Yearly Archives: 2015

Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee and U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has granted a City request to waive payment standards used to calculate the value of rental vouchers provided to homeless veterans. The waiver in HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program will allow the City to increase the value of rental vouchers provided to San Francisco veterans, so that they have more housing options and will speed the placement of veterans in stable, secure and safe homes in San Francisco.

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) today announced its participation in a new federal initiative in which the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will partner with creditworthy Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) to provide significantly lower interest rates to preserve and increase affordable housing

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Watts riots, Mayor Eric Garcetti spent Friday in neighborhoods where six days of civil unrest drew global attention to issues of racial inequality and a half-century of rebuilding underscored the resilient spirit that defines Los Angeles.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Tribal Green Building Codes Workgroup—which consists of representatives from tribal nations and federal agencies—announced a new toolkit designed to assist tribes to prioritize and implement healthy, green building policies and practices

The ConAm Group (ConAm) is aggressively increasing its national multifamily property management portfolio through both company-owned and third-party fee management assets and has announced the appointment of Julie Brawn-Whitesides as its new Executive Vice President of Property Management as part of that strategy, according to Rob Singh and Bob Svatos, Co-Presidents of ConAm

Today the City sold $299 million in bonds to fund its contribution to the construction of the Golden 1 Center in Downtown Sacramento. The amount will be put toward the City’s $255 million share of the Golden 1 Center, nine months after the City and Sacramento Kings broke ground on the new $507 million downtown arena. The center is expected to open in October 2016.

Water infrastructure investment represents $250 million in savings, and prevents the annual loss of more than 300 million gallons of water. Mayor Eric Garcetti today released 20,000 “shade balls” onto the surface of the Los Angeles Reservoir, marking completion of a $34.5 million initiative to protect the city’s water quality.

Every region except Kings County posts lower affordability compared to previous quarter. Thirty percent of California households could afford to purchase the $485,100 median-priced home in the second quarter, down from 34 percent in first-quarter 2015 and unchanged from 30 percent in second quarter 2014

More than 200 K-5th grade children who live in the city’s Potrero Terrace & Annex public housing received free backpacks, essential school supplies, LeapFrog learning devices, books and back-to-school information at a special giveaway today.

The McGrath Family, known in San Diego as pioneers in construction and real estate, have announced the sale of a portion of their retail portfolio encompassing 294,428 square feet in the Kearny Mesa submarket of San Diego, California to a commingled fund managed by Clarion Partners, working with existing partner HP Investors, LLC.

A woman is scheduled to be arraigned today for shooting and killing her boyfriend outside their mobile home in Garden Grove. Arlene Kathyrn Bautista, 20, Garden Grove, is charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter by lawful act in an unlawful manner with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in state prison.

Interstate Equities Corporation (IEC), an institutional fund manager has acquired a rare, un-renovated, 46-unit multifamily community in San Rafael, California from a private family owner. The 45-year-old Marin Gardens Apartments is still in its original condition, providing a tremendous opportunity to create value, according to Marshall Boyd, President of IEC.

PowerStone Property Management Inc. a full service Orange County, California based property management firm, today announced that the prestigious Desert Princess Homeowners Association has awarded the financial service portion of their HOA property management to PowerStone. PowerStone will manage the financial services of the community, assisting the Board of Directors and the on-site staff with the preparation of the monthly financial reports.

A major residential development project, hailed as "the Miracle of Mission Street" for overcoming years of opposition with promised benefits including 360 new apartments designated as rent-controlled, is facing scrutiny over apparently unlawful uses of residential dwellings for short-term tourist accommodations.

Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Representative Ted Lieu (all D-Calif.) today called on the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees to facilitate housing for homeless and disadvantaged veterans at the West Los Angeles VA campus

A man is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon for the stabbing murder of his stepbrother in their Garden Grove home. Andres Adolfo Serrat, 25, is charged with one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife. If convicted, Serrat faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison. The defendant is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today, Aug. 5, 2015, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined

This week, the California State Historical Resources Commission will consider nineteen nominations for federal historic designation, and three nominations for state historic designation

Yesterday afternoon, Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Interior Department, met with leaders responsible for overseeing wildfire emergency response in California, including Deputy Director for Fire Protection Dave Teter (CAL FIRE), Chief of Fire and Rescue Operations Kim Zagaris (California Office of Emergency Services), Deputy Fire Director Chris Schow (U.S. Forest Service), and Colonel Todd Lewis, Director of Joint Operations (California National Guard)

Congressman Xavier Becerra (CA-34), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement after President Obama announced his Clean Power Plan as a step towards ensuring the nation embraces sustainable wind and solar energy and cuts harmful greenhouse gas emissions

Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-06), Co-Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), released the following statement as the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its Clean Power Plan today