Comparisons between the American fund raising results for Haitian earthquake relief and the efforts after Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asian tsunami are inevitable. Private giving by Americans, individuals, foundations and corporations has always been generous. Our economy is significantly weaker than it was in 2004-2005 and that may be the biggest factor affecting giving to date.

Some of the historical numbers include money raised by churches. Those collections have happened but have not been reported publicly as far as can be determined for the Haiti relief effort.

Here are the current results as recorded on this site. The column titles are links to the articles on that topic.

	HAITI QUAKE	HURRICANE KATRINA	INDONESIAN TSUNAMI
Date:	Jan 12, 2010	Aug 29, 2005	Dec 26, 2004
Plus 6 days	$156,044,390
Plus 7 days			$207,882,580
Plus 11 days		$632,783,990	$401,784,551
Plus 13 days	$306,797,596		$456,916,726

This table will be updated as the donations continue for Haitian relief. Obviously there is quite a ways to go to catch up to the levels from Hurricane Katrina or the tsunami.

I’ve banged on Louisiana for its foot-dragging with the Gulf recovery efforts, but now it’s Mississippi’s turn. The city of wavelad, nearly flattened by Hurricane Katrina, has lost its mind.

Sun Herald

City leaders denied several special permits Monday, prompting the world’s largest charity homebuilder to abandon plans to construct new houses for more than 70 local families.

The Board of Aldermen supported a recommendation from city planners to deny special permits that would have allowed Habitat for Humanity to build nearly 20 new homes on lots that are smaller than the city’s code requires.

Habitat, which is building thousands of houses along the Gulf Coast, was planning to build at least 70 new homes in Waveland, where more than 200 families remain on a waiting list.

Instead, Habitat will finish up work on “two or three” homes for families who already own property large enough to meet the city’s standards. After that, the group will look elsewhere.

“We’ll find places to build, but it won’t be in Waveland,” said Wendy McDonald, who runs the Hancock County chapter of Habitat. “We will focus the bulk of our energy on communities that are more receptive to smaller-sized lots.”

McDonald has said large lots are more expensive, which drives the mortgage payments out of reach for most Habitat homeowners.

In addition, she said many who qualify for Habitat homes are senior citizens and single moms who would have trouble caring for a large lot.

“I’m not so sure any affordable housing builder can afford to build on larger lots; the math just doesn’t work,” McDonald said. “There’s no consideration for affordable housing in Waveland and that’s where the housing shortage is the most severe.”

The 20 lots that were denied are in the predominantly black neighborhood of Middletown, but Alderman Brian Schmitt said most of the resistance came from residents living in different parts of the city. “The opposition wasn’t just from Middletown, it was from everywhere,” Schmitt said. “People don’t want smaller lots and that’s what the ordinance is there for.”

Schmitt, who represents parts of Middletown, said he wrestled with the decision for weeks, and casting a vote that could prevent construction of dozens of homes can make it tough to sleep at night. “Having to make that decision killed me,” he said. “I went home and cried like a baby.”

Since March, aldermen have approved several recommendations from city planners allowing special permits similar to the requests they denied from Habitat. One property owner was allowed to divide his property into eight lots, each seven feet smaller than the city’s code requires, and another homeowner was allowed to divide one lot into two, one of which did not meet the city’s square-footage requirement.

However, Schmitt said, none of those requests caused nearly the kind of fuss that surrounded Habitat’s plan. He said such large-scale development on small lots could jeopardize property values for existing homeowners, and homes built close together could create dangerous fire hazards.

This is just plain stupid. Racism? Who knows? But it’s 70 homes that will not appear on the tax rolls. Can Waveland really afford to be that short sighted? Waveland was levelled, essentially zero property values.

Homes built close together is called city living. It creates no appreciably greater fire hazard.

What a bunch of maroons! [Bugs Bunny]

Bunny called before I got to bed with an update on the Ride to Rebuild. They’ve made it through the Rocky Mountains and are now in the “rolling hills” of Kansas. She called from Wellington, Kansas. They’ve ridden about 2,400 miles and she thinks they’re about half way.

The mountains were both very tiring and very exhilarating.

They’re at three riders for now, picking up a fourth in St. Louis. They hope to be in St. Louis on Labor Day. Today, for the anniversary, they are putting in an 80 mile ride.

They’ve been sleeping in city parks. Bunny says the people of Kansas are very friendly. They’re living on peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch and quick pasta meals for supper. If you see them biking by, I’m sure they could use a big meal and a soft bed.

Please consider going to the Ride to Rebuild link and donating. Habitat for Humanity is one of the best ways you can provide recovery support to the people of the Gulf Coast who have lost so much.

The three hurricanes last year, Katrina, Rita and Wilma did more than flood New Orleans. As you read story after story about the people of New Orleans today, please also remember the hundreds of thousands of people in rural Louisiana, Missippis, Texas, Alabama and Florida who are also struggling to rebuild and recover.

Bunny’s description of her work in the Gulf with AmeriCorps can be found here.

Congressman Bobby Jindal: Waste in the Eye of the Storm

The ultimate cost is paid by us — the taxpayers. Every tax dollar being wasted and not spent on recovery is a dollar not reaching the people that need it. To date, nearly $100 billion has been approved in assistance, but we have yet to see that much in actual work on the ground due to the fraud and waste.

In contrast, the private sector and faith-based organizations have stepped up where government has failed and have begun the process of demolishing and clearing neighborhoods of homes and debris that remain almost a year later. A national faith-based construction group uses volunteers to offer free demolition of homes in areas affected by the hurricanes. This group, that claims to be able to clear more than 100 homes a day, even includes removing the concrete slab, a service not provided by FEMA.

Instead of common sense solutions to help displaced individuals begin the process of rebuilding, the state and federal governments instead often acted like the large bureaucracy that they are by hindering the recovery process with red tape, paperwork and policies that defy logic. I find it ironic that some of the people creating these burdensome policies are the same people who want the government to run our health care.

New York Post: STORM, SOUND & FURY

Democrats are milking the theme: “We know the storm was a tragedy,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said last week, “but a bigger tragedy is how the federal government responded.” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer readily admits that Democratic candidates for the Senate cite the storm every chance they get.

The truth? As former reporter Lou Dolinar wrote on these pages Sunday, the response “may have been the largest, most successful aerial search-and-rescue operation in history.”

Paul at Wizbang: The Katrina Video Congress Didn’t Want You To See

The bottom line is, Katrina’s storm surge did not wash the wall away. As you may remember, water had been seeping under the floodwall at the break location for about a year before Katrina. The ground under the levee was soaked and ready to give at any moment…

New Orleans was doomed with or without Katrina, we just didn’t know it. A good high tide puts more water in the canal than this. As the video shows, the water was barely higher than normal levels. The walls could have failed on a decent high tide.

From the looks of the video the fact the wall failed when Katrina was approaching was really coincidence. Yes, Katrina was the “final straw” but so could any winds from the southeast. Or any given winter storm. (we often get winds out the south that “stack” the lake far higher than this.) Indeed these same walls held much higher surges in the past; that is, before they were undermined by seeping water for a year.

White House

President Bush Is Fulfilling His Long-Term Commitment To
Helping The People Of The Gulf Coast Recover From Unprecedented Devastation. One year after Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast is rebuilding and the Nation is better prepared for future natural disasters. Commerce is returning to the region, and as rebuilding plans are firmed up, growth and progress will follow, and New Orleans will once again be a vibrant American city.

Hurricane Katrina Was The Most Destructive Natural Disaster In U.S. History, And Rebuilding Will Take Time – The One-Year Anniversary Is Not A Finish Line. Challenges still remain, including crime and housing needs.

We Have Learned From Last Year’s Inadequate Response And Today Are Better Prepared For Future Disasters.

The Federal Government Has Provided More Than $110 Billion In Resources – $118 Billion Including Tax Relief – To The Gulf Region. This funding is helping fulfill vital needs, including relocation, rental assistance, infrastructure repair, flood insurance payments, education, and debris removal.

• Over $77 Billion Of The $110 Billion (70 Percent) Either Has Been Dispensed Or Is Available For States To Draw From. We are working with State and local leaders to help them rebuild the region, and the remainder of the funding will become available as States roll out their housing plans to the public. The Federal government plans to obligate every dollar – the funds are there and ready to be used.

The Administration Has Demonstrated Its Commitment To The Gulf Coast:

• President Bush has visited the Gulf Coast 12 times since September 2005 and will make a 13th visit to commemorate the anniversary.
• Mrs. Bush has visited the Gulf Coast 13 times since September 2005 and will travel there along with President Bush to commemorate the anniversary, making her 14th visit.
• Cabinet officials have visited the Gulf Coast 82 times since September 2005.

Fulfilling The Federal Government’s Obligations To The People Of The Gulf Coast

Federal Gulf Coast Rebuilding Coordinator Don Powell Is Continuing To Work With Governors Kathleen Blanco And Haley Barbour And Mayor Ray Nagin To Provide Resources To The People Who Need Them Most. For example, Federal officials worked with State and local leaders to designate certain properties as health and safety hazards to enable the Federal government to fund debris removal from private property.

Providing The Necessary Funding For The Gulf Coast

The Federal Government Has Committed More Than $110 Billion To Rebuilding The Gulf Coast, Including:

• FEMA Has Funded $5.6 Billion To Repair And Replace Damaged Public Infrastructure Such As Roads And Bridges, Schools, Water Systems, Public Buildings, And Public Utilities, As Well As To Fund Emergency Protective Measures And Debris Removal.

• States Have Been Awarded Nearly $17 Billion In Flexible Federal Grants As Part Of The Largest Housing Recovery Program In U.S. History. $16.7 billion in Federal funds have been allocated under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program to help rebuild damaged housing and other infrastructure. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has closed 98 percent of claims made by policyholders affected by Hurricane Katrina.

• The U.S. Department Of Education Is Releasing Almost $2 Billion To Help Reopen Schools And Educate Students. This funding will continue a recovery process that has aided over 150,000 students. All major higher education institutions in the region have reopened.

• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Has Approved More Than $10.4 Billion In Disaster Loans To Homeowners, Renters, And Business Owners In The Gulf Coast States Affected By The Hurricanes. SBA has completed damage assessments on 99 percent of applications submitted, and it has rendered decisions on more than 99 percent of the loan applications for businesses, homeowners, and renters. More than 22,000 loans totaling $2.4 billion have gone to small business owners.
  • In Louisiana: 92,650 disaster loans were approved for $6.5 billion; 79,363 home loans were approved for more than $5 billion; and 13,287 business disaster loans were approved for more than $1.4 billion.
  • In Mississippi: 35,292 disaster loans were approved for $2.5 billion; and 30,743 home loans were approved.

• The President Signed Legislation Creating A Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) To Spur Economic Development, With Tax Relief For Businesses And Entrepreneurs In Louisiana, Mississippi, And Alabama.

• The U.S. Department Of Justice (DOJ) Has Made More Than $20 Million Available To The City Of New Orleans And Orleans Parish To Help Rebuild The Criminal Justice System There. In addition, Attorney General Gonzales recently announced additional Federal resources to help fight violent crime in New Orleans, including ten attorneys who will be temporarily assigned to the region to assist in prosecuting firearms, drug, and immigration cases and an additional nine Federal prosecutors who will be hired to assist with fraud and violent crime cases.

Restoring And Improving New Orleans’ Levees

The Administration Has Secured Nearly $6 Billion For The Army Corps Of Engineers (Corps) To Repair And Enhance The Levees, Make The Entire Hurricane Protection System Better And Stronger By 2010, And Begin To Restore The Wetlands Surrounding The Greater New Orleans Area.

Almost The Entire New Orleans Hurricane Protection System Is In Equal Or Better Condition Than Before Hurricane Katrina. The Corps has repaired and restored more than 220 miles of floodwalls and levees since September 2005. Pumping stations are being flood proofed, and levees and floodwalls are being armored at selective sites to protect against erosion. Floodgates have been added at the outfall canals to protect against storm surge, and the Administration has secured $20 million dollars to jumpstart the restoration of the wetlands surrounding the greater New Orleans area.

• The Corps Continues To Construct Stronger Protection For New Orleans By Engineering, Constructing, And Improving Storm And Flood Protection Infrastructure To A 100-Year Protection Level. This work includes higher levees, stronger floodwalls, and greater interior drainage capacity. Work is underway to restore undamaged floodwalls and levees to originally authorized heights by September 2007.

Removing Debris

Since Hurricane Katrina, 103 Million Cubic Yards Of Debris Out Of 122 Million Total Have Been Removed In Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, And Louisiana. All debris has been removed in Alabama and Texas, 96 percent of debris has been removed in Mississippi, and 72 percent of debris has been removed in Louisiana.

Restoring The Gulf Coast’s Transportation And Energy Systems

All Ports Are Open Without Restrictions And All Navigational Aids Have Been Repaired Or Replaced With Permanent Or Temporary Markers.

All Crude And Petroleum Product Pipelines And Nearly All Petroleum Refineries That Were Affected By Hurricane Katrina Are Back To Normal Operations. In Louisiana and Mississippi, electricity has been restored to all customers who can safely receive it.

Combating Post-Katrina Waste, Fraud, And Abuse

There Are Multiple Layers Of Oversight And Accountability In Place To Ensure The Most Responsible Spending Of Taxpayer Dollars, Including State And Local Controls Against Wasteful And Fraudulent Activities.

• The Federal Government Has Increased Resources For Inspectors General Who Will Be Working To Prevent Waste, Fraud, And Abuse By Conducting Numerous Audits Of Relevant Departments And Agencies And Their Respective Programs. This includes:
  • $12.1 million to support FEMA’s efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse with additional oversight of recovery contracts and procurements.
  • $5 million to the Small Business Administration’s and $9 million to HUD’s Inspectors General for fraud prevention.

• In The Year Since It Was Created, DOJ’s Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force Has Charged 381 Defendants In 30 Separate Judicial Districts Around The Country.

Ensuring The Nation Is Prepared For Future Disasters

Federal Disaster Response Capability Has Greatly Advanced. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is dramatically increasing the Nation’s stockpiles of relief supplies, retooling FEMA, updating disaster plans, supporting State and local partners, and emphasizing individual and community preparedness.

DHS Has Four Times The Emergency Meals And Ice, And 2.5 Times The Water Available This Year Than Were Available Prior To Hurricane Katrina.
These supplies have the capacity to sustain 1 million people for one week.

	Pre-Katrina	Post-Katrina	% Increase	Service Capacity
MREs	180 truckloads	770 truckloads	+300%	1 truckload serves 10,000 people/day
Water	600 truckloads	1,500 truckloads	+150%	1 truckload serves 5,000 people/day
Ice	430 truckloads	2,000+ truckloads	+400%	1 truckload serves 5,000 people/day
Disaster Assistance Employees	Approximately 4,000 employees	Approximately 8,000 employees	+100%	N/A

The National Weather Service And The National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration Continue To Strengthen Weather Forecasting And Warning Capabilities.

On February 23, 2006, The Administration Released Its “Lessons Learned” Review Of The Federal Response To Hurricane Katrina. The Report identifies deficiencies in the Federal government’s response and lays the groundwork for better preparation for and response to future natural disasters.

Charitable Contributions Demonstrate The Resiliency Of The American Spirit

The Nation’s Armies Of Compassion Have Contributed More Resources After This Natural Disaster Than After Any Other In America’s History – Over $3.5 Billion In Cash And In-Kind Contributions. In addition to these private efforts, the Federal government’s national service arms have contributed significantly. The Peace Corps sent 272 volunteers to assist FEMA, and the Corporation for National and Community Service has supported more than 35,000 national service members who have contributed more than 1.6 million hours and leveraged an additional 92,000 volunteers.

• During The Hurricane Katrina Response And Recovery, More Than 100,000 Volunteered Through The Citizen Corps Network, A DHS-Administrated Initiative Of USA Freedom Corps. USA Freedom Corps created a nationwide clearinghouse allowing interested volunteers to connect with opportunities in the Gulf Coast. In the year since Hurricane Katrina, there have been more than 4 million volunteer opportunities listed on the site – with approximately 34,000 opportunities in Louisiana, 26,000 in Mississippi, and over 36,000 in Alabama.

Bunny is the woman I have called PG, for Pretty Girl, on this blog for several years. She’s 22, and a year out of college. She spent that year with AmeriCorps, working mostly in the Gulf region that was so devastated by the hurricanes last year.

After she completed her term with them, she and four of her friends decided to bike across the United States. They’re raising money for Gulf reconstruction through a project they call Ride to Rebuild. Funds raised will benefit Habitat for Humanity in Mississippi. You’ll find a link to the donation page over on the right for as long as they are riding.

Habitat is one of the best ways you and I can help with the recovery efforts in the Gulf. I’ve written in the past about the aid problems and the insurance issues. Habitat skips all that. It’s just people helping people.

These are your fellow Americans. They’ve suffered a disaster that most of us cannot imagine living through. Americans have been so generous to tsunami victims, to earthquake victims. Why not be generous and keep those dollars at home as well?

Bunny and her crew have been through Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. If you’re out in the Great Plains and you see five young people with sore butts biking along, it’s probably them. A cold drink or a soft bed might be very welcome. They’re headed for Bar Harbor Maine, so they have a lot of pedaling to do.

It would be nice if you could honor their hard work in the Gulf and their enthusiasm in this bike ride with a donation. Come on, just a few bucks.

Remember Bunny? Here’s the latest on the Ride to Rebuild.

After biking 1,500 miles, we are almost done with Wyoming! And while it has been beautiful we are ready to head into Colorado. Our highest climb of 11,000 feet will be coming up in a few days.

These five young people put months in helping on the Gulf Coast with Americorps. Now they’re biking across the United States to raise money for Habitat for Humanity in Jackson Missippi. You can’t beat the cause. Building home with those who lost their homes. They’re out there sweating, or in Bunny’s case “glowing”. The least you can do is make a donation.

Bunny [the friend formerly known as PG] has updated me on her ride across America.

We are currently in Riggins, ID for the night. We’re taking an easy day tomorrow-about 27 miles into Whitebird. Then the next day will be a climb up to Grangeville. We’ll be in Missoula August 2nd or 3rd. Then we’ll be two states completed. I picked up a book for 25 cents at a library in Council, ID so that is a great activity to decompress after the day.

Will you include in your blog our bike trip? That will help us with publicity. I understand if you don’t want to, though.

You can track our progress whenever we can update our website. Today we have internet, but not access to certain sites, including our website. Ride to Rebuild We haven’t been able to update it since Baker City, OR. We have travelled about 660 miles. Our goal is to raise $2,500 for Habitat for Humanity in Jackson, MS. The website explains it more. Please don’t donate, as you’ve already supported the trip enough. I am sure that out of all the people that read your blog, we may get more. People at Fisher are writing press releases for me, so keep an eye on the local newpapers. I haven’t talked with her yet to provide details, so it won’t be within the next few days.

So many Americans are still in need from the destruction of last summer. All we read about these days in the national news are the criminals and the acts of fraud. There are hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans still trying to rebuild their lives and because it isn’t a negative story, it doesn’t get printed.

Bunny described her work with Americorps in the Gulf in an article that I was lucky enough to get permission to reprint.

It’s hot and dry across the northwest, and these young people are riding to raise $2,500 for Habitat for Humanity in the Mississippi Gulf. I’d like to think that the blogging community could help that happen. Or, just maybe, do a whole lot better.

We’re talking about needy Americans, here, folks. I’m going to run this post off and on. Let’s help the people of Mississippi, and give these youngsters a pat on the back for their efforts.

Bunny [the friend formerly known as PG] has updated me on her ride across America.

We are currently in Riggins, ID for the night. We’re taking an easy day tomorrow-about 27 miles into Whitebird. Then the next day will be a climb up to Grangeville. We’ll be in Missoula August 2nd or 3rd. Then we’ll be two states completed. I picked up a book for 25 cents at a library in Council, ID so that is a great activity to decompress after the day.

Will you include in your blog our bike trip? That will help us with publicity. I understand if you don’t want to, though.

You can track our progress whenever we can update our website. Today we have internet, but not access to certain sites, including our website. Ride to Rebuild We haven’t been able to update it since Baker City, OR. We have travelled about 660 miles. Our goal is to raise $2,500 for Habitat for Humanity in Jackson, MS. The website explains it more. Please don’t donate, as you’ve already supported the trip enough. I am sure that out of all the people that read your blog, we may get more. People at Fisher are writing press releases for me, so keep an eye on the local newpapers. I haven’t talked with her yet to provide details, so it won’t be within the next few days.

So many Americans are still in need from the destruction of last summer. All we read about these days in the national news are the criminals and the acts of fraud. There are hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans still trying to rebuild their lives and because it isn’t a negative story, it doesn’t get printed.

Bunny described her work with Americorps in the Gulf in an article that I was lucky enough to get permission to reprint.

It’s hot and dry across the northwest, and these young people are riding to raise $2,500 for Habitat for Humanity in the Mississippi Gulf. I’d like to think that the blogging community could help that happen. Or, just maybe, do a whole lot better.

We’re talking about needy Americans, here, folks. I’m going to run this post off and on. Let’s help the people of Mississippi, and give these youngsters a pat on the back for their efforts.

NY Times

Billions of federal dollars are about to start flowing into this city after President Bush on Thursday signed the emergency relief bill the region has long awaited. But, with the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, local officials have yet to come up with a redevelopment plan showing what kind of city will emerge from the storm’s ruins.

No neighborhoods have been ruled out for rebuilding, no matter how damaged or dangerous. No decisions have been made on what kind of housing, if any, will replace the mold-ridden empty hulks that stretch endlessly in many areas. No one really knows exactly how the $10.4 billion in federal housing aid will be spent, and guidance for residents in vulnerable areas has been minimal.

A month into his second term, Mayor C. Ray Nagin has said little about his vision for a profoundly different city. In an interview on Friday, he said it would be six months before a “master planning document” was issued to address questions like which areas should be rebuilt, although he suggested that thousands of residents were making that decision on their own.

Caution should be the watchword, Mr. Nagin said, months after the apparent demise of a planning committee he set up. “New Orleans is a very historic city,” he said. “We can’t come out and just do something quickly.”

Jewish Chronicle

It takes less than three minutes for a visitor to see evidence of disaster in New Orleans, said Rabbi Andrew Busch, spiritual leader of the city’s Touro Synagogue and a former Pittsburgher.

“There’s hardly a street you drive down where hurricane damage is not in evidence,” Busch said. The damage, he said, cuts across economic and religious groups – including New Orleans’ Jewish community.

The Jewish community has pulled together in amazing ways,” Busch said, especially among all the local congregations and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. When Busch assumed his new pulpit last July, little did he realize that within 30 days he and his family, like thousands of others, would flee Hurricane Katrina’s wrath.

Busch and his wife, Debbie Pine, both former rabbis at Pittsburgh’s Rodef Shalom Congregation, and their three children, spent months in Houston, where the majority of Touro’s congregants sought refuge.

Now the Busch/Pine family is home again, witnessing the rebirth of New Orleans and its Jewish community. Their two older children are finishing up the year at a public magnet school and life at Touro is returning to normal.

The rebuilding of New Orleans, including its Jewish life, continues in earnest even as a new hurricane season officially began today. This season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts 13 to 16 named storms, with eight to 10 becoming hurricanes, and four to six becoming major hurricanes.

Contingency plans and anxiety fill New Orleans’ populace, said Busch. No one is certain how many Touro congregants will return – or, if the worst reoccurs this year, how many will stay away permanently. Touro, a Reform congregation located near the city’s Garden District, is the oldest synagogue outside of the original 13 colonies. Today, Shabbat and b’nai mitzvah services are again celebrated there.

This is number 40 of the Carnival of Hurricane Relief. We cannot forget our own. Americans still are homeless. Americans still are jobless. Americans still hurt. Don’t forget our own!

BLOGS:
Wet Bank Guide – No need to carry flood insurance. No longer in the flood plain.

Humid City v2.3 – Marking the start of hurrican season.

Metroblogging New Orleans – Thoughts on the evacuation planning.

Travelling Mermaid – Memorial Day. Nine months after Katrina.

Hurricane Coverage: Dan Zukowski – U.S. 90 in pics and prose.

NEWS:
CNN – New Orleans sinking rapidly.

Seattle PI – Bodies still being found in New Orleans.

WLOX TV-13 – Workers needed in Mississippi.

Clarion Ledger – Buy insurance.

GOVERNMENT:
Independent Levee Investigation Team – Draft report. It didn’t happen overnight.

Katrina Recovery – Comprehensive site for help, information and volunteers

First Gov Katrina site – Additional information and resources

Katrina Louisiana – State information and resources

NOAA Katrina Pictures

RELIEF:
Dennis Leary fights for New Orleans firefighters.

Comic Relief returns to help Katrina victims

Summit Baptist church donates $1 million to Gulf Coast recovery

Lutheran Disaster Response Oversees Funding for Hurricane Relief

Episcopal News Service

During a touching and jubilant press conference on May 8, a group of drivers from the Diocese of Virginia and St. Mark’s Church in Richmond arrived at Camp Coast Care in Long Beach, Mississippi, with eight full-sized work trucks as well as a 15-passenger van.

Led by the Rev. Charles D. “Buck” Aiken Jr., associate rector of St. Mark’s, in Richmond, Virginia, the keys to the fleet of trucks, purchased from the Fastenal Corporation of Winona, Minnesota, were presented to Bishop Duncan M. Gray III of Mississippi.

“We have felt the support of so many throughout the church during these last nine months,” Gray said. “The whole church has so generously held us in prayer even as they have provided their gifts of time, talent and treasure.

“Today, the Diocese of Virginia, through the gift of this incredible fleet of trucks, will not only help us bear our present burdens, but give us the increased capacity to be bearers of hope and healing.”

“We’re so grateful to the Diocese of Virginia and the people of St. Mark’s, Richmond, who heard our call for heavy vehicles to carry supplies and volunteers to work sites,” said the Rev. Carol Stewart, executive director of Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi (LESM), which has administered and organized Episcopal relief and recovery work on the Mississippi coast. “We’ve had some vehicles donated that we had to hold together with duct tape so it’s wonderful to have late model vehicles in good working order.”

Gray was on hand as master of ceremonies, ably assisted by Van Bankston, site manager for Camp Coast Care site manager, Stewart and other staff members of Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi.

“We have needed the trucks for a long time,” said Bankston. “We need volunteer and case manager transportation; we also need vehicles designed for pulling heavy equipment and loads of supplies.”

This was not Aiken’s first visit to the ravaged area; on September 19, 2005, Aiken and Steve Clark arrived in the Katrina ravaged area with a load of office furniture for the Very Rev. Bo Roberts. Aiken and Clark encountered the Presiding Bishop’s tour of the Mississippi Coast at the “slab” of Roberts’ church, St. Mark’s, in Gulfport.

“People like Buck Aiken and his team inspire those of us who work daily on the recovery of the Mississippi coast,” said Carol Penick, development director for LESM. “They not only raised the money for eight trucks and a van, but they also gave up a week of their precious time to drive down from Virginia and work with other volunteers in the rebuilding of damaged lives.”

In addition to Gray, the LESM and Camp Coast Care staffs, Bishop William Persell of Chicago, and Robert Radtke, president of Episcopal Relief and Development, were present to witness the generosity of the people in the Diocese of Virginia.

Doylestown Patriot

Sifting through a pile of wreckage, Bill Bolla uncovered a stack of National Geographic magazines from the 1950s, and was overcome with sadness. He held them in his hands, and pictured the family that had saved them and tucked them away on a basement shelf or in a box in the attic. “It made me think of my parents,” he said. “This could have been them.”

Bolla is one of about 30 Bucks County lawyers who traded in their wing-tips for work-boots and traveled last month to Waveland, Miss. to offer help to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
For a week, they shoveled dirt, painted benches, scraped mud from walls, cleaned toilets, and rummaged through endless piles of debris by hand. Tangled up with broken windows, furniture and sheetrock they found all sorts of chilling remains of once-normal lives now shattered by the disaster – credit cards, family photos, clothing and children’s toys. [snip]

During the week that the attorneys visited, other Bucks-Mont Katrina Relief Project members were on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony of a $1.25-million child care center funded entirely by donations from our area. “The people of Bucks County should know that they are making a big difference in the lives of the people of Waveland-Bay St. Louis,” commented Mellon.

Mellon also had the honor of throwing out the first pitch to begin the little league season, after his group had worked feverishly to ready the ballpark. “For two hours, people were coming up to me and thanking us for what we had done,” he said.

In addition to giving the children a place to play, the baseball field’s restoration took on greater importance because it signaled the hope of a return to normalcy. “Baseball is a religion down there,” explained Mellon. “It was the opening day of the community.”

The Acorn

New Orleans looks far worse than what you see on TV. Outside the French Quarter, there are over 27,000 houses that have been sitting and molding since the hurricane. There are no working traffic lights, no gas stations and no grocery stores-nothing.

It looks like a war zone. It looks like nothing has been done since the hurricane, besides draining the 20 feet of water.

Makes you wonder what happened to the billions of dollars promised by politicians and donated by generous Samaritans everywhere.

After my first week, I knew I wanted-and needed-to extend my departure date. I was so moved by the depth of destruction and need for volunteers that I decided to stay indefinitely.