affordable housing
Biden budget asks for 25% tax on billionaires, boosts in domestic and defense spending
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year asks Congress to boost funding for defense and domestic programs and levy a 25% minimum tax on billionaires, setting up a significant contrast with House Republicans, who hope to cut spending to last year’s levels and overwhelmingly oppose tax increases. The president’s budget […]
Public housing work requirement clears Arkansas Legislature
The Arkansas Legislature sent a proposed law that would require able-bodied adults to work or volunteer part-time to receive federal housing assistance to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk for approval Thursday. The House voted along party lines to pass the amended House Bill 1196, with 80 Republicans voting yes, 15 Democrats voting no, and two […]
Democratic governors pitch federal funds for housing, clean energy
WASHINGTON — Using the recent influx of federal funds to expand state and local clean energy infrastructure, affordable housing and workforce development will pay long-term dividends, a group of Democratic governors and mayors said Wednesday at an event hosted by a prominent liberal think tank. Ahead of the National Governors Association’s winter meeting here this […]
Arkansas House approves work requirement for public housing recipients
A proposed Arkansas law that would require able-bodied adults to work or volunteer part-time to receive federal housing assistance will head to the Senate after passing the House in a party-line vote Monday. Adults between the ages 19 and 64, except people with disabilities and participants in drug and alcohol treatment programs, would have to […]
Judge grants request to freeze assets, name receiver for Little Rock apartments
(This story was updated by Sonny Albarado on Feb. 4, 2023.) A Pulaski County circuit judge on Friday froze the assets of the owners of the troubled Big Country Chateau apartments in Little Rock and issued a temporary restraining order to protect tenants. Judge Cara Connors also granted Attorney General Tim Griffin’s emergency request to […]
Proposed work requirement for federal housing assistance advances in Arkansas House
A legislative committee approved a proposed Arkansas law on Wednesday that would require able-bodied adults to work or volunteer part-time to receive federal housing assistance. House Bill 1196 passed on a split vote after state lawmakers and witnesses debated the legality of the proposal and the feasibility of implementing it. Public housing benefits are administered […]
Apartment tenants plead for help over unsafe conditions, pending utility cutoffs
Little Rock officials and state Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office are working to extend utility and water cutoff deadlines at Big Country Chateau, an apartment complex that faced similar service cutoffs last year. Tenants received notice recently that Entergy Arkansas will cut off power to the 151-unit complex on Feb. 6 and Central Arkansas Water […]
Health and safety risks at Little Rock house persist, tenant says
Terry Lauderdale and his two roommates live in a camper in the backyard of the house they rent on West 24th Street in Little Rock. The house itself is no longer livable because of nonworking drains and faucets, a broken water heater, and holes in the walls and ceilings, Lauderdale said. He is fed up […]
Arkansas’ would-be religious tyrants gather steam with ‘culture-war’ bills
I grew up Catholic in a deeply Catholic region of Louisiana. I don’t think I met any non-Catholics until after second grade. Imagine my surprise when I realized that not only were there Christians who worshiped differently from me but believed in a totally different Jesus. Imagine my consternation when I learned that some Christians […]
House owned by landlord previously sued by AG no longer risks tenants’ life and safety, lawyer says
The house on West 24th Street in Little Rock where Terry Lauderdale and his two roommates live has had its problems since they moved in almost a year ago, he said. What caused the most distress for the tenants and caught the attention of city code inspectors was exposed electrical wiring. “A puppy bit into […]
State settles 2019 lawsuit against Pulaski County landlord over health, safety risks
This brief has been updated at 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2022, with additional information about the settlement. The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office settled a lawsuit against a Little Rock and North Little Rock landlord in September, prohibiting the individual and his company from leasing units that risk the health and safety of the tenants. […]
Little Rock housing complex facing AG lawsuit might file to evict some tenants
Seven units at a Little Rock apartment complex still have unresolved safety issues after three months because management hasn’t been able to gain access to those apartments, the attorney representing the complex said Monday in city environmental court. Big Country Chateau will return to court Nov. 28, its fifth scheduled appearance, to address multiple city […]