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Following is a comment from Rhone Resch, president and chief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), on reports that New York is going to establish a mandatory 50 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2030.

Ply Gem Industries, a manufacturer of exterior building products in North America, is proud of its 70-plus-year history of offering home exterior building products and solutions. Now, as part of the Home for Good Project, Ply Gem is giving back by uniting with Grammy award-winning country superstar Alan Jackson and low-income families to build affordable housing in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Two Utah companies are running a nationwide abusive scheme that purports to use false tax deductions and claims of the solar energy credit to reduce their customers’ federal income tax liability, according to a complaint filed today by the Justice Department.  The United States’ complaint seeks to stop Utah companies RaPower-3 LLC and International Automated Systems Inc.; Utah residents R. Gregory Shepard and Neldon Johnson; Nevada company LTB1 LLC and Oregon resident Roger Freeborn, from facilitating and promoting the allegedly abusive tax scheme.

The 2015 New York State housing market growth trend continued into October, reaching the highest level of closed sales for the month in more than 25 years, according to the housing market report released today by the New York State Association of REALTORS. October 2015 closed sales increased nearly 2 percent to reach 11,216.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources (MIEW) today announced $5.1 million for six newly selected clean energy projects as part of the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy program. Today’s announcement represents the seventh annual selection of BIRD Energy projects, which support President Obama’s comprehensive efforts to combat climate change and develop low-carbon alternatives to traditional energy sources.

Senator John Hoeven today held a community roundtable at Watford City High School to take questions from students and area residents. There were approximately 100 high school students, including Watford City High School’s senior class and two classes of social studies/government students. Scott Hennen, host of What’s on Your Mind, served as the event moderator.

The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) today joined local officials and representatives from Bergen County United Way and Madeline Housing Partners, LLC to celebrate the grand opening of Tenafly Supportive Housing, a six-unit affordable housing development for special needs individuals in Tenafly Township, Bergen County.

Many Arlington County homeowners have received correspondence, signed by Jud Allen of Express Homebuyers, falsely claiming that these owners owe real estate taxes and that the County may take their homes away from them due to delinquent taxes, Arlington County Treasurer Carla de la Pava said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a former stockbroker accused of stealing investor money to remodel his house and pay other bills. The SEC alleges that Bernard M. Parker raised more than $1.2 million from his longstanding brokerage customers and others who were told they were purchasing legitimate real estate tax lien certificates and would earn returns of six to nine percent annually

Congresswoman Alma S. Adams (NC-12) today introduced a resolution which is aimed at addressing and combating homelessness in America. The resolution calls on Congress to provide adequate funding for federal affordable housing programs

U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced legislation (S. 2318) this week to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for 10 years and reestablish fair and equitable funding for states. The bill specifically returns to the original 1965 funding allocation split between state (60 percent) and federal (40 percent) purposes, resulting in more opportunities for citizens to enjoy a healthy lifestyle in their local communities.

AHS Secretary Hal Cohen and DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz announced today that Vermont has been awarded approximately $18.4 million in federal funds for this year's Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) also known as Seasonal Fuel Assistance. These funds will help about 24,700 low-income Vermont households to heat their homes this winter by paying a portion of their home heating bills

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the grand opening of the rehabilitated F.W. Woolworth building in Watertown. This historic landmark, which was one of the nation's earliest F.W. Woolworth stores, has been transformed from a downtown eyesore into a vibrant building with 50 units of affordable rental housing and ground-level retail space.

“Consumers Energy is thankful to be a part of holiday celebrations across the state as warm Thanksgiving memories are being made, and we are committed to providing many more generations of Michigan families with reliable, affordable energy in all seasons,” said Garrick Rochow, Consumers Energy’s vice president and chief customer officer

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced a $212,500 grant to help support Brothers Redevelopment’s Paris Street project in Aurora, Colo. When complete, the Paris Street development will provide quality, affordable housing for more than 40 families, with a preference for veterans

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