Monthly Archives: July 2023

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the New York Power Authority, and New York City’s Housing Authority put out a call for innovation to develop induction stoves that use existing 120-volt outlets. Why induction stoves? less likely to create fire hazards as induction cooktops are cool to the touch. Not only […]

 Rhode Island joins Detroit and other local and state governmental entities that are starting web based housing listings for affordable housing. Rhode Island’s goal is to ensure that barriers to housing do not include  “Finding basic information on available units throughout our state and how to apply shouldn’t be one of them.”   Route Fifty | Watch out Zillow: […]

Legislators in South Dakota are calling for a special session to prohibit the use of eminent domain “to strip property rights from landowners for the benefit of an out-of-state private company with foreign investors.” The pro-private property rights legislators are joined by environmentalists who are concerned by safety and the potential environmental impact of the […]

A neighborhood in North Carolina named 1776 requires homeowners to display the U.S. flag 365/24/7. No other flags are permitted, including the state flag. Welcome to the world where neighborhoods are political statements. WFAE | New housing development in Gastonia requires ‘patriots’ to fly American flag

The Department of Energy has launched a $90 million grant program to help states and local governments update their building codes. Residential and commercial buildings make up 40% of the U.S. energy consumption. 35% of communities have modern building codes according to FEMA. The communities that do not have  modern building codes,  lost $32 billion […]

Los Angeles is creating a public bank to fund affordable housing. Supporters say the public bank will be more willing to fund affordable housing and “better than private banks to serve Black and Latino communities, small businesses, green energy initiatives.” Los Angeles has the power to do this because of 2020’s AB 857. Los Angeles […]

Florida’s SB 540 (2023 | FL) signed by Gov. De Santis is being called a way to  “level the playing field” for developers going up against local governments with large tax bases who might stretch out the time of the lawsuit and rack up expensive attorney fees, according to the bill’s author. For the bill’s opponents, it […]

 5 states have adopted building performance standards to address building energy efficiency. Oregon, Colorado, Maryland, Washington and the District of Columbia have all adopted building performance standards. California, Rhode Island, Minnesota and New York, are considering similar legislation. In Washington D.C. buildings are an estimated to be  75% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Route […]