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Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Rags-to-riches story of Russian-born Rangers tycoon who leads $500m plan to transform USA's most crime-ridden areas
He's one of three new faces joining Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe on the Rangers board GENE GILLS Rags-to-riches story of Russian-born Rangers tycoon who leads $500m plan to transform USA's most crime-ridden areas RANGERS' announcement of their takeover by 49ers Enterprises has been greeted with delight by fans. But not every new member of the board at Ibrox will be familiar to Gers supporters. Advertisement 3 Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises' takeover of Rangers is finally complete Credit: Kenny Ramsay 3 Paraag Marathe is coming in as vice-chairman at Ibrox Credit: PA 3 Gene Schneur is one of three new faces on Gers' board Businessman Andrew Cavenagh is coming in as chairman of Rangers, with Leeds chief Paraag Marathe serving as vice-chairman. Existing board member Patrick Stewart, Fraser Thornton, John Halsted, and George Taylor are staying on, but Graeme Park, Julian Wolhardt and Alastair Johnston are stepping away. Marathe said in a statement: "At 49ers Enterprises, we have built a track record of sporting and business success, but our driving motivation is our deep connection to the clubs and communities we serve. "We are excited to join Andrew and our other consortium of investors in a new era for this iconic club, and we are determined to build something that supporters can be proud of for years to come. Advertisement "Reflecting the club's new leadership, Mark Taber, Andrew Clayton and Gene Schneur will join Cavenagh and Marathe as new members of the board." All three of the new names have made their names in American businesses, with Taber having served on the boards of over a dozen healthcare companies and Clayton working alongside Cavenagh on their ParetoHealth business. Schneur's story is a rags-to-riches story, as he emigrated to the US from the former Soviet Union aged seven. He moved into an affordable-housing complex in Brooklyn, and the family needed Section 8 vouchers - which provide rental assistance to low-income households - to help cover bills. Advertisement Schneur studied law and worked as an acquisitions attorney in New York, before moving into business himself. He co-founded Omni New York, a developer of affordable housing, and later expanded into Omni America having totalled transaction values of over $4billion. Inside the rise of ex-Rangers ultras chief turned mob boss waging gangland war across Scotland Omni has spent $500 million on purchasing and revitalising New York's most run-down and crime-ridden apartments, most of which are Section 8 buildings like the one Schneur lived in when he first arrived in America. On the positive impact of his developments, Schneur said: "We're making money while doing good." Advertisement He's also a co-owner and board member at Leeds alongside Marathe. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Winston-Salem's housing authority leader to resign effective June 30
Activists and tenants gather near Housing Authority of Winston-Salem headquarters in April to protest conditions in public housing. (Photo: Greg Childress) Kevin Cheshire, the executive director and general counsel of the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem (HAWS), is stepping down, effective June 30, after five years in the role. Cheshire said he will remain with the housing authority in an advisory role to maintain continuity while his replacement is 'brought up to speed' on the workings of the organization. 'This has been in the works for almost two years, at least a year and a half,' Cheshire said. 'My board has known this is the plan and the mayor (Allen Joines) has known this is the plan.' Cheshire said his pending departure is unrelated to the call from some tenants and local housing activists for his resignation over concerns about his management of the city's aging public housing high rises. Tenants have complained that Cheshire is inattentive to their concerns and has failed to maintain safe and sanitary housing at several apartment complexes managed by HAWS. 'I had sort of anticipated that the folks who were being the most vocal demanding my resignation had already gotten wind of the fact that my resignation was imminent, and that they were planning strategically to take credit for something they knew was already coming,' Cheshire said. 'Whether that's the case, I still have no idea. But no, it [calls for his resignation] didn't [play a role] because that decision had already been made.' In an online post, the group Housing Justice Now, a tenant advocacy group that has been critical of Cheshire's leadership, celebrated the departure as a victory. 'He has ignored needed public housing renovations while pouring millions into the HAWS office building, underutilized Section 8 vouchers, bungled a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods grant, pursued retaliatory evictions, and pushed through a meaningless rebrand of the agency,' the group said. 'Tenant organizing at Crystal Towers, Healy Towers, Cleveland Avenue, and across our city made it impossible for Cheshire to push through even more bad policies. Make no mistake, this resignation is an organizing victory! And we demand the next executive director be truly dedicated to low-income housing!' Dan Rose, an activist with Housing Justice Now, said Cheshire has not served Winston-Salem well. 'The fact that Mayor Joines believes he did shows that the problem is not isolated to one public official,' Rose said. 'Residents that are directly affected by the housing crisis should be selecting the housing authority's next leader; not the mayor's out-of-touch board of commissioners.' Andrew Perkins, chairman of the HAWS Board of Commissioners, said the board will be 'genuinely sorry' to see Chesire step down. 'We have known for over a year that he wanted to transition once he completed some very important initiatives for the Housing Authority,' Perkins said. 'Kevin and his team have worked closely with the board and have accomplished everything we asked of them and more.' Perkins said Cheshire and his team have made great progress in creating more affordable housing. He noted the $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative redevelopment grant Cheshire helped to secure from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – the first to be awarded in North Carolina. Cheshire joined HAWS in 2013 as vice president of real estate development and general counsel. After a national search following the retirement of former executive director Larry Woods, Cheshire was promoted to the position in January 2020. 'I've been here 12 years, and this was never something I intended to do for 20 or 30 years,' Cheshire said. 'There were some very specific tasks that the board and I discussed when I first stepped into the role. I was committed to doing everything in my power to completing those tasks and then stepping aside to allow someone else to build on that foundation.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wilmington's new affordable housing complex is opening. Here's what it costs to live there
The opening of a workforce housing complex in New Hanover County gives a window into what is considered affordable in the Wilmington area. Starway Village, a 278-unit workforce housing complex finishing up construction at 2346 Carolina Beach Road, will provide housing for residents who make 60% or less of the area median income, or AMI, in New Hanover. When the project was in the planning stage in 2023, Mayor Bill Saffo said it was the largest affordable housing development to receive funding from both the city and the county. More StarNews: Accessing local journalism is even easier with the StarNews app The total cost of Starway Village was estimated to be $75 million. The project received over $2 million from New Hanover, $4.2 million from the city of Wilmington and $9 million from the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds. Two years later, applications for the first phase of Starway Village are now open. Much of the project is still under construction, but it is expected to be completed in July. The complex's amenities include a pool, dog park, community rooms, business center and an exercise room. Starway Village's one-bedroom units are priced at $1,047 per month. Two-bedroom apartments are $1,252 and three-bedroom units are $1,442. For a two-person household in New Hanover, 60% AMI amounts to $47,640, according to a housing needs assessment conducted by Root Policy Research. The affordable monthly housing cost at this income level is $1,191. Households that spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing are considered cost burdened. Roughly 35% of New Hanover residents fall into that category. While the assessment did not provide data for larger households, the average household in New Hanover has slightly more than two earners. There are roughly 106,000 households in the county. For middle income renters who earn between $35,000 and $49,999 in New Hanover, the percentage of households that are cost burdened jumped from 41% in 2018 to 74% in 2023. Typical asking rent rose 57% in that time, while median renter income increased by 45%. The median gross rent in New Hanover was $1,466 in 2023, higher than the maximum affordable rent at median renter income was $1,320. While building affordable housing at 60% AMI is necessary, it's not enough to meet the demand in New Hanover. To keep up with projected growth, the county would need to create an additional 4,700 units priced below 50% AMI in the next decade. Across income levels, New Hanover needs 21,200 more units in that timeframe to accommodate for the area's increasing population. In addition to the rent cap at Starway Village, the complex accepts subsidies from the Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8. The program provides vouchers to low-income tenants, ensuring that they only pay between 30% and 40% of their adjusted monthly income. Daniel Sheehan covers the city of Wilmington and New Hanover County for the StarNews. Reach him at dsheehan@ This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Starway Village affordable housing opening in Wilmington, NC
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Olmsted County plans 'major overhaul' for how federal housing vouchers are distributed
May 27—ROCHESTER — Olmsted County is revamping its waitlist process for federal housing vouchers, after the current system has left some households waiting years to find out if they'll be approved. The current waitlist was developed in 2019 and had 1,500 applications in a single week. It was narrowed to 500 through a lottery, but around 30 households remain on that waitlist. "We are exhausting our waitlist from 2019," Olmsted County Associate Housing Director Mary O'Neil said. With the list's numbers dwindling, the county is planning a new approach this summer, once the remaining households are either provided vouchers or deemed no longer eligible. Instead of creating another single waitlist that could take years to serve, housing officials plan to open smaller lists quarterly, capping numbers at 15. "We are proposing a major overhaul to address the growing needs of our community and reach those populations that aren't being served in another manner," said Megan Dahling, the Olmsted County program manager overseeing the county's rental assistance team. The federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, also commonly known as Section 8, provides assistance for individuals and families struggling with housing expenses. It typically covers rent costs that exceed 30% of a participating household's income. While the program sets some requirements for counties approving vouchers, Dahling said local housing officials are largely left to determine how vouchers are distributed to eligible households. Olmsted County oversees approximately 615 vouchers being used in Olmsted County, but new participants cannot be chosen until an existing voucher is released, often due to a participant no longer requiring the support. Dahling said roughly 60 vouchers turn over a year, which is why it takes years to go through the hundreds of names on the local list. The new county approach, which received Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority board support, will ask county agencies to identify people needing support in rotating categories quarterly. Dahling said the four categories are being addressed are housing barriers, housing stability, transitions and being safe at home. In the first year, those categories are expected to be met by finding eligible households in four targeted populations: * People with criminal histories in the first quarter * Elderly and disabled persons paying high rent in the second quarter * People receiving services who are ready for independence in the third quarter * Victims of domestic violence in the final quarter "Where the variation can come into play is there might be a population that has different types of housing barriers, so we would base that more on what's going on locally," she said, noting individual targeted groups could change in following years. When it comes to assisting people with criminal histories with the launch of the new approach, Dahling said it's a group facing the greatest barriers to securing housing. "They have a much tougher time finding housing, and there really isn't anything out there to help them," she said. To address the need, Dahling said Olmsted County corrections staff will identify 15 people needing housing help, who also qualify for vouchers under federal standards. Housing staff will then meet with the referred clients to help them find housing once a voucher is available. Three months later, she said county staff from another county agency will provide 15 names in the elderly and disabled targeted population. If the first 15 applicants are not depleted, the two groups will be merged. Along the way, Dahling said the county will also be required to add anyone who falls into specific federally mandated categories, which can include households using dedicated vouchers through specific housing facilities. "We have three locations that currently have some project-based vouchers with us," she said. "After they've lived in that property for a year and they're in good standing, they can request a portable voucher (for use with other rentals)." Dahling said county housing staff will continue to seek ways to connect others with available housing support programs, and the county plan leaves the option open to create a larger waitlist, similar to past practices. However, the larger lisy isn't expected to open for at least a year, since the goal is to evaluate the new approach. "After the first year, that will give us a better idea about opening to the public," she said.
Epoch Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Columbian Accused of Illegally Casting Vote in 2024 Election, Stealing $400,000 Federal Benefits
A Columbian woman living illegally in Massachusetts was indicted on May 22 for allegedly casting a fraudulent ballot in the 2024 election and receiving over $400,000 in federal benefits using a stolen identity. Federal prosecutors stated that Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez, 59, had lived under a stolen identity for over two decades. She allegedly obtained nine state IDs, including a Massachusetts Real ID, and a U.S. passport. Orovio-Hernandez allegedly used the stolen identity to submit a fraudulent voter registration in 2023 and cast an illegal ballot in the November 2024 election, She was also accused of improperly receiving federal benefits, including $259,589 in Section 8 rental assistance from October 2011 to January 2025; $101,257 in Social Security disability benefits from July 2014 to January 2025; and $43,348 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from April 2005 to January 2025. 'For more than 20 years, this defendant is alleged to have built an entire life on the foundation of a stolen identity—including illegally voting in our presidential election and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in government benefits intended for Americans in need,' U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a 'The right to vote is one of the many privileges of being a U.S. citizen,' the attorney stated. 'Government funded programs for those in need are intended to be safety nets for those living in our country lawfully—not support an illegal alien without a right to be here.' Related Stories 10/30/2024 10/26/2024 According to the Federal prosecutors said that officers had to breach both the front and bedroom door to make entry and arrest her. They suspected Orovio-Hernandez was preparing to flee, as she was found 'fully dressed with shoes on next to an open window' when they entered the house. Orovio-Hernandez was charged with false representation of a Social Security number, making false statements on a U.S. passport application, aggravated identity theft, receiving stolen government funds, fraudulent voter registration, and fraudulent voting. 'The alleged crimes are an affront to every individual who plays by the rules and undermines many of the programs meant to support the most vulnerable members of our society,' Foley stated. Orovio-Hernandez has remained in federal custody since February when she was She will be subject to deportation after serving any possible sentence imposed, the DOJ stated. The Epoch Times has reached out to her legal representative for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
