Ann Arbor mulls green energy mandates as housing costs soar
Ann Arbor's City Council is considering a green-energy housing ordinance that would increase red tape and expenses for rental housing owners at a time when the council is also concerned about a lack of affordable housing in the city.
The proposed Green Rental Housing Ordinance aims to enforce new energy standards on rental housing. The plan, which had its first reading at the June 2 council meeting, imposes additional red tape and financial burdens that experts say would reduce Tree City’s rental stock, particularly for low-income residents, and raise rents.
Landlords would have to meet a qualifying “Asset Rating” through either a prescriptive checklist or a third-party energy rating system before each routine rental inspection. A landlord who fails to comply could be prohibited from obtaining or renewing a rental license.
Violations could result in civil fines of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent offenses, plus the cost of prosecution, according to the draft language. Click here to read more.
The Real Agenda Behind The Chaos In Los Angeles
What is the real reason we are seeing chaos in the streets of Los Angeles?
One protester explained why exactly this is happening. If you want to know what drives the mindset of the rioters, then you really should take the time to listen to the people who are rioting, who are attempting to attack police officers and ICE agents.
This protester was, of course, masked and wearing sunglasses. He said, “Everybody has the same enemy. From L.A. to Africa to Palestine to Vietnam. We all have the same enemy. There’s one enemy. And it is not me, and it is not you, and it is not them. We are not the enemies of each other.”
He pointed to the police, declaring, “They are the enemy. There’s only one enemy. And we all have to work together in unison to fight this one enemy.”
Another protester interjected, “That’s right. Capitalism, imperialism, and Zionism.”
“The faster we grow, the more we grow as a people, the quicker we can get to this revolution and overturn this motherf***er and have real people leading this country,” the first protester continued. Click here to read more.
Locked Out of the Dream: Regulation Making Homes Unaffordable Around the World
Next to inflation, Americans ranked housing as their top financial worry in a Gallup survey last May. It’s only gotten worse. January home sales were down 5% from last year’s dismal numbers. Record numbers of first-time buyers are stuck on the sidelines as housing affordability stands at the lowest level ever recorded, while one in three Americans now spend over 30% of their income on mortgage or rent.
The housing crisis is not just an American problem, but a global phenomenon that hits the middle and working classes the hardest. Studies of the Canadian, British, European, and East Asian markets have also found that housing prices have risen far faster than household incomes and inflation. A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development concluded that “housing has been the main driver of rising middle-class expenditure.” In prosperous and communitarian Switzerland, Zurich studios sell for well over $1 million, and small houses even more, making downpayments unaffordable to affluent people despite the overwhelming financial advantages to homeowners. Click here to read more.
10-year-old misses school to care for 3 younger siblings, parents charged
ANTLER, N.D. - A couple is facing child neglect charges after reportedly leaving their 10-year-old son at home to watch their 4-year-old, 1-year-old and a 6-month-old.
According to court documents, the Bottineau County Sheriff’s Office was called for a welfare check on March 27 after a school principal reported that the boy was missing from school to babysit his three younger siblings.
While deputies were on their way to the home, they called the child’s parents, Jared and Haley Jones, but the calls went straight to voicemail.
The 10-year-old told another officer that he was left to watch his siblings and could not call his mother because her phone was “out of minutes.” The child said the only way they could contact Haley Jones was through Facebook Messenger. Click here to read more.
Family moves from their home after it was targeted 18 times by strangers doing TikTok trend
Chandler police urged parents to talk to their children about how the pranks aren’t harmless and can actually result in criminal charges.
“They’re just getting weird TikTok challenges and they’re daring each other,” Angelica Proffer said.
Proffer says she experienced similar pranks in Mesa. Her neighbors were also victims.
“Their garage door was dented pretty bad,” Proffer described.
Authorities say groups of younger individuals participate in these crimes as part of a national TikTok challenge.
Proffer, a teacher, identified the teens who targeted her home by sending a video of the incident to the local high school.
“The boys that did it at our house, they didn’t even know each other. Just some kids walking by them dared them to do it,” Proffer added. “Their parents were mortified. ‘We’ll pay for the damages. We’ll help you out. Whatever you need. If you decide to press charges, we understand.’ But they were very willing to work with us and we were grateful for that.” Click here to read more.
