Free Republic

Wayne County is rolling out a new round of funding to assist landlords with small-scale properties in meeting federal housing standards. The initiative, explained by County Economic Development Director Brian Pincelli, is a collaboration between the county, The Housing Council at PathStone, and both the Newark and Geneva Housing Authorities. This effort aims to support landlords who manage fewer than 15 units in upgrading their properties to comply with Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program inspections and health and safety regulations. The program was designed in response to a 2021 affordable housing study that highlighted the necessity for maintaining affordable...

In recent months, stories from both the legacy media and the independent media have continued to pile up on how undocumented foreign nationals - also known as "migrants" and "illegal aliens" - are able to take advantage of a vast network of taxpayer funded benefits in daycare, medical care, housing, and more. For example, both the New York Post and Denver Post report that these foreign nationals have "overwhelmed" the Denver Health hospital system in Denver, and that the situation is "unsustainable." Meanwhile, public schools report classrooms are filling up quickly with the children of these foreign nationals. Denver is...

Now, a New York State Supreme Court judge has ruled for Ithaca Renting, agreeing with the local business’s position that the Section 8 program’s inspection requirement was a violation of the Constitution’s protection against searches. In his ruling on June 27th, Hon. Mark G. Masler says the Attorney General’s argument “is fundamentally flawed for the simple reason that, as set forth above, a landlord cannot accept a Section 8 housing voucher as payment for rent without agreeing to participate in Section 8, which, in turn, requires that the landlord authorize warrantless searches.” Judge Masler’s ruling points out that the Housing...

The state has spent billions of dollars on homelessness in recent years. So why is the crisis getting worse instead of better? That’s what a bipartisan group of California legislators is trying to get to the bottom of by calling for a first-of-its kind, large-scale audit of the state’s homelessness spending. The state has stepped up its involvement and investment in the crisis under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership, allocating $20.6 billion toward housing and homelessness since 2018-19, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. But despite the influx of cash, during that time, the number of unhoused people in the state...

President Joe Biden touted electric vehicles as the solution to climate change again Tuesday night during his State of the Union address. esident Joe Biden touted electric vehicles as the solution to climate change again Tuesday night during his State of the Union address. “We’re building 500,000 vehicle charging stations installed across the country by tens of thousands of IBEW workers,” Biden said, “and helping families save more than $1,000 a year with tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances.” Those tax credits, however, aren’t as green as they seem. EVs Are a Green Illusion The...

- The U.S. Treasury Department today announced new vehicle classifications that will allow more vehicles to qualify as SUVs and get the newly updated EV tax credits. - The new rules consider the Cadillac Lyriq, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Tesla Model Y, and others to be SUVs and thus eligible under a higher $80,000 MSRP limit. - The rules change is retroactive, so anyone who bought a vehicle since January 1, 2023, that now qualifies can claim the credit.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James is suing an Ithaca landlord for allegedly denying housing to low-income tenants. Landlord Jason Fane, his company Ithaca Renting Company, and his related entities are all subject to the suit. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Mr. Fane and his real estate agents refused to accept Section 8 vouchers at his properties, in violation of New York’s housing laws against source of income discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that agents at Ithaca Renting repeatedly told renters they do not accept government assistance vouchers. Through her lawsuit, Attorney General...

Residents living in an affordable housing complex in Perinton are speaking out about filthy conditions. They worry their complaints about rodents, mold and water damage are being ignored. Now, there is a deadline for residents to address concerns. Nelifar Farzad says throwing out dead mice in traps has become part of her daily routine while living at the Pines of Perinton. "It's been hell, it’s been a complete hell," Farzad said.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday praised an Australian company that makes chargers for electric vehicles for agreeing to build a manufacturing facility in Tennessee, saying the plant will "have a ripple effect" far beyond the state. The company, Tritium, and the White House say the new plant will produce up to 30,000 electric vehicle chargers per year and create 500 local jobs. "The new manufacturing facility Tritium announced today is more than just great news for Tennessee. Yes, it's going to create more than 500 good-paying jobs in Tennessee, but it can deliver greater dignity and little more breathing room...

KEY POINTS Shares of Rivian, an electric vehicle start-up backed by Amazon and Ford, opened at $106.75 per share on its first trading on Wednesday. At its opening price, Rivian is already worth more than automakers Ford and GM. ======================================================================== Rivian Automotive shares ended the day up 29% in their debut Wednesday, giving the Amazon and Ford-backed electric vehicle start-up a market valuation of $86 billion after one of the biggest IPOs this year. Shares of Rivian originally priced at $78 a piece Tuesday night, but popped more than 50% Wednesday when it opened at $106.75 per share, before paring...

On Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) praised the Washington, D.C. Metro, apparently oblivious to the fires and horrific management problems the Metro faces. "DC Metro is pretty good, especially when compared to the MTA lately," Ocasio-Cortez said in a Facebook "moment," contrasting the D.C. Metro to the New York subway. "It's clear they are investing in public infrastructure w/modernized train cars, etc." She responded to criticism shortly afterward. "Lots of folks begging to differ on DC metro being better," the congresswoman added. "I just got here so taking the train on a Sunday without a delay or track change or...

The media is dying. Read about it in the media. Facebook is pumping $300 million into the media. And that’s after the Google News Initiative shoved $300 million into fighting “fake news” and helping struggling media outlets like the New York Times. These aren’t investments. They’re charitable donations by Big Data to Big Brother. Take Jeff Bezos taking $250 million, a little more than the $215 million he makes a day, and using it to buy the Washington Post, not because it’s a good business opportunity, but a good political one. The media isn’t worth investing in. TV and cable...

Rising housing costs in Colorado are making it hard for teachers to stay in the area, so officials are moving in to help. As Colorado’s housing costs skyrocket, a growing number of school districts, local leaders, and lawmakers are taking steps to make housing more affordable for teachers and staff. For years, resort communities like Aspen, Colorado, and a rural district in the state’s Eastern Plains have leased housing to employees at below-market rates. More recently, subsidized housing for educators has cropped up in pricey urban areas such as San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. But lately, Colorado districts big and...

The Ivanpah solar power plant stretches over more than five square miles of the Mojave Desert. Almost 350,000 mirrors the size of garage doors tilt toward the sun with an ability to energize 140,000 homes. The plant, which took almost four years and thousands of workers assembling millions of parts to complete, officially opened on Thursday, the first electric generator of its kind. It could also be the last. Since the project began, the price of rival technologies has plummeted, incentives have begun to disappear and the appetite among investors for mammoth solar farms has waned. Although several large, new...

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D., Texas) took to the House floor on Thursday to call for a vote on legislation that would, she said, give unemployment benefits to people with jobs. “Let us vote to provide for unemployment insurance for working men and women,” Jackson-Lee pleaded. So we can’t be only about our self in this holiday season, particularly as we recognize that the Pope being made man of the year has spoken to the world eloquently about this whole issue of the vulnerable. And so I ask this, Mr. Woodall, and the Rules Committee, let’s put the Van Hollen-Lee-Levin amendment...

Enrolling in HealthCare.gov is not easy, and it's been particularly difficult in Alaska. Just 53 people enrolled Anchorage hair stylist Lara Imler is one of the few who got through, as we previously reported. "I don't even know how to feel about the whole thing anymore because I can't even get anyone who has an answer to help," she says. "It's just such a lost cause at this point." So on a recent morning, she sat down in her living room, with her laptop and a cup of coffee to try to resolve her difficulties—but not without frustration. "I've had...

Xcel Energy on Tuesday announced its single largest increase in wind generation in the Upper Midwest, saying it will add three large wind farms in Minnesota and North Dakota. The additional 600 megawatts of electricity, enough to serve 180,000 homes, is a 33 percent increase over the Minneapolis-based utility’s existing wind capacity of 1,800 megawatts in the region. Xcel, which serves 1.2 million electric customers in Minnesota, said new wind generation is priced so competitively right now that customers will save $180 million during the 20-year life of the projects compared with electricity generated from existing power plants. The new...

Al Gore is about 50 times richer than he was when he left the vice presidency in 2001. According to an Oct. 11 report by The Post’s Carol D. Leonnig, Gore accumulated a Romneyesque $100 million partly through investing in alternative-energy firms subsidized by the Obama administration. Two days after that story ran, Mitt Romney proclaimed at a rally in Ohio’s Appalachian coal country: “We have a lot of coal; we are going to use it. We are going to keep those jobs.” Thousands cheered. The juxtaposition speaks volumes about the Democratic Party, and about modern liberalism generally. As the Democrats...

SolarCity (SCTY), another “green energy” company and recipient of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds, in under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), sources reveal. The company, which recently filed for its initial IPO, has disclosed that it received subpoenas in July from the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury Department is investigating whether companies overstated the market value of solar panel arrays they installed when claiming the 30% federal cash grant. The IRS also notified SolarCity that it is auditing two of its investment funds and reviewing the claimed value of solar systems submitted to receive the federal cash...

New research shows how federal spending on higher education can backfire.Federal aid for students has increased 164% over the past decade, adjusted for inflation, according to the College Board. Yet three-quarters of Americans and even a majority of college presidents see college as unaffordable for most, and that sentiment has been steadily spreading, the Pew Research Center reports. Two new studies offer clues on why. One measures the degree to which some colleges reduce their own aid in response to increased federal aid. The other suggests federal aid is helping to push college costs higher.Recipients of federal Pell Grants have,...