1. 9/11 anniversary brings mourning, hope
HEATHER MOYER Disaster News Network
NEW YORK CITY September 11, 2006
Those words come from Peter Gudaitis when he notes that the memories of the
Sept. 11 attacks are not usually fresh in his mind. The executive director of
New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), Gudaitis' office overlooks Ground
Zero. He walks by it everyday. Yet it's around the anniversary itself when he
says the reflection and introspection happens.
"Those days you find yourself kind of slipping back into a little bit
of melancholy and mourning, sort of digging up really deep memories, reliving
experiences," said Gudaitis. "You pause, look back, reflect, find yourself
getting teary thinking of those you know who died, and their families - and all
those clients that have touched me over the years."
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2. Cruiser returns after Old Fire destroyed cars
Rendezvous cruiser returns after Old Fire destroyed
cars
Thursday, September 14, 2006
By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI/The Riverside Press-Enterprise
When Stater Bros. Route 66 Rendezvous celebrities climb into
convertibles for a waving cruise Friday night through downtown San Bernardino,
John Merryman will be at the end of the line.
Merryman declined a prominent place in the parade and a chance to chauffeur
a VIP. He has only had his 1952 Cadillac since April and isn't sure yet whether
the car will make it without trouble. He says he doesn't need any extra
attention.
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3. Pioneertown Is Ersatz; Its Compassion Is
Real
The community -- built as a B-movie set -- tries to help
its residents whose homes and lives were devastated by July's Sawtooth Complex
fire.
By Scott Martelle, LA Times Staff Writer
September 18, 2006
PIONEERTOWN, Calif. — Few places in the broad sweep of Southern
California encapsulate the nexus of movies and real life as sweetly as this
little enclave of Old West facades and New West ranch houses, home to some 350
people who revel in the isolation of the high desert and Hollywood's
romanticized version of life on the frontier.
The town was built 60 years ago as a self-contained film site for
B-westerns, the familiar squared-off facades hiding real homes in which the
casts and crews could live during shoots. When the "oaters" died out in the
1950s, a few people hung on.
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4. Old Fire investigation | Three years later
Still wanted ; Officials now pin hopes on a break
Joe
Nelson, SB Sun
09/23/2006
It is one of the most elusive crimes, carried out discreetly in areas where
the perpetrator usually goes undetected.
Scant evidence, if any at all, is left behind - just enough for an
investigator to deduce what happened, but little more.
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5. City Panel Calls for More Staff for Disaster Preparedness
Department
By Patrick McGreevy, LA Times Staff Writer
September
26, 2006
Conceding that Los Angeles has taken inadequate steps to prepare for a
natural disaster or terrorist attack, a city panel Monday recommended a nearly
50% boost in staffing to plan for catastrophes.
The City Council's Public Safety Committee endorsed a plan to increase the
staff of the city's Emergency Preparedness Department from 17 to 25 people,
including six new emergency coordinators to plan for and develop training for
disaster responses.
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6. Inland schools have violence plans in place
Jason
Newell, SB Sun Staff Writer
10/03/2006
As deadly violence erupted at yet another of the nation's schools Monday,
Inland Valley education officials said many local campuses have security plans
in place to keep students safe from dangerous situations.
"Occasions like this are always teachable moments," said Gary Rutherford,
superintendent of Upland Unified School District. "These kinds of tragedies
occur now and again, which has caused us to revisit (our plans)."
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7. New man on campus ready for any disaster
Yazmin
Alvarez, SB Sun Staff Writer
10/06/2006
Although no one is ever really ready for a disaster, Roy Diaz knows exactly
how to plan for one. From safety policies to planning for the worst, Diaz,
disaster preparedness coordinator for Cal State San Bernardino, is the new man
on campus that all should become familiar with.
"As a campus, are we going to be 100 percent ready when something hits --
well we can try to be -- that's why we're doing this here," he said. "I want to
change the perception of disaster preparedness so that it is taken seriously by
the entire community."
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8. Homeowners Stay Put in New Orleans
Records show
most are using government aid to rebuild their property rather than to
relocate.
By Jean Guccione and Doug Smith, LA Times Staff
Writers
October 8, 2006
Most New Orleans-area property owners seeking government aid for
hurricane damage are showing a strong preference for restoring their old
neighborhoods rather than take the money to seek new horizons.
Although federal and state recovery programs offer aid to those who choose
to relocate, few applicants have requested it, records show.