I’ve spent a lot of time blogging about the first-time homebuyer tax credit recently, and last week, even devoted an entire column to the subject. My feeling is, it’s out there—I might as well inform people how to take advantage. I don’t know if the posts came off sounding too cheerleader-ish. But, in case they did,  here’s the flip side of the credit: A lot of people consider it unnecessary, believing the recent drop in home values would have pushed many buyers back out into the market without the extra tax incentive. The credit, essentially, was an extra dollop of whipped cream on top of the cocoa. Lovely. But not necessary.

In Sunday’s Washington Post, professor Joseph Gyourko of University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, made another valuable point about the ill effects of the credit in his piece “5 myths about home sweet homeownership.” He argues that the credit is creating competition in areas where the market should still be settling—like here:

Read More “Is the Tax Credit Turning D.C. Into a Seller’s Market?” »

Council Chair Vincent Gray, and Council Members Mendelson and Evans

It doesn’t look like the Catholic Archdiocese is going to be winning this battle.

Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the Catholic Archdiocese had issued an ultimatum to the D.C. Council:  If you require us to extend same-sex marriage benefits to gay couples, we’ll stop running city-contracted social service programs. These programs include many homeless shelters, in addition to adoption and health care support. (This entire issue is, of course, contingent on the District’s same-sex marriage bill passing, which it is expected to next month.)

In the last two days (day 1, day 2), the Post has gathered a number of reactions from D.C. Councilmembers suggesting they’re not ready to give in and allow city money to be used to discriminate against gay couples.

• Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham had originally hoped to reach a compromise with the church, but has since altered his stance after “reviewing same-sex marriage laws in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont,” where the Church has not abandoned social services.

Read More “Councilmembers Dig in Heels on Catholic Threat” »

A few weeks back, I blogged about car-free visions taking over suburbia: reduced parking requirements in Tyson’s Corner; Parking meters that could suddenly be adjusted up to exorbitant rates in Arlington and D.C. to discourage driving in the area. And today,  the Washington Post reports on the latest move that  smart growth proponents are likely cheering.

Rather than promote construction in less developed areas, the Montgomery County Council just approved a plan that will provide discounts to developers building dense projects near Metro stations “as long as they also construct bike paths and walkways, put shops and other amenities nearby, and use environmentally friendly construction methods.”

Read More “MoCo. Promotes Smart Growth, No-Car-Necessary Development Policy” »

One view of the Brookland project by Abdo Development

The gentrification wave’s moving up and over to Northeast.

Earlier this week, the Zoning Commission granted preliminary approval to two huge projects that will transform Brookland and Fort Totten, the Washington Post reports. “To receive final approval, the groups behind the projects, the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and Abdo Development, must submit information to the commission about the community benefits they plan to provide, zoning officials said. Final action is scheduled for Dec. 14,” according to the Post.

I’ve written extensively about both these projects. So if you’re just hearing about them now, here is some more information:

Read More “Zoning Commission Gives Thumbs Up to Huge Projects in Brookland and Fort Totten” »

Or don’t, actually. I never saw her.

There were rampant rumors that Erika Wasilewski left the show before the season wrapped. She was around earlier during the press day, held last month, as evidenced by the Washington Post’s video. But when I stopped by later, Erika was nowhere to be seen.

MTV publicists said that she was in the city, but she was sick. And by “sick,” do you think they meant “sick and tired of all the lies?”

For a while, I contemplated a headline inspired by that old Braveheart line: “You can take our parking, but you can never take our freedom!” That’s the tone of commenters laying into a fresh Washington Post article about new parking policies around the D.C. metro area.

Here’s a roundup: MoCo is considering decreasing their parking requirements. In Tyson’s Corner, where new Metro stations are being constructed, buildings will no longer be required to have a parking minimum. And Arlington County and D.C. are experimenting with parking meters that can be easily adjusted up to try to lessen demand.

Here’s a sampling of what people are saying about the news:

“Bunch of car haters, pure and simple. Good luck attracting people who don’t live in the neighborhood to your business.”

“This sounds great on paper, but just where is all this transit we are being forced on to? I live in a fairly Metro dense area but… driving or staying home always seem to be better options.”

Read More “D.C. Area Drivers: “Mess With Our Parking And You’ll Be Sorry!”” »

The Art Place @ Ft. Totten is one development project that’s not getting enough attention.

Maybe that’s because it’s up in Ft. Totten, not a very densely populated area.

Maybe, it’s because the neighbors aren’t used to mobilizing and fighting development—drive around there, and it doesn’t appear much has changed in decades, with one obvious exception.

Perhaps, it’s because the developer is a nonprofit organization, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, which seems less threatening than a  for-profit developer or the city. And the Cafritz Foundation didn’t thoroughly publicize its plan to the community.

Or maybe, the resentment is just starting percolate, and we’ll hear more about Art Place @ Ft. Totten in the future–even though locals are already being asked to move to make way for construction.

Read More “Denial, Anxiety Mark Start of Art Place@Ft. Totten” »

Put your hand up if this homeless services budget crisis is confusing the hell out of you! First we heard $20 million had been cut from shelters and service providers. Then, it was $12 million…or nothing, maybe? My colleague Jason Cherkis broke down the story over on City Desk last night.

Is this any way to coordinate homeless services?

Late last week, word spread down to various District shelters and homeless service providers that their budgets were going to be taking a huge hit. On September 28, Catholic Charities and others were told to expect 30 percent cuts.The 30 percent cut was the average cut. Some agencies would have to slash their budgets even more.

The problem isn’t just the huge decreases in funding. The problem has been compounded by how the Fenty Administration has handled the funding issues.

Read More “Inside The Homeless Services Budget Mess” »

The Washington Post, NBC, and ABC have all covered the tale of the open house bandits! Cops nabbed the two men on Sunday on suspicions that they had stolen jewelry from homes across the region.

One Virginia real estate agent, Weichert’s Mary Hurlbut, is basking in her hero moment.

Read More “Open House Bandits Caught!” »

What would Jon Stewart call this mess if he analyzed D.C. politics?  VagRANT 2009. NoMadness 2009. Shelter Skelter 2009.

The Washington Post is reporting today on various disputes that arose during yesterday’s Human Services Committee hearing after the group’s chair, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells claimed  that the D.C. government had quietly cut $20 million from homeless services.

The two main points of contention:

Read More “Homeless Advocates, City Officials Bicker Over So, So Many Things…” »