Rhode Island Stories | Community Development Digest

Overhaul Sought for Rhode Island's Economic Development Corp.

The report by The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council calls for significant overhaul of the state's Economic Development Corp., saying that the quasi-public EDC lacks effective performance evaluation and is challenged by under-funding, under-staffing and limited technology.

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(BRIEFS) State and Local Development

Georgia: Forsyth County officials name Tom Brown as the new planning and community development director, giving him the title after operating as interim planning director since last August. While he assumes control of a planning department which has eliminated 30 of the 64 positions it had in 2009, ...

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(FUNDING) Commerce Makes $49 Million Available for Disaster Recovery

The Commerce Dept. is offering $49 million in FY 2011 disaster recovery funding to four states that suffered severe economic distress following natural disasters occurring between March and May of 2010. The funding comes through Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) and its Economic ...

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(GROUPS) NCDA Set to Hold First HOME Training Program

National Community Development Association (NCDA) officials have slots remaining for their first HOME Investment Partnerships Program training session for practitioners, one of several community development training items state and local officials are taking part in this fall. Vicki Watson, NCDA's ...

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(DEMOLITION) HUD Balks At Housing Demolition

Bowing to congressional pressure to be more selective in demolition of public and assisted housing, HUD rejects a plea from Woonsocket, RI to allow demolition of 180 rent-subsidized housing units. HUD's Special Applications Center (SAC) says the units still are in decent shape. SAC also raises ques...

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(FUNDING) NeighborWorks America Issues Grant Awards to Rehab Affordable Housing

NeighborWorks America sends $35 million in grant funds to dozens of local NeighborWorks groups and two affiliated capital corporations to rehabilitate affordable housing nationwide. The money goes to the groups and to Community Housing Capital and NeighborWorks Capital through the Ca...

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(ARRA) Stimulus Still Pumping Out Energy-Efficiency Grant Funds

Warwick, RI is getting more than 100 greener, more energy-efficient apartments resulting from federal stimulus package funding to Shalom Apartments, Secy. Shaun Donovan and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) making the announcement April 26. The award is part of the $150-million Green Retrofit Program for Multi...

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(ARRA) RI Officials Say New Tiverton Development Could Be Model

In the summer of 2010, Rhode Island officials will begin watching closely a new cross-cutting green development effort emerging from the state's use of stimulus Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-R) funds. State officials are preparing to spend $200,000 of their $1.4 million in CDBG-R money on...

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(ARRA) Rhode Island CDBG-R Plans Cover Gamut of Development Ideas

Rhode Island state officials are proposing a potpourri of projects for its $1.25 million in Community Development Block Grant money received in this year's stimulus package (CDBG-R), including housing, streetscapes, street improvements and even the construction of a wind turbine to aid electrical po...

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(CONGRESS) Senators Urge Donovan to Press Lender Response to Homeowners

Fifteen U.S. senators are pressing HUD Secy. Shaun Donovan to speed implementation of the new laws designed to encourage lenders to provide home loan modifications in order to prevent more foreclosures. The senators, led by Jack Reed (D-RI) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), wrote Donova...

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