St. Paul Challenge: “Love the House. Hate the Neighborhood”

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Wearing an oversized winter coat with his hood up and gloveless hands in his pockets Tim Goss stood on the front porch of the newly renovated house he calls home – for now.“I love the house. Hate the neighborhood.”The 37 year old Goss is referring to his rental duplex in Frogtown located at the intersection of University Avenue and Grotto Street. This specific home was one of seven known boarded and vacant homes recently developed by the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation to be rented out as affordable housing.Goss moved into his house May 14, 2012 and says he is very happy with the formerly vacant home. “The house itself is nice,” said Goss. “It’s roomy, the location is great, and there is a fenced yard for the kids.”Goss and his wife have two kids, ages 9 and 11, and despite his enthusiasm for his house, he is concerned Frogtown is the wrong environment to be raising kids. He worries for their safety and is concerned they will be exposed to crime and violence at a young age.Shaking his head and looking off in the distance Goss said, “This is not a safe area.” He pointed to the southeast corner of University Avenue and Grotto Street and said there had been two men shot in the parking lot the other day. Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Occupy the Capitol Rally Planned for Opening Day of MN State Legislature, January 24, 2012.

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On January 24 2012 , the opening day of the legislative session there will be a rally from 12-1 pm at the MN  State Capitol.Free Speech ZoneThe Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. Angel Buechner of the MN Coalition for a Peoples’ Bailout said, “In the spirit of the Occupy movement, we are coming to the capitol to bring the demands of the 99%.  We are rallying and introducing legislation to stop foreclosures and to tax the rich.”Linden Gawboy of the MN Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) said, “This rally, organized by the MN Coalition for a Peoples Bailout and the WRC, is to demand that politicians in this state stop the attacks on the 99% and instead make the rich pay for the economic crisis.”  She continued, “The politicians, and the rich that they work for, need to stop targeting working people for cuts. What MN needs is to stop cutting schools and healthcare and instead to tax the rich and fund humans needs.”  “Tens of Thousands of Minnesotans are becoming homeless because of foreclosures.  With high unemployment and low wages, people have been unable to keep themselves in their homes. In addition, thousands of Minnesota tenants have been made homeless because their landlord was foreclosed on. Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | The Coming Senior Housing Crunch is a Solvable Crisis

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With the recent release of the US Census Bureau’s latest American Community Survey and  results from the 2010 count imminent, we are poised to gain insight into how the demographics of our cities and neighborhoods are changing.  However, there is one demographic trend this data will likely show that should come as no surprise: seniors are making up a growing percentage of Minnesota’s population.   Unlike many societal shifts, this is a change that researchers have seen coming for quite some time.  With each passing life phase, this population cohort has left their mark on the landscape.  We built additional schools in the 1950s and 1960s to educate them.  We constructed additional houses and roads to reach them as they started families in the 1970s and 1980s.  Now, we must build once again as more and more of this generation transitions from work to retirement.  Chief among the concerns within the growing ranks of seniors is finding housing that both supports an independent lifestyle and is affordable on a fixed income.  While there are certainly new developments being created for those with ample financial resources, recently released data suggests that there is demand for a greater breadth of housing options. Five year estimates from 2005 to 2009 released by the US Census Bureau indicates that the rising cost of rental housing is a source of financial strain for many seniors across the state.  An analysis of this data performed by the Minnesota Housing Partnership shows that in 39 counties a majority of households headed by renters age 65 or older are spending 30 percent or more of their household income on housing.  Paying thirty percent of household income or more toward housing is the threshold used by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for defining a significant rent burden. Free Speech ZoneThe Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. Continue Reading

Fishing season and veto season open / Franken v. Coleman / Someting rotten / Aung San Suu Kyi ill / War news / more

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GOOD NEWS And that’s worth going to the top of the report – Roxana Saberi is due to be freed and flown home today, after an Iranian court suspended the eight-year sentence previously imposed on the North Dakota journalist. Fishing season and veto season From cocoa bean mulch canine health warnings to the billion dollar tax plan, T-Paw wielded the veto pen before heading off to the fishing opener Saturday morning. As the PiPress succinctly notes:
Pawlenty and the Legislature have eight days to balance the budget by the May 18 constitutional deadline. If they fail to get done on time, he could call them back into special session. And if they don’t finish by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the nonessential parts of state government will shut down. Continue Reading

Low-income and nowhere to live

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As more Minnesotans lose their jobs and confront economic uncertainty, they may turn to Section 8, the federal government’s largest low-income housing assistance program, for help.When they do, they’ll face an unpleasant surprise. On average, metro-area applicants spend at least three years on a Section 8 waiting list. But even getting one of the several lists run by area housing agencies isn’t easy. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Section 8 waiting lists open about once every five years. Continue Reading

City builds on success of pilot housing program

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Minneapolis Advantage provided $500,000 dollars last year in a pilot project that gave $10,000 forgivable loans to 50 Minneapolis homebuyers. The loans were for down payment and closing costs, provided that buyers purchased homes on the same street as a foreclosed, vacant or boarded property. This month, the city of Minneapolis announced funding for expansion of Minneapolis Advantage. The purpose of the Minneapolis Advantage Program is to help rebuild the housing market in key neighborhoods that have experienced mortgage foreclosures. In 2009, the funding pool has expanded to $1.5 million and the rules have slightly changed. Continue Reading

Audubon neighborhood considers future, identity in master plan

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Architects for the Aubudon Neighborhood Association unveiled a rough draft Monday of a neighborhood master plan, which aims to improve housing stock, increase density in selected areas, and hopefully lend a boost to its commercial nodes. Click here to download the presentation of the master plan. (PDF)
The neighborhood will vote on whether to approve the vision at next month’s community meeting (7 p.m., Feb. 4, at the Salvation Army Community Center, 2727 Central Ave. NE). Continue Reading