Tag Archives: housing

Creating what is being characterized as an “online real estate juggernaut,” on Monday the realty site Zillow reached a deal to purchase Trulia, its chief competitor, in an all stock $3.5B merger. Under the terms of the deal, Zillow will pay 0.444 of one of its shares for each share of Trulia. Based on Friday’s closing prices, the takeover bid …

JMG reader Dave Evans has compiled an hour of gay-related news reports that aired in the 1980s. Among the topics: hate crimes, housing rights, HIV/AIDS, immigration rights, pride parades, Barney Frank, Ronald Reagan, the 20th anniversary of Stonewall, the NAMES Project,  and rather interestingly, Houston’s 1985 battle for LGBT rights. PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Compilations of gay news in the 1970s …

Via press release: National Campaign for Youth Shelter calls for 22,000 beds for homeless youth: The Ali Forney Center and the National Coalition for the Homeless have released the list of speakers for the LGBT Rally for Homeless Youth, to be held in Washington Square Park at 6pm on Monday June 2nd. The National Campaign for Youth Shelter New York …

The Louisiana House Commerce Committee has voted against a bill that would have made it illegal to refuse to sell or rent property to LGBT citizens. Three Democrats joined nine Republicans on the House Commerce Committee in rejecting the measure Monday 12-3. None said specifically why they voted against the bill. The bill by Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rouge, would …

JMG reader Mike writes: The City of Houston has now posted the draft language of the ERO (Equal Rights Ordinance) on its web site. A large coalition of LGBT and non-LGBT groups contributed to getting this ordinance to this point, including pressuring the Mayor and Council to include private employers in the non-discrimination provisions. LGBT organizations included Equality Texas, HRC, …

By a vote of 13-5, the Louisiana House Commerce Committee today killed a bill that would have extended statewide housing discrimination protections to LGBT residents. Three Democrats voted with the majority. Much of the debate around Brossett’s bill hinged on a property owners’ rights to deny housing to anyone they believe would jeopardize the “safety” and “family” oriented-nature of their …

While campaigning for mayor, Bill De Blasio regularly vowed to freeze the rents of New York City’s one million rent-stabilized apartments. When he first made the promise, howling teabaggers knuckle-walked to their Twitter accounts to shriek that De Blasio was an “avowed Marxist.” Gothamist reports that De Blasio appears to setting the stage to come through on that pledge. No …

The search for bodies and possible survivors continues at the site of yesterday’s explosion in Harlem. Residents of one of the destroyed buildings say they had complained to the landlord about a gas leak for weeks. One of the victims was identified as 44-year-old Griselde Camacho, a public safety sergeant at Hunter College. The second victim was identified as 67-year-old …

Via Reuters: Thirteen Utah gay rights activists were arrested on Monday at the state Capitol after a sit-in to demand lawmakers hear a bill barring housing and job discrimination based on sexual orientation, authorities said. About 20 activists, buoyed by a court ruling that briefly legalized same-sex marriage in the conservative state, had blocked access to part of the Capitol. …

Utah Senate Bill 100 would outlaw housing and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Utah Senate has refused to hear the bill. RELATED: Local Fox News reporter Ben Winslow has been our most reliable source since the Utah marriage story exploded into the news in December.

Via the Associated Press: Police have arrested dozens of gay rights activists, saying their protest blocked entrances to the Idaho Senate chambers for more than two hours. Idaho State Police say they took 43 people into custody Monday after the demonstrators stood shoulder to shoulder and prevented lawmakers from getting past. Former state Sen. Nicole LeFavour, the Idaho Legislature’s first …

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who so far had been no friend to the gay community, has backed a bill that would protect LGBT residents from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Corbett, who has previously staked out conservative positions on social issues, told The Inquirer that he was “coming out in support” of the bill after learning that federal …

Via Equality Louisiana: Today, the Shreveport City Council passed the Shreveport Fairness Ordinance with a vote of 6-1. In Louisiana, and 29 other states, there are no state or federal protections in place to prevent someone from being fired, evicted or denied service just because of who they are or who they love. The Shreveport Fairness Ordinance prevents discrimination against …

Yesterday protesters in San Francisco blocked a shuttle bus for Google employees and demanded that the company pay $1B in fines for using the city’s infrastructure without paying. The buses have, for some, become a symbol of tech-fueled gentrification, economic inequality and soaring housing prices in the city. The bus, which was headed to Google’s Mountain View campus, had riders …

Almost immediate after San Antonio passed an ordinance that added LGBT residents to employment and housing protections, anti-gay groups have launched a recall drive against Mayor Julian Castro and the members of the city council who voted for the measure. The San Antonio Current reports: After council members in Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (plus the Mayor) …

The good news just keeps coming today. In the capital of Kentucky: The Frankfort City Commission Thursday morning finally passed an ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations. At a specially called meeting, Mayor Bill May and commissioners Katie Hedden and Tommy Haynes voted in favor. …

Earlier this month we learned that a condo association in Florida had instituted a new rule which stipulates that their units may only be sold to single people or to legally married “husband and wife” couples. News of the new rule made national headlines and now a lawyer for the condo association has written a new bylaw that reverses the …

A condo association in Florida has instituted a new rule which stipulates that their units may only be  sold to single people or to legally married “husband and wife” couples. Which is perfectly legal in Florida. Via the Miami New Times: Julia Nowak, an openly gay realtor, discovered the new restrictions when the condo association of the Casa Di Amici …

From the Department of Housing and Urban Development: This is the first large-scale, paired-testing study to assess housing discrimination against same-sex couples in metropolitan rental markets via advertisements on the Internet. The research is based on 6,833 e-mail correspondence tests conducted in 50 metropolitan markets across the United States from June through October 2011. For each correspondence test, two e-mails …

An Iowa gay couple has won a $147K judgment against the management of their apartment complex because they failed to stop harassment by their maintenance man. Jurors awarded $22,000 in economic damages to Charles Anderson and Brandon Morehead, plus $50,000 for emotional distress and $75,000 in punitive damages, according to a news release issued by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, …