Housing and Urban Development

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged the owners of a Carson City rental house with refusing to rent to a couple because they have children.

The agency announced Friday that Betty and Hughston Brinson are charged with engaging in discriminatory housing practices.

More than $2.2 million in grant money from the Veterans Affairs Support Housing program has been earmarked for veteran housing in Nevada, Sen. Harry Reid announced Friday.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded
$168,512 to the Reno Housing Authority and the Sierra Nevada VA Health Care System, and $55,874 to the Nevada Rural Housing Authority with the Sierra Nevada VA Health Care System also receiving a share.

Carson City was among five cities selected Tuesday to receive federal assistance to help spruce up William Street. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide technical assistance to Carson City through the Greening America's Capitals program, which helps cities to develop environmentally-friendly infrastructure that will contribute to greener, more vibrant neighborhoods and increase resiliency from the impacts of climate change.

With Nevada’s climate, more farmers are looking for ways to extend the growing season. University of Nevada, Reno’s High Desert Farming Initiative is offering a class for Nevada’s agricultural producers, “The Business of Season Extension Farming,” to provide information on field-tested methods for extending the growing season, as well information on reducing risk, low-cost marketing and financial planning. The course will be 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Sept. 12 at the Nye County Cooperative Extension office in Pahrump.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced this week a $550 million joint state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer SunTrust Mortgage Inc. to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses. It is estimated that eligible Nevada homeowner’s will receive approximately $2.8 million in loan modifications as part of the settlement.

Douglas County advocate and activist JoEtta Brown of Gardnerville was elected executive vice president of the Alliance for Retired Americans at the recent Alliance for Retired Americans national membership convention in Las Vegas.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said he's pleased the Obama Administration has provided a second extension of the Making Home Affordable Program.

“Nevada has been hit the hardest by the housing market crisis. It is imperative that we work to help struggling homeowners who have lost so much in something that they have worked so hard to keep," said Reid in a press statement.

Sen. Harry Reid has announced $7.4 million in federal grants to fight homelessness in Nevada, including two awards to Carson City Department of Health and Human Services totaling $67,889.

The grants comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Renewal (CoCR) awards. The CoCR programs provide funding for a range of assistance to homeless persons, including transitional housing, permanent housing and other supportive services.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today a lawsuit against Lender Processing Services, Inc., DOCX, LLC, LPS Default Solutions, Inc. and other subsidiaries of LPS (collectively known “LPS”) for engaging in deceptive practices against Nevada consumers.

(U.S. Department of Justice Press Release)
WASHINGTON – Teresa Kelly, a former operations supervisor in Colonial Bank’s Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division (MWLD), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank, wire and securities fraud for her role in a fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW).

Colonial Bank had a branch on Stewart Street in Carson City, that now sits vacant.

CARSON CITY – Nevada officials are racing the clock to get their full share of federal foreclosure relief dollars.
Some states and local governments elsewhere around the country are at risk of losing millions in foreclosure relief funds. But officials with the state of Nevada and local government entities who are managing the programs say they are on track to obligate their full allotments by September deadlines.
Even so, several Nevada officials said the funds are only a drop in the bucket to address Nevada’s foreclosure crisis.