who are not homeowners to acquire loans to get homes, or for people who are homeowners to refinance and improve their homes, this government program downgrades predominantly black areas and prevents them from being viable investments.

the real estate corporations, the lenders, the banks, the homeowners associations, they did. they had amassed it over decades. the historical structures of inequality that make it difficult to fight against these things. there is institutions, right, banking institutions, real estate institutions, political institutions, homeowners institutions, that make it very difficult to fight against these problems. there is rhetoric. there is the rhetoric of equality that robert self wrote about. what racism? we're not racists. so what there is no black people who live here and never have been and we don't want them, but we're not racists, we're homeowners, we just want freedom. we're just individuals, just individual freedom loving people.. we're not pot bellied red faced southern sheriffs. look at us. we're don draper. we're not racists. there is that rhetoric. how do you fight against that? how do you fight against historical structures of inequality? how do you fight against political inequality to influence outcome? how do you fight against a rhetoric of individualism and individu

california attorney general kamala harris on her efforts to bring relief to struggling homeowners, and more, coming up next. >> belva: good evening. i'm belva davis and welcome to "this week in northern california." joining me tonight are gary richards, "san jose mercury news" transportation reporter. rachel gordon, "san francisco chronicle" city hall reporter. john meyers, sacramento bureau chief, will be with us to talk about governor brown. rachel, we'll start with you and a long-running story here in san francisco. that is about san francisco sheriff mirkarimi. seems to not be able to not have unwound himself from this case involving his wife and domestic violence. >> right, i mean, there always seems to be something new all the time. this week we found out ross mirkarimi, facing three criminal charges of misdemeanors stemming from a case of alleged domestic violence on new year's eve, he decided in a plea bargain with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge of false imprisonment. he had been facing domestic violence, battery, dissuading a witness and child endangerment beca

the resolution is urging the mayor to direct our city lobbyist to support the california homeowner bill of rights, also supporting the call for the suspension of foreclosures of loans controlled by fannie mae and freddie mac and to provide for a principal reduction to keep families in their homes. a resolution also urges all city and county officials and departments to work proactively to insure that san francisco residents do not fall victim to unlawful foreclosure practices and most importantly, is calling on banks, especially wells fargo, to suspend foreclosure activities until such time the state and federal measures are in place to protect homeowners from unfair and unlawful practices. i come to this -- work on this legislation with many community groups from across san francisco. there is the california air with reinvestment coalition, residents from our different districts, and we are facing a crisis even here in san francisco. it has now -- not always been recognized we have a foreclosure crisis. often in california we talk about the central valley as having a crisis in foreclos

the book if a bank were to write down the mortgage to one hundred fifty thousand dollars and the homeowner could refinance if it is lower rates or sell the house both of which would massively stimulate the economy banks of course don't want to do this because they'd have to come up with the fifty thousand dollars to make a spread between the two but there's a mechanism already in place that takes that load off the banks and that's for fannie or freddie who backstop about eighty percent of us mortgages to take the hit themselves there's even a law that let them do it it would get the economy up and running immediately and overnight republicans in the senate are blocking it and they're succeeding because they had an inside man on the job meet ed demarco the acting director of the federal housing finance agency which oversees mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie mac. and according to huffington post business editor peter goodman from arco is the single largest obstacle to meaningful economic recovery and a man who most americans probably never heard of with eleven million americans locked i

if you were a homeowner, you would be guaranteed more transparency.ers would have to provide a single point of contact and explain why a loan was denied. if you're facing foreclosure, the lender cannot evict you while you're trying to renegotiate your loan. you can't be evicted with robo signed documents containing information that has not been verified. creditors would have to provide documentation of their right to foreclose, and you'd have wider rights to challenge the foreclosure in court. if you live in a neighborhood with empty, abandoned home accidentses, you could see -- homes, you could see improvements. if you're a tenant in a newly purchased foreclosed property, the owner has to wait at least 90 days before changing your lease or starting eviction proceedings. the bill of rights is split between six different pieces of legislation. attorney general harris says she anticipates powerful opposition. >> is this the elephant in the room. there has been -- i think there is good reason for everyone to think that when you're going up against some o

all homeowners get the same deal. >> it sowns ridiculous .he balance sheet is blown to smither reins. but maybe i am having my own network moment. i am tired of the bail outs. i talk to bank of america and city group. they are moving the goal post. if you share with one share with all. we all deserve a break. i know rates are low and i get all of the money out of the front door. it is unfair to the prudent people. >> give to some give it everybody? >> i wish that were so. you are just making one wrong and two wrongs and hope is a right. we are heavily incenting bankings to refinance. i refinanced twice in the last six months and i don't understand why the government is pushing this farther and these incentives just create bad outcomes. banks engaged in riskier loans after the bail outs. regulators came in and said you need to float money around the market to clean it up. >> bill, do we just help a small sliver of those in trouble or help everybody. >> offer them all the same deal. mortgage written down to 90 percent of your home's value but y

manning that was a war a complaint has just been unsealed alleging that bank of america defrauded homeowners and the government so should we really trust them to carry out their responsibilities and the latest foreclosure fraud settlement and it already has gone crazy over the documentary by invisible children to stop joseph koni leader of the l r a it's gone around thirty seven million views on you tube in just a matter of days but there are a few things that you should know before throwing your money into this campaign so not all bad morphy tonight including a dose of happy hour but first take a look at the mainstream media has decided to miss. all right so today i'm not really sure how to describe what the mainstream media was up to i'm sure that if you asked them they would just label as doing their job presenting the news but it's really been a while since i've seen a more random batch of stories flashing across the t.v. screens in the morning. who needs cancer and all you need is a credit card and a cupcake a.t.m. mitt romney in the lead now in alabama who can really be best known for

qualified homeowners. not everyone's qualified. what's holding everyone back?here are three reasons why people shy away from the potential savings. they're pessimistic about the market, they're pessimistic about the process of obtaining a new mortgage and they think comparing mortgage loans are too difficult. >> it's a daunting process basically. also i think that people don't have an awareness of how low mortgage rates really are right now. i mean if you're a couple of points, right -- there are a lot of people who say i have a 6% loan or 5.5% loan. they should be refinancing. >> that is correct. as you said, our recent survey indicated that when we looked at american homeowners, baseded on their credit, income, and equity, an average homeowner could save about $471 per month, but they're not doing it. but what's more important it's expected that about 6 million americans refinanced this year. our data reveals that twice as many more people can potentially qualify for refinancing and saving, and they may be living paycheck to paycheck where they may not have t

it was not just the homeowners that were harmed but everyone in the neighbor.eil: but part of me, as a business go, i am saying, well, the $26 billion that the banks are responsible, to make this right, and to get everything addressed, what is to encourage them to increase lending or loosen the lending standards to not be so you it on people otherwise who would be qualified when they have been slammed with $27 billion kick in the behind? >>guest: we should hold them accountable for where they have made mistakes and they did here. but the nightmare scenario, not just for the housing market, but for the banks themselves they could have had 50 different lawsuits from different states, dragging on over 10 or 15 years, so --. >>neil: you are right, they ditched that bullet because it was boater than 50 massive bullets but what i am saying, what would get them to keep helping if they know this is a big fine they have been paying and they will have to dress it and they don't went to get in hot wart again. >>guest: again, if we can turn the page on this, if we can turn

the funds would be diverted, wouldn't go to the struggling homeowners. what i'm trying to get at, it seems like something like this where you really are talking about consumer protection is some area where you guys ought to weigh in on as well. what has been your response? how have you gotten information out? where is there a clear understanding of how this money can get into the hands of the consumer to help them for what it was designed to do, get down that principle and that the states cannot willy-nilly use this money for a rainy day fund or whatever. and that's a problem. how are you all helping us with that? >> well, the mortgage servicing settlement was organized around the principle that there was significant money allocated on state-by-state basis. and state attorneys general would have significant say in whether that was used, for example, for homeowner counseling or for razing abandoned houses in cities, which is another big problem, or any of a number of other uses there is also money in the settlement, though, that is not subject to control

it would help homeowners with any government-insured loans. borrowers with mortgages insured by the fha, the federal housing administration could refinance with half the fee that the fha charges for veterans and service members. they will review decisions to foreclose our deny lower interest rates, as a way to help homeowners still underwater. here's more from the president at today's news conference. >> last fall we announced an initiative that allows millions of responsible homeowners to refinance at low interest rates. today we're taking it a step further. we are cutting by more than half the refinancing fees that families pay for loans ensuinsu by the federal housing administration. that saves the typical family an extra $1,000 a year on top of savings they receive from refinancing. that would make refinancing more attractive to more families. it's like another tax cut to put more money in people's pockets. we do this on our own. we don't need congressional authorization to do it. we're taking a series of steps to help homeowners who have

some of the homeowners separate lawsuits spending against pg&e. the agreement cap as $50 million fund that was set up to pay for repair to infrastructure. >>> collision caused a big delay this afternoon on a freeway. the crash happened after 1:00 today on interstate 680. it caused a big traffic back up. you can see it there. officers opened the freeway an hour later. only minor injuries. later, this san francisco a crash caused another back up. this happened in danville before 3:00 this afternoon on the freeway overcrossing. traffic was backed up for miles. >>> a bicyclist who killed a pedestrian in san francisco last summer pleaded guilty to misdemeanor manslaughter. a judge sentenced him to three years probation for the accident that killed a woman. he must complete 500 hours of community service and pay $15,000 to the family. >>> dog walkers are being extra coshes in berkeley hills because of a mother lurking in the trees. ktvu's alex savage is live where he found the nesting owl that is creating quite a stir. alex? >> reporter: signs are poste

that provides the safe guard for the homeowner. every contractor is totally used to that way of working. there is no awkwardness or resentness it's the way business is done. >> make that part of your contract with the architect, come out and do these services harvey explained. there is someone else, that's the building inspect or. he is your expert. your hired expert, you are hiring him whether you want to or not because you have to get a building permit. they will come out and see that the work is done according to the minimal standards of the code. the codes are the bottom line. you can't do it worse than the code. the inspector makes sure your construction, whatever it is meets that standard, they are working for you. in addition to the architect. you have another set of eyes. >> most contractors don't like it if the homeowner is there for the inspection but it's a good idea. to walk through and see what the comments are. usually it's 9 and 12 in the morning or 1 and 3:30 in the afternoon. it's not a set time but it's a good tim

the suspects take off, some on foot, leaving the car. >> the homeowner refuses to back down. he fires off round after round. one of the bullets hits the windshield of the car. this woman covers crime for kvoa, an nbc affiliate station located in tucson. she vividly remembers seeing the video and being shocked by the brazenness of the crime. >> you had a car pulling into the driveway, you had four men leaving the car. they were wearing hooded sweatshirts. and then there was like this barrage of gunfire, and you could hear, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. it was unbelievable that this would happen in broad daylight. >> the gunshots pierce the quiet serenity of the neighborhood and residents are concerned but feel that the homeowner did the right thing by shooting back. >> i'm very watchful where we live, and think everybody has a right to defend their property. >> the police release the surveillance video to the media. it results in a flood of anonymous tips that eventually results in arrests of two of the four suspects. >> we have a warrant outstanding for a third suspect, and the fo

you walk away.com helps walk homeowners through the default and short sale process. they offer several levels of services and charge different prices. valadez is paying about $1,000 for their help. >> i either had to be a victim or be pro active, and i chose to be pro active and move on. >> that's why his condominium has been cleaned up and cleaned out. >> people who are facing this are freaking out about what is going to happen. some of the people that call in think the sheriff will come the next day and tear them out of the home if they stop making payments. >> chad is owner of you walk away.com. he says it does not happen. most homeowners who had their original mortgage will have eight months, a year and sometimes longer before they have to move. and even then, all of them will receive three months warning of an auction. >> you have to look at it as a business transaction. it is a debt that is collateral liesed with property. when the homeowner enters into the agreement with the bank, they are not saying no matter what i will make these payments. what they are say

you walk away.com helps walk homeowners through the default and short sale process. they offer several levels of services and charge different prices. valadez is paying about $1,000 for their help. >> i either had to be a victim or be pro active, and i chose to be pro active and move on. >> that's why his condominium has been cleaned up and cleaned out. >> people who are facing this are freaking out about what is going to happen. some of the people that call in think the sheriff will come the next day and tear them out of the home if they stop making payments. >> chad is owner of you walk away.com. he says it does not happen. most homeowners who had their original mortgage will have eight months, a year and sometimes longer before they have to move. and even then, all of them will receive three months warning of an auction. >> you have to look at it as a business transaction. it is a debt that is collateral liesed with property. when the homeowner enters into the agreement with the bank, they are not saying no matter what i will make these payments. what they are say

the mayor of baltimore is preparing to introduce a plan to ease the tax burden on city homeowners.n to use money from the slots facility to fund a tax reduction, but this appears to be a bold move considering the site has not been billed yet. the city remains among the highest rates in the state by a long shot. baltimore police and city hall officials are reviewing and disruptive weekend at the inner harbor when a large group of kids descended on the inner harbor. 10 kids were charged with disruptive behavior and an assault. word of me that began on social media and police are consulting the school police to may be in the best position to know when big gatherings of kids are planned. >> the major was killed afghanistan shortly after the burning of the korans incident, the jurors gathered outside to pay respect to the up fallen shoulder. he was 48 years old. >> to the republican race for the white house, all eyes are on illinois, a big swing state. can mitt romney beat rick santorum bad enough to look like the sure nominee? we've got the updates. >> illinois looks ideal for mitt rom

i just want to acknowledge in particular yao was able to help a new homeowner who did not hardly speak english because chinese was her first language. i thought it was very good that he was able to help her in her own language walk through the permit process and give her a sense of what was required, being a first-time homeowner, to do some remodeling. i think those were two of the acknowledgements that staff recently received. the other thing in terms of announcements is that i wanted to thank the six dbi staffers who represents d dbi at the st. patrick's day festival at civic center. this is an ongoing effort by the department to try to get out in the community more where we can do a little bit of tabling and just speak to the public for any concerns over permitting issues or other building issues. i know some of us also worked the chinese new year festival last month. we had st. patrick's day, and i think we are going to be -- you are going to see the dbi present at almost every single street fair or festival on the calendar this year. i would just like to encourage that beside dbi

. >>> new help for homeowners. proposal coming from california's top cop that could make it harder to lose over 200,000 people are hospitalized every year with flu complications. lysol disinfectant spray is approved to kill over 50 germs on surfaces. this includes cold and flu viruses. so we recommend using lysol every day. >>> good thursday morning. 4:42. live look from our sutro cam towards san francisco. what is different in this picture today? you den see showers. we'll check in with mike -- you don't see showers. we'll check in with mike. >>> more news. california's attorney general has unveiled a homeowner's bill of rights six bills introduced that are aimed at protecting homeowners from unfair foreclosure proceedings. they will create a grand jury to investigate the worst-cases of fraud. also add protection for renters including policies to prevent unfair evictions and penalties for banks who robo signed documents. one measure would simplify negotiations between banks and homeowners. the legislation makes du

that is why it is shifting responsibility to the homeowner.n, who will be shifted to? our higher property tax is already covered like this. i hope my voice can be passed to the mayor. [unintelligible] before he makes a decision. thank you. president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i have lived in san francisco for 60 years. i would like to thank the supervisors present. you guys look pretty sharp, and i guess that is a response to a letter written to "the examiners," a letter -- whatever it was. i am glad everyone is paying attention instead of talking. i think the writer was very accurate. secondly, i thought the lady this afternoon during the noon hour spoke very briefly. it is a great spectacle seeing everybody gang up on a certain couple. we will make the odds a little more fair right now. where is the fairness? who do you really trust? we have the mayor that sacrificed his personal word of honor for political expediency. secondly, i would like to know what ever happened to their written -- the written allega

there are many people struggling homeowners out there who say isn't this to help us? how does it help? we want to use this event on june 1st and 2nd to really see what we can do to get some of this money out where it helps the most. and we can help reach this 10,000 goal. georgia, for example, will get 800 and $13 million of this money. i want to ask you, what does this mean? how can we use this money and the billions and every other state gets their share, but there's a lot of cloud of what it can be used for, what it can't -- how do our struggling homeowners get a piece of the action? >> well, you're going to be able to see a little more detail in the coming weeks. but alongside that, as you know, we're working very closely with ed demarco at the fha to try to make it easier for people to refinance, take advantage of lower interest rates, to make it easier for people to stay in their home if they can afford to by having their payment obligation reduced over time, helping them if they need to leave their home to transition to more affordable options, or trying to get

. >> susie: meanwhile, bank of america announced today a plan to help struggling homeowners. it's offering bank customers with underwater mortgages a way to avoid foreclosure by becoming renters. bank of america calls it mortgage to lease. >> reporter: it's an invitation only opportunity for people facing foreclosure and the only way to participate is by getting a letter from bank of america. fewer than 1,000 borrowers in only three states-- arizona, nevada and new york will be asked to join the pilot program. and those homeowners need to qualify before they can participate: they have to be 60 days behind on their mortgage, they must have exhausted other options like a home loan modification or a short-sale and they are really underwater on their homes. then the homeowner can hand over the title of his or her house to bank of america, thereby eliminating their mortgage debt. in exchange, the now former- owner can rent back the same house at or below market rates. >> this new bank of america program is definitely a step in the right direction because one thing that benefits ev

. >> certainly it depends on the homeowner. people who have a mortgage now held by fannie mae or freddie mac, they're not eligible for this. it's a very small group of homeowners who are eligible. and if you think about it, maybe someone used the phrase of a $25 billion drop in a $700 billion bucket, that's the overall value of under water mortgages, people who owe more than their home is worth. if the goal is to change the housing market, it doesn't do very much. >> thanks so much. richard, lizzy, nice to see both of you. thanks. >> thank you. >>> some are calling it the next housing crisis. why you could be a part of it and not even know it, that's next. proof zyrtec®, relief plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed. [ 8% every 10 years.age 40,®. we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the

homeowners like mike. >> they don't have legal grounds to foreclose and auction off our house. but they are doing it anyway. >> reporter: he says one department of bank of america foreclosed on his house even though another had already agreed to a loan modification. an issue harris says is all too common and is called dual track. >> so they are in the foreclosure process and a modification process dual track, two tracks. these two tracks are not talking with each other. >> reporter: something she says the first of the six proposed bills would end. some other issues addressed by the bills include single point of contact for borrowers in the foreclosure process, specific penalties against banks for the now infamous robo signing, blight prevention fines for owners who allow foreclosed homes to become rundown, and new protections for renters facing eviction from foreclosed homes. but if history is any indicator it's unlikely this bill of rights will actually become law at least not in the current state. so we asked harris to address the elephant in the room. who or what do you expe

. >>> president obama unveiled a new plan to help struggling homeowners. the federal housing administration will be able it cut up front fees for refinancing loans it already insures. this could help 3 million people reduce their mortgage payments by about $1,000 a year. service members will get compensation. and there will be a refund of old per charges for those denied the chance to refinance. >>> in democracy 2012 tonight it is super tuesday. in 10 states voters are weighing in on which republicans should get the chance to challenge president obama in know. three of the candidates, santorum -- rick santorum, mitt romney and newt gingrich criticized the president. >>> representative donna payne has died from colon cancer. she was first elected to congress in 1988. he was also a senior member on foreign house affairs. >>> crystal clear. we had the sunshine in abundance. very little in the way of cloud cover. winds from the south, southeast and this is a change from those cold north winds we had yesterday, last night and early this morning. that will event