McCoy, Watson fail on modular housing

I've had it with Reps. Billy McCoy and Percy Watson ("Lawmakers check Coast housing plan," Sept. 6). They claim to be House leaders, but they are really obstructionists who wouldn't even allow a vote on Gov. Haley Barbour's proposal to reduce taxes on modular housing from 7 percent to 3 percent, the same level as taxes on mobile homes.

The crying need for Coast residents is housing. Modular housing, which is assembled on-site from pre-constructed wood and steel units, is more stable than the FEMA trailers and campers people are living in now. These homes can be assembled much faster than a stick-built house and are much safer than manufactured housing, or mobile homes.

There are many housing needs on the Coast. How dare McCoy and Watson deny hurricane victims a chance to take advantage of this promising technology. Read More

McCoy wants proof of tax benefit to modular home buyers

JACKSON, Miss. Lawmakers' are beginning a second special session of the year today (Thursday) at noon _ five weeks after the first special session which lasted three days.

Governor Haley Barbour says he hopes this session will be brief.

House Speaker Billy McCoy says Barbour needs to guarantee that consumers, rather than contractors, will benefit from his proposed tax cut on modular housing.

The sales tax reduction on modular homes from 7 to 3 percent is the sole issue in a special session.

Barbour says the tax cut could help speed up rebuilding in south Mississippi, where thousands of people are still waiting to rebuild their homes more than 13 months after Hurricane Katrina.

The governor's spokesman, Pete Smith, said buyers would see a financial benefit.

Modular homes gain favor with builders

With tall trees and a narrow lot, the building site on a quiet street near downtown Orlando would pose challenges for many builders. But partners Ron Dieux and Bill Corio managed to slip in a two-story duplex that looks like an expensive single-family home. The two-story house did not take months to build, and there was no need for lots of laborers to crowd into the neighborhood. A crane lifted parts of the factory-built home into place, then carpenters and other specialists came in for the finishing work during the following days and weeks in late summer. "It eliminates 90 percent of the site work," Dieux said, and leaves little in the way of construction debris to haul away. "There are lots of advantages to this." Stephanie King, who bought the 1,400-square-foot, three-bedroom, 2.5-bath home for $338,000, said she was pleased with the outcome of her half of the duplex. "It's beyond what I imagined," King said, with granite countertops, crown molding, 9-foot-high trey ceilings, wood and tile floors, and other touches of a custom home. Read More

Builders give burglar cover

Builders working in New Malden may have provided the perfect cover for a burglar broke into four houses in New Malden in one morning.

The burglar, described as a young black man in his early 20s, wearing dark clothes and a dark cap, got away with valuables including a laptop, pearl necklace and cash.

Adrian Holder, councillor for Coombe Vale ward, said: "These streets are in the wealthier part of the area, so I'm shocked. However, there is a lot of building work going on at the moment around Coombe Lane so obviously burglars are taking advantage of the distraction."

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In a city of builders, no growth?

With its yacht clubs, beachfront estates, exotic-car dealerships and five-star hotels, Newport Beach is hardly typical of the overall United States and is a tad unusual even in wealthy Orange County. Yet the latest property-rights battle over a no-growth measure on the November ballot known as Measure X is in its own way reflective of what is going on most everywhere, from other parts of suburban Orange County to urban Portland, Ore., to rural Montana.

Supporters of these myriad anti-property-rights proposals i.e., minimum lot sizes, growth controls, urban growth boundaries, conservation easements, habitat preservation, right-to-vote initiatives gussy up the proposals in good-government language.

They talk about protecting home values and quality of life, about using the democratic process and holding officials accountable, but the proposals are always about the rankest form of self-interest using government to limit others' property rights as a way to "protect" one's perceived quality of life. Read More