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Last week, we had two staff members attend the 2021 Missouri Workforce Housing Association (MOWHA) Annual Conference. We are grateful for this opportunity to build relationships within the affordable housing industry and learn from the outstanding panelists, especially as we begin to adjust to the “post-Covid” reality.

Here are our key takeaways:

The US housing market does not have enough homes to meet current demand — and is short by 3.8 million, according to a new report from mortgage giant Freddie Mac. The supply crunch increased 52% between 2018 and the end of 2020, helping to drive up the price of homes in the US, according to the report, which was released in April 2021.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition compiles data for each state on housing needs. Here are Missouri’s stats: 

• 27% or 215,751 renter households are extremely low income. 

• $25,750 is the maximum income for a 4-person extremely low-income family in MO.  

• Our state has a shortage of 122,075 rental homes affordable and available for extremely low income renters.  

• $34,662 is the annual household income needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home at HUD’s Fair Market Rent

• 65% of extremely low-income renter households have a severe housing cost burden.

In a Technical Update session, we heard about the DASH Act, The Decent, Affordable, Safe Housing for All Act, which includes proposals that would increase affordable housing production by 2 million affordable homes over the next decade.

Finally, affordable housing funders, developers, and insurance providers shared lessons learned over the past year, highlighting that

• insurance providers are now requiring higher limits

• a 25% increase in material costs is anticipated for 2022

• suggest developers include a cushion for both costs and the construction timetable

Despite rising costs and other complications caused by Covid, demand for affordable housing remains extremely high. We have to work together in order to produce the housing that our community needs. Use the link below to donate to TGNCDC and support our continued efforts to build, renovate, and manage affordable housing in our community.

Donate to TGNCDC

St. Louis aldermen have approved the extension of an order requiring masks in indoor spaces. Mayor Tishaura Jones requested the move. The order went into effect in late July and will now last at least until September 29.

Sharon Smith of the Missouri Historical Society joins us to discuss the bridge’s history. We also hear from Great Rivers Greenway about some big plans for the site going forward.

Liberty Vittert, a professor at Washington University who serves on the North American arm of the UN Refugee Agency, discusses its work in Kabul and how you can best help Afghan refugees

The Field House Museum boasts a wide collection of quilts on display, ranging from 19th-century creations to more modern quilts. Now one final quilt completes the collection: the MO Bicentennial Quilt. He hear about how its pieces came together.

Legislative Branch records don’t receive the kind of public scrutiny the Freedom of Information Act brings to the Executive, but that could change thanks to a novel lawsuit over video records related to the January 6 riot at the Capitol. If this litigation manages to bring more transparency to Congress, either through a win in court or other pressure, it would constitute a major victory for the public and for the journalists who cover the actions of the government.

This new lawsuit follows an opinion issued by a D.C. Circuit judge in June, which cited a “common law right” of public access to government records that could apply to Congress. In that earlier case, the conservative transparency organization Judicial Watch had sued for access to the subpoenas that the House Intelligence Committee had issued in its impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Although that case was dismissed, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson wrote in a concurring opinion, “I believe, in the right case, the application of the Speech or Debate Clause to a common law right of access claim would require careful balancing.”

Journalist Shawn Musgrave thinks he’s found the right case. Earlier this month, he sued for the release of the video, citing that "common law right of access.” The primary implications are significant — Congress has some 14,000 hours of surveillance footage from the Capitol on January 6, most of which is not available to the public — but more notably, if successful, this suit could usher in a new standard of transparency for Congress.

Without a doubt, open records laws — like FOIA and its many state- and municipality-level equivalents — underpin much important reporting. (We capture and highlight some of the stories that rely on those laws with our Twitter bot, FOIA Feed.) But these laws generally only apply to the executive branches of government. Congress, of course, has written FOIA and its many amendments over the previous 50+ years, and has steadfastly refused to apply the transparency law to itself.

As Musgrave's lawsuit contends, there's no reason the animating principle of laws like FOIA couldn't apply just as strongly to the legislature, including Congress. Fundamentally, if the people have a right to know what the government is doing, that right shouldn’t end at the steps of the Capitol.

Somewhat ironically, Congressional objections to increased transparency often focus on the "Speech or Debate Clause'' of the Constitution, which insulates legislators and their staff from arrest or inquiry for statements made on the floor of the House or Senate.

We've written before about how the Speech or Debate Clause represents a woefully underutilized opportunity to share important information with the public and expose government wrongdoing without fear of the draconian consequences that face many other whistleblowers; it's doubly shameful then that the same clause is used in this case to instead obscure the activities of government.

The Freedom of Information Act, and the laws that followed in its image, were revolutionary to the field of government transparency in the 1960s. The law remains vital to journalists, but as Freedom of the Press Foundation and many others have documented over the years, the law is also fundamentally broken.

Like any lawsuit with a novel legal theory, success is far from certain, and could take many shapes — for example, pressure from this lawsuit could and should prompt Congress into taking action with legislation that strengthens FOIA and expands its scope. Still, it's heartening to see journalists and members of the public continue to push the envelope on bringing the activity of the government to the people, and we are eagerly following this effort.

Thank you for thinking of KDHX for your vehicle donation.

Our partner CARS, will handle the entire process for you from start to finish. You can contact our KDHX representative there at: 1-877-534-9876. You can also start the process online and find answer to your questions at: https://kdhx.careasy.org/home

Our vehicle donation partner, CARS (Charitable Adult Rides & Services), is also a non-profit located in San Diego. Since 2005 they have helped generate over $200,000,000 in revenue for public media. Through its car donation program, CARS supports On the Go, a local program providing affordable transportation solutions and delivery services to San Diego seniors. Every year, they reinvest in their community through meals and transportation solutions. They also have several additional programs through their parent organization, Jewish Family Service of San Diego. During the pandemic they provided over 1.5 million warm meals and access to a food pantry for San Diego residents in need.

Find out more about CARS and the work they do: 

 

A former schoolhouse for Black children in Chesterfield is getting a second chance. African School #4 will be renovated and moved to the Historic Village at Faust Park in St. Louis County.

This weekend’s event is the fourth iteration of the natural hair and beauty celebration that St. Louisan Leslie Hughes first launched in 2017.

On the first day of the semester, as Maria Ellis waits to meet her students and kick off a brand-new arts and activism focus at the recently saved school, Chuck Berry tunes played quietly through a speaker. St. Louis stops by to document the anticipated rehearsal.

Marian O'Shea Wernicke's novel "Toward That Which Is Beautiful" draws on her time as a nun in Peru. She explains why she entered the convent as a St. Louis teen and why she left 11 years later

We had a great discussion for the August 24th Landlord & Rehabber Training on Asking for Money and Preparing Your Pitch, led by Colleen Hafner, CDFI Director for Rise Community Development. (CDFI = Community Development Finance Institution).

Colleen reviewed the CDFI’s focus on lending to small neighborhood-scale real estate developers and minority-owned contractors. In our training session, Colleen brought her extensive wealth of knowledge on housing finance. She reviewed the information needed when asking to borrow money and shared her insights on how to prepare your application and development plan so the outcome is favorable.

In case you missed it the recording will be available and meeting materials will be accessible until September 10th. You will need to request access below.

Request Access

Be sure to join us for the last session of 2021 on September 28th as we cover Missouri and Federal Tax Credits.

The 2021 Landlord & Rehabber Training is a Northside-Southside Collaboration between North Newstead Association, The Vacancy Collaborative, and Tower Grove Neighborhoods CDC. This FREE training is open to all landlords, property managers, rehabbers, developers, and interested parties. Zoom is ADA compliant with exceptions. If you need special accommodations, please contact dana@towergrovecdc.org.

The goal of the Landlord & Rehabber Training Program is to stabilize our communities by building an eco-system of educated landlords, rehabbers, and small developers empowered to reduce vacancy and nuisance. The program will enlist professionals from real estate, property management, law, accounting, preservation, & finance industries to share their knowledge on acquiring and developing real estate and implementing property management best practices.

Virtual Zoom Meeting Attendees:  Fatimah Muhammad, Veronica Ross-Mickan, Donna Lindsay, S. Gail Guelker, Tanisha Stanciel, Adrian Stillman, George Brown, Brendan Fahey, Bill Schiller, Jonathon Roper, Rebecca Courtney, Sam McCrory, Sarah Rubenstein, Latasha Barnes, Rachel Waterman, Rebecca Courtney, Cornita Robinson, Denean Vaughn, Regina Dennis, Brittany Hubbard, JP Nash, Mark Pappas Call to Order: The meeting was […]

Virtual Zoom Meeting Attendees:  Fatimah Muhammad, Veronica Ross-Mickan, Donna Lindsay, S. Gail Guelker, Tanisha Stanciel, Adrian Stillman, George Brown, Brendan Fahey, Bill Schiller, Jonathon Roper, Rebecca Courtney, Sam McCrory, Sarah Rubenstein, Latasha Barnes, Rachel Waterman, Rebecca Courtney, Cornita Robinson, Denean Vaughn, Regina Dennis, Brittany Hubbard, JP Nash, Mark Pappas Call to Order: The meeting was …

HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY MEETING – August 19, 2021 Read More »

Professional wrestling is coming back to The Chase Park Plaza this weekend after a nearly 40-year hiatus. In its heyday, The Chase was one of the most prominent locations in the U.S. for pro wrestlers.

Jennings Superintendent Paula Knight shares how educators are rethinking back-to-school this year. Like others across the region, the district plans to proceed with in-person classes Monday through Friday, even with the threat of the Delta variant.

The Missouri History Museum's new exhibit was designed like an album, with both the greatest hits of St. Louis music and some deep cuts from more obscure favorites. The museum's Andrew Wanko discusses the region's impact on popular music

President Richard Nixon was facing his first midterm election when Kansas native Tom Stubbs joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. He is retiring, as associate principal timpanist and cymbal specialist, after 51 years.

For years there was no financial incentive to reduce electricity use during peak periods. Running the dryer &  air conditioning while cooking dinner at 5pm weekdays cost the same as doing them at other times.  With Ameren Missouri’s new smart meters and Tine of Use (TOU) rate plans reducing electric ...

Attorneys Jennifer Joyce, Connie McFarland-Butler and Nicole Gorovsky dig into legal matters in the news, including the AG's suit against school mask mandates, problems at the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office and a high-profile case of attorney discipline