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.”