A puppy is being cared for by the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh in Homewood after police said his owner zipped him inside a suitcase on Christmas Day. 

When you see him, you would never know how his little life got started. The little white dog loves to play and has quickly become a favorite at HARP.

However, nearly two weeks ago, Pittsburgh police said his owner, 56-year-old Jayme White, zipped him inside a suitcase she was carrying on Christmas Day. They said a witness told them she was yelling at the dog and hit it several times before putting it in the bag.

Now White is facing several charges, including animal neglect and public drunkenness.

HARP executive director Dan Cody said animal control brought them the puppy the next morning.

“When the dog arrived, he was in relatively good condition, given the circumstances,” Cody said. 

They couldn’t find any signs of physical abuse.

“He was a little bit shy, but he very quickly warmed up,” Cody said.

They believe he’s about two and a half months old now, and expect he’ll be a large breed. Most importantly, they said he’s completely healthy.

“He’s just so energetic and loving,” Cody said.

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office told KDKA that White has surrendered custody of the animal to the rescue, so once he’s neutered, microchipped and vaccinated, he should be up for adoption in the coming days.

“We’ll find a great home for him,” Cody said.

While the circumstances remain unclear, Cody hopes this case serves as a reminder that owning a pet comes with a great responsibility.

“If you do know someone who is struggling or needs help, we are a place where you can come for resources,” Cody said.

White is now out of jail after a judge ruled she get a mental health evaluation. Her preliminary hearing is set for April.

Connecticut State Police and the Chief State’s Attorney have opened an investigation into former New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobsen and allegations that he misused public funds.

The City of New Haven reported the allegations to State’s Attorney John Doyle on Monday.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said Monday Jacobson admitted to stealing money from a fund used by the New Haven Police Department to pay for an support its confidential informant program.

Several officers flagged irregularities in the account and notified the three assistant chiefs in the department, according to Elicker. It was then that the assistant chiefs confronted Jacobson on Monday morning.

Elicker said after being confronted, Jacobson admitted to taking the funds. The assistant chiefs then notified Chief Administrative Officer Justin McCarthy, who then notified Elicker.

Jacobson was called in for a meeting with Elicker, where he was to be placed on administrative leave. Elicker said that before the meeting, Jacobson handed in his paperwork to retire, effective immediately.

The mayor was unable to share additional details on how much money was reportedly taken or for how long due to the ongoing investigation.

Assistant Chief David Zannelli has been appointed as the acting police chief.

State police will conduct the investigation and Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin has appointed New Britain Judicial District State’s Attorney Christian Watson to oversee the investigation to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

A new state report offers a series of recommendations to expand existing mobile home parks in Maine and build new ones, allow homeowners to obtain traditional mortgages at more favorable rates and overhaul the state’s oversight of parks.

The 30-page report, written by the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and mandated by legislation passed last year, is intended to be a blueprint for future proposals as lawmakers seek to protect the roughly 45,000 Maine residents who live in mobile home parks.

It will be presented to the Housing and Economic Development Committee this month.

Mobile home parks in Maine and across the country — often considered the last form of unsubsidized affordable housing — are increasingly being purchased by out-of-state investors who raise the monthly lot rents, in some cases doubling or tripling prices, according to national data. 

Park residents, often low-income families or seniors on a fixed income, own their homes but not the land they sit on and residents are essentially helpless against rent increases.

“If they’re forced to lose their housing because the rents get too high, it’s hard to see where they’d be able to go,” said Greg Payne, senior housing adviser for the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.

The state is feverishly trying to build tens of thousands of housing units in the coming years, but Payne said in an interview it’s just as important to “protect the housing that we do have.”

“If we lose any of our affordable housing stock, that’s going to make our challenge even greater,” he said.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR OWNERS, RESIDENTS

Many state officials would like to see more mom-and-pop or cooperatively owned manufactured housing communities, especially as the state tries to ramp up production.

But according to the report, the number of locally owned communities has been dwindling, and smaller owners and developers frequently struggle to increase available housing in their parks.   Boosting supply could also help lower costs for existing residents. 

As with all construction, it has gotten expensive. 

“There are plenty of owners who I think would be willing to expand if the math worked,” Payne said. “If we’re able to help with that, it creates more units that we desperately need across the state and creates the opportunity to spread existing costs across more households.”

The report recommends, among other things, making it easier for park owners to access MaineHousing construction loans, which state statute currently prohibits. 

The office also suggested developing a subsidy program that would give owners a forgivable loan if they agree to charge income-restricted lot rents to income-restricted households. 

‘TOO GOOD TO MISS’

The report also recommends allowing mobile home buyers to take out traditional mortgage loans.

Historically, loans for manufactured homes have been titled as personal property or “chattel” loans, similar to cars. These loans, according to the report, typically have shorter terms, higher interest rates, fewer lenders to choose from and inferior consumer protection. 

Over the years, construction technology and government regulations have evolved and factory-built houses are now often comparable to site-built housing, according to the report.

The price gap between the two is also narrowing, with many mobile homes selling for well over $200,000.

Payne said he spoke to an Old Orchard Beach resident whose interest rate is more than 11%, and is paying about $640 a month for a $60,000 loan, on top of her monthly lot rent. Comparatively, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the current interest rate on a 30-year mortgage is about 6.15%. That would save her hundreds of dollars a month.

“We don’t often have the opportunity to increase affordability and have nobody losing,” Payne said. “It’s an opportunity that could be too good to miss.”

‘SYSTEMIC LACK OF SUPPORT’

The report recommends an overhaul or “reimagining” of state regulation and oversight of mobile home communities to better serve residents. 

Currently, the Maine Manufactured Housing Board is in charge of licensing and inspecting parks, while landlord and tenant issues and consumer protection claims are enforced by the Office of the Maine Attorney General or the court system. 

But according to the report there is a “systemic lack of support” from state government in addressing some of the more common problems in parks — poor living conditions, untenable community rules and fees, disregard of state laws — and attempts to get help from either agency often result in referrals elsewhere. 

“This pattern of circular referrals, rarely leading to support, often leaves park residents feeling isolated and unheard,” the report says. 

The office recommends that the Legislature transfer the responsibility for certification, technical assistance and regulatory coordination from the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, where the board is currently housed, to the Maine Office of Community Affairs, which would also serve as a “first call” for residents seeking assistance.

Compliance with state rules would be handled by the attorney general’s office, which may need to find ways to provide more legal support to homeowners.

Finally, the report recommends directing more private resources toward supporting a housing attorney at Pine Tree Legal Assistance who has expertise in mobile home park issues.

LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS

Mobile home parks have been a hot-button issue in the last few Legislative sessions.

Lawmakers last year passed a series of bills designed to protect mobile homeowners, including one that gives park residents the “right of first refusal” if their community goes up for sale. 

In addition to the recommendations outlined in the recent report, the state is seeking to collect more data about the state’s parks.

Historically, the Maine Manufactured Housing Board has not tracked whether the parks are owned by resident co-ops, out-of-state corporations or Maine-based operators. It also collected no information about how many lots are in each park, vacancies or average lot rents.

That information is now required in order to license a park.

Another bill, which has resulted in confusion and some retaliatory rent increases, requires owners to provide 90 days written notice of a rent increase and establishes a process for residents to request mediation if the increase is more than the Consumer Price Index plus 1%. While owners are required by the new law to act in good faith, they are not prevented from moving forward with an increase.

Efforts to institute statewide rent control failed in the last session, in part due to Maine’s long history of local control, but many communities, including Brunswick, Saco and Sanford, have passed rent control measures or moratoriums on rent increases as they grapple with how to protect residents. 

The state report includes a model rent stabilization ordinance for municipalities but no mandate.