Making a visit: After President Obama’s recent tour of flood damage, Louisiana is getting another visit from a high-ranking federal official, The Associated Press reports. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro will travel to Baton Rouge on Thursday. He is expected to meet with HUD-assisted residents, staff and local officials to get an update on the housing impacts of the recent flooding disaster. The planned visit follows Obama’s tour Tuesday and an earlier trip by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Castro is scheduled to tour flood-damaged public housing properties in Denham Springs and do a meet-and-greet with HUD staff in Baton Rouge. He’s also scheduled to meet with Gov. John Bel Edwards, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden and later join Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet of the U.S. Small Business Administration for lunch with small business owners affected by the flooding. Earlier this week, HUD deployed 24 full-time disaster recovery and housing experts to support the Federal Emergency Management Administration in providing immediate housing assistance to displaced residents.
Expanding the network: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, the state’s largest health insurer, says it is temporarily expanding its Preferred Care PPO network to provide in-network coverage to its HMO Louisiana and Community Blue members living in areas affected by the flood. The company says in a news release it also will also allow for early refills and the replacement of some medical supplies to help members in the aftermath. Until Monday, Sept. 12, special considerations will apply to members who live the following parishes: Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, West Feliciana and West Baton Rouge. More information on Blue Cross’ available relief for flood victims can be found here.
Mixed bag: U.S. home resales fell more than expected in July after four straight months of strong gains, as a lack of inventory limited choice for buyers, but further price rises suggested the housing market remained on solid ground, Reuters reports. The slump in sales reported today by the National Association of Realtors is likely to be temporary, given that a tightening labor market is steadily pushing up wages and mortgage rates are near historically low levels. Existing home sales declined 3.2% to an annual rate of 5.39 million units last month, the NAR says. It blames the drop in sales on the dearth of properties on the market, which lifted the median house price 5.3% from a year ago. Economists had forecast sales slipping 0.4% to a 5.51 million-unit pace in July. Home resales were down 1.6% from a year ago. Read the full story.
