RESPONSE: Thank you for sharing your story.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: We hope you can help us. My daughter was fortunate enough to move into a HUD apartment in August. Under the signed contract, she was to get an $80 allowance for electricity. This has never been true. CMP states that she alone is the only one who pays the electricity bill. No one knows why HUD hasn’t contributed to her bill. Can you please help and tell us why HUD hasn’t paid? Thank you. — No Name in Rumford.
ANSWER: Look closely at your electric bill to see if a discount has been applied. The Housing Choice Voucher Program, which is commonly referred to as Section 8, is a federal government-funded housing assistance program. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development created and currently funds the program, and it is run at the local state and county level by various government agencies, community action agencies, public housing agencies, and non-profits. Applicants who are accepted into the program will receive vouchers which are used to help pay rent and in effect subsidize the cost of housing expenses.
If you apply to the program and are accepted, a housing subsidy payment will be paid directly to your landlord by the PHA or community action agency. The voucher will pay anything above 30 percent of the applicant’s adjusted total monthly income up to an established limit, which may vary based on state or program terms. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. Therefore, the government pays some of the rent, and the participant is responsible for a portion of rent as well.
For more information about Maine’s Low Income Assistance Plan which helps low-income homeowners and renters pay for electricity costs by providing a credit on their electric bills, call LIAP at 1-877-544-3271.
For more information about Maine’s Section 8 housing program, call 207-784-7351 for the Auburn office or 207-626-4600 for the Augusta office.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: You’ve helped us a lot so I have another question. Sunday’s ESPN Football Countdown is broadcast from their headquarters in Bristol, Conn. Do the five main show hosts — Chris Berman, Mike Ditka, Cris Carter, Keyshawn Johnson and Tom Jackson — live around that area of New York and Connecticut or do they fly in every weekend? I was just wondering. Thank you. — The Peru Logger.
ANSWER: Chris Berman lives in Connecticut, Mike Ditka lives in New Orleans, Cris Carter lives in Florida, Keyshawn Johnson lives in Los Angeles, and Tom Jackson lives in Ohio.
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