Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Dec. 31, 2003, edition 1 / Page 6
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liiiiiiiiiiiiipl 6A NPNSmt dwrlout $»tt Wednesday, December 31, 2003 Somais beMiid bars Continued from page 1A status, they are detained indefinitely, this is not much different from a life sen tence,” said Jamal. Meanwhile, a Somali news report stated recently that proposed peace talks among Somali political groups were abandoned. The talks, origi nally scheduled for December 9, then postponed to Dec. 18 have been put off again, said the IRIN News Agency. Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, a facilita tor of the peace initiative, is trying to arrange a meeting of Somali leaders in Kampala. The purpose of the original 10-day talks,- due to be held in Mombasa, was “to give the leaders a chance to iron out outstanding issues and engage in personal rec- oncihation”, IRIN reported. Talks have been underway since October 2002 and have been dogged by wrangles over issues such as an inter im charter, the number of participants and the selec- , tion of future parliamentari- Charlotte faces the possibility of increased finaneial role for housing Continued from page 1A Charlotte’s next - and per haps last - major HOPE VI initiative is the renovation of 62-year-old Piedmont Courts. The 242-unit public housing complex off 10th Street is in need of a makeover, but city coimcil is balking at making a $17 mil lion commitment over five years that could clinch a $20 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The grant would ultimately bring 964 homes and apartments to Piedmont Courts and neighboring Belmont com munity. 'The city could con tinue to pursue HOPE VI money by coming up with its share of the money next month; delay its application or abandon the federal grant for local solutions. “Personally, I think it’s a philosophical shift” with the federal government easing out of public housing. Bush said, “I just don’t understand why housing people isn’t a priority of any government entity. It feels like the feder al government is getting out of pubHc housing.” Help for Charlotte’s dilem ma could from quasi-inde pendent entities: the hous ing authority, which pro vides homes for low-income families, and Charlotte- Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, which provides what Mitchell calls “working housing” for families with incomes between $38,000- $45,000. 'The partnership, he believes can take on a more significant role because it doesn’t face the bureaucratic red tape of a municipality when seeking grants. “We need to leverage as much as we can to make the housing partnership our number one provider,” he said. The partnership, which opened in 1989, uses public and private sources for building homes and fund mortgages. Pat Garrett, CMHFs president, said the organization’s diversity of income helps. Our strength is we do a lot of mixed income stuff and financing,” she said. “We have a history of using everybody’s money — the state’s the city’s, the home owner’s.” Charlotte’s corporate com munity, a major player in previous mixed-income com munities that sprang from public housing neighbor hoods, may be leery of jump ing into uncertain markets. With the economy just start ing to show signs of recovery, corporations are likely to hedge their long-term bets. ‘When times are great, our corporate partners have been right there,” Mitchell said. “But I don’t see as much of that now. 'They teU us ‘we’re in it to make role for everybody in afford able housing. Banks have been a help but they’re look ing for a return (although) the return doesn’t necessari ly have to be money. One of the things we need to do is get everybody to understand that pubhc housing affects everybody.” 'The business of housing is ruthless. Cities compete for federal dollars and individ ual projects compete for city attention. Even community- based groups have to hustle for dollars. ‘We face the same restric tions as everybody else,” says Garrett of the housing partnership. It’s stiU hard for us because it’s competition. It’s not easier, but it puts us in a better better position.” Another possibility is fimd- ing projects through bond referendums. Although polit ically risky because it raises the possibility of tax increas es and/or fees, it can mea sure public support for hous ing. Either way. Bush says Charlotte must address the money. Said Garrett: “There’s issue. ‘With a lot of issues, we have some choices, some paths we can take for hous ing as a community,” she said. ‘We have to make a commitment to housing peo ple. I think it’s a moral crisis for us as a city. We want to be world class, but I don’t think we’re going to be if we don’t have a commitment to house people.” Office DEPOT WE’RE SERVING UP Incredible Savings! 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The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 31, 2003, edition 1
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