FANNIE MAE IS BADLY IN NEED OF REFORM & NEW LEADERSHIP MINUS CONGRESS' INTERVENTION (NO BAIL OUT)

FANNIE MAE IS BADLY IN NEED OF REFORM & NEW LEADERSHIP MINUS CONGRESS' INTERVENTION (NO BAIL OUT):

WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL INTERFERENCE, FANNIE MAE STAFF CAN NO LONGER USE POLITICS TO HURT HOMEOWNERS WHO VOTE OPPOSITE OF THEIR CHOSEN CANDIDATES.

WITHOUT CONGRESS' HELP, FANNIE MAE STAFF CAN NO LONGER STEAL HOMES WITH EQUITY FROM U.S. MILITARY VETERANS WHO VOTE OPPOSITE OF THEIR CHOSEN CANDIDATES.


Post Sources: American Banker, Forbes, Fox News, Youtube


********How next FHFA chief can reform Fannie, Freddie without Congress' help


The legislative stalemate over housing finance reform is likely to prolong the uncertain future for the government-sponsored enterprises. But it also illuminates the power of the next head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

With FHFA Director Mel Watt's term due to end in January, his successor — either a Senate-confirmed appointee or an interim chief — has substantial authority to set part of the path forward on GSE reform, including how far Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expand their mission and the status of a common securitization platform shared by the two mortgage giants.

“Reforms can move forward without legislation,” said Anne Canfield, executive director of the Consumer Mortgage Coalition. “There are things that can be done administratively that would reduce the government’s exposure and risk to the GSEs and bring private capital into the marketplace, but in a little bit of a different way.”

That highlights the importance of whomever the Trump administration selects for the job. It could be someone who differs from Watt — an Obama appointee — in style and policy, who could opt to go as far as placing the mortgage giants into receivership.

“I don’t think we’re going to have legislative GSE reform anytime, but the day-to-day decisions they make, whether to approve a pilot or fund the Housing Trust Fund, these are significant decisions that will impact the trajectory of mortgage finance,” said Isaac Boltansky, the director of policy research at Compass Point.

During his tenure, Watt has appeared cautious about changing Fannie and Freddie's role in the absence of congressional reforms.

"I am well aware, and regularly express my belief, that conservatorship should never be viewed as permanent or as a desirable end state and that housing finance reform is necessary," Watt said in a 2014 policy speech early in his FHFA tenure. "However, Congress and the administration have the important job of deciding on housing finance reform legislation, not FHFA. Instead, our task is to continue to fulfill our statutory mandates, to execute our strategic plan and to manage the present status of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

But observers said his successor could take advantage of the agency's powers to move in the direction of reducing the GSEs' role.

Before Watt arrived, the agency was run on an acting basis by Ed DeMarco, who had joined the agency in the Bush administration and was seen as more opposed to expanding Fannie and Freddie's reach.

“It depends on the person," said Canfield. "It really depends on who they select.”

Some candidates who have been mentioned as possible successors to Watt — including DeMarco himself along with retiring House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling — have been vocal about reducing the government’s role in the mortgage market.

In February, when Fannie requested a $3.7 billion draw from the Treasury, Hensarling harshly criticized giving the company any more bailout funds.

“Today’s announcement that Fannie Mae has once again run out of money to pay its own bills is the latest example of why we need to repeal the GSEs’ government charters once and for all," he said then in a statement, adding criticism later of Watt's handling of the companies' fiscal situation.

"The even more troubling aspect of the GSEs financial crisis is FHFA Director Mel Watt’s continued insistence to siphon taxpayer dollars to prop up payments to the Housing Trust Fund that the GSEs cannot afford to make," Hensarling said. "If the GSEs don’t have the money to pay their own bills, they should not be making optional payments to outside entities."

While Watt's term will end in early 2019, a pair of recent scandals facing the agency has led some to speculate he could leave sooner. Watt has been accused of sexually harassing an FHFA staffer and is reportedly under a separate investigation for attempting to weaken the oversight of the FHFA Office of Inspector General.

Before a new nominee is Senate-confirmed, the White House could appoint one of Watt’s three lieutenants to serve as acting director or appoint a temporary director under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act when Watt leaves.

“If there’s a prolonged period where we have an acting director … I think that it would be a slower decision-making process and more of a caretaker,” said Boltansky.

But Canfield disagreed, saying that the administrative decisions made by an acting director could depend on the person.

“I think the acting director can do quite a bit,” she said. “I would hope that they would get a permanent director in there but if they’re not able to do that, I think they can all move forward with an acting director.”

If the White House were to move quickly to nominate a successor to Watt, it would signal that the administration wants to move quickly to end conservatorship and implement reforms of the mortgage finance system, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods wrote in recent a research note.

“However, it is difficult to say what policy path the administration will pursue until we see what personnel it intends to insert at FHFA,” the company said.

Of all the actions a director could take, the most significant would be to put Fannie and Freddie into a receivership, which supporters claim would restructure the GSEs without burdening taxpayers.

Among the other decisions the next FHFA director could make would be to determine the courts of efforts to implement a common securitization platform, which would allow Fannie and Freddie to issue uniform mortgage-backed securities. The FHFA has pushed the second phase of the process to June 2019 — after Watt’s departure.

The director will also be at liberty to decide whether or not to continue Fannie's pilot Enterprise-Paid Mortgage Insurance program and Freddie's similar Integrated Mortgage Insurance pilot, which both debuted this year. Some have criticized the mortgage insurance programs as being too far outside the bounds of the GSEs’ mission.

An FHFA director with the view that the GSEs' footprint should be reduced could oppose the mortgage insurance pilots.

However, the pilot programs are too new to automatically write off, and the FHFA director could just as easily wait to see if the programs are effective before making a decision to implement them further, said Laurence Platt, an attorney at Mayer Brown.

“I don’t think this is an issue that will be dependent on who the new FHFA director is,” Platt said. “I don’t think there’s a partisan side to this, per se.”

To be sure, there are clear limits on what the next FHFA director can do administratively. Creating some new housing finance structure to replace the GSEs is the territory of Congress. Instituting an explicit government guarantee or changing the ownership charter or structure of the GSEs would need congressional approval, which is unlikely to happen in the short term.

Besides congressional reforms, there are other policy areas where the FHFA cannot move unilaterally. The FHFA would have to work with the Treasury Department to change the preferred stock purchase agreements, which require Fannie and Freddie to direct nearly all of their profit to Treasury. Investors have long claimed this is unfair, and have unsuccessfully challenged the legality of this agreement in court for several years.

New York's 78 Square Feet Apartment Rents For $800.00 Monthly! A Deal!

New Yorker pays $800 a month for 78-square-foot apartment


It may be small, but it's no bargain.

New York architect Luke Clark Tyler rents a 78-square foot studio apartment for $800 a month in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, where studios usually average $1,900 per month. But in a neighborhood where the average rental price per square foot in a studio is $72, Tyler is paying almost twice as much at $123.07 per square foot, according to Mark Menendez, the director of rentals at Prudential Douglas Elliman.

"I think it's too high," Menendez said. He added that, especially with New York real estate, the price per square foot can increase as the square footage decreases, and vice-versa.

"But again it's all relative. Where can you find something for $800 in Manhattan?," he said. "Location trumps value."

For 27-year-old Tyler, who has lived in New York City on and off since 2002, avoiding long commutes is worth the tiny living space in Midtown.

"I was spending my life in a skyscraper and going underground, to work and then back again," he said. "I was missing out on anything New York had to offer. If I had to choose spending time in a train or living in a small space, I’d choose a small space."

He said he saw some studio apartments in Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood that stretches from 34th Street to 59 Street on the West Side, that were beautiful, but were priced around $1,600.

"I just rather use that extra $800 to do something else, like take classes or enjoy the city," he said.

Although Tyler doesn't have to deal with a work commute any more (he works from home now), he likes his Midtown location because of its proximity to dance studios, another passion that New York has allowed him to pursue.

So after seeing only a couple of apartments, he settled on his shoebox apartment, smaller than his last 96-square-foot apartment in the same neighborhood. He spent up to $200 on building custom furniture, which includes a couch that folds down into a bed and extra storage space built into a closet.

He said that of his building's three floors, the top floor has four units similar to his, but have been occupied by short-term renters or occasional New York visitors. He has been living in the apartment since May 2010.

If he could add something small to his apartment, he'd choose a sink, because then at least he could "jerry rig" himself a little kitchen.

"A sink is really great," he said. "My last apartment had a sink, it was just awesome."

Tyler shares a bathroom with three other similarly-sized apartments. He said he'd prefer a kitchen over a bathroom, though.


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Sources: Fair Companies, MSNBC, Youtube, Google Maps

Jimmy Murphey: Real Life Hero Receives New Home! Fed Poor 40 Yrs

Jimmy Murphey Given New Home After Helping Others For 40 Years


A man who spent a lifetime feeding an estimated quarter million people, including the tired, cold and hungry who showed up at his front door over the holidays, is about to move into a new home.

"Ooh, let me tell you about that,” said 81-year-old Jimmy Murphey as his eyes lit up.

There's a story behind Murphey's new house on Woodsdale Place in Concord.

Don't get him wrong.

He's thankful for it.

But it was very, very hard to accept.

"I am a giver, but I am a poor receiver. I recognize that,” he said.

Murphey spent his entire life giving.

It was a lesson learned from his mother, despite the family's struggles.

"We needed food and social services denied us,” he explained. “My mom was only making 50 cents a week and they thought my mom was making too much money."

When it came to eating, Murphey’s mother made the rules.

"What we have, share,” he said.

He did.

Over 40 years, he fed an estimated quarter million people during Christmas.

He'd cook for days straight.

A few stories stand out.

"Six, seven kids came here, had nothing to eat at home, the children especially came here barefoot,” he said.

But it was hard when friends, neighbors, businesses and volunteers wanted to help him.

His old house where he fed the masses was falling apart.

"There's rotting of the windows, the foundation is cracking,” said helpers, looking at his old house last year.

"There's no heating and air, it doesn't work properly."

Those helpers decided Murphey needed a new house. They raised money, tore down the old one and built new one on the same lot.

"For me to go out and ask people to help me personally, I can't do that. I will never do it,” he said.

Advice from three close friends finally convinced him it was ok.

"I am very thankful for my house."

So many people are thankful for Jimmy Murphey.

Age and illness means Murphey doesn't cook for the masses anymore.

But he still says he needs your help.

This year, he's handing out bags of groceries and toys at Barber Scotia College on Dec. 24 and still needs donations.

You can donate to the Jimmy Murphey Christmas Fund at Wachovia bank branches on Church Street and Union Street in Concord, as well as Grace Lutheran Church on Tournament Street in Concord.


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Sources: Jimmy Murphey New Home Project, WCNC, Google Maps

North Carolina's Terrible Mental Health System Investigated By Feds!

Feds Launch Probe Of N.C. Mental Health System


The U.S. Justice Department has opened a formal investigation into North Carolina's struggling mental health system, the first step in a process that could trigger a federal edict for sweeping reform.

The probe is the result of a complaint filed in July by the advocacy group Disability Rights North Carolina, which contends that the state is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act for failing to provide proper housing for people with mental illness.

Nearly a decade after the state Department of Health and Human Services closed thousands of beds in government-run psychiatric hospitals as part of a reform effort, more than 6,400 people with severe mental illness are housed in adult care homes scattered across the state, living in sometimes squalid and dangerous conditions.

The mental patients, their care typically paid for with taxpayer money, are often far younger than the elderly residents with whom they are housed. In the last two years, at least four residents with mental illness have been killed by fellow patients who had histories of severe mental illness and violence.

Vicki Smith, the executive director of Disability Rights, said the federal investigation could force the state to take actions to fix the mistakes made during North Carolina’s 2001 reform effort, which has also resulted in people with mental illness routinely languishing for days in emergency rooms because no bed in a psychiatric facility is available.

Word of the federal investigation also comes as the state is debating further cuts to the state’s mental health system and moving to close Dorothea Dix Hospital.

“Now DHHS is going to have to answer a whole series of questions about why mental health reform has failed,” Smith said. “This is huge, from our point of view. Huge.”

The Justice Department informed the state of its pending investigation through a five page letter received by DHHS administrators in Raleigh on Thursday. However, the state department did not publically reveal the news until it issued a three-sentence media release earlier today, hours before the start of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Renee McCoy, a spokeswoman for the state agency, said there would be no comment beyond the media release, which said the state will “work with the Department of Justice to provide all necessary documents and information in response to the complaint.”



Budget Cuts Hitting North Carolina's Mental Health System With Vengeance


Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and social anxiety disorder, Vinh Gazoo has been in a psychiatric hospital five times.

Recently released from jail after a six-month sentence stemming from a crime resulting from his mental health issues, Gazoo says he now survives week to week because of the Mental Health Association in North Carolina.

nonprofit association that helps mental health patients, the organization helps pay for his medication. Its employees and volunteers drive him to doctor's appointments and therapy sessions.

Gazoo was notified this week that those services have been dropped because of state budget cuts.

The $19 billion state budget resulted in a nearly 12.75 percent or $738 million decrease in the Department of Health and Human Services' anticipated $5.54 billion budget for the fiscal year.

About $75 million of DHHS's community services $390 million budget, which helps fund the Mental Health Association was cut, according to executive director John Tote.

"The cuts we have been waiting on from the General Assembly, they're here now, and they're hitting with a vengeance," he said.

Now, the Mental Health Association is laying off approximately 40 percent of its employees.

"Those 175 folks – in the positions they have – affect the lives of about 2,000 individuals across the state (who have) significant mental illness," Tote said.

He estimates approximately 4,000 mental health providers across the state will soon be out of work. The result, he says, will be thousands of patients without services.

Tote blames lawmakers, saying they were much more concerned with politics than providing services for DHHS.

Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, who serves on the state House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services and also chairs the mental health legislative committee, agrees.

Insko says she doesn't think most lawmakers fully grasped the budget cuts and the impact they would have. For many people with mental illness, she says, there is no safety net other than emergency rooms and mental hospitals.

"As an advocate, it's galling," Tote said. "As a person, it's sad – terribly sad."

For Gazoo – now, his option is a walk-in clinic, but he says he has no way to pay for the services he needs and no way to get there. He says he'll likely either wind up back in jail or in a psychiatric facility.

"That's the two choices I have, because without my medication, I get pretty violent," he said.



Feds Indict Former Chief Of Charlotte Non-profit Group Serving Mental Health Patients


The former leader of a Charlotte nonprofit mental health agency has been indicted on charges that he embezzled nearly $150,000 from the program.

Prosecutors said in court documents Wednesday that 50-year-old Edward Gerard Payton directed employees of Mecklenburg Open Door to provide him loans or payment advances. Authorities contend he actually embezzled the money, and only repaid part of it.

The court documents also say Payton used agency credit cards and vehicles inappropriately.

The documents contend that Open Door shuffled funds that belonged to clients when regular funds ran short because of Payton's activities. One charge says Payton was warned about the seriousness of his activities by the agency's former CFO, but continued to embezzle. The indictment claims Payton used the money to pay alimony, child support, and tax liens.

Mecklenburg Open Door ran several group homes and helped manage finances for many mentally ill and homeless clients. Payton was the agency's executive director from 2006 to August of this year. He was fired after the board of directors confronted him about the money.

Mecklenburg County severed its relationship with the agency in Nov. 1. They have since hired a new agency called Monarch to take over its responsibilities.

Payton was arrested Wednesday. Court records don't list an attorney, and a message left at a phone number listed in his name was not returned. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of his five counts.

Mecklenburg County has reacted to the scandal by changing its standards for county contractors like Mecklenburg Open Door. Outside agencies will now be required to have yearly audits of finances.

"We're actually going beyond what general accounting standards require to make sure that Mecklenburg County residents know we are watching their money," said Jennifer Roberts, chairwoman of the Mecklenburg County Commission.





Kenneth Jermaine Chapman's Death vs Carolinas Medical Center's Racist System


Carolinas Medical Center/ Carolinas Health Care System has been previously sued on numerous occasions by several African-American families for Racist Medical practices leading to premature, medically preventable deaths.

Many of those lawsuits were quietly settled with families of those Black patients who died due to intentional improper care or NEGLIGENCE.

Such lawsuits and bad reputation is the reason why Carolinas Medical Center/ Carolinas Health Care System now exist instead of Charlotte Memorial Hospital, the old CMC.

Thus its safe to say Carolinas Medical Center and Charlotte Memorial Hospital are one in the same.

How do I know this?

I always do my research and I talk to people personally affected by what I post on my Blog.

People will tell me things they might not disclose to the Charlotte Observer because the Charlotte Observer has a history of practicing Biased reporting and Discrimination in its publication of articles.

Kenneth Jermaine Chapman was an African-American Charlotte citizen who recently killed three members of his family and later himself.

Prior to his destructive actions he desperately sought Mental Health Care assistance from Charlotte's Carolinas Medical Center.

In fact he sent out an S.O.S. which was intentionally ignored.

Mr. Chapman clearly, verbally expressed to CMC Staff he had thoughts of hurting others and killing himself.

Did CMC Staff report his thoughts to Charlotte DSS even though they knew this man had minor children in the home?

NO!

They didn't give a darn because Ken Chapman was Black and wasn't an affluent citizen.

Now if Ken Chapman had connections with an Affluent, Politically-connected Black Charlotte citizen, than of course they may have taken Mr. Chapman's situation more seriously, but because he was just a poor Black man they didn't give a darn!

The result?

A Black Man who killed his wife, two of his children and than later himself.

If you think Jennifer Roberts (board chair) and the other Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Commissioners are seriously concerned about this matter or seriously concerned about investigating Mr. Chapman's case...DON'T BET ON IT!

If you think Charlotte's weak, scared Black Leaders are going to speak up...DON'T BET ON IT!

The only two Charlotte-Meck. County Commissioners who do really care, Harold Cogdell Jr. & Vilma Leak (both African-Americans) will be blocked from doing anything constructive by Jennifer Roberts (board chair), "Ms. N.C. Corruption" herself.

This tragic incident helps to further demonstrate how Racism is deeply woven into all facets and levels of Charlotte, NC's community, including the Health Care System.

Charlotte's other main Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital isn't much better.

Its a private facility where Blacks go in but don't come out.

Presbyterian Hospital also has a long history of Black Patients needlessly dying but that's a story for another day.

As I was saying Carolinas Medical Center's staff intentionally did NOT prevent Mr. Chapman's death, nor did they help protect his family however.....

I'll bet Mr. Chapman's surviving relatives receive a huge bill for his so-called "treatment".

In fact thousands upon thousands of African-Americans within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Region have Carolinas Medical Center Medical Bills on their Credit Reports.

Many of those bills are decades old.

Many of those bills are due to Billing errors from Carolinas Medical Center.

Many of those bills are due to Carolinas Medical Center INTENTIONALLY overbilling Black patients.

How does Carolinas Medical Center skirt Federal Law as it relates to Medical Bills which are older than 7 years old?

Carolinas Medical Center pays Equifax, Experian and Trans Union Credit Reporting agencies to sell those old Medical bill accounts to Debt Collectors, who create new account numbers for those decades old bills and continue screwing up the Credit Ratings for hundreds of thousands of North Carolina's Black citizens.

Is this really Racism you ask??

Yes!

For White Patients treated by Carolinas Medical Center staff everything is handled entirely different.

White Patients who visit Carolinas Medical Center for treatment receive proper care regardless of their situation and...

They aren't intentionally overcharged, neither are their Credit Reports damaged even if they don't possess Medical Insurance because NOT every White patient has Private Medical Insurance, just like there are many Black patients treated at CMC who DO possess Private Medical Insurance.

I'd say its time for the Federal Gov't including the FTC, to take a look at how Carolina Medical Center intentionally provides inadequate treatment to its Black patients, how they consistently & intentionally overbill Black patients and how they are paying big bucks to 3 major Credit Reporting agencies (mainly Equifax) for the sole purpose of selling Medical Bill Accounts which are decades old to Debt Collectors.

Just watch the Levine Family, old Charlotte money and one of Carolinas Medical Center/ Carolinas Health Care System largest contributors, use their big bucks to help defend CMC in any possible lawsuit.

The Levine Family is Charlotte's "Savior".

They often come to Charlotte's aid in a crisis however ONLY after the crisis occurs.

They run Charlotte's so-called Leaders including Jennifer Roberts and Anthony Foxx.

The Levines are most likely indirectly involved in most of Charlotte's Racist activities being carried out however, because they are super rich everyone is afraid of them.

If Ken Chapman were a White Man residing in Charlotte, NC neither he nor his family members would be dead today.

Or at least his family members would be alive today.

Both Carolinas Medical Center/ Carolinas Health Care System, Charlotte DSS and quite possibly the Levine Family are ALL legally Responsible for the Chapman Family's death stemming from total NEGLIGENCE.

If I were related to Mr. Chapman's family I would most definitely SUE and demand a Federal Probe to be conducted.

Sadly enough Kenneth Jermaine Chapman's relatives are probably uneducated or too afraid of Charlotte's Racist, Unfair systems to take legal action.

Charlotte's Racist, Scared Leaders know this which is why nothing will probably change.






Patient Advocates: N.C.'s Mental Health System Needs Fixing


Recent reports of patient abuse and neglect at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro is more proof that the state's troubled mental health-care system needs restructuring and more funding, patient advocates say.

"There isn't a system of psychiatric facilities in this state," said Vicki Smith, executive director of Disability Rights North Carolina. "What we have are individual hospitals."

Smith said there needs to be a consistent standard level of care across the state's four psychiatric hospitals and that right now, hospitals only try to meet the minimum standards of care to receive funding.

She blamed that on job vacancies, lack of training, lack of supervision and oversight and inadequate pay. Many state agencies also rely on a temporary work force, and that means the quality of patient care is not always the same, she said.

Better recruiting and retention are needed, she said, to attract more qualified and attractive job candidates.

It's something the state's mental health oversight committee also suggested at a meeting earlier this week. John Tote, with the Mental Health Association in North Carolina, says the General Assembly needs to make more funding available.

Advocates believe Health and Human Services Secretary Dempsey Benton has taken aggressive steps to overhaul the system since taking over last year.

For example, he's starting to hold workers more accountable, Smith said. His recent decision to close a ward at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro in the wake of a patient's death sends a big message, she said, partly because there aren't enough beds for patients there.

On Thursday, Benton said the Division of Mental Health must find an independent hospital management firm to evaluate Cherry Hospital.

However, Smith and Tote are concerned that any progress Benton is making could suffer a setback when a new governor is elected in November and if a new DHHS secretary is appointed.

"Four months left scares me," Smith said. "What concerns me is that with a new administration, the tendency will be to study the problems."

That would not be true if the gubernatorial candidates are already investigating and discussing the problems the mental health system faces. Advocates say they have not heard any specific plans from either candidate so far, however.

"Folks are going to be behind the eight ball, and if that's the case we'll see a perpetuation of the situation," Tote said.



North Carolina Mental-Hospital Workers To Be Re-trained After Patient Abuse Claim


The Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says workers at a troubled state mental hospital will be retrained following an allegation of abuse that went unreported for several days.

"The patient was not harmed. The issue was that they handled it improperly, so we're going to make sure that we're restructuring a whole bunch of training at Cherry Hospital," Lanier Cansler said Thursday. "It really gave us a clue to the fact that they thought they were doing it right."

The intensive training will be for everyone who works at the Goldsboro facility and involve a list of prohibited actions that result in immediate termination, Cansler said.

Cherry Hospital is in jeopardy of losing approximately $800,000 in federal funding following the incident last month in which a mental health technician dragged a 22-year-old male patient and covered his face with a pillow to keep him from spitting while staff tried to restrain him.

Among the findings in a report by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the hospital "failed to provide care in a safe setting by failing to investigate the allegation of patient abuse in a timely manner" by allowing the same staff member to continue caring for the patient for 19 days after the allegation was reported.

Cansler told members of the Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Joint Legislative Oversight Committee Thursday morning that the incident went unreported for so long, not because staff tried to hide it but because they didn't know they did anything wrong.

No one will lose their job over the case, Cansler said, despite a zero-tolerance policy he put in place soon after taking over the department in 2008.

"I will not hold an employee responsible for doing something improperly if they've never been trained to do it right," he said. "That's our responsibility, and we're going to make sure it happens."

DHHS must now submit a plan of correction detailing the new training by May 21 to CMS, which oversees the federal insurance plans and reimburses hospitals for treating patients under the programs.

The federal agency revoked Cherry Hospital's certification in 2008, when a 50-year-old patient died after staff left him sitting unattended in a chair for nearly 24 hours. The hospital lost an estimated $8 million to $10 million in federal funding as a result.

Three employees were ultimately fired, two resigned and 10 others were disciplined in that incident. Several former employees were also charged with and convicted of physically and sexually assaulting patients in other cases.

Mental health advocates and state officials have blamed a lack of training and inadequate pay as contributing factors to the problems the hospital has faced.

Canser said Gov. Bev Perdue's proposed budget for the next fiscal year provides $500,000 for additional training at state facilities. A federal match would bring the total to around $800,000.


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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, WCNC, WRAL, Google Maps

Jesse Jackson Visits Charlotte, Personally Confronts BOFA Officials (Foreclosures)

Jesse Jackson Asks Banks To Help Struggling Homeowners


The Rev. Jesse Jackson is in Charlotte, challenging big banks to do more home loan modifications for people who are on the verge of losing their homes.

Jackson warned that if the banks don't start doing better, he may call for some of the same tactics used during the Civil Rights Movement, including protests.

"The government bailed out the banks. The banks will not bail out the people," said Jackson, who planned to try to meet with top executives of Bank of America, which is headquartered in Charlotte.

Jackson said he thought the Obama administration's bailout of the banks was the right thing to do but said he did not think it went far enough.

"Maybe the error, in retrospect, is that the bailout had no linkage to lending. No linkage to reinvesting," Jackson said.

Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition set up a meeting at St. Paul's Baptist Church on North Allen Street, where people who were having trouble paying their mortgage could meet with representatives of a number of area banks.

One woman there for help did not want to give her name but said, "I started with a monthly payment of $615 and now I am at $1,047 with an adjustable rate." She was hoping she could get the payment reduced to the original amount.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan was in Charlotte Monday to hand over a $1 million check to United Way. Moynihan did not take questions about Jackson's demand or anything else.










Bank of America Shareholders Lash Out During Meeting


Bank of America's new CEO Brian Moynihan met for the first time with shareholders Tuesday in Charlotte and faced a firestorm of criticism.

The special shareholder meeting at the International Trade Center was held to consider the bank's plan to increase common shares as part of its TARP repayment.

The measure passed but some shareholders were not happy, saying it would hurt the value of their shares.

Shareholder Stella Adams said of Moynihan and other bank executives, "They want a free hand to enrich themselves at the expense of stockholders and at the expense of communities and customers."

Another shareholder, Marijke Knipscheer from Florida said, "They really don't care what happens to the people who are supporting them with their hard earned money."

Moynihan, when he spoke, said paying back the TARP money was "in the best interest of the company."

The new CEO also heard from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who urged the bank to do more home loan modifications.

Noting that Bank of America has paid back the TARP money, Jackson said, "The money is going from Washington to Wall Street, back to Washington but it has not come to the community yet."

Moynihan promised Jackson he would "do everything we can to support you."

After the passage of the vote on common shares, the bank now has about 11.3 billion common shares. Walter Massey, chairman of the board, admitted the move would dilute shares approximately 7 percent.

Shareholder Knipscheer said she felt this would only benefit the bank's executives. "I feel that a lot of these executives, they are doing what is called legalized theft."


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Sources: WCNC, Google Maps

Obama Stumps For Reid, Unveils $1.5B Housing Relief Program

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama Unveils $1.5 Billion In Housing Aid


President Barack Obama used a campaign push for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Friday to announce a new fund to support homeowners in five states hit hardest by the housing crisis.

Housing was at the center of the financial crisis that threw the economy into deep recession in late 2007.

While signs of stabilization are appearing, home foreclosures are still rising in much of the country.

Obama said he is designating $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, which have seen home prices decline more than 20 percent from their peaks.

"This fund's going to help out-of-work homeowners avoid preventable foreclosures," Obama told a town hall-style meeting at a school near Las Vegas.

"It will help homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth find a way to pay their mortgages that works for both the borrowers and the lenders alike."

Nevada is still struggling from the home market crash, and Obama's choice to make the announcement there was no accident.

The president is trying to boost Reid, a Nevada Democrat who trails potential Republican opponents by double digits in opinion polls ahead of November elections that could change the balance of power in Congress.

Reid has helped push Obama's agenda to boost the economy, overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and fight climate change, but Republican critics say he has neglected his home state while working on the national stage.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Housing Woes

After a prolonged boom that began in the late 1990s during which banks loosened lending standards and took on excessive risk, the sector suddenly lost steam and prices deflated abruptly after 2006.

While falling values have left many mortgage-holders with homes worth less than the loans on them, soaring unemployment has led to even more mortgage defaults.

There has been some recent positive news, notably a report this week showing that construction starts on new homes hit a six-month high in January. Over the past 12 months through January, housing starts were up 21 percent, a sign that underlying demand was beginning to firm again.

A senior Obama administration official said the administration knew many people were still hurting.

"We are extremely cognizant of just how difficult the housing situation remains," the official told reporters.

"But (we are) very relieved that we are in a dramatically different place today where we have very significant stabilization in prices across most of the country."

The $1.5 billion would be distributed to state agencies based on which states were suffering the most. Money could go to programs to help unemployed homeowners, for example, or borrowers who owe more on their houses than they are worth.

The official said the program came on top of the Treasury Department's recent $23 billion program for all 50 state Housing Finance Agencies.


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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

ACORN'S Federal Funding Restored!...Judge Orders

Here is video of ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis appearing on Fox News Sunday earlier this year where she was questioned by Chris Wallace. GOP Rep. Darrell Issa also appeared on the show.








Federal Judge: ACORN Funding Restored



A Federal Judge in New York ordered that ACORN’s federal funding be restored, rolling back a slew of Congressional actions that sought to stop taxpayer money from flowing to the community group on the heels of a fall full of embarrassments for it.

Nina Gershon, a district judge in New York, issued a preliminary injunction directing the US Department of Housing & Urban Development, the Office of Management & Budget, and the Treasury department to disregard a bill signed into law by President Obama that prohibited federal funding of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

“The question here is only whether the Constitution allows Congress to declare that a single, named organization is barred from all federal funding in the absence of a trial,” Gershon wrote in her opinion. “Because it does not, and because the plaintiffs have shown the likelihood of irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, I grant the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.”

Gershon said that “none of the government’s justifications stand up to scrutiny” and that “no non-punitive rational” is obvious.

ACORN was the subject of bi-partisan disdain in September, after undercover videos were released that seemed to show the organization’s employees offering advice on how to break the law. Republicans and Democrats voted to stop federal funding of the group – a measure signed into law by the president on the back of an appropriations bill.

In November, the group sued the federal government, claiming that the provision, attached to the legislative branch appropriations bill, was a bill of attainder – unconstitutional legislation that unfairly punishes one group. As part of this lawsuit, ACORN sought a Restoration of Federal Funding.

With Friday’s injunction, ACORN stands to begin receiving funds once again, including between $40,000 and $60,000 for housing assistance, according to the decision from the district court in eastern New York.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the Constitutional Rights for all Americans and for the citizens who work through ACORN to improve their communities and promote responsible lending and homeownership,” ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis said in an emailed statement.

It is also is the second in a string of victories for ACORN. An investigation by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger largely absolved the organization from any wrongdoings or illegalities in a hidden-video scandal which allegedly showed the organization’s employees offering advice on how to dodge taxes while setting up a prostitution ring of underage illegal immigrants.

Republicans are already hammering away at the decision. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a longtime critic of ACORN and author of a report on the group’s problems, framed Gershon as an “activist judge” appointed by former President Bill Clinton.

“This left-wing activist Judge is setting a dangerous precedent that left-wing political organizations plagued by criminal accusations have a constitutional entitlement to taxpayer dollars,” Issa said in a news release. “The Obama administration should immediately move to appeal this injunction.”





More tax dollars for the self-proclaimed Bank Terrorist

Despite receiving taxpayer money, NACA doesn’t provide public reports on either its loan-brokerage business or its campaign to modify mortgages. Jim Campen, an economics professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, says he tried in the 1990s to analyze the performance of loans arranged by NACA, but Mr. Marks refused to provide data.

Mr. Marks says he feared the data would be used by another nonprofit to discredit his group. NACA does provide information to lenders that work with it, he says, but sees no duty to disclose it to the public.

“He’s been very effective in shaking money out of the banks,” says Mr. Campen, but “he’s not one to open up his records to public scrutiny.” Wall Street Journal
Article dated * May 20, 2009




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Sources: ACORN, Politico, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Michelle Malkin, Youtube, Google Maps

Charlotte Politicians Receive Big Buck$ From Developers...This Explains City's Forgotten Corridors

Where Developer Money Flows (Explains Charlotte's forgotten Corridors: Southwest, East, Northeast, West, Northwest)


At last week's East Charlotte candidate forum, one question the neighborhood group asked of all Charlotte City Council candidates was whether they had received a campaign donation from REBIC, the Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition, a powerful lobby of developers and real estate executives. (Technically the campaign donation is from its PAC known by SPAACE.)

Libertarian Travis Wheat, Democrat Darrin Rankin's wife (who was representing him) and Republicans Matthew Ridenhour and Jaye Rao reported no REBIC donations as of last week. Democrats Patrick Cannon and David Howard and Republicans Edwin Peacock III and Tariq Scott Bokhari all reported receiving a total of $1,000.

Despite the lack of REBIC money, Rankin's campaign spending reports show campaign contributions from uber-developer John Crosland ($1,000), uber-lobbyist Bailey Patrick Jr. ($100), developer Howard Bissell III (son of Howard "Smokey" Bissell).

Incumbent Democrat Susan Burgess bragged last week at the forum that she had never gotten a REBIC donation, which she attributed to her positions on environmental and other issues. But a close look at her campaign reports shows generous developer money flowing her way. Here's a sampling (all are developers unless otherwise noted): Clay Grubb $1,000, David Miller $1,000, Stoney Sellars $1,000, construction magnate Luther Cochrane $750, Smokey Bissell $500, real estate lawyer Collin Brown $500, John Crosland $500, Afshin Ghazi $500, David Haggard $500, Fred Klein $500, Al Levine $500, Daniel Levine $500, Todd Mansfield of Crosland $500, Pat Rodgers of Rodgers Builders $500, real estate lawyer Jeff Brown $400, lawyer Bailey Patrick $200, John Collett $250, Jim Dulin $250, David Furman $250, Peter Pappas $250, "unknown" with Childress Klein gave $250, Ned Curran $150.

Read all the donation reports for yourself: Here's a link. Be aware that the final reports aren't due until after the election. And it's sometimes instructive to see who chips in with donations after it's clear who'll be in office. Next campaign finance report due Oct. 26. Then nothing more is due until Jan. 29. It's remarkably handy for keeping the voting public from learning who might have tossed in a big bundle right before election day.




Is Landlord Registry Proposal In Jeopardy?

Based on comments at Monday's City Council meeting and at the Tuesday City Council candidate forum in East Charlotte, I count at least five council members who have indicated they support a landlord registry program as originally proposed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department: All residential rental property owners would have to register and pay a small fee.

But the Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition lobbied against that proposal, so the City Council committee studying the matter (Democrats Warren Turner and Patsy Kinsey, and Republicans Edwin Peacock and Andy Dulin) ordered a "compromise." The compromise would register only the worst of the landlords - worst being the ones at the top of the list for criminal activity, etc.

However, council members Turner, James Mitchell, Michael Barnes and Nancy Carter all said they support full registry, not partial. Anthony Foxx did not stake himself out Monday but asked a question in order to elicit the answer that full registration would noticeably reduce the registration fee, as it would be spread over a much larger number of landlords.

Kinsey, who is on the committee that coughed out the compromise, pointed out that the compromise was the only way to get the proposal out of committee, as they were stalemated.
Susan Burgess said at the forum Tuesday she supports full registration.

If Kinsey OR Foxx were to vote for full registration rather than partial, that measure would pass.

But, as Burgess said when I asked her Tuesday about it, 6-5 isn't a veto-proof vote. Would the mayor veto it? She said she didn't know.

For those who haven't checked in on this issue, the police want a way to get problem landlords to the table to talk with police about measures to reduce crime on their properties. Police also want a way to be able to find out who the property owners are. They say it can be difficult to find telephone numbers or responsive people with some out-of-town property owners. Neighborhood activists over the years say the same thing - some property owners really don't want to be found.

The question is whether it's worth the hassle of citywide registration to get to the comparatively few landlords causing problems. REBIC and the apartment association don't think it is. The police originally said it was. (The staff needed for the program would be funded with the fees.) When told to "compromise," of course, they dutifully complied.

Key fact: The matter comes before the council in November - after the election. So anything can happen.




City council debates revised rules for landlords

The owners of crime-ridden rental properties would be required to register with the city and could be fined hundreds of dollars if they ignore requests to make changes under a revised ordinance scheduled to go before city leaders Monday night.

Members of city council's committee on community safety have spent months drafting the plan with the help of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

An initial plan to require every Charlotte landlord to register with the city has been dropped amid opposition from property owners and lobbyists with the rental industry.

"We came to an agreement that those that are causing the problems, which is less than 4-percent of all rental properties, that they have to register and they have to pay for their fair share of what’s causing the problem for the police department," said council member Edwin Peacock, who serves on the Community Safety Committee.

About one-third of the city's robberies and auto thefts occur at apartment communities, according to a police analysis of crime.

In some cases, police work for months to identify and contact the owner of a rental property where officers have responded to repeated calls.

Property owners identified by police would pay between $335 and $1300 to register with the city, a fee determined by the number of rental properties the landlord operates.

Officers would draft an improvement plan for the property and a newly formed review board would examine changes at the rental home every six months.

After 18 months, landlords who have not made significant improvements could have their rental privilages revoked and would face fines of up to $500 per day if they continue to ignore the city's demands.

"We can give CMPD a tool that is fair and is balanced," Peacock said, "We're asking for those people that are causing CMPD a lot of calls to pay for it."

If council gives its initial approval Monday for the plan, a public hearing would be scheduled for next month.

Landlords would begin registering their properties next May.


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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, The Naked City, Charmeck.org, Indy.com, Getty Images, Google Maps

ACORN'S Bertha Lewis On C-Span...She Needs To Be Fired

(ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis on C-Span.)



Stupid! (ACORN Prostitution Investigation)



(The community group ACORN, breaking into a foreclosed home to move the previous owners back in. This story was reported by WJZ TV in Baltimore.)





Now don't shoot the messenger but somehow I really feel bad for Ms. Lewis.

Although its obvious something went wrong on her end, being the kind-hearted individual that I am makes me just want to shake her and ask "WHY DIDN'T YOU FIX THIS MESS BEFORE NOW?"

Come on folks if you know your a target wouldn't it be wise to get out of the way or protect yourself?

Perhaps a few ACORN employees were disgruntled due to not being paid enough money or for being treated so poorly they intentionally cooperated with people like Mr. O'Keefe to help bring ACORN down.

Breaking locks off the doors of Foreclosured homes, providing a "Pimp" with IRS Business Tax information?

Not a good use of Taxpayer dollars if you ask me.

Its kind of hard to blame this display of stupidity within your ranks on a "GOP Smear Campaign" when your allowing such rogue behavior to be practiced.

Ms. Lewis' inaction or her refusal to clean up the blatant Corruption within ACORN prior to this probe, was a sign of Arrogance, Complacency, Denial or all three.

Nevertheless, the downfall of what may have been a very effective organization is the result.

The ACORN Board of Directors really should consider terminating Ms. Lewis.

If ACORN survives this mess, a new image starting with the hiring of a new CEO will definitely be necessary.

She also needs to stop speaking to the Media. Each time she goes on TV in that dashiki dress, it makes her appear more and more foolish.

Ms. Lewis if your going to be on TV pleading ACORN's case before the general public, can't you at least put on a suit?

This isn't the sixties. Perception is reality.

That Black Panther type stuff makes some people uncomfortable, even Black people.

Put on a suit, a nice dress or stay off TV.

Last but not least please forget about suing FOX News. Your employees were caught red-handed on tape committing crimes for goodness sake!

Just let it go and clean up what's left of ACORN.





ACORN must prove it's squeaky clean

A pretend prostitute and her pretend pimp have rattled ACORN, an anti-poverty group that has grown to become a political target of the GOP. Now it stands to lose federal funding.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, has a lot of explaining to do.

It blames Fox News shows for hammering the organization over questionable voter-registration practices this decade. And now a couple of 20-somethings, including Florida International University student Hannah Giles, set up a ``sting'' shown on YouTube where ACORN workers in several cities -- from Baltimore to San Bernardino, Calif. -- offered tax advice to run a ``prostitution'' business.

ACORN has been sloppy, and its poor management has hurt the very people it set out to help: the disenfranchised. Its management now promises mandatory employee training. That's too little, too late.

To its credit, Miami's ACORN office turned in 11 former voter-registration canvassers who are accused of faking names on nearly 200 voter forms. Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning says there is no evidence of any ``widespread attempts'' at voter fraud.

Having organizations that receive Federal funds -- even if it's a small part of ACORN's budget -- also conduct voter registration with paid canvassers is problematic. The good work ACORN has undertaken to help people find affordable housing, earn a decent minimum wage in Florida and fight predatory lending in Miami-Dade has been shattered.

The US Census Bureau already has said "no thanks" to ACORN helping with the 2010 population count, the Senate has voted to bar housing and community grants for the group and others are calling for a Justice Department investigation.

Any group receiving Federal money must show it's squeaky clean.




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Sources: ACORN, Biggovernment.com, C-Span, Miami Herald, MSNBC, NY Daily News, WJZ_TV, Politico, Youtube, Google Maps

ACORN: The GOP's Newest Weapon Against Dems...White House Rebukes Them, US House De-Funds

ACORN chooses to fight back against allegations of Fraud and Agency Misconduct. Too Late. Now because of complacent, possibly poor Leadership and very little accountability, they've completely lost the agency's federal funding all together. Double Stupid!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Stupid! (ACORN Prostitution Investigation)




White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "Obviously, the conduct that you see on those tapes is completely unacceptable. I think everyone would agree to that."

"The administration takes accountability extremely seriously."






US House votes to De-fund ACORN

The US House, in a Motion to recommit attached to the student loan bill, has voted overwhelmingly to de-fund ACORN.

It was a bipartisan vote, with more than 300 members voting for the measure. (We'll get the full numbers/vote breakdown shortly.)

This goes further than the Senate did; the Senate took money out of one bill. This is to de-fund the group completely -- for any money the House would appropriate.

*** UPDATE *** House Minority Whip Eric Cantor's office just sent around this statement:

“ACORN has violated serious federal laws, and today the House voted to ensure that taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund this corrupt organization. All federal ties should be severed with ACORN, and the FBI should investigate its activity. This united Republican effort to defund ACORN is a victory for the rule of law and taxpayers across the country.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** The vote was 345-75.



White House says ACORN must be held accountable

Days after the Census Bureau announced it would cut ties with the organizing group ACORN, and barely 24 hours after the Senate voted to withdraw funding from the lightning-rod activist group, the White House expressed support for measures to hold the group accountable for “unacceptable” behavior.

Referring to video taken by the conservative site Big Government that showed ACORN employees giving advice to individuals posing as sex traffickers, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “Obviously, the conduct that you see on those tapes is completely unacceptable. I think everyone would agree to that.”

“The administration takes accountability extremely seriously,” he added.

Characterizing the Census Bureau’s decision as a move based on a lack of confidence in ACORN’s ability to perform its expected duties, Gibbs said he was not sure whether the president would ask Democrats to pull back from any campaign-year collaboration with the group. “I don’t know that I’ve had any discussion with him about that,” Gibbs said.




ACORN -- How Much Danger For Democrats?

The ongoing controversy over the community organizing group ACORN -- spurred by several undercover videos shot for a conservative blog known as biggovernment.com -- has emboldened Republicans to use the group's troubles as a political cudgel against Democrats.

"If the Democrats continue to ignore the apparent fraud taking place with taxpayer money, they will pay a price politically," predicted former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) in an e-mail exchange with the Fix late Wednesday.

Bush's Republican colleagues are already moving to exact that political price.

Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is widely expected to run for president in 2012, announced on Wednesday that he had ordered all state funds going to the group frozen until a review of the organization had been completed.

Pawlenty's decision comes less than 48 hours after the Senate voted on a measure to restrict all federal funding devoted to ACORN -- a piece of legislation that drew wide bipartisan support with only seven senators (all Democrats) voting against it.

And, Republican leaders in the House continue to push the idea of bringing a similar bill up for a vote in the near future. "Simply put, ACORN should not receive another penny of American taxpayers' money," wrote House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) in a letter to his colleagues earlier this week.

The ACORN effect is even hitting the campaign trail. In New York's 23rd district special election, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is hitting state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R) for her alleged ties to ACORN.

The efficacy of these attacks remain to be seen -- John McCain attempted unsuccessfully to link President Obama to ACORN during the 2008 campaign -- but it's clear from the reaction of the White House that leading Democrats understand that being seen as defenders of the community group is political suicide.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the tapes "completely unacceptable" during his daily briefing on Wednesday, adding "the administration takes accountability extremely seriously."

Doug Schoen, a Democratic pollster, said the ACORN controversy poses a "huge risk" to the Democratic party. "Swing voters are almost certainly going to put off by the constant barrage of stories about their abuses, the videos, and their unrepentant approach to the way they operate," he added.

Jon Lerner, a Republican consultant, argued that the ACORN problem is one that plagues whichever party is in the majority in Washington. "When Republicans were in control, their fringe organizations became fodder for the perception that they were too extreme," Lerner noted.

ACORN has long been a hot button issue for conservatives who believe the group engages in shady (at best) voter registration and turnout efforts. But, to date, conservatives have been unable to draw strong enough links between ACORN and the Democratic Party to score real political points.

With more undercover videos allegedly on the way, expect more Democratic elected officials to follow the White House's lead and begin not only distancing themselves from ACORN but also siding with those who are calling for investigations into its conduct.

"Any Democrat who acts or votes to protect ACORN will have an impossible time justifying it, and it will almost be too easy for us to make them pay politically for doing so," predicted Republican strategist Kevin Madden.



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Sources: Washington Post, The Fix, MSNBC, Humanevents.com, NY Daily News, Senate.gov, US House.gov, Politico, Minnesota Independent, Google Maps