This story was reported for San Diego News Network on April 29, 2009.
Every action by President Barack Obama in his first 100 days in office has impacted all Americans and, in some cases, has had a global impact. SDNN takes a look at what the president has done for San Diego – in particular his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) – in his first 100 days.
Housing
With the passage of the ARRA, the Federal Housing Administration is now able to offer more homeowners an opportunity to refinance their homes. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been able to increase FHA loan limits up to $729,750 in 73 counties, including San Diego County. Prior to the act, loan limits were $625,500.
“This is one of the many elements of the president’s recovery plan that will help homeowners and homebuyers in these high-cost areas secure lower mortgage financing,” said HUD secretary Shaun Donovan. “These loan limit increases will help FHA continue to provide safe, affordable mortgage products to families in all areas of the nation.”
The change allows FHA-insured homebuyers to apply for the new loan limits until Dec. 31.
In addition to local homeowners receiving assistance, the San Diego County Department of Housing and Community Development is expecting to receive assistance for three other programs. An amount of $1.9 million will be allocated for homeless prevention, $198,005 for capital improvements among public housing, and $1.2 million for additional recovery programs.
Transportation
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) will receive $131.4 million in highway funds from the ARRA. On March 27, SANDAG’s board of directors adopted a plan to allocate the money appropriately to all its programs. The plan includes $109.3 million for widening State Route 76 by 5.5 miles (comprising the area between Melrose Drive in Oceanside to South Mission Road in Bonsall.) Interstate 805 will receive $18.1 million to widen the freeway near Carroll Canyon Road, and $4 million will go to the Grossmont Station Pedestrian Enhancement Project (which will allow public transit-users better access to the Grossmont Station). Finally, $51 million will go to TransNet – a program that is distributed among all 18 county cities for use on “high priority local transportation” projects.
Any additional transportation funds, which may be distributed by the state government, will go toward the Interstate 805 Auxiliary Lanes project – the enhancement of the areas between E Street in Chula Vista and the Otay Mesa border.
Caltrans was also offered a $48 billion share of the pot; $8 billion of that has been allocated to a high speed and intercity rail; $1.5 billion will go toward transportation improvements; $1.3 billion for aviation; and $2.2 billion for public transit. Although the money is divided among all areas of the state, a map has been created to see which areas will be affected, much of which applies to the county.
Health Care
The president’s desire to reform health care was a hot topic on the campaign trail – and the ARRA helps fulfill Obama’s promise. The ARRA allocated $2.2 million to the Family Health Centers of San Diego, $151,674 to St. Vincent de Paul Village, $518,028 to La Maestra Family Clinic and $438,855 to the San Diego Family Care.
In addition, San Ysidro Health Center will open a satellite clinic, funded by a $1.3 million grant, in mid-July. The health center was featured in a recent SDNN article, which highlighted the number of new jobs the clinic will bring.
Education
Contributing SDNN education writer Marsha Sutton highlighted the amount of ARRA funds being allocated to the public education sector. In her blog entry, she discovers nearly $4 billion has already been released to the state government with individual districts having to apply for a portion of the money.
Because of numerous state budget cuts, various California districts were forced to notify teachers of possible layoffs by March 15. In San Diego County, the Sweetwater Union High School District was just one of many that released layoff notices to 109 of their teachers. However, with the new funds available and the possibility of its quick distribution, these layoffs may not occur.
“We welcome the additional resources to avert a dramatic reduction in our education workforce,” said Jack O’Connell, California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction in a letter Sutton cited.
Although, his first 100 days have been poignant and have shown our new president is a multi-tasker, whether he has effectively improved U.S. systems remains a political question that may be answered in the next 1,360 days.
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.