So, I seem to have a Letter to the Editor fetish going on. This is my second in a month, both having to do wih my favorite axe-grind-metaphor-thing...housing and community investment.

Anyway, the below letter ran in the Seattle Times last week. Just goes to show, if you write it, they'll print it.

P.s. I didn't pick the headline, the STimes did. For the life of me I cant figure out what the heck they meant by it.

The plot thins

Washington state is a national leader when it comes to the financing and development of award-winning housing that is safe, environmentally friendly and affordable to individuals and families throughout the spectrum of housing needs ["State's housing affordability gap widens," Real Estate, Dec. 18].

The State Housing Trust Fund, which is responsible for more than $420 million in new and improved housing since 1989, represents an important investment in communities around the state. These dollars are leveraged four and five times as they are matched with local, federal and private funds to create housing that will remain affordable for many decades to come.

Yet right now, according to the Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, nearly 405,000 households in Washington pay so much of their income in rent that they are faced with desperate choices between shelter and basic necessities. This is intolerable.

The state should make a significant investment from its newfound surplus into under-funded housing programs (such as the Housing Trust Fund). The rising land and construction prices that drove the state's new revenue have a side effect — many individuals and families cannot find a decent, safe and affordable place to live. The state has a responsibility to ensure that everyone in Washington has a place they can call home.

— Ben Gitenstein, advocacy director, Housing Development Consortium, Seattle