Yearly Archives: 2015

California’s housing market will continue to improve into 2016, but a shortage of homes on the market and a crimp in housing affordability also will persist, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.) “2016 California Housing Market Forecast,” released today

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today announced Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) funds will be available to eligible applicants such as state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations in Lake County. This is funding for local communities to use to repair critical public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, buildings, water infrastructure and sewage collection facilities.

Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced an innovative pilot project at a Los Angeles Fire Department station to reduce energy use, enhance energy security, and maintain crucial emergency services in the event of earthquakes or climate-related disruptions.

U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) introduced the Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act. The bill directs the Secretary of Education to automatically lower all federal student loans to 4 percent – which is near the current 30-year mortgage rate

The following are the prepared remarks of Congressman Alan Lowenthal at his appearance before the Eno Freight Working Group on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

“Thank you Madam Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and salute her for her relentless championing of the rights of consumers in our country, as our Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee. I come to the floor on this legislation because it's something that runs deep in terms of our commitment and our responsibility to the consumers in our country.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced new enhancements to San Francisco’s 311 system to allow residents to more easily notify the City of homeless people in need of well-being checks so that Homeless Outreach Teams, Department of Public Health staff, and San Francisco Police can respond and assess the need for medical treatment or services more efficiently. Before these enhancements, constituents did not have a one-stop, seamless option to alert the City about homeless people who might be in distress.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced new enhancements to San Francisco’s 311 system to allow residents to more easily notify the City of homeless people in need of well-being checks so that Homeless Outreach Teams, Department of Public Health staff, and San Francisco Police can respond and assess the need for medical treatment or services more efficiently. Before these enhancements, constituents did not have a one-stop, seamless option to alert the City about homeless people who might be in distress.

Sharon Duplechan has lived at Woodhaven Senior Residence for the past two years and today she's excited to celebrate the completion of the $10.9 rehabilitation project by The John Stewart Company, owner of the property that serves low income seniors.

U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.) released the following statement after voting for passage of H.R. 3192, the Homebuyers Assistance Act, which would provide a temporary legal safe harbor for lenders making a good-faith effort to comply with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recently enacted TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule

Ahead of tomorrow’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing where drought legislation is on the agenda, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) today led 26 of his California, Oregon, Arizona, and Washington House Democrat colleagues in sending a letter to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell voicing their strong opposition to H.R. 2898, the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015.

Global real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson today announced its representation of the seller in the sale of a 1.2-acre school campus, located at 1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in Los Angeles. The buyer was Stratford School, an 18-campus, WASC-accredited private school based in Silicon Valley. Stratford School offers classes for students from preschool through middle school, and plans to open the Los Angeles area location in August 2016.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently settled with Arvin Community Services District (ACSD), located in Arvin, Calif., for arsenic violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. ACSD has agreed to provide residents with alternative water until they are found to be in compliance and will pay a penalty of $14,750

“The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision is supported by law, policy, and commonsense, and prevents a clear attempt by Cadiz Inc. to create a loophole to avoid federal review. The BLM has a responsibility to all Americans to fully understand the impacts this project proposes on public lands, including impacts on our water resources and national parks. This decision opens the door for good science and objective decision makers to participate.”

Last week, the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), challenging HUD’s denial of a fee waiver for a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. CRC submitted the FOIA request to better understand HUD’s role in overseeing the reverse mortgage industry, the national impact of foreclosures on widowed seniors due to reverse mortgages, HUD’s response to these foreclosures, and the track record of OneWest Bank and its reverse mortgage subsidiary, Financial Freedom.

MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the Court of Appeal of California for the Third Appellate District affirmed the demurrer granted by the California Superior Court, Nevada County

Energy consumption by commercial properties in San Francisco has declined significantly since 2011 after the implementation of San Francisco’s Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance, according to a new report released today from the Urban Land Institute Greenprint Center for Building Performance (Greenprint).

SunSpark Technology Inc., a U.S. firm with roots in China, has announced plans to open a solar panel manufacturing and assembly facility in Riverside, which is expected to create about 100 jobs.

Congressman Alan Lowenthal, along with all 17 of his Democratic colleagues on the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC), has called on the HNRC Energy and Mineral Resource (EMR) subcommittee chairman to hold a hearing on the development of renewable energy resources on public lands.