Fair Housing

Omni House and one of its mentally disabled clients charged a Glen Burnie developer yesterday with housing discrimination.Cromwell Fountain Associates canceled the sale of 12 apartments to the mental-health care provider earlier this month, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.In their suit, Omni House and James G., who would have lived in one of the apartments, said the cancellation violated federal fair housing law.They have asked the court to prevent Cromwell Fountain Associates from selling the 12 units to anyone else until the Glen Burnie-based, non-profit rehabilitation organization for the mentally ill can plead its case.

WASHINGTON - President Bush is set to nominate a Randallstown woman who runs a nonprofit that seeks affordable housing for seniors to a top post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the White House announced yesterday. Carolyn Y. Peoples, 56, a Baltimore County native, would become assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity if confirmed by the Senate. She said in an interview last night that the toughest task awaiting her is to address a "backlog" of complaints from people around the country who say they were denied housing illegally - because of their race, for example, or a disability.

WASHINGTON - They didn't leave their names, and they didn't say where they lived. But a few months ago, Tracey Gill started hearing their stories on her message machine. "These women were saying that their landlords were requesting sex in return for letting them stay in their apartments - demanding sex, I guess is more like it," said Gill, fair housing program manager at Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc. "It was just disgusting." But it was not the first time Gill had heard such a tale. "Year before last," she said, "we did have a woman who filed a complaint against a mortgage loan officer who basically said that only way she was going to get that loan was if she would `put out,' so to speak."

A Baltimore fair housing watchdog group has settled a dispute with a Carroll County assisted-living center over allegations that the facility discriminated against a potential black applicant by using mostly white models in its advertising. Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc., a statewide fair housing advocate, and William Ray, 79, of Odenton agreed last week to a $22,000 settlement with Golden Crest Assisted Living of the 800 block of Fairfield Ave. in Westminster. "It's a success on everybody's part and good for Golden Crest, too," said Baltimore attorney C. Christopher Brown, representing BNI and Ray. "We think that diverse advertising is good for business.

Despite a warm reception from real estate agents, the fair-housing advocacy group Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc. has closed its Westminster office because funds ran out, officials said. Two years ago, BNI opened satellite offices in Carroll and Harford counties to launch a pilot Fair Housing Initiatives Program, said Joseph J. Coffey, the organization's director. "These were the only outposts we've ever had, although we do fair-housing work all over," he said. "There's been a lot of migration out of the city into these counties, and if there are bad housing patterns occurring, it would be farther out."

Tax and SpendEditor: I take special exception to Robert C. Embry Jr. (letter, Oct. 23) and his socialist views. I am a capitalist living in a capitalistic society. I work hard for my money and deserve to keep a reasonable percentage of what I make.I resent being called selfish for wanting to do this.By saying no more taxes, I am drawing a line saying if you take a larger percent of what I make than I do, I'm not going to work any more.If your social programs pay more not to work than a job pays, why would anyone ever want to work?

Fair housing summit scheduled at Cross KeysThe second statewide Fair Housing/Civil Rights Summit will be held by a group of public and nonprofit organizations April 16-17 at Cross Keys Inn, 5001 Falls Road.Registration is $75 per person and includes lunch and materials.Topics will include changes in Section 8 and public housing, public/private partnerships to promote fair housing, hate crimes and race relations, and housing opportunities for the disabled.For information, call LaVerne Brooks of the Maryland HUD office, at 410-962-2520, Ext. 3056.

CATONSVILLE -- A defiant Robert Clay says county complaints about the two large "Eileen M. Rehrmann For Governor" signs on his property at U.S. 40 west and Lincoln Avenue are politically inspired. And the Rehrmann supporter argues the county law banning campaign signs until 30 days before an election is unconstitutional and says he has no immediate plan to remove them.County inspectors have issued three zoning citations against the Republican campaign, totaling $4,800 in fines, based on complaints about the signs.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a milestone for gay political clout, the Clinton administration has tapped Roberta Achtenberg, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, for a top national housing post and has begun preconfirmation background checks, Washington sources said.Ms. Achtenberg, a prominent lesbian civil rights attorney and political leader among San Francisco's gays, has been named assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Creating thousands of new opportunities for Baltimore public housing families to live in well-off suburbs was necessary to make "real progress" in overcoming decades of government policies that segregated residents in poor, minority areas of the city, a lawyer for the tenants told a federal judge yesterday. In his opening statement in the remedy phase of a public housing desegregation case, attorney Peter Buscemi said a proposal requiring the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide 6,750 special housing vouchers and new and rehabilitated units over 10 years would give public housing families a "better chance at life."