A.M. in the Morning!

Port? Jobs? Housing? The Chicken, the Egg, and Scarcity Mentality . . . Again

2008-06-24T05:33:00.006-06:00

by Ana Maria

Along with the blazing hot sun here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the debate over whether to fund lower income housing or to fund the repair and expansion of the local port has been heating up like nobody’s business.

There’s something fundamentally wrong, though with the way that this debate has been framed. It smacks of the scarcity mentality, and I myself have fallen prey to it. Whether to provide funding for housing or for job creation falsely pits against each other two important aspects of rebuilding our Gulf Coast community. We need both housing and jobs.

The truth is we need the port to be rebuilt. We need the good paying jobs with good benefits that the port itself can provide. And, we need those jobs now.

We also need the spin off businesses that come from rebuilding and reopening a robust port. Besides, the port is part of the economic engine not only for the Mississippi Gulf Coast but also for the entire state of Mississippi.

Housing advocates may ask this question.

What’s the point of investing in the port if the workers needed to construct it then to operate it have no place to live because housing is scarce?

Port advocates may ask this one.

What’s the point of having plenty of housing for anyone who wishes to live here if the economy is so anemic that good paying jobs with benefits are few and far between?

Chicken, egg, chicken, egg. It's still the same old scarcity argument.

Now, we’re not the only area in the nation that grapples with the issues of economic and housing development.

Out in Silicon Valley, Calif., where I used to live, housing—particularly affordable housing—remains a constant need. South of San Jose, the tenth largest city in the nation, remains a large and undeveloped area called Coyote Valley. Plenty of plans over the years have created what will surely be one of the most beautifully planned areas in the nation. State of the art public transportation corridors with neighborhood parks, grocery shopping, and heath care offices nestled around various housing configurations—condos, apartments, large/small single family homes, and the like.

Developing this fabulous community is intended to provide plenty of much needed housing with nearby jobs all of which will offload traffic from the rest of the horrifically congested area.

The development trigger for Coyote Valley? Jobs. Thousands of jobs. How can businesses build if its going to require its employees to travel two or more hours round trip EVERY DAY. So round and round the discussion continues. Jobs, housing, jobs, housing. Meanwhile improving the area’s housing situation remains a distant mirage, and traffic continues to clog every artery in the area anyway.

It’s the age-old “chicken or the egg” argument.

But here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we can’t afford to wait years for either our jobs or housing needs to be resolved.

We can choose to advocate for both, and we can do so vociferously. Leaders on each side of these important post-Katrina rebuilding efforts can and should push for both simultaneously. They can embrace the other side while advocating their own position.

Port advocates can say, “We need the port funding. This is an important economic recovery issue for the Gulf Coast business community and the families depending on the port for jobs. Of course, we also need the housing crisis to be solved NOW. Where are our workers going to house themselves and their families? We can take care of our families’ job and housing needs. Let’s do both together.”

Housing advocates can say, “We the housing funding for low income and rental housing here along the Gulf Coast. Of course, those families that want to return to living here will also need good paying jobs with benefits. Where will these families find work? Katrina devastated businesses and housing alike. Rebuilding of the port is an important part of our economic recovery. We can take care of our families’ job and housing needs. Let’s do both together.”

How powerful that would be. The animosity could begin to dissipate. We can reach across the aisle, find the common ground, and become stronger advocates for our collective recovery.

Buying into the idea that one must take precedence over the other isn’t helpful. We need the good paying jobs that the port provides and the spin off businesses that will come as a result of the construction and subsequent operation of the port.

We need affordable housing for rent and for lower income families.

We simply need both.

Anyway, isn’t ours the most wealthy, most powerful, most generous nation in the world? We can do it all. This is the United States of America.

As we act like we can do it all, as we talk in terms of expecting that we will do both simultaneously, we'll surprise ourselves at the political will and the resources that can begin to flow our way.

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.

More dead flowers: From Florida to New York--With Love, Big Insurance

2008-02-19T01:56:00.023-06:00

by Ana Maria

Last week was a banner one for homeowners all over the country. Nope, I’m not talking about the mortgage crisis which is bad enough. I’m talking about the other financial crisis that has yet to catch national attention: homeowner’s insurance policies with prices skyrocketing out of control . . . or being canceled.

Yet, property & casualty insurance costs for home and business owners have skyrocketed out of control hitting lower and middle income families with a powerful financial punch to their pocketbook whether they live inside Katrina Land or out.

In a post-Valentine’s Day gift to its homeowner customers, State Farm delivered dead flowers to its customers in Florida and New York. Yes, you read that correctly: New York. As in Long Island, New York.

Florida: State Farm Dumps Coastal Homeowners

New York: State Farm defends decision to terminate LI homeowner policies

This past Sunday, the Times-Picayune—a New Orleans paper—ran an article whose contents packed another heart-wrenching punch.

At Their Limit: As local homeowners insurance rates continue to rise, the elderly and others on limited incomes are fighting to keep their finances afloat

Talk with any two-income income family around here, and the fight is all the same. Skyrocketing premiums for less coverage while dropping wind coverage which forces policy holders into the expensive state government wind pool.

One friend of mine got home from work the other day to find that the family's home owner’s insurance bill increased by $500 a year—and the company is only covering fire and theft! They are expecting to learn that their state government wind insurance policy will rise, too. This is in addition to the nearly $2,000 rise in premiums last year.

The 55% of Americans who live within 50 miles of the nation's coastline need wind damage coverage on their homeowners' insurance.

Whatever is happening here inside Katrina Land--from the denial of wind-related claims to the exorbitant and extortion-like premiums to being dropped as customers without cause--will eventually spread to the rest of the nation. We'd like to spare the nation's families the incredible injustice and financial rip-off that we've experienced.

In yet another post-Valentine’s Day gift, Big Insurance delivered dead flowers to those of us living inside—or trying to return to our hometowns in—Katrina Land. The card on the dead flowers essentially read as follows:

Yo, baby: No new insurance policies & dropping you long time, loyal customers at renewal time. C' ya! - Big Insurance [Read Katrina Families, Dead Flowers, and Big Insurance]

Huh? Well, how else can Big Insurance protect tens of billions of dollars in annual profit flow to their boards of directors?! It's the only "insurance" about which these two-fisted greedy gutted goons apparently care. Remember the industry booked $108 billion in profit the year of Katrina and the year after.

By canceling homeowner policies or raising their premiums to exorbitant rates, it appears that members of the Big Insurance Brotherhood are essentially telegraphing that they want out of the wind insurance business. This is not the case.

What Big Insurance wants is to cherry pick from among homeowners those for whom it will drop coverage versus those it will require to pay almost extortion-like premiums . . . all the while employing various tactics to deny us payment on legitimate wind-related claims. Embedded in the fine print, Big Insurance inserts its "concurrent causation clause" into its contracts. In essence, this clause says that they won't pay for any wind damage if so much as a drop of water caused any damage to our property.

Clearly agents wouldn't sell very much if they actually mentioned this when making their pitch to us. From what was stated at the Insurance Reform Town Hall meeting last August here in my home town, agents didn't know about this ridiculous clause that would deprive homeowners of the very protection for which they were paying premiums in the first place. To hear this commentary on how Big Insurance kept their agents and their customers in the dark, see video below.

Congressman Gene Taylor explains in down-to-earth language the problem that this insurance "gotcha "clause creates for America’s homeowners.

To solve this horrible position that Big Insurance has placed America’s homeowners, Taylor sponsored the multiple peril insurance legislation to permit those homeowners who are eligible to purchase our nation’s flood insurance to have the option of buying wind coverage. The result is that the homeowner would have one policy for both wind and flood—something that the private insurance companies have chosen not to offer for the last 40 years.

Last September, Taylor's bill passed overwhelmingly and with bi-partisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives. When Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi became elected as Speaker of the House, she implemented the fiscally responsible PAYGO rule: pay as you go. Any legislation with a price tag attached to it must pay for itself. What this means for the multiple peril insurance legislation is that the rates for the wind insurance will pay for the costs of the coverage. Thank you, Congresswoman Pelosi for the return of fiscal responsibility! The bill went to the U.S. Senate where it now awaits action.

While the U.S. Senate wonders what to do about this mounting homeowner crisis, homeowners all over the nation are wondering what they are going to do about skyrocketing property insurance that is eating away like a cancer on their household’s budget.

What needs doing is rather straightforward. The U.S. Senate should simply listen to the two U.S. Senators from Louisiana and the one from New York who are championing this important bread-and-butter issue: Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), David Vitter (R-LA), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY). All three support Taylor's multiple peril insurance legislation.

While many homeowners are raising hell with their individual insurance companies, we can all raise some political hell where it will do some collective good. For today’s political hell raising activity, let’s call our two U.S. Senate offices and ask them to follow the lead of Senators Landrieu, Vitter, and Schumer.

On his re-election campaign website, Congressman Gene Taylor has a unique call-to-action piece specific to this insurance crisis that is crippling his constituents' recovery inside the Katrina-ravaged region. [To watch Mississippi Gulf Coast business leaders discussing Big Insurance's negative impact on Katrina recovery, click here.]

Taylor's website requests the following.

Please, contact your two U.S. Senators. Simply ask each U.S. Senator to become a partner with us and support Insurance Reform. Specifically, ask each of your U.S. Senators to pass legislation in the U.S. Senate that is similar to what the House of Representatives passed in H.R. 3121, which reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program and included flood insurance customers an option to have one policy for both wind and water.

The site provides a phone script to use and a link to obtain the phone numbers of our two U.S. Senators. Taylor also provides a link through which to share the phone script page with friends and family throughout the nation. Good stuff.

Taylor's campaign website also hosts a fantastic compilation of news articles, editorials, and videos on how insurance reform is critical to Katrina families' ability to rebuild their homes and communities and how the homeowner insurance crisis continues to spread throughout the nation's coastal states. Click here for his Insurance Reform page.

From sea to shining sea, Big Insurance is dropping coverage, dropping customers, and skyrocketing premiums. Reading through all the articles on Taylor's campaign website makes us realize that the homeowner crisis is beyond just that of the current mortgage crisis. We can begin to solve the homeowner insurance crisis through letting our fingers do the walking and our mouths do the talking to our Senators. We did not create this crisis. Solving it, though, rests in our hands.

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About ToxicTrailers.com

2008-02-19T00:15:00.000-06:00

ToxicTrailers.com is dedicated to providing information about formaldehyde poisoning in FEMA trailers and RVs sold to the general public. Eighty eight percent of FEMA trailers tested by Sierra Club were over safe limits for formaldehyde, and EPA tests showed average levels three times over the limit. Please e-mail stories@toxictrailers.com if you think you are having problems with formaldehyde.

For more information, click here.

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Baria's insurance bills getting chilly reception in Jackson

2008-02-18T18:10:00.002-06:00

By Dwayne Bremer
Feb 15, 2008

One of state Sen. David Baria's major campaign pledges was to help reform the way Mississippi conducts business with insurance companies.
Upon taking office in January, Baria promptly introduced seven bills which he said would help reform the system.
Unfortunately, there is now a very strong chance none of his bills will even make it to the Senate floor for consideration, he said.

Baria said Friday he was told by Insurance Committee Chairman Eugene Clark his bills will not make it out of the committee stage--which has a deadline of Tuesday for presenting bills to the full Senate.

If a bill is not submitted by the deadline, then it cannot be reviewed again until the next term in 2009.

"It's very frustrating," Baria said. "It is two and a half years after Katrina. The people on the Gulf Coast are suffering with the insurance situation. I think another year of waiting will only prolong the suffering."

Baria said there is nothing in all of his bills which will in any way adversely affect the rest of the home-owners in the state. In fact, the bills will potentially help all Mississippi home owners, he said.

Some of Baria's ideas include giving credits or better rates for homes which are constructed with techniques which reduce the amount of potential loss; putting the burden of proof on the insurer; defining certain concurrent causation exclusions as unfair; disallowing the commissioner of insurance from receiving "gifts" from insurance companies; setting limits on the reasons for cancellation; requiring explanations of claim denials; and requiring that insurance companies cannot deny coverage on the basis of credit reports.

One of the concurrent causation exclusions Baria said he is fighting hard to eliminate is an exclusion policy which allows for insurance companies to be exempt from coverage when wind causes damage which in turn results in rain water damage, but the home also has surge damage.

Baria said he has garnered a lot of support from his Democratic colleagues in the Senate.

"They are very receptive," he said. "They want to help the Coast. They would like to have a chance to vote on these issues."

Baria said Clark, a Republican from Hollindale told him Thursday that the reason why the bills are not being brought from committee is because Clark said he is new to insurance issues and he wanted more time to study the situation. Baria said the people of the Gulf Coast are tired of waiting.

"My folks cannot wait any longer, it's been two years," he said.

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Katrina Families, Dead Flowers, and Big Insurance

2008-02-15T11:34:00.017-06:00

by Ana Maria

The day after Valentine's, Big Insurance delivered Katrina's families a bunch of dead roses. Big Insurance announced that it is refusing to sell us new homeowner policies here inside Mississippi's Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast region. Adding insult to injury, Big Insurance also informed us that it might not renew wind policies of its loyal customers either. The equivalent of more dead flowers.

Next up in this string of bad news, we learned that the government's wind pool insurance —the state's insurer of last resort—is increasing the rates for those customers. Yes, those wind pool customers are the ones whom Big Insurance discarded.

Let's look at Big Insurance's impact on one South Mississippi resident, Mr. Rex Chastain, who is retired military.

Chastain had hoped for some insurance relief in 2008, but instead finds his family "insurance poor."

Hurricane Katrina forced the Chastains, along with thousands of other South Mississippi residents, into the state wind pool, where residential rates jumped 90 percent in 2006. The wind pool is the insurer of last resort for 36,000 South Mississippians, who must carry a separate private policy to cover fire, theft and liability.

The Chastains' total homeowner insurance bill jumped 147 percent.

Geeze, Louise! How in the living heck are we to rebuild our homes, businesses, and communities if we can't purchase affordable property insurance? This bad news means that our recovery stops. The end. We cannot pass go nor collect $200.

Of course, would that Mississippi to be aggressive in its approach to protecting its humble people against the Insurance CEOs to whom I fondly refer as two-fisted greedy gutted goons in Gucci suits. Unfortunately Mississippi's State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney sounds just like his predecessor, George Dale, whom voters rejected last year for being in the back pocket of Big Insurance. Here's Chaney's reaction to the bad news for Katrina recovery.

"If they quit writing wind for existing customers, that's really going to put more pressure on the economy," said Chaney, who added that he is working to keep private carriers in the six southernmost counties and bring in new business.

How long did it take Chaney to memorize and spit out that George Dale talking point?!

How could other communities in any other part of our nation that would be able to thrive if these same financial straight jacket conditions were imposed on their homeowners and developers?

If this were the end of it, today's bad news would be just awful. But today's news gusts keep picking up speed where Katrina recovery is concerned. In the Mississippi State Senate, Katrina insurance bills may die without vote. Well isn't that just ducky! We're sitting here some 30 months after Katrina blew through with her zealous hurricane force winds and we have a bunch of blow hards in the state senate huffing and puffing a bunch of hot air zealously guarding the status quo.

Down here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the status quo means Katrina families cannot rebuild their homes, businesses, and communities. The status quo means that even the already r-e-a-l-l-y . . . s----l----o----w pace of recovery simply stops. How exasperating!

Add to this madness the ridiculous building codes that FEMA is imposing primarily in one tiny area of the Katrina ravaged-Mississippi Gulf Coast of Bay St. Louis, the hometown of Congressman Gene Taylor. Seems to me that this smells more like political revenge because Taylor is hell-bent on creating affordable home owner's insurance for his constituents and for rest of the 55% of Americans who live within 50 miles of our nation's beautiful coast lines.

“Populations and built environments in coastal watersheds are growing rapidly, with 55 percent of the U.S. population already living within 50 miles of the coast.”
“The Coastal Community Development Partnership”
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

To make this a more toxic recipe for ruining opportunity for recovery, let's remember that Governor Haley Barbour wants to swipe more Katrina funds to build a road for a Toyota plant. If Mr. Barbour likes roads so much, perhaps he should drive himself down here and plop a squat for a few days listening to one after another Mississippian talk about the tremendous hardship of life here some 30 months after Katrina. Housing, insurance preventing house building, insurance preventing business reopening, housing costs, did I mention the insurance crisis?

Last, but not least, in the Katrina rebuilding madness is the latest from FEMA on its formaldehyde-filled trailers.

"FEMA first received complaints about health problems and high formaldehyde levels nearly two years ago," said Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss. "If FEMA would have taken the complaints seriously from the very beginning, this issue could have been resolved already... They must now act swiftly to find adequate housing for those living in trailers across Mississippi and Louisiana, instead of at the pace they moved when first receiving complaints."

Today's rash of bad news makes it so obvious that Katrina recovery here in South Mississippi is intimately tied to our ability to obtain affordable insurance for our homes and businesses. The solution is now awaiting action in the U.S. Senate.

As you may recall, the U.S. House of Representatives passed overwhelmingly and with bi-partisan support Congressman Gene Taylor's Muliple Peril Insurance Legislation (H.R. 3121). That bill permits homeowners who are eligible for and purchase flood insurance the option to buy wind coverage as well. As with all bills since Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took the reigns of Speaker of the House, this bill includes a provision to require that the bill's cost pays for itself. This is fiscally responsible and sound.

We now need to contact our two U.S. Senators to ask each to support, to push, to take the lead on this critical legislation so that we can get the post-Katrina recovery moving. Click here to Become a Partner in Insurance Reform!

This is where you will find a phone script you can use. Of course, you will also find a link to the phone numbers for each of your two U.S. Senators. When you are finished, please use the link provided after the phone script to contact all of your friends, family, and colleagues around the nation to ask them to join in our effort to help pass this critical Katrina recovery legislation.

Our phone calls from all over the nation—even our voice mails—can stir up these much needed hurricane force winds of change. This is how we create the resources that those of us inside the Katrina-ravaged region need for that vibrant recovery we desire. Who'd have ever thought that real insurance reform would be the new chocolate and flowers?!

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Rep. Taylor Comments on Officials' Findings on Formaldehyde in FEMA Trailers

2008-02-14T16:30:00.002-06:00

FEMA should have addressed concerns in the beginning

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Gene Taylor released a statement today about the recent findings by federal health officials that confirm toxic levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers and suggest occupants be moved immediately.

“FEMA first received complaints about health problems and high formaldehyde levels nearly two years ago,” Rep. Taylor said. “If FEMA would have taken the complaints seriously from the very beginning, this issue could have been resolved already. I requested that FEMA and the Center for Disease Control conduct a detailed study a year ago, and the results are just being released today. They must now act swiftly to find adequate housing for those living in trailers across Mississippi and Louisiana, instead of at the pace they moved when first receiving complaints.”

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Taylor Announces No Money in President's Budget for Mandatory Buyouts

2008-02-14T16:28:00.002-06:00

Assistant Secretary states that no funding for buyouts will be available in 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Gene Taylor today announced that there is no money for the mandatory buyout of properties that were either destroyed or damaged in Hurricane Katrina in President Bush’s federal budget request for 2009, which spans from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing on Feb. 7 on agency budgets and priorities for fiscal year 2009. At the hearing, Rep. Taylor asked Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works John Paul Woodley, Jr. if there is money in the budget request specifically for mandatory buyouts. Woodley responded, “I don’t know of any money in the president’s budget for that purpose.” Woodley also said at the hearing that he would put into writing, upon Rep. Taylor’s request, that there would be no mandatory buyouts in 2009.

The Corps of Engineers’ study of comprehensive improvements for the Mississippi coast was supposed to be presented to Congress by Dec. 31, but it still has not been received. Because of this, no funding has been requested for items in the study, which would include projects such as coastal restoration, barrier islands restoration and flood damage reduction.

Woodley sent Rep. Taylor a letter in January in which he noted that the non-structural alternatives being evaluated by the Corps of Engineers to provide reduction of risk from future storms would be voluntary.

“It is my understanding that a strictly voluntary non-structural plan, including elevation of structures, buyouts and/or relocations, is one of the alternatives being evaluated as part of the study process,” Woodley stated in the letter.

“I am glad to finally get the record straight that there will not be any funding for mandatory buyouts in 2009,” Rep. Taylor said. “I look forward to the release of the Corps of Engineers’ final study for coastal improvements.”

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Gov. Barbour, South Mississippi needs answers

2008-02-07T07:17:00.000-06:00

Editorial
February 7, 2008

Gov. Haley Barbour needs to talk directly to the people of South Mississippi about the status of the recovery process and other issues.

And he should do so soon.

What does he need to talk about?

First: How does he justify the allocation - or reallocation - of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid? The governor has championed pouring money into expanding the port in Gulfport instead of spending more money for housing. He even thinks things are going so well in South Mississippi that some recovery money can be used to build a road in North Mississippi. But many are wary of this diversion of funds. If the governor has the facts and figures to prove that the needs in the coastal counties have been or are being met, then he needs to come here and confront his critics.

Second: The governor should share his thoughts on making insurance coverage more available and affordable. Is he interested in a regional approach? Is he lobbying senators - and the president - for a federal response, such as a national multi-peril policy?

Third: Why is the governor so sold on using the Pascagoula River and the Mississippi Sound to flush out a salt dome at Richton? Many of his constituents are alarmed at the proposal and are stunned that the governor says simply: trust the system.

South Mississippians need to personally hear the governor make his case on these and other matters. And they need to hear from him soon.

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Insurance companies in Florida used loophole in law to bypass required rate savings

2008-02-06T09:59:00.000-06:00

BY JULIE PATEL | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Originally published 07:10 a.m., February 6, 2008
Updated 07:10 a.m., February 6, 2008

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It appears some of the state's biggest insurers tried to use loopholes in a law to skirt a requirement that they pass savings from a state-backed financial safety net to homeowners.

That's one of the conclusions drawn Tuesday after two days of Senate hearings on compliance with a law passed last year to quell Florida's property insurance crisis.

Executives from insurance companies testified under oath about why they didn't reduce prices for consumers, as the Legislature demanded last year in exchange for offering insurers cheaper backup storm coverage.

With the annual legislative session starting in March, lawmakers said they could consider fixing loopholes in last year's law.

In one such gap, the law didn't explicitly indicate methods insurers can't use to predict risk and ultimately set insurance policy prices, said Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach.

Insurers such as Allstate Floridian Insurance Co. and Nationwide Insurance Co. of Florida based rate increase requests last year on storm risks over the next five years instead of the customary 100 years. A special state commission approves risk prediction methods, but use of unapproved methods, such as the five-year projection, results in higher insurance rates.

"This is the single most significant issue that we've heard," said Geller, co-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability, formed last month to hold insurers accountable for rate cuts that legislators pledged to the state's homeowners last year. "If we simply resolved that issue, I think we'd resolve half the disputes we're having."

Another issue senators may want to look at during the regular session, Geller said, is whether to clarify a state law enacted in 2006 that allows insurers to earn "reasonable profits."

State insurance regulators have recommended insurance companies use a 3.7 profit margin — not including income earned on investments — to calculate property insurance prices. But executives from companies such as Allstate Floridian, Nationwide and Hartford Insurance Co. of the Midwest testified that they used profit margins of 15 percent or more to calculate rate requests last year. What's more, Hartford officials said they used $1 billion last year to buy back stock. Allstate also has bought back stock in recent years.

The Senate committee might continue its hearings on Feb. 18 or 19 to discuss findings and recommendations such as those outlined by Geller. If there's time before the Feb. 29 deadline for final drafts of new bills for the coming legislative session, the committee might ask rating agencies, risk predicting companies and reinsurers to testify about their relationships with the insurance industry.

This week's hearings are the latest battle in a long feud between state government leaders and the property insurance industry. Last year, legislators expanded the state reinsurance program and expected insurers to pass along the savings by cutting homeowner coverage prices. But many insurers requested rate increases that were rejected by regulators.

One insurer, American Strategic Insurance Corp., managed to reduce rates last year by a statewide average of 20 percent, and senators praised the company during the hearings.

In December, Gov. Charlie Crist threatened to sue the insurance industry, and state Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty last month tried banning Allstate Insurance Co. and nine affiliates from selling new insurance policies statewide until they turn over all the financial documents his office wants as part of an investigation. A state appeals court blocked McCarty and now the two sides are locked in litigation.

State insurance regulators and legislators at the hearings said they thought modeling – or methods used to predict the risks of hurricanes that help set policy prices – had been addressed after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. That's when insurers said they needed computer models using tens of thousands of years of hurricane data to help predict risks in the long term to level out drastic fluctuations in the short term.

Legislators in Florida and several other states approved the models even though rates shot up. But after damaging hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, industry officials started saying they needed to project risks five years out because they believed this is a time of increased hurricane activity, in part because of warming sea surface waters.

State law doesn't explicitly prohibit insurers from using the models, according to testimony at the hearings. Allstate and Florida Farm Bureau General Insurance Co. use the near-term methods to estimate risks that ultimately determine rates.

Insurance executives said the near-term projection helps them better assess risk and is backed by scientists at modeling companies.

State officials said modeling company executives developed the five-year method to meet demand from insurers.

"The short-term model was developed at the behest of the insurance industry," Deputy Insurance Commissioner Belinda Miller said.

Some senators said they think the law passed last year will work as long as regulators continue rejecting proposed rate hikes. Rate requests from Allstate, Hartford and Florida Farm were rejected last year and are pending negotiation or final decisions.

"They can use the models all they want until the cows come home, but (regulators) haven't approved a penny" in situations where they thought insurers were unreasonable, said Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge.

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6 Coast Democrats oppose Barbour road plan

2008-02-06T07:23:00.000-06:00

JACKSON -- A roundup of Tuesday's action at the Capitol:

• Citing Hurricane Katrina concerns, six South Mississippi Democrats said in a statement they oppose Gov. Haley Barbour's plan to spend $25 million in Katrina savings for road improvements in north Mississippi.

Since a rules change allowed the state to avoid paying millions to match federal spending on Katrina rebuilding projects, Barbour wants to use about $108 million of $268 million that had been socked away to replenish the "rainy day" fund and to make $25 million in improvements that would benefit a Toyota plant in Lee County.

Sens. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, Debbie Dawkins, D-Pass Christian, Ezell Lee, D-Picayune and Reps. Dirk Dedeaux, D-Sellers, Randall Patterson, D-Biloxi, and Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, were listed on the statement.

"Many residents of the areas directly impacted by Katrina still reside in FEMA trailers, insurance remains unaffordable, small businesses are struggling and Hancock County doesn't have a jail," the statement said. "To us, this is simply a matter of priorities and our priority is rebuilding the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We hope that this 'found money' will be used to further our recovery from Katrina."

• Superintendent of Education Hank Bounds would be allowed to hire and fire Department of Education personnel without taking matters to the personnel board under a bill the Senate Education Committee agreed on. The provision, designed to give the department more flexibility to reorganize, would be for a year.

• The Senate Education Committee voted to authorize a mentoring program for young teachers. The program, which would utilize retired or long-serving teachers and pay them up to $1,000 a year, is designed to combat the loss of many of the state's recently hired teachers.

• The committee also approved longevity pay increases of up to $794 a year for teachers who have taught at least 25 years.

• The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would restrict eminent domain from being declared on a parcel for a commercial venture, but the law would still allow governments and utility companies to use eminent domain for roads, utility work and levees and other projects for the public.

• The House Military Affairs Committee approved a tuition waiver for spouses of those serving with the National Guard. Spouses could forgo paying up to 50 percent of their tuition at both four-year and two-year schools.

The bill would also give "tuition stabilization" for up to $4,500 for active duty members of the National Guard. The bill has been referred to the appropriations committee.

• Members of the Legislature will meet this morning at the Capitol to ride to memorial services in Bay St. Louis for Joseph P. "Jody" Compretta Jr., son of House Speaker Pro Tem J.P. Compretta, who represents Hancock County. Compretta, 39, died in an accident at the Endymion parade in New Orleans on Saturday.

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Secrets, Lies And Documents - The Sequel

2008-02-04T10:10:00.000-06:00

The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 4, 2008

Even after we agreed to accept more risk in our policies, big insurance not only reneged on their promise to lower rates for Floridians, they continued to increase them.

And while the Office of Insurance Regulation should be applauded for its decision to hold hearings to find why we were lied to, they are also getting a real sample of what lengths insurance companies will endure to fatten their bottom lines at the expense of consumers.

Having battled these entities for over 20 years, I have seen firsthand how they will do anything to avoid exposing upper management tactics that would confirm our fears about an industry that has done everything possible to avoid accountability.

Furthermore, having chaired the American Association for Justice's Bad Faith Group, I also have been witness to the much-sought-after Allstate-McKinsey documents along with similar unfair claims tactics used by carriers as far back as the early 1990s.

In Missouri, Allstate chose to pay a $25,000 a day fine rather than turn over key management documents regarding the tactics and goals of its claims practices.

In Michigan, State Farm was sanctioned for failure to produce over 2,000 McKinsey-related documents when ordered to do so. The landmark case of Campbell vs. State Farm, which began in Utah and made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court over a course of 23 years, uncovered documents detailing a systematic program to underpay legitimate claims.

Yet another regulatory action in South Dakota cost Farmers Insurance Company and its shareholders a $750,000 fine for having a program where cash incentives were used to encourage adjusters to underpay claims.

These tactics of secrecy represent an underlying business strategy to prevent public scrutiny of a highly regulated business that involves the public's trust. They delay and deny with the hope that the other side will simply give up as we become numb to high rates and the broken promise of fast and full payment on legitimate claims. Policyholders, governments and even shareholders suffer as insurance industry's management thumbs its nose at us.

While hearings and commissions will reveal more bad news, special-interest promises remain the biggest blockade to establishing true reform. Until the army insurance lobbyist roaming our capital is removed, along with their influence on the political system, it will remain broken.

It is time for us to enforce honesty and fair play upon an industry, which agreed to be regulated in order to do business in our state, with nothing less than an iron fist.

William F. "Chip" Merlin is managing partner of Merlin Law Group in Tampa.

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AG says State Farm lawsuit based on 'lies, speculation and innuendo'

2008-02-04T06:35:00.000-06:00

By HOLBROOK MOHR
Associated Press Writer

JACKSON, Miss. -- A lawsuit filed by State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. that accuses Attorney General Jim Hood of using the threat of criminal charges to force settlements in civil lawsuits is based on "lies, speculation, and innuendo," Hood said in court papers.
State Farm sued Hood in September, claiming he violated his part of a January 2007 settlement in which the attorney general's office agreed to end its criminal investigation over the company's handling of Hurricane Katrina claims. A judge ordered Hood to temporarily shut down the probe.

The accusations in court documents have intensified over the past week as both sides prepare for a hearing on Wednesday.

"Before allowing State Farm to use this court as a three ring circus to parade its inflammatory evidentiary rhetoric of innuendo, guilt by association, and smears, there should be some factual basis alleged to support a conclusion of retaliation and/or harassment," Hood said in papers filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Jackson.

Jonathan Freed, a State Farm spokesman told The Associated Press on Friday, that the insurer is ready to "proceed with our case and we're looking forward to airing these issues in court."

Hood asked the court to dissolve the restraining order and allow him to resume his investigation. Hood's 19-page filing came just days after State Farm used some of the strongest language yet in accusing the second-term attorney general of wrongdoing.

The company claimed Hood and wealthy plaintiffs attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who is facing corruption and contempt charges in other cases, participated in an "extortion conspiracy" by trying to force the company to settle civil litigation with private attorneys.

The court battle heated up when State Farm began urging a judge to allow the company to question Scruggs under oath. Hood has called Scruggs his "confidential informant" and has said Scruggs provided allegedly incriminating information about State Farm.

"General Hood is clearly concerned that his co-conspirator will either tell the truth or invoke the Fifth Amendment on specific questions related to their extortion conspiracy," State Farm said in a motion filed Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills on Friday ordered Scruggs to submit to the questioning by 5 p.m. Monday. Scruggs will likely invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination when questioned because of the pending charges against him.

Scruggs, one of the most influential plaintiffs lawyers in the country, is facing federal charges that he conspired with several associates to bribe a judge in an unrelated dispute over $26.5 million in fees from a mass settlement of Katrina claims. He's facing contempt charges in Alabama for allegedly violating a federal judge's order by giving leaked Katrina assessment documents to Hood rather than returning them to the company from which they were taken.

Scruggs has denied wrongdoing in either case. Scruggs is not a party to the lawsuit State Farm filed against Hood, but the company claims he worked in collusion with Hood.

The January 2007 agreement that State Farm claims Hood violated by resuming a criminal investigation was part of a broader settlement that called for State Farm to reopen and possibly pay thousands of policyholder claims. However, a federal judge refused to sign off the terms of deal and State Farm later entered into another agreement with George Dale, who was then Mississippi's Insurance Commissioner.

In August 2007, State Farm received a new subpoena for records from a grand jury. Less than a month later, the company sued Hood in an effort to stop the grand jury's investigation.

Hood claims he wasn't reopening the same investigation, rather he was probing new claims.

Hood has argued that he never provided "blanket immunity" from future investigations.

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GAO National Flood Insurance Program Report: A View from Outside the Industry

2008-01-31T19:38:00.000-06:00

by Sop811

Insurance Issues Forum

Yesterday we pointed out several glaring omissions and factual inaccuracies in the Reuters drive by reporting on the General Accounting Office NFIP report. Today we see better coverage courtesy of Anita Lee at the Sun Herald. In addition to our analysis, Ms Lee points out some of the other conclusions reached by the GAO on the flaws inherent to the current program design:

The first flaw involves the three wise monkeys and the concept of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. While that old proverb works well in our personal conduct it is an invitation to disaster when used to manage a federal program:

Read more . . .

Wake Up and Smell the Formaldehyde

2008-01-31T18:49:00.001-06:00

by James Polk
the New American Village

FEMA trailers are in the news again. Turns out they're not fit for human habitation. Problem is we've known it all along.

A scathing article on Salon.com sheds light on the toxic conditions and details the efforts of the United States government to cover it up.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/01/29/fema_coverup/

Meanwhile, better than two years on, over 30,000 hurricane victims still call FEMA trailers home. Read more . . .

GAO: Flood insurers have 'inherent conflict of interest'

2008-01-31T06:42:00.000-06:00

McClatchy Newspapers
1/30/2008 -

WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office issued a report Wednesday on the National Flood Insurance Program that concluded insurers have "an inherent conflict of interest" in determining flood damage that the federal program must pay and the wind damage covered by private companies.

"I applaud the GAO for confirming that insurance companies have an inherent conflict of interest when they are allowed to determine whether to assign damages to their own wind insurance policies or to the federal flood insurance policy claims," said Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss.

The GAO concluded that the program needs greater transparency and oversight of wind and flood damage decisions.

"The report reinforces my proposal to give homeowners the option to buy wind and flood coverage in the same policy." The House passed Taylor's provision last September but the bill is stalled in the Senate.

"I urge the Senate to pass this legislation in order to stabilize the insurance market in coastal states," Taylor said. "I strongly support GAO's recommendations that insurance companies be required to turn over their wind claims files so that FEMA can verify that the companies applied the same standards to the flood insurance claims as to their own wind claims."

©2008, The Santa Fe New Mexican and MediaSpan

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REP. TAYLOR COMMENTS ON GAO WIND AND FLOOD REPORT

2008-01-30T16:19:00.000-06:00

Findings reinforce importance of multiple peril insurance provision

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Gene Taylor commented today on the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s report that greater transparency and oversight is needed for determining the extent of wind and flood damage after a storm.

“I applaud the GAO for confirming that insurance companies have an inherent conflict of interest when they are allowed to determine whether to assign damages to their own wind insurance policies or to the federal flood insurance policy claims,” Rep. Taylor said. “The report reinforces my proposal to give homeowners the option to buy wind and flood coverage in the same policy.”

The multiple peril insurance provision in H.R. 3121, passed by the House of Representatives in September, would allow coastal residents to buy insurance and know that hurricane damage would be covered. It would protect taxpayers by ensuring that more hurricane damage is covered by premiums rather than by disaster assistance programs.

The volatility and uncertainty of the coastal insurance market are the biggest obstacles to recovery on the Gulf Coast. Insurance companies are withdrawing from almost every coastal market, forcing many homeowners into state insurance pools.

“I urge the Senate to pass this legislation in order to stabilize the insurance market in coastal states,” Rep. Taylor said. “I strongly support GAO’s recommendations that insurance companies be required to turn over their wind claims files so that FEMA can verify that the companies applied the same standards to the flood insurance claims as to their own wind claims. I am disappointed, but not surprised, that FEMA opposes that recommendation. FEMA needs to recognize that its oversight responsibility is to protect federal taxpayers, not insurance companies.”

The GAO’s findings include these major points:

· A conflict of interest exists when insurance companies are responsible for determining both the extent of the flood damage that NFIP must pay and the extent of the wind damage that the insurance company itself must pay;

· NFIP cannot determine the accuracy of flood claims payments on properties that were subject to both high winds and flooding, because FEMA does not collect any information on wind claims and does not require companies to explain their procedures for distinguishing between wind and flood losses;

· Property owners with separate homeowners, wind and flood insurance policies cannot know in advance whether all their damage from a hurricane will be covered because of differences in the policy limits; the uncertainty is increased because NFIP cedes control of the damage determination to the insurance company despite a vested economic interest in maximizing the flood claim and minimizing the wind claim;

· Legal disputes between wind and flood coverage have increased because of insurance companies’ anti-concurrent causation clauses that attempt to exclude coverage of wind damage if flooding contributed to the loss.

The Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act, H.R. 3121, which passed the House in September, already addresses some of the concerns raised by the GAO report:

The House approved a Taylor amendment that prohibits insurance companies from using anti-concurrent causation language to exclude coverage of wind damage solely because flooding also contributed to the damage.

The House also approved an amendment offered by Rep. Mel Watt that would require insurance companies to report their actual expenses operating the flood program and to undergo an independent audit of their administration of NFIP policies every two years.

The complete GAO report can be found at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0828.pdf.

# # #

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Houston lawmakers blast pace of Katrina, Rita housing

2008-01-30T07:20:00.001-06:00

By RICHARD S. DUNHAM
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Two Houston lawmakers upbraided federal and Texas officials for their slow response to finding replacement housing for victims of hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, called the efforts "a complete failure." Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, went further. "Some heads really should roll for letting this go on and on and on," he said at an investigative hearing held by the House Homeland Security Committee.

Jackson Lee and Green noted that thousands of Texans have been housed for more than three years in trailers laced with the cancer-causing chemical formaldehyde.

"HUD and FEMA are wrapped around this failure," Jackson Lee told state and federal emergency response officials. "The state of Texas has failed, plain and simple."

"The simple question I ask you: Why are people still in trailers in 2008?" Jackson Lee demanded.

"Madam, you are correct," said Nelson Bregón, of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "There are people still residing in trailers who should not be living in trailers."

During the afternoon-long hearing, there were several examples of federal agencies and Texas officials pointing the finger of blame at somebody else.

HUD's Bregón testified that the housing situation "is FEMA's responsibility." He said HUD is "very concerned" and is "working with the states." He called the situation "a travesty."

A Texas official defended the performance of Gov. Rick Perry, a target of Jackson Lee's ire.

Michael G. Gerber, executive director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, said federal aid was only a fraction of state costs.

Jackson Lee was not convinced: "People are living in a disaster because of your inaction," she said.

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FEMA slowing Coast building

2008-01-30T07:16:00.000-06:00

Chris Joyner • chris.joyner@jackson.gannett.com • January 30, 2008

BILOXI — Two-and-a-half years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast, less than a fourth of the 10,833 public rebuilding projects are completed.

Many haven't even broken ground.

And local officials are finding it harder to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Long Beach Mayor Billy Skellie spent much of Tuesday in a meeting with FEMA accountants arguing over whether the federal government will help pay overtime costs incurred by his fire and police departments in the days and weeks after the storm.

"They are wanting to deobligate about half of that," he said.

In regular language, Skellie explained FEMA is hedging on paying the city's costs of more than $350,000 because the agency's contract accountants are not satisfied with the time sheets kept by first responders immediately after Katrina hit.

"We were just trying to survive. I mean, my God," Skellie said. "It's these people who worked around the clock pulling bodies out. ... They don't want to pay for any of that because a person's name doesn't appear on a time sheet."

It is a familiar complaint along the Coast, especially among the smaller cities. Recovery is slow because FEMA and its state-level partner, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, spent months arguing with local government officials over what is and is not covered under grants set aside to pay for rebuilding government buildings, roads and infrastructure and paying other public costs.

After more than two years of hearing the complaints, FEMA and MEMA officials Tuesday held a news briefing at their Biloxi headquarters to plead their case.

"There's a lot of misconceptions about this program and a lot of misconceptions about what FEMA and MEMA can and can't do," MEMA Director Mike Womack said.

Recovery is "one team, one fight," Womack said, but there are legal limits to the public assistance grants.

For instance, under the federal rules, a fire station destroyed by Katrina can be rebuilt completely using federal money, as long as it is rebuilt the way it was before the storm using the former building's "footprint." But if a city wants to expand the fire station, relocate it or use the money to improve a fire station across town, then the project has to go through another vetting process and the city may be required to provide some matching funds.

"It's an area that confuses the applicants quite a bit," Womack said.

The process is tougher on smaller communities. When FEMA negotiates payments with the largest cities of Gulfport and Biloxi, those cities bring in-house experts who are dedicated to shepherding projects through the labyrinthine federal process, but smaller cities do not have the money to hire their own advocates.

"Myself, the city clerk and my fire chief," Skellie said. "That's just about it."

Since the storm, about $1.3 billion has been paid out to cover the costs of rebuilding to local governments, school systems and eligible nonprofits.

But as Mississippi approaches its third hurricane season since Katrina, many of the projects have not made it out of the planning stages. In all, 22 percent of Mississippi's 10,833 public projects have been completed.

FEMA Transitional Recovery Office Director Sid Melton said the agency is working to improve the process. Development of an electronic database of ongoing projects is nearly completed, he said. Since the storm, tracking of progress of public assistance projects has been a manual process.

Melton said FEMA is a willing partner with local governments to get them the funds they need and get their projects done.

"Our job is to move the state of Mississippi forward, and if we are not doing that, then we need to get out of the way," he said.

That's just what Skellie would like to see happen. Once he receives bids on a project, Skellie said it takes several months for FEMA to review and approve them before work can begin.

He said he believes it is getting harder to get FEMA to approve projects as the agency pores over worksheets in what he sees as an attempt to reduce how much money his city receives.

"They are watching for thieves, and I understand that," he said. "We haven't asked for anything more than we need, and we still get punched in the nose."

Womack agreed one of the problems with the system is it is adversarial. He said he hopes the Katrina experience will spur Washington to find a new way, but in the meantime, there are rules that have to be followed.

But it's not all the fault of FEMA or MEMA, he said. Internal squabbling among local government officials has slowed the rebuilding, too, he said.

"There are disagreements in local governments on how to rebuild," he said. "These are very difficult decisions for local communities."

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Study Claims FEMA Ignored Toxic Findings

2008-01-28T19:13:00.000-06:00

By EILEEN SULLIVAN
January 28, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency manipulated scientific research in order to play down the danger posed by formaldehyde in trailers issued to hurricane victims, according to an investigation by congressional Democrats released Monday.

FEMA "ignored, hid and manipulated government research on the potential impact of long-term exposure to formaldehyde" on Katrina and Rita victims now living in FEMA trailers, Democrats on a House Science and Technology subcommittee wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. FEMA is part of the Homeland Security Department.

In a separate letter, lawmakers said the federal health agency that provided guidance to FEMA was "complicit in giving FEMA precisely what they wanted."

Victims living in FEMA trailers have complained of health problems related to formaldehyde, but initial FEMA tests revealed the air quality in the trailers was safe if those trailers were properly ventilated. Formaldehyde is a common preservative found in building materials used in manufactured homes. It can cause respiratory problems and has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

FEMA said the health agency's Feb. 1, 2007 advice didn't address long-term health effects, but rather concerned ways to avoid toxic exposure to formaldehyde. "FEMA did not suppress or inappropriately influence any report," said agency spokesman James McIntyre.

The lawmakers are questioning the integrity of research done by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and said they don't trust FEMA to conduct an independent investigation into the toxicity of the formaldehyde in trailers.

The investigation, led by Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., found the health agency ignored research from one of its own experts, Christopher De Rosa.

Because the health opinion was completed without appropriate oversight, the results could be misleading, De Rosa wrote in a February 27, 2007 letter to a FEMA attorney that was obtained by the subcommittee.

"Any level of exposure to formaldehyde may pose a cancer risk, regardless of duration," De Rosa wrote. "Failure to communicate this issue is possibly misleading and a threat to public health."

In its initial round of testing, FEMA took samples from unoccupied trailers that had been aired out for days and compared them with federal standards for short-term exposure, according to the lawmakers. FEMA officials instructed scientists at the health agency to leave out details about long-term exposure in its consultation.

"Honest scientific studies don't start with the conclusion, and then work backwards from there," Miller said in statement.

FEMA is currently testing 500 of the 40,000 trailers, but the lawmakers said they have no confidence in the new testing and sampling procedures.

The test results are due to come out in February and FEMA plans to issue a final report in May.

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Officials: FEMA maps may wipe Bay off map

2008-01-28T07:10:00.000-06:00

Much of city now in hazard zone

By J.R. WELSH
jrwelsh@sunherald.com

BAY ST. LOUIS -- A David and Goliath contest is emerging between this small bayfront city and the federal government, with local officials vowing to fight imposition of new FEMA flood-advisory standards they say will hamper future growth and perhaps slay it altogether.

City officials say FEMA flood maps that were unveiled recently place large parts of Bay St. Louis in zones whose designations will require impossible heights for new construction, and will make the cost of flood insurance beyond the reach of many homeowners.

The city already had flood maps that had been revised in the 1980s. But the new maps slated to replace them are more stringent and could impose far different circumstances. The new flood elevations were crafted by federal officials following Hurricane Katrina.

"We have to fight this at all costs. I personally think it will alter the history of Bay St. Louis," said City Councilman Doug Seal.

The maps place large portions of the city in zones designated as "special flood hazard areas" that have an annual 1 percent chance of experiencing a 100-year flood.

Along the bay front, FEMA maps show advisory base flood elevations ranging from 20 to 30 feet. In many areas off the open coast, they run as high as 27 feet. Flood elevations indicate the height above mean high tide at which construction can begin.

Mayor Eddie Favre illustrated the extent of the problem recently when local officials had a get-acquainted meeting with new U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, appointed to replace retired Sen. Trent Lott.

"The fourth block of Main Street - the middle of Bay St. Louis - is a hazard flood zone now," Favre told Wicker. Under FEMA's new advisory base flood elevations, homes will have to be constructed so high in the air that "instead of worrying about flood, we're worried about wind now," he said.

Councilman Bobby Compretta, who is also a Realtor, said he considers the flood elevations excessive, and fears they will squelch growth in the foreseeable future. "In my opinion, people are not going to rebuild," he said.

Bay St. Louis intends to appeal FEMA's flood maps, and has agreed to hire an engineering firm to assist in the effort. The city also got outside support this week when the Mississippi Municipal League held a conference in Jackson.

That group's executive committee passed a resolution asking that FEMA extend the time from three to six months for the city to review the flood-elevation maps. The resolution will now go to the Mississippi Legislature for support.

City Councilman Jim Thriffiley lobbied at the conference for support from other cities, and said state District 46 Sen. David Baria has agreed to enter the resolution into the record in the Senate.

"Hopefully, we can take the endorsement from the Legislature and use it in our fight," said Thriffiley, who called the new flood elevations "mega-bad. That's the only way I can describe it."

Seal said the FEMA elevations would essentially sink hopes for the city's newly incorporated area, which runs west to Highway 603 and north to Interstate 10. City officials had hoped to develop a sweeping retail and business corridor there to accommodate growth, generate new tax revenues and lessen dependence on income from casinos.

As things now stand, the new flood maps are throwing a long shadow over those plans.

"If we can't develop 603 and the corners of I-10 as a business corridor, it would have a devastating effect on Bay St. Louis," Seal said.

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Tell the networks to make Gulf Coast rebuilding the top topic in the presidential debates

2008-01-26T05:51:00.000-06:00

Returning, recovering and rebuilding after the nation’s worst disaster has been left to poor – mostly Black – residents and volunteers, abandoned by their government. Here, Latonja Tucker paints her church in New Orleans. In November, Americans must elect a president who will implement the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, which will create 100,000 jobs for residents and evacuees to rebuild their communities. Photo: Mike DuBose, UMNS

By Jeffrey Buchanan - San Franscisco Bay View, January 25, 2008

CNN, MSNBC and Fox News and the other networks that have hosted this primary season's 30 presidential debates have yet to ask each candidate how they plan to help rebuild communities in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. Though media attention for their struggles has faded more than two years after the 2005 hurricanes and levee failures, many of these communities have not been able to rebuild their schools, police stations, roads and other critical infrastructure as hundreds of thousands of residents remain displaced. The result is an American human rights crisis certainly worthy of being addressed as Americans choose their next president.

Through 14 Republican debates, no moderator has asked any Republican presidential candidates a single question about rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Moderators of the 16 Democratic events have not done much better, directing only a fraction of their debates, less than 1 percent, to Gulf Coast recovery.

In an interview with the Sun News before the Jan. 21 South Carolina debate, Rep. James Clyburn, the state's most senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which sponsored the debate, even named rebuilding infrastructure, specifically in the Gulf Coast, as a top issue he hoped to hear addressed in the debate. Still the topic was never touched on.

Top candidates from both parties have characterized the government's response to Hurricane Katrina as a failure during their respective debates. Still only once this primary season, at PBS's Democratic debate at Howard University, did the debate questioners ask each candidate a question related to Gulf Coast recovery. NPR's Michele Norris asked whether each candidate would support a federal law guaranteeing a human right to return home after Hurricane Katrina, based on international law. Though candidates hinted at their rebuilding plans, they were not pressed to explain the steps they would take to create the economic and social conditions necessary for residents to realize their rights.

Gulf Coast residents fear that important questions about the future of their communities and the hundreds of thousands of their friends and families who are still displaced will continue to go unasked and unanswered this primary season.

Things are not looking much better for the general election debates.

Despite letters of support from a bi-partisan list of seven presidential candidates and supportive editorials from USA Today, the New York Times, Time Magazine and the Washington Post, New Orleans' application to host one of four scheduled general election Presidential debates was recently denied. With New Orleans successfully hosting such large-scale events in 2008 as the Sugar Bowl and the NCAA Championship Game and set to host the NBA All-Star Game, city leaders found the snub shocking. Anne Milling, founder of Women of the Storm, the group which led the application effort with a consortium of local universities including Dillard, Loyola, Tulane and Xavier, called it, "a case of politics trumping the clear moral choice."

‘A defining moment in American history'

Debates are a time to make candidates take a stand on the most important issues facing American voters. National polling data indicates that Gulf Coast rebuilding is still important to Americans nationwide, not just those living in the region.

John Zogby, one of the top minds in the polling industry, wrote recently in Campaigns and Elections Magazine that polling data on domestic issues facing candidates in the 2008 elections indicates, "Katrina, over the long haul, will prove to be more of a defining moment in American history than the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001." He went on to note that after witnessing the failed federal response to Gulf Coast recovery, American voters "hunger nationwide for a new model for the federal government."

Zogby found that Americans wanted a leader who would could unite the nation and marshal the necessary resources to rebuild after a disaster. He wrote that Americans wanted federal leadership with the flexibility to work with local leaders, including local governments, faith and community groups, and solve problems.

Still recovering - more than two years later

In terms of physical devastation, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the levee breakdown far surpasses any disaster in America's history. They caused more damage than our three largest disasters combined: the Sept. 11 attacks, Hurricane Andrew and the Northridge earthquake. The human face of the disaster can be seen in the hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents who remain unable to return home.

Housing shortages threaten communities across the Gulf Coast. Thousands of families are about to be kicked out of FEMA trailers, which the federal government recently determined contain levels of toxins so strong that they have advised their employees not to enter the structures.

Federal programs like FEMA public assistance have proven slow and inflexible for rebuilding vital community infrastructure. USA Today recently reported FEMA had spent less than one fourth of the $4.5 billion federal dollars available for rebuilding critical community infrastructure across the region.

Critics claim current federal policy often leaves construction projects addressing long-term needs ineligible for federal aid. In New Orleans, this policy has resulted in infrastructure deficiencies with severe social and economic consequences.

With schools closed, students must travel long distances and some 300 students in New Orleans during the 2006-07 academic year were unable to even enroll.

Restricted public transit and battered roads limit access to work and services. Scarce childcare facilities limit options for working parents. Crime rates have risen while police headquarters operate out of FEMA trailers. Death rates rise as hospitals operate at diminished capacity.

Louisiana alone - not including damage in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Texas - has reported over $20 billion in public infrastructure damage due to the hurricanes and levee breaks, leaving significant unfunded needs.

Levee construction remains under-funded, and preventable erosion continues to destroy nature's flood protection, the wetlands, threatening returning residents. These issues impact the pace of recovery and ultimately the rights of residents to return to their communities to live with safety and dignity.

A handful of candidates this campaign season have traveled to the Gulf Coast. A few have even posted portions of their rebuilding plans on their websites but not all voters and Gulf Coast residents have access to this information. For residents who are still waiting on the federal government to fulfill its promises, questions remain about the presidential candidates' commitment to the region.

A new model for Gulf recovery

Recently, Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Charlie Melancon, D-La., and Gene Taylor, D-Miss., introduced a new model for Gulf Coast recovery in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 4048, the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act. The policy was developed with the help of Gulf Coast residents, human rights groups and the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, a college campus-based advocacy group. Utilizing a human rights-based framework, the legislation hopes to empower the region's greatest assets, the disaster's survivors, with the resources they need to lead.

Through funding infrastructure projects employing local and displaced workers to rebuild schools, police and fire stations, transportation, hospitals and flood protection and restoring the wetlands, the legislation aims to help heal the wounds left since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the levee breaks and allow residents to return to their neighborhood with safety and dignity. The bill gives resident and community leaders a greater voice in how their neighborhoods are rebuilt and works directly with community organizations to reach the goal of creating 100,000 living wage jobs and training opportunities for residents and displaced people primarily in the building trades.

The plan would create more opportunities for small and minority businesses while pumping more funds into the local economy and building the infrastructure and the trained workforce necessary for sustainable economic development. The legislation aims to address the region's human rights crisis through helping the displaced realize their right to return and participate in rebuilding their communities and providing economic opportunity to working families.

Stephen Bradberry, state head organizer with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in Louisiana, believes this bold plan will require the support of the next president to become a reality.

"The current president made a whole list of promises to residents about rebuilding the Gulf Coast, but the job is not done. The moderators of the presidential debates need to ask the next president whether they plan to right the situation," says Bradberry. "We need to put the candidates on record, "Do you support the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act to rebuild stronger communities across the region hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?"

Bring the Gulf Coast to the debate

Gulf Coast residents, ACORN members, students and supporters - like the online organizing group Color of Change and the RFK Center for Human Rights - launched an effort to bring Gulf Coast rebuilding back into national focus by first urging hosts of the presidential debates to get a straight answer from the candidates on Gulf Coast rebuilding. Together they hope to give the region a voice to influence the discussion, utilizing online advocacy tools.

"If the debate is not coming to the Gulf Coast, then we need to bring the Gulf to the debate," said Bradberry, winner of the prestigious RFK Human Rights Award in 2005.
The effort, aptly named Bring the Gulf Coast to the Debate, began by targeting Facebook, ABC and WMUR, co-hosts of the Jan. 5 Republican and Democratic New Hampshire primary debates. Supporters urged ABC and WMUR reporters and producers to ask the candidates about the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act. Many contacted ABC's World News Tonight host and debate moderator, Charles Gibson, through his recently opened account on the social networking site Facebook.com.

You can join the efforts' Facebook campaign.

Now supporters are gearing up for the Republican and Democratic California debates on Jan. 30 and 31 hosted by CNN, Politico and the Los Angeles Times. They will be the last debates before the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries.

Supporters can visit ColorofChange.com to learn how to urge the moderators of the Republican and Democratic California debates to stand in solidarity with Gulf Coast residents and ask the candidates about the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act using tools on Politico.com. The website also shows supporters how to send a letter to CNN and Los Angeles Times reporters and editorial staff urging them to ask the candidates about this important Gulf Coast rebuilding policy.

Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, a San Jose State University professor who founded the 50-campus strong Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, noted that the bill is sponsored by a Californian in Congress, Rep. Lofgren, and additionally is supported by resolutions in both the California State Assembly and California Democratic Party.

"With so many Californians behind the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act, there is no better time than these debates to ask the candidates if as president they will enact this critical plan to rebuild the Gulf Coast," says Dr. Lipton.

Though the Gulf Coast will not host a presidential debate, residents and their national supporters still have hope that the region's crisis can be brought back into the national debate this election season.

Currently questions on the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act for the Democratic and Republican candidates rank No. 1 and No. 2 most popular respectively on Politico.com.

"This is a unique opportunity to move these media organizations to finally ask the questions the people of the Gulf Coast and California and really all Americans need to hear answered," said Chris Hauck, a San Jose State University student and Gulf Coast Civic Works Project organizer.

Visit Color of Change to learn how to vote for the Gulf Coast questions and visit Solving Poverty to find out more about supporting the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act.

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Progressive Values in Action: MS Gulf Coast Volunteer Slideshow

2008-01-25T08:21:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

From my New York progressive friends who came down to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to volunteer their winter holiday time to help building four homes for Katrina families here in Bay St. Louis and Waveland, Mississippi, located in Hancock County--the county that Hurricane Katrina hit the worst comes this slide show of their time here in the rain and muck, cold and humidity. This slide show has FABULOUS music playing, so turn up your speakers and be ready to dance around!!

Sure, we have our troubles down here. Great music and dancing is always a great salve on our souls. I believe it will be yours as well. These are photos of my many new friends who remain in my heart for their extreme generosity and true compassion for our plight.

May each of them be blessed many times over throughout their lives. They came here to help because they saw the need and put their faith, their beliefs, their values in action. This is so much more than we've seen out of a White House that talks about faith and whose acts betray their words.

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Editorial: Presidential candidates should help solve Florida property-insurance crisis

2008-01-25T08:01:00.000-06:00

EDITORIAL
January 25, 2008

If the candidates for president are smart, they'll keep promising relief to homeowners who've taken a beating on property insurance.

If the voters are smarter, they won't settle for amorphous pledges but demand specific action from candidates that can lower premiums and keep companies from ruthlessly dropping them.

The surest way for the candidates to show they'll take that action is to say they'll sign two bills that actually have passed the House, and that could make it to the next president's desk if the Senate also signs off on them.

The Klein-Mahoney bill would allow states like Florida with a government-sponsored insurance fund to voluntarily bundle their catastrophe risk. Backed by private markets, the fund could issue loans to states, reduce the insurance industry's risk and usher in more reasonably-priced policies for homeowners. State reforms largely have failed to do that.

The Gene Taylor bill would allow homeowners who get flood insurance through the federal government to also purchase wind policies from Washington. That's needed because companies too often after hurricanes have determined that flooding, not wind, damaged homes. That finding allows them to pocket premiums and make Washington disproportionately pay claims.

Together, the bills would bring fairness and stability to states' property-insurance markets. Together, they're the furthest Washington has come in years toward making insurers act more responsibly.

Any candidate serious about providing relief should get behind them. Hillary Clinton is co-sponsoring Klein-Mahoney in the Senate. Rudolph Giuliani says he'd sign Klein-Mahoney. John Edwards likes Klein-Mahoney. John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee offer qualified support for either a regional or national catastrophe fund. But none, Barack Obama included, has told us he or she would sign both bills. Homeowners should demand nothing less of them.

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel

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Mississippi plans Katrina grant diversion

2008-01-25T06:47:00.000-06:00

State wants $600 million from housing program for huge port expansion

By Mike Stuckey, Senior news editor
MSNBC Jan. 25, 2008

While thousands of Mississippians who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina remain in FEMA trailers, the state intends to spend $600 million in federal grants originally earmarked for housing on a major expansion of the state-owned port — a project that could eventually include casino and resort facilities.

Despite strong objections from housing activists and the threat of hearings from two powerful congressional Democrats, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to approve the diversion of the funds on Friday. A HUD spokesman says the agency has little discretion at this point to block the switch.

Opponents of the move see it as a prime example of Mississippi’s Republican lobbyist-turned-governor, Haley Barbour, favoring rich and powerful interests over the region’s less fortunate.

“It’s just insanity, true insanity,” said Sister Martha Milner, a Catholic nun and board member of the Steps Coalition, the loudest voice on the Gulf Coast against the diversion of the funds.

Supporters see the money switch as sound economic policy that will help the port capture additional business and provide a bonanza of high-paying jobs.

“In order to remain a viable port, we have to do a good job with this repair and redevelopment,” said Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr.

The money in question is part of $5.5 billion in HUD Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) that Congress authorized for Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. Administered by the Mississippi Development Authority, about $3.4 billion was allocated to replace and repair some of the nearly 170,000 owner-occupied homes destroyed or damaged by the storm. Another $600 million was set aside for programs to replace public housing, help small landlords fix their units and foster construction of new low- and moderate-income housing.

Waiver request
When it became clear that homeowners, who had to meet specific criteria on damage and insurance, would not tap all of the grant money, Barbour instructed the state development agency to seek a waiver from HUD to redirect $600 million for work on the port.

Mississippi, with the highest poverty rate of any state by several measures, already had won HUD waivers of rules that require the funds to benefit low- and moderate-income residents. Critics see the waivers as a product of the unparalleled influence with the Bush administration enjoyed by Barbour, a former Reagan White House political director, Republican National Committee chairman and legendary fixer who continues to receive checks from the Washington lobbying shop that still bears his name.

‘Absolutely no oversight’
Barbour “basically has free wheel,” said Milner of the Steps Coalition. “Unless we have a different administration (in the White House) he’ll do whatever he wants to do. There’s absolutely no oversight over any of this. Whatever he sends up there, they say OK to.”

The third busiest port on the Gulf of Mexico, Gulfport was planning expansion long before Katrina struck, hoping to grow as a result of new shipping traffic through the Panama Canal, which is being widened. In a 2003 master plan, the port also envisioned expanding casino operations, which have historically accounted for half of the port’s revenue.

After the storm, an update to the master plan found that Katrina had “accelerated redevelopment of port areas and opened new opportunities for the growth of the maritime and gaming markets.” The plan raises the prospect of new casino-resort development on port land as part of a public-private partnership, financed separately from the CDBG money.

It wasn't until early December, six months after the update was adopted by the port authority, that the state development authority sought a waiver from HUD to divert $600 million of the housing grant money to the port — more than double the net dollar damage reportedly sustained by the port from Katrina.

Barbour maintains that some of the federal grant money always was intended for port expansion. But the state development authority did not provide any documentation to support that. And despite repeated requests, agency spokeswoman Melissa Medley did not respond to other msnbc.com questions about the fund diversion and housing programs.

Conflicting versions
Barbour’s current position that part of the housing grant pool was always intended for the port is at odds with his March 2006 testimony before a Senate committee, in which he emphasized that the CDBG money was mostly committed to housing and sought new funds for the port. A year later, Gray Swoope, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, did not mention port funding in testimony before Congress about the use of grant funds a few months before the new port master plan was adopted.

"The governor has stated since the earliest days after Katrina that the port is crucial to the overall recovery of the Mississippi Gulf Coast because of its huge economic impact in terms of jobs and commerce," Barbour Press Secretary Pete Smith told msnbc.com in an e-mail.

Port Executive Director Don Allee agreed to an interview with msnbc.com, then canceled it and did not schedule another despite repeated requests.

Cindy Singletary of Living Independence For Everyone, one of 50 nonprofit, religious and social advocacy groups that make up the Steps Coalition, sees the move to divert the housing funds as a bait-and-switch maneuver. “I have nothing against the port itself,” she said. “The main thing I’m against is the priority of it. … We have jobs on the coast. There’s ‘help wanted’ signs everywhere. But we don’t have homes, we don’t have apartments. … That, to me, should be the No. 1 priority for Mississippi.”

Democratic Reps. Barney Frank and Maxine Waters agree. In two letters to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, the veteran House members urged him to deny Mississippi’s request to use the money for the port. Using CDBG funds for the port expansion, “when so many families have yet to be able to return home, is misguided and disregards the continued need for available housing in Mississippi,” Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Waters, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, said in October, shortly after the state’s plans to divert the funds came to light. The two upped the ante in a second letter this week, threatening to hold hearings on “any waivers approved by the secretary.”

35,129 still in FEMA housing
In its “Mississippi CDBG Recovery Fund Report Card,” the Steps Coalition reported that as of mid-January more than 13,000 Mississippi families — or a total of 35,129 people — remained in FEMA housing, nearly 90 percent of them in small travel trailers and most of them ineligible for the CDBG-funded grants.

Another 15,500 households — more than 40,000 people — have open case files with long-term recovery organizations and need assistance to repair their homes and replace belongings, according to the report. Replacement of low-income rental housing also is moving very slowly, and government programs and incentives will restore fewer than half of the 28,514 units damaged and destroyed by Katrina, according to the coalition.

But Warr, the Gulfport mayor, said housing activists’ figures are inflated. “We do have a severe need for affordable housing, but that need is being addressed,” he said. “We will have, I would expect, 1,000 units more on the books just in Gulfport than we had before the storm.”

Warr said the port expansion is not nearly as divisive a local issue as it may appear to outsiders. “I think it’s being used as political fodder by individuals with perspectives other than what’s necessarily best for the coast,” he said. “Most of them are not down here, they are outside the coast, typically from other states.”

Smith, the Barbour spokesman, said the state's estimates of how much low-income or "workforce" housing will be built are higher than the coalition's at 17,000 to 21,000 units. Also, he emphasized, "none of the more than $1.2 billion in grants awarded to nearly 20,000 homeowners are in jeopardy."

That misses the point that plenty of homeowners who didn't qualify for that program and many non-homeowners still need help, say Steps Coalition members. “There’s no other explanation except that the state doesn’t think the lower income storm victims are as important a priority as the port," said Reilly Morse, an attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice, part of the coalition.

The arguing and pressure on HUD to deny the waiver may be for naught, said Brian Sullivan, a spokesman with the federal agency. Once Congress votes to send the money, “We only have the ability to say yes or no purely on the eligibility of the project,” said Sullivan, adding that CDBG funds are often used for economic development. “HUD doesn’t really have a dog in this fight. They do try and suck us into that vortex. But by statute we really have no discretion.”

Crossing the T's
Sullivan said HUD’s job now is to make sure that Mississippi gathered community input before deciding how to spend the funds and that other criteria for the program also are being met. Friday is the deadline for HUD to act, Sullivan said, adding that “the people making the decision are not best friends of Haley Barbour, but career professionals.”

Steve Adamske, a spokesman for Rep. Frank, questioned Sullivan’s characterization of HUD’s authority. “I don't believe we would be that wrong in the letter that we sent" in October imploring HUD Secretary Jackson to intervene, Adamske said. As to Barbour’s assertion that the money was always intended for the port, "We would dispute that pretty strongly."

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22805282/

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Florida Asks Appeals Court To Reinstate Allstate Ban

2008-01-24T07:22:00.000-06:00

By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH, The Tampa Tribune
Published: January 24, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Accusing Allstate Corp. of engaging in an "ongoing crime," state regulators asked a state appeals court Wednesday to reinstate an order prohibiting the insurer from conducting new business in Florida.

The Office of Insurance Regulation is pressing Allstate over state subpoenas calling for documents relating to the way the company sets its homeowners insurance rates.

Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said in a statement released Wednesday that Allstate "has continued to do everything it can to keep from providing the documents requested" and that now McCarty is "doing everything within my power to ensure that the documents are produced."

Regulators are trying to establish why, after the state took on more financial exposure in the event of a catastrophic hurricane in an effort to drive down homeowners' rates, many insurers failed to lower their rates or even sought rate increases.

Frustrated by Allstate's response to subpoenas issued Oct. 16, McCarty issued an order on Jan. 17 barring 10 Allstate companies from doing future business in the state. The companies wrote everything from lucrative auto policies to workers' compensation, motorcycle and marine lines.

The order was lifted the next day by the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, where state regulators on Wednesday filed their argument to reinstate the suspension.

"This doesn't change the fact that our agencies and agents across the state are open for business," said Allstate spokesman Adam Shores. "We are going to continue to provide the documents requested by the Office of Insurance Regulation as outlined in their subpoenas."

In its petition that resulted in the court lifting McCarty's order, Allstate argued that the regulation office was abusing its power to issue emergency orders that are supposed to be limited to specific immediate dangers to the public health, safety or welfare.

In Wednesday's response, regulators argued that Allstate's failure to produce documents did indeed indicate that "the Appellants are engaged in an ongoing violation of the Florida Insurance Code and thus an ongoing crime that in and of itself threatens safety and welfare of Florida citizens that is sufficient grounds" to issue the order pulling Allstate's licenses to do business. The regulators cited Chapter 624.15 of Florida statutes, which states that willful violations of the insurance code is a second-degree misdemeanor and could result in denial, suspension or revocation of business licenses.

"Appellants state that the 'Allstate companies have attempted and are continuing in good faith to respond to the subpoenas and produce as best they can and as quickly as is practicable the huge volumes of documents requested by the Office of Insurance Regulation.' Nothing could be further from the truth," states the petition filed Wednesday.

Regulators say Allstate produced 16 boxes of documents that include prior rate filings already held by their office, documents with missing pages and documents "falsely marked as 'Trade Secret'" that included prior rate filings already in their office's possession and available online.

The office said Allstate claimed it spent 2,000 personnel hours producing the documents. "The Office finds it remarkable that it has taken Allstate the equivalent of 285 days to produce 16 boxes of documents to the Office," the petition states.

Allstate spokesman Shores said the insurer is providing documents on a weekly basis. He said on Wednesday that the company turned over the controversial McKinsey documents, which are internal recommendations on how the company should settle claims, chiefly in the auto business. Regulators confirmed late Wednesday that it had received what were thought to be those documents, which have also been sought by regulators in other states.

The Tallahassee court did not indicate when it would rule.

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Hood seeks to continue State Farm probe

2008-01-24T06:15:00.000-06:00

Asks judge to remove prohibition
By ANITA LEE
January 24, 2008

Mississippi's current and former attorneys general are back on the offensive against State Farm insurance companies.

Attorney General Jim Hood is asking a federal judge to dissolve a court order that prevents him from continuing a criminal investigation involving State Farm. Hood said the investigation is not related to a 2006 criminal probe by his office into State Farm's handling of policyholders' Hurricane Katrina claims. Former Attorney General Mike Moore, a mentor to Hood, filed a sworn statement to back Hood's assertion that the 2006 investigation was not intended to coerce State Farm into a settlement of policyholder claims.

Court records indicate State Farm and Hood disagree over a subpoena for State Farm records Hood wants for his current criminal investigation. The investigation involves State Farm's handling of National Flood Insurance Program claims, also the subject of federal inquiries, according to a December letter State Farm wrote Hood objecting to the subpoena.

State Farm said the subpoena violates a January 2007 agreement with Hood to end a criminal investigation into the company's Katrina claims-handling practices in exchange for a global settlement with Coast policyholders.

Hood said the agreement applied to his 2006 investigation, but the company has no right to "blanket immunity from any criminal acts related to Hurricane Katrina."

U.S. District Judge David C. Bramlette III is expected to reconvene a hearing in Jackson to consider whether he should lift suspension of Hood's investigation.

State Farm has accused Hood of using the threat of criminal prosecution to coerce settlement of claims for policyholders represented by his political allies, including attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs and Moore.

Moore said in a sworn statement he and Hood did not use the threat of criminal prosecution to coerce State Farm into the proposed global settlement with policyholders in January 2007. Instead, Moore said, State Farm introduced the criminal investigation into settlement talks, not Hood. Moore said State Farm would agree to resolve policyholder claims only if the investigation ended.

Moore also has filed a separate document in a policyholders' lawsuit, describing his role as "facilitator and negotiator" between parties to the proposed global settlement. He said State Farm encouraged him to explain the settlement in a federal court hearing, after which U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. rejected the agreement. The Scruggs Katrina Group of attorneys already had reached a settlement with State Farm in November 2006 on behalf of 640 clients, which Moore says led to negotiations for a global settlement applying to all Coast policyholders.

Moore and Scruggs also worked together in the 1990s, while Moore was attorney general, to reach landmark settlement of a lawsuit they filed against tobacco companies on the state's behalf.

Scruggs and two other members of his Oxford law firm were indicted in late November on charges they conspired to bribe a state court judge in a dispute over legal fees earned from the 2006 settlement with State Farm. Jackson attorney John G. Jones filed the lawsuit in March, after his firm withdrew from SKG.

As a result of the federal indictment, the Scruggs attorneys also withdrew from SKG, which then changed its name to the Katrina Litigation Group.

State Farm has asked that Scruggs Katrina Group, and now the Katrina Litigation Group, be removed from policyholder cases, alleging ethical and legal improprieties. KLG also has denied any improprieties.

Senter, who is presiding over policyholder lawsuits filed in Gulfport, is expected to decide whether the KLG should be disqualified.

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Mississippi to Use Some Hurricane Aid for Housing Program

2008-01-24T05:38:00.000-06:00

By LESLIE EATON
January 24, 2008

As Mississippi awaits a decision on whether it can spend $600 million of federal hurricane relief on a controversial plan to rebuild and expand a shipping port, the state has added $100 million of federal aid to a program to develop housing for low- and moderate-income workers.

The addition, which brings the housing program to $250 million, will produce more than 2,500 housing units, said Gov. Haley Barbour, who announced the increase on Tuesday.

Though it has been widely praised for the speed of its hurricane recovery effort, Mississippi has been criticized by religious and civic groups for slighting the needs of the poor. Congress gave the state $5.5 billion in hurricane recovery grants, with the proviso that half of it should be used to help low-income families, but critics say that less than a quarter of the money is being used that way.

The new allocation may not dampen that criticism because the money is being transferred from another program that was supposed to help the poor by giving grants to low-income homeowners whose houses flooded in Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge. That program received fewer applications than expected, the governor’s spokesman, Pete Smith, wrote in an e-mail message.

The state has distributed about $217 million in grants to more than 3,000 applicants to that program, according to data from the Mississippi Development Authority. A larger program, which primarily serves wealthier homeowners, has distributed more than $1 billion to more than 15,000 homeowners.

Advocates for the poor said that they were concerned that not everyone who qualified for a rebuilding grant had received one, and that in any event the state was still not committing enough money to programs to replace low-income housing, to help renters or to assist people whose houses were damaged by wind rather than flooding.

“Washington is really examining how successful Mississippi’s recovery is for all of its citizens,” said Kimberly Miller, state policy specialist for Oxfam America in Biloxi.

Her group has urged the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reject the state’s bid to use hurricane recovery money to expand the port, in Gulfport, which was damaged by the hurricane.

The state has asked the agency to waive a rule that limits economic development spending to about $50,000 per job created.

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MS-Senate Race: The Nose Test Knows Best

2008-01-23T08:52:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

The battle for Trent Lott's seat in the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance of this year's election cycle and with it the mantle of Lott's leadership on all things Katrina--especially Insurance Reform. Last year's tumultuous election for the insurance commissioner position had the 32-year incumbent George Dale screaming all over the place about how hard he had worked on behalf of Mississippi's home owners after Katrina.

Employing the nose test of politics in last year's election, Democratic voters booted out Dale in the primary believing him to be protecting the interests of the insurance industry rather than protecting homeowners. Dale's words and actions didn't mesh. Anyone can talk the talk regarding Katrina recovery and insurance reform, but walking the walk requires passing South Mississippians' nose test.

A few weeks ago, in a piece titled Musgrove’s Ties to Big Insurance Smells to High Heaven, I described the impeccable noses of folks down here in Katrina Land, particularly when it comes to politicians and the insurance industry that continues to betray us.

There is a special word for those who speak empty words and act in ways contrary to their words: hypocrites. With FEMA and the insurance industry pulling the wool over our eyes within the last few years down here in Katrina Land, we don’t take kindly to hypocrites—particularly of the political persuasion. And we can sure smell 'em a mile or two away. That fishiness is something that . . . cologne cannot cover.

This week, we got confirmation on the accuracy of our political nose test.

Former Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale has joined former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley on the lobbying staff of the law firm of Adams & Reese LLP, further developing the firm's insurance regulation specialty.

In other words, George Dale is a lobbyist for a law firm that represents insurance companies. Ahhh, the sweet smell of validation.

MS-Senate Race: The Nose Test Knows Best
Electing the candidate who will replace Senator Trent Lott requires us to employ once again the nose test of politics. South Mississippi remains in steady--but extremely s-l-o-o-o-o-o-w--recovery mode. Purely and simply, the insurance industry betrayed us with denying legitimate wind claims, not paying for cost-of-living-expenses while our homes were being rebuilt, then jacking up premiums beyond the point of no longer being affordable for average South Mississippi families and business owners. Watch the short videos of Hancock County Executive Director Tish Haas, Hancock Bank Chairman George Schloegel, and others as they describe the incredible hardship that the insurance industry has imposed on South Mississippi families and businesses.

In Musgrove’s Ties to Big Insurance Smells to High Heaven, I wrote

When it comes to seeing clearly the insurance industry’s responsibility in creating the economic devastation it caused South Mississippi’s Katrina-ravaged home and business owners, former Governor Ronnie Musgrove can’t see past the end of his paycheck. Since July 2004, Musgrove has been on the payroll of the law firm Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, the same law firm that Gulf Coast News reported “is involved what with almost every Mississippi insurance case.” And not on the side of home and business owners, either.

Greg Copeland, the firm's founding member, is “ a longtime lobbyist for the insurance industry” . . . and the attorney for the American Insurance Association . . . and State Farm . . . and the recently ousted state insurance commissioner George Dale, who refers to Copeland as a “ good friend.”

Obviously, Musgrove has conflicts of interest that won't pass South Mississippi's smell test on Insurance Reform and Katrina.

His republican buddy and former roommate, Interim Senator Roger Wicker won't pass the smell test either when it comes to veterans issues, another HUGE issue here in South Mississippi and throughout the rest of the state as well. Every time an insurance company refused to pay or paid pennies on the dollar to a home or business owner, chances are rather high that the insurance company was betraying a family member of a vet . . . if not the vets themselves. Wicker's congressional voting record on key votes from the Disabled American Veterans shows the kind of man Wicker is when it comes to standing up for our men and women in uniform.

In 2006 alone, the DAV gave Wicker a 50% rating. In 2005, the DAV rated Wicker with a whopping goose egg-->0%. In 2004, the DAV rated Wicker with another whopping goose egg-->0%. In 2003, the DAV rated Wicker . . . with another goose egg-->0%!!!

Since writing that in MS Senate race holds Katrina Recovery, Insurance Reform Future, I have found that the DAV rated Wicker with another goose egg in . . . 2002. WOW! Four years in a row from 2002 through 2005, Wicker failed to show up for duty on behalf of our disabled veterans. That's not just going AWOL. That's outright desertion, in my book.

By way of contrast, the DAV rated former Congressman Ronnie Shows 100% in 2002, 100% in 2001, and 100% in 2000. Shows is from South Mississippi, so I anticipate that his understanding of the issues facing families and businesses in the wake of Katrina has more of a personal connection than the cold office of his State Farm opponent Mustgo Musgrove. When it comes to disabled vets--be they in South Mississippi or elsewhere in the state, Shows showed up for duty each and every time which is in stark contrast to the deserter on disabled vet issues Interim Senator Wicker.

Katrina recovery, insurance reform, and vets issues are intimately connected for plenty of South Mississippi families, like my own. Count on voters employing the nose test of politics to the upcoming U.S. Senate election to replace Senator Trent Lott who was good on both issues. George Dale can attest to the fact that South Mississippi voters, in particular, can sniff out hypocrites far and wide . . . and vote for their opponent.

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Former Miss. insurance commissioner joins Adams & Reese

2008-01-23T08:48:00.000-06:00

January 22, 2008
By Rebecca Mowbray

Former Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale has joined former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley on the lobbying staff of the law firm of Adams & Reese LLP, further developing the firm's insurance regulation specialty.

Dale, the nation's longest serving insurance commissioner, was ousted in the Mississippi Democratic primary in August after eight terms and 32 years on the job amid public frustration over Hurricane Katrina. He is working in the firm's Jackson office as a non-lawyer senior governmental affairs adviser and a member of the governmental relations team.

In February 2006, Wooley, an attorney, joined Adams & Reese in Baton Rouge after he left his post as insurance commissioner six months after Hurricane Katrina and mid-way through his term. He works of counsel on the governmental relations team of the special business services group.

The New Orleans-based Adams & Reese is one of the largest law firms in the South with offices in Baton Rouge; Birmingham and Mobile, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Houston; Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.; as well as Washington, D.C.

In Louisiana, it has an impressive roster of insurance clients, including State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Audubon Insurance Co., Balboa Insurance Group, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana, Progressive Insurance Co., Louisiana Land Title Association, Humana Inc. and Oschner Health Plan.

In press release on his hire, Adams & Reese touted Dale's knowledge of the insurance industry and the governmental process. "George adds strength to our capabilities as specialists in insurance regulatory matters, in Mississippi and beyond .Â¥.Â¥. His presence will further develop and compliment our regional and national specialized governmental relations practice."

Dale said that he has always tried to work in the best interests of the people of Mississippi, and joining Adams & Reese gives him the opportunity to serve in a different capacity. "I will continue to look after the best interests of clients from Mississippi to Louisiana and Washington, D.C. due to the firm's regional footprint and strength of their governmental relations practice," he said in the release.

Bob Hunter, a former Texas insurance commissioner who is director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America, said that Dale's new job at a law firm that represents so many insurance interests is another unfortunate tale of regulators caring more about the industry than the people who elected them.

"Nothing surprises me any more. The insurance industry and the regulators are so intertwined. We've had now two presidents of the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) go directly to lobbying jobs with the insurance industry, and we've had so many former insurance commissioners head off in that direction, it's disgusting. How can the public trust state regulation with all this going on?" Hunter asked.

In its release, Adams & Reese boasts about its tradition of hiring former elected officials and cites examples of former Congressmen, state representatives, judges and even a parish leader in its ranks. It does not mention Wooley.

Last year, audit problems at Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which was created under Wooley's tenure as insurance commissioner, sparked probes by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and then a federal grand jury.

In a legislative audit advisory council hearing this fall on Citizens, Wooley testified that his "No. 1 priority was not to go to jail" as his three predecessors had. In December, when Wooley was again asked to appear before the committee, criminal defense attorney Edward Castaing Jr. appeared in his place and said that he had instructed Wooley not to testify until the state provided the documents on which questions would be based.

Hunter found the omission of Wooley's name from the release puzzling, given that Adams & Reese says it is trying to build its insurance practice.

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MS-Sen: Mustgo Musgrove's Lawfirm Defending Big Insurance on Gulf Coast

2008-01-18T08:35:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

Several articles in this week's Sun Herald disclose details of yet another brutal, ugly court battle between a beleaguered Katrina family and their insurance carrier, USAA. In this battle, USAA's hired gun is apparently desperately hoping to denounce the evidence that a tornado had ripped the home apart hours before the water came ashore. Today's story reported

Hours before Hurricane Katrina's storm surge arrived, the Henderson Point home of David and Marilyn Aiken had been hit by a tornado and was long gone, forensic engineer Charles Ivy told the court Thursday morning.
He agreed reluctantly under questioning by Greg Copeland, attorney for USAA Casualty Insurance Co., that the surge would have been enough to destroy the house if the house were still there.
[Emphasis mine.]

If the house were still there. I see. And IF wind had driven the Southern California fires across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, IF that had happened and the house had been standing there--which it wasn't given that one of Hurricane Katrina's tornadoes had already blown it away--IF those Southern California fires had come through that property, would the house have been engulfed in its flames??? Hypothetically, speaking, of course.

Wow, not even the really old reruns of Matlock have these kinds of really bad court room lines written in them. Please, when the Hollywood writers strike ends, the Copeland law firm could consider hiring a few to prepare better court room drama scripts for them.

Greg Copeland, founding partner of Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush. We've heard that name before. That would be the same Greg Copeland who is a longtime lobbyist for the insurance industry here in Mississippi, the same Greg Copeland whom the recently ousted Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale called "a good friend" and whom Dale had hired as his personal attorney for a court battle with the state Democratic Party, the same Republican law firm that represents the American Insurance Association, and the same Greg Copeland whose law firm"serves as general counsel to Mississippi's largest property and casualty insurer and as local counsel for numerous other insurance companies." On its corporate website, State Farm proudly proclaims it is Mississippi's largest homeowners insurer. Copeland's law firm is State Farm's Hired Guns. Yes, that Mr. Greg Copeland.

Copeland is defending USAA's in a lawsuit that "claims USAA and Rimkus Consulting Group Inc., which was employed by USAA, conspired to to defraud them. Earlier testimony revolved around whether changes to a property report by structural engineer James W. Jordan were made to downplay wind damage so USAA would owe less money."

The homeowner's assert that the companies “intentionally and with forethought came up with a plan to deny legitimate claims.” This lawsuit is like hundreds and hundreds of others in which Big Insurance is accused of allegedly finagling its way out of paying for wind damage that Hurricane Katrina caused. The photo below is a great example of what the Big Guns of Big Insurance are shooting at. The photo and caption are compliments of Insurance Issues Forum.

Wind of Water?
Photo compliments of Insurance Issues Forum

Big Insurance's Appalling Politics
What makes this case particularly appalling is that it reminds us on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that Big Insurance is still gunning after us, our livelihoods, our communities. It reminds us that Big Insurance is still coming into our court rooms lawyered up with extremely well paid Hired Guns whose job it is to push homeowner insurance claims into the "denied" department and leaving financially devastated homeowners blowing in the wind.

Politically speaking, what makes this case specifically appalling is that Greg Copeland is the founder of the law firm where U.S. Senate candidate Ronnie Musgrove is on the firm's payroll. With this kind of apparent conflict of interest between the Big Insurance law firm that has been paying Mustgo's salary since 2004 and those of us dealing with the handiwork of Big Insurance law firms, how Mustgo has convinced himself that he can get plenty enough of South Mississippi votes come election time is, perhaps, an adventure into fantasy land. For those of us with family, friends, and communities remaining financially devastated from Big Insurance's Big Betrayal, we live and breathe the harsh reality of Big Insurance's Big Betrayal . . . brought to us by the Big Gun Law firms, like Mustgo's.

Yeah, right, like Musgrove is going to get rid of this kind of baggage that he's been happily carrying around since 2004. Anything touching Big Insurance in a high profile campaign like the one to elect someone to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Senator Trent Lott is going to be as toxic as a FEMA trailer. Just ask George Dale how his cozy relationship with Big Insurance paid out for him in last year's election. For those unfamiliar with Mississippi's recent politics, Dale had been the insurance commish for 32 years and lost the election in a upset defeat by fellow Democrat Gary Anderson. It was a "down ticket" election. But the insurance woes of South Mississippi precluded Dale from retaining his office. Trent Lott's seat in the U.S. Senate is an especially great loss where insurance reform is concerned. Lott turned his personal loss in Katrina into a crusade against the insurance industry with whom he had had friendly relations for a very long time. Like many others, Lott ended up suing his insurance carrier, State Farm.

What an insult for Musgrove to believe that South Mississippians will overlook him being on the payroll of the law firm that defends State Farm and other insurance companies that are doing their best to rip off Katrina's families and businesses. We'll trade in Trent Lott who sued State Farm for an attorney who works for State Farm's lawyers?!

Naturally there are those that believe Mustgo will have an awakening regarding these obvious conflicts of interest while he is pocketing the money from his salary from Greg Copeland's law firm.

Anyone to believe that also believes that we're already fully recovered here inside Katrina Land, the private insurance industry should remain left to its own to do with us as it pleases, and someone can win statewide office in Mississippi without a significant portion of votes from South Mississippi.

This line of thinking is somewhere between fantasy land and pure hogwash. Regardless of which it is, that bait won't catch any fish around here.

The picture to the left is still an extremely common site all over this Katrina-ravaged region. Much is as if time stands still from that fateful day in August 2005. We can see the TV ads already. Photos of slabs like this intermingled with the logos of Big Insurance like State Farm and USAA. A voice over states that one of the largest defenders of Big Insurance has put up one of its own lawyers to represent Mississippi in the United States Senate claiming that the lawyer will represent the interests of Katrina families and help reform Big Insurance. The voice over continues, "We know something fishy when we smell it."

Or something like that. Musgrove Mustgo. When reading the Sun Herald's articles this week, I'm sure many readers again became disgusted with the antics of Big Insurance and their Hired Guns.

How appalling that any of our families, friends, and neighbors have had to hire attorneys to haul into court insurance companies that refuse to pay legitimate wind damage claims from Hurricane Katrina. How appalling that the CEOs and boards of directors of these insurance companies make fortunes off the misfortunes of their fellow Americans, and do so by pouring salt into our wounds through refusing to pay our legitimate claims. How appalling that the CEOs and boards of directors can actually find anyone willing to defend their indefensible and unconscionable decisions not to pay the legitimate claims but rather to pocket the claim money through pickpocketing from their customers pocketbooks.

The result? Insurance execs' pay up dramatically, one article title pronounced.

This week, the Sun Herald reported that USAA and Rimkus had allegedly conspired to rip off the homeowner in the coastal Harrison County through some kind of report switching scenario where the report from the engineer who actually examined the property and wrote up the report was altered.

USAA only paid the homeowners 25% of what the policy was worth. Copeland defended this paltry sum by essentially claiming that the homeowners were greedy. That's right. The Big Gun for Big Insurance claimed that the homeowner was greedy because, well, the customer expected the policy to be paid in full. The testimony provided apparently demonstrated that

a tornado being tracked by the National Weather Service in New Orleans around 3 a.m. Aug. 29 most likely passed directly over the Aikens' house hours before the waters rose.

The nerve some of us have! Paying premiums for wind coverage all these years and expecting our financial security to be in good hands, expecting our families to be treated like good neighbors, expecting that wind damage be rightly compensated rather than pretending that the flood did the damage.

Good grief! What the heck could we have been thinking?! To listen to Big Insurance, their Hired Guns, or other Big Insurance apologists, we should be grateful to have the opportunity to pay for insurance that never, ever, ever pays off when tornadoes or hurricane force winds blow away our homes, our businesses. Baloney!

Ensuring an Explosive Conversation
Go to any place inside the Katrina-ravaged region be it in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama and mention the word insurance and watch the verbal and emotional fireworks explode every where. Otherwise fun-loving, polite, friendly people turn into something . . . different. Scowls, dirty looks, testy dispositions, and talk of physical harm to Big Insurance types, their enablers, and their apologists are among the many reactions to which we'll become privy.

We're colorful down here so be forewarned.

Talking about Big Insurance brings out tremendous passion fueled by anger steeped in unfathomable betrayal. It unites us across every kind of divide be it political (Democrat, Republican, or Independent), religious, economic, racial, gender, education, and so forth.

Thinking that anyone associated with Big Insurance can win Trent Lott's U.S. Senate seat need only remember that that was George Dale's undoing that cost him his primary election last August.

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Structural engineer testifies in USAA trial

2008-01-18T07:54:00.000-06:00

By ANITA LEE
SUN HERALD, January 15, 2008

GULFPORT -- A structural engineer admitted he changed a report that detailed Hurricane Katrina damage to a homeowner’s property, but told a jury he did so for accuracy and clarity rather than to downplay wind damage so USAA Casualty Insurance Co. would owe less money.

Structural engineer James W. Jordan reviewed several changes he made to the report completed by engineer Roverta Chapa, who actually inspected the property at Henderson Point on the Bay of St. Louis in Harrison County. Chapa and Jordan did not communicate before Jordan made the changes, which was against policy established by Jordan’s employer, Rimkus Consulting Group Inc.

Policyholders David W. and Marilyn M. Aiken claim Rimkus and USAA conspired to defraud them. They want their insurance claim paid in full, plus extra damages to punish the companies. Their lawsuit will resume this morning with testimony from Chapa.

Rimkus and USAA claim the Aikens are seeking more money than they deserve because federal flood insurance paid them policy limits for tidal surge damage, while USAA offered a check to cover what the wind could have destroyed. USAA and other insurance companies exclude such flood damage from coverage, which has led to hundreds of disputes between policyholders and insurers. However, this is the first case with claims of fraudulent engineering reports to reach trial in federal court.

The Aikens maintain a tornado destroyed their vacation home before 25 feet of water inundated the property.

USAA attorney Greg Copeland told the jury during opening arguments that the Aikens simply wanted to maximize their payments for Katrina damage. Their flood coverage totalled $278,000. USAA paid $178,205 in structural and contents damage on a policy that provided more than $680,000 in coverage.

But the Aikens’ attorney, George W. Healy IV, told the jury that evidence would show the companies “intentionally and with forethought came up with a plan to deny legitimate claims.”

Rimkus attorney David Ward said testimony will show the Aikens hired their own engineer because David Aiken accompanied the Rimkus engineer on his inspection and knew the engineer thought water had caused most of the damage. Ward told the jury they would hear firsthand about communications between Rimkus and USAA, so they should not believe Healy. “You can be the judge of the facts,” he said, “not the allegations.”

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2008-01-18T07:01:00.000-06:00

Engineer: Tornado destroyed house

By PAM FIRMIN
Published January 19, 2008

GULFPORT -- Hours before Hurricane Katrina's storm surge arrived, the Henderson Point home of David and Marilyn Aiken had been hit by a tornado and was long gone, forensic engineer Charles Ivy told the court Thursday morning.

He agreed reluctantly under questioning by Greg Copeland, attorney for USAA Casualty Insurance Co., that the surge would have been enough to destroy the house if the house were still there.

The report Ivy prepared to back up his findings went under the microscope with intensive questioning by Copeland, who lost patience with the witnesses' often rambling responses and complained to U. S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr., "He is not responding in any way."

"Repeat the question," Senter instructed.

The Aikens, represented by George W. Healy IV, are suing USAA and Rimkus Consulting Group Inc., which was employed by USAA, for conspiring to defraud them. They seek full payment of their $680,000 homeowner-insurance policy with USAA, which paid them $178,000.

Earlier testimony came from Rimkus engineers. One inspected the Aikens' property and the other later made changes to that report without communicating with its author, which is against the company's policy.

Rimkus attorney David Ward read verbatim from Ivy's pretrial statement that he got data for his report from a preliminary storm model, and questioned Ivy's reasons for not updating it when better data became available as time went on.

Healy's next witnesses were to be Rimkus employee Paul Coleman and USAA employee David Rummel.

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Experts assert pre-surge tornado damage in USAA trial

2008-01-18T00:30:00.000-06:00

Testimony in trial against insurer USAA

By PAM FIRMIN
Published January 17, 2008

GULFPORT --Testifying as expert witnesses, a meteorologist and a forensic engineer Wednesday afternoon described why tornadic force rather than storm surge was most likely responsible for the Katrina destruction of David and Marilyn Aiken's home in Henderson Point.

A lawsuit filed by the Aikens seeks damages and full payment of their $680,000 insurance policy with USAA Casualty Insurance Co., which paid them $178,000 in structural and contents damage. The suit claims USAA and Rimkus Consulting Group Inc., which was employed by USAA, conspired to to defraud them. Earlier testimony revolved around whether changes to a property report by structural engineer James W. Jordan were made to downplay wind damage so USAA would owe less money.

On Wednesday, Day 3 of the trial projected to last several weeks, presiding U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. frequently tried to move proceedings along, one time telling attorneys who haggled over details of intricate meteorological documents that it was "not necessary to go over every bit of the document" and later that "everybody's tired of hearing his jabbering back and forth."

Documents were provided by meteorologist Charles Barrere of Norman, Oka., formerly of the New Orleans area, who said they showed a tornado being tracked by the National Weather Service in New Orleans around 3 a.m. Aug. 29 most likely passed directly over the Aikens' house hours before the waters rose. The eight jurors were able to look at these on monitors in front of their seats.

Dr. Charles Ivy, a forensic engineer from Florida, said it was significant that 90 percent of the nails on surviving beams at the Aiken property were bent in a direction from north to south and that four sturdy frames still standing were "whipped toward the west, leaning toward the direction the water came from. If water caused the destruction, they would have been leaning toward the east."

Court begins today with cross examination of Ivy by USAA attorney Greg Copeland and Rimkus attorney David Ward.

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MS Senate race holds Katrina Recovery, Insurance Reform Future

2008-01-15T09:05:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

Yesterday, a Hinds County judge ruled that the special election to fill the seat U.S. Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) recently vacated must be held by mid-March. Chalk one up for the people of Mississippi. Today, Barbour will appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court where he expects the court to reverse this decision setting the election not in March but in November.

Plenty of political analysis goes into what happens if this election date or what happens if that election date. Early, Dems win handily. November--Republican Governor Barbour's chosen date, Republicans win. Of course, Barbour never anticipated that the Democrats could have Senator Barack Obama at the top of its ticket as our presidential nominee and the electrifying impact that will have on plenty of Democratic, particularly the African American, voters in this state. As a good Democrat, I am concerned about, plenty of things that have gone so very wrong under the strong armed tactics of the Republican White House since 2001.

For right now, though, my concern remains focused on what happens to the Katrina-ravaged region if this or that candidate permanently moves into Lott's seat.

This election will determine whether Mississippi voters send to Washington, DC, an ardent advocate for Katrina recovery and Insurance Reform or send someone who mouths the words and doesn't work shoulder-to-shoulder with South Mississippi's Congressman Gene Taylor who has made insurance reform his signature legislation. When we get South Mississippi back up and running, the state will move forward since we are a major economic engine for the state.

Three candidates have filed for Lott's seat: one Republican and two Democrats. Polls indicate that a Democratic candidate can win. Great! So which candidate is more viable? Which is the better to support? Which will actually go to DC and do what the Katrina-ravaged region needs to be done? Which candidate will say one thing and do another? How can we tell before hand?

As Democrats, we must chose between the two Ronnies: Ronnie Shows (pronounced "Hows" with an "S") and Ronnie Musgrove.

Musgrove is loaded with baggage, plenty from his past and . . . plenty from his present. Last week's pieces titled Musgrove’s Ties to Big Insurance Smells to High Heaven exposed his ties to the very firm that represents State Farm, George Dale, and the insurance industry. Since July 2004, Musgrove has been on the payroll of the law firm Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, the same law firm that Gulf Coast News reported “is involved what with almost every Mississippi insurance case.” And not on the side of home and business owners, either.

That will go over like a lead balloon down here inside Mississippi's Katrina-ravaged area. Talk about baggage! The man has so much baggage that one commenter on the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee blog called him Samsonite Mustgo Musgrove and another called him the Samsonite Senator. As soon as that piece of information becomes well known to voters in South Mississippi, Musgrove's campaign will become more toxic than a FEMA trailer. No amount of "messaging" is going to ease the visceral venom that naturally and quickly comes forth from South Mississippians when anyone mentions insurance. Katrina survivors have been through hell and back with that despicable industry, its hired guns, and its apologists.

Perhaps Samsonite Mustgo's failure to mention either Katrina or insurance reform in his formal campaign kick off speech was his attempt to hide being on the payroll of Big Insurance's law firm of hired guns. Read Musgrove Insults Gulf Coast, Writes Off South Mississippi Voters for a thorough analysis of this obvious omission in Mustgo's speech.

The Dems can win this race . . . as long as we field a candidate that genuinely and passionately promotes Katrina recovery and insurance reform in South Mississippi AND veterans issues. We have plenty of vets throughout the state. Here in South Mississippi we have an Air Force Base and a National Guard Camp. Many families--including my own--have vets, highly decorated vets, and disabled vets and we will vote on this issue as well. According to the Disabled American Vets, Roger Wicker is just awful on disabled vets issues.* No amount of flag waving is going to blow off that kind of betrayal. Once Wicker's horrible record on disabled vets is well known, his campaign can join Samsonite Mustgo's campaign in the "more toxic than a FEMA trailer" department.

Now, the only polling to date didn't include Shows in the mix. Nor did the polls ask about whether a candidate in the back pocket of the hired guns for Big Insurance--even if he is a former Democratic Governor--would be supported. Nor did it ask about whether a candidate whose record reflects quite the betrayal to our disabled vets would be supported. So the polling data to date is not helpful.

What doesn't take a poll to divine the future, though, is that the road to a Democratic electoral triumph with this U.S. Senate campaign depends greatly on how a candidate does here inside the Katrina country of Mississippi, the importance of insurance reform and a candidate's ties to that industry, and the importance of vets issues.

With the campaigns for Ronnie Musgrove and Roger Wicker squarely in the "more toxic than a FEMA trailer" department, that leaves us with one candidate to examine.

Fortunately, former Congressman Ronnie Shows is good on Katrina Recovery & Insurance Reform and Veterans issues. Both are of great importance to South Mississippi voters--the state's second largest populous area.

To put another Dem in the U.S. Senate, we must ensure that the DSCC supports Shows (pronounced "Hows", with an "S"). This is the pragmatic thing to do.

If ya think someone with ties to Big Insurance can win without substantial South Mississippi votes? Ask former Insurance Commissioner George Dale--a 32 year incumbent--who lost his seat in the Democratic primary last August.

With financial resources and good staff to execute the ground campaign and media strategy, Shows can become the next elected Senator from Mississippi, a Democrat at that. To help get this ball rolling, let's call the DSCC and leave a quick, simple message to support former Congressman Ronnie Shows in the Mississippi Senate race. Tell the nice young man who answers the phone that Musgrove (also named Ronnie-- confusing, I know) is on the payroll of Big Insurance's law firm, that Dems can win and put another Democrat in the U.S. Senate thereby expanding our majority in that important legislative body. That is how we will be assured that the Katrina-ravaged region of this great nation gets a Senator who will remain focused on our recovery.

As usual, our ability to impact the political arena is at the end of our fingertips. Within a minute or two of our time. Phone (202) 224-2447, and let the DSCC know we want a win in Mississippi and can have that with former Congressman Ronnie Shows. Below is a brief phone script to help us along with this important race. Way beyond expanding our majority, this race is important because the American families and businesses struggling inside the Katrina ravaged region deserve someone who will pick up with great enthusiasm and passion the mantle of our recovery and insurance reform.

_____________________________
Hi!

My name is _____ and I am a Democrat. I am calling about the campaign in Mississippi to fill U.S. Senator Trent Lott's seat. We have two Ronnie's running on the Democratic side. Ronnie Musgrove is the former governor, but he is on the payroll of the law firm that represents State Farm, the American Insurance Association and the former insurance commissioner George Dale who lost in the Democratic primary last year because he--like Musgrove--is cozy with insurance companies. Please, support Ronnie Shows who is great on Katrina recovery and Insurance Reform. Besides, Shows is great on vets issues--something that Wicker is quite vulnerable on, according to the DAV website.

Thanks! Let's put another great Democrat in the Senate!

* This page reflects the key votes DAV rated for the congressional member which represents the zip code 38802 (Tupelo, Mississippi). At the bottom of the page is a series of key votes from 1998-2006 for this congressional seat which Wicker held from 1994 through 2007. Wicker supported the DAV on six of the 18 key, important DAV votes for a grand total of 33% of the time. In 2006 alone, the DAV gave Wicker a 50% rating. In 2005, the DAV rated Wicker with a whopping goose egg-->0%. In 2004, the DAV rated Wicker with another whopping goose egg-->0%. In 2003, the DAV rated Wicker . . . with another goose egg-->0%!!!

NOTE: Thanks to MsPundit [comments below] for letting me know in her own special way that the original link to Wicker's AWOL record needed to be updated. As a result, we now know that from 2003 through 2005 Republican Congressman Wicker had three solid years of being AWOL when it came to supporting our disabled American veterans. Of course, three solid years might actually be considered more of a desertion. After three long years in which Congressman Wicker consistently betrayed the needs of our disabled vets, he did attempt to improve to show up for duty in 2006. Then, he failed our veterans half the time.

Because of MsPundit, I dug a little further and found more documentation. Thanks, MsPundit. You're a doll. Glad that you could help shine tremendous light on Wicker's record. He owes you. ;)

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Senate election date is rejected

2008-01-15T08:49:00.000-06:00

By SHELIA BYRD
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RAYMOND -- A Hinds County circuit judge has thrown out a special election date set by the governor to replace retired U.S. Sen. Trent Lott.

Judge Bobby DeLaughter ruled late Monday that Gov. Haley Barbour erred when he set the special election for Nov. 4.

State law requires him to set the election for 90 days after Lott's retirement if it does not fall in the same year as a general election, according to Attorney General Jim Hood. Lott retired Dec. 18, after November's general election.

Hood's complaint said state law required the election to be held before March 19.

Both sides made their arguments in front of DeLaughter on Monday and he issued his ruling around 6 p.m. DeLaughter said he believes the Mississippi Supreme Court will eventually have to rule on the special election date, which Hood had hoped to avoid.

"We hope the governor will choose to follow the court's directive and not appeal the decision, which would only cause further delay to the people's right to vote for our next United States senator," Hood said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Barbour said in a statement that he felt he'd made the appropriate decision about the special election date.

"Nothing in this decision by the Hinds County Circuit Court changes that belief," Barbour said. "As I have said all along, the final decision in this case will be made by the Mississippi Supreme Court, and I look forward to that decision."

DeLaughter wrote in his ruling that the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and state law required him to find in favor of Hood, who represented the state of Mississippi in the complaint against Barbour.

The Constitution gives the Legislature the power to grant the governor the right to fill the vacancy left by Lott's resignation, DeLaughter wrote. But it does not give him the right to set the election. That duty belongs to the Legislature.

DeLaughter said the statute set in place by the Legislature is "plain, clear, and unambiguous," and that the governor's choice of election dates was incorrect.

Barbour appointed U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker to replace Lott, who resigned his Senate seat one year into a six-year term.

Wicker will serve until the special election is held. The winner of the election will serve the remainder of Lott's term, which runs through January 2013.

The qualifying deadline to run in the Senate special election was Friday. Wicker was the only Republican to qualify. The two Democratic candidates are former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and former U.S. Rep. Ronnie Shows.

Hood asked the judge to declare Barbour's special election date "null and void" during arguments Monday.

"The people have a right to quickly elect the people who represent them," Hood said after the hearing.

Michael Wallace, an attorney representing Barbour, argued that the governor was following the law in scheduling the special election for the same date as this year's general election.

"It's just a disagreement over interpretation," Wallace said.

Wallace asked DeLaughter to dismiss the case, saying the court doesn't have the authority to rule on the issue.

"This is not a case that involves private rights. This is not a case that involves constitutional rights," Wallace said.

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LA: State Farm Again Beating Up Katrina Survivors

2008-01-12T06:53:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

There ought to be a national registry of child molesters and insurance company executives because I hold them in the same very low esteem.
- Congressman Gene Taylor

So, let's get this straight. Hurricane Katrina battered homes with its 175 mile-per-hour winds ripping them apart as if made of straw and spit. Then insurance companies like State Farm deliberately and wrongly failed to pay American families for the wind related damages to those homes and the cost of living expenses while the home was being repaired, damages that the wind coverage under homeowner insurance policies cover.

When insurance companies failed to cover the cost of those living expenses, the federal government picked up the tab for the expenses the insurance industry. This unintended insurance industry bailout cost the American taxpayer billions in taxpayer dollars.

Yep, that's what it is: an unintended insurance industry bailout which the American taxpayers funded when insurance industry execs betrayed its customer base in the name of pursuing the Almighty Dollar.

After denying families all or some or substantial amounts of their wind-related claims, after putting these families through an extracted living hell far worse than the damage of Katrina several times over, after forcing many--including U.S. Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) and Congressman Gene Taylor (D-MS)--to hire attorneys to sue State Farm, Allstate, and other insurance companies to obtain some funding for the damages caused by those 175 mile-per-hour winds which battered their homes for four hours BEFORE the water ever came ashore, AFTER all of that, State Farm now wants proof that whatever paltry sum of money it finally coughed up has been used to rebuild . . . or the company will cancel the insurance.

Are you kidding me?!

This is the same company that slipped a tiny clause into its homeowner policies, the same company whose agents were left flat footed when they themselves found out about the buried clause, the same company who never bothered to advertise or explain fully the implications of its "concurrent causation" clause--ya think that was deliberate?--the same company that simply sprung its buried clause on its many customers once the company knew full well that it would have to actually pay out for the Hurricane Katrina's damages. Ditto for the rest of Big Insurance companies. What unmitigating gall!

Congressman Gene Taylor's campaign website has this to say about the industry's buried clause.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, insurance companies purposefully and routinely denied homeowners payment for the wind damage that hurricane force winds had caused hours before the water ever arrived, wind damage that homeowner insurance policies should have covered.

State Farm's concurrent clause states "where wind acts concurrently with flooding to cause damage to the insured property, coverage for the loss exists only under flood coverage."

Taylor's website continues.

Insurance companies had buried in their policies a clause that they refer to “concurrent causation.” Insurance companies denied legitimate wind damage claims based on this buried clause. In effect, the concurrent causation clause said that after the four hours of hurricane force winds that hit the Gulf Coast before the water ever got here, if there was one 2x4 left standing and the water knocked it down, the insurance company would call the damage “concurrent”—meaning at the same time. The insurance company would then use the fact that water had also cause some damage to deny homeowners the right to be paid for the wind-related damage to their property.

AFTER all of this, the company now wants to put Katrina's families through some kind of inspection, provide proof of rebuilding, or be dropped for coverage. In plenty of cases, State Farm didn't bother to provide the money for all of the repairs that wind damage required much less the cost-of-living expenses those families incurred after the storm.

Some of that paltry sum of money it may have provided went to buy groceries to feed little Johnny or a few diapers for little Janie or perhaps some clothes for the elderly grandmother when hurricane winds blew her clothes all over South Louisiana.

A Hurricane Katrina victim leaves no doubt that he would like a visit by the State Farm insurance adjuster in Gulfport, Miss., last year. State Farm said Wednesday it will stop writing homeowner polices in Mississippi as fights a number of Katrina-related lawsuits.
Steve Helber / AP file

State Farm, which some around here call Snake Farm, has already stopped writing new policies in Mississippi. Now the company is moving on to our friends and family members in South Louisiana. Congressman Gene Taylor is so very right to equate insurance company execs with child molesters. I also hold in the same low esteem those who aid, abet, enable in substantial manner like their high priced fancy corporate lawyers and law firms dedicated to protecting and defending these two-fisted greedy gutted goons in Gucci suits.

Note: For an easy-to-read explanation, read Concurrent Causation: The Buried Clause in Homeowner Insurance Policies. More entertaining, though, is a short video excerpt from his Insurance Reform Town Hall meeting held last August in which Taylor explains this utterly inconceivable hidden clause that is the culprit of tremendous misery in the Katrina-ravaged region.

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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State Farm Wants Proof Hurricane-Damaged Homes Won't Be Left Vacant

2008-01-12T02:38:00.000-06:00

(Photo courtesy FEMA/Mark Wolfe.)
Contributor: Shane Myers
January 8, 2008

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- State Farm is warning that it will cancel homeowner policies for about 6,000 of its customers in south Louisiana if they aren't able to demonstrate that their storm-damaged homes are occupied and are being rebuilt.

State Farm spokesman Gary Stephenson said says the company's goal is to work with customers who want to stay in Louisiana and rebuild their homes.

The company began inspections last April of homes and apartments that generated 75,000 claims following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The company said it has inspected 50,000 so far and expect to continue through August.

State Farm wants to make sure that people are indeed using their claims checks to rebuild, so that the company isn't stuck with the extra risk of insuring vacant or poorly maintained homes. Homes that are abandoned are at higher risk for claims because of fires, vagrants, water pipe leaks, theft or vandalism.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Most of $4.5B in Gulf Coast aid unspent

2008-01-12T02:26:00.000-06:00

By Brad Heath, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Three-quarters of the billions in federal money earmarked to replace schools, firehouses and other public works after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes still haven't been spent, a sign that key pieces of the region's recovery effort are languishing in red tape.

Reports from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provided to USA TODAY, show it has approved $4.5 billion worth of infrastructure projects in Louisiana and Mississippi. Only about $1 billion of that total has been spent.

Much of the rest is sitting in state accounts waiting to be parceled out to the local officials responsible for the rebuilding work, slowed by a complex tangle of local and federal rules.

"It's time for local governments to start making the tough decisions about what they're going to build back and start moving forward on the permanent recovery," said Robert Josephson, FEMA spokesman.

State and local officials overseeing the recovery say they are moving as quickly as they can to get the projects finished. Many require months of planning and construction, and navigating federal rules has sidetracked hundreds of projects, said Andy Kopplin, the outgoing head of the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

"Very simply, it's dramatically slowed down the infrastructure reconstruction process. It slows down the recovery," Kopplin said. "Are we satisfied with the rate of construction? Absolutely not. We'd like it to be double that. But the biggest challenge in spending the money has been FEMA's process."

FEMA's public assistance program gives money to states, which generally use it to reimburse local governments for projects once they're complete. That process has created obstacles for New Orleans and other communities, where local laws say money must be in place before work can begin. The city has borrowed $460 million to cover upfront costs.

"This is the first time we've had any significant dollars to push these projects forward," Mayor Ray Nagin said. As a result, he says, rebuilding work should accelerate this year.

Work also was delayed by mistakes in figuring how much repair individual buildings need and how much each would cost, Kopplin said.

More than half of the 27,000 projects in Louisiana have been revised at least once, a process that can take from a few hours to several months, he said.

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Stuck on Stupid: More Katrina Funds Being Wrongly Diverted

2008-01-11T05:33:00.000-06:00

Wind or Water?
Image from Mississippi Insurance Forum

by Ana Maria

Are you kidding me?! Taking $3.5 million of Katrina money that the elected representatives of the good people of America stipulated for law enforcement and spend it on the state's capitol, a full three hour plus ride from the Katrina-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast? Good grief!!!?!?!?! What is wrong with these priorities?

Recently, I took a trip to Jackson, Mississippi, where the governor intends to spend the money. Everything looked . . . normal. What a joy to ride around and see the area's bright neon lights of area's businesses. Gas stations everywhere. Shopping malls, car dealerships, the works. I even stopped a cop to ask for directions.

Yeah, I still take it for granted that the cop is there to help. I'm from a small town where hearing sirens gives me thrills, not chills. See, police sirens remind me of . . . Mardi Gras! That glorious season from January until the day before the Catholic season of Lent begins. To this day, when I hear sirens, I think of that first. What can I say, childhood socialization is very powerful. ;)

I know, I know. You may be thinking to yourself, "Uh, yeah, honey. What else do you see in a city except those disgusting neon signs trying to grab our attention and blurring the beauty of the skyline? Where in the world has this woman been living?!" And the answer is . . . inside the Katrina-ravaged region, my friend. For ten months now, I've been living in the Katrina-ravaged region, and it is NOT Fun City, USA, either.

Our cities have had to battle with the Republican White House to waive the 10% matching funds requirement usually accompanying federal grants to municipalities. The compassionless ones sitting in the White House and their counterparts in the previously Republican-controlled Congress didn't see fit to use the brains God gave them to waive the requirement automatically--as had been done in other disasters such as 9/11. No ma'am, the American people had to elect a Democratically-controlled Congress for this kind of compassion and common sense to be implemented.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated, demolished, and destroyed homes and businesses throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast, our tax base was blown away with 175 mile-per-hour winds. Indeed, Hurricane Katrina blew away our home, places of worship, businesses, community centers, schools, businesses, and government buildings (jails, court house, police stations, fire stations, libraries, etc. and so forth).

Then, the Republican-lovin' insurance industry decided to have its way with us as well. Insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, and Nationwide deliberately failed to pay on wind-related damages to our homes and businesses. Since May 2007, off course, I have written extensively on how the insurance industry purposefully betrayed its customers with abandon denying their wind damage claims and the devastating financial impact this betrayal has had on the every day lives of those of us living with decisions of those corporate greedy gutted goons. [See my diaries at Daily Kos for a quick read through my writings.]

Months ago, Barbour was trying to divert $600 million of low income housing monies to refurbish the Port of Gulfport. Now, the port needs financial help, that is certain. However, the elected representatives of the American people had appropriated for low income housing. Take a drive from one end of the Mississippi coast line to the other and you'll see a whole lot of nothing going on—to paraphrase the infamous words of Jerry Lee Lewis.

The photo from Coastal Cowboy's Mississippi Insurance forum? TODAY, you can go up and down plenty of streets of any city along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to see lots that remain looking just as the picture looks. Images like this could reflect the remains of what is left of someone's beautiful middle class home or a booming business.

See, businesses can't get up and running without two things. First, all things insurance from being paid for the wind damage to their businesses to purchasing affordable and available insurance on their buildings, goods, and business income. Second, they need employees to staff their businesses.

However, without housing for their employees and employees' families, the businesses are up the creek without a paddle. Can't build affordable housing when insurance is unaffordable or unavailable. Watch the short video of Tish Haas Williams, Hancock County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, to get the message that businesses the insurance barriers removed and need it to thrive. Tish expresses this sentiment in no uncertain terms, and yes, that means passing Congressman Gene Taylor's multiple peril insurance legislation which now requires action from the U.S. Senate.

We need financial assistance just to get to our knees, as Waveland Mayor Tommy Longo says. Help us to our knees, and we'll get to our feet, Longo told the crowd at an early morning Katrina memorial this past August, the second anniversary of the storm.

So, this becomes our dilemma. We need the money for plenty of things, Congress appropriates it, and Republican Haley Barbour tries to squirrel away some of it for other purposes. This is crazy, particularly since the rest of the country thinks the Gulf Coast is back up and running as if Katrina were but a nightmare many years ago. Heck even folks here in the state of Mississippi think we're back up and running. With the governor himself acting as if we're so up-and-running that he can divert money for other needs, how else are the folks suppose to think? Short of coming down here and driving the beach road or through any of the beach towns where lot after lot after lot remains empty, who is going to drive home the point that we're all still working on making our vibrant recovery dream come true? Clearly, the most logical one for that important job is our very own Governor Haley Barbour. He should be the PR ambassador of our plight, our needs, and the torch bearer of our vibrant recovery dreams.

When it comes to this latest financial diversion, I completely agree with state representative Diane Peranich in her assessment of this disturbing new development in the way that the Governor is handling Katrina monies.

Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, who had not heard about the grant to the city of Jackson, said Thursday that South Mississippi should get all of the money, which the governor controls, because the federal government gave it for Katrina recovery.

"If he has given $40 million, it is still not enough, and the money was allocated from the federal government for that purpose," Peranich said. "I would hope that any of the monies were given for law enforcement on the Coast would go to the Coast.

"We're very grateful for the support and help that we have gotten, but we are not whole." Peranich said she hoped the remaining $3.5 million would be spent in South Mississippi. There are still many problems at the Harrison County jail, and many departments along the Coast need to replace their equipment, she said.

I am certain that there are plenty of unmet needs outside of what the Congress has addressed. I am equally certain that Governor Barbour's expert lobbying skills and connections can easily be put to great use to go to his buddies in the White House to obtain the needed funding without this shell game that is hurtful.

More than that, though, I know that down here inside Katrina Land, we are weary. We've been beaten up by Katrina, betrayed by our insurance companies, abandoned by FEMA, and neglected by the White House except at photo op time. We're tired and exhausted just putting one foot in front of the other. My very first blog entry was titled "Like Walking Through Glue." Those sentiments remains true today.

I just wish that when Governor Barbour tries to run off with money that should go to the Gulf Coast, his feet were glued in place. Perhaps then we could see all the money already given for our needs flow more quickly to the Mississippi Gulf Coast rather than stuck inside the Governor's hands.

With so many unmet needs for which these funds can legitimately address, we deserve an intelligent use of these funds as had been intended when Congress gave us the money with the flexibility to address our needs based on our own priorities. When it comes to setting those priorities, the White House and Mississippi's governor's mansion continue to exhibit their gears are purposefully stuck on stupid.

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Wind Claim Dumping on the Flood Program: The Mechanics

2008-01-11T05:30:00.000-06:00

Below is a great piece published by Coastal Cowboy on Mississippi Insurance Forum.

Folks, Sop used actual photographs to explain the concept of claims dumping on his earlier post on the topic, the visual account of which set a site visit record for our little corner of the Internet. Now this Cowboy is gonna explain how big insurance did it, dumping their contractual wind obligations of the U.S. taxpayer. In a whistle blower lawsuit filed over New Orleans way the public adjusters projected that if the error rate they found held true, us taxpayers were bilked out of over $9 BILLION dollars by big insurance.

Some examples found by the public adjusters include:

"a group of four-plex apartments in eastern New Orleans were compensated for flood damage with taxpayer money even though they experienced no flooding. Each building in same complex was paid only a pittance for severe wind damage on its regular property insurance policies. American National Property & Casualty Insurance Co., or ANPAC Louisiana Insurance Co., paid the owner of several buildings in the Versailles Gardens subdivision on Alsace Street about $95,000 in flood damages, or about half the value of each property's individual $200,000 flood policy, even though no flood waters got inside the buildings."

Over here in Mississippi, State Farm used faulty and on occasion even altered engineered reports to dump their wind obligations on us. Take a look at these two engineering reports, the first one authored by engineer Paul Monie and verified by him as his work product. The second one was altered to let State Farm off the hook without his knowledge or consent. After Steve helped Mr. Beckham track down Paul Monie and it was brought to light that State Farm and their lackeys at Rimkus engineering had no problem defrauding a 70 year old man guess what happened next? You got it folks, State Farm experienced a Come to Jesus moment and paid Mr. Beckham. In fact they paid him so much money he can't talk about it any more. This Cowboy can talk about how them crooks tried to steal from an old man though and he just did. :)

In fact, thanks to Congressman Gene Taylor we got us a whole list of examples of how crooks in Gucci suits and their scalleywag corporate lawyer enablers tried to screw the good folks on the coast who lost their houses out of big money. We started with ole man Beckham cause Steve knows him but he ain't the only one by a long shot.

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Katrina funds for Jackson?

2008-01-11T05:27:00.000-06:00

Coast opposes Barbour's pledge

By MICHAEL NEWSOM
published January 11, 2008

JACKSON --Gov. Haley Barbour has pledged $3.5 million in federal Hurricane Katrina relief money to help fight crime in Hinds County and Jackson.

But some say the money should go to South Mississippi, because it is intended for hurricane-damaged areas.
The money for the Jackson area would hire a judge, more prosecutors and other law enforcement.

But some prosecutors in South Mississippi are worried about losing attorneys and investigators they were able to hire with part of the same federal law enforcement grants after the storm.>

The money is part of $47 million in federal law enforcement money given to the state. Barbour said Thursday the state had the ability to disburse the law enforcement funds in the counties that make up the Gulf Opportunity Zone. He said the storm did serious damage from Columbus to points southward.

"We are allowing some of the counties that we did not allow to get any of the original monies," Barbour said. "There are 48 counties in the Gulf Opportunity Zone and most of them we did not allow to ask for law enforcement grants in the first round because the needs on the Coast were so great."

Barbour said governments couldn't get money for the same purpose twice under the program, but there is still about $3.5 million to be awarded. When asked if he thought the money was enough, Barbour said the state "never expected to get this."

But Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, who had not heard about the grant to the city of Jackson, said Thursday that South Mississippi should get all of the money, which the governor controls, because the federal government gave it for Katrina recovery.

"If he has given $40 million, it is still not enough, and the money was allocated from the federal government for that purpose," Peranich said. "I would hope that any of the monies were given for law enforcement on the Coast would go to the Coast.

"We're very grateful for the support and help that we have gotten, but we are not whole."

Peranich said she hoped the remaining $3.5 million would be spent in South Mississippi. There are still many problems at the Harrison County jail, and many departments along the Coast need to replace their equipment, she said.

Rep. Billy Broomfield, D-Moss Point, said he had not heard about the grant for the Capitol area, but as it doesn't involve money from the Legislature, he has no control over it. He said a bill he supported would have given the Legislature oversight of federal Katrina money; it was killed in the Senate in a previous legislative session.

None interviewed for this story questioned whether Hinds County and Jackson needed more money for law enforcement. The $3.5 million grant gives the area the ability to hire a full-time circuit judge, two assistant district attorneys, one new public defender and more legal staff. The money would also fund investigations teams composed of law enforcement officers from several agencies.

Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence, a Republican, said his office is still dealing with higher caseloads than before the storm. In September, Lawrence will lose the extra prosecutors and other workers he was able to hire with the federal money. He said he was grateful for the funding and he understands the federal grant was not to be given twice for the same purpose.

He hopes the Legislature will provide money to help South Mississippi's law enforcement agencies; he said the Mississippi Prosecutors Association has drafted a bill to submit.

Lawrence said court dockets have swelled on the Coast now because of a spike in home-repair fraud cases, and drug-related arrests. There are whole new populations living in the area than before the storm, and they have brought more crime with them.

"The issue I have is not a federal grant issue, but a state issue," Lawrence said. "We got the federal grant, but now it is time for the Legislature to step up."

Type the rest of the blog here.
© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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MDA Meets With East Biloxians About Grants

2008-01-11T05:14:00.000-06:00

By Brad Kessie
Jan 10, 2008

Much of the struggle to reinvigorate east Biloxi focuses on cash. Many residents who'd like to rebuild need financial assistance. Yet when they apply for homeowners grants, they seem to get tied up in red tape.

On Thursday, the Mississippi Development Authority tried to help people cut through the bureaucracy. The MDA sent agents to east Biloxi. They answered questions that should help people qualify for homeowner grants -- grants that will rebuild a lot more east Biloxi homes.

A few blocks east of MDA's temporary service center, a wobbly looking house on Collier Street was undergoing a massive makeover. Charlie Whitestone was on his 14th volunteer mission with Project Rehab out of northern Virginia.

"It's the hands, the hands that do the labor that make it work," he said.

All around Project Rehab volunteers were east Biloxi homes that can only be rebuilt if property owners receive MDA grants. At the service center, a Biloxi man arrived to meet with MDA agents.

"It's plenty important," he said.

He was at the MDA location to help a neighbor. Grant assistance "would mean a lot to her. It really would," he thought.

The Mississippi Development Authority began its homeowners assistance program in April, 2006. And since then, it's paid out $1.2 billion to eligible applicants. According to MDA, 87 percent of the people who filled out applications in phase one got paid. So have half the people who applied in phase two.

Now, MDA representative Donna Sanford says the push is on to get more flood surge victims the rebuilding grants they desperately need. Sanford watched one east Biloxi woman straighten out her grant situation, and then smile.

"The lady came out awhile ago and said I'm going to sleep so much better tonight," Sanford remembered. "And that makes all the long days worth everything you do. It's great."

Sanford and her MDA team set up a temporary service center in east Biloxi. From now through Saturday, homeowners can visit the Division Street location and get homeowner grant questions answered.

"We're making a media push to get people who haven't applied to come in and apply, so we can reach those last people," she said.

On Collier Street, the Ly family got a gift that trumped the grant program. Project Rehab made sure the Lys didn't have to pay a dime to salvage their house.

"It makes you feel good," Project Rehab's Charlie Whitestone said. "Like we're doing something that, like I said, is part of God's work."

MDA representatives will be back at the Hope Coordination Center on Division Street Friday and Saturday. The development authority also has offices at Singing River Mall, Prime Outlet, and the government building in Bay St. Louis.

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Musgrove’s Ties to Big Insurance Smell to High Heaven

2008-01-10T02:15:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

When it comes to seeing clearly the insurance industry’s responsibility in creating the economic devastation it caused South Mississippi’s Katrina-ravaged home and business owners, former Governor Ronnie Musgrove can’t see past the end of his paycheck. Since July 2004, Musgrove has been on the payroll of the law firm Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, the same law firm that Gulf Coast News reported “is involved what with almost every Mississippi insurance case.” And not on the side of home and business owners, either.

Greg Copeland, the firm's founding member, is “ a longtime lobbyist for the insurance industry” . . . and the attorney for the American Insurance Association . . . and State Farm . . . and the recently ousted state insurance commissioner George Dale, who refers to Copeland as a “ good friend.”

With Ronnie Musgrove on the payroll of the very law firm of hired guns that have helped the insurance companies swindle us out of the insurance money owed us on our wind policies . . . on the payroll of the law firm of hired guns that defend insurance companies as they betray our families here in South Mississippi, Musgrove cannot authentically claim he will go to Washington, DC, and fight for us . . . while deliberately remaining on the other team's payroll. That's kinda like Colonel Sanders pretending that he can champion the cause of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Not gonna happen.

This is a classic conflict of interest. No amount of pretending otherwise is going to make it any different. No spinning. No political messaging. None. Get it?! Good grief!

Does Musgrove really believe that the citizens of South Mississippi would cast their votes for a man who is in bed with the insurance companies that have hurt us? Regardless of whether we are Democrats like Congressman Gene Taylor or Republicans like U.S. Senator Trent Lott, each of whom lost their homes and had to retain a lawyer to fight their insurance companies, mention the word "insurance" and the anger and hostility that boils over immediately comes forth like a volcanic eruption!?!?!?!

Last August, Gary Anderson succeeded in ousting George Dale, whose cozy relationship with the insurance industry didn’t pass the smell test. At the end of election night voters denied Dale the insurance commissioner’s office he had held for 32 years. Musgrove’s cozy relationship with the law firm that defended George Dale, State Farm—the state's largest homeowner insurance company when Katrina hit, and the American Insurance Association—the insurance industry’s trade association—isn’t going to fare any better in passing the smell test in this election either.

Down here along the state's Gulf Coast, our expert noses always know when something smells fishy. So good are our noses that we can smell the stench a mile or two away. That fishiness is something that Musgrove’s cologne cannot cover.

Contrast this to the ever popular Congressman Gene Taylor, whose only reason to smell fishy is, well, because the man went fishing. With Congressman Gene Taylor, we know that what-you-see-is-what-you-get. He's honest and works effectively to make our lives better. Being open and honest, direct and upfront like he is gains respect and appreciation down here on the coast of Mississippi. In this way, Taylor has spoiled us.

We have been blessed to have Gene Taylor as our representative, a heroic public servant who lost everything in Katrina, whose insurance company (Snake Farm) screwed him and his family by failing to pay a penny before resorted to suing the company, a man whose own constituents continue to experience the same level of anguish and betrayal from the insurance industry that he and his family have experienced.

We are blessed because Congressman Gene Taylor pulled out from the depths of his soul an indefatigable strength to carry on personally and professionally to champion this cause, battling successfully the insurance industry that no one thought possible to obtain a single victory. Taylor embarked on this alleged no-win battle for one forthright reason: to ensure that America’s families and businesses all over the country never again are exposed to the ravages of corporate greed that has become so apparent in our nation’s insurance industry. For his vision, his courage, his ingenuity—and that of his staff, South Mississippians like myself are eternally grateful.

Taylor is clear about his loyalties. He took on FEMA and the insurance industry. He has no conflicts of interest. Moreover, he doesn't even have the appearance of a conflict of interest that could interfere with doing an outstanding job on behalf of his South Mississippi constituents.

This is NOT the case with Ronnie Musgrove. A quick call to Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush (601-856-7200) confirms that Musgrove remains with the law firm that has housed the pit bull attorneys, the hired guns for the very insurance industry that continues to betray South Mississippi's families and business owners—particularly small business owners. Sure, the man doesn't work on insurance related cases. But that is of no consequence.

In Politics—as in Regular Life, Perception is Reality
When I worked for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury as a legislative performance auditor, our ethical standards were so high that we could not even have the APPEARANCE of a conflict of interest with any state agency whose audit on which we may be assigned. Period. Not even the appearance of a conflict of interest. This, of course, is as it should be.

Musgrove doesn't pass that same ethical standard, and that will cost him down here in South Mississippi.

If he had been serious about supporting—rather than merely giving lip service to—insurance reform, he would have immediately resigned from the Copeland law firm as soon as he finalized his decision to run for this office.

Then, he would have distanced himself from the firm and strongly disavowed its practice of helping the insurance industry destroy the financial well-being of South Mississippi families and businesses throughout the Katrina ravaged region.

However, he remained and continues to remain on the payroll of the insurance industry’s hired guns, Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush, the defenders of insurance companies, those two-fisted greedy gutted goons.

He has not distanced himself from the firm nor has he disavowed its horrific defense of the insurance industry that is single-handedly strangling the financial well-being of South Mississippi.

In the words of the famous TV Marine character Gomer Pyle: For shame! For shame! For shame!

To capture substantial numbers of votes here in South Mississippi would require Musgrove to "get religion" where insurance reform ties into Katrina recovery is concerned. While election year conversion has its challenges, it at least gives voters some indication that there is a recognition that the candidate may be beginning to come around. Musgrove hasn't gotten religion, and frankly at this point it is too late.

With Musgrove deep in the pockets of the law firm that houses the attorneys for George Dale, State Farm, and the American Insurance Association—the insurance industry’s trade association—there is no way that he can be genuine in mouthing the magic words of insurance reform. The likelihood that he would go to Washington, DC, and become a champion for insurance reform in the vein of Congressman Gene Taylor—or even like Senator Lott—is about as likely as Colonel Sanders becoming a vegetarian and actively supporting PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Since Colonel Sanders is dead, the likelihood of that coming to pass is zilch—the exact number of times Musgrov'es official kick off speech mentioned insurance reform or Katrina recovery.

Musgrove's connection to the law firm defending those two-fisted greedy gutted goons is reality. He remains on its payroll. Just call the law firm to confirm. The perception of its meaning may be up to debate.

For us down here, though, we're not going to be listening to that debate. All we'll be thinking is how the dots connect: "Insurance companies . . . State Farm . . . George Dale . . . Ronnie Musgrove."

No amount of Musgrove’s snake oil salesman, smooth-talking mumbo jumbo—even if it is delivered with his soft Southern accent—is going to overcome the fact that he is a member of the law firm that defended George Dale, that represents State Farm, that houses the hired guns for the insurance industry. (Have I said that a time or two? I guess the whole thing just sticks in my craw.) We just don't cotton to that very well down here.

Getting "Insurance Reform Religion" Online
To get the flavor of the area's palpable disgust over insurance companies and all who enable their betrayal, to get the flavor of the absolute importance of insurance reform to both home and business owners, all someone has to do go to Taylor's website and view the online videos of last August’s Insurance Reform Town Hall Meeting that Congressman Gene Taylor hosted before a standing-room only crowd right here in my home town of Bay St. Louis, Miss.,—one of three tiny beach towns comprising ground zero for Katrina's most devastating blows.

Taylor’s website has six video clips from this important meeting, clips that drive home this very point.

Tish Haas Williams, the county chamber’s executive director, provides case study after case study regarding how insurance has been the most difficult recovery challenge for South Mississippi's small businesses.

With his daughter Rosie at his side, Dr. Wesley McFarland brings down the standing room only crowd with his humorous way of telling his Katrina-related troubles with Big Insurance.

Hancock Bank Board Chair George Schloegel speaks to the need for Congress to pass multiple peril insurance legislation that South Miss. Congressman Gene Taylor sponsored. Schloegel stated that the insurance industry has proven that the private sector cannot take care of itself.

Dave Dennis, owner of Specialty Contractors and member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, discusses the reasons the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been so slow in rebuilding.

David Treutel, Jr., President of Treutel Insurance Agency in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and Vice Chair of the Mississippi Wind Pool, explains the post-Katrina impact on affordable insurance rates and the inability of state wind pool agencies to absorb the risk that private insurance carriers have left.

And Taylor himself explains the controversial "concurrent causation" clause that is buried in homeowner policies, the clause that insurance companies have used to deny homeowners' claims for wind-related damages to their properties.

In addition to these riveting videos, Taylor’s website includes plenty of photos on the event as well. Particularly telling are the snapshots of the chamber’s presentation on the impact on small businesses that out-of-control insurance costs have had in stopping economic development in arguably the most hard hit county in the Katrina-ravaged region. Taylor’s website is Insurance Reform Central.

Clearly, with these kind of resources freely and readily available, any one can quickly become well educated on the importance of insurance reform to the restoration of the Gulf Coast. Reading through Taylor's website, looking through the many articles and editorials from around the country that his site posted, watching the videos, and looking through the photo gallery will help anyone "get religion" where insurance reform is concerned.

The Heavenly Scent of Hypocrits
For Musgrove to come to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, stand on a slab to announce his candidacy as he did, and only utter the words "Katrina recovery" and "insurance reform" when a member of the press put him on the spot, is the height of arrogance . . . or political stupidity. What hubris! That Musgrove stood on the slab of a church adds insult to injury and further solidifies the conclusion that the man is just not going to get religion where Katrina and insurance are concerned.

There is a special word for those who speak empty words and act in ways contrary to their words: hypocrites. With FEMA and the insurance industry pulling the wool over our eyes within the last few years down here in Katrina Land, we don’t take kindly to hypocrites—particularly of the political persuasion. And we can sure smell 'em a mile or two away.

Those of us who cast the ballots in this election will continue to employ the nose test of politics to sniff out the stench of hypocritical candidates who fail to get religion connecting the dots between a vibrant post-Katrina recovery and insurance reform. As far as my own political nose goes, however, Mosgrove’s hypocritical ties to Big Insurance smell to high heaven.

© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Katrina victim sues U.S. for $3 quadrillion

2008-01-10T02:14:00.000-06:00

Federal government hit with 489,000 damage claims after hurricane

Katrina plaintiff seeks $3 quadrillion [Click link to see video.] Jan. 9: One Hurricane Katrina victim is seeking $3 quadrillion from the U.S. government. MSNBC's Willie Geist reports. MSNBC.com

NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Katrina's victims have put a price tag on their suffering and it is staggering — including one plaintiff seeking the unlikely sum of $3 quadrillion.

The total number — $3,014,170,389,176,410 — is the dollar figure so far sought from some 489,000 claims filed against the federal government over damage from the failure of levees and flood walls following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.

Of the total number of claims, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it has received 247 for at least $1 billion apiece, including the one for $3 quadrillion.

"That's the mother of all high numbers," said Loren Scott, a Baton Rouge-based economist.

For the sake of perspective: A mere $1 quadrillion would dwarf the U.S. gross domestic product, which Scott said was $13.2 trillion in 2007. A stack of one quadrillion pennies would reach Saturn.

Some residents may have grossly exaggerated their claims to send a message to the corps, which has accepted blame for poorly designing the failed levees.

"I understand the anger," Scott said. "I also understand it's a negotiating tactic: Aim high and negotiate down."

Daniel Becnel, Jr., a lawyer who said his clients have filed more than 60,000 claims, said measuring Katrina's devastation in dollars and cents is a nearly impossible task.

"There's no way on earth you can figure it out," he said. "The trauma these people have undergone is unlike anything that has occurred in the history of our country."

The corps released zip codes, but no names, for the 247 claims of at least $1 billion. The list includes a $77 billion claim by the city of New Orleans. Fourteen involve a wrongful death claim. Fifteen were filed by businesses, including several insurance companies.

Little is known about the person who claimed $3 quadrillion. It was filed in Baker, 93 miles northwest of New Orleans. Baker is far from the epicenter of Katrina's destruction, but the city has a trailer park where hundreds of evacuees have lived since the storm.

Katrina, which is blamed for more than 1,600 deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, is considered the most destructive storm to ever hit the U.S. It caused at least $60 billion in insured losses and could cost Gulf Coast states up to $125 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Most of the claims were filed before a deadline that coincided with Katrina's second anniversary, but the Corps is still receiving them — about 100 claims have arrived over the past three weeks — and is feeding them into a computer database.

The Corps said it isn't passing judgment on the merits of each claim. Federal courts are in charge of deciding if a claim is valid and how much compensation is warranted.

"It's important to the person who filed it, so we're taking every single claim seriously," Corps spokeswoman Amanda Jones said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Musgrove Insults Gulf Coast, Writes Off South Mississippi Voters

2008-01-08T06:18:00.000-06:00

-by Ana Maria

When former Governor Ronnie Musgrove traveled to Gulfport, Miss., to announce his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by Senator Trent Lott, he stood on the property across from the harbor . . . and totally missed the boat.

Not once did his speech utter the phrase Katrina recovery. Not once did his speech mention insurance reform. Not once did his speech tell Mississippi’s Katrina survivors that he intends to work shoulder-to-shoulder with Congressman Gene Taylor, our much beloved local hero, to pass Taylor’s ground-breaking insurance reform legislation, which is now awaiting action in the US Senate. Not . . . one. . . word. Nope. None. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

Talk about a slap in the face. Come to our home area and not deliberately tell us in your SPEECH that our primary problems with insurance and other Katrina-related recovery issues are your priorities?! What an insult to every man, woman, and child whose lives Katrina impacted.

That Musgrove did this while standing on a slab that had been the foundation for the 1st Presbyterian Church of Gulfport is more than merely stepping a toe over the line. Using the ruins of our devastation—a place of worship, no less—as the backdrop, a prop for his declaration that he is the self-appointed savior of our state’s vacant senator position clearly demonstrates the galling depth and breadth of this man's hubris.

First Pres Sanctuary After Katrina

For those of us living inside the Katrina-ravaged region, Musgrove's silence in his campaign speech is a bit akin to heresy. The most pressing issues for the state’s three coastal counties are recovery from Katrina’s destruction and thwarting the financial stranglehold that the insurance industry has on South Mississippi’s families and business owners. Apparently, the obvious has evaded this obtuse former one-term governor. Guess he is writing off seeking votes from South Mississippi voters, voters who reside in the state's second most populous area.

Well, like Arte Johnson's German soldier character on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In used to say, "Verrrrry Interesting. But Schtupit!"

On Monday, January 7th, a friend told me he had just seen on TV an undecided New Hampshire resident pose a question on skyrocketing property insurance rates to Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. While homeowners way up the eastern coastline share our insurance concerns, here deep inside the Katrina-ravaged region, Musgrove's formal remarks remained silent about the severely negative impact that outrageous insurance practices and rates are having on families, businesses, community organizations and non-profits just like the very church on whose slab the candidate used as a campaign prop.

Speaking of the church site as a prop, here's a question the Musgrove campaign ought to answer. Did Musgrove get permission to use the property or did he just show up like a squatter? If the church still owns the property and gave permission to use its slab for a political event, that would be a violation of its 501c3 status and would put in jeopardy its nonprofit status—as well it should, were that the case. However, I cannot imagine that the church would have done such a thing. So, just how did the Musgrove campaign come to use that property as its prop?

Anyway, displaying tremendous hubris with which he intends to run his campaign, Musgrove's prepared remarks clearly ignored completely what will drive South Mississippians to vote for a U.S. Senate candidate. If he ignores the issue that cuts across party, religion, economics, race, and gender as he is attempting to court us to vote for him at the ballot box, we can imagine how he would treat us were he to become our next elected senator. Heck, every woman knows that regardless of how a man treats us during courtship, his behavior won't get any better with marriage. ;) When it comes to Musgrove's attempt to woo us here on the coast, we should heed this wisdom of women's experience.

Slabs Symbolize Big Insurance's Big Betrayal
The area’s plentiful slabs remind us continuously of Big Insurance’s Big Betrayal. That Musgrove used the church’s slab as a prop to pretend that he would champion our plight insults every South Mississippi home- and business owner.

We are looking for candidates to champion reasonable, affordable insurance, to reign in the industry’s devastating and unnecessary blows to our financial security and economy. We are looking for candidates who will provide the federal leadership we need to rebuild homes in which to live and rebuild businesses in which to work as well as provides the good and services that create an abundant quality of life.

We are looking for the candidate in this race who will be the U.S. Senate counterpart to Congressman Gene Taylor: an unflinching, fierce, courageous, effective public servant who gets the job done for his constituents. We are looking for the candidate who will demand insurance reform . . . because we are demanding insurance reform.

Coastians Continue to Demand Insurance Reform
In Sunday's editorial in the Sun Herald titled “Barbour should reconvene commission to assess our recovery,” the paper wrote

More than two years after Katrina, large portions of South Mississippi have not been mended. This is especially true for properties located between the hurricane's debris line and the shoreline.

In other words, the geography where the insurance industry has betrayed coastal families and business owners through wrongly denying wind damage claims. The same geography where he insurance industry has pulled back on the types of damage it will cover then skyrocketed its policies—where it will provide coverage at all. Big Insurance has priced coverage out of an easily affordable range for most home and business owners here in South Mississippi.

Two comments to the Herald’s editorial yesterday poignantly articulated this demand for insurance reform.

“The insurance industry should feel real good, it has single handedly stifled the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast...”

“All you have to do is drive down Highway 90 from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis to see it. It looks like the worlds largest vacant lot.”

Blind as a Bat without Radar
Why did the former governor not make our recovery and insurance reform a part of his speech which he delivered in four different parts of the state? Goodness knows that interim Senator Roger Wicker most certainly included them in his speech at the coast airport when he quickly flew in and flew out of here on New Year's Eve. If a Republican's campaign kick off speech included the phrases "Congressman Gene Taylor" "multiple peril insurance" and "Katrina recovery", why didn't candidate Ronnie Musgrove?

In all fairness, Musgrove did FINALLY speak the words insurance reform, multiple peril insurance legislation, and Congressman Gene Taylor--ONLY when WLOX-TV 13, the coast's only television station, put Musgrove on the spot. Quickly Musgrove returned the interview to the primary subject of his campaign kick off theme: beating up the interim Senator whom Governor Barbour recently appointed. The Associated Press title of its piece on Musgrove's campaign speech reflects his priorities: "Musgrove Immediately Jabs Wicker In Senate Campaign."

Oh boy, yeah, that is the priority that Mississippians in general and Katrina-fatigued families specifically want senate candidates to exhibit. Apparently, Musgrove is flying through hurricane country blind as a bat without radar.

© 2008 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Barbour should reconvene commission to assess our recovery

2008-01-07T06:24:00.000-06:00

Editorial
January 6, 2007

-- Jim Barksdale, the chairman of the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, delivered the commission's report to Gov. Haley Barbour on Dec. 31, 2005.

Near the end of that report, the men and women working with Barksdale made recommendations for the long-term recovery of South Mississippi from Hurricane Katrina. In introducing those recommendations, the writers of the report noted: "These recommendations may spur future discussion and the formulation of new recommendations or the modification of those presented here."

We believe it is time for that "future discussion."

We call upon the governor to reconvene the commission in order that its members might assess the present situation in South Mississippi and reassess their recommendations.

The recovery effort needs a formal examination.

More than two years after Katrina, large portions of South Mississippi have not been mended. This is especially true for properties located between the hurricane's debris line and the shoreline.

Because South Mississippi is divided up among so many jurisdictions, there is no one source for a comprehensive evaluation of the region's overall recovery. That "big picture" is what we need from the governor's commission.

With proper preparation, the commission might not need to be in session for more than a few days. But those few days could greatly improve the pace and quality of recovery efforts over the next few years.

Our appetites have returned; why haven't the restaurants?

Since our offices sit on DeBuys Road, we are regularly reminded that the Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants are still vacant lots just down the street on the waterfront.

Gone as well are Ryan’s and Cuco’s and Cajun’s and even some eateries without an apostrophe.

South Mississippians rejoiced when the first Waffle House came back to Beach Boulevard. And were delighted to have Wendy’s and Mahoney’s and Vrazel’s back as well.

But where’s everybody else?

The shoreline of Harrison County boasted a smorgasbord of tasty treats before Katrina.

Why have so few returned?

Our appetites certainly have.

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Farmers proposes steep rate hike in Gulf counties

2007-12-14T14:38:00.000-06:00

Dallas Morning News

12/13/2007
Associated Press

Farmers Insurance has indicated it wants to raise home insurance rates 20 to 30 percent along the Texas coast, while reducing rates in many other areas.

The company's rate filing with the Texas Department of Insurance on Wednesday indicated a net result of a statewide increase of 2.2 percent with hefty premium hikes in coastal counties and southeast Texas. Many other parts of the state would see modest reductions.

Michelle Levy, a spokeswoman for Farmers, said nearly 50 percent of the company's 686,000 policyholders in Texas would see lower premiums under the plan.

"We feel good about the proposal," Levy said. "We think these rates are fair and justified and represent what we need to be charging in the current Texas market."

The new rates, which will be reviewed by insurance department actuaries, are scheduled to take effect Feb. 16 for new and existing customers.

The new filing comes five months after the company withdrew a proposed 6.6 percent increase in homeowner rates when the insurance department signaled that it would reject the plan.

Ben Gonzales, a spokesman for TDI, said the department will review the filing over the next two months and decide whether it is appropriate before the effective date.

"We're still trying to work with the company," he said.

Levy said the proposal reflects concerns an increased number of hurricanes and tropical storms will threaten the Texas coast over the next few years. The industry saw massive property losses from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

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Mississippi Dems: Thank you, Mike Moore. Next?

2007-12-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

I recall a lecture I attended years ago in which the lecturer discussed what activists can learn from nuns in a convent when they decide to retire from service after many years of devotion in a particular arena. In the secular world, we mourn the loss of a great leader when she or he decides to turn their attention to other endeavors. We also attempt to chide them or guilt trip them into retaining their position.

However, the lecturer informed us, in a convent, the nun retiring from service is afforded a well-deserved respect for their service. Ironic as it may be, guilt tripping the nun into abandoning their wishes to move into another direction is a sign of disrespect. The nuns have given the community a gift, the woman informed us, and it is time to allow others the opportunity to step into the role, to invest their talents, and to provide us the gift of their investment’s harvest.

Having grown up in a strong Catholic household complete with a Catholic education from kindergarten until I graduated from high school, I remember thinking how ironic that a Catholic institution would NOT guilt trip and would find it disrespectful. Nevertheless, the lesson took hold, forever changing how I responded when folks decided to change the direction of their lives. After all, it is their lives, their talent and time.

When it comes to elected office, the one thing that we, the public, don’t really get until we see things up close and personal is the enormous sacrifice to one’s personal life and one’s privacy once in elected office. To be in public office—whether one is a Democrat or Republican, Blue Dog, Yellow Dog, and some other kind of dog—requires a desire, a fire in the belly, a conscious decision to embrace the 24/7 life that public office demands. A sacrifice that every member of the politician's family endures.

After having learned about then read Mike Moore’s decision not to run for the U.S. Senate seat here in Mississippi, I thought of the lecture I had attended over 20 years ago. It is time to thank Mike Moore for the fruits of his labor over nearly three decades of his public service. It is time to be grateful that Mike Moore considered running for the office of U.S. Senate and to respect his decision not to run.

Thank you, Mike Moore.

Obviously, it is perfect time to implement the lessons I learned in that lecture of over 20 years ago. It is time to open our minds to look around to see who desires to step up to the plate and run for this important public office. Who wants it? Who is going to run? Who can give us the leadership we need? Who will actually make South Mississippi’s vibrant recovery—including insurance reform—a priority when they take the oath of office? When it comes to the political arena, I’m a pragmatic progressive. So the next question is who else can actually win the election.

Democrats still have a golden opportunity to win this U.S. Senate seat. We need to make this about winning the seat. Period. We’ve not a moment to lose. We must quickly settle on one candidate, push hard, and win the special election. The forces that would have supported a Mike Moore campaign must make the same commitment to support to the same degree whomever this next person is that will emerge.

Politically-speaking, we need to suit up, exploit our strengths, and shore up the areas that need more resources so that we can have a gloriously celebratory election night victory and one hell of a party once our candidate is formally sworn into office.

The goal remains the same. What is at stake remains the same. We must make our commitment the same. Whoever this Democratic soul is that will emerge to carry forth the Democratic mantle, I intend to leverage all of my resources, talents, expertise, and experience so we can be victorious come election night.

My hope is that Democrats realize that that is the smart, pragmatic thing to do. EAft er all, elections matter. The public policies created (multiple perils insurance legislation) or not (insurance industry exemption from anti trust laws) matter. Checks and balances between the executive branch (i.e. FEMA) and the legislative branch (i.e. House and Senate) matter. Who is sitting in an elected position matters.

We in South Mississippi know that our recovery depends on our ability to have the strongest possible advocates we can elect to federal office. We already have the strongest advocate possible in the House of Representatives—Congressman Gene Taylor. Now we need to elect the strongest possible advocate in the U.S. Senate. That will be whomever emerges next from the Democratic camp.

When it comes to heart, brains, and compassion, Republicans talk the talk. Historically, though, Democrats walk the walk. To ensure South Mississippi’s vibrant recovery, we need to elect someone with well worn walking shoes.

© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Open letter to Mississippians from Mike Moore

2007-12-13T17:40:00.000-06:00

December 13, 2007

Four years ago I made a decision to leave elected public office to spend more time with my family and to build some financial security for them. We have all been very happy with that decision. I enjoyed my 26 years in public service working for Mississippi. Elected office gave me great opportunities to do a lot of good for not only my state but the whole country.

I guess I am remembered most for the Tobacco case and the billions of dollars that have flowed into public coffers in all the states. I remember that work more for how many lives have been saved and how many thousands of children will never suffer from the terrible tobacco-related diseases like heart disease and lung cancer.

I was in Washington D.C. this week to give a speech for the U.S. Justice Department to over a thousand people from all 50 states who were there to learn about how Boys & Girls Clubs and Law Enforcement can work together to stop the crisis that places millions of America’s children at risk from violence, poverty, and lack of quality education. I was the keynote speaker this year as I was at the first such gathering four years ago, although the crowd had doubled in size. They wanted to hear about what we had done and were doing in Mississippi to reduce youth crime and improve education levels, how we doubled the number of Boys & Girls Clubs, and began a program that is beginning to show positive results in the Mississippi Delta. The response was overwhelming – “inspirational” they said, - “motivating”. Hundreds pledged to do the same thing we were trying to do in Mississippi in their states. It certainly made me feel good to get that kind of response to my speech, but more importantly, it reassured me that you don’t have to be in elected office to make a difference.

Of course, I met with the leadership in the U.S. Senate while I was in town and talked with many of my friends, former attorneys general who serve their states well as U.S. Senators. The message was clear - the job of Senator is important and fulfilling; the polls show I could win; and I would have the money I needed to win the race. It all just came down to whether it was best for me and my family. The truth is I made my decision four years ago, and it has been a good one for my family and me. In the last four years I made every baseball game Kyle had, Tisha and I have had much more family time, and I have been fortunate in my law practice. From the public service perspective, I am heavily involved with Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and have recently been asked by Cal Ripken, Jr. to help grow his foundation’s work not only here in Mississippi but all across America. I am representing a large nation against the Tobacco industry, chair Mississippi’s new Tobacco Advisory Council, and we are about to kickoff a very big project in the Mississippi Delta that I think will quickly improve the lives of thousands of kids in the most impoverished area in the country. The point is I am happy doing what I am doing, my family is happy, and I look forward to making a big difference in my state and nation. I have seriously considered the U.S. Senate vacancy as my friends urged me to do, but I have always known that what I am doing now is good enough for me. I appreciate all the encouragement to run. I hope I can count on the same support and help when we ask for help for the children in the Mississippi Delta.

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Letter to Santa: Bring Mississippi a Mike Moore for U.S. Senate Campaign!

2007-12-13T01:24:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

With U.S. Senator Trent Lott’s recent unexpected resignation by year’s end, Democrats have a golden opportunity to pick up a seat in one of the reddest of red states here in the Deep South. With Santa in the middle of making his list and checking it twice, here is the letter that A.M. in the Morning! wrote Santa with a very specific request for South Mississippi: a Mike Moore for U.S. Senate Campaign!

Dear Santa,

I know you’re busy, so allow me to be direct. Please bring me a Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate in Mississippi with a candidate who can most easily win the race in 2008. Specifically, Santa, I’m asking you for a Mike Moore for U.S. Senate campaign.

While the Repubs are already acting as if whomever Republican Governor Haley Barbour appoints will automatically be elected, I know that this is simply not the case. Sure, former Republican National Committee Chair and big time former corporate lobbyist Haley Barbour is flirting with the idea of deliberately failing to follow the law requiring a special election within 90 days of Lott’s resignation. Fortunately, the Democrats are already gearing up to bring him to court to force him to follow the law.

So what Democrats need is to field the candidate who can win most easily and who will be the most effective advocate for us once he is in the U.S. Senate. Santa, that means one man: Mike Moore.

Moore has a proven record of consistently winning statewide elections. From 1988-2004, Mississippi voters consistently elected Moore as the state’s Attorney General. He’s a winner at the ballot box—many times over.

Moore’s success in the court room is legendary. In the late 1990’s, PBS featured a story on Moore’s tremendous success in taking on the tobacco industry. He

filed the first state Medicaid law suit against the tobacco industry and flew around the country convincing other state attorneys general to file. He was the primary negotiator in the deal and is the leader of the push for a national tobacco settlement.
Inside the Tobacco Deal
PBS

Great! That is exactly what we like here in Mississippi: public officials who look after the little people, which means most of us.

FRONTLINE [told] the inside story of how two small-town Mississippi lawyers declared war on Big Tobacco and skillfully pursued a daring new litigation strategy that ultimately brought the industry to the negotiating table. For forty years tobacco companies had won every lawsuit brought against them and never paid out a dime. In 1997 that all changed. The industry agreed to a historic deal to pay $368 billion in health-related damages, tear down billboards and retire Joe Camel.

Moore’s groundbreaking, ingeniously creative way of slaying the tobacco industry dragon is EXACTLY the experience, track record, and skill set we need in the U.S. Senate. This is particularly true for those of us living in South Mississippi, which will continue to be in dire economic straights until we slay the insurance industry dragon.

Moore’s legacy is his strong history of dragon slaying. Appealing to voters in this way generates excitement, a key ingredient to any successful campaign and most especially in a special election!

Slaying the Insurance Dragon: Central to Katrina Recovery
Whoever is elected to fill the seat of outgoing Senator Lott will be a rookie in terms of knowing the intricate ins and outs of the Senate. This is a given. South Mississippians, however, must have in that position someone who walks into office already fluent in insurance reform on his very first day.

Of all the people considering a run for this office, Moore can most easily take up the mantle of pushing for insurance reform in the U.S. Senate. Again using his creative legal mind to thwart the greed of insurance companies, Mike Moore has already been defending the rights of South Mississippi families against these greedy gutted corporate insurance goons who have betrayed and abandoned these Americans.

With that perpetual fire in his belly, Moore knows intimately that insurance reform is central to a full and vibrant Katrina recovery. With Moore in the U.S. Senate, Congressman Gene Taylor will have from the get-go a strong partner in the U.S. Senate where the multiple peril insurance legislation now awaits action.

Katrina Recovery Resonates Personally
With Trent Lott bowing out of office, South Mississippi needs a strong advocate in the U.S. Senate who is already fluent in the ravages of the insurance industry as well as FEMA’s insanity. Moore—like Lott himself—is from Pascagoula, Miss., which is located on the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast. Just as Katrina recovery is a moral and personal issue for me, so it is with Mike Moore.

Santa, Mike Moore can win this. With U.S. Senator Mike Moore, South Mississippi wins. That is the reason for my letter. I look around and see the hardship that the greedy gutted insurance goons have imposed. With Lott no longer in the U.S. Senate, the best present under the tree for South Mississippians as a whole would be fielding Mike Moore as a candidate.

As a token of my appreciation for granting my wish with a Mike Moore Campaign, sweet Santa, I promise that I will bake you those delicious mouth-watering cocoon cookies you like . . . and the cook pralines with lots of pecans and whip up a batch of my divine praline fudge!!

On behalf of South Mississippi families, including my own . . .

Thank you!

© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Note to Commenter: Stop Drinking the Karl Rove Kool-Aid

2007-12-13T00:47:00.000-06:00

by Ana Maria

A recent commenter expressed concern that I have taken a bit of a break recently. How sweet!

Ana maria [sic] - an absence of posts for the past week...could it be that you've been given a glimpse behind the curtain of all your heroes. Or as Scruggs blogosphere mouthpiece could the knight in tarnished armor have asked you to put a sock in it?

Not to worry. I have made up for it with today's postings including a letter to Santa that I penned.

See, my first responsibility it to my elderly mother. Family values in action and all that.

We're closing in on completing the renovations to my mother's home which had been substantially damaged during Katrina over two years ago.

Of course, there was Thanksgiving, and I did all the cooking. Boy oh boy was that a delicious mouth-watering feast! However, it paled in comparison to the spread of food I cooked up for the surprise birthday party that I threw for my mom's 85th!! What was particularly delightful is that it all happened right under her nose, and she didn't have a clue until she walked into the living room with wall-to-wall friends who yelled "SURPRISE!" That was a HUGE success.

This week has been crazy with getting the kitchen boxed up for the local family-owned and operated company that is installing a brand new kitchen for my mother. Then, my 94-year old aunt passed away, and I attended the funeral in New Orleans, which is an hour west of here.

In between all of that, well, I have other things that life calls me to do or that I simply want to do. Entertaining and educational though I know my blog is, it being the holidays and with all the family responsibilities that I joyfully carry out, blogging hasn't been my top priority.

However, since I realize that my neo-conservative, right wing, Rush Limbaugh kool-aid drinking readers may be seeking redemption via my blog, perhaps I'll figure out a way to help save you from the abyss of ignorance.

I love that you think that I'm important enough that the esteemed Mr. Scruggs reads my blog. I am aware that some in his firm do, but as for him, I don't know. He's not my target audience, though I'm sure that A.M. in the Morning! has provided a great service assisting more people to become well aware of the great work he, his firm, and many other trial lawyers have conducted on behalf of American families whom the greedy gutted corporate goons have betrayed and abandoned.

As for anyone dictating to me anything that I would follow, that is surely comical for you to even entertain the thought! As my very wonderful--though right wing, kool-aid drinking--boss in the mid-90's told me, no one is my boss. As in EVER. ;) Independent minded. Think for myself. Articulate.

I understand that my very petite self can be rather intimidating intimidates for guys like yourself who can't conceive of a world in which people--especially of the female variety--think for themselves.

Take my advice, darlin', and stop drinking the Karl Rove kool-aid. Drink some Southern sweet tea instead.

Oh, Al Trimble (the commenter), your comical comments do amuse me endlessly.

© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Taylor Features Insurance Reform on Campaign Website

2007-12-13T00:32:00.000-06:00

Congressman Gene Taylor (D-MS) has recently launched his re-election campaign website, an interactive website that includes an entire section devoted to Insurance Reform.

It’s one-stop shopping for anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of the importance of and issues involved with insurance reform, particularly as it pertains to the recovery of the Katrina-ravaged region as well as states up the eastern and along the western coast.

Back in August, Congressman Gene Taylor (D-MS) held an Insurance Reform Town Hall Meeting in his (and my) hometown of Bay St. Louis, Miss., one of three tiny beach towns that comprise Katrina's ground zero. Nine other congressional leaders—including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC)—attended the standing room only event. Taylor's site includes six video excerpts from the standing room only meeting.

One video features Taylor explaining in everyday language the controversial "concurrent causation" clause that is buried in homeowner policies, the clause that insurance companies have used to deny homeowners' claims for wind-related damages to their properties. The five remaining video excerpts cover the "panelists [who] regaled the congressional delegation and audience with one after another nightmare of dealing with Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath."

The site also features another set of four videos excerpts from Taylor's interview with Kevin Davis, a two-part documentary titled "Katrina Revisited: In Their Own Words," part of which aired on KEYT-TV, an ABC affiliate in Santa Barbara, California. Taylor discusses what prompted him to propose the Multiple Peril Insurance legislation and how American families and businesses benefit greatly from having one policy, one premium, one adjuster for flood and wind damage to property.

Taylor discusses what prompted him to propose the Multiple Peril Insurance legislation and how American families and businesses benefit greatly from having one policy, one premium, one adjuster for flood and wind damage to property.

Taylor's re-election website provides plenty of news articles and editorials. Lastly, the site explains in easy-to-understand language critical components to the insurance reform discussion.

The website address is easy to remember: www.CongressmanGeneTaylor.com.

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DOJ Confused: Is Rape Really a Crime?

2007-12-12T22:34:00.000-06:00

Another angle of the contractor immunity phenomenon is exhibited in a report carried by ABC’s chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross this evening.

by Scott Horton
December 10, 2007

A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident. Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by multiple men at a KBR camp in the Green Zone, the company put her under guard in a shipping container with a bed and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.

“Don’t plan on working back in Iraq. There won’t be a position here, and there won’t be a position in Houston,” Jones says she was told.

Sounds like a serious crime to me. Or rather, several: Assault. Rape. False imprisonment. All crimes which the DOJ is empowered to prosecute if they occur in Iraq and involve contractors. It’s the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, or MEJA.

But in the eyes of the Bush Justice Department, contractors functioning in Iraq have complete immunity for whatever crimes they choose to commit. The U.S. issued a decree preventing the Iraqis from prosecuting. And the Justice Department isn’t going to do a thing about them. As one assistant attorney general explained to me in the corridors of the Rayburn Building, “we simply don’t have the resources or time to deal with this sort of thing.”

Of course. When you dedicate 58 FBI agents (one of them recalled from Iraq just for that purpose) to a raid on a law office whose principals are under strong suspicion of raising money for Democratic presidential candidates and reimbursing staffers who make donations, then it only stands to reason that you have no resources to deal with the rape of a woman from Texas, or a group of Blackwater guards who needlessly murder 17 civilians at Nisoor Square. Or when you spend over $5 million on a bogus political prosecution of a Democratic governor, using evidence which is (as we will discover in the next two weeks) completely false. Or when you spend about $10 million on a series of trials in Mississippi which have the principal objective not of law enforcement, but of bankrupting the treasury of the Democratic Party. All of this shows what the priorities are: politics. Especially electoral politics. Dirty tricks designed to advance a G.O.P. electoral agenda. Murder, rape, assault? What is that by comparison? Unimportant. Trivial Stuff. Welcome to the Bush Justice Department.

Dan Abrams
This week MS-NBC’s “Live with Dan Abrams” is featuring a special series entitled “Bush League Justice.” The first installment featured the destruction of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. It will be hard to get through all of this in just five hours. On Thursday, Dan will come to focus on political prosecutions. The case of America’s most prominent political prisoner, Alabama’s former Governor Don E. Siegelman, will be examined in some depth—along with others. Make a point of checking in and learn what the Birmingham News doesn’t want you to know.

Javert Returns to Centerstage
Siegelman prosecutor Louis V. Franklin is back in the center of another politically charged case. Sources in the Montgomery U.S. Attorney’s Office state that Leura Canary has put her most trusted political prosecutor in charge of a grand jury proceeding that Canary launched. The target is apparently an insurance executive who raised corruption allegations targeting two of Mrs. Canary’s husband’s clients. Apparently making accusations against clients of the Canary household is a crime down in Montgomery.

Incestuous Prosecutions in Alabama
Raw Story’s Larisa Alexandrovna discusses the Siegelman case on Ring of Fire. She starts her account with how Siegelman was defeated in 2002, and the key role played by Alabama Attorney General William Pryor in blocking the counting of the votes in Baldwin County, so that Pryor’s friend and Bill Canary’s client, Bob Riley, could be declared victor by a 3,000 vote margin that statisticians call “not improbable but impossible.” Larisa goes on to describe the key role played in the corrupt prosecution of Siegelman by Karl Rove, Rove’s close friend, Bill Canary, and Canary’s wife, Leura, the U.S. Attorney who brought the case against Siegelman. It’s all a case of acute political incest, says Alexandrovna. Read the transcript here.

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Flood zone expands under FEMA maps

2007-12-05T06:52:00.000-06:00

By MARY PEREZ
December 5, 2007

TIM ISBELL/SUN HERALD
Proposed FEMA maps sit in front of Biloxi Mayor A. J. Holloway Tuesday at Biloxi City Hall. Council members didn't look at the maps since they felt there had not been good communication to explain what FEMA was proposing.

BILOXI -- Flood insurance rates on homes damaged more than 50 percent during Hurricane Katrina could skyrocket, or the homes will have to be elevated, once the new flood elevations are adopted by the Biloxi City Council.

Biloxi Community Development Director Jerry Creel said the flood zone has expanded considerably under the new FEMA maps and some areas that were outside the flood zone before Katrina now may be included, especially along Biloxi waterways. Homes that didn't meet the 1984 flood map elevations before the storm lost their grandfather status when they were damaged more than 50 percent by Katrina. The homes repaired without being elevated to the 1984 standards will now have to be raised.

Creel said he doesn't know how many homes that might be. Homes damaged less than 50 percent don't have to be elevated. Those whose homes in the flood zone were damaged more than 50 percent will need to elevate their house, or, Creel said, "When they go to apply for flood insurance they're going to be surprised." They could face flood insurance premiums of more than $6,000 a year.

Already one man came into his office with problems due to the new flood elevations. His home was repaired without a permit by volunteers while he waited to be approved for an MDA grant. The man was notified that he was eligible for a grant, but Creel said because his home wasn't raised to the Advisory Base Flood Elevations as required by the Mississippi Development Authority, his grant may have to be modified to include elevation funding "even though it's already been completely repaired." Grants of up to $30,000, which FEMA estimates it would cost to raise a home, won't be available until the city adopts the new flood elevations within the next year.

The council met Tuesday with representatives of FEMA but Councilman Bill Stallworth later said, "We learned absolutely nothing from that meeting we had today." Several councilmen asked for individual copies of the new flood elevation maps, which would cost the city $5,000 to print. Links to the maps are on the city Web site, although the files are very large and take several minutes to download.

FEMA Acting National Flood Insurance Program Supervisor Timothy Russo said the new flood elevations are generally 2 to 4 feet lower than the FEMA Advisory Base Flood Elevations created after Katrina. He thought the new elevations could be used immediately, but City Attorney Michael Collins asked him to provide the city with a specific legal opinion.

Creel said it's very important to know what elevations can be used because "every foot you go higher adds significantly to your construction cost." He suggested those building or remodeling a home check with Community Development first for exact regulations to save money.

Stallworth, who coordinates the volunteer efforts at the East Biloxi Coordination Center, knew some homes might later have to be elevated, but said they were concerned with getting people back in their homes quickly. He believes only a few of the more than 600 houses that were repaired will need to be raised.

The council asked Russo if the Dec. 12 public meeting for Harrison County can be postponed to give them time to study the maps or if additional meetings can be scheduled in East Biloxi, where most of the damage occurred, and in Woolmarket. Russo said all officials in Harrison County can meet with first federal and state officials Dec. 12 from 9 a.m. until the public open house begins at noon.

If you go

Coast residents can see the new preliminary flood maps and speak to officials at open house meetings from noon to 8 p.m.:

Dec. 11: Hancock County, Our Lady of the Gulf Parish Community Center, 228 S. Beach Blvd., Bay St. Louis.

Dec. 12: Harrison County, Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum, 2350 Beach Blvd., Biloxi.

Dec. 13: Jackson County, Jackson County Civic Center, 2902 Shortcut Road, Pascagoula.

Maps are available online at geology.deq.ms.gov/floodmaps. For information, call 866-816-2804 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

- MEMA

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A Razor-Sharp Focus Trumps Uncertainty

2007-12-05T06:40:00.001-06:00

By JERÉ LONGMAN
December 5, 2007

Paxton for The New York Times
South Plaquemines players in their makeshift dressing room, a double-wide trailer used only on game days. The school’s gym was flooded above the rims during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

PORT SULPHUR, La., Dec. 4 — The smell of gasoline fills the ruined gym each evening as a generator sputters to life. A string of bulbs provides thin lighting above the weight-lifting equipment that sits on a warped and abandoned basketball court. A makeshift dressing area for the South Plaquemines High football team spreads beneath one backboard, where floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina rose above the rim, 10 feet off the floor.

Sometimes on Sundays, when football practice starts late, the players do not wait for the rumble of the generator. Stepping carefully, they find their lockers with the glow of cellphones.

“They chased a raccoon out of here once,” Sal Cepriano, a senior lineman, said.

No one is complaining about the inconvenience and the occasional wandering critter. There will be plenty of bright lights and varmint-free locker space Saturday when South Plaquemines (12-2) plays for a Class 1A state championship in the Superdome, 45 miles north in New Orleans, completing a remarkable season of perseverance and indomitable spirit.

Paxton for The New York Times
Coach Cyril Crutchfield celebrating after the Hurricanes’ 56-6 semifinal win last Friday.

Little has returned to normal in the two and a half years since Katrina destroyed the tiny fishing, oil and citrus villages of Port Sulphur, Buras, Boothville and Venice in lower Plaquemines Parish, where the Mississippi River runs to the Gulf of Mexico. Football has provided an important symbol of resilience and renewal along the southern end of this vital but isolated and vulnerable peninsula.

“Football is the only thing that will bring this community together; there’s nothing else here,” said Corey Buie, an assistant coach and the recreation director of Plaquemines Parish.

South Plaquemines, a consolidated school formed in 2006, plays football among Louisiana’s smallest high schools. It is located in temporary buildings on the wrecked campus of Port Sulphur High. Devastation from the storm has been reshaped into defiance. The team is called the Hurricanes, and campus walkways are named Hurricane Alley, Katrina Way and Rita Way.

A year ago, the Hurricanes made the playoffs despite traveling 60 miles round trip to practice and lacking a locker room, a home field and even a school cafeteria for much of the season. This season brought higher expectations, and South Plaquemines responded with Louisiana’s most prolific quarterback, its leading receiver and one of its most resourceful running backs.

Two hurricane seasons have come and gone quietly since Katrina brought its 28-foot storm surge. Perhaps half of the 3,000 prestorm residents and most of the small businesses have returned to Port Sulphur: the doughnut shop and the dollar stores, and Delta Drugs and the Cajun Kitchen. But this has been a double-wide recovery, almost everything in trailers or modular buildings, lending a feel of impermanence and uncertainty.

A third of the team’s 38 players began the season still living in FEMA trailers. Mike Barthelemy, a freshman linebacker, sleeps on an air mattress as his family awaits its rebuilding grant from the state. Shane Dinette, a senior running back, commutes about 50 miles each way from the New Orleans suburb of Harvey, rather than live in a trailer behind his mother’s restaurant, five minutes from school.

“Too depressing,” he said.

Many nights after practice, Coach Cyril Crutchfield spends an hour on his school bus route, driving south to drop players in Buras and Boothville. The parish plans to relocate South Plaquemines High in Buras, but there is no school there now and little sign of recovery. Only the front steps remain to the home of Cantrell Riley, the state’s leading receiver

The Buras fire station has no walls. The Delta Food Mart resembles a movie set with its skeletal facade. Curtains sway through blown-out windows of the library. Sixteen coffins remain unidentified at Our Lady of Good Harbor cemetery. They rest in cement vaults, strapped to the ground so they will not float away again in another storm.

Highway 23 is the only road in and out of lower Plaquemines. The Mississippi flows behind one levee, and the gulf behind another. Katrina’s wrath is evident in the telephone poles that lean as if exhausted and in the arthritic trees shorn of leaves and branches.

Every day, Crutchfield, who won a Class 1A state title at Port Sulphur High in 2002, sees the punch-drunk homes and staggered buildings and driveways that lead to nothing but cement slabs. This is why he feels such urgency to win Saturday against West St. John High, whose coach, Laury Dupont, is seeking to retire with a fourth championship.

“Tomorrow is not guaranteed,” Crutchfield told his players. “We don’t know what will happen when the Gulf water turns warm and the wind starts to blow.”

South Plaquemines has played ferociously, losing only to schools with four times its enrollment of about 190 students. The Hurricanes, who use a spread offense and an attacking defense, scored 60 points in the first quarter of their opening playoff game. Only once in their last 10 games have they scored fewer than 54 points.

Ridge Turner, a junior quarterback, has set a state single-season record with 5,240 combined passing and rushing yards and has accounted for 64 touchdowns. This is more yardage than Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning or any other Louisiana high school quarterback produced in a season, and all of it was inadvertent.

Until Katrina struck, Turner was a defensive back at Port Sulphur High. He became a quarterback only when the storm-tossed Randall Mackey moved 300 miles north to Bastrop, where he will play for a third consecutive Class 4A state championship Saturday (the first was revoked when Mackey was deemed to have been illegally recruited).

Paxton for The New York Times
Lyle Fitte has scored 46 touchdowns. His brothers, Beau and Evan, are also on the team.

The fact that Turner is playing at all is something of long shot. From age 6, he was reared by an aunt, Elouise Turner, as his mother battled drug addiction. Until then, Ridge said, he was sometimes left alone at night with his dog, Sandy, and by age 4 or 5 he learned to fry shrimp so that he would have something to fill his stomach.

“His aunt is a saint; she saved Ridge,” said Wayne Williamson, a sheriff’s deputy whose son, Wayne Jr., is a defensive back. “There’s no telling where he would be.”

Last season, Elouise Turner told Ridge he could no longer play football after he brought home a failing grade on a report card. She reconsidered, she said, because, “we already lost our home.”

“Losing football would be losing everything,” she said.

Turner’s grades have improved, as has his ability to read defenses. His favorite receiver is Riley, a whippet-thin senior who was born with a left leg so bowed that the tibia had to be broken and reset. Some of his teammates call him Crazy Legs.

On Oct. 19, Riley’s season appeared to be in jeopardy when he injured his right knee while returning a kickoff. An orthopedist examined him on the sideline and told Riley that he had a torn ligament and should remain inactive for four to six weeks.

Riley stalked away, got a second opinion, bought a knee brace at a sporting goods store and kept playing. He finished the regular season with 57 receptions for 1,098 yards — both first in the state. Then, as the playoffs began, he considered quitting the team.

Although three wrecked schools are now combined at South Plaquemines, rivalries persist at some level. Riley felt that players from Port Sulphur received too much praise, while those from Buras and Boothville were too often criticized or ignored.

He and his mother spoke with Crutchfield, and the tension was defused. Also a cornerback, Riley has intercepted 10 passes in four playoff games. In a 56-6 semifinal victory last Friday, he caught two touchdown passes and made three interceptions. Afterward, Jeanitta Ancar, whose son Jordan is an offensive tackle, hugged Riley and said, “We love you no matter where you’re from.”

Surely, the Hurricanes would not have reached the championship game without the Fitte brothers, who returned here last spring after attending schools in Belle Chasse in northern Plaquemines Parish. Lyle Fitte, a junior running back, has scored 46 touchdowns on rushes, receptions and kick returns. Beau Fitte is an all-league freshman defensive end. Evan Fitte, also a freshman, is a starting receiver.

“My mother didn’t want to come back at first,” Lyle Fitte said. “She thought the storms would get worse. But I wanted to bring my family together.”

Lyle has lived in a trailer on his grandparents’ property, rising early several mornings a week to run sprints up the Mississippi River levee just beyond his door. Finally, last week, Habitat for Humanity presented the keys to his mother’s new home here.

“You can move around down here,” Beau Fitte said. “Ride your four-wheeler, go hunting in the backyard. Maybe if we win the state championship, more people will come back.”

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Officials urge Congress to revise disaster-aid law

2007-12-04T09:09:00.000-06:00

12/4/2007
The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The federal disaster-aid law largely ignores communities that harbor disaster evacuees, officials from cities and towns in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas told U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu during a committee hearing.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses host communities for short-term sheltering and other basic assistance for evacuees. But it pays little to nothing for less quantifiable long-term impacts such as strains on transportation infrastructure and social services, participants said.

Mayor Kip Holden of Baton Rouge said federal red tape made it difficult for the city to absorb and help the estimated 250,000 people who fled Hurricane Katrina and took refuge in his city.

"While the impact on our communities was not the devastation our neighbors to the south suffered, our own resources were nevertheless strained and our lives impacted in ways that had never been experienced in history," he said during Monday's hearing.

Holden and local officials from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi suggested a number of changes to federal law to help host communities better handle disaster evacuees.

The testimony, at the Old State Capitol, came as Congress considers overhauling the much-maligned Stafford Act, which covers the federal government's response to disasters.

Landrieu, who presided over the U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing, said the Stafford Act is unsuited to deal with a massive Katrina-like migration.

She was the lone senator at Monday's meeting of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which is looking into the Stafford Act.

Holden said federal regulations need to be tweaked to allow for a quick transfer of funds to host communities to house and provide medical care to evacuees.

Recovery funding should take into account the financial toll caused by population shifts not just damage, he said. And population counts must be faster and more accurate, he said, to ensure the financial effects on a host community are understood

Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach, Madison, Miss., Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler and Robert Eckels, a former county judge for Harris County, Texas, who was the top emergency official in the Houston area during Katrina, also took part in the hearing.

Eckels said Harris County was not reimbursed for security at the Astrodome, which processed an estimated 65,000 Katrina evacuees, because it did not hire private security officers. FEMA would not reimburse the county for the overtime it paid local law enforcement officers who patrolled the dome.

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Louisiana finds a friend in South Carolina

2007-12-04T07:14:00.000-06:00

Lawmaker moved by images of loss in Katrina aftermath
Monday, December 03, 2007
By Bill Walsh

WASHINGTON -- Legendary House Speaker Tip O'Neill's axiom that "all politics is local" seems to have been lost on Rep. James Clyburn.

Clyburn's South Carolina congressional district was spared the disastrous hurricane season of 2005, but the storms stirred the veteran Democratic lawmaker into taking the lead in helping the battered Gulf Coast, where he doesn't get a single vote and whose residents tend to elect Republicans anyway.

Since Democrats seized the House majority in January, Clyburn, the No.3 member of the House leadership, has shepherded more than a dozen hurricane-recovery bills to passage, made it a personal mission to waive the local match required for getting federal rebuilding dollars and, most recently, helped secure $3 billion to cover a shortfall in Louisiana's Road Home housing program.

Why would a guy from rural South Carolina invest so much time and energy on resurrecting the Gulf Coast?

For one thing, Clyburn knows hurricanes. He also has more than a passing acquaintance with devastating personal loss and the redemptive power of giving. And he was quick to recognize the political force of Hurricane Katrina as a commentary on what many saw as the Bush administration's incompetence and, Clyburn has said, latent racism, an insight that may even have impressed a wizened old pro like Tip O'Neill.

Like many Americans, Clyburn watched the flooding of New Orleans in real time on television. The image that has remained with him was of a man, dazed and walking in circles after making the awful choice of saving his kids over his wife as the floodwaters rose around his home.

"I just lost it," Clyburn, 67, said in a recent interview, his baritone voice a notch above a whisper. "What kind of a choice was that to make? It was transforming to me."

The horror he had seen unfolding on television rekindled some deeply personal memories.

Brushes with hurricanes

Clyburn was a teenager in 1954 when Category 4 Hurricane Hazel swept in off the Atlantic, killing more than 1,000 people and clawing its way across the Carolinas. He remembers most vividly the big oak tree felled in the winds that barely missed his home.

"I can never get that out of my mind," he said.

Thirty-five years later, Hurricane Hugo, which having caused $7 billion in damage was then the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history, battered his house in Charleston and left an indelible aural impression.

"That night was the worst sound I have ever heard in my life," Clyburn said. "It was like a locomotive going through. You are lying in bed just waiting for the roof to cave in."

Hugo's aftermath plunged Clyburn into a confusing and frustrating world of insurance adjusters and housing contractors that gave him a sense of what was to come for the hundreds of thousands of residents in Louisiana and Mississippi whose homes were flooded or blown away in the storms.

His personal brushes with hurricanes helped him empathize with the fears and frustrations of those along the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But it was a fire that helped him understand the loss.

When he was 12, he said, his boyhood home burned to the ground. He and his family escaped with only the clothes they were wearing. Everything else was lost. As he stood in the street clad only in his underwear, a neighbor approached him and gave him a jacket.

"I know what it means to lose everything," he said.

Clyburn pressed the issue

As head of the Katrina Task Force, Clyburn organized trips to the Gulf Coast for members of Congress to commemorate the first and second anniversaries of the storm. He scheduled meetings with dozens of local officials and their suggestions formed the basis of legislation he then pushed through the House.

In January, he hired Aranthan "A.J." Jones, the former chief of staff to Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, who knows the disaster zone well.

"I can't say enough for how much Jim Clyburn has done," said Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville. "He never looks back. He never gives us excuses."

Clyburn was particularly intent on waiving the 10 percent share that local communities were expected to pay under the Stafford Act as their share of disaster recovery. President Bush had reduced the share from 25 percent to 10 percent and fronted Gulf Coast states the money to pay. But he stubbornly refused to go further.

At meeting after meeting at the White House between the president and congressional leaders, Clyburn just as stubbornly continued to press the issue. Fellow lawmakers dubbed him "Congressman Stafford" for his single-mindedness.

Clyburn saw Bush's refusal to waive the Stafford Act partly in racial terms. He said the requirement had been lifted after the Sept. 11 attacks and after Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Iniki, which hit Hawaii. Why was this president digging in his heels on this disaster, the costliest in U.S. history?

Clyburn provided his own answer in a commencement speech in May to graduates at Southern University in Baton Rouge. It was because so many of the victims of Katrina were black, he said.

"I truly believe that if the demographics of the affected areas were different, the response of the federal government would have been different," said Clyburn, who was elected in 1992 as the first black congressman from South Carolina since Reconstruction.

As the chief vote-counter for Democrats in the House, Clyburn has a well-tuned political radar. He was quick to recognize that the Bush administration's flubbed response to Katrina could work as a potent political issue in the 2006 midterm elections.

Job isn't seen as done

The president has frequently touted the more than $100 billion in federal aid sent to the Gulf Coast and has promised to rebuild the region. But in weeks leading up to the elections, polls showed that Americans believed Bush hadn't done enough, and Clyburn said the discontent, along with anger over the war in Iraq, were the twin engines that propelled Democrats into power on Capitol Hill.

But not everyone on the Gulf Coast was convinced that the Democratic takeover would mean change.

Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, said Democrats likewise focused their attention on Hurricane Katrina while downplaying the significance of Hurricane Rita in southwest Louisiana, which he represents. Boustany conceded that the Democrats passed recovery bills that helped all parts of the state, but he was miffed that they left his district off their itinerary when they visited the Gulf Coast in August.

Melancon, a loyal Democrat, openly questioned his party's commitment to hurricane recovery in February. A day later he was summoned before what Clyburn described as a "very disturbed" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Melancon insisted that the leadership had promised to take up Katrina-recovery legislation in the first 100 hours of the new Congress and had reneged. He pointed to a newspaper story from August 2006, which quoted Clyburn saying as much.

The next day, Clyburn filed legislation to waive the 10 percent Stafford Act match and called a meeting of key committee chairs to expedite hurricane-recovery legislation.

"I think he was wrong on the substance. We were doing a lot already," Clyburn said. "But I understood his frustration."

Since then, the House has churned out hurricane-recovery legislation at a dizzying pace. It's been so rapid, in fact, that this summer much of it got jammed up in the Senate whose arcane rules sometimes seem to encourage delays.

More than two years after the fact, Clyburn doesn't see the job as done. He wants Congress to approve the tens of billions of dollars that would be necessary to create Category 5 hurricane protection in south Louisiana.

He has no illusions that the region will suddenly swing into the Democratic fold. For Clyburn, it is more complicated than that.

Shortly after Katrina, he recalls spotting Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., on the House floor. Taylor's home had been destroyed, and Clyburn wanted to do something to show how much he cared. He remembered as a youth standing in the street after his house burned down. He bought Taylor a jacket and handed it to him.

"He said, 'That's OK, I don't need a jacket,' " Clyburn said Taylor told him. "I said, 'It's not for you, it's for me.' "

Bill Walsh can be reached at bill.walsh@newhouse.com or (202) 383-7817.

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Urgent Message from Levees.Org

2007-12-03T07:05:00.000-06:00

December 3, 2007

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has convened a special committee to examine allegations that their administration helped the US Army Corps of Engineers cover up the Corps' mistakes in the New Orleans flooding.

These serious allegations are about public safety in New Orleans and nationwide.

Click here and demand a speedy investigation and the results be made public!

It does not serve the American people to keep issues of public safety and government policy behind closed doors.

Click to add your signature to a letter to the ASCE president.

Thank you!
Sandy Rosenthal
Executive Director, Levees.Org
www.levees.org

Want to do more? You can direct any engineers you know to this website, www.CivilizingEngineers.org and ask them to sign on or take the poll.

P.S. Two years ago today on this very day, we launched our website www.levees.org. Since then we have hosted 133,827 unique visitors!

________
Here's why you should sign.....

Dr. Ray Seed recently submitted an ethics complaint to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) detaling an early intentional plan by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Dept of Defense to:

1. sabotage the independent investigations by U of Cal Berkeley and LSU;
2. intimidate those who tried to intervene;
3. limit the scope of the official Corps-sponsored levee investigation; and
4. delay the release of its findings until the public's attention had turned elsewhere.

All of this was done with the help and the complicity of some in the ASCE. Dr. Seed, a well known and highly credible source, has risked his career to come forward with no expectation of personal gain.

An editorial in the New Orleans Times-Picayune calls these charges "deeply troubling" and says they "deserve serious attention."

You can download a copy of Dr. Seed's 42-page letter by clicking here.

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UNHEALTHY SITUATION

2007-12-03T06:10:00.000-06:00

Popular free health clinic in eastern N.O. will close, but the city plans to step in to close the health care gap
Sunday, December 02, 2007
By Kate Moran

Nurse practitioner Dorothy Davison used to believe the level of health care available almost anywhere in the United States far outstrips what patients can find in the Third World countries where she has done relief work.

Then she came to post-Katrina New Orleans.

At the free clinic Davison and her husband, a physician, run in eastern New Orleans, they have encountered diseases run amok: astronomical blood sugar levels among diabetics, an advanced case of cancer that had eaten away at a woman's breast. The situation is blamed on the scarcity of health care in one of the most devastated parts of the city.

The clinic has been a lifeline to residents in the east, but Davison has had to tell their "distraught" patients that it will close in less than a month.

Operation Blessing, the charity that launched the clinic after Katrina and raised thousands of dollars to support its operations, has exhausted the stash of private donations that came pouring in after the storm.

Operation Blessing began its Katrina relief efforts by shipping medications to Louis Armstrong International Airport, which was converted into a medical triage center just days after the storm.

The free clinic in the east opened in April 2006, and since that time it has helped almost 35,000 patients and dispensed more than 83,000 free medications.

"Since we have been there, we have found it has been like an oasis of healing in a sea of suffering," said Bill Horan, president of Operation Blessing International. "It has been a great honor to serve the people of New Orleans. We wish we could do it forever, but we simply can't."

The closing threatened to strand thousands of uninsured patients in eastern New Orleans without health care in their neighborhood, but the city Health Department -- aware for some time that the clinic would close -- has made provisions to turn an obstetrics clinic on Read Boulevard into a full-service primary care office by January.

Horan said Operation Blessing is also talking with a partner that could take over the clinic's assets and continue to serve patients in the east after the medical office and pharmacy close Dec. 21. He declined to name the partner for fear of jeopardizing negotiations.

Davison and her husband, Dr. Dale Betterton, have run the clinic with the help of doctors from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, who come to New Orleans one week a month to volunteer their services.

Davison and Betterton accept no money for their work, and they lived out of a trailer in Slidell for much of the time they have worked here. They now live in a house in Slidell paid for by Operation Blessing.

The couple met on a volunteer mission to the Dominican Republic after a hurricane, and they both took early retirement to dedicate themselves to international relief missions.

Shocking conditions

Davison said she never expected to work within the United States, but she has encountered runaway chronic disease and other conditions here that testify to widespread difficulty finding health care since the storm.

Just last month, two patients came to the clinic with lesions covering their bodies. Davison diagnosed them as having full-blown cases of AIDS. Patients often find out they are HIV-positive before the virus progresses into AIDS, but these patients had never been tested.

"You usually don't see that in this country," she said.

Davison said the patients she treats are often "newly made poor" -- former members of the middle class who had a house, a steady job and health insurance before Katrina. They "did everything right" but suddenly found themselves on the underside of fate, she said.

When she has referred them to the state's Charity hospitals for specialty care, she said, some of her patients have experienced the indignities of being shuffled through an overcrowded system for the first time. An uninsured patient with prostate cancer she saw in October 2006 could not get an appointment with a urologist in the Charity Hospital System until the following April.

Davison has found herself on the phone many times advocating for patients who have no insurance and no place to turn for specialized care that the clinic cannot provide.

When the patient with the corroded breast went to an emergency room but was not admitted to the hospital because she had no insurance, Davison said she called Tulane Medical Center and had the chief executive on the phone "in five minutes."

"Besides being medical workers, we've been case workers," she said.

A far ride

The Operation Blessing clinic provides all types of primary care services, plus dental care, foot care for diabetics, Pap smears and other gynecological care, HIV testing and a pharmacy.

Demand is so great that new patients must show up at 6 a.m. to check in with a security guard and sign up for an appointment later in the day.

"At first, there was hardly anybody here. Once people started hearing about it, it's been packed," said Gilda Faciane, an eastern New Orleans resident who first went to the clinic for an infection and found out she had diabetes. She now goes for regular check-ups.

When the clinic closes in three weeks, patients such as Faciane say they will have to travel considerable distances to find free or low-cost health care. A few primary care practices have returned to the east, but Operation Blessing was the main clinic that catered to the uninsured.

Faciane already drives her father-in-law to Jefferson Parish three times a week for kidney care, which is not available in their neighborhood. She does not know where she will turn for her own health needs once the Operation Blessing clinic closes, but she expects it will involve another bothersome car trip.

"They provide a service for people who have no place else to go," Faciane said. "Whether they know it or not, we all appreciate it."

The clinic that the Health Department plans to open will be just down the block from the beehive of trailers where Operation Blessing's medical offices are based. Dr. Kevin Stephens, the department's director, said the city clinic will not be free but will charge a fee based on a patient's income.

"The city has stepped up to the plate to get services to the people in New Orleans East, because we know they need it," Stephens said. "We're doing everything we can with limited resources."

. . . . . . .

Kate Moran can be reached at kmoran@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3491.

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Finish The Job: 14,000 in FEMA trailers on the Gulf

2007-12-03T06:06:00.001-06:00

by Daily Kos' Commonscribe, a volunteer who regularly returns to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to invest his talent, time, and sweat in rebuilding. Original posting here on December 2, 2007.

With federal relief money still bottlenecked in the system and 14,000 residents displaced by Katrina about to go through their third winter in FEMA trailers or tents, the housing charities of Mississippi are trying to raise $300 million dollars to Finish The Job of getting these people back into permanent housing.

It's been diaried elsewhere how insurance settlements have been low-balled or stalled in ongoing litigation.

It's been diaried elsewhere how state politics and bureaucratic red tape have kept federal relief funds from reaching the residents of the gulf coast.

It's been diaried elsewhere on the long term health risks the FEMA travel trailers pose, and how they were never designed to be occupied for years on end.

What's not well-known is that many of the charities that have organized, financed and carried out the bulk of the rebuilding over the past two years are now running out of money.

A new 501(c)3 is trying to raise one dollar per American to provide the funds for these organizations to continue their work.

You can watch their videohere.
You can make a contribution online here.

Give what you can, or better yet, go yourself. I'll be in Bay Saint Louis the week after Christmas with a group of 30; come by and say hey.

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Brad Pitt Commissions Designs for New Orleans

2007-12-03T05:46:00.000-06:00

By ROBIN POGREBIN

Published: December 3, 2007

Concordia's idea for the devastated Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans includes a house with wide steps where neighbors can gather.

Thom Mayne of Morphosis in Los Angeles designed a house that would float if the city floods. James Timberlake of KieranTimberlake Associates in Philadelphia created a house with native vines climbing up the side walls to provide shade and coolness. Steven B. Bingler of Concordia in New Orleans envisioned a house with wide front steps ideal for a traditional crawfish boil.

Those are three of the designs by 13 architecture firms commissioned by the actor Brad Pitt to help rebuild New Orleans’s impoverished Lower Ninth Ward, one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

James Timberlake added cooling vines climbing up the side of his building.

The project, called Make It Right, calls for building 150 affordable, environmentally sound houses over the next two years. In a telephone interview from New Orleans, where he plans to present the designs today, Mr. Pitt said the residents of the neighborhood had been homeless long enough. “They’re coming up on their third Christmas,” he said.

Mr. Pitt said he had been attached to New Orleans for more than a decade. “I’ve always had a fondness for this place — it’s like no other,” he said. “Seeing the frustration firsthand made me want to return the kindness this city has shown me.”

Rather than bemoan the slow pace of redevelopment in the Ninth Ward, Mr. Pitt said he decided to address the problem directly by teaming with William McDonough, the green design expert; Graft, a Los Angeles architecture firm; and Cherokee, an investment firm based in Raleigh, N.C., that specializes in sustainable redevelopment. John Williams of New Orleans is the executive architect for the project.

“If you have this blank slate and this great technology out there, what better test than low-income housing?” Mr. Pitt said. “It’s got to work at all levels to really be viable.”

When Make It Right was announced at the meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in September, Mr. Pitt pledged to match $5 million in contributions to the project, as did Steve Bing, the philanthropist. Nine other firms — all of whom donated their services — are involved, including Adjaye Associates; Billes Architecture; BNIM Architects; Constructs; Eskew & Dumez & Ripple; MVRDV; Pugh and Scarpa Architecture; Shigeru Ban Architects; and Trahan Architects. “We wanted to have a mixture of voices,” Mr. Pitt said.

Beyond serving a public need, Mr. Pitt — who has a longstanding interest in architecture — was eager to see what the designers came up with. “I was most curious about advancing the discussion further,” he said. “That was certainly one of the benefits of this exercise. There is no other reason to call on these great minds if you’re just going to shackle them.”

The green building elements will reduce upkeep costs by at least 75 percent, Mr. Pitt said, and reduce some of the problems that devastated the Lower Ninth Ward during Katrina, when multiple levee breaks forced thousands of people from their homes.

The architects were each asked to design a 1,200-square-foot house for about $150,000, with Make It Right to help with the financing. The houses had to be built five to eight feet off the ground, with a front porch and three bedrooms.

Mr. Mayne of Morphosis opted for a lightweight concrete foundation anchored by two pylons, like a pier, which would buoy the house if floodwaters rise. “It’s a boat,” Mr. Mayne said.

“The population doesn’t want to live on stilts — and it’s expensive,” he added. “These are simple houses for low-income people.”

Mr. Bingler of Concordia said his design called for homes “that would respond to the culture of the Lower Ninth Ward.” He said residents had asked him for “a house where the baby can be sleeping in the back, the mama making red beans in the kitchen and the grandpa can be on the front porch entertaining neighbors.”

Mr. Pitt is asking foundations, corporations and individuals to contribute to the project by adopting one house, several houses or a portion of a house through the project Web site, makeitrightnola.org. “You can adopt a tankless water heater or a solar panel or a tree or a low-flush toilet,” Mr. Pitt said. “You can give it to someone for Christmas,” he said — instead of another sweater.

Responding to critics who question the wisdom of rebuilding at all in an area likely to get hit again, Mr. Pitt said: “My first answer to that is, talk to the people who’ve lived there and have raised their kids there. People are needing to get back in their homes.”

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Brad Pitt busy making it right in the Lower 9

2007-12-03T05:37:00.000-06:00

Posted by Michelle Krupa, staff writer, December 02, 2007

STAFF PHOTO BY MATTHEW HINTON
Actor Brad Pitt near the corner of North Roman and Deslonde in the Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans.

At the center of a buzzing construction zone in the heart of the worst-ravaged corner of the Lower 9th Ward, movie megastar Brad Pitt took a break Sunday afternoon to imagine the future.

Strewn around him a half-mile in every direction were hundreds of enormous pink blocks, 8-foot-high boxes and huge triangular wedges, representing the uprooted foundations and dislocated roofs that littered the area beside the Industrial Canal for months after Hurricane Katrina.

"Right now there are scattered blocks, like they were scattered by fate's hand, symbolic of the aftermath of the storm," Pitt said as crews installed more of the metal-and-tarp structures. "But we will be flipping the homes, essentially righting the wrong."

In his first extensive one-on-one interview since moving his family to New Orleans last year, Pitt shared with The Times-Picayune on Sunday details of this next phase of his $12 million "Make It Right" project: a vast public art display to be unveiled today as a fundraiser to expand the project beyond its initial goal of 150 homes, and possibly into other neighborhoods and parishes.

Pitt, 43, also spoke of his years-long love for New Orleans, which he thinks will thrive again despite the propensity of some public officials to let the city "die on the vine," and his hope that national leaders will use the ongoing disaster as an impetus to retool public policy with an eye toward the poor.

Katrina "illuminated the brutal truth that there's a portion of our society that we're not looking after, that we are marginalizing. And that shouldn't be," said Pitt, who watched the horrific televised images of the flooded city in 2005 from Calgary, Alberta, where he was filming the 2006 movie "The Assassination of Jesse James."

Green-friendly homes

Steering the conversation away from himself, Pitt focused on Make It Right's efforts to build affordable, environmentally friendly, storm-safe houses for residents of the Lower 9th Ward on the same lots where their old homes once stood. In announcing the project in September at a meeting of world leaders on global warming, Pitt and philanthropist Steve Bing pledged $5 million each to jump-start the project.

"This cannot be about me," he said Sunday from inside a trailer at the project site. "I am fortunate to have a big spotlight in my hand, and I can point it in a direction."

Today that place will be the section of the Lower 9th Ward best-known as the spot where a barge came to rest after floating through a fractured levee. Pitt is slated to lead news reporters on a tour around the area's conglomeration of pink art pieces, then to issue a public call to corporations, foundations and church organizations around the world to "adopt" the blocks, for $150,000 each, to support his project.

Donors also will be invited to make smaller gifts -- from $5 to $45,500 -- to sponsor the individual elements of the houses' eco-friendly designs, such as fluorescent bulbs, low-flush toilets and solar-panel installations. More information is available at the project's Web site, www.makeitrightnola.org.

With the average house slated to cost between $100,000 and $174,000, planners expect participants to contribute some money, including insurance and Road Home proceeds, toward construction. But they expect most homeowners will fall about $70,000 short of paying off their new homes. To fill the gap, Make It Right plans to offer forgivable loans of as much as $100,000, with the caveat that applicants must have owned a home or lot in the Lower 9th Ward before Katrina.

Pink 'screams the loudest'

Eventually, Pitt said, planners will turn the all-natural pink fabric covering into novelty items, such as bags, that will be sold to raise more money.

"Why pink? For me it screams the loudest," Pitt said. "It says that this place, where so many people thrived, is still sitting there like a barren wasteland, and we can change that."

In addition to being a tool for fundraising, the giant pink pieces will, Pitt said, become the ornamentation for a nightly driving tour in the style of City Park's annual "Celebration in the Oaks" festival, albeit with a more somber focus. Expected to open to the public Tuesday evening and extend for five weeks, the tour will feature the large pieces interspersed with 1,000 smaller bulbs representing the residents who died in Katrina. All the lights will be solar-powered, he said.

In addition, the whole installation will be laid out in the precise pattern of the constellations as they glowed on the night of Aug. 29, 2005, he said.

Though the vast work of art aims to draw attention to the Make It Right project, Pitt said it also reflects the "vitality" of the city that he first visited in 1994 during the filming of "Interview with the Vampire" and adopted as his home a year ago, when he and his partner, actress Angelina Jolie, bought a house in the French Quarter.

New Orleans is "the only place that we could do something as crazy as what you see out there and it not be considered so crazy, that it (could) actually be fun," he said. "This is the place of Mardi Gras. This is the place where I had a parade going by my house yesterday. I have no idea what for. It was at noon. I have no idea, but it made me smile."

'We love it here'

Saying he plans to spend the next several weekends in the city, Pitt reiterated a point he has made before: that New Orleans offers himself, Jolie and their four children uncommon tranquillity.

"We love it here," he said. "And for some reason we can have some semblance of a normal life here. The folks treat us so well and give us space and let us be a family. We don't have that luxury in other major cities."

A prime focus of Pitt's work in the coming months will be helping a team of nearly 200 planners, many working for free, turn Make It Right plans into reality. Tom Darden, the project's executive director, said 13 architecture firms from around the globe that lent their efforts pro bono have finished schematic designs and are working on blueprints.

Eight pilot families have been chosen, all with lots in the three blocks of Tennessee Street between North Claiborne Avenue and Galvez Street, Darden said. Construction is expected to begin by the end of March.

"I am telling you, there are going to be families returning into homes, they'll be spending Christmas here next year," Pitt said. "They won't have to spend another Christmas away from home. Next Thanksgiving: turkey dinner."

Pitt acknowledged that even as Make It Right nears groundbreaking on its pilot homes, the project he first pitched to residents in February has faced hurdles, including the deep skepticism of a community where residents lived for years amid abandoned properties, failing public schools and escalating crime fueled by the illegal drug trade.

Cautiously optimistic, residents demanded full participation in the project. And they got it by way of weekly meetings in their neighborhood with architects and planners. Each time architects returned from their drawing boards, residents have said, their plans included more of neighbors' suggestions, from the inclusion of backup fuel sources for solar-powered appliances to wheelchair ramps to reach elevated first floors.

"I come from Missouri," Pitt said. "They call it the Show Me State. I grew up with the same nature. When you know the story here, (can you) question that the locals here would question some outsider coming in?

"Look at the way the freeways are laid in," he said. "They're just laid right on top of neighborhoods. It's so clear some of them were laid out for the needs of a few and not the needs of many."

'A social justice issue'

Aiming to even the balance, Pitt -- a professed "technology junkie" -- has steered his curiosity about advances in environmental design into a requirement that any Make It Right house incorporate such items as energy-efficient appliances, south-facing roofs laden with solar panels, outdoor space for composting, and interior finishes made from products that are not harmful to residents' health or the environment.

"This to me is a social justice issue, too," he said. "They're not getting the crap materials that give your kids asthma, increase your health bills. They're not getting the cheap appliances that are going to run up your bills and keep that burden on you. It's a respectful way to treat people."

Broadly, Pitt said he hopes such issues will be raised during the 2008 presidential campaign. He also wants candidates to address directly the ongoing struggle of hurricane victims across the Gulf Coast.

"I would challenge all the candidates to focus on what's going on down here, what's not going on here," he said. "We're going to build some houses here, but there are bigger issues that need to get answered here, such as education and health. These need to be major factors of the campaign.

"My point is: If you can't get it right down here, you're not getting it right anywhere. This is the place to do it, and there's definitely a need for it right now. I hope to see it become one of the major issues of the upcoming campaign, not as a tool to beat the past administration but as a real focus on the problems of this country."

Even as Make It Right revs up, Pitt said he remains concerned about New Orleans' future and criticized the failure of local leaders to make clear decisions, such as which parts of the city will be rebuilt and how.

"Someone said that it was like it was being left to die on the vine, and I couldn't put it any better than that, meaning there's no real effort either way," he said. "There's just been no clear line drawn."

Public officials say, "¤'We want you to come back, but we're only going to give you a little bit (of money) to come back.' It just hasn't been a strong enough, clear plan of direction," he said.

Nevertheless, Pitt said residents' resilience will pull the city back to its feet.

"The thing is, I don't believe it will ever die on the vine," he said. "There's just too many seventh-generation families. They're not letting this place go under."

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A good housing plan for Bayou La Batre

2007-11-30T06:50:00.000-06:00

Friday, November 30, 2007

GIVING BAYOU La Batre residents still living in FEMA trailers priority in a new federally funded housing development is a good way to avoid housing issues that have arisen in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Modular homes are scheduled to be built in two neighborhoods. Most of the money comes from a $15.7 million FEMA grant, part of a larger program aimed at providing housing for hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast.

At a community meeting Tuesday, residents learned that families still living in FEMA trailers in the city and others who received housing assistance from FEMA will get first chance at the new homes, which city officials hope will be finished by February. Other people still living in FEMA trailers in Mobile County will have a chance at the remaining homes.

Mobile County families are still living in 142 FEMA trailers more than two years after the devastating hurricane, so the 120 furnished modular homes won't completely solve the problem. The housing problem is not nearly as severe as in Louisiana, where thousands of residents are still living in FEMA trailer parks.

But getting the modular home neighborhoods under way in Bayou La Batre will help resolve the issue of affordable housing for people who lost their homes and may not be able to afford to move or rebuild on their own.

In Louisiana, a severe shortage of affordable rental housing has made it very difficult for people to leave the trailer parks. The trailers were never intended for long-term housing, some families are living in terribly overcrowded conditions and there are questions about air quality inside the trailers because of the presence of formaldehyde.

FEMA has tried to move people out of the Louisiana parks, but there simply has been no place for all of them, including elderly and disabled residents, to go. But in Alabama, expediting construction of the modular homes in Bayou La Batre will provide some relief and make relocating the remaining trailer occupants easier.

Nobody is giving the houses away, and at a maximum of 1,600 square feet, they are hardly mansions. The program is aimed at giving people a chance to help themselves by offering safe, sound housing and chance to buy into the development.

People will have to apply for the housing and will pay rent in the first year of 20 percent of household income. After that, occupants have the option to buy the homes, and a portion of the rent can be used for a down payment. In addition, the occupants will get help finding mortgages.

In addition, those applicants whose original homes were condemned must agree to have them demolished. The new neighborhoods are located outside the federal 100-year flood plain, so those who lost their homes to Katrina's floodwaters won't be living or rebuilding in the same place and risking the same destruction in the future.

Bayou La Batre has the opportunity to serve as a model for the Gulf Coast as the recovery from Hurricane Katrina continues. Hurricane victims can't live in FEMA trailers indefinitely, but they must have somewhere to go.

© 2007 Press-Register. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Mississippi Blinding

2007-11-30T06:19:00.000-06:00

from Pensacola Beach Blog

It's been an eventful week for the Lott clan. On Monday, Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) announced that he'd be retiring late this year. The next day, FBI agents raided the law office of his brother-in-law, Richard "Dickie" Scruggs. Yesterday, Scruggs, his son, and three associates were indicted for bribery.

-- Paul Kiel atTPM Muckraker, Nov. 29, 2007

A search warrant was executed this week in the law office of Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs. Barely a day later, he also was indicted on charges of bribing a state trial judge. Conservatives and liberals, alike, are chortling over what they imagine to be the imminent downfall of one of America's most successful, and richest, trial lawyers.

No surprise, really. Both sides see the event through partisan prisms that tend to blind one to the whole truth, whatever that turns out to be.

Republican neocom fanatics who reflexively side with corporate interests against individuals view "plaintiffs' lawyers" as bogeymen out to undermine America's capitalist foundation. As for Democratic Party liberals, it seems they can't see beyond the fact that the sister of Scruggs' wife is married to U.S. Senator Trent Lott, which makes the two men brothers-in-law. On no discernible evidence other than that, a good number of Lott critics are suggesting the Scruggs indictment explains why, just two days beforehand, the senior Mississippi senator announced that he intends to resign his seat before January rolls around.

Color us skeptical. It may be, as alleged, that a third man, also a lawyer, who supposedly offered a bribe to a Mississippi state judge was acting for Dickie Scruggs. Or, it may be that he wasn't. It may be that this other lawyer offered a bribe. Or, it may be the judge was fishing for a personal campaign contribution, as is the widespread practice among judges in that state.

With no proven facts to speak of yet, what we're left wondering is what does the known history of each side in this drama suggest about their motives and capabilities? On that score, we're ready to give more than the legal presumption of innocence to Scruggs. We give him the benefit of a doubt.

The most likely reason for Senator Lott's resignation, as it seems to us, has nothing to do with Scruggs or his family ties. It's more in harmony with Lott's character and political history that he simply doesn't want to wait an extra year to pig out on lobbyist fees.

It's the political ties we find more intriguing. Dickie Scruggs and his law firm, as we have noted before, are among the leading litigators battling property insurance companies over their penurious -- some juries would say, even fraudulent -- handling of Hurricane Katrina claims. Scruggs undertook to represent well over a thousand devastated hurricane victims in Mississippi -- including that self-same brother-in-law, Trent Lott, who was the scourge of trial lawyers himself until he needed one. The Scruggs firm also led the way in knitting together a number of other law firms to form what's now known as The Katrina Group.

As Newsweek noted a few years ago, Scruggs has a long history of representing the little guy against the insurance industry and their corporate clients. He made his bones suing tobacco companies, then represented thousands of blue collar ship-builders afflicted with asbestosis. More recently, the intrepid lawyer added the health insurance industry to his list of targets.

One can surmise there are plenty of huge, well financed corporations out there who would happily contribute whatever it takes to see Dickie Scruggs brought down. If that isn't reason enough to reserve judgment at the news of his indictment, consider this:

The indictment was engineered by U.S. Attorney Jim M. Greenlee in the Northern District of Mississippi. Greenlee has been a "loyal Bushie" U.S. attorney throughout the entire period [Karl Rove] Bush's lapdog, Alberto Gonzales, was busy politicizing the Justice Department.

Allegations of Justice Department "selective prosecution" and "targeting" of prominent Democratic party supporters across the nation have been at the heart of investigations by both the House Judiciary Committee and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

It's already a matter of record that the Justice Department has been using "criminal prosecutions to help Republicans win elections" in Mississippi by selectively prosecuting Democrats. Although he's given to both parties, Scruggs is best known for being one of the largest individual contributors to Mississippi Democratic Party candidates.

Barely three weeks ago, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and other news sources began reporting that Scruggs was funding "a new attack ad on Republican insurance commissioner hopeful Mike Chaney." Last July, he gave a quarter of a million dollars to "Mississippians for Fair Elections, a PAC 'created to raise awareness about the role the insurance commissioner plays'" in Mississippi government.

Last June, Scruggs filed a 100-plus page complaint in the Southern District of Mississippi, accusing State Farm Insurance Co. of a "racketeering enterprise" to suppress or destroy engineering reports it received from its own chosen expert evaluators that found insured homes had been damaged by high winds rather than flooding water. The allegation is the legal equivalent of nuclear war, potentially subjecting State Farm to treble damages and a host of other severe punishments.

Just one day before the indictment was made public, Scruggs filed an amended complaint [pdf format] in the ongoing litigation. As described by Biloxi reporter Anita Lee "a team of policyholders' attorneys led by Richard 'Dickie' Scruggs" added new allegations that State Farm had actually financed the start-up of an engineering firm which then wrote hurricane damage reports with conclusions dictated by State Farm:

The owner of an engineering firm hoped to make up to $1.5 million over three months by adjusting Hurricane Katrina claims for State Farm, borrowing $150,000 and establishing a line of credit with State Farm Bank to set up shop on the Mississippi Coast in September 2005, according to records filed late Tuesday in federal court.

Because of the arrangement, Forensic Analysis & Engineering Corp. was beholden to State Farm, which wanted to minimize its Hurricane Katrina losses for wind damage, the lawsuit says. Another vendor that adjusted Katrina claims, the independent adjusting firm E.A. Renfroe & Co. Inc., at times owed 80 percent of its income to State Farm, the court records say.

The 73-year old Calhoun County, Mississippi, judge, Henry Lackey, who claims a Scruggs intermediary tried to bribe him waited less than 48 hours before hitting the interview circuit to share his story with Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal.

Not to mention (though we will) the indictment was handed down just a couple of weeks before Scruggs was scheduled to host a large fund raiser at his home for Hillary Clinton's campaign.

It may be difficult for folk living in a normal state, or even a politically subnormal state like Florida, to believe that the federal and state judicial systems in a place like Mississippi could be so bent that the weight of the law might be brought down on someone just because they belong to the wrong political party. But the erudite international lawyer and Harper's Magazine blogger, Scott Horton, has some familiarity with the depths to which his native South can sink.

He's been exposing the through-and-through corruption of Alabama's system for much of the past year, now. Here's a sampling. It isn't easy reading but it is eye opening.

Horton has occasionally remarked that things in neighboring Mississippi are much the same. As he wrote a few weeks ago:

In the last several months, we have looked in some detail at the prosecution of Democratic Governor Don E. Siegelman in Alabama. There is now substantial evidence that this prosecution was politically motivated, involving a number of key figures in the Alabama G.O.P., Karl Rove, U.S. attorneys in Birmingham and Montgomery, and political appointees at the Justice Department in Washington.
* * *
[W]hile studying the Siegelman case, I have been looking over a series of cases in Mississippi which are remarkably similar to the Siegelman case in many ways. At this point I believe, based on documents and evidence which have come to me, that the Mississippi prosecutions will also shortly be exposed as being politically motivated and directed. In any event it is clear that they were designed to, and did, have a key role in influencing elections in Mississippi for the benefit of the Republican Party.

"For five years Washington has had a Department of Political Persecutions where the Department of Justice used to stand," Horton also has written.

It is some measure of the damage done to the Justice Department under the Bush administration that one can even entertain the thought Scruggs' indictment may be politically inspired. But we know, now, that the Justice Department has perverted justice elsewhere for just that reason. The likelihood that's its happening again in Mississippi is too plausible to be dismissed.

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New allegations outlined in State Farm case

2007-11-28T13:53:00.000-06:00

By ANITA LEE
calee@sunherald.com
November 28, 2007

The owner of an engineering firm hoped to make up to $1.5 million over three months by adjusting Hurricane Katrina claims for State Farm, borrowing $150,000 and establishing a line of credit with State Farm Bank to set up shop on the Mississippi Coast in September 2005, according to records filed late Tuesday in federal court.

Because of the arrangement, Forensic Analysis & Engineering Corp. was beholden to State Farm, which wanted to minimize its Hurricane Katrina losses for wind damage, the lawsuit says. Another vendor that adjusted Katrina claims, the independent adjusting firm E.A. Renfroe & Co. Inc., at times owed 80 percent of its income to State Farm, the court records say.

A team of policyholders' attorneys led by Richard "Dickie" Scruggs" unearthed the information and other new allegations against the insurer and vendors while researching a policyholders' lawsuit originally filed in June. The attorneys now want to amend the complaint.

They now allege that State Farm essentially acted as head of "mob boss," with the vendors serving as "hit men." The purpose of the racketeering scheme was to make money, the lawsuit says, by minimizing or denying policyholder claims.

It alleges destruction of documents, perjury, obstruction of justice and fraud.

State Farm and the vendors have previously denied any wrongdoing. State Farm spokesman Fraser Engerman said Wednesday the company has not reviewed the complaint and couldn't respond to new allegations.

"Although we haven't reviewed it yet, we still contend this lawsuit is a combination of every wild allegation Mr. Scruggs has thrown at us since Katrina," Engerman said.

State Farm termed the initial lawsuit "fiction," saying in June that the company has paid Mississippi policyholders at least $1.2 billion for Katrina damage. Since then, the company has paid an additional $55 million through a claims re-evaluation process.

However, the amended complaint says: "State Farm's market share, wealth and unscrupulous methods of doing business give it coercive force within the home insurance sector. Adjusters that deviate from its plans are cast aside. Engineers who issue reports that would result in payments by State Farm are fired."

Policyholders who disagree with State Farm's conclusions face a dilemma, the complaint says: either accept pennies on the dollar or spend years, forfeiting time and money, "to simply get what is rightfully theirs."

The attorneys are asking U.S. District Court Judge William H. Barbour Jr., who is presiding over the case in Jackson, to accept the amended lawsuit in place of the original. They want to add State Farm Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance company, as a defendant and remove Forensic, which has confidentially settled its grievances in the case with policyholders.

The policyholders' attorneys claim State Farm is defrauding policyholders through the re-evaluation process because the company does not reveal any multiple engineering reports that may have been produced for properties. Insurance companies use expert reports to help determine the cause of damage and whether it is covered under their policies.

The amended complaint, which also adds three policyholders to the 21 already listed, says one engineer at Forensic altered, spoiled or falsified at least 30 reports.

Evidence turned over under subpoena in the case indicates for the first time that State Farm wanted a Forensic engineer removed from company claims investigations. The engineer had found wind damage covered by State Farm policies.

The Forensic office manager, Nellie Williams, wrote in another instant message: "State Farm would prefer that all reports make water the cause of destruction (then they don't have to pay) - they have been returning our wind cause reports and demanding another inspection as they don't agree with our findings."

Williams had previously denied under oath that she had Forensics information on her personal computer, but the Scruggs group found it there after they secured her computer hard drive through a subpoena.

Forensics owner Robert Kochan said in an instant message to his office manager that he had spoken with "Mark," which the lawsuit says refers to State Farm employee Mark Wilcox. According to Kochan's instant message, Wilcox said his boss wanted Forensic engineer Brian Ford, who found wind damage to properties, removed from State Farm catastrophe inspections.

State Farm offered policyholders a different explanation for multiple engineering reports. The company in April began notifying Coast policyholders that they could have their claims re-evaluated. State Farm explained, according to the lawsuit: "At times, inadvertent duplicate assignments were made on a single property and/or follow-up on engineering reports was necessary, resulting in some cases, in multiple engineering reports."

Insurance Commissioner George Dale, who recently lost his re-election bid after eight terms, ordered the re-evaluation. But Attorney General Jim Hood has sued State Farm for failing to live up to an agreement he reached with the company in January. That agreement said any multiple reports would be revealed to policyholders.

State Farm says it has lived up to its promises through the re-evaluation, maintaining the agreement with Hood was part of a proposed global settlement with policyholders that a federal judge rejected.

The insurance company and Hood are currently embroiled in a federal court dispute. State Farm is asking a judge to stop a criminal investigation by Hood, claiming he filed it to harass the company.

State Farm and Scruggs also are battling because Scruggs engaged whistle-blowers, as he did in successful lawsuits against Big Tobacco, to glean information about the company's Katrina claims adjusting. The FBI served a search warrant Tuesday on Scruggs law firm, but an attorney for the firm, Joey Langston, said agents were seeking a single document that would be "ancillary" to Katrina litigation. Langston said he does not believe the document exists and the firm is cooperating with investigators.

Also, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Jackson has indicated it is investigating State Farm's Katrina claims handling practices and will decide by January whether to prosecute a lawsuit the whistle-blowers have filed against the company, also in U.S. District Court in Jackson.

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Hancock board condemns 64 properties

2007-11-28T07:08:00.000-06:00

46 spared; razing bids received; Hancock board condemns 64 properties
By J.R. WELSH
jrwelsh@sunherald.com
November 28, 2007

HANCOCK COUNTY -- Nearly 27 months after Hurricane Katrina, county supervisors are still ordering the removal of storm-wrecked houses that litter the county.

Supervisors decided this week to condemn and order the destruction of 64 properties, all considered hazards and public nuisances. Most are in the southern area of the county, particularly in Bayside Park, Pearlington and Shoreline Park.

The vacant homes are in various states of disrepair. All were inspected by Compton Engineering, the county's contract engineer, before being condemned. Supervisors notified property owners, and on Monday the board reviewed each property at a public hearing.

The county started with 110 houses on its hazard list, but some were removed. Numbers of houses actually condemned and ordered destroyed were not available until Tuesday when it was announced 46 properties were taken off the list.

Costs of demolishing the structures will be reimbursed by FEMA. "This is your last chance to have your property cleared at FEMA's expense," board President Rocky Pullman said at the hearing.

A standing-room-only crowd of property owners showed up Monday, asking that their houses be spared. Their stories were as varied as their faces. In one case, supervisors removed a house from the demolition list at the request of a woman who said she finally had received a grant to rebuild.

In another, they removed from the list a house whose owner, according to Pullman, was deceased. That case was delayed until the county can determine who now owns the land.

In yet another, supervisors declined to condemn a house because photos of the property presented by inspectors showed a new door on the structure and a pile of shingles standing next to the house. Supervisors considered that evidence that renovations are ongoing.

"We're not here to hurt people," Pullman said.

There will be a final public hearing Dec. 17, when supervisors are expected to hold condemnation proceedings on 54 more houses. Those costs, too, will be covered by FEMA.

Also Monday, supervisors received bids from five companies to demolish the condemned properties. Bids ranged from $637,400 to nearly $2.5 million. The bids will now be reviewed by FEMA and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency before an award is made.

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A reunion of heroic proportions: Rescue and Search

2007-11-28T05:56:00.000-06:00

Chris Granger / Times-Picayune
Johnny Jackson, right, holds onto the shirt that he remembers David Martin, left, wearing when he rescued him by boat following Hurricane Katrina.

By Bruce Nolan
November 27, 2007

David Martin was standing outside the agreed-upon rendezvous point, the headquarters of the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, when the approaching Johnny Jackson caught his eye. In Tuesday's dying light they regarded each other as the distance closed, different in many ways -- Martin, the white, weather-beaten, small-town outdoorsman, and Jackson, the black, city-bred former politician and gregarious bon vivant.

"There he is," called Jackson, extending his arms.

The two embraced briefly, a little awkwardly. A guy greeting.

They hardly knew each other. They had not seen each other since the terrible morning of Aug. 31, 2005, when Martin, a stranger, nosed his aluminum flatboat below a second-story window and plucked Jackson, his 80-year-old mother and two others out of their house in the Upper 9th Ward and ferried them to safety.

They were together probably less than an hour that day. They did not exchange names and did not expect to meet again, until Jackson arranged the meeting Tuesday to thank the stranger who appeared out of the dark that day two years ago.

'Y'all need a ride out?'
The night of their first encounter, thousands of New Orleanians for miles around Jackson's Press Park neighborhood were still marooned on roofs or trapped in attics or upper floors two days after the passage of Hurricane Katrina.

The military was mobilizing. And so were hundreds of private citizens like Martin, fishers and hunters with boats who were running their own ad hoc rescues all over the flood zone, pulling people out of houses, dropping them at gathering points on interstate ramps, then turning back for more.

Early on Aug. 31 Martin and a fellow member of the Cajun Redfish Club, Shannon Ordoyne, found Jackson; his elderly mother, Josephine; a disabled cousin, Kevin; and a nephew.

In the predawn darkness they played a spotlight into the window over the blacked-out second floor, Jackson remembered. "Ya'll need a ride out?" they said.

The Jacksons did. They pulled themselves into Martin's 16-foot boat and sat, soaked, as Martin and Ordoyne made for railroad tracks on high ground near Interstate 10.

"I remember we just talked about how bad it was," Jackson said Tuesday. They did not exchange names. But Jackson never forgot a distinctive shirt his anonymous rescuer was wearing.

Even in the dark he could tell it was a knit polo shirt with a fish on the breast. He thought he remembered the words "redfish" and "club."

Landing in Dallas

Martin and Ordoyne dropped the Jacksons near Louisa Street and the interstate, then turned back to gather more people.

Over the next three harrowing days, Jackson, a former state legislator and City Council member, shepherded his family to the chaos of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, then out of the city to shelter and food in Westwego.

A week later, they were in Dallas. There they were adopted by two Texas families, Alan and Kathy Box and Charlie and Cathy Fisher, who enveloped the Jacksons in extraordinary care and helped them settle in the Dallas area.

Two years later The Times-Picayune featured the Jacksons' story, from the anonymous rescuers in the boat to the Boxes and Fishers in Texas, in second-anniversary storm coverage that focused on how strangers aided storm victims in the desperate time after Katrina.

In subsequent weeks the newspaper was able to identify Martin as a man who might have been Jackson's rescuer. The two were put in touch.

Jackson and Martin exchanged e-mails. Martin sent Jackson a picture of his shirt. Jackson mailed back from Dallas his deep gratitude, for himself and his family.

Shirt sticks out

They arranged to meet for the first time Tuesday on the sidewalk in front of the Zulu clubhouse; Jackson is a member and float captain in Zulu's annual Mardi Gras parade.

"I want you to see something. I got the shirt," Martin said.

They walked to Martin's black pickup. He reached in and pulled out a hanger holding a polo shirt with a redfish on the breast and the words "Cajun Redfish Club."

"Yeah, that's it! I remember. That's it!" Jackson said.

Jackson escorted Martin inside and introduced him to a dozen club members sitting at the bar.

"What'll you have?" he asked Martin.

Salvage turns to rescue

Over Jackson's Crown Royal and Martin's vodka and 7UP they traded recollections.

Martin, 51, the president of the fishing club, said he had towed his boat to New Orleans from his hometown of Montegut the day after the storm hoping to salvage equipment from a club travel trailer parked in Chalmette for a Labor Day club rodeo.

But that was clearly irrelevant, given the condition of the city. Instead, he said, he and Ordoyne launched their boat and motored into the flood zone, thick with people calling for help.

"We stayed out three days and two nights," he said.

Ferrying people from roofs to high ground, Martin said, they burned through 24 gallons of gas they brought, plus another eight they cadged from the National Guard.

They worked at night until they broke the last of their hand-held spotlights.

They borrowed drinking water. "I don't think we slept much," Martin said.

Martin said he didn't keep count, but he estimated he and Ordoyne collected perhaps 100 people.

After several days they returned to the Houma area, where Martin lives when he is not working on a huge Exxon construction project in Africa. He shuttles back and forth, a month on, a month off, he said.

Martin said his old fishing club is dead, its 80 members scattered. "What Katrina didn't wipe out, Rita finished off," he said.

"I got club members, I still don't know where they are. I mean, I don't even know if they're all alive or not. Is that the way it is with you, Johnny?" he asked.

Proposal floated

In the clubhouse together, the men sipped their drinks and compared notes.

Jackson's mother and brother live in Slidell now. He and his wife live in Dallas and will remain there. But he frequently returns to New Orleans, where he hopes to repair his ruined house.

"I never looked to get anything out of it, you know?" said Martin. But to meet Jackson again and see him well, "this is a blessing."

And more than a blessing.

When Jackson, typically loud and social, introduced Martin to his friends at the Zulu bar, someone shouted over the noise, "Put that man on your float!"

"If he wants a ride," declared Jackson, "he's got it."

Bruce Nolan can be reached at bnolan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3344

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County seeks allies vs. FEMA

2007-11-28T04:14:00.000-06:00

By MICHAEL A. BELL
mbell@sunherald.com
November 29, 2007

HARRISON COUNTY -- The county has written members of Congress in hopes of gaining support against FEMA's refusal to reimburse $12 million for Hurricane Katrina cleanup.

An internal probe by FEMA in 2006 questioned nearly $9 million worth of debris on public rights of way and nearly $3 million on cases involving private properties.

FEMA, which inspected more than a dozen roads where TCB Construction workers removed leaning and dead trees, could not match the number of stumps left on roadways and private properties to what the Poplarville company had ticketed. FEMA also believes TCB charged excessive fees.

Tim Holleman, the county attorney handling the appeal, sent letters to Sens. Trent Lott and Thad Cochran and Reps. Gene Taylor and Bennie Thompson. MEMA is backing the county's appeal.

"It's simply a letter setting forth the basic issues and asking them if they can review it," Holleman said. "We're hoping that FEMA will follow recommendations of MEMA to begin with and pay the county's claim for benefits."

"The alternative is we hope the representatives or senators can help us, get FEMA to pay it off," he said.

Harrison County is not alone in haggling with FEMA. Earlier this year, nearly two dozen counties and cities across the Gulf Coast were in danger of losing more than $18 million after FEMA questioned debris removal costs, The Associated Press reported.

County leaders have supplied FEMA with more than 30,000 pictures documenting and validating TCB's work, which FEMA has until Nov. 30 to act on.

FEMA believes that Harrison County agreed to pay TCB too much for debris cleanup. But Holleman said the TCB rate is less than what FEMA pays the Corps of Engineers for such work.

Holleman said he requested the contracts between FEMA and the corps. However, FEMA has refused, citing proprietary information.

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Coast will miss senator's dogged Katrina work

2007-11-27T07:15:00.000-06:00

Lott says he's trying to tie up loose ends on hurricane legislation

By Natalie Chandler
natalie.chandler@clarionledger.com
November 27, 2007

A retiring Sen. Trent Lott promised Monday to continue pushing legislation that will help the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina, a storm that made him reconsider earlier plans of leaving office.

But he said it would be difficult to advance the bills before he leaves at the end of the year.

And Gulf Coast leaders said his absence will make it much more difficult for the area to rebuild from devastation that still lingers.

Lott, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, and others in the state's congressional delegation won praise for securing billions of recovery dollars for south Mississippi.

A state-run grant program seemed to move more quickly one year after the storm after he and 4th District Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat, publicly urged officials to make changes and speed distribution.

Of Lott's retirement, the Rev. Richard Young of Escatawpa said, "Nobody down here's ready for that yet."

"If they put somebody in there that don't know us and have the feelings for us, it will be many years before this Gulf Coast recovers," said Young, whose church has not been rebuilt.

In a statement, Taylor said that Lott, whose Pascagoula home was destroyed in the storm, "understands the sense of loss that so many of us experienced, and this perspective has made him an especially effective advocate on recovery-related issues."

Taylor, who also lost his Bay St. Louis home, has worked with Lott on legislation that would offer federally funded insurance for disaster victims.

Insurance companies denied claims made by Lott, Taylor and many of their constituents after the Aug. 29, 2005, storm.

Company officials have said their policies cover a hurricane's wind but not its rising water.

"Hopefully, Trent can arrange a Senate floor vote before he retires, and I pledge to help with any assistance that I can provide," Taylor said.

Lott said he's had problems "getting the appropriate committee in the Senate to step up. I'll keep working on it."

He also has championed a bill that would revoke an antitrust exemption for insurance companies, which have been accused of conspiring to deny claims.

Lott said that while he still supports the legislation, it may be too difficult to pass.

Other issues have slowed the bill and killed its momentum, he said.

A committee chairman in charge of the legislation doesn't believe there are enough votes to sustain the bill, he added.

Lott said he spoke with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy on Monday. "I said, 'Pat, do me a favor. Get a vote on this repeal of the antitrust exemption. This is something I feel strongly about. Help me with a going-away present,' " Lott said.

Lott had considered retiring before Katrina flattened and flooded his hometown. His mother died earlier that year.

"I dare say that without Lott and (Sen. Thad Cochran) and Taylor, the Gulf Coast would be pretty much still in the Stone Ages," said Jackson County supervisor John McKay. "It's just going to be extremely difficult to replace (Lott's) leadership for (hurricane recovery) and for the whole state."

"The feeling in Washington has been, 'It's been two years; let's move on to the next thing,' " said Mayor Tommy Longo of Waveland, where city offices still are housed in FEMA trailers.

"(Lott) has understood our needs and that it was going to take longer and that we were going to need more help," Longo said.

Lott's office quickly helped whenever issues with FEMA arose, officials agreed.

In June, Lott settled with his insurance company. He and his wife, Tricia, live near Jackson.

Lott has placed a manufactured home on his Pascagoula property. He has not rebuilt, although he has said he would like to.

"So many people had needs for materials and workers," he said. "Our neighbors were still trying to rebuild.

"We didn't think, since we had a place to hang our hat, that we need to rush and (rebuild.) And I have to be honest. My wife is very concerned about rebuilding on the water."

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