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From : Lila Hayes
Sent : September 21, 2005
Subject : OFRG weekly update

Meeting Reminder

We have a host for our September get together!  Cindy Le Clair who recently moved back into 3515 El Camino would like to have us over.  The date is September 25 at 2:00 PM.
 
If your property is within walking distance of Cindy, please let me know if we can do a short tour of your house as well.  Sylvia Henry who lives on Verde has already volunteered to let us tour her house which is under construction!  We look forward to visiting with these and other people in the area!
 
If you'd like to print out a flyer to give to a friend or neighbor, you can go to our website.  On the front page there is a schedule of upcoming events.  A link is next to the Sep 25 event which has a flyer in PDF format.
 
Lila Hayes
Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax
 
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Index
 1. Leigh Adams Discount Sales "fire survivor discount" update
 2. CalMax lists free and cheap items
 3. Did you use the CDI Mediation program?
 
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In The News
1. Feds aim for flood warning system, Sep 21, 2005, SB Sun Staff Writer 
2. FEMA flood maps flawed, SB Sun
3. Disaster needs pinch Inland forest efforts, Sep 16, 2005, Riverside Press-Enterprise
4. Natural disasters shape political landscape, Sep 14, 2005, Riverside Press Enterprise
5. State files suit against insurers, Sep 16, 2005, Riverside Press Enterprise
6. Piling up debt, Sep 17, 2005, Riverside Press Enterprise
7. FEMA Battered by Waste, Fraud, Sep 18, 2005, LA Times
8. Fear of Disasters Is Real, but Not Always Rational, Sep 20, 2005, LA Times
9. Preparing for the next disaster, Sep 16, 2005, LA Times
10. Man gets 180-day sentence for looting during [2003] wildfire, July 19, 2005, SD Union Tribune
11. It's not good news for disaster tax write-offs, Sep 11, 2005, San Diego Union Tribune
12. Former FEMA director hired by Louisiana lobbies for insurance company, Sep 15, 2005, San Diego Union Tribune
 
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1. Leigh Adams Discount Sales "fire survivor discount" update
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I received the following from a San Bernardino Survivor and thought I'd pass it along.
 
Just wanted you to know that Leigh Adams Discount Sales (Audio, Video and Big Screen TV's) in Ontario, California is giving a wonderful discount to all fire survivors.  Melissa Adams, the owners daughter, gave us personal attention and also gave us a fantastic "deal" on a big screen TV and audio system!  They were warm and gracious and somewhat disappointed that more of us hadn't visited their store and taken advantage of the discount.  It's worth the trip to Ontario to take advantage of it!
 
We saw the Leigh Adams store on the Old Fire Recovery Group website and called the number given there.  Melissa Adams was warm and caring right from the beginning of the telephone conversation.  We went to the store, with no plans of buying since we were on a "fact finding" mission as we had been with so many other TV stores, and were treated like we were the only people in the place and it was crowded!  We were given such a good deal that we decided to get our TV and sound system right then and there. Our new TV was delivered the next day! We even received a nice Thank You note from them in the mail.  When was the last time you got any kind of thanks like that from a store?
 
Just wanted you to know that there are still companies out there that stand behind what they say.  Leigh Adams Discount Sales, Melissa Adams, and Gary Podwell, Assistant Manager, really stand by what they say! 
 
Rick, Sharon, Josh and Yukon Cords
San Bernardino, CA
 
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2. CalMax lists free and cheap items
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"Tell them you found it in SBCountyMAX!"
 A partnership between San Bernardino County and the California Integrated Waste Management Board.
These are the "available" listings for San Bernardino.
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/calmax/SBCoMax/default.asp?VW=99&DISPLAY=1
 
There aren't many, but maybe you're willing to travel more for something free.  Check out the entire site:
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/calmax/
 
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3. Did you use the CDI Mediation program?
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United Policyholders is working with the American Bar Association to set up a mediation program for Katrina survivors.  Amy Bach of United Policyholders is interested in getting in touch with anyone who used the California Department of Insurance mediation program so you can discuss how it went.  If you need confidentiality, I believe Amy is a lawyer so ask her if it can be "confidential".
 
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In The News  (some links might require free registration)
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1. Feds aim for flood warning system
Guy McCarthy, SB Sun Staff Writer 
Protecting people below burned watersheds in San Bernardino County from water-borne avalanches of boulders, rocks and trees is the aim of a new post-fire debris-flow warning system announced Monday by federal weather and geology experts in the nation's capital.
 
[more HERE]
http://www2.sbsun.com/search/ci_3044443
 
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2. FEMA flood maps flawed
Experts: Data on dangers too obsolete to be useful
Guy McCarthy, SB Sun Staff Writer 
 
The former dream home on Greenwood Avenue is still buried to its eaves in mud and boulders that came down on Christmas 2003.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted last week to have the Devore home demolished because the owners have abandoned it.
 
[more HERE]
http://www2.sbsun.com/search/ci_3038935
 
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3. Disaster needs pinch Inland forest efforts
FIRE PREVENTION: Federal funds for tree removal shrink in the face of Hurricane Katrina bills.
Friday, September 16, 2005
By RICHARD BROOKS / The Press-Enterprise
 
Because of Hurricane Katrina, no federal disaster funding has been earmarked for the San Bernardino National Forest next year so dead-tree-removal spending is expected to plunge 83 percent just two years after a catastrophic fire ravaged the forest.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_trees16.1d634604.html
 
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4. Natural disasters shape political landscape
10:07 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 14, 2005
By JOSÉ-ANTONIO OROSCO
Riverside Press Enterprise
 
Natural disasters have a way of not only transforming physical spaces but political landscapes as well. Twenty years ago this month, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico City, killing nearly 10,000 people and leaving thousands homeless. In three minutes, $4 billion worth of damage was done.
 
The parallels to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are striking. Many Mexicans accused the federal government of not responding quickly enough to the earthquake. City officials said they were not to blame and pointed fingers at national politicians for years of neglect. When politicians did come to the destroyed neighborhoods, they brought along the media, hoping to score points on the front pages for the next elections.
 
But the residents of Mexico City would not stand for this posturing. They began to organize their own neighborhood organizations from within the rubble in order to deliver food, medicine and shelter to survivors. These organizations formed themselves into political forces that marched on government offices, demanding that officials pay attention to their needs and not try to cover up the extent of the disaster.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/localviews/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_D_op_15_orosco_loc.17b302f7.html

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5. State files suit against insurers
MISSISSIPPI: The attorney general wants the firms to pay for billions in flood damage.
09:58 AM PDT on Friday, September 16, 2005
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / The Associated Press - as printed in the Riverside Press Enterprise
 
JACKSON, MISS. - Mississippi on Thursday sued insurers to force them to pay billions of dollars in flood damage from Hurricane Katrina, saying standard insurance polices have led homeowners to believe they are covered for all hurricane damage, whether from high winds or storm surges.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.pe.com/digitalextra/nation/katrina/stories/PE_News_Local_D_katinsure16.1fba543b.html
 
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6. Piling up debt
KATRINA: Many who were forced to evacuate the Gulf Coast are living off their credit cards.
11:14 PM PDT on Saturday, September 17, 2005
By DAVID KOENIG / The Associated Press - as printed in the Riverside Press Enterprise
 
Jerry and Deborah Alciatore fled New Orleans with nothing but a couple of overnight bags, an ice chest and their credit cards. The bags emptied quickly, but two weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit, the balance on the credit cards is mounting fast.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_D_businessoflife18.3398e18.html
 
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7. FEMA Battered by Waste, Fraud
September 18, 2005
After some recent disasters, money poured into areas that suffered little or no damage.
By Sally Kestin, South Florida Sun-Sentinel - as published in the LA Times

The national disaster response agency that mishandled the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe has for years been fraught with waste and fraud.
 
In five years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency poured at least $330 million into communities that were spared the devastating effects of fires, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, an investigation by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has found.
 
Taxpayers' money meant to help victims recover from catastrophes has instead gone to people in communities that suffered little or no damage, including:
 
•  $5.2 million to Los Angeles-area residents more than 25 miles from the 2003 wildfires for which help was designated.
[more HERE]
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema18sep18,1,5766349.story
 
[editorial comment by Lila - You know, over a year ago I read the following report (link below) put out by FEMA about the wildfires.  I couldn't believe that FEMA actually claimed to give out more than $30 mil in assistance money (see page 30 of the report) since I've yet to meet more than one or two fire survivors who actually got a grant from FEMA.
 
Well, now that the above article has been published in the LA Times, now I guess now I know!
 
I would even venture a guess that of the above mentioned $5.2 mil which went to these LA area residents, most if it came from the $7.9 mil in HA Grants which goes "to meet emergency home repair expenses that are not covered by insurance" and not from the ONA program which is used for "disaster-related medical, dental or funeral expenses."  Don't you think it would be easier to fake that your TV was broken due to the fire than that your grandma died because of the fire?  Why do I think this?  Read this quote which comes from the above LA Times article:
 
"'All you've got to do is say something was damaged,' said Tasha Williams, a 26-year-old mother of three and tenant of Imperial Courts, a public housing development in Watts. 'It's free money.'"
 
Or how about this quote from the same article:
 
"In Long Beach, many residents of a low-rent apartment building got money after one discovered the government would pay for furniture soiled by soot when windows were left open."
 
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/draft_cfcg_report_0204.pdf ]
 
8. Fear of Disasters Is Real, but Not Always Rational
September 20, 2005
By Catherine Saillant, LA Times Staff Writer
 
Yes, California, the Big One is coming.
 
But there's no telling when a major earthquake will occur, and there's very little you can do about it anyway.
 
So stop worrying so much.
 
That, in a nutshell, is the advice of Dr. Gary Small, a UCLA psychiatrist and expert in mass hysteria.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-explainer20sep20,1,4274920.story
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9. Preparing for the next disaster
Ilyce Glink, Tribune Media Services
September 16, 2005
LA Times
 
Losing stuff is a distant second to losing your life. But for those trying to start over after a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, gaining access to financial records, relocating for your job, finding a new job, or applying for unemployment benefits can be a challenge without identification, credit cards, ATM cards, account numbers, passwords and online access – not to mention the complete absence of communication, clean water, electricity and the other necessities of first-world life.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/rematters/la-rematters050916,1,5429465.story
 
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10. Man gets 180-day sentence for looting during [2003] wildfire
SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
3:17 p.m. July 19, 2005
 
SAN DIEGO – A man who stole a San Diego police officer's motorcycle helmet as the lawman helped fight a raging wildfire in Scripps Ranch in October 2003 was sentenced Tuesday to 180 days in custody.
Jack Robert Minitch, 23, pleaded guilty last month to looting during a state of emergency.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050719-1517-fireloot.html
 
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11. It's not good news for disaster tax write-offs
NATION'S HOUSING    KENNETH HARNEY
September 11, 2005 - as printed in the San Diego Union Tribune
 
WASHINGTON – The cataclysmic losses Hurricane Katrina inflicted on Gulf Coast property owners shine fresh light on a murky corner of the federal tax code: Tax write-offs for storm damage to houses.
 
It's a subject worth the attention of any homeowner, anywhere in the country, since it applies not just to monster hurricanes, but to floods, tornadoes, fires and earthquakes. The Internal Revenue Code allows owners of houses damaged by natural disasters to seek and obtain tax relief for losses not covered by insurance. That's the good news.
 
The bad news: the hoops and snares you've got to get past to figure your write-off relief. Not only can the rules be tricky, but you may end up with a far lower write-off than you think you deserve.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050911/news_1h11harney.html
 
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12. Former FEMA director hired by Louisiana lobbies for insurance company
By Sharon Theimer
ASSOCIATED PRESS - as published in the San Diego Union Tribune
2:10 p.m. September 15, 2005
 
WASHINGTON – As ex-federal disaster chief James Lee Witt advises Louisiana's governor on hurricane recovery, he is also working for an insurance company lobbying Congress to create a fund to ease insurers' burdens from disaster claims, records show.

The former Federal Emergency Management Agency director and his firm, James Lee Witt Associates, registered this week to lobby for Allstate Insurance Co. Their mission: "to draft and introduce model legislation creating a natural disaster catastrophe fund," says the registration, posted Thursday by the Political Money Line lobbying tracking service.
 
[more HERE]
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/katrina/20050915-1410-katrina-witt-lobbying.html
 
 
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Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax