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at the annual meetings of the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the Minnesota Farmers Union, Governor Mark Dayton will announce his plans to convene a statewide Water Quality Summit in February. The summit will focus public attention on the serious challenges facing Minnesota’s water supplies – in both rural and urban areas of the state – and continue statewide dialogue around steps that must be taken to address those challenges. The summit will include water quality experts, farmers, legislators, regulators, the business community, members of the public, local leaders, and a wide variety of other stakeholders

U.S. Representative Patrick E. Murphy (FL-18) joined Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy and other federal, state, and local officials to mark a major milestone in Everglades restoration efforts to benefit Treasure Coast waterways at a groundbreaking ceremony for the reservoir component of the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) project. With a storage capacity of 16 billion gallons, this 3,400-acre reservoir is the largest component of the C-44 Indian River Lagoon South project, which once completed will reduce harm to the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon by providing water storage and treatment areas

U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDARD) has awarded a $1,380,000 federal loan to Charles County to establish a Community Development Center in Charles County.

Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-09) and Rep. Carlos Curbelo (FL-26) led their House colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to the Chairs and Ranking members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, urging the conference committee on the transportation reauthorization bill to include a provision that strikes the prohibition that bars municipalities from using tax exempt bonds toward Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) projects.

A new survey from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Colorado in 2015: A ULI Survey of Views on Housing, Transportation and Community, reports that a significant number of Colorado residents face barriers to a healthy and active lifestyle due to community design and land use patterns that make walking, cycling, and recreational opportunities difficult. Despite Colorado’s reputation as one of the healthiest states in the nation, 52 percent of the survey’s respondents said that it is too far for them to walk to shopping and entertainment, and 42 percent said that the bike lanes in their communities are insufficient

HUD published on its website the 2016 Difficult Development Areas (DDAs) and Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs), which are eligible for the 30 percent basis boost under the Housing Credit program. As HUD has long planned, the methodology for determining 2016 metropolitan DDAs relies on new Small Area Fair Market Rents, and thus result in 311 zip code level small area metropolitan DDAs across 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This compares to 35 full metropolitan statistical areas in 11 states plus Puerto Rico that HUD designated as DDAs in 2015.

the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its proposed “Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs Rule (Gender Identity Rule).” The proposed Gender Identity Rule was created after reviewing and monitoring the implementation of HUD’s Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity Rule (Equal Access Rule), which was published in 2012. The Equal Access Rule ensures that housing assisted or insured by HUD is open to all eligible individuals and families without regard to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) researchers have won 33 of the 100 awards given out this year by R&D Magazine for the most outstanding technology developments with promising commercial potential. The R&D 100 awards, sometimes called the “Oscars of Innovation,” are given annually in recognition of exceptional new products or processes that were developed and introduced into the marketplace during the previous year.

The Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers, today launched a seminar to help appraisers develop a better understanding of the Federal Housing Administration’s new “FHA Handbook 4000.1.”

After Congress last month finally agreed to a bipartisan budget deal that prevents devastating across-the-board spending cuts, Senator Jon Tester is pushing the Senate to support water projects that could mean life or death for communities in rural Montana

Mayor Ed Murray submitted legislation to the City Council this week to invest an additional $1 million in land acquisition near transit hubs for affordable housing in Seattle. The Regional Equitable Development Initiative (REDI) fund creates a regional pool of resources that will be used to secure land near existing or planned high-capacity transit

On Wednesday, November 18, 2015, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board approved more than $23.4 million for affordable housing initiatives across the state of Ohio, including

Statement from Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen: “We are laser-focused on growing this economy and making sure it works for more New Yorkers. And what we are seeing is tremendous. Jobs are up. Wages are up. More New Yorkers have access to benefits like paid sick leave and a living wage. We’re determined to deepen these trends.”

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) Executive Director Anthony L. Marchetta today announced the award of $31.9 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), which will generate $319 million in investment capital to build more than 1,700 rental units across New Jersey

The City of San Diego has released its annual Five-Year Financial Outlook (PDF), which forecasts revenues to modestly improve over the next five years. Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer plans to use these funds to double the City's investment in infrastructure and neighborhood services, such as street repair, over the same period

The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), increased one point to a level of 56 for the third quarter of 2015. This is the 15th consecutive quarter with a reading of 50 or above.

Should retiring rental property owners be forced to pay millions of dollars to solve a city’s affordable housing problem, merely for the right to close their business? That is the question confronted by a major constitutional case filed today in federal court against the City of Palo Alto by the Jisser family, owners of the Buena Vista Mobilehome Park.

The City of Atlanta announced today that Mayor Kasim Reed participated in McKinsey & Company’s Global Infrastructure Initiative (GII) in San Francisco. The Global Infrastructure Initiative was created as a vehicle to help unlock the recurring infrastructure bottlenecks, explore new frontiers, and drive change in the industry

The Energy and Commerce Committee today unanimously passed S. 611, the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act – companion legislation to H.R. 2853, a bill introduced by Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Vice Chairman Gregg Harper (R-Miss). The legislation helps smaller and rural communities across the country deal with the technical and financial challenges of regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Often, smaller and rural communities face significant hurdles when it comes to maintaining, replacing, and upgrading their aging drinking and wastewater infrastructure

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has announced the finalists for its 2016 Best of 55+ Housing Awards, the premier design and marketing competition for the 55+ housing industry. A total of 87 entries were chosen as finalists and are eligible for either a gold or silver award from NAHB's 55+ Housing Industry Council, which will be announced at an awards ceremony on Jan. 19, 2016, during the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas