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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: d[-_-]b who wrote (373580)	3/11/2008 12:09:00 AM
From: bentway	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1575841

" Low income, retired or fixed income people are least likely to be able to afford a new fuel efficient car." This is bull. There are PLENTY of cheap, used fuel efficient cars - they weren't invented last year. I drive a 1987 Subaru Justy that gets 35-50 mpg. The first VW rolled off the line in 1936!

To: d[-_-]b who wrote (373580)	3/11/2008 1:33:40 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1575841

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels either loves condos or he hates renters. The Mayor's Office has indefinitely frozen a $350,000 fund created to compensate Seattle area renters who'd been forced out of housing due to condo-conversions. Mayor Nickels wants to wait and see if the legislature passes a statewide bail-out funded by developers this winter. Because it makes perfect sense to rely on the people who are profiting most off of Seattle renter's misery. "According to the mayor's memo, the city will be receiving $600,000 less in federal community-development block grants than the city had anticipated. Fox sees the mayor's temporary freeze as a belt-tightening move. "Unless these funds are released or at least some of the funds are released now, many tenants could be rendered homeless or forced into substandard housing, lacking adequate relocation from the city," Fox said. Marty McOmber, spokesman for the mayor, said the temporary freeze is intended to put the money on hold until the city can take another look at its priorities. "We're assessing what our needs are going to be," he said. "We need to backfill those federal cuts, and we have to balance a number of competing needs and assess our priorities." Federal community-development block grants, McOmber said, are used for a number of city services. He said the city currently spends $40 million a year for programs for the homeless, including shelters and homeless services. Money from lost federal funds would have funded homeless shelters and AIDS housing, he said. All tenants receiving notice after Jan. 1 to vacate for conversions would be eligible for up to $2,800 in assistance with the city assistance program, depending on their income. The relocation money, Fox said, was intended to supplement the $500 developers are required to pay displaced tenants to help in the search for other housing. Current state law caps a condo-converters contribution at $500. Fox said the city program was to be an interim fund until the state Legislature has a chance to act this year on a proposal to lift the $500 cap on developers' contributions. McOmber said the mayor would support the state's lifting the cap." seattletimes.nwsource.com