Northwest HUD Lines
October 2013

HUD e-Briefs from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington
Mary McBride, Region X Regional Director (206) 220-5356
Leland Jones, Editor

LEADER SHIFT
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan has named Mary McBride, HUD's Northwest Regional Administrator since March, 2010, as the new Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy & Management in HUD Headquarters. Deputy Regional Administrator Donna Batch will serve in an "acting" capacity until a successor is named. Mary's appointment is effective immediately.

TO THE RESCUE
On September 25th, Oregon Housing & Community Services and its partners launched the Home Rescue Mortgage Payment Assistance & Reinstatement Program in 33 counties. Applications in the first - but not last - cycle are due October 1st with applications for the second cycle due October 9th. Home Rescue helps unemployed and underemployed Oregon homeowners avoid foreclosure by providing up to 12 monthly mortgage payments or $20,000, whichever is used first. It also brings delinquent mortgages current if homeowners are no more than $10,000 behind on their payments. For more, visit the website (www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org/en/homeowner-education-program/home-rescue-program). And, please, if you're at-risk, don't delay!

LOST?
No, HUD Oregon hasn't gone missing. It's just moved its office. As of August 26th, HUD's Oregon can be found at in the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Office Building at 1220 SW 3rd Avenue, Suite 400, in downtown Portland, Oregon, 97204-2825.

WHAT THE HECM?
Committed to making certain that "reverse mortgage program is a financially sustainable option for seniors that will allow them to age in place in their own homes," Federal Housing Commissioner Carol Galante has approved a series of policy changes to help underwriters better manage risks and to "realign the HECM" - Home Equity Conversion Mortgage - "program with its original intent." They include changes to initial mortgage insurance premiums and principal limit factors; restrictions on the amount of funds senior borrowers may draw down at closing and during the first twelve months following closing; requiring a financial assessment for all HECM borrowers to ensure that they have the capacity and willingness to meet their financial obligations and the terms of the reverse mortgage; and requiring borrowers to set aside a portion of the loan proceeds at closing (or withhold a portion of monthly loan disbursements) for the payment of property taxes and insurance based on the results of the Financial Assessment. In announcing the changes, Galante noted recent changes in demographics and borrower preferences, especially a shift "from selecting adjustable rate mortgages with access to the line of credit or modified tenure/term payment options to selecting fixed rate mortgages where the borrower draws down all available funds at the time of closing." She also noted that a 2012 report to the Congress found "substantial stress" in the HECM program. For more, visit the website.

BRIEF BRIEFS
HUD awards more than $1.4 million in Fair Housing Initiatives program funds to Intermountain Fair Housing Council in Boise, Fair Housing Council of Oregon in Portland, Fair Housing Center of Washington in Tacoma and Northwest Fair Housing Alliance in Spokane. . .Onto the next phase as Home Forward, Portland's housing authority, and Congressman Suzanne Suzanne Bonamici raise the first walls at Stephens Creek Crossing marking the start of construction of the 122 affordable apartments that will replace the old Hillsdale public housing complex in southwest Portland. . .Governor Otter awards City of Council $100k Idaho CDBG grant to address wastewater treatment issues caused by change in course of Weiser River. . .Spokane Baptist Association, reports Spokane Journal of Business, unveils plans for $10 million renovation of 13-story Lilac Plaza housing for the elderly. . .Thanks to refinancing from Washington State Housing Finance Commission, a "much needed" 30-unit assisted-living complex - Heritage Heights - in Lake Chelan will save about $50,000 a year and, says Commission, "stay sustainable for years to come". . .NeighborWorks Umpqua tells News Review that 54 units of housing for veterans - 44 apartments and 10 "small houses" - at Eagle Landing on VA campus in Roseburg should be "ready for new occupants by mid-November". . .Lake City Development Corporation says plans for Riverstone III, 38 more units of affordable housing for families, are "under consideration" in Coeur d'Alene. . .Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle names Sterling Bank of Spokane its 2013 Community Spirit Award winner. . .Cedar Sinai Park in Portland celebrates grand opening - less than a year after groundbreaking - of Kehillah Housing, HUD Section 811-funded, 14-unit supportive housing complex for people with disabilities. . .Neighborhood Housing Services Lending in Idaho, Innovative Changes, Northwest Community Capital Fund, CASA of Oregon and Community Lending Works in Oregon and the Lending Network, Newrizons Federal Credit Union, Express Credit Union, HomeSight, New Roots Fund, Washington Access Fund, SNAP Cascade Forest Products Credit Union and Office of Rural & Farm Worker Housing in Washington among 191 organizations nationwide receiving in $172 million in financial and technical assistance from Treasury's CDFI program.

THANKS, WELL-DESERVED
Foundations, HUD Secretary Donovan told a recent gathering of the Council on Foundations, "are doing the heavy lifting to improve neighborhoods, often without much thanks. Today," he added, "we say thank you" by, in collaboration with the Council, awarding ten foundations from across the country a 2013 HUD Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships for "teaming up with public and private partners to bring about positive change and lasting solutions that are making a real difference in their communities." Foundations like the Empire Health Foundation, one of the ten honorees, that is working with seven school districts in eastern Washington - Cheney, Wellpinit, Davenport, East Valley, Newport, Othello and Spokane - to reduce and prevent childhood obesity by converting their school breakfast and lunch programs from "unhealthy processed foods to healthy scratch cooked meals; from chicken nuggets to herb-baked chicken; from French Fries to roasted red potatoes; from syrupy canned peaches to fresh fruits and vegetables." Last year alone, the Eastern Washington Obesity Prevention Initiative "positively impacted" 1.6 million school meals. Even better, The Spokesman Review reports that Cheney schools have seen a two percent reduction in overweight and obese kids in Cheney schools in the last two years. That's progress. Progress, too, is being made by Alaska's Rasmuson Foundation, another of the 10 Secretary's Award winners. In 2006, it launched a Pre-Development Program in collaboration with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and the Denali Commission to assist Alaska non-profits, tribal organizations and municipal governments plan sustainable capital projects such as housing, health clinics and libraries that contribute to the long-term viability of the non-profits and the communities they serve. Since 2006, says Rasmuson president and chief executive officer Diane Kaplan, the Pre-D program has helped more than 50 projects get from the drawing board to serving people. That's progress too and another example why foundations like the 10 honored by the Secretary and Council - and countless others - are so important to the communities we call home. Like the Secretary said, "thanks!"

GETTING AHEAD
Despite a struggling economy, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation has enjoyed a very productive 18 months, financing or developing 470 units of affordable housing including Lousac Place and Inlet Towers. But maybe its most significant accomplishment in the period was one of its smallest projects - the acquisition and demolition of a foreclosed property on East 9th Avenue in Anchorage to build a four-plex. Why such a big deal? "Because" the Corporation explains, the four-plex "adds units to" the Corporation's "inventory for the first time since the Riverbend Housing project was completed in 1998," near Juneau. And it looks like the start of net new units with another 154 units in production in Anchorage. "There is a looming housing shortage in Anchorage that is driving up rent and home prices; AHFC remains committed to providing new units that are both efficient and affordable," said Bryan Butcher, CEO and executive director of the Corporation.

A DOUBLE BETTER
Noting "the long term solution to the affordable housing crisis is not housing - it is assuring that low-income children succeed in school," King County Housing Authority executive director Stephen Norman welcomed Congressman Adam Smith and other community members to a double grand re-opening of two Boys & Girls Club clubhouses serving Hidden Village and Spiritwood housing complexes in Bellevue. The Authority contributed some $2.5 million both to renovate and expansion of each center. The additional space also allows the Boys & Girls Club to expand their offerings, including "Girl Start", a program that encourages girls to engage in STEM learning, "Netsmartz"; an Internet safety initiative for members and their families, and "BE Healthy, BE Great", a program that promotes healthy lifestyles and attitudes through fun and active games. The re-openings, scheduled to coincide with the start of the school year, provide a place that, said one parent, "allows my child to be surrounded by a great diverse group of people and make new friends."

CLICK & SAVE?
The City of Corvallis, reports James Day of The Gazette Times, okayed the demolition of 77 residential properties -mostly single-family homes - from 2008 to 2012. Many were torn down to make way for private developers to build multi-unit buildings to provide housing to students attending Oregon State University. Which is why these days a group of some 60 volunteers affiliated with Collaboration Corvallis are taking photographs - some 6,000 already at "about 2,500 addresses" - of houses around the campus - "ground zero," says Day, of an increasingly heated debate over the future of the city. "Developers, no surprise, believe they're just meeting a market demand and, in the process, creating construction jobs and increasing property tax revenues to the City. Collaboration volunteers, on the other hand, see an ever- growing campus as a threat to the livability of their community. My concern is that we are losing our sense of place at an incredible speed," says one. "We need to come together as a community to define what's important and what we feel we need to keep so we retain our sense of who we are." Hopefully a common ground be found. Maybe, says Day, but maybe not. See why online (http://democratherald.com/news/local/the-demolition-dilemma/article_301efa3c-1846-11e3-b65e-0019bb2963f4.html).

CAR SICK
In January, reports Julie Muhlstein of The Everett Herald, the point-in-time count for Snohomish County reported 99 homeless veterans. "Not acceptable," though many in the community who responded enthusiastically when the county's Department of Human Services launched a Housing the 99 campaign. It had two basic commitments, recalls the county veterans services officer Jerry Gadek - "to find 99 homeless veterans" and "to make existing resource programs - veterans or otherwise - easier to access." They've keeping their commitment, already having provided permanent housing to 72 vets. Brian Matthews, an unemployed Air Force veteran who for the last year has lived with his wife in a car that doesn't run, is one of the most recent. "I had given up," Matthews told Muhlstein, "When we first went homeless, we went to every agency. Either they had funding cut or were only helping families with little kids. Not getting any help, I quit looking." By early September, things had changed. Thanks to a HUD VASH voucher from the Snohomish County Housing Authority, they've now moved into the Authority's Center House complex. No surprise, they're happy. After all, explained Matthews' wife Bertha, "We did not want to sit through another winter in a car," For the full story, see the website.

BRIEF BRIEFS TOO
Seattle Housing Authority breaks ground on first phase of Choice Neighborhoods revitalization of Yesler Terrace which, Mayor McGinn tells Post Intelligencer, will "offer more affordable housing and will deliver better access to safer streets, reliable transit, and quality education to the community". . .Ed Pedersen, co-founder 25 years ago of Housing Hope, wins United Way's Spirit of Snohomish County award. . Idaho Falls becomes the seventh Idaho city to prohibit discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identification. . .Idaho's The Housing Company one of just 17 organizations nationwide awarded full Green Organization Accreditation by Sustainable Performance Institute and HUD. . .Spokane Tribe, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, Seldovia Village Tribe and Kuskokwim River Watershed Council in Bethel win 2013 EPA Environmental Justice Small Grants to build "collaborative partnerships to help them understand and address environmental and public health issues". . .Rose CDC celebrates completion of renovation and grand re-opening of 31-unit Greenview Terrace in Portland's Centennial neighborhood. . .Lower Columbia CAP celebrates grand opening of 6-bedroom group home for the homeless in Longview. . .With funding from HUD, the Housing Trust Fund, Benton County and the City of Kennewick, reports Tri-City Herald, Modern Living Service breaks ground for Kennewick Perry Suites, 14 units of housing for persons with disabilities. . ."It's been a long day coming," said one of the 100 or so participants who, says the Eugene Register Guard, took part in cutting the ribbon on a city-owned one-acre parcel that will soon be home to Opportunity Village East that will provide temporary shelter to up to 45 homeless people "until they can secure their own housing". . .USDA okays $7.2 million loan to Colton Telephone Company to enhance broadband services to its 11,000 customers in Molalla and Estacada area. . .Two longtime opponents on land-use issues - Home Builders Association of Metro Portland & 10,000 Friends of Oregon - agree, reports Portland Tribune, "to collaborate on a groundbreaking study on where and how people in the Portland area want to live". . .At White House Conference Rural Council Forum on Regional Innovation USDA awards $500,000 under Intermediary Re-Lending Program to Chehalis Tribal Loan Fund to provide low-interest loans to public and non-profit organizations to relend for business and community development. . .Mike Eliason honored for 10 years of service to Kitsap REALTORS Association. . .Citing "great need" for affordable housing in eastern Oregon, says Portland Journal of Commerce, Guardian Real Estate Services unveils plans to build $7.6 million, 38 unit Federally-subsidized complex for families in Island Park.

A BIG DAY
Tuesday, October 1st, is a very big day to almost 1.7 million people in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. It's the very first day that they will be able, under the Affordable Health Care Act, that Americans who currently don't have health care coverage to enroll for membership in their state's Health Care Marketplace. It's an opportunity they ought to explore. STARTING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1stLearn more about the why's and how's of the health care marketplace in your state (www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/bystate/statebystate.html). And if you have questions, call 1-800-318-2596 where, 24/7, you can get answers in 140 different languages.

AN INVITE
HUD & the Department of Energy are inviting owners of multifamily complexes - unsubsidized, public, HUD-assisted housing - to join their Better Buildings Challenge and pledge to reduce energy use by 20 percent over the next 10 years. And, yes, HUD and DOE will provide technical assistance to help you identify how to achieve that 20 percent - or more. The less you use, the less we pollute and damage our environment. And, even better, the more you save on operating expenses. Want to find out more about the Challenge? Visit the website (http://www4.eere.energy.gov/challenge/partners/multifamily).

NOFA-TUNITY
HUD has set a November 18th deadline for eligible, assisted multifamily housing complexes to apply for a total of $15 million under the Assisted Living Conversion Program to convert some or all of its units into assisted-living or service-enriched units. The maximum award amount is expected to be $3 million. For more, visit the website (www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?agencies=HUD|Department of Housing and Urban Development).

NOFA-TWO-NITY
HUD has set an October 7th deadline for public housing authorities that currently are operating a Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency program to apply for a total of $56.8 million in FSS funds to promote strategies that "enable participating families to increase earned income and financial literacy, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and make progress toward economic independence and self-sufficiency." Only applicants that also were funded in the fiscal year 2011 or 2012 competition for these funds will be considered. For more, visit the website (www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?agencies=HUD|Department of Housing and Urban Development).

NOFA-THREE-NITY
HUD also has set an October 7th for public and tribal housing authorities to apply for $18 million for Public Housing Family Self Sufficiency program. Only authorities currently operating an FSS program for residents of public and tribal housing are eligible to apply. For more, visit the website (www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?agencies=HUD|Department of Housing and Urban Development).

NO-FOUR-TUNITY
USDA Forest Service has set a January 15th deadline to apply for up to $4 million under the Community Forest & Open Space program. The program is intended to "conserve and protect land" to establish community forest through fee simple acquisition of private forest land from a willing seller. Local governments, Federally-recognized tribes and Alaskan native villages are among the eligible applicants. For more, visit the website (www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?agencies=USDA|Department of Agriculture).

NO-FIVE-TUNITY
Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has set a November 1st deadline to apply for grants of up to $250,000 under the Community-based Marine Debris Removal program that is intended to "catalyze locally driven, community-based marine debris prevention, assessment, and removal projects that will benefit coastal habitat, waterways, and NOAA trust resources." Local and tribal governments, non-profits and commercial enterprises and institutions of higher education are among those eligible to apply for grants that will typically range from $50,000 to $150,000. For more, visit the website (www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?agencies=DOC|Department of Commerce).

GOT VIEWS?
As required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act, HUD has published a proposed a definition of Qualified Mortgage for mortgages that it would insure, guarantee or administer consistent with the Ability to Repay criteria set forth in the Truth-in-Lending Act. Public comments on the proposal are due October 30th. To meet HUD's proposed definition of a Qualified Mortgage, the loan would have to require periodic payments; have terms not to exceed 30 years; limit uniform points and fees to no more than three percent with adjustments to facilitate smaller loans (except for Title 1, Section 184 and Section 184A loans; and be insured or guaranteed by HUD or FHA, the Federal Housing Administration. For more information, visit the website.

MORE VIEWS?
HUD, Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, the SEC and the Federal Housing Finance Agency have set October 30th as the submission deadline for comments on a jointly- proposed credit risk retention requirements added by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform &and Consumer Protection Act. The new proposal is a revision of a proposed rule on the subject first published in The Federal Register in 2011. For more, visit the website (www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/pdf/2013-21677.pdf).

BRIEF BRIEFS THREE
In a survey of nation's 34 largest cities, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy ranks Portland 2nd and Seattle 5th in overall energy efficiency efforts. . .Dallas breaks ground, says Statesman Journal, on project to "recast downtown as vibrant business district". . .Alaska Growth Capital, Chehalis Tribal Loan Fund, Cook Inlet Lending Center, Northwest Native Development Fund, Taala Fund, win total of $2,150,000 in Native American CDFI Assistance funds from Treasury to "to increase lending and financial services" in native communities . .Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County commemorates September 11th, reports Bremerton Patriot, by building new park shelter in Bataan Park. . .September was big month, says Bonner County Daily Bee, for Idaho Panhandle Habitat for Humanity, breaking ground with Wells Fargo on another self-help home and celebrating grand opening of the new - and larger - ReStore in Sandpoint. . .South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity breaks ground for Woods Glen, a 33 house subdivision in Lacey. . .Municipality of Anchorage, says Anchorage Daily News, has applied for 133-acre parcel of Federal surplus property near Ted Stevens International Airport for "housing and support services for the city's homeless and people at risk of losing their homes". . .Reach CDC's Walnut Creek apartments - acquired and, thus, preserved against market-rate conversion - one of four winners nationwide of 2013 MetLife Foundation/Enterprise Community Partners Excellence in Affordable Housing Award. . .Next Step Housing sets October opening of phase 3 of Pear Tree Place, 22 units of green drug- and alcohol-free housing. . .Milwaukie Christian Church and Northwest Housing Alternatives, says Oregonian, partner to propose city okay for Road Home pilot that would allow homeless sleeping in cars to sleep in church's parking lot. . .Portland Rescue Mission's $250,000 renovation on West Burnside adds 36 new shelter beds, with 16 more in in near future, "a small but significant dent," says Oregonian, in Portland shelters' temporary housing needs. . .Thanks to funding from Department of Ecology, EPA and HUD, Lower Columbia CAP completes clean-up of contaminated salvage yard in Kelso where, reports Daily News, next summer, it will become the site for eight, up-to-1200-square foot affordable cottages. . .Impressed that "rural America grows 85 percent of our food, supplies four-fifths of our water and nearly all of our domestic energy resources," NeighborWorks Umpqua signs-on as a founding partner of 10,000 Friends of Rural America, a national social media network "challenging and changing" stereotypes that adversely affect rural communities. . .HUD competitively awards almost $2.6 million to 12 public & tribal housing authorities to hire or retain service coordinators to "connect" public housing residents to jobs and opportunities and promote self-sufficiency. Bienestar's Juniper Gardens farm worker housing complex in Forest Grove featured in HUD's The Edge (www.huduser.org/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_inpractice_090913.html).

FAC-TASTIC
Learn all you need to know about what's been happening with mortgages in your market from 2010 to 2012 at Consumer Financial Protection Board's new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act-driven website (www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-spotlights-mortgage-trends-with-new-online-too).

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I think seeing the difference housing can make in people's lives - it's really that foundation we need for all other social services to be effective - it matters," she said, tears welling in her eyes. "You see so much need out there and to be part of that in some way is challenging, but rewarding as well. . .When people are better housed and stable, everybody benefits," - - Ruby Mason, The Dalles Chronicle, August 31st, 2013, on her retirement as executive director of the Mid-Columbia Housing Authority which she first joined in 1980. More at the website (www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2013/aug/31/ruby-mason-retires-housing-authority).

QUOTE WORTHY
"Both ugly and lovely can be contagious. If you set a high design bar, you make it likely the people coming in after you will do the same thing. We can have a catalytic effect. We can build ahead of the market and in that way embolden other people to invest." -Michael Mirra, executive director of the Tacoma Housing Authority speaking about design standards being used for its Hillside Terrace revitalization project in the Hilltop neighborhood, Tacoma News Tribune, September 8, 2013.

WORTH A READ
These days elected officials are usually pretty wary of tax hikes. But James Eik of The Spokane Valley Daily Herald, though, reports that on September 10th the Spokane County Commission voted unanimously to support Proposition 1 on this, fall's ballot. If approved by the voters, the measure will raise, says Eik, "an estimated $18 million would be collected over nine years across the county to pay for the purchase of a mobile home park" in an Accident Prone Zone near Fairchild Air Force Base in Airway Heights. The future of both the neighborhood and the region are at stake. See why at the website.

NOTES TO NOTE
HUD sets October 7th deadline for public housing authorities & tribes to apply for $18 million in public and Indian housing Family Self Sufficiency funds and for $48.6 million in Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency funds. . .USDA sets October 22nd deadline to submit comments on its proposal to increase awareness of its homeownership programs by using loan application packagers. . .HUD sets October 16th for owners of HUD-assisted multifamily housing to apply for $8.1 million in Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing Program funds. . .HUD, Treasury, Comptroller of the Currency & Federal Reserve set October 30th deadline for public comments on proposed credit risk retention rule. . .HUD sets October 30th due date to receive comments on its proposed Qualified Mortgage definition. . .Commerce ‘s NOAA sets November 1st deadline to apply for grants of from $50,000 to $150,000 under Community-Based Marine Debris Removal program. . .USDA sets November 12th deadline to apply for almost $5.8 million in Rural Community Development Initiative Program funds. . .HUD sets November 18th deadline for HUD-assisted multifamily complexes to apply for $15 million for Assisted Living Conversion of some or all of its units. . .American Planning Association sets November 21st submission date for nominations for 2013 Excellence in Small Town and Rural Planning -STaR - Awards. . .American Institute of Architects sets November 22nd deadline to apply for its 2014 Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) 2014 program. . .USDA Forest Service sets January 15th deadline to apply for $4 million in Community Forest & Open Space Program which assists tribes, local governments and non-profits in fee simple acquisition of private forest land from a willing seller.

COMING UP
HUD's Northwest Office of Native American Programs& National Congress of American Indians host Methamphetamine Prevention and Remediation Training, October 1st through 3rd, Pendleton. Contact lisa.stewart@hud.gov.

Washington chapter of American Planning Association holds annual conference, October 2nd & 3rd, Bellevue. Visit www.washington-apa.org/site/pages/2013_conference.

Oregon AHMA hosts Resident Services Roundtable, October 3rd, Portland. Visit www.oregonaffordablehousingmanagement.com/2013-Classes/Oct3-2013ResidentServicesRoundtable-PORTLAND-Fillable-Savable.pdf.

20th annual Housing Washington Affordable Housing Conference convenes in Spokane, October 7th to 9th. Visit http://www.wshfc.org/conf/.

EPA Region X hosts 2013 Tribal Environmental Leaders Summit, October 7th to 11th, Spokane. Visit http://tels.kalispeltribe.com/.

Alaska Coalition on Housing & Homelessness hosts annual conference, October 9th through 11th, Anchorage. Visit www.alaskahousing-homeless.org/conference.

Idaho chapter of American Planning Association holds annual conference, October 9th to 11th, Idaho Falls. Visit http://idahoapa.org/2013-annual-conference/.

Coalition for a Livable Future hosts Regional Livability Summit, October 11th, Portland. Visit http://clfuture.org/news-events/regional-livability-summit.

Fair Housing Council hosts workshop on HUD's new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, October 16th, Medford. Visit http://www.fhco.org/event_reg.htm.

Northwest Fair Housing Alliance holds presentation on fair housing & lending for housing counselors & social services providers, October 16th, Spokane. Visit www.nwfairhouse.org/.

Fair Housing Council hosts workshop on HUD's new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, October 17th, Portland. Visit http://www.fhco.org/event_reg.htm.

Housing Land Advocates host annual conference, On the Streets: Transportation & Affordable Housing, October 18th, Portland. Visit http://housinglandadvocates.org/annual-conference/.

Veterans Stand Down, October 19th, Troutdale. Contact Jeremy Hoy at (360) 696-4081 ext. 31274.

Annual Rail-Volution! conference,, October 20th to 23rd, Seattle. Visit http://www.railvolution.org/resources/future-conferences.

Alaska Mobility Coalition hosts Alaska Transportation Summit, October 21st, Juneau. Visit http://alaskamobility.org/index.php?option=com_events&view=event&eventid=103.

LinkIDAHO hosts 2013 Idaho Broadband Summit, October 22nd, Boise. Visit www.linkidaho.org/lid/Default.aspx.

Oregon AHMA offers Comprehensive Reasonable Accommodations workshop, October 25th Salem. Visit www.oregonaffordablehousingmanagement.com/2013-Classes/Oct25-2013ComprehensiveRAFlyer-SCCFillableSavable.pdf.

Veterans Stand Down, October 26th, Yakima. Contact Ron Opsa at (509) 574-5200.

Oregon AHMA offers Managing RD Compliance workshop, October 29th & 30h, Salem. Visit www.oregonaffordablehousingmanagement.com/2013-Classes/Oct29-30-2013Managing-RDCompliance-Course-Flyer-Fillable-Savable.pdf.

National Association of Housing Cooperatives holds annual convention, October 30th to November 2nd, Seattle. Visit www.coophousing.org/DisplayPage.aspx?id=1440&bMenu=150&bItem=1440.

HUD's Alaska Office of Native American Programs & Alaska Association of Housing Authorities host NAHASDA Essentials workshop, November 5th to 7th, Anchorage.

National League of Cities convenes Congress of Cities & Exposition, November 13th to 16th, Seattle. Visit www.nlc.org/build-skills-and-networks/education-and-training/event-calendar/congress-of-cities-and-exposition.

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians & USDA co-host Tribal Planning & Project Development Workshop, November 14th & 15th, Shelton. Contact Andrea Alexander at (425) 501-0042 or Aalexander795@gmail.com.

Alaska Municipal League holds annual conference, November 18th to 22nd, Anchorage. Visit http://akml.org/Conferences.html.

Association of Oregon Counties holds annual conference, October 18th to 20th, Eugene. Visit www.aocweb.org/aoc/default.aspx.

Washington Association of Counties holds County Leaders Conference, November 19th to 21st, Vancouver. Visit www.wacounties.org/wsac/county_leaders.htm.

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