---
In The
News
---
1. Stormy Weather
By Bernard Condon Forbes Magazine |
Jul 24 '06
What happens when politicians get into the insurance business? Losses.
It started innocently enough: Tiny state-run outfits, financed by
private insurers, selling policies to homeowners in blighted urban areas no one
wanted to cover. Then over the last decade the last-resort insurers got big.
State plans, including those in Florida, Mississippi and Texas, began writing
lots of policies for folks living in hurricane-prone coastal communities. Now
there's a new problem. The state-run plans are getting into financial trouble.
Last month Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour announced he would use $50
million of federal money not to
-
2. Don't Blame Government
Public officials will help after a disaster, but the best first
responder is you
Saturday, July 29, 2006
By MARY MORELAND
The Press-Enterprise editorial, "Disaster rumblings" (Our Views, June 28),
noted that the city of Riverside's disaster-response plan fell short in several
key areas in the recent Department of Homeland Security National Plan Review. In
fact, the nation as a whole was mediocre in this review, with almost every state
struggling with these same issues.
It is unfortunate to note that this federal Homeland Security review only
came about because of the appalling response to Hurricane Katrina. It took an
event such as Katrina to galvanize leaders to take a detailed look at our
nation's disaster preparedness capabilities. It is also unfortunate to observe
that, at the same time local governments are being judged on their preparedness
level by DHS, the federal funds provided to local government do not match the
needs.
-
3. Fire Dept. Launches Online Talk Show
By Arin Gencer,
LA Times Staff Writer
July 31, 2006
The [Los Angeles] city Fire Department is taking callers, and not
just for emergencies.
Sunday morning marked the test debut of "LAFD TalkRadio," a live,
Internet-streamed show designed to give Los Angeles residents — and other
followers of the department — another way to interact with firefighters.
-
4. Taking the long haul
SUSAN KIM
David Dingley has a deep appreciation for what unfolds after an initial
rescue is over: the long haul of long-term recovery.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (August 12, 2006) —
Dingley, a retired Air Force colonel, is executive director of the Brevard
Long-Term Recovery Coalition on Florida’s east coast. For much of his career, he
flew rescue helicopters.
Now he's in the midst of helping people recover from the 2004 and 2005
hurricanes, Dingley tries to tell people how different disaster response is from
disaster recovery. "It takes awhile for the recovery type requests to come in,"
he said. "At first you get a lot of requests for tarping, medical needs and
emotional needs. And then you hear people start to say: 'I need help repairing
my house.' People first have to work through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management
Agency) and insurance. You're not going to be able to rush out and start putting
roofs on."
-
5. Judge: Insurance policy excluded flood damage
Ruling
could set a precedent for hundreds of other court challenges
by AP, as
posted by MSNBC on Aug 15, 2006
GULFPORT, Miss. - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that an insurance company’s
policies do not cover damage from flood waters or storm surge in a decision that
could affect hundreds of upcoming cases related to property damage from
Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. ruled that a Mississippi Gulf Coast
couple cannot collect damages from storm surge caused by Katrina because
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.’s policies do not cover wind-driven water
damage.
-
6. Americans have to get prepared for disaster
GUEST
COLUMN
08/20/2006
By Norris L. Beren, SB Sun Guest Columnist
When the battery on the iPod is running low, we will prepare for
the next hours of pleasure charging the batteries. Little things that are
important and have meaningful and foreseeable results cause even the most
skeptical of us, young or old, to get prepared for some things.
Most people probably now feel after the recent events that still
another heart attack is inevitable. We have had five years of no apparent
terrorist activity here in the United States and despite all the other disasters
that we have had, preparedness is still not a priority or even a concern for
many people or their employers.
-
7. On this Date: Earthquake spooks Wrightwood but damages
little
SB Staff Reports
08/21/2006 12:00:00 AM
PDT
On this date in 1998, The Sun reported that a
magnitude-4.4 earthquake shook the mountain resort community of Wrightwood,
causing only minor damages to area businesses.
"I felt a big jolt, and jars of jelly and Windex fell off the shelves and
broke," said Ginny Calvin, a supervisor at Jenses Finest Foods. "It was pretty
scary, and I ran under a door archway. But there was no damage to the
store."
-
8. Officials warn against flooding
Jason Pesick, SB Sun
Staff Writer
08/22/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT
Even though
firefighters contained the Sawtooth Complex Fire more than a month ago,
residents in and around the Yucca Valley and Morongo are not out of harm's way
yet.
San Bernardino County officials are encouraging residents to attend a
meeting this evening at the Town of Yucca Valley Community Center Building to
discuss the risk of flooding resulting from the fire, and what residents can do
to keep themselves and their property safe.
---