Resistance: Before the Senate GOP’s proposed health care bill stalled earlier this month, a group of mothers, advocates and children with disabilities from Louisiana became the unlikely faces of a grassroots resistance to the bill. The American Press reports Trach Mamas, a Baton Rouge advocacy group for children with trachs, organized a four-day impromptu trip to Washington D.C. to oppose the bill’s proposed cuts to Medicaid. Along the way, the group was joined by a handful of CNN reporters and videographers who captured and circulated their story nationwide. About 35 people participated in the trip. The Southwest Louisiana Independence Center—a Lake Charles-based nonprofit health care provider and advocacy group—funded most of the travel costs. Read the full story.
Going small: The tiny house movement is gaining traction in Acadiana. The Advertiser reports Tee Tiny Houses, a new tiny house manufacturing company, recently launched in Arnaudville in St. Landry Parish. In addition, the Building Institute at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is constructing the first tiny house for an August 2016 flood victim in coordination with Habitat for Humanity. Document by numerous TV shows, the tiny house movement is a national phenomenon that encourages minimalist living in small houses typically between 100 to 400 square feet. The tiny houses are an alternative to traditional-sized homes, offering homeowners the freedom to easily move, downsize or save money. Read the full story.
Seller’s market: Homebuyers faced surging prices and a shrinking number of properties for sale in June, causing the pace of sales to fall. The Associated Press reports the latest data from the National Association of Realtors shows the sales of existing homes slipped 1.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.52 million. The decline speaks to a troubling cycle for a U.S. housing market hampered by a worsening shortage of properties to buy. Figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors show tightening inventory is also impacting the local market. In May, inventory fell by 13.4% compared to the same month last year, while the months supply measure—or the number of months it would take to sell all 1,591 homes on the market at the current sales pace—fell roughly 28% to 3.3 months.
