NEVER IN OUR lifetime have we witnessed a disease that has devastated lives across the globe the way COVID-19 has. No family, no individual has been left untouched. But, we can all agree that the brunt of this pandemic falls more heavily on some than others. Health care professionals, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, seniors […]
Housing
Posted inEconomy
Rent payments pile up for business owners
DANIEL BOJORQUEZ, the owner of the La Brasa and Fat Hen restaurants in Somerville, is being squeezed by his landlord and the coronavirus. His restaurants have been shut down since mid-March by the virus and they’re unlikely to reopen before June. Bojorquez owes $13,000 in rent for April and May, and he’s staring at another rent payment coming due on June 1. He […]
Posted inOpinion
Shut down DCF’s homeless pipeline
NICOLE, A YOUTH at More Than Words, turned 18 this month and was terrified. The milestone would be dampened for anyone during this pandemic, but Nicole was losing her housing and safety net. She had to leave her foster home and her legal guardian, the Department of Children and Families (DCF), informed her they would […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Tales from the legislative trenches
RESPONDING TO THE fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Legislature recently passed and the governor signed an eviction and foreclosure moratorium law. It enables people who are unemployed or lost income to postpone paying their rent or mortgage for housing, or rent for a small business. They cannot be evicted or foreclosed on for 120 days or […]
Posted inUncategorized
How Newton bridged the housing divide
THIS IS A STORY about a fight over a new large housing development in Newton. Such stories, which involve stiff local opposition, play themselves out hundreds of times yearly in attractive suburbs of economically prosperous US cities. But this story has a trajectory and an ending different from the typical ones. A typical story line […]
Posted inEconomy
It’s no time to weaken the Community Reinvestment Act
WE PURCHASED HOMES in Mattapan, Brockton and Hyde Park. We were able to afford these homes because of a great program called ONE Mortgage available through local lenders and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. We benefited from a lower down payment requirement, no private mortgage insurance, and an affordable, below-market interest rate. But what was not […]
Posted inUncategorized
Eviction bill negotiations hit some bumps
A RECENT BILL establishing a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures marked the Massachusetts Legislature’s first attempt to hammer out a tricky compromise bill using a conference committee during the coronavirus pandemic, and some Republican representatives are raising concerns about the process. “It was a poor bill that was rushed through the process,” said Rep. Peter […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker signs eviction moratorium bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed a bill Monday that will temporarily pause evictions and some foreclosures during the coronavirus pandemic, sparking an intense debate over the rights of landlords and tenants. Real estate industry officials said they worried the new law would embolden tenants to stop paying their rent, while advocates for the legislation said it […]
Posted inEconomy
In hard-hit Chelsea, COVID-19 fight a collaborative effort
Fourth in a series on municipal leaders across Massachusetts and how they’re contending with the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are previous stories on Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, and Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone. LAST SATURDAY MORNING, the day after he and a group of Chelsea leaders and top hospital officials wrote to Gov. […]
Posted inState House News Service
Dems overrule Republicans on eviction legislation
THE HOUSE ADVANCED a compromise bill Wednesday afternoon to temporarily ban almost all eviction and foreclosure proceedings statewide shortly after Democratic negotiators made a breakthrough, but appeared unable to win over their Republican counterparts. Six days after the branches established a conference committee because they could not reach agreement informally on the time-sensitive topic, the panel’s […]