Stronger economy helping Minnesota homeowners, but not renters or homeless

By Cynthia Boyd, MinnPost

In Minnesota, according to the MHP’s report about the last three months of 2012, “[T]he slowly improving economy bolstered homeowners and the housing industry, but not renters or the homeless.” (MinnPost photo by Corey Anderson)

With emergency shelters swamped last fall, an advocate for the homeless suggested to me the lack of affordable housing in our community could get so bad the homeless might be left to pitch tents.

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2013 election issues: Housing preservation, development, and the Vikings stadium

By Jeff Skrenes, North by Northside

In past elections, this blog has been used as a platform to endorse specific candidates. This year, or at the very least this early on in the campaign season, I'm trying a different approach. Because ranked-choice voting and a lack of an incumbent running for either mayor or the fifth ward, a large number of candidates are expected to stay in the running for those seats for much of the election. Instead of openly endorsing anyone here, I plan to lay out issues that are important to me and hopefully pertinent to north Minneapolis as well. In that way, more candidates will craft their strategies around these issues.

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North by Northside

Construction in St. Paul: West Side Flats

By Teresa Boardman, Teresa Boardman on TCDP

Lost of construction going on. The land is on the river near the Wabasha bridge and was once going to be the site of a large development call "Bridges of Saint Paul" that was going to be condos and restaurants and I think even a theater.

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Teresa Boardman on TCDP

Average renters' Property Tax Refund payments by county

By Jeff Van Wychen, Minnesota 2020

Dollar for dollar, no single program does more to reduce the regressivity of Minnesota’s state and local tax system than the renters’ property tax refund (PTR). A previous Minnesota 2020 analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of the renters’ PTR in reducing the regressivity of rental property taxes. The renter’s PTR successfully cuts the degree of rental property taxes in half, to the point where it is more in line with other categories of property taxes.

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Minnesota 2020

Is your house leaking? Xcel offering subsidized energy audits

By Rebekah Peterson, My Broadsheet

You probably have some ideas about where your home is losing energy. We did too, but we wanted to make sure we knew the full story. We saw that Xcel Energy was offering subsidized home energy audits, and we signed up.

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Fighting youth homelessness: Provide housing — and help finding a job

By Cynthia Boyd, MinnPost

Rich Evans in the commons room at Nicollet Square: "It gives me a chance to be independent and a place to go when I want to be alone." (MinnPost photo by John Noltner)

For Rich Evans, his own place at Nicollet Square is a far cry from the days he waited in line for a bed at a downtown Minneapolis homeless shelter.

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MN VIDEOS | Immigrant Freedom Seder's message to Minnesota's elected leaders

By JCA, MN Videos

On Sunday, March 17th, 2013, 200 people attended Jewish Community Action's 11th Annual Immigrant Freedom Seder. The event brings together our members alongside allies from many different communities to tell the story of Passover and, drawing from our values, to share our plans and hopes for working together to build a more just Minnesota.

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Healing a broken world: A profile of Jewish Community Action's Vic Rosenthal

By Allison Herrera, The Uptake

Jewish doctors and lawyers in Minnesota in the 1950s were notoriously discriminated against. You weren’t allowed admitting privileges. You couldn’t become a partner in a law firm if you were Jewish. It’s a history that Vic Rosenthal knows well, and it’s one of the reasons he does what he does.

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Survey shows statewide increase in homelessness, solutions remain elusive

By Terry Carter, KFAI Radio

The Wilder Foundation recently released its annual statewide study of homelessness. The study found that homelessness has increased by 6 per cent since 2009.

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Renting, from rats to riches

By Mary Turck, News Day

Photo by Shane Adams  Creative Commons license. 

I remember paying $65 a month rent for one of my first apartments, which I shared with a 70-something-year-old nun named Sister Mary Edward.

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