DOJ, EEOC disagree on transgender bias
Welcome to Monday, the 89th anniversary of Black Tuesday. Here are some news items to get your week started. — Justice Department splits with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over transgender bias. — Did a conference over cold cuts violate Wisconsin’s open-meetings law? — New York’s top cop apologizes to woman for police mishandling of her […]
Census: Record 1 in 3 counties now dying off
WASHINGTON — A record number of U.S. counties — more than 1 in 3 — are now dying off, hit by an aging population and weakened local economies that are spurring young adults to seek jobs and build families elsewhere. New 2012 census estimates released Thursday highlight the population shifts as the U.S. encounters its […]
Realities of Real Estate: Is a housing shortage just around the corner?
Exactly one year ago, we speculated that there may be a housing shortage in the not too distant future. Last June we wrote: What most people fail to recognize is that our population is constantly growing. Right now, the United States has about 310 million people. We’re the third largest population in the world, behind […]
Bernanke revisits college as guest lecturer at GW
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took a break from his day job Tuesday to revisit the academic life he led before coming to Washington a decade ago. Shortly after noon, he stood before a class of George Washington University undergraduates and gave the first of four one-hour lectures on the Fed. Students gave […]
Federal deal trims maximum jobless benefits to 73 weeks
WASHINGTON — Unemployed workers would no longer be able to claim 99 weeks of benefit checks by this summer under a deal being worked out in Congress. Under this week’s compromise for extending a Social Security tax cut through the rest of 2012, federal unemployment benefits for people who have been out of work more […]
Homeownership takes biggest dive since Great Depression
W ASHINGTON — The American dream of homeownership has felt its biggest drop since the Great Depression, according to new 2010 census figures released Thursday. The analysis by the Census Bureau found the homeownership rate fell to 65.1 percent last year. While that level remains the second highest decennial rate, analysts say the U.S. may […]
Bob and Donna McWilliams: Don’t laugh: A U.S. housing shortage is a real possibilty
If you’d suggest to people that we’re headed for a housing shortage in the United States, they’d likely think you’re on another planet. Most folks would point to all the homes on the market and a healthy inventory of foreclosed properties owned by the banks. It would be hard to imagine that we’re on the […]
Spring buying boosts home prices in 13 U.S. cities
WASHINGTON — Home prices in major U.S. cities have risen for the first time in eight months, boosted by an annual flurry of spring buyers. Prices rose in 13 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index, according to the April report released Tuesday. Washington, D.C., saw the biggest price increases, […]
Daily Record investigation: EBDI salaries, staff increased during recession
As the nation headed into its worst recession since the Great Depression, staffing and salaries at East Baltimore Development Inc. skyrocketed between 2005 and 2009, Internal Revenue Service documents show. The pay and benefits at the nonprofit increased by 46 percent, from $2.6 million in 2005-2006 to $5.6 million in 2008-2009, when eight employees made […]
Budget woes force state parks to delay maintenance
KAISER, Mo. — At state parks across the nation, this is the toll of the deepening budget crisis and years of financial neglect: crumbling roads, faltering roofs, deteriorating restrooms. Electrical and sewer systems are beginning to give out, too, as are scores of park buildings, some of them built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during […]