HRC: Federal Report Demonstrates Need for Research and Data on LGBT Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 31, 2011

Federal Report Demonstrates Need for Research and Data on LGBT Health

HRC calls on federal government to collect data on health disparities

WASHINGTON – An Institute of Medicine (IOM) report released today shows in stunning clarity the need for more federal research and data collection on the health of LGBT people. Citing a number of challenges in understanding the health needs of LGBT populations, the authors of the report recommend collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity in federal health surveys and programs and call on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lay out a research agenda regarding LGBT health issues. The Human Rights Campaign, through administrative policy recommendations detailed in its Blueprint for Positive Change,and its work on Capitol Hill, has urged HHS to collect this data and continues to work with a coalition of LGBT and health organizations to push for this important step toward eliminating LGBT health disparities.

“Adequate research and data is critical to fully understanding and addressing the unique health needs of the LGBT community,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “We have called on the federal government to address the health needs of our community and this comprehensive report by the Institute of Medicine is a step in the right direction. We urge HHS to use this report as a roadmap to fill the gaps in knowledge relating to the health status of LGBT people and commit to collecting important and lifesaving data on sexual orientation and gender identity in future health surveys.”

The authors of the report call for implementing a research agenda to advance knowledge and understanding of LGBT health which reflects the most pressing areas, specifically demographic research, social influences, health care inequities, intervention research, and transgender-specific health needs. The report focuses on the chronic stress faced by LGBT people, the health of LGBT people at different stages of life, an individual’s identities and the ways in which they interact, and the influence of the surrounding spheres of LGBT people including families, communities, and society. The report’s authors say researchers need to proactively engage lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in health studies.

The lack of significant research and data on health issues is not the only problem facing LGBT patients. Many LGBT people often decline to seek healthcare in times of need out of fear of discrimination and poor treatment by healthcare professionals. The HRC Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) rates healthcare facilities on their policies related to LGBT healthcare equality. The HEI can be used by healthcare facilities as an organizational assessment tool in their treatment of LGBT patients, and as a guide to safe and friendly facilities for patients. The 2011 HEI will be released later this spring.

“It is clear there are significant health disparities facing our community,” Solmonese added. “We look forward to working with NIH and HHS to identify research priorities that will begin to address them. The federal government has the tools they need to improve the health and wellbeing of LGBT people. It’s time to put them to use.”

To receive a copy of the report, visit http://nas.edu or contact the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information at 202-334-2138 or news@nas.edu. [a summary and link to the full report online is below]

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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More information and the full report is here

LGBT Health 2011 Report Brief

Business First: Arena District to fill last gap with new office tower, parking garage

The entire story is here

Nationwide Realty Investors Ltd. is primed to fill the last major parcel in the Arena District with a six-story office building and parking garage complex, completing its ambitious plan for a residential and commercial district laid out when Nationwide Arena opened in 2000.

A commitment from Columbia Gas of Ohio Inc. to anchor the 280,000-square-foot office building at the corner of Neil Avenue and Nationwide Boulevard convinced the developer to move ahead on the project, scheduled for completion in late 2014.

“This building essentially completes the commercial component of the original Arena District master plan,” said Nationwide Realty President Brian Ellis. “This project will take up the vast majority of the remaining ground.”

The $50 million project will include a parking garage with at least 1,400 spots to make up for the 525-spot surface parking lot that will be lost to the construction. Ellis said a construction timetable hasn’t been finalized and the parking garage may get started first.

“We’re still looking at the sequencing,” he said. “We don’t need to start construction immediately to meet Columbia Gas’ needs.”

The office complex would be the largest built so far in the Arena District, surpassing the Jones Day law firm-anchored building at 325 John H. McConnell Blvd., which has 165,000 square feet of space.

It will sit directly across Nationwide Boulevard from Jones Day and a five-story, 95,000-square-foot office building anchored by the San Francisco-based engineering firm URS Corp.

The project is contingent on Columbus City Council approving a 10-year, 75-percent tax abatement on the investment.

Legislation is set for introduction on April 11.

‘Great place to grow’

Columbia Gas, a division of Merrillville, Ind.-based utility NiSource Inc., plans to take at least 208,000 square feet when it moves its 650 employees out of leased offices at 200 Civic Center Drive in the RiverSouth District downtown.

Ellis said the building will have two contiguous floors with an additional 20,000 square feet on each floor available to Columbia Gas if needed.

“Columbia Gas really wanted to make sure the project was multitenant, so we sized it accordingly,” he said. “We think the Arena District is a great place to grow.”

The company asked Nationwide to build additional space in case it expands its downtown operations, including information technology and financial functions as well as a control center for NiSource gas distribution in seven states and centralized dispatch operations for five states.

“The main thing is we’ve been able to build in flexibility in terms of what our needs may be and cover any eventuality in terms of growth,” said Columbia Gas President Jack Partridge.

Columbia Gas moved into the 14-story, 240,000-square-foot RiverSouth building when it was completed in 1983. Partridge said the building layout is less efficient than what they’ll get in the Arena District and it was not pre-wired for technology lines when it was built.

A coming lease expiration in December 2014 prompted NiSource’s corporate real estate department to begin looking for options.

Partridge said the company considered new development land and buildings in Dublin and New Albany, as well as Easton in the city of Columbus.

“We tried to look at every option out there and each option had attractive aspects,” he said. “(But) the Arena District is where we ended up.”

View Arena District building in a larger map

Business First: Ibiza replacement plan faces hurdles

A link to the story is here

Columbus real estate investor Mike Schiff first demonstrated an appetite for distressed properties in late 2010 with a relatively conservative play with the discounted purchase of a loan on the former Yankee Trader site near the North Market.

Stepping it up a bit, he purchased the nearly vacant Atlas Building downtown in late February with plans to redevelop the historic property into apartments and perhaps offices.

Now Schiff has worked his way into the Short North to the pocked, vacant site at 830 N. High St. that for the last four years has proven a financial black hole for Apex Realty, the would-be developers of the failed 11-story Ibiza condominium tower. A Schiff-led venture began solidifying its development rights for the property this week when it took over a contract from Columbus’ Core One Properties LLC to buy out Apex’s mortgage for the site. The loan has an outstanding balance of about $4.6 million but any developer could buy it at a discount and control the real estate.

The Ibiza saga goes back to 2006, when Apex first unveiled its plans for the 11-story tower. After numerous delays, the developer told about 70 would-be condo buyers in January 2010 that it would scuttle its bid for 138 condos and pursue apartments instead. Core Properties showed interest a few months later as it began talking to the Finance Fund, a financier of projects in distressed neighborhoods, about buying out the loan and putting apartments on the site.

Schiff said he wants a mix of offices, retail and residential units in a tower similar in scope to the failed Ibiza.

“It will have a much better shot at success than something that’s strictly residential,” he said.

But those plans still offer plenty of risks. For one, Schiff will have to pay off more than $550,000 in past-due property taxes. And those prospective buyers remain in line for an estimated $1.2 million in deposits Apex has yet to return, according to numerous lawsuits filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Such litigation, and rumors the developer may file for bankruptcy, may impede any plans.

Schiff also will have to go back to the Italian Village Commission since the project’s “certificate of appropriateness” has long since expired. He said he has lined up two unspecified developers to work through the minefield, but the unveiling of a formal plan will take a few months.

“We think we’ll bring Italian Village something they can be happy with,” Schiff said.

Core Properties CEO Jeff Coopersmith did not get specific in outlining his reasons for walking away from the project after nearly a year of trying.

“We basically sold our contract (to develop the site) in order to recover some of our expenses,” he said. “... We just couldn’t figure out how to make it work economically within our risk parameters. It was just too big of a risk.”

HRC: Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act Introduced in U.S. House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 30, 2011

Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act Introduced in U.S. House

Bill to Ban Job Discrimination Part of Economic Empowerment Agenda for LGBT Community

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, hailed today’s bipartisan reintroduction of an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would create federal protections against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill is a critical piece of an economic empowerment agenda for the LGBT community, as detailed in a recent memo by HRC: www.hrc.org/documents/EconomicEmpowerment.pdf. (also below)

“All Americans worry about their economic future, but LGBT Americans’ anxieties are exacerbated when they can be fired for no other reason than their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Passing ENDA is a key element of making sure all Americans can get back to work and get our country moving again.”

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote an employee based on the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Currently such protections exist in 21 states and DC for sexual orientation and 12 states and DC for gender identity.

“ENDA reflects our shared value that what matters in the workplace is how you do your job, not who you are,” said Solmonese. “While debate remains about how to best solve our country’s economic woes, varied interests from large corporations to organized labor agree that ENDA is critical to our economy.”

Among Fortune 500 companies, 87 percent have sexual orientation non-discrimination policies and 46 percent have gender identity non-discrimination policies. Additionally, more than 85 companies have joined the Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness, a group of leading U.S. employers that support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

HRC’s new memo, “Federal LGBT Legislation: An Economic Empowerment Agenda,” details a number of legislative proposals to put LGBT Americans on the same footing as everyone else. In addition to ENDA, a number of bills aim to extend benefits to families currently disadvantaged because their relationships are not recognized. These include the Respect for Marriage Act, the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, the Uniting American Families Act, the Equal Access to COBRA Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act. Additionally, passing legislation to ensure that schools are safe for all students will help prepare them to contribute to our economy.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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Economic Empowerment

Columbus Dispatch: New developer to take over Ibiza's Short North site

The story is here

Retail, residential, office space planned in Short North tower

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 03:06 AM

By Jim Weiker

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A Columbus developer plans to build an office and residential tower on the site of the failed Ibiza condominium project in the Short North.

Schiff Capital Group has assumed control of the site at N. High Street and Hubbard Avenue, principal Michael Schiff said.

Schiff said he plans an eight- to 10-story building to include retail and restaurants on the ground floor, three or four floors of office space and some sort of residential space - probably apartments - on the upper floors.

"We believe that we have a real formula for success there," Schiff said. "The Short North is the hottest area in central Ohio right now, and this is the heart of the Short North."

The deal appears to mark the end for Ibiza. The project, announced in 2006, was to have been the largest condo project in the Short North, with 135 units in two 11-story towers.

But the project was crushed by a collapsing real-estate market, although an estimated 60 buyers deposited a total of about $1million for condominiums in the project. At least 17 investors have sued the developer, ARMS Properties, or its sister company, Apex Realty Enterprises, for their money back. In addition, Franklin County has sued ARMS for about $551,000 in unpaid property taxes.

"All along, the principals at Apex Realty Enterprises and ARMS Properties have promised their investors that if a new developer takes over the project, each person who deposited money would be made whole," said Brian Laliberte, a Columbus attorney who represents 15 investors. "We certainly hope that Apex and ARMS will follow through on that promise."

ARMS officials, who could not be reached for comment, had tried to strike a deal with Columbus developer Core Properties to build apartments on the site. Core backed out of the project after determining that the risk was too high, said Jeffrey Coopersmith, Core's managing partner.

Schiff assumed Core's primary position with the chief lender on the project, the Finance Fund.

"This is a great site, but it requires a different approach than what we're used to doing," Coopersmith said. "We were perfectly happy to give Mike our position."

Schiff said he hopes to work out the details of the development in 60 to 90days and "be able to proceed with construction soon after that."

The development also would include a parking garage off High Street, he said.

"This is a very important site for the entire city," Schiff said. "We see it as becoming a true focal point and meeting place in the Short North."

jweiker@dispatch.com

Columbus Dispatch: More people signed contracts to buy homes in Feb.

The story is here

WASHINGTON (AP) -- More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but sales were uneven across the country and not enough to signal a rebound in the housing market.

Sales agreements for homes rose 2.1 percent last month to a reading of 90.8, according to the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index released Monday. Sales rose in every region but the Northeast.

Signings were 19.6 percent above June's index reading, the low point since the housing bust. Still, the index is below 100, which is considered a healthy level. The last time it reached that point was in April, the final month people could qualify for a home-buying tax credit.

Contract signings are usually a good indicator of where the housing market is heading. That's because there's usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.

But the Realtors group also noted "a measurable level of contract cancellations" that also occurred in February. Many buyers canceled after appraisals showed the properties were valued much lower than their initial bids.

A sale is not final until a mortgage is closed.

"Therefore, the latest pickup in pending home sales and mortgage applications might not necessarily end up in a measurable pickup in mortgage closings and translate into an increase in existing home sales," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an analyst at BNP Paribas.

The pace of sales varied from region to region. Signings fell 10.9 percent in the Northeast. They rose 2.7 percent in the South, 4 percent in Midwest and 7 percent in the West.

High unemployment, strict lending standards, and a record number of foreclosures are deterring would-be buyers, who fear home prices haven't reached the bottom.

Sales of previously owned homes fell last year to the lowest level in 13 years. Economists say it will be years before the housing market fully recovers. The rise in foreclosures has pushed the median price of previously occupied homes to its lowest point in nearly 9 years.

New-home sales have fared even worse. Americans are on track to buy fewer new homes than in any year since the government began keeping data almost a half-century ago. Sales are now just half the pace of 1963 - even though there are 120 million more people in the United States now.

Columbus Dispatch: Home prices falling in most major US cities

The link is here

The actual press release and data is below

Blogger note: They do not track Columbus, Ohio and all real estate is local. Your neighborhood might be very different.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Home prices are falling in most major U.S. cities, and the average prices in four of them are at their lowest point in 11 years. Analysts expect further prices declines in most cities in the coming months.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday shows home prices dropped in 19 cities from December to January. Eleven of them are at their lowest level since the housing bust, in 2006 and 2007. The index fell for the sixth straight month.

Home values in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Detroit and Cleveland are now below January 2000 levels. A majority of the metro areas tracked by the index now have home prices at levels dating back to 2003, just as the housing boom began.

The only market where prices rose was Washington, where homes prices gained 0.1 percent month over month.

"The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.

The housing market remains the heaviest burden on the economy, which is showing signs of strength elsewhere. Unemployment benefit applications are at pre-recession lows, consumers are spending more money and manufacturing activity is growing at its fastest rate in seven years.

By contrast, the housing market is coming off its worst year in more than a decade for sales of previously occupied homes and its worst in a half-century for sales of new homes.

High unemployment and tighter lending requirements have kept many people from entering the market. A record number of foreclosures and short sales - when the lender agrees to accept less than what the buyer owes on the mortgage - are pulling down home values. Many would-be buyers are waiting on the sidelines, fearing that the market has yet to bottom out.

"A lot of people are thinking the best thing to do is to stay put or delay until conditions improve," said Jonathan Basile, economist at Credit Suisse Securities.

The pain is not uniform. It is worse in cities flooded by foreclosures and short sales. That includes Detroit and Cleveland, which are struggling with weak local economies. Miami, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Atlanta are reeling from overbuilding during the housing boom.

"Some people who want to buy don't have the time, desire or energy to fix up a foreclosure, so they don't buy them," said Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors Inc. in Miami, where foreclosures or short sales make up two-thirds of the homes sold.

San Diego was the only city besides Washington to show year-over-year gains in home prices, although prices there rose only a scant 0.1 percent.

Washington has stood out for its success in the otherwise tough market. Home prices in the nation's capital are up 3.6 percent year over year and have risen nearly 11 percent since they bottomed out in March 2009. And among the 20 cities, prices there have held up the best since 2000, appreciating almost 84 percent.

The Case-Shiller report measures home price increases and decreases relative to prices in January 2000 and gives an updated three-month average for the metropolitan areas it looks at.

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Kravitz reported from Washington.

Case Schiller Index March 2011

Plain Dealer: Cleveland bill would offer domestic partners health benefits

The entire story is here

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman says he has enough support for an ordinance he introduced Monday night that will give health care benefits to domestic partners of city employees.

But he said he also knows it will be a hard sell to those councilmen who oppose the plan.

About 120 unmarried couples are on the city's domestic partner registry, which was first made available in May 2009. Those registering had to show they were sharing expenses on a long-term basis, such as a mortgage or utility bills, to ensure their authenticity.

The registry, which passed in late 2008 as a means of getting insurance, also created a stir. Soon after council adopted it 13-7, several local pastors, led by the Rev. C.J. Matthews of Mount Sinai Baptist Church, banded together to repeal it. They circulated petitions, needing to collect about 11,000 signatures to put the issue to a citywide vote.

But the effort fell way short of the goal.

Rev. Matthews did not return calls Monday.

The Rev. Marvin McMickle of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, who said he is not fond of same-sex marriages, said he is not opposed to the domestic partners law that would give them health care benefits.

Registering does not guarantee any rights or mean a couple is legally married.

Cimperman said 10 council members are co-sponsoring the ordinance. He also said three others will vote for it, "so we have more than enough support to get this passed." He said Council President Martin J. Sweeney has agreed to the debate.

"But I always anticipate a hard sell," he said. "You take nothing for granted in the legislative process."

Council members were expected to assign the ordinance to at least one city committee, and Cimperman said as many as three -- the finance, health and employment, and legislative committees -- could consider its merits.

Cimperman said major firms like the Cleveland Clinic and Medical Mutual already offer health care to their domestic partner employees, and he said the city should follow suit. He also said 21 states, 404 Fortune 1000 companies and about 4,000 other private firms, nonprofits and unions provide the same benefits.

"There's no reason this ordinance shouldn't pass," he said. "Cleveland has the four best health systems in the country in the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth and St. Vincent, plus we have the Gay Games coming here in 2014 with over 50,000 visitors coming to our city."

Cimperman also said health care for domestic partners will not cost taxpayers because it cuts down on uninsured care, and it also helps the city in its efforts to recruit employees.

"Plus, if health care is a human right, passing this is the right thing to do," Cimperman said.

He might get more support than he initially figures. Councilman Zack Reed, who voted against the registry in 2008, said he is neither for nor against the ordinance. Domestic partners include members of the LGBT - lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender community.

"I was against the domestic registry initially because I saw no need for it in Cleveland," Reed said. "People could already register in Cleveland Heights. It's too early to analyze this ordinance."

Nicole Dailey Jones, a spokeswoman for Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, said county employees will closely follow what's happening before making any decisions on the domestic partner issue.

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon said she is exploring partnering with the city so county employees could register their domestic partners with the city and then receive health care benefits for their partners.

"We're looking at options, but definitely I'm going to be introducing legislation," Simon said.

HRC: Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to be Introduced in U.S. House in Coming Days

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 28, 2011

Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to be Introduced in U.S. House in Coming Days

Bill to Ban Job Discrimination Part of Economic Empowerment Agenda for LGBT Community

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, hailed this week’s anticipated bipartisan reintroduction of an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would create federal protections against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill is a critical piece of an economic empowerment agenda for the LGBT community, as detailed in a new memo released today by HRC: www.hrc.org/documents/EconomicEmpowerment.pdf. (also below)

“All Americans worry about their economic future, but LGBT Americans’ anxieties are exacerbated when they can be fired for no other reason than their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Passing ENDA is a key element of making sure all Americans can get back to work and get our country moving again.”

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote an employee based on the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Currently such protections exist in 21 states and DC for sexual orientation and 12 states and DC for gender identity.

“ENDA reflects our shared value that what matters in the workplace is how you do your job, not who you are,” said Solmonese. “While debate remains about how to best solve our country’s economic woes, varied interests from large corporations to organized labor agree that ENDA is critical to our economy.”

Among Fortune 500 companies, 87 percent have sexual orientation non-discrimination policies and 46 percent have gender identity non-discrimination policies. Additionally, more than 85 companies have joined the Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness, a group of leading U.S. employers that support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

HRC’s new memo, “Federal LGBT Legislation: An Economic Empowerment Agenda,” details a number of legislative proposals to put LGBT Americans on the same footing as everyone else. In addition to ENDA, a number of bills aim to extend benefits to families currently disadvantaged because their relationships are not recognized. These include the Respect for Marriage Act, the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, the Uniting American Families Act, the Equal Access to COBRA Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act.

The memo also details efforts to ensure that schools are safe for all students to be prepared to contribute to our economy. In the 112th Congress there are two legislative solutions (the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act), as well as administrative actions, that can address the problem of bullying, harassment and discrimination against LGBT students.

Full details of the economic empowerment agenda are available at: www.hrc.org/documents/EconomicEmpowerment.pdf.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

# # #

Economic Empowerment