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NPR

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State Laws Fail To Disclose Flood Risk : NPR

One year later, their house flooded.

The house had also flooded less than a decade earlier, and it was in a flood plain. The federal government knew both of those things — the Federal Emergency Management Agency keeps track of flood insurance claims and publishes flood maps that states and cities use to make planning decisions. But no one told the Obbinks they were moving into harm's way, because no one was obligated to: not their real estate agent, not the seller, not the inspector. Or any government agency, or the real estate website that listed the property.

NPR

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Americans Lack Information To Stay Out Of Disaster’s Path : NPR

None of the landlords, real estate agents, sellers, appraisers, bankers or home inspectors the families interacted with explained the risk of flooding or wildfires, because no one had to do so. Only about half of the states require that information about flood risk be disclosed to homebuyers, and just one state requires that such information be given to tenants. Only two Western states require disclosure of wildfire risk.

How New York Judges Are Getting Around Bail Reform – THE CITY

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A Broken Bond: How New York Judges Are Getting Around Bail Reform – THE CITY

By setting PSBs at rates unaffordable for many defendants, criminal justice advocates and public defenders say, judges, who have complete discretion, have in effect nullified a program instituted by the legislature to free more poor people from jail.

“The battle for bail reform isn’t over, and right now, combatting PSB abuse is the front line,” said Martin Kaminer, founder of the Emergency Relief Fund, a bail fund that has been working on this issue.