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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09162008 - C.2 (2) HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA TO: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FROM: Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director 010 DATE: September 16„ 2008 C20 SUBJECT: ARTICLES CONCERNING AFFORDABLE HOUSING ISSUES SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION I. RECOMMENDED ACTION: ACCEPT attached articles regarding affordable housing issues for the Board's information. II. FINANCIAL IMPACT: This is for informational purposes only and has no fiscal impact. III. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION/BACKGROUND For the Board's information only. IV. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION.- None. CTION:None. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE Joseph Villarreal,Executive Director RECOMMENDATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED__XO ER VOTE OF COMMISSIONERS `� I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A N UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF COM IONERS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED v OSEPH VILLARREAL,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BY EPUTY H:\JudyHayes\MSOFFICE\WINWORD\BOARD\BO-Information Item.doc Advocate, July 30, 2008 (Vol. Clouds on the Voucher Horizon The Atlantic Monthly recently published an article by Hannah Rosin entitled, "An American Murder Mystery." Ms. Rosin reported that two scholars in Memphis, Tennessee discovered a correlation between rising crime rates and the movement of public housing residents to private sector housing using Housing Choice Vouchers in connection with HOPE VI public housing revitalization. Unfortunately, the article did more than call attention to this correlation and made a case that rising crime rates were caused, at least in part, by public housing residents moving into newer neighborhoods using vouchers. This theme has taken on a life of its own, appearing as a topic on large numbers of blogs on the internet, and beginning to appear in the print media as well. A June 13 editorial in the Memphis Commercial Appeal cited Rosin's article in a discussion of the unintended consequences of HOPE VI projects and the need for economic opportunities, effective education and new models for policing. Blogs'and print media's treatment of Rosin's article and the underlying story have framed the issue predictably as resulting from single parent households and the moral deficiencies of public housing residents. Rosin was aware of the likelihood of such responses, quoting one of the researchers saying that this would be a "hard thing to say or write," and, "... we don't want to be the ones responsible for framing these issues in the wrong way." Serious flaws in Rosin's presentation of information about Memphis and other communities added to the opportunities to use this article to support disparaging stereotypes of public housing and Housing Choice Voucher residents and participants. Misuse of Research and Reports To support her argument that large numbers of public housing residents relocating to working class neighborhoods in Memphis using vouchers caused increases in crime, Rosin wrote, "But in 2005, another wave of project demolitions pushed the number of people displaced from public housing to well over 20,000, and crime skyrocketed." From HUD's A Picture of Subsidized Housing data it appears that Memphis demolished approximately 5,000 public housing units, and in 1996, 1997 and 1998 the overall occupancy rate of Memphis's public housing ranged between 75 percent and 85 percent. In individual public housing apartment complexes in Memphis, the vacancy rate ranged as high as 80 percent, and one 900 unit property was empty in 1996. Thus, a significant number of demolished apartments were probably vacant when they were demolished and would not have resulted in any relocated households. Even if a family moved from each of the 5,000 units Memphis demolished, the HA'S average household size was 2.8 people, resulting in at least 5,000 fewer relocated people than Rosin claims. Using the HA's average household size and average vacancy rates in the late 1990s, a much more reasonable estimate of relocated public housing residents is 11,900, 59.5 percent of Rosin's inflated claim. "American Murder Mystery," cites a report by the Police Executive Research Foundation (PERF) called, Chief Concerns -The Gathering Storm: Violent Crime in America. PERF's publication is a summary of the proceedings of its National Violent Crime Summit held in 2006. Representatives from 50 cities gathered to discuss their perceptions of causes of and solutions to a general increase in the incidence of violent crime. The report cites a number of variables that police professionals and city leaders believed influenced the rise in violent crime, including escalation of interpersonal confrontations to violence, disproportionate impact of crime in neighborhoods with high unemployment, many single parent households, and in minority communities, the growth of gangs, the impact of rising numbers of robberies, the proliferation of guns in communities, less effective criminal justice systems, and dwindling resources for law enforcement. Although Rosin cites the PERF report to support her claims concerning the impact of growing numbers of voucher holders on neighborhoods, references to public housing, vouchers and Section 8 are absent from the PERF report. A second body of research Rosin cited in support of her claims concerned shifts in the geographic distribution of poverty summarized by Prof. George Galster in, "Consequences from the Redistribution of Urban Poverty during the 1990s: A Cautionary Tale," from the Economic Development Quarterly of May 2005. Prof. Galster proposed that the impact on social well being of poor households moving into low poverty and moderate poverty neighborhoods is different. He used a more complex conception of social well being than simply crime rates or incidences, including annual earned income, hourly wages and the length of time households are poor in his analysis. These relocations did not appear to adversely affect social well being in low poverty neighborhoods, but they did appear to have adverse affects in moderate poverty neighborhoods. He defined low poverty neighborhoods as having poverty rates of 20 percent or lower, moderate poverty neighborhoods as having poverty rates of between 20 percent and 40 percent, and high poverty neighborhoods as having poverty rates greater than 40 percent. He also pointed out that national changes in neighborhood poverty have been modest. The proportion of the population living in low poverty areas rose by 0.2 percent, in moderate poverty areas rose by 1.0 percent, and in high poverty areas declined by 1.2 percent. Galster raised two caveats and posed a final significant question concerning these findings. He pointed out that, "there may be other valid criteria for evaluating the spatial distribution of the poor," than the ones he used. He also wrote that, even if outcomes of the redistribution of poor households adversely affected moderately poor areas, there may be no acceptable policy tools available to change these relocation patterns or choices. This caveat parallels a finding from the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) dernonstration (a demonstration cited, but unnamed, by Rosin). There, researchers discovered that participants who agreed to move to a low poverty neighborhood with a voucher tended to move to moderate poverty neighborhoods subsequently. Finally, Galster posed the fundamental question, "Do we know enough about the independent effect of neighborhood on individual behaviors or opportunities to draw any substantive conclusions about the effects of redistributing poverty populations?" He indicated that the evidence is scanty and that many outcomes have not yet been assessed, such as educational attainment, fertility, marriage, psychological and physical health. Despite the hesitancy expressed in some of the reports, such as Galster's, on which she relied, Rosin was content to claim that, for example, "every neighborhood has its tipping point - a threshold well below a 40 percent poverty rate - beyond which crime explodes and other severe social problems set in." Rosin's claims, repeated and amplified in the media and the blogosphere, have not gone unchallenged. One blog has cited a research report prepared in Durham, NC, by students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which found that the presence of Section 8 rental-voucher recipients did not contribute to rising crime rates. This study paralleled a study by the University of North Carolina-Charlotte which found no causal connection between Section 8 housing and crime. The Charlotte study was commissioned by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and tracked violent property crimes for a six-month period in 2005 and 2006. It found no relationship between the changes in Section 8 households and crime. The Charlotte Observer reported that local police said they have fewer problems with low-rent communities that accept Section 8 because the HA can seize vouchers from anyone suspected of a crime. Knowledgeplex reported on both of these studies. Shortly after publication of Rosin's article, Barbara Sard of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities wrote a fact based response on Matthew Yglesias' blog at Atlantic.com. Sard pointed out that although households may have been relocated from approximately 5,000 demolished Memphis public housing apartments, the city's entire voucher program grew by only 3,000 families. She questioned the claim that households relocating from public housing using vouchers could have had the impacts on crime Rosin claimed in a city of 690,000 people. Sard also implicitly contested Rosin's claim that the "purpose" for relocations using vouchers and for HOPE VI is, "infusing the poor with middle class values." Sard concluded that, "Vouchers are very effective at their primary task: enabling poor families to have a decent affordable home, with more income available to meet other critical needs." Other Factors Influencing Crime If Rosin's stereotypical treatment of public housing residents is distorted, what else might drive Memphis' "explosion" of crime? Unfortunately, the explosion Rosin mentions is an explosion in the number of incidents of crime, and she does not claim any comparable explosion in the rates of crime. Readers don't know whether the increased incidents Rosin cites reflect a serious increase in crime rates which take relative population size into account. Galster's analysis of differences in property crime rates cites rates of 10 property crimes per 1,000 population in low poverty areas, and of 12.5 property crimes per 1,000 population in high poverty areas. Although the increase of 2.5 crimes per 1,000 population is a 25 percent rise, Galster doesn't characterize it as an "explosion." But if rates as well as incidents were rising, what else may contribute to that rise?The PERF report pointed to several potential contributors: rising gang activity, the impact of increasing rates of robberies, overburdened criminal justice systems, and law enforcement resources suffering through a redistribution of funding to homeland security efforts. Many communities are also coping with the return of large numbers of convicted felons who have completed serving prison sentences and are now returning to their families, friends and neighborhoods. On release, felons experience significantly diminished opportunities and public support and may become a disproportionate burden for communities to which they return. One other factor unrelated to the comparative virtue of public housing residents and voucher holders that may influence the problems Rosin described is the way in which private sector landlords chose to operate their housing in Memphis. Housing authorities operating public housing have spent many years becoming proficient in screening applicants, enforcing lease terms and collaborating with other local institutions to improve and preserve social well being in public housing apartment complexes. Often HAs have developed very effective relationships with local police departments that have contributed significantly to security in public housing. They also may have cooperated with community mental health providers and providers of services for disabled communities to intervene rapidly when residents with physical or mental disabilities, including residents who abuse drugs or alcohol, developed problems that adversely affected apartment complexes. Private sector landlords who house families relocating from public housing apartment complexes with vouchers may be comparative novices in applicant screening and in coping with behavioral problems new tenants may demonstrate. Rosin failed to consider the behavior of private sector landlords or their responsibility for maintaining the quality of life in their apartment complexes in her discussion of the correlation between crime incidents and relocation of public housing residents. Finally, as Sard argues in her online comments, "Rosin's thesis is not new. Since the early'90s, critics have tied Section 8-assisted families to increases in crime in other cities. Careful investigations have refuted the claim, and collaborations between housing agencies and police departments have proven successful in dispelling myths." HAs operating Housing Choice Voucher programs share the experience of receiving complaints concerning a new "Section 8" resident in a neighborhood, only to discover that the badly behaving household does not participate in the Housing Choice Voucher program. Articles such as Rosin's fail to dispel the stereotype that results in these complaints. Proactive Attention Despite the distortions and inaccuracies that Rosin presents in her Atlantic Monthly article, she reinforces a prevalent caricature of public housing residents and voucher holders, and so the article may produce some new attention for local Housing Choice Voucher programs and public housing. HAs and other local program sponsors may wish to proactively present their local programs and participants in those programs in a positive light. Steps HAs can take include: • Notifying local media concerning participants'accomplishments, such as winning scholarships, completing educational goals, and buying homes, • Emphasizing and publicizing collaborations with other local institutions to satisfy specific populations' housing needs, including offering police officers or teachers assistance for which they are eligible, and collaborating with homeless advocates or advocates for people with disabilities in meeting housing needs, • Supporting improvements in Housing Choice Voucher program participating landlords'applicant screening and lease enforcement activities, • Vigorously following local policies concerning their programs'treatment of voucher holders who become involved in criminal activity and publicizing those policies and practices, • Opening support services to voucher holders as well as public housing residents and reminding voucher holders of the availability of support services, • Analyzing housing choice patterns of voucher holders and their relationship with crime incidents and crime rates, and offering the analysis to local communities, and • Cooperating with neighbors and landlords to follow up on indications that voucher holders may not be fulfilling their responsibilities under their leases. It seems a shame that periodicals such as The Atlantic Monthly would pursue publication of articles such as Rosin's without any balance, given the existence of evidence from communities other than Memphis that rebut the article's conclusions. However, faced with the inevitability of media coverage that tends to reinforce mean spirited stereotypes and caricatures of public housing residents and voucher holders, HAs may wish to consider steps that tend to inoculate their programs, residents and participants from the most adverse impacts treatments like Rosin's will likely produce. July 30, 2008 Advocate As Program Moves Poor to Suburbs, Tensions Follow-NYTimes.com Page 1 of 4 The Nov Mf ork Cimco :.q.,3 -R 41FHr. August 9,2008 As Program Moves Poor to Suburbs, Tensions Follow By SOLOMON MOORE ANTIOCH, Calif. — From the tough streets of Oakland,where so many of Alice Payne's relatives and friends had been shot to death,the newspaper advertisement for a federally assisted rental property in this Northern California suburb was like a bridge across the River Jordan. Ms. Payne, a 42-year-old African-American mother of five, moved to Antioch in 2oo6. With the local real estate market slowing and a housing voucher covering two-thirds of the rent, she found she could afford a large, new home,with a pool,for$2,20o a month. But old problems persisted.When her estranged husband was arrested,the local housing authority tried to cut off her subsidy, citing disturbances at her house. Then the police threatened to prosecute her landlord for any criminal activity or public nuisances caused by the family.The landlord forced the Paynes to leave when their lease was up. Under the Section 8 federal housing voucher program,thousands of poor,urban and often African-American residents have left hardscrabble neighborhoods in the nation's largest cities and resettled in the suburbs. Law enforcement experts and housing researchers argue that rising crime rates follow Section 8 recipients to their new homes,while other experts discount any direct link. But there is little doubt that cultural shock waves have followed the migration. Social and racial tensions between newcomers and their neighbors have increased,forcing suburban communities like Antioch to re-evaluate their civic identities along with their methods of dealing with the new residents. The foreclosure crisis gnawing away at overbuilt suburbs has accelerated that migration,and the problems. Antioch is one of many suburbs in the midst of a full-blown mortgage meltdown that has seen property owners seeking out low-income renters to fill vacant homes.The most recent Contra Costa County records available show that from 2003 to 2005, the number of Section 8 households in Antioch grew by 50 percent, to about 1,500 from i,000. Many new residents are African-American;Antioch's black population has grown to about 20 percent,from 3 percent in 19go. Federally assisted tenants in Antioch brought a class action lawsuit against the police department last month, claiming racial discrimination, intimidation and illegal property searches.The lawsuit,which was filed in the Northern District of California, claims that the police routinely questioned Section 8 residents about their housing status and wrote letters to the county's housing authority recommending termination of subsidies. They say the police also threatened Section 8 landlords for infractions by tenants.A December 2007 study of Antioch police records by Public Advocates, a law firm in San Francisco,counted 67 investigations of black households, compared with 59 of white families;black households, it found, are four times as likely to be http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/us/09housing.html?_r=1&ei=5070&en=4ded57f28c9ee 147&... 8/28/2008 As Program Moves Poor to Suburbs, Tensions Follow-NYTimes.com Page 2 of 4 searched based on noncriminal complaints and to be contacted by the police in the first place. Chief James Hyde of the Antioch Police Department denied that his officers routinely asked whether tenants were Section 8 recipients and said that the police department did not have information about which homes were on federal assistance. But Chief Hyde also said that the local housing authority was not meeting its obligation to screen tenants properly, and that as his department focused on nuisance issues,the police had become a de facto enforcement arm of the federal government. "Other cities have come asking us for guidance,"Chief Hyde said. The Section 8 program is designed to encourage low-income tenants to settle in middle-income areas by subsidizing 6o percent of their rent. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development issued 50,000 more vouchers for suburban relocations in 2007 than in 2005,bringing the total number of renter families to 2.1 million. Federal officials and housing experts say that the increase in vouchers was offset by people being forced out of federal housing projects that closed and by renters moving into foreclosed properties.According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy and research group, 30 percent to 40 percent of residents in foreclosed properties were renters, many of whom have since sought federal assistance. Linda Couch,the coalition's deputy director, said families often waited a decade or more for housing vouchers. Demand for subsidized suburban housing, meanwhile,is outstripping supply. In Salinas, Calif., applicants circled an entire block around a housing authority office earlier this month. Mobile,Ala.,has 3,400 Section 8 families, and 2,000 more awaiting homes. Sociologists have long claimed that leaving behind high-crime,low-employment neighborhoods for the middle-class suburbs buoys the fortunes of impoverished tenants.An article in the July/August edition of The Atlantic Monthly,however, cited findings by researchers at the University of Memphis that crime in Memphis appeared to migrate with voucher recipients. More broadly, a 20o6 Georgia Institute of Technology study found that every time a neighborhood experienced three foreclosures per loo owner-occupied properties in a year,violent crime increased by approximately 7 percent. As Antioch's population grew to 1ol,000 in 2005,from 73,386 in 1995,the city built about 4,000 housing units in the early years of this decade. Now it has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the state,with about 23 of every 1,000 homeowners losing their homes as of June, according to DataQuick, a real estate information clearinghouse. While total crime in Antioch declined by 15 percent in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2007,violent crime increased by about 16 percent, according to city statistics. Robberies and assaults accounted for most of that rise. In an incident report filed with the Antioch Police Department, Natalie and Darin Rouse complained of constant problems with gang members'blaring car stereos and under-age drinking on the street. In a written http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/us/09housing.html?_r=1&ei=5070&en=4ded57f28c9ee 147&... 8/28/2008 As Program Moves Poor to Suburbs, Tensions Follow-NYTimes.com Page 3 of 4 account,they blamed"gross community overdevelopment, affirmative action loopholes and incompetent state government management of federal affordable housing programs"for the problems. Several white women, all professionals who attend the same church and have lived in Antioch for 12 years or more, recently sat outside a Starbucks coffee shop and discussed how their declining home equity had trapped them in a city they no longer recognize. "My father got held up at gunpoint while he was renting a car to a young African-American man,"said Rebecca Gustafson,35,who owns a graphics and Web design company with her husband. Ms. Gustafson said her car had also been broken into three times before being stolen from her driveway. Laura Reynolds, 36, an emergency room nurse,said that she often came home to her Country Hills development tract after working a late-shift to find young black teenagers strolling through her neighborhood. "I know it sounds horrible,but they're scary. I'm sorry,"said Ms. Reynolds,who like her two friends said she was conflicted about her newfound fear of black youths. "Sometimes I question myself, and I think,Would I feel this way if they were Mexican or white?" Housing advocates argue that the impact of Section 8 in Antioch and other communities is exaggerated and that Section 8 houses make up only a small amount of the real estate market. Section 8 homes rarely exceed more than 2 percent of available housing in any metropolitan area; in Antioch the average is 8 percent, according to housing officials. Brad Seligman, a lawyer with the Impact Fund, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy group based in San Francisco that is representing Section 8 tenants in Antioch, along with groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Advocates, accused the city's police department of racially profiling black subsidized tenants. The N.A.A.C.P. has made similar accusations. "Instead of driving while black, it's renting while black,"Mr. Seligman said. Thomas and Karen Coleman and their three children were the only black family on their street when they moved to Antioch in 2003 with a housing voucher. In June 2007, a neighbor told the police that Mr. Coleman had threatened him. Officers from the police community action team visited the house and demanded to be allowed in. "I cracked the door open,but they pushed me out of the way,"Ms. Coleman said. The officers searched the house even though they did not have a warrant, said the Colemans,who are now part of the class-action suit against the department.The police questioned Mr. Coleman, a parolee at the time, about his living arrangement. He explained that he and his wife were separated but in the process of reconciling. The police accused the family of violating a Section 8 rule that only listed tenants can live in a subsidized home. After the raid, officers made repeated visits to the Coleman home and to Mr. Coleman's job at a movie theater. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/us/09housing.html?_r=1&ei=5070&en=4ded57f28c9ee 147&... 8/28/2008 As Program Moves Poor to Suburbs, Tensions Follow-NYTimes.com Page 4 of 4 They also sent a letter to the county housing department recommending that the Colemans be removed from federal housing assistance, a recommendation the authority rejected. "They kept harassing me until I was off parole,"Mr. Coleman said. Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company Privacy Policy Search I Corrections RSS I First Look Help I Contact Us Work for Us Site Mao Antioch forum addresses social, crime issues - ContraCostaTimes.com Page I of 2 CONTRA COSTA GontraCostaTirnes.cntn Antioch forum addresses aimed at increasing landlord responsibility and improving the department's ability to do criminal social, crime issues background checks on prospective tenants. New regulations require a five-year background check compared with one year previously,Villareal said. By Hilary Costa East County Times No speaker's happy reception exceeded Antioch police Chief Jim Hyde's when he announced that the Article Launci)ed:0£3110?2008 06:38:25 AM PDT city crime rate was down 11.3 percent during the first six months of 2008, compared with the same Related Links period last year. • Photoblog: Share your Antioch photos and videos Hyde said there has been less crime in six out of • Forum: Discuss Antioch news eight categories,with only robbery and aggravated • More Antioch coverage assault increasing from 2007 levels. He attributed the progress to increased policing, including the formation of the Community Action Team, a complaint-driven branch of the police department Crime is down and progress has been made to that responds to neighborhood nuisances and combat neighborhood problems, but Antioch still assists the Housing Authority in monitoring has a way to go toward becoming a model city. Antioch's subsidized housing. That was the overarching message Saturday at the "We were in trouble ... and felt like we were victims city's Quality of Life Forum at Deer Valley High in our own community,"said resident Betty Tran- School. Close to 150 people attended the seventh in Redman. "We asked for help and you guys stepped the city's series of periodic forums to examine up." crime, public safety and education issues. The forums began two years ago to address resident The city and its police department were recently complaints about the Section 8 housing assistance named in a federal class-action lawsuit brought by program. the ACLU of Northern California accusing the Community Action Team of unfairly targeting The full Antioch City Council was on hand to listen African-American families enrolled in Section 8. to residents'comments, and city officials and community leaders spoke on a handful of topics Other speakers discussed upcoming developments during the three-hour forum. including a new medical magnet high school set to open later this month,the Antioch Community "This is truly an experiment in democracy," Mayor Center,which is moving swiftly through the design Donald Freitas said as he opened the event. stages, and the increase in Neighborhood Watch participation. The crowd was liberal with its applause as Joseph Villareal, executive director of the county's Housing Some residents voiced concerns about police Authority, detailed changes in the Section 8 program tactics. Resident Gigi Crowder said her teenage sons Advertisement QmtraCostaTimcaac (800) 598-4637_, w81A"I IMPS If.MUf T CONTRA ..« Subscribe today' a �a www.contracostatimes.com/Subscriberservices ..v- Print Powered By AA )rrrta 0yn,raMfcs„ http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_10151590?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.co... 8/28/2008 Antioch forum addresses social, crime issues - ContraCostaTimes.com Page 2 of 2 CONTRACOSR TIMES CAntraCostaTinics.com had recently been arrested without cause, and she said they were targeted by police because they are African-American. Hyde said police personnel undergo state- mandated cultural training annually and were recently educated in avoiding racial profiling. "The city of Antioch is not collectively perfect, but we will continue to work toward that perfection," said Councilman Brian Kalinowski. Reach Hilary Costa at 925-779-7139 or hcosta@bayareanewsgroup.com . Advertisement ContraCostarnVAnS (800) 598-4637 _ C:.CUNTRACUSCATIMtS CONTE Subscribe today! MI www.contracostatimes.com/Subscriberservices _ •� dl '�M:^�,"o.. Print Powered By >fry .....t, 't 1c,:Dynamics http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci—I 01 51590?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.co... 8/28/2008 Around Antioch: Quality of Life gets official treatment - ContraCostaTimes.com Page 1 of 2 CONTRACOSTA TIMES ContraCostaTlrnes.0 Around Antioch: Quality of anticipated. Delta Academy for the Performing Arts will be at Bidwell School; 75 students have enrolled Life gets official treatment there. Housing Authority staffer Joseph Villareal offered a By Maris Bennett comprehensive look at a topic uppermost in the East County Times minds of many in attendance, namely a reworking of the Section 8 issue. Significant topics he mentioned A tiole Launched:08.11 i200B 03:0$:40 PM PDT were the initiation of five-year criminal background Saturday's Quality of Life Forum, held at Deer Valley checks for those applying, improved complaint High School's theater, attracted about 150 people. response, the hiring of a new Section 8 director, and When I arrived, a camera operator was positioning four permanent staff members located in Antioch. his tripod,two tables stood onstage—on which were placed nameplates for Mayor Donald Freitas In addition, he assured us that increased staff and the City Council—and a video screen displayed training is in place, and that the agency is now tied the image of a police car cruising down a city street. into national databases. Realizing that many problems in the program begin with the landlords, People began to straggle in, among them Villareal explained that owners'workshops will take recognizable figures such as school board members place in East County in October and November. More Gary Agopian and Walter Ruehlig, county Supervisor than 50 percent of those receiving Section 8 are Federal Glover and United Citizens for Better elderly or disabled, and will receive it for life, but a Neighborhoods founder Gary Gilbert. Noticing the five-year self-sufficiency program will aim to assist tendency for people to sit toward the rear of the recipients in the goal of homeownership. auditorium, Freitas encouraged them to move up, after which the forum began. Pending changes include information sharing with the police,the hiring of a fraud investigator and Freitas invited Gilbert to lead the gathering in the external quality control, to avoid complacency Pledge of Allegiance, noting that this was the two- among employees. Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger year anniversary of the original forum, and urging recently signed into law AB2827. This allows those who had attended every meeting to stand. investigators within the district attorney's office to Larry Bienati voiced his thanks at being asked to track incidents of Section 8 fraud,with those return as moderator. defrauding the program in amounts exceeding$400 to be charged with grand theft.The bill goes into The forum was divided into five"critical" effect Jan. 1. presentations,whose original order was somewhat altered. School Superintendent Deborah Sims was Next on the agenda was Lonnie Karste's unable to attend; the district representative who presentation involving Prewett Family Park and the appeared in her place gave a brief overview upcoming Community Police Services Center. regarding school news. This included the opening "Bringing the community together as one,"as Karste of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (offices open put it. Construction will begin in March, with a Aug. 19,with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 28). potential opening in late fall or early winter of 2010. Current enrollment is 215,with an eventual 750 Advertisement ContraCostaTa.. (800) 598-4637 , CONT9ACUS?A MtS t co Subscribe .a �.. Subscribe today! ,�� www.contracostatimes.com/Subscriberservices Print Powered By �fd* http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci 10168108?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.co... 8/28/2008 Around Antioch: Quality of Life gets official treatment - ContraCostaTimes.com Page 1 of 2 CONTRACOSTATIMFS ContraCostaTimes.com Around Antioch: Quality of anticipated. Delta Academy for the Performing Arts will be at Bidwell School; 75 students have enrolled Life gets official treatment there. Housing Authority staffer Joseph Villareal offered a By Maris Bennett comprehensive look at a topic uppermost in the East County Times minds of many in attendance, namely a reworking of the Section 8 issue. Significant topics he mentioned Ailici;L<aunchod:0811/2008,03 06:4Q t;r;PDT were the initiation of five-year criminal background Saturday's Quality of Life Forum, held at Deer Valley checks for those applying, improved complaint High School's theater, attracted about 150 people. response,the hiring of a new Section 8 director, and When I arrived, a camera operator was positioning four permanent staff members located in Antioch. his tripod,two tables stood onstage—on which were placed nameplates for Mayor Donald Freitas In addition, he assured us that increased staff and the City Council—and a video screen displayed training is in place, and that the agency is now tied the image of a police car cruising down a city street. into national databases. Realizing that many problems in the program begin with the landlords, People began to straggle in, among them Villareal explained that owners'workshops will take recognizable figures such as school board members place in East County in October and November. More Gary Agopian and Walter Ruehlig, county Supervisor than 50 percent of those receiving Section 8 are Federal Glover and United Citizens for Better elderly or disabled, and will receive it for life, but a Neighborhoods founder Gary Gilbert. Noticing the five-year self-sufficiency program will aim to assist tendency for people to sit toward the rear of the recipients in the goal of homeownership. auditorium, Freitas encouraged them to move up, after which the forum began. Pending changes include information sharing with the police,the hiring of a fraud investigator and Freitas invited Gilbert to lead the gathering in the external quality control, to avoid complacency Pledge of Allegiance, noting that this was the two- among employees. Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger year anniversary of the original forum, and urging recently signed into law AB2827. This allows those who had attended every meeting to stand. investigators within the district attorney's office to Larry Bienati voiced his thanks at being asked to track incidents of Section 8 fraud,with those return as moderator. defrauding the program in amounts exceeding$400 to be charged with grand theft.The bill goes into The forum was divided into five"critical" effect Jan. 1. presentations,whose original order was somewhat altered. School Superintendent Deborah Sims was Next on the agenda was Lonnie Karste's unable to attend; the district representative who presentation involving Prewett Family Park and the appeared in her place gave a brief overview upcoming Community Police Services Center. regarding school news.This included the opening "Bringing the community together as one,"as Karste of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (offices open put it. Construction will begin in March,with a Aug. 19,with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 28). potential opening in late fall or early winter of 2010. Current enrollment is 215,with an eventual 750 Advertisement Contia star les (800) 598-4637.nom -- _r lA ftMES C6NTMCUS��,,•.,, rte,;; t CONTRA Subscribe today -� � yr..M i�MatM �,arNNo+xu.n.N` .. .... Jrr.trlM.nlVn• �.rt.1f Le�;tl www.contracostatimes.com/subscriiberservices ^c?�`--°------- Print Powered Byrrarttcs http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_10168108?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.co... 8/28/2008 Around Antioch: Quality of Life gets official treatment- ContraCostaTimes.com Page 2 of 2 CONTRACOSTA TIMES ContraCostaTirnes.com Sketches of the 35,000-square-foot building appeared impressive, and Karste suggested those interested in more information go to prewettpark. com . Mayor Freitas expressed the opinion that the center will be a"destination point for the community to come together and have a good, positive experience." At this point, public comments were accepted. Various residents stepped to the microphone, verbalizing thoughts on a range of issues: supporting the Antioch Police Department; urging uniforms at all district schools; information about business licenses for landlords; student test scores; and the problem of young, unsupervised children roaming around late at night. Former Mayor Mary Rocha thanked the community at Barge, saying, "You people are the ones who made an overall difference." Next week, I'll cover more topics discussed at the forum. Maris Bennett is an Antioch resident. Her column appears every Tuesday. Reach her at stuckinthe60s@sbcglobal.net . Advertisement Omtra0gaTim., (800) 7.. 598-463 Subscribe today! an ra.a.� •.m a.MP H � '."�.� 4 S y.nY.Hy...nttwe1„•N.Le..nc www.contracostatimes.com/Subscriberservices ^�"' ' •M ":p"^^r�.' � 't Print Powered By http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci—I 0 1 68108?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.co... 8/28/2008 Nation's Poverty Rate Holds Steady as More Get Health Insurance Page 1 of 2 woshingtonpost.com - Nation's Poverty Rate Holds Steady as More Get Health Insurance By Michael A.Fletcher Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday,August 26,2008;2:49 PM ..� The nation's poverty rate held steady as median household income edged upward and the number of Americans without health insurance decreased by more than 1 million people last ,< year, according to annual census data released today. The Census Bureau report says that 37.3 million people -- or 12.5 percent of the population-- fell below the official federal poverty threshold in 2007, which is not statistically different than the 12.3 percent who were in poverty in 2006. Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance declined to 45.7 million from last year's record 47 million, the Census report says. Census officials and health insurance advocates attributed the decrease in the number of uninsured to the growing popularity of government-sponsored health insurance, including Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The number of people under 65 who are insured by government-funded health insurance increased by more than 2 million to 48.6 million, according to an analysis by officials at the University of Minnesota. "Programs like SCHIP and Medicaid are lifelines for providing Americans with the health care they need, especially during times when the economy is soft and more people feel vulnerable to losing employer- sponsored health insurance," said Lynn Blewett of the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota. Despite the apparent good news,the new Census report does not take into account the turmoil that has wracked the nation's economy this year, leading to sharp spikes in joblessness and a reduction in hours worked for many employees. Also, while the indicators are positive over one year,the trends are less promising when viewed over a longer time frame. "You have mixed news here mirroring the mixed news in the economy last year," said Rebecca M. Blank, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "But I think it is quite reasonable to say 2007 was a peak year. And still, median income is slightly below the 2000 level,poverty is higher and child poverty is way up. You have a cycle here that was very sluggish." The report highlights the nation's growing income inequality and persistent sluggishness of wages for typical Americans,which growing numbers of economists called one of the most troubling aspects of the new economy. Even as median household income rose 1.3 percent to $50,233 --the third consecutive increase -- it still fell just short of the previous peak in 2000, when inflation is factored in. Overall, the nation's top 1 percent of wage earners now hold 23 percent of total income, the highest level since 1928, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute, a research group. Maryland remained the state with the nation's highest median household income in 2007, an estimated $68,080 -- a 2 percent increase over 2006. Median household incomes were also up in Washington, D.C., and Virginia, to $54,317 and$59,562 respectively. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/26/AR2008082600863_pf.html 8/28/2008 Nation's Poverty Rate Holds Steady as More Get Health Insurance Page 2 of 2 The report also reveals continuing large racial disparities in household incomes. While the inflation-adjusted median incomes of black and Hispanic'houseliolds rose for the first time since 1999 last year, they remained far below those of whites and Asian American households. Blacks had the lowest median household income in the country, $33,916. That was 62 percent of the median household income of whites, which was $54,920 last year. Median Hispanic household income was $38,679 in 2007, while Asian Americans had the highest median household income, $66,103. Post a Comment View all comments that have been hosted about this article. 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