California Wildfires Update

Several thousand residents near Sacramento, California were ordered evacuated on July 8, while staff at one multifamily development reportedly are having difficulty reaching work because of road closures, heavy smoke and ash and high heat. While 20,000 firefighters and National Guard members have successfully battled many of the fires, shifting winds have changed the course of fires toward populated areas. Two multifamily complexes remain within range of one of the wildfires, and staff and residents are on alert. At present no HUD properties have been affected. Hundreds of private residences are currently threatened. The Sacramento Field Office continues to be in frequent contact with HUD partners in the affected areas and is ready to provide needed leadership and support.

Regional Director to Open Neighborhood Networks Workshop July 9-11 (San Francisco, California)

Regional Director Richard Rainey will open the second in a series of national Neighborhood Networks Workshops, this time to be held in San Francisco, on July 9. The workshops are part of a program begun in 1995 to expand computer access to lower-income residents living in government-insured and assisted housing developments.

HUD Joins Planning for November California Earthquake Preparedness Exercise
(San Bernardino, California)

On July 1, Ray Brewer, Santa Ana Field Office Director and Theresa Camiling, Los Angeles Field Office Director attended and participated in a Golden Guardian workshop at the Archdiocese of San Bernardino. The Governor's Office of Emergency Services Southern Region Office hosted the workshop and is helping to coordinate the planning efforts of Southern California jurisdictions who intend to participate in the Golden Guardian statewide exercise in November. This year's exercise scenario is a major earthquake along the San Andres Fault. The workshop focused on the identification of issues and a discussion of solutions involving the integration of state and federal assets into the response to and recovery from a major earthquake. Approximately 50 representatives from federal and state agencies were in attendance.

Region IX Leaders Attending 2008 COOP Training (Seattle, Washington)

HUD Annual Veterans Clothing Drive (San Francisco, California)

On July 15, Regional Director, Richard Rainey will kick off the Annual Veteran's Clothing Drive which begins July 21, 2008 and lasts through August 1, 2008. Last year staff from the San Francisco Office donated 1,186 toiletry items, 13 new tents, 1,040 pounds of used clothing and 20 $5 McDonald gift cards for homeless male veterans. This year staff wants to increase the total number of items donated and include items for female veterans.

Tucson Field Office Hosts Partnership Meeting to Assist Aging Multifamily Complex (Arizona)

On July 2, fifteen community partners gathered at the Tucson Field Office to discuss options for a timely and pragmatic resolution of the serious maintenance and repair issues at Vista Sierra Apartments, a Multi-family complex in the City of Tucson. Field Office Director Phyllis Lim convened the meeting following two front-page articles in the Arizona Daily Star on June 20-21 that documented the effects of a loss of air conditioning on 75 families, many of them African refugees. Other HUD participants included Stephanie Smelnick and Marilyn Yazzie of the Multi-family Program Center in Phoenix. Also attending were top-level officials from the City of Tucson, Pima County, the Arizona Department of Housing, Habitat for Humanity, and Metropolitan Housing Corporation (MHC), the nonprofit owner of the complex. At the close of the meeting, MHC, the City, County, and HUD agreed to complete a list of "homework" items to explore various options prior to the next meeting in August.

Sharp Increase in Murders in Oakland Public Housing (California)

Since January, there have been 71 homicides in Oakland. Two young men were murdered over the past weekend in a West Oakland housing development known as the turf of an alleged gang whose members were arrested recently in a raid. Four days after the raid on Acorn gang members, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Oakland streets erupted in violence with six dead and one wounded in a single weekend. On Thursday, one man was killed and five others were hit by gunfire, while two more men were gunned down Saturday in the Acorn development.

Fullerton Gets OK for Community Improvements (California)

The City of Fullerton received notification from Community Planning and Development (CPD) Headquarters that it is authorized to use $650,746 of Section 108 funds that were in the City's Loan Repayment Account for the installation of light structures and other improvements to Richman Park. The City had previously undertaken a $7,500,000 Section 108 project for a variety of public facilities and improvements activities in the Richman Park area.

Proposal Aired for Indian Housing Development (Phoenix, Arizona)

Carolyn O'Neil, Southwest Office of Native American Programs (SWONAP) Administrator, participated on a conference call initiated by Mr. Ernie Walker, a consultant with the Native Insurance Agency. The group was presenting the Residential Community Initiative, a concept for new development on the reservations, to HUD/ONAP, tribes and pueblos. The model is formatted similarly to what is being used by the U.S. Army to develop housing. Mr. Walker identified similarities such as lack of adequate housing, waiting lists for the existing inventory, slow development, land and environmental issues, maintenance backlog and funding. He continued to explain the partnership with a developer and the overall structure.

Fair Housing Agreement Signed for Two San Francisco Properties (California)

The Chinatown Community Development Center signed compliance agreements for two properties, the International Hotel and Bayside Elderly Housing, to provide preferences to veterans and those living in substandard housing when their waiting lists re-open. In addition, the organization agreed to a new needs survey and remedy barriers that HUD identified.

Cash Settlement in Fair Housing Complaint with Santa Barbara Housing Authority (California)

A Section 8 participant complained that the Housing Authority had not provided an extension of time to find a suitable unit despite the need for reasonable accommodation for a disability. The conciliation included a $10,000 cash settlement for the Complainant.

Contact: Chuck Hauptman, FHEO Regional Director, (415) 489-6536.

Disabled Access Complaint Results in Cash Settlement, Retrofit Requirements (Davis, California)

A tenant of Community Housing Opportunities, Corp. and Windmere II Limited Partnership complained that management questioned claims of disability, denied a request for an accessible unit, and informed the tenant's caregivers that they were no longer authorized to provide assistance. The tenant had limited motor ability and needed assistance in order to live independently, a situation that could have been resolved with an accessible unit.

In the agreement the Respondents agreed to provide the Complainant with $7,270 in monetary relief, make $42,370 in retrofits to individual units and common use areas to bring the property into compliance with Section 504, and other forms of public relief.

HUD's Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST program to conduct training session in partnership with the Housing Rights Center, the Area Housing Authority and the County of Ventura, CA

On July 9th, David Quezada, Director of Fair Housing and equal Opportunity's (FHEO) Los Angeles Office, will open the program and provide a presentation on HUD's Section 3 Economic Opportunities program in Ventura, CA. The FIRST training will consist of a full day of modules; one will be an in-depth overview of the Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements, and the other modules will cover common design and construction violations and solutions, and making housing accessible through accommodations and modifications. The FIRST accessibility training is aimed at architects, builders and other persons involved in the design and construction of housing covered by the Fair Housing Act, as well as fair housing enforcement agencies, persons with disabilities, advocacy organizations, state and local governments and other interested persons. Approximately 75 persons are expected to attend. The FIRST program is an FHEO-funded training program implemented by FHEO's contractor, BearingPoint, Inc.

COMING UP:

July 12: Korean Churches for Community Development's (KCCD) 8th Annual Homeownership Fair (Los Angeles, California)

On Saturday, July 12th, representatives from the Los Angeles FPM Office and the Santa Ana HOC will participate at the KCCD 8th Annual Homeownership Fair in Los Angeles, CA. FPM representative will be a panelist and will speak about the importance of homebuyer education, HUD FHA Programs, and Fair Housing among others. HUD will have an exhibitor table. The audience will be largely of Korean descent. It is estimated that over 800 people will attend this event.

July 15: Arizona NAHRO Conference in Tempe

Phoenix Field Office Director Rebecca Flanagan will moderate a panel on "Making Sustainable Communities Happen in the Valley of the Sun."

July 17: Northern California Housing Counseling Agency Network (Fresno, CA)

Fresno FPM, in collaboration with HUD Sacramento and San Francisco FPM staff and nonprofit housing counseling agency partners, will convene the Quarterly Meeting of the four-year-old Housing Counseling Agency Network on July 17. The daylong session will be hosted by Fresno's public/private Community Housing Council. Panel topics for the 65 attendees will include the No Homeowner Left Behind foreclosure prevention coalition, "Real Estate Practice Issues" by the Fresno California Department of Real Estate Senior Deputy Commissioner, the Just Price/Best loss mitigation tool, and legislative and housing counselor survey updates.

July 18: Tucson Homeless Connect (Arizona)

Over 20 service providers, including the state Department of Motor Vehicles, have agreed to participate in a Homeless Connect event at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 E. University Blvd., Tucson from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. An estimated 100 chronically homeless individuals are expected to be assisted. The Tucson Field Office Director initiated a proposal for what will be the first Project Homeless Connect event in Tucson, under the auspices of the Tucson Planning Coalition for the Homeless.

JOB OPENINGS:

7/22/2008 Public Housing Revitalization Specialist (Generalist)
OPENING DOORS to a career with Department Housing and Urban Development. Why choose to work at HUD? HUD is seeking highly qualified individuals who are willing to meet the challenges of public.

Housing & Urban Development, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing US-CA-San Francisco County63,811.00+ 7/14/2008
Senior Account Executive

Opening Doors to a career with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Housing & Urban Development, Federal Housing Commissioner, Assistant Secretary for HousingUS-CA-San Francisco County, CA91,781.00+ 7/16/2008
Account Representative

This announcement will be used to fill many positions.

Housing & Urban Development, Federal Housing Commissioner, Assistant Secretary for HousingUS-NV-Throughout Nevada, NV65,315.00+ 7/16/2008
Account Representative

This announcement will be used to fill many positions.