USDA Announces Pilot Program to Increase Homeownership Opportunities on Native Lands
Department is Partnering with Native Community Development Financial Institutions
WASHINGTON, May 31, 2018 – Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is launching a pilot program to increase homeownership opportunities on Tribal lands.
“To thrive, rural America needs a creative and forward-thinking partner in USDA,” Hazlett said. “Under Secretary Perdue’s leadership, USDA is harnessing innovation so we can be a better, more effective partner to Tribal communities in building their futures.”
USDA is partnering with two Native Community Development Financial Institutions (NCDFIs) that have extensive experience working in Native American communities. The Department will loan $800,000 each to Mazaska Owecaso Otipit Financial and to Four Bands Community Fund. The organizations will relend the money to eligible homebuyers for mortgages on South Dakota and some North Dakota Tribal trust lands. Mazaska Owecaso Otipit Financial and Four Bands Community Fund also will service the mortgage loans after they are made. USDA is providing the funding through the Single Family Housing Direct Loan program.
Each NCDFI will contribute $200,000 for mortgages in the pilot program.
USDA has helped nearly 4 million rural residents purchase homes since passage of the Housing Act of 1949. However, homeownership rates on Tribal lands historically have been significantly lower than those for other communities.
Both NCDFIs have deep ties to the local communities and will be able to reach potential homebuyers more effectively than USDA and other lenders. Mazaska Owecaso Otipit Financial is located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and creates homeownership opportunities for the members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Four Bands Community Fund, headquartered in Eagle Butte, S.D., provides financial products to businesses as well as home mortgages in South Dakota and North Dakota. Part of its service area includes the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.
The pilot program will begin this summer. USDA Rural Development’s state office in Huron, S.D., will oversee the initiative.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.
To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community services such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
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TINY STILLS
Premieres New Album
Laughing Into the Void
via Music Connection
Available for Pre-order at TinyStills.com
Out June 1st, 2018
"If you take one listen, you will find yourself either tapping along or keeping up with
the perfectly placed whistling in the chorus." - Substream Magazine
"Tiny Stills offer refreshing power-pop charged with
an array of dynamic, intoxicating emotion." - Atwood Magazine
May 31, 2018 - Los Angeles, CA - Power pop band Tiny Stills is thrilled to share their forthcoming sophomore album, Laughing Into the Void, streaming now on Music Connection. Laughing Into the Void will be released this Friday, June 1st, and is full of brutal honesty, crunchy guitars, and catchy melodies that help you remember that even the worst days have a silver lining: at least you're not alone. For more information, or to pre-order the album, please visit: www.tinystills.com.
On the new album, front-woman Kailynn West shares: "We wanted to make a great power pop record that made us feel good - something that made us wanna dance when we felt like everything was going wrong. Whether that was by being really honest or just good guitar riff that we liked, we just wanted to be happy... Making this record was a really cathartic and freeing experience."
The band will be celebrating with a hometown album release show tonight, May 31st, at The Hi Hat in Los Angeles. Tickets are available at https://ticketf.ly/2J1gl2F.
Tiny Stills is a power pop band from Los Angeles influenced by Courtney Barnett, That Dog, and 90s/00s rock. Their first album, Falling is like Flying was released in 2014 and was a direct response to the isolation and anxiety that comes from life changing events after front-person and founding member Kailynn West was held up at gunpoint. It's upbeat and pop-y melodies were born from a desire to make something that felt and sounded nothing like the she felt at the time - happy. Since then, West has been the nucleus of the project with a rotating cast of band members, but most recent lineup includes Harry Foster (bass), Zach Comtois (guitar), and Tony Thaxton (drums).
After a last-minute lineup change left an opening on a national tour with Bayside's Anthony Raneri and A.W. in 2015, West stepped in at the last minute to complete the tour as Tiny Stills. She sold thank you cards with download links as merchandise after selling out of physical copies of the first record; from there, the project hit the ground running.
Tiny Stills will release their highly anticipated sophomore album, Laughing Into the Void, on June 1st, 2018.
For more information:
Website: www.tinystills.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tinystills
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tinystills
Instagram: www.facebook.com/tinystills
Laughing Into the Void Track Listing:
1. When I'm With You
2. Colorblind
3. Lala
4. Can You Blame Me
5. My Skin
6. Small Talk
7. Right All Along
8. Don't Call Me A Catch
9. Let's Fall In Love
10. Someday Everyone Who Hurt Me Will Be Dead
Upcoming Tour Dates w/Sundressed:
5/31 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat (Album Release Show)
6/1 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
6/3 - Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
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Emo Nite LA
Announces Lineup for
Highly Anticipated Return
to New York City
Live Performances By:
Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes)
Craig Owens (Chiodos, BxC)
Hellogoodbye
Nate and Randy of Finch
DJ Sets By:
Ryan Kienle (Matchbook Romance)
Brian Logan Dales
Dilly Dally
And A Special Performance By Saxl Rose!
June 22nd - Doors at 7pm
Brooklyn Steel
Tickets On Sale Now at emonite.la/bksteel
May 31, 2018 - Los Angeles, CA - Emo Nite LA is heading back to New York to take over Brooklyn Steel on Friday, June 22nd and will be bringing along a few special friends. The last Emo Nite party they through in the Big Apple in 2017 was all 3 floors of the iconic Webster Hall and it was a nite to remember. On this return, the evening will feature live performances by Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes), Craig Owens (Chiodos, BxC), Hellogoodbye and members of Finch as well as DJ sets by Ryan Kienle (Matchbook Romance), Brian Logan Dales, Dilly Dally and a special performance by Saxl Rose! The event is 16+ with tickets available now at emonite.la/bksteel.
Bringing together people who share the love of emo rock music from the 90's, 2000's, and today, Emo Nite LA, the event started by three friends (Babs Szabo, T.J. Petracca and Morgan Freed) at a small dive bar has grown into a full-blown phenomenon that has attracted some of the biggest and most diverse names in entertainment. Different musicians from all genres, actors and celebrities that have been inspired by emo and pop punk music like Demi Lovato, The Used, From First to Last with Sonny Moore (Skrillex), New Found Glory, All-American Rejects, Halsey, All Time Low, Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional), Mark Hoppus, Machine Gun Kelly, Neck Deep, Craig Owens (Chiodos, badXchannels), Debby Ryan, Good Charlotte, Post Malone, Lil' Aaron, The Wonder Years and more have either DJ'd or performed at the events that happen in cities from Los Angeles to New York to Atlanta to Seattle. Emo Nite LA has constantly challenged the idea of what a modern-day music event can be.
Emo Nite has been featured in outlets like MTV, PAPER Magazine, NYLON, Teen Vogue, Consequence of Sound, Forbes, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, LA Times, Billboard, Earmilk, LA Weekly, Time Out LA, Alternative Press, FUSE, HelloGiggles, KERRANG! and talked about on the Grammy's Red Carpet.
Upcoming Emo Nite Tour Dates
05/31 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
06/02 - Dallas, TX @ Bomb Factory
06/02 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
06/05 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo & Echoplex
06/14 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell)
06/15 - Orlando, FL @ The Social
06/15 - Austin, TX @ Vulcan Gas Company
06/22 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
06/26 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
06/26 - Portland, OR @ Holocene
06/29 - Sacramento, CA @ Holy Diver
07/07 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
07/24 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
07/28 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre
08/10 - Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
08/15 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
08/25 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's
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Photo Credit: Ashley Osborn
Press Photo Download Here - Credit Ashley Osborn
US Tour Artwork Here
NYC Artwork Here
For updates, please visit:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emonitela
Twitter: https://twitter.com/emonitela
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emonitela/
Merchandise: http://emonite.com
Podcast: http://rideorcry.com/podcast
