Government Shutdown Puts Women-Owned Businesses and the Housing Ecosystem at Risk

Government Shutdown

Today marks the 27th day of the partial government shutdown that started on December 22nd, 2018, which is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Many, but not all, government agencies have been affected, causing federal employees to either be furloughed or to work without pay, national parks to close and affordable housing funding has come to a halt, among other effects.

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Women Make History in the 2018 Midterm Elections

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Yesterday, Tuesday, Nov. 6th, Americans took to the polls to cast their votes in the 2018 Midterm Elections to elect candidates for Senate, the House of Representatives, State Governors and other local appointments and propositions. Not only did we see a surge of women and minority voters this year, but over 100 women were elected into Congress—at least 98 women in the House and 13 in the Senate—the highest representation of women in U.S. history.

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One World Trade Center: A Symbol of Hope and a Hallmark of Building Safety

Seventeen years later, the aftermath of 9/11 continues to haunt us. All of us who were alive and old enough to remember will never forget where we were and the effect it has had on our lives.  The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, a division of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, under the Dept. of Labor accounted for 2,886 9/11 related injuries in 2001, a list including people of all ages, ethnicities gender, and types of work—in essence, a snapshot of America.  For those who responded to the attacks, the toll it continues to take is unforgiving.

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HUD Announces Nearly $99 Million Awarded for Disabled Residents

Disability

On Tuesday, HUD issued a press release announcing its awarding of $98.5 million to 285 public housing authorities across the country. These housing vouchers are intended to provide permanent housing assistance to “non-elderly persons with disabilities” who are, according to HUD, either transitioning out of institutional or other separated settings, at serious risk of institutionalization or who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The press release emphasized that these are new vouchers, providing permanent housing to an additional 12,000 low-income disabled residents per year and that it meets the Americans with Disabilities Act goal by helping people with disabilities to live in an integrated setting.

They also provided a list of the PHAs in each state that have been awarded the vouchers and for which amounts.

View the original press release here.

LA Family Housing is One of Dateline’s “Angels of Skid Row”

Of the half a million people across America homeless at any given time, a quarter reside in California, with 55,000 in Los Angeles alone. Los Angeles’ Skid Row, 52 square blocks of blight, has the highest concentration of homeless in America.

Skid Row came about under unofficial policy of containment, but now thousands of homeless are spilling out into other areas in LA creating an even greater crisis.

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Women Veterans in Business: Unique Challenges and Opportunities

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Veterans are in the minority of the American workforce and female veterans are an even smaller subset of the population, however, the impact veterans and women veterans can make to society can be huge. This is a point made by NAWRB Magazine contributor and Army Veteran Erica Courtney as she moderated our panel Women Veterans in Business: Unique Challenges and Opportunities.

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Chicago Schoolteacher Raises Funds for Her Students Midair

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One of the reasons we selected Chicago for our 2018 Conference: Year of Women is despite pervasive issues of crime and poverty, many Chicago citizens care about and work to make a difference in their community. They push their city to do better by its less fortunate residents as it grows as a center of commerce, technology, and the arts.

This love many Chicagoans have for their city was manifested midair on a recent Southwest flight when a fellow passenger asked Chicago school teacher Kimber Bermudez about what she does for a living.

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Power-up Your Policymaking

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How to turn your passion into action from boosting your local engagement or running for office

“This woman’s place is in the House-the House of Representatives”-Bella Abzug

It’s no new news that although we comprise a little over half the human population, women are severely underrepresented in both politics and business. Although great strides have been made and new fissures and cracks appear every day in that storied glass ceiling, for the busy everyday woman, moving from awareness to engagement can seem daunting. Continue reading

NWBC Helps Accelerate Women Entrepreneurs

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The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) recently released its report, Accelerating the Future of Women Entrepreneurs: The Power of the Ecosystem, highlighting women’s achievements, providing recommendations to unlock women’s upward mobility, and recognizing the work and successes of the government, entities and individuals dedicated to systematically eradicating the gender gaps in America.

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House Passes New GOP Tax Plan

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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the GOP tax reform plan that has been the subject of widespread discussion and analysis in recent weeks. The bill, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed with a 227-205 vote and carries with it major financial consequences for consumers, homeowners and businesses alike.

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