Government

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has approved two Conciliation Agreements with Delap Realty, LLC, of Northampton, Massachusetts, resolving allegations that the company and its agents violated the Fair Housing Act by discouraging families with children from renting over concerns the units might contain lead-based paint hazards.

The Boston Transportation Department is reminding those coming into Boston to celebrate the holidays that the City’s holiday parking incentive is ongoing through the end of the day on Saturday, January 2, 2016. Two hours of free parking at any of the City’s 8,000 metered parking spaces is available by using the new ParkBoston app. To date, hundreds of free parking sessions have been gained by ParkBoston users since the incentive went into effect in late November

Governor Charlie Baker has nominated attorney Maria Theophilis to the Boston Division of the Massachusetts Housing Court, whose jurisdiction includes civil and criminal actions and equitable relief, involving the health, safety, or welfare of the occupants or owners of residential housing

Affordability for senior citizens and disabled residents living at the 145-unit Louis Barrett Residence in Lynn will be extended and extensive property improvements will be made with the closing of $15.6 million in MassHousing financing

A Middleton, Mass. mortgage broker was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with his role in 20 fraudulent loan transactions in the North Shore area.

Today the Baker-Polito Administration awarded a total of $40,000 in Planning Assistance Toward Housing (PATH) grants to Lynn and Rockland, to help these communities meet their housing production needs

Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today that he has signed an Executive Order prompting changes in the City of Boston's Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP), leveraging the private development market to ensure the continued development of affordable housing in Boston.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that John Hanlon has been appointed Commissioner of the Property and Construction Management Department for the City of Boston. Hanlon, a Dorchester resident, brings over 13 years of nonprofit executive experience in management, budgeting, financial reporting, data analysis and professional development to his new position

Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) announced that Massachusetts has been awarded $63.7 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help finance improvements to water projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment.

Mayor Sarno reminded residents of the senior citizen circuit breaker income tax credit available when they file their personal income tax returns. In calendar 2013, the last year for which data is reported, some 1174 Springfield households claimed the credit, for an average credit of $718.

Nearly 200 Boston residents participated in the pilot program in the North End and East Boston in the fall of 2014, where feedback was collected through a community participation survey advertised at local farmers’ markets and community events. Because of the success of the pilot locations – where in the past six months, 13,500 pounds of food waste have been diverted – four new sites were chosen to expand the free composting program across the City of Boston.

A Virginia man and woman who recruited participants into a multi-year, multi-property mortgage fraud scheme in Roxbury and Dorchester were sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Boston.

The House Natural Resources Committee held a legislative hearing on the Protecting America’s Recreation and Conservation Act, a bill that proposes extensive and dismantling changes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Rep. Tsongas has championed the LWCF and has been one of the leading voices calling for its reauthorization.

The conspiracy began in approximately August 2007 and continued through June 2010, a period that included the height of the financial crisis and its aftermath. Home values in Massachusetts and across the nation declined precipitously, and many homeowners found themselves suddenly “underwater,” with their homes worth less than the mortgage debt they owed.

The Baker-Polito Administration announced a program that will provide homeless veterans with housing services. Under the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, the administration is allocating 65 rental vouchers to chronically homeless veterans who were identified by the local veterans’ committees across the Commonwealth.