Tag Archives: United States

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VA Plans 3,000 Units of Housing for Veterans at 25 Locations Nationwide

November 10, 2011

VA Plans 3,000 Units of Housing for Veterans

at 25 Locations Nationwide

Continues Ongoing Efforts to Provide Housing to Veterans

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs has entered agreements to provide more than 3,000 units of permanent and transitional housing for Veterans at 25 VA medical center campuses nationwide. Additionally, agreements are pending on an additional 1,000 units, which we anticipate completing in the coming weeks. Proposed opportunities include housing for homeless Veterans, senior Veterans, disabled Veterans, other at-risk Veteran populations, and their families.

“As we approach Veterans Day, it is important that we never forget the sacrifices made by our Veterans to ensure the freedom and independence all Americans cherish,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “These efforts to ensure the well-being of our Veterans and their families demonstrate our Nation’s gratitude for their service and commitment to honoring their dedication.”

The agreements are part of VA’s Building Utilization Review and Repurposing (BURR) initiative. BURR is a VA strategic effort to identify and repurpose unused VA land and buildings in support of VA’s goal to end Veteran homelessness. VA is using its enhanced-use lease authority to permit third-party providers to finance, design, develop, maintain and operate housing with on-site supportive services, on a priority basis, for Veterans and their families.

The co-location of these projects on VAMC campuses ensures that Veterans have ready access to care and treatment designed to help them attain long-term independence and self-sufficiency.

An estimated total of 5,300 units of affordable and supportive housing will be provided to Veterans. This number includes projects already in operation or underway.

VA is proceeding with agreements with third-party providers at 25 sites nationwide. These sites and proposed developments include:

· Canandaigua, N.Y. – 48 transitional and permanent housing units

· Fort Howard, Md. – 1,437 housing units

· Lyons, N.J. – 62 permanent housing units

· Newington, Conn. – 74 permanent housing units

· Alexandria, La. – 70 transitional housing units

· Kerrville, Texas – 100 units of assisted living/extended care housing

· Knoxville, Iowa – 75 units of permanent housing

· Newington, Conn. – 100 units of assisted living/extended care housing

· Northampton, Mass. – 48 permanent housing units

· Roseburg, Ore. – 44 permanent and 10 transitional housing units

· Bath, N.Y. – 40 permanent and transitional housing units

· Battle Creek, Mich. – 100 permanent housing units

· Bedford, Mass. – 70 permanent housing units

· Brockton, Mass. – 14 permanent housing units

· Fort Harrison, Mont. – 100 permanent housing units

· Hines, Ill. – 120 permanent housing units

· Menlo Park, Calif. – 60 permanent housing units

· Minneapolis, Minn. – 58 permanent housing units

· Northport, N.Y. – 110 permanent housing units

· Sacramento, Calif. – 99 bed nursing care facility

· Spokane, Wash. – 60 units of assisted living

· St. Cloud, Minn. – 35 permanent housing units

· Togus, Maine – 50 permanent housing units

· Tuscaloosa, Ala. – 26 permanent housing units

· Vancouver, Wash. – 42 permanent housing units

For additional information regarding the BURR initiative, please visit http://www.va.gov/ASSETMANAGEMENT/index.asp.

For all other questions regarding the BURR initiative please contact VA_BURR@va.gov.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Working on Thanksgiving …Change.org

11/15/2011 Nativegrl77

While most of America will be sleeping off a belly full of turkey, stuffing, and pie next Thursday night, 29-year-old Anthony Hardwick will be waking up for a long night of work. That’s because Anthony has to report for his shift at a Target store in Omaha, Nebraska on Thanksgiving night.

For the first time on “Black Friday” — the biggest shopping day of the year — Target stores will be opening at midnight. That means retail employees like Anthony have to miss Thanksgiving celebrations with their families in order to work for big stores’ “Black Friday” midnight sales — or risk losing their jobs.

“All Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones on Thanksgiving,” Anthony says.

So Anthony decided to push back. He started a petition on Change.org asking Target to open stores at 5am instead of midnight on Black Friday. Click here to add your name to his petition. http://www.change.org/petitions/target-corporation-push-back-the-opening-of-target-retail-stores-on-black-friday-to-5am?

The sad reality is that by starting a petition to his employer on Change.org, he is putting his livelihood at risk. Anthony knows that he could be fired for taking his demand of Target public — but that’s how important it is to him that he spend Thanksgiving with his fiancee and her family.

Anthony isn’t alone in thinking that midnight (or earlier) start times for retail stores on Black Friday is are bad ideas — customers hate it, too. In fact, according to an article in the New York Times that featured Anthony’s petition, more and more consumers are avoiding Black Friday sales that interrupt Thanksgiving meals. And by being the first to petition his employer about this issue, he hopes to inspire workers at other retail stores to also speak out.

Target is one of the most prominent companies forcing its employees to miss Thanksgiving with their families. Anthony hopes that by calling out Target, he can force his employer to push back opening times at Target stores across the country — which will pressure other retail chains to do the same.

Please add your name to Anthony’s petition asking Target to push back its Black Friday opening time so he and other Target employees can spend Thanksgiving with their families:

http://www.change.org/petitions/target-corporation-push-back-the-opening-of-target-retail-stores-on-black-friday-to-5am

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Jess and the Change.org team

~ my 2cents ...

Monday mashup … &some News

11/14/2011 Nativegrl77

just another rant …

Fall back y’all and we did.

The President and Mrs. Obama are at the APEC summit in Hawaii. The rest of us have to hear the continuous drone from Teapublicans who still think Americans want repeal HCR, Wall Street reform, cut Education by 20%, replace and eliminate social service programs that women, vets, older folks and the new poor use. I have to say Teapublicans in Congress must have taken a Pledge to wear earplugs in order to get through all their just say not campaign. Suffice it to say if these Teapublicans continue to go after the Middle Class Social Security Medicare/caid instead of JOBS it would definitely seem to be a recipe for trouble and likely force the USA into a double dip or deeper recession and will be the reason they will become unemployed; hopefully. I happen to think we went right into a depression what with losing 750 thousand jobs a month even before President Obama took office. The current rhetoric has absolutely nothing to do with JOBS or the Economy …If people are listening they have no intention of helping Americans unless it is on the backs of the Middle and Lower classes people …get that in your head!!! The Party of NO will be in control for about a minute and what we as Democrats need to remember is that we have to call Teapublicans out on every move they make to ruin the current President instead of focusing on and or creating Jobs. I have to say anyone with any common sense knows that the top 2% will not spend their tax cuts to create an environment so that people will be hired or create jobs and if they do it will be to outsource them for lower wages in China, Mexico etc. If you do not believe it, just tune into CNBC occasionally, and hear the words coming from various Teapublicans Ludlow and associates trot out on any given day.

I hope everyone is asking their Teapublican member of Congress what exactly the top 2% did with the Bush giveaways because it could not have been on hiring and creating jobs or we would not be in worse shape since the 2010 Midterm elections or see the mess all around us. I feel that after three years of gridlock from the Teapublican Party of No things are about to get heated within their own Family Values Platform party. Reports are and maybe Teapublicans need reminding that over 70% of Americans want to tax millionaires and billionaires, most do not want cuts to Soc.Security or Medicare, over half of us want the new Affordable Health Care Act to be law. Yet, conservative members of Congress have given themselves over to Mr. Norquist as well as the big money brothers Koch and if you start to think about it that ditch President Obama pulled us from is a whole lot closer now that we have an extreme part of Congress controlling the House of Representatives … The question is do Teapublicans care what happens to their own family friends and co-workers jobs and status in life if they continue this lemming march toward disaster?

Anyway –

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” –George Orwell

I personally do not want to go back to colonial days we must move forward stay in the present so discrimination fails …the past fails and equal rights for all prevails.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead

Jus sayin

Other News …

Congress Returns to Negotiate Another Short-term Funding Bill

House Considers Expanding Gun-Carry Laws

Blue Cross CEO Discusses Health Care Business

House Democrats Examine Voting Law Changes

President Obama Opens APEC Summit

Grover Norquist Discusses Taxes and the “Super Committee”

News and Documentary Emmys Awarded

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Make marriage equality in Washington a reality!

11/14/2011 Nativegrl77

With the momentum for marriage equality around the country on our side and recent polling showing growing support in Washington State, now is the time to make marriage equality a reality.

Today, Jim Brunner of the Seattle Times ran a story announcing Washington United for Marriage, a vast coalition of local organizations, congregations, unions and businesses working together to secure civil marriage for loving, committed gay and lesbian couples in 2012.

HRC is a proud founding member of Washington United, and we look forward to securing marriage in Washington in the coming months. In order to do that, we need your help.

Join us across the state for Community Meetings on Marriage Equality, where you can learn about the campaign and how you can get involved. From Spokane to Gig Harbor, Vancouver to Bellingham, Washingtonians are making their voices heard.

Click here to find the community meeting in your area >>> WWW.HRC.ORG

All the best,

Marty Rouse
National Field Director

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Victory in Arizona: What’s next? Marissa Graciosa, Reform Immigration FOR America

11/11/2011 Nativegrl77

A major win
for our communities in Arizona

In April 2010, Reform Immigration FOR America and our partners supported our communities when Arizona passed the most extreme anti-immigrant bill in the United States. We held vigils. We rallied in the streets. We boycotted. Today, we stand behind Arizonans again, but for a very different purpose.

Voters in Arizona’s District 18 ousted Russell Pearce, the architect of the hate-filled bill SB 1070, Tuesday night. He’s being replaced by Jerry Lewis, a pro-immigrant candidate committed to reforming our immigration policies in a humane, just way.

This victory is a big one and we’re going to shout it from the rooftops. http://act.reformimmigrationforamerica.org/go/1129?akid=776.164689.ecXJBU&t=5

Pearce’s bill set the devastating tone for the rest of the nation’s immigration policies over the last 18 months. Anti-immigrant copycat bills were introduced in several states and a few were even passed. In Alabama, state legislators used SB1070 as the model to create the most extreme anti-immigrant bill in the country.

Join us on Facebook to talk about what this victory means for our communities.

By ousting Pearce, we’ve shown we’re resilient, we’re powerful, and we’re going to keep fighting for our rights. In 2012, anti-immigrant legislators will now have to think twice before pursuing anti-immigrant policies in our states.

Congratulations on this victory,

Marissa Graciosa
Reform Immigration FOR America