurricane DollyContinue Reading
HUD should reject the State of Texas plan to misspend $3 billion in CDBG disaster recovery funds
The State of Texas is required to submit a plan amendment to HUD by September 30 outlining its final planContinue Reading
Governor orders $1.3B Hurricane recovery plan changed but fails to fix the problem
Not surprisingly the ill-conceived “weather report plan” proposed by ORCA to divide up the federal disaster recovery dollars in TexasContinue Reading
How much housing money is needed for Ike/Dolly rebuilding?
ORCA has proposed to allocate the remaining $1.3 billion of the $3,057,991,440 in Ike/Dolly CDBG rebuilding funds based on a modelContinue Reading
Testimony describes absurdity of Texas hurricane disaster fund allocation plan
Joe Higgs, organizer for Gulf Coast Interfaith, laid out clearly the problems with the proposed State of Texas plan toContinue Reading
Houston Chronicle columnist Rick Casey on the politics of hurricane rebuilding
In his column today Houston Chronicle featured columnist Rick Casey speculates about why Governor Perry is allowing the Texas OfficeContinue Reading
Federal court orders FEMA to reconsider denial of home repairs to Hurricane Dolly survivors
Good news for the low income Hurricane Dolly survivors who were denied home repairs by FEMA! The United States DistrictContinue Reading
Governor Perry’s disaster rebuilding plan is the latest disaster to strike Texas
We share the state auditor’s concerns in a report just released about the unacceptable length of time it takes theContinue Reading