Barbara Samuels

How much is due to sources upstream in Baltimore Co? is Everyone living above the URDL just dumps their waste into backyard septic tanks. From from there it leaches into groundwater, the waterways and the reservoirs. After rains E Coli from septic has been found in the Gunpowder.

I am pretty convinced that the way we fund many things in the US is largely broken. Non-profits, affordable housing, transit projects, and numerous other social goods rely on deeply fragmented funding, where each funding source comes with its own strings. Funding is always on the edge.

To My Baltimore A city I once resentedbecame the pinnacle of my truest desire. In my years of uncertainty,travesty,and blur—you, my Baltimore, saved the day. Over these past weeks,I’ve built communion in creative san...

has me in my greatest city in america feels.

baltimorebeat.com/to-my-baltim...

this is wild: while Stephen Miller's guy was in Minnesota for his uncle's funeral, somebody was able to see his entire phone and take pictures of his Signal group chats talking about military deployments to Portland, and brought them to the Strib (gift link: www.startribune.com/trump-offici...)

A key but overlooked aspect of the housing crisis—the lack of family friendly housing. The deliberate failure of most localities to meeting the need is not just a market rate issue—LIHTC also builds few 3BRs or is senior-only. Yet safe, stable housing in healthy n-hoods is most critical for kids.

So press the issue like you mean it, Dems! Hakeem Jeffries should conduct a swearing in ceremony and she should show up to claim het seat when Congress goes into session. Dare Johnson to bar her from entering the chamber and voting to represent her constituents.

This is a good thread to show the big increase in health insurance premium without the tax credits.
Medicare for All would go a long way to mitigating these issues but it has struggled to gain enough support to move it along

How did we decline so far & so fast from the Greatest Generation to the Me, me, me Generation?

Kill two birds w/ one stone: Greenleigh should get a library—& it should have affordable apartments built above it. This is being done in places all around the country. The cost savings are obvious. And Greenleigh shouldnt have gotten so much public subsidy & favors w/o any affordable housing.

What? You think affordable housing is free? Of course County development subsidies should trigger affordability requirements, & of course its appropriate for those subsidies to go toward defraying costs of affordable homes. And by all means make these provisions countywide going forward.

Given variety in markets nothing surprising about variation by state. But look at low incomes & affordability levels of voucher holders. Without these subsidies tens of millions of households <30% AMI are shut out of the standard rental market, even Class C. And we only fund enough for 1:4 eligible.

Trump Plan Could Make It Harder for First-Time Homebuyers To Get Mortgages

The FHFA is proposing a change that would weaken Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s affordable housing goals, consumer advocates warn.

Explicit racism/classism has fallen out of fashion, but many of the arguments against apartments made by early zoners remain familiar, e.g. disparaging remarks about developers getting rich building them—as if "provide valued good/service, get paid" isn't the entire premise of a market economy.

Too many 'housing investors' aren't investing at all. They're betting on your neighborhood getting more expensive - without lifting a finger to improve it. Here's why that distinction matters for housing policy. bit.ly/4jWs6cP

The history of Nazis holding rallies in left-wing areas of Weimar Germany, instigating street fights, and then telling the press that only they could save Germany from the "violent communists" seems like an important thing for people to be studying right now.

In sum, the President is certainly entitled "a great level of deference," Newsom II, 141 F.4th at 1048, in his determination that he "is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States." 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3). But "a great level of deference" is not equivalent to ignoring the facts on the ground. As the Ninth Circuit articulated, courts must "review the President's determination to ensure that it reflects a colorable assessment of the facts and law PAGE 22 - OPINION AND ORDER Case 3:25-cv-01756-IM Document 56 Filed 10/04/25 Page 23 of 31 within a 'range of honest judgment.'" Id. at 1051 (quoting Sterling, 278 U.S. at 399). Here, this Court concludes that the President did not have a "colorable basis" to invoke § 12406(3) to federalize the National Guard because the situation on the ground belied an inability of federal law enforcement officers to execute federal law. Id. at 1051-52. The President's determination was simply untethered to the facts. c. Whether there is a Rebellion or Danger of Rebellion Defendants also aroue that the Sentember 28 2025 federalization order is authorized

If a federal judge, appointed by Trump, can call him “simply untethered to facts,” our White House press corps can as well.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Like the way you think!

First page of the PDF memo document linked in the post.

Memo from National Housing Law Project Staff:
Rights of Federally Assisted Residents during #Government #Shutdown

"overview of the impact of the federal government shutdown on tenants in the largest federally assisted housing programs"
#HUD #HAP #HCV #RAD #housing

www.nhlp.org/wp-content/u...

Affordable housing challenge by 27 N.J. towns rejected by judge This new ruling means 27 N.J. towns must move forward with affordable housing plans.

NIMBY towns determined to appeal after losing major challenge against New Jersey's affordable housing laws.
I don't rate their chances. The judge who threw out their case is Robert Lougy, a Chris Christie appointee, who is known himself as a bit of a NIMBY. www.nj.com/politics/202...

Maryland Tenant Protections for Furloughed Federal Employees | Economic Action MD Fund In Maryland, an involuntarily furloughed federal employee at risk of eviction can ask the court to pause the eviction during the shutdown

Important tenant protection information for furloughed Maryland federal employees: econaction.org/tenant-advoc...

The right wing capture of SCOTUS made this possible. The GOP appointees have been playing along w/ the Federalist society plan to redefine accepted legal practices as unconstitutional. Unlike 1930’s Germany, our institutions & businesses must refuse to go along to get along.

Trump is not trying to speak to the American people about his intentions, much less world leaders. He is speaking to the radical segments of his base in language that they understand all too well. Pay attention to Stephen Miller —he is the one delivering the fascist messaging more directly.

New scam, new faces, old story. Private equity doesnt get its hands dirty buying up rowhouses in Baltimore. Instead PE & other Wall Street lenders finance small time, unscrupulous or naive out of town “investors” who think they can get rich quick by exploiting Baltimore’s Black n-hoods & renters.

Blog: Rushing to Privatize Fannie and Freddie Would Make Housing More Expensive While Putting the Entire U.S. Economy at Risk - Americans for Financial Reform The Trump administration has called for the recapitalization and return to private control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which provide critical support for the mortgage market.

Yep. And for more reasons why this is a terrible proposal, see dans-newsletter-cfccf2.beehiiv.com/p/trump-s-ip...

Trump’s Slumlord Administration Is Gutting the Fair Housing Act There can’t be true desegregation without ending discrimination in housing—which is precisely why the administration is rolling back enforcement of the FHA.

www.thenation.com/article/poli...

diagram: Share of occupied apartments in buildings with 20+ units as of 2023, by decade of unit construction

interesting report from IFS with @bobbyfijan.bsky.social on the lack of family sized homes in US apartments due in part to financing regiments leading to market failures and overproduction of studios and 1BR homes.

also note the plug for single stair buildings.

ifstudies.org/report-brief...

7819 Overbrook, Towson, MD 21204 - 4 beds/3.5 baths (BRIGHT MLS) For Sale: 4 beds, 3.5 baths ∙ 2902 sq. ft. ∙ 7819 Overbrook, Towson, MD 21204 ∙ $999,000 ∙ MLS# MDBC2131568 ∙ Located in the heart of Ruxton at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, this all-bri...

Modest for Ruxton at $1 M, this house sits on big .7 ac lot INSIDE the URDL & Beltway on public water & sewer. If the County wants to keep the URDL, it cant also keep inefficient low density zoning & stymie new housing on remaining 1/3 of land & public infrastructure INSIDE the URDL.
redf.in/ZXve4x

There's lots of cool survey data in @bobbyfijan.bsky.social and @lymanstoneky.bsky.social's new report on family-friendly apartments. Most surprising to me is the parents do not place a huge premium on a short commute compared to non-parents. ifstudies.org/report-brief...

"In this house, we ..." on a yard sign, and they drive to planning meetings to shout down any development.

These people actually exist. It makes me sick.

Most red states are being run by madmen and becoming hellholes for normies who care about basic government services, the right to an abortion & LGBT rights

it’s time for blue states to lock in, build housing, build transit, and build state capacity so we can thrive from red state refugee migration