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Evictions up, 30,000 tenants are still waiting for applications to be processed

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Evictions up, 30,000 tenants are still waiting for applications to be processed

According to AJC, an estimated 30,000 tenants in Georgia are still waiting for applications to be processed. As of late November, less than 15% of the $989 million allotted to Georgia had been distributed, a pace that’s been criticized by tenant advocates and housing experts.

Georgia — which delegates rental assistance distribution to nine counties, two cities and the Department of Community Affairs — lags behind 38 states and the District of Columbia in the amount of rental assistance dollars disbursed, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Meanwhile, the number of evictions has been increasing.

Until late August, a federal moratorium kept evictions in check. While that ban was in effect, monthly evictions in the five core counties of metro Atlantaaveraged about 7,500 — a little more than half the pre-pandemic level. In the three months since the moratorium ended, evictions have averaged about 10,000 a month, according to data provided by the Atlanta Regional Commission.

In terms of sheer numbers, Fulton has had the most filings, nearly 10,000 in the past three months.

But DeKalb County saw the steepest rise in eviction filings. In September, there were 2,215 filings, up 31% from August, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission. There were 2,700 filings in October, a 59% increase from August. In holiday-shortened November, there were still 2,126 filings.

The number of evictions has not approached the epic proportions that many affordable housing advocates feared. In fact, filings are still below pre-pandemic levels.

But things could get worsesoon.

Unless Georgia gets better at distributing payments, the state might lose some of the rental assistance money allotted. Up to $120 million of the remaining funds could be redistributed to more efficient states, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

It hasn’t been as simple as sending out checks, said Daphne Walker, division director for housing assistance at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Programs had to be assembled, staff trained, outreach done and applicants vetted, Walker said last week, speaking to the Atlanta Regional Housing Forum.

“We pay money back if we get something wrong,” Walker said. “We have to be accurate, and we have to be reliable.”

But Michael Waller, chief executive of the nonprofit Georgia Appleseed, a policy advocacy group, said Georgia needs to act with more urgency.

“This needs to be more of a priority at the highest levels of state government,” he said. “It would be a tremendous loss for Georgia and for landlords if this money goes back to the federal government.”

Georgia officials have filed plans with the Treasury Department to ramp up payments. As part of that vow, the state will do more marketing to tell renters what’s available and will transfer $74 million to local programs that are expected to process payments quickly.

That can’t happen soon enough, said Denise Fisher, a board member for Society of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, a nonprofit working with low-income households.

“We are seeing some people who get evicted while they are waiting for the rental assistance money,” said Fisher.

In Cobb County, officials make sure that both tenants and landlords hear about rental assistance when they come to court for eviction hearings, said Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan Murphy.

In 2019, there were 21,830 eviction filings in Cobb, followed by 10,814 last year. So far this year, there have been about 13,200, according to Murphy.

“There has not been the overwhelming crush of eviction cases that we anticipated,” he said. “And we think that was because rental assistance is working.”

The federal government has given out two rounds of rental assistance, and DeKalb County has spent all $21.6 million from the first round, said Javoyne Hicks, state and magistrate clerk of court. “The biggest challenge we’ve had is getting people to submit all the required documents. Without that, we can’t move forward,” she said.

Yet rental assistance has limits. It’s meant as a bridge to get a tenant over a rough patch. It cannot provide a tenant more income.

“A lot of our clients work in day care or in restaurants, things that have not completely come back. So there is still a lot of COVID-related hardship,” said Donna Ross, who works with Legal Aid in Cobb County. “Evictions are something we see every day. It has steadily gone up.”

The federal assistance also can’t reshape a market in which rents are rapidly rising.

A man is under arrest after he set fire to a Christmas tree at Fox News HQ

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A man is under arrest after he set fire to a Christmas tree at Fox News HQ

A 49-year-old man is under arrest after he allegedly set fire to a Christmas tree outside the News Corp building in midtown Manhattan, police say.

The unnamed arsonist allegedly climbed the conifer and set it ablaze, the NYPD said in a tweet Wednesday morning.

Reports on social media showed the pre-dawn fire. WNBC reporter Tracie Strahan tweeted a video of flames bursting from the massive Christmas tree that had been illuminated in multicolored lights, the News Corp sign in the foreground.

The building is home to News Corp outlets such as Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.

Police said authorities extinguished the fire and have charged the suspect.

Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany’s next chancellor today

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Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany’s next chancellor today

Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany’s next chancellor today, marking the end of Angela Merkel’s 16-year tenure.

Scholz, 63, has held a wide range of government positions over the decade: He’s been a member of parliament, a popular mayor of Hamburg and both the labor minister and the finance minister in coalition governments under Merkel.

Schmitz says the new chancellor has a deep understanding of the political process, knows how to get things done and is always striving for compromise — and as a result, is often compared to Biden.

While Scholz does govern like Merkel, Schmitz notes some key differences between the two leaders: Scholz grew up in West Germany, so will likely focus more on stronger trans-Atlantic relationships and a more unified European Union.

Half of Scholz’s 16 cabinet members are women, including — for the first time — all of the ministries in charge of domestic and international security.

One of the biggest problems Germany is facing right now is the raging coronavirus pandemic, so Schmitz notes there was considerable interest in who Scholz would pick to be the next health minister.

He went with Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist, Social Democratic politician and outspoken critic of Merkel’s handling of the pandemic. Lauterbach believes the government needs stricter public health guidelines and advocates for making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory (some 30% of Germans are not vaccinated).

“That tells us that Scholz wants an outspoken leader to be managing this pandemic, not someone who was a politically safe choice,” Schmitz says.

The pandemic is, of course, just one of the challenges facing Scholz and his administration.

Schmitz notes that one of the new government’s biggest goals is to transform Germany’s economy into a “greener, more digitized version” without raising taxes.

USA will stage a diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics in Beijing

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USA will stage a diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics in Beijing

According to AP, the U.S. will stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing t o protest Chinese human rights abuses, the White House confirmed Monday, a move that China has vowed to greet with “firm countermeasures.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said U.S. athletes will continue to compete and will “have our full support,” but added “we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games.”

“U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can’t do that,” Psaki told reporters during Monday’s briefing.

“We have a fundamental commitment to promoting human rights. And we feel strongly in our position and we will continue to take actions to advance human rights in China and beyond,” Psaki added.

The announcement came as Biden prepares to host a White House Summit for Democracy, a virtual gathering of leaders and civil society experts from more than 100 countries that is set to take place Thursday and Friday. The administration has said Biden intends to use the meeting “to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., called such a diplomatic boycott “a necessary step to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to human rights in the face of the Chinese government’s unconscionable abuses.”

He called on “other allies and partners that share our values to join with the United States in this diplomatic boycott.”

Human rights advocates and lawmakers in the U.S. who support a boycott say it is a necessary step. They cite China’s poor record on human rights as justification, saying China is using the games to whitewash its ill treatment of civil rights activists, political dissidents and ethnic minorities.

“Without being invited, American politicians keep hyping the so-called diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is purely wishful thinking and grandstanding,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing. “If the U.S. side is bent on going its own way, China will take firm countermeasures.”

The International Olympic Committee in a statement called the decision to keep dignitaries away from the game a “political decision for each government” that it “fully respects.”

“At the same time, this announcement also makes it clear that the Olympic Games and the participation of the athletes are beyond politics and we welcome this,” the IOC statement said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had been advocating for a diplomatic boycott for months, applauded Biden for taking the step. Still, she said the IOC “allowing a country notorious for its appalling human rights record to host the Olympics makes a mockery of the Olympic Charter, which states that the Games should seek to foster ‘respect for universal and fundamental ethical principles.’”

Flash flooding throughout Hawaii with weather warnings

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Flash flooding throughout Hawaii with weather warnings

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said the weather had knocked out power and cut off access to some roads, though there were no storm-related deaths as of 2 p.m. Monday afternoon. Still, officials warned the storm, which began over the weekend, remained a threat.

Late on Monday, Gov. David Ige signed an emergency declaration for the entire state, freeing up state funding for the emergency response.

Some areas saw up to 14 inches of rain, according to preliminary rainfall totals from the National Weather Service.

The system — known as a “kona low” — struck the Big Island, Maui and Molokaʻi on Sunday and moved westward over the populous island of Oahu on Monday and Tuesday morning.

Public parks in Honolulu, as well as the Honolulu Zoo, closed due to the weather, and four emergency shelters on the island were opened for residents impacted by the storm.

Hawaii’s climate office has said that as the state gets drier it rains less often, but when it does rain the storms are heavier. That can lead to landslides, runoff, algae blooms and catastrophic flooding, which carries economic and public health risks.

Drake wants no part in competing for a Grammy

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Drake wants no part in competing for a Grammy

On Monday, the Grammys has already removed Drake’s nominations from the nominee list on its website.

Acccording to AP, the four-time Grammy winner, Drake, and his management asked the Recording Academy to withdraw his two nominations from the final-round ballot, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. They said Drake’s request was honored by the academy.

The people spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicity on the matter.

Drake was nominated for best rap album “Certified Lover Boy” and “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future and Young Thug, which earned a nomination for best rap performance.

Drake has called out the Grammys in previous years. The rapper has shown his displeasure for not being nominated outside the rap category. He also took aim at the importance of the Grammy Awards during his acceptance speech after “God’s Plan” won best rap song in 2019.

“If there’s people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain, in the snow, spending their hard earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here. I promised you, you already won,” said Drake while holding his trophy. Before the rapper continued, his speech was cut off.

The Grammys will take place in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

Plans Andre Dickens wants to accomplish as mayor

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Plans Andre Dickens wants to accomplish as mayor

Atlanta Mayor-elect Andre Dickens will have a lot on his plate when he takes office in January. The city is facing a number of challenges surrounding gun violence, service delivery and the threat of Buckhead cityhood, in addition to longstanding issues like economic inequality, affordable housing and traffic congestion.

Dickens has said his immediate priorities include reopening City Hall to the public, working with police Chief Rodney Bryant to reduce crime, increase community policing and lobbying state officials to prevent Buckhead cityhood.

According to AJC, there are some of the specific plans and promises Dickens pitched during his campaign for mayor, providing a look at what he hopes to accomplish over the next four years:

Crime

– Hire 250 officers during his first year in office, and train every police department employee in racial sensitivity and de-escalation techniques.

– Install 10,000 new streetlights, in addition to other tech such as shot-spotters and cameras.

City Hall leadership

– Conduct an audit of all constituent-facing city services.

– Create an Atlanta Department of Labor, which would include a dedicated liaison to organized labor and a watchdog for labor law violations.

– Hire a chief education officer and chief housing officer.

– Commission a study to ensure gender pay equity for city employees.

Housing

– Build or preserve 20,000 units of affordable housing in eight years.

– Complete and expand the recommendations of HouseATL.

– Allocate $10 million from the annual general fund and $10 million in annual funding from renewable sources to affordable housing.

– Expand the existing inclusionary zoning policy citywide and lower the percentage of affordability to include units affordable to people making 30-50% of the area median income. That policy currently only applies to new developments around the Beltline.

Transportation and infrastructure

– Create a dashboard to keep track of infrastructure projects, both federally and locally funded.

– Streamline the city’s procurement process to speed up infrastructure improvements and resolve the project backlog.

– Revive the “Pothole Posse” program first implemented under Mayor Shirley Franklin’s administration.

– Use federal infrastructure dollars to complete Beltline rail and Campbellton Road transit by 2030.

– By 2030, Dickens hope to make MARTA free for all riders.

Environment

– Continue plan to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035.

– Shepherd the adoption of a new tree protection ordinance.

Every Michigan driver will be refunded $400 for each vehicle they own

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Every Michigan driver will be refunded $400 for each vehicle they own

According to NPR, Michigan’s attempts to lower its famously high insurance rates seem to be working: every driver in the state will be refunded $400 for each vehicle they own, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says.

The money comes from a projected $5 billion surplus held by the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, a non-profit that reimburses auto insurers for personal injury medical costs that exceed a threshold — an amount that is currently set at $600,000.

“Michiganders have paid into the catastrophic care fund for decades,” Whitmer said in a statement sent to NPR, “and I am pleased that the MCCA developed this plan so quickly after unanimously approving my request to return surplus funds to the pockets of Michiganders.”

After analyzing its accounts and projected costs, the MCCA said it could return roughly $3 billion of the overall surplus to policyholders while still maintaining care for accident survivors.

The refunds apply to any vehicle covered by an active auto insurance policy as of 11:59 p.m. on October 31, 2021.

Inventory issues continue to constrain Honda

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Inventory issues continue to constrain Honda
  • Marysville-built Honda Accord fell 3.9% to 14,867 cars.
  • Honda Civic was down 25.6% to 12,927 vehicles in the month.
  • East Liberty-assembled Honda CR-V declined 19.3% to 20,682.

That trio of vehicles represents 56% of Honda sales during the month.

The automaker, which calls Marysville its North American manufacturing home, sold 85,055 vehicles in November, a 13% drop for the Honda and Acura brands.

The new Honda Civic and the East Liberty-built Acura MDX are the two vehicles most impacted by inventory issues.

Honda (NYSE:HMC) grew sales through much of the year as it lapped 2020’s most pandemic-impacted months. It also took longer this year for Honda to be impacted by microchip shortages that hit some other manufacturers earlier in the year.

November is the fourth consecutive month where those supply-chain issues limited supply and translated to depressed sales for the automaker. Honda is not alone. Toyota, Hyundai and Kia also have seen four consecutive months of monthly sales drops.

Still, Honda remains 12.5% above its 2020 results.

Located north of Dayton in Shelby County, Honda’s Anna Engine Plant is the largest manufacturer in the Dayton region with 2.6 million square feet of space, according to DBJ research. It is also one of the 10 largest employers in the Dayton region with 3,200 local workers.

The automaker called out a few highlights among its other vehicles. The Honda HR-V posted its 10th straight monthly sales record and already hit its annual record with a month to go in the year. The CR-V hybrid is having record sales. The Honda Ridgeline had its best November in five years. And electrified vehicles overall posted another monthly record and remain on pace to top 100,000 units for the year.

Biden and Putin meet virtually this morning

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Biden and Putin meet virtually this morning

President Biden is scheduled to hold a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin at 10 a.m. ET. He’s expected to tell Putin exactly how the U.S. will respond if Russia invades Ukraine.

It’s a pressing issue, as U.S. intelligence officials have seen tens of thousands of Russian troops gathering within striking distance of Ukraine’s border over the last few weeks. Russia insists these are its own troops on its own territory, and that it has no aggressive intentions. And while the Biden administration doesn’t know just what Putin is planning, it sees Russia’s military buildup as a threat.

Biden will warn that the cost of any Russian invasion will be high, reinforcing the message that Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave to his counterpart when they met recently. That response would include high-impact economic sanctions coordinated with allies and a stepped-up presence to support NATO allies in the eastern flank.

Biden’s team has also said the president prefers a diplomatic path, and is hoping to rejuvenate the Minsk agreements — a stalled peace accord between Ukraine and Russia that has in the past quelled fighting in East Ukraine, however imperfectly.

The White House announced Monday that Biden had participated in a call with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the U.K., during which they discussed their shared concern about Russia’s military build-up and “increasingly harsh rhetoric.”

The leaders reportedly called on Russia to de-escalate tensions, underscored their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and agreed that diplomacy is key to resolving the conflict in East Ukraine.

Maynes says that Putin is worried about the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, and wants a guarantee from the U.S. and its allies that that won’t happen. He says this is Putin “trying to renegotiate NATO’s march eastward after the fall of the Soviet Union,” which he has long seen as fundamentally unfair and dangerous to Russia’s national security.

Importantly, Maynes notes, nobody at NATO is talking about Ukraine joining the alliance in the foreseeable future.

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