ST. PAUL, MN-The council will ask for $230 million in affordable housing funds from Minnesota legislature. A housing ask force says if the affordable housing shortage is not addressed, the region's economy and quality of life will suffer.

WASHINGTON, DC-RFS Hotels Investors, a hotel REIT, is moving operational management of 50 hotels from Hilton Hotels Corp. to the newly-formed Flagstone Hospitality Management, an alliance between MeriStar and RFS.

LONGVIEW, WA-If approved, it will be one of two new power plants in the city. In October, Spokane-based Avista and Steag of Germany announced joint plans to develop a similar facility in the Mint Farm Industrial Park in Longview.

WASHINGTON, DC-The retail-only real estate services provider has negotiated lease deals totaling more than 50,000 sf and sold a 15-acre mall in Kentucky alone. The DC-based company has completed almost 3,000 transactions in 2000.