RHINO is the Rental Housing Information Network in Ohio
Didja know Ohio?
November 20, 1969 – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) publishes explicit photographs of dead villagers from the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. Though the VietNam atrocity took place in March, the story was largely uncovered by media outlets. Charles Black from the Columbus Enquirer uncovered the story on his own but also decided to put it on hold. Two major national news press outlets—The New York Times and The Washington Post—received some tips with partial information, but did not act on them. Sgt. Ronald L. Haeberle contacted Joseph Eszterhas of The Plain Dealer, which then published Haeberle's grisly images of the dead bodies of old men, women, and children. Didja know that one year later, Eszterhas covered a domestic massacre in Kent Ohio?
20-24 Vision: more proof that Ohio needs an anti-squatter law
Investigation launched after report of monkeys living in trash-filled home in Clermont County. "NEVILLE, Ohio — The Clermont County Dog Warden and the sheriff's office are investigating after they — and WCPO 9 — received an anonymous tip about at least one monkey being kept in a trash-riddled cage at a home near Neville, Ohio."
RHINO's Six Steps Project is an effort to jump start grassroots advocacy on housing policy that goes beyond incremental change.
read, think, respond...then act collectively.
2025? YES, that's how deep the housing policy stagnation has become as political forces have dashed hopes for real change in the wake of the 2008 and 2020 housing crises.
Facing a divided Congress in the 2023-2024 session, transformative change that could have happened fizzled because Congress was unprepared to seize the opportunity provided by the Pandemic Recession of 2020. Well-meaning solutions like eviction moratoriums, emergency rental assistance, child tax credits and american rescue plan among others) stopped the bleeding, but they failed to change the system of bandaid tinkering with US Housing policy (ie. the five legged stool).
In fact, stimulus payments likely contributed to the housing affordability crisis that put stable housing out of reach for ordinary families. as the Pandemic recession morphed into the Pandemic Inflation. All hands were on deck, but rowing in opposite directions.
Three housing related recessions in just 12 years underscores the fact that the root of this recurring cycle is a broken housing policy strategy. Todd Rungren observes "The mysterious mad man with his hand on the lever/Don't seem to never ever want to let you off"
Back in 2022, RHINO gave up on paying attention to Federal housing policy until after the 2024 elections, when, we hoped, grassroots activism in the wake of the past three housing related recessions would nudge Federal policymakers towards more progressive solutions to the US housing dilemma.
If the New Democrat agenda is any indication, grassroots advocates (RHINOistas and others that not beholden to the FIRED industry) need to start nudging now. Begin conversationss with House and Senate candidates, their policy teams, and their influencers about what's working in your communities and how they can create Federal policies that support grassroots innovation.
Meet them on the golf course for a chat on the back nine.
Speak up at constituency meetings, ward clubs. and party meetings.
Invite them to your offices or work sites.
Share your data with faces and not graphs.
Make sure your members and clients who benefit from your programs are registered to vote.
2024 is the time to be aspirational. Take a leaf from Biden's plan to reduce the lead standard to "near zero". EPA has not written regulations on this, just pointed to where we need to go. Housing advocates have the opportunity to put the flesh to real reform.
Read more about the Six Steps project.