Three Commissioners Commit for Housing

    Three county commissioners promised Monday night before a crowd of 1,500 to push for $10 million for affordable housing in the next county budget, but a deputy mayor said the county couldn't afford it.
    The statements came during the annual Nehemiah Action Assembly,  hosted by PACT, a group representing 38 religious organizations in Miami-Dade. Full story HERE.

Big Grassroots Gathering for Housing

          As more than 1,000 persons prepare to gather next Monday to demand solutions for affordable housing, the county commission has yet to consider any major measure to deal with the growing problem.
    The meeting -- described as the county's "largest grassroots residents gathering" -- is sponsored by PACT, a Miami group that brings together the social efforts of 40 churches, synagogues, mosques and universities. Full story HERE.

Denver's Nirvana for Transit, Housing

    Denver's housing director told a standing-room audience of policy geeks on Thursday how the city has successfully attacked the two main problems that bedevil Miami-Dade: nightmare traffic and severe lack of affordable housing. The solutions fit together. Full story HERE.

Related Urban Fixes Problem

         In its "best and final offer" for the $250 million redo of Liberty Square, political powerhouse Related Urban fixed what might have been a problem: The height of its buildings. Full story HERE.

Huge Transit Sums without Taxpayer Pain

A transit board on Thursday heard hard numbers on how  properties near new corridors for rail or express bus might be willing to pay hundreds of millions because the new lines would enhance property values. Full story HERE.

CRAs: Crucial Help for Affordable Housing

Expert and Grand Jury: Use Community Redevelopment Agencies for crucial affordable housing needs. Hundreds of thousands struggling to find decent places to stay -- and they making traffic much worse with horrendous commutes. Meanwhile, county leaders want to use Omni CRA to help pay for a billionaire's science museum, after already funding another billionaire's art museum. Full story HERE.

BayLink: "Ass Backwards"?

      Less than 20 hours after an "historic" step to create a BayLink light rail to Miami Beach, transit veteran Maurice Ferre suggested the plan was "ass backwards." City Commissioner Francis Suarez said he disliked a key component of the BayLink plan: Waiting up to seven years for federal funds. He said that would be like fixing a boat after it sunk.
     UPDATE: Ferre says projects need federal funding, criticizes the county's "traditionally divided, parochial (NIMBY)" mentality. Full story HERE.