DrUrbanPolicy

On its face, Martin Luther King Day is a holiday dedicated to the memory of one of the key figures in American history. Recently, it has become popular as a "National Day of Service" and an opportunity to give back to the community. For me, its greatest significance is as a day to reflect on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and how America has changed (and not changed) since Martin Luther King, Jr's time. The King Memorial in Washington, DC  As I referenced in an earlier post  on the anniversary of the March on Washington, King's "March to Freedom" began with the Emancipation Proclamation 151 years ago during the midst of the Civil War.  Some may say the movement ended at one of several key moments: the passage of the Civil Rights Act 50 years ago, The Voting Rights Act the next year, the creation of the Martin Luther King Day holiday or the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States. Culturally, Doug Williams' accolades...

I recently had a conversation with  Tara Bahrampour  of the Washington Post as part of her research for "Rising community association fees are squeezing homeowners on tight budgets,"  the main Metro  section article in Sunday's Washington Post.  I was pleasantly surprised to have this conversation:  the article notes that over 63 million are residents in community associations, and relatively little attention has been paid to how they work. Screenshot of article on washingtonpost.com Rising fees can be problematic for many residents - here's the excerpt that came from our conversation: In the past four decades, the number of condominiums, co-op units and houses that are part of homeowners associations has skyrocketed across the nation, from 701,000 in 1970 to 25.9 million in 2012, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research. The foundation does not categorize ownership by age, but an analysis by AARP’s Public Policy Institu...