The 234 Apartment

AT least two projects nestled in a mature residential precinct in District 9 near Somerset are being run as serviced apartments - despite not having the regulatory approval to do so - and a third one is opening. Oxley Thanksgiving Residence , a freehold condominium at 328 River Valley Road owned by Chinese temple Poh Ern Shih , and St Thomas Lodge , which also sits on freehold land at 32 St Thomas Walk , are listed for short-term stay on the website of accommodation service provider Atas Residence . The Business Times' visit to these projects confirmed that they are being run as serviced apartments. A third property, Devonshire Apartments at 17 Devonshire Road , has just undergone a major renovation, and the units there are understood to be starting a new chapter as serviced apartments this month. BT's query to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) confirmed that these three properties are currently approved for residential use, but "do not have planning permission to...

A group of small ISPs is asking America's broadband watchdog to ban exclusivity deals that lock apartment buildings to a single broadband provider . Incompas, a Washington DC advocacy group for ISPs and telcos, told the FCC in a filing [PDF] that it should end the practice of landlords and building owners making deals with a single internet provider to have exclusive access to multi-tenant environments (MTEs) like apartment buildings and condos. The group argues that such deals, which often include payments or kickbacks to landlords when their tenants sign up for service, harm consumer choice in America, and unfairly let large telcos freeze out smaller ISPs. "The considerable barriers to entry faced by competitive providers seeking access to MTEs imperils the business case for the deployment of next-generation networks and services to the thirty percent of American consumers who live in multi-unit premises," Incompas says in the filing, submitted yesterday. ...

David Engberg wheels through the third apartment he’s had in two years. PHOTO BY KARLOS RENE AYALA David Engberg and James Clark cling to their independence by a thread. Both men were born with cerebral palsy and live off Supplemental Security Income , or SSI—a stipend that puts them under the federal poverty line . So far, they’ve managed to keep a roof over their heads by splitting the cost of rent. But since the affordable housing crisis hit , the roommates have been priced out of two apartments in just two years. The stressful shuffling was witnessed by Jennifer Schmidt, their case manager at InAlliance, a nonprofit that provides employment and living services for people with disabilities. Advocates such as Schmidt are becoming increasingly alarmed by the way skyrocketing rents are affecting Sacramento County ’s 14, 000 disabled residents . Several independent surveys suggest Sacramento is experiencing some of the largest rent increases in the nation. Few feel those tectonic ma...

Recycle. Reuse. Reduce. Reclaim. Cheryl Oliver is a true believer. Her husband, Jack, is not quite so sure. For Cheryl, there is no choice because she regards recycling as crucial for the survival of the planet. Jack said he gets it, but doesn’t think a few people can make any real difference. The house divided is a microcosm of communities when it comes to recycling. Cheryl believes everyone should do their part, while Jack believes that since not everyone is doing their part, why should he? “The problem with recycling is that most people don’t do it or won’t do it,” Jack said. “I think it’s mostly due to people being plain lazy.” Jack has a point – recycling takes more effort than just throwing everything into the same trash can. There are people who might recycle but don’t because they simply don’t know how. With paper, plastic, aluminum, metal and a myriad of other color-coded options for recyclable material, deciding where each thing should go can be troublesome. ...

Three of the four men charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl are also behind bars. The men are from Honduras, immigrants who found a home at the Heatherwood Apartments. The complex, near Peoria and Colfax in Aurora, is a racial melting pot , one that came to a boil on August 7, when a girl trying to leap to womanhood in a single summer got a very adult lesson. The violence bred more violence -- and more victims. News accounts the next day reported that a seventy-person mob had delivered street justice to one of the accused rapists. Although the reports weren't quite right -- nothing in this saga is -- street justice may be the only justice here. Anna grew up in the neighborhood and has a huge family of siblings and half-siblings. Anna has another daughter who was also taken away by Social Services when Anna went to prison. The girls have a baby brother, too, a child Anna gave birth to after she got out of prison two years ago. That baby has a different father w...