A.M. in the Morning!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Speaking from the Heart: CNN's Kathleen Koch

by Ana Maria

Below is a fantastic interview between Kevin Davis and CNN's Kathleen Koch, a White House and Pentagon correspondent, while she was on location in Bay St. Louis, Miss., for Katrina's second anniversary. Kathleen grew up in Bay St. Louis, and I'm happy to disclose that she and I went to high school together. Both of us also attended the University of Southern Mississippi where she has been honored for her extraordinary post-Katrina documentaries.

While covering the anniversary events, I had the fortune to reunite with my great friend Kathleen while I was tooling around town with Kevin Davis, a production assistant at an ABC affiliate in Santa Barbara , California.

Kevin traveled to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to discover little-known and important Katrina stories. He teamed up with yours truly to explore, among other issues, how the insurance companies have played a major role in preventing its policyholders from rebuilding their homes, their lives, and their communities.

Kathleen graciously agreed to speak on camera regarding her experience in covering Katrina in her hometown, which is my hometown. Her words about growing up here, her strong connection to the community, and her desire to do all that she can do to rebuild resonate with the hearts of all of us who have grown up here and have found ourselves returning to the area at this critical juncture of a place we call home.

Kevin Davis works for KEYT -TV, an ABC affiliate in Santa Barbara, CA, and is currently looking for his first reporting job. Kevin can be reached at 925-788-1803 and kdavis2600@gmail.com.

© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Barracks recovery viewed as symbol for Gulf Coast

9th Ward base could be in use within 18 months

Note from A.M. in the Morning! The article below demonstrates clearly that government, and not the soldiers themselves, determine where to build bases. It further demonstrates that communities of people and businesses build around those bases to provide the needed goods and services to provide for those soldiers and their families. In yesterday's piece titled Allstate Cancels Policies in Brooklyn, NY, Blames Katrina, I quoted a woman who had lived on the Florida Gulf Coast because of military assignments. This Times Picayune article further reminds us that the military and their families go where their military leaders tell them to go.

Friday, September 14, 2007 By Paul Rioux

Swamped by more than 10 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina, the 172-year-old Jackson Barracks could again serve as headquarters for the Louisiana National Guard in as few as 18 months thanks to a fast-track $200 million rebuilding project that officials hope will jump-start recovery in the Lower 9th Ward and western St. Bernard Parish.

"We were 100 percent destroyed by Katrina," Maj. Gen. Hunt Downer said. "But hold on, we're coming back, and we're rebuilding safer, stronger and smarter."

Downer shared his optimism for the military installation's future at a news conference Thursday after giving a tour to Donald Powell, head of President Bush's Gulf Coast reconstruction plan.

"Jackson Barracks will be a powerful symbol of recovery, like the Superdome and the bridge in Mississippi," Powell said, referring to the U.S. 90 bridge over St. Louis Bay. "This is progress, real progress." Downer said the Guard's headquarters, which have been moved to Camp Beauregard in Pineville, could return to Jackson Barracks when the first buildings are completed in 18 months. He said 90 percent of the structures on the 100-acre base along the New Orleans-St. Bernard Parish border are expected to be renovated within five years.

Steady rain Thursday afternoon prompted Guard officials to cancel a planned media tour of the rebuilding efforts.

Downer said the project's financing includes $163 million from the Department of Defense. Another $37 million in state money will be used to restore historic antebellum homes on the base as well as the Jackson Barracks Military Museum.

Noting that Jackson Barracks had a $100 million impact on the local economy before Katrina, Downer said the rebuilt base will fuel recovery efforts in the Lower 9th Ward, Arabi and Chalmette.

"Keep in mind: We're citizen soldiers," he said. "We eat in the mom-and-pop restaurants and shop at the stores around the barracks."

Before the storm, Jackson Barracks served as a base for more than 3,000 soldiers and had 650 year-round employees, 100 of whom lived there with their families. It remains unclear how many will return once work is complete.

The construction work has unearthed numerous historical artifacts linked to the military base, which was completed in 1835 at a cost of $180,000.

Some of the finds displayed Thursday were a slug from a muzzle-loading .58-caliber musket that was standard issue in the 1860s, a wooden die likely used for gambling in the 1870s and fragments from a bottle of Hostetter's Stomach Bitters, an alcohol-based medicinal tonic.

"Isn't that stuff neat?" Col. Doug Mouton asked. "It tells the story of what a soldier's life was like in the 19th century."

Paul Rioux can be reached at prioux@timespicayune.com or at (504) 826-3321.

The Times-Picayune originally published this article here on September 14, 2007.

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Jewish hurricane aid tops $1.5M

Posted on Fri, Sep. 14, 2007
By JEAN PRESCOTT
jtprescott@sunherald.com

A New Year begins well: Congregation Beth Israel, celebrating its third High Holiday without a synagogue (services are/will be in Larcher Chapel at Keesler Air Force Base), received uplifting news this week.

The United Jewish Community, in its Hurricane Katrina Fund report, provided the following numbers with regard to recovery on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: the total funneled here exceeded $1.5 million, with $125,000 going to Beth Israel, and the rest going into the community because, says immediate past president of the congregation Steve Richer, "We wanted to help our neighbors. I think it captures the spirit of charity" that characterizes the High Holiday.

Recipients besides the synagogue were the Mental Health Association of Mississippi ($405,600); NY Board of Rabbis, for pastoral counseling and clergy support primarily in Mississippi ($334,400); Israel Trauma Coalition, rebuilding resiliency in Biloxi schools and among first-responders and public employees ($306,350); Hillel, for Hillel's Alternative Breaks to volunteer in Mississippi ($123,750); Jewish funds for justice ($100,000); Mount Sinai Medical Center, Mississippi Coast resilience and recovery programs ($88,482); KaBOOM! Operation Playground, Long Beach ($55,000); and Raven Transport, freight to transport donated beds ($2,756).

The seashell church checks in: The Rev. Gregg Barras, pastor or St. Michael Catholic Church on the beachfront in Biloxi, plays the waiting game these days, just like hundreds, if not thousands, of other rebuilders on the Coast - just like other Catholic parishes that will rebuild at the waterfront.

"We're one of five churches on the water," Barras said Tuesday, "and only one of those churches, Our Lady of the Gulf in Bay St. Louis, is repaired." St. Clare in Waveland, St. Thomas in Long Beach, Holy Family in Pass Christian - all are experiencing, to varying degrees, the same delays as St. Michael.

"We're waiting for all the estimates to come in," Barras said, "because we cannot start until we have them. Then we have to go to the Chancery Office for approval and then to the city for permits... . We can't force any of these processes, but we are much closer and near getting all of this together."

He reminds us all, St. Michael parishioners in particular, of what he believes is truly important: "The value of community, and how that grows much stronger every day.

"You can have the most beautiful church in the world, but you don't have that spirit, what do you actually have?"
Groundbreaking scheduled: The First Baptist Church at 322 East Second St. in Pass Christian has planned a groundbreaking celebration for Sept. 23. The day's schedule will include an 11 a.m. morning worship, dinner at 12:30 p.m. and the ceremony at 2 p.m.

Expected for the occasion are representatives of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, city leaders and representatives of more than 50 churches who in some way have partnered with the church in its rebuilding efforts.

Since October 2005, just two months after Hurricane Katrina, the congregation has met on its Second Street property, first in a tent and later in a refurbished education building.

Ground will be broken for the sanctuary and a 3,200-square-foot preschool building, the former being rebuilt with donations from many sources and volunteer labor, the latter made possible by a donation from Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston.

More relief acknowledged: Annette Marquis, district executive for Unitarian Universalist churches of North and South Carolina, eastern Georgia, eastern and central Tennessee and Virginia, spoke Sunday at the Gulf Coast Unitarian Fellowship about social and economic justice during times of national crisis. The Unitarian Universalist churches solicited a national response of more than $3.5 million in direct relief to the region following Hurricane Katrina, in addition to the efforts of the many hundreds of volunteers who have been to the Coast since the hurricane. The Gulf Coast Fellowship is in the Bayou View area of Gulfport at 76 48th St., Suite B. Visit gcuuf.org for more information or call 868-1233.

Originally posted here on September 14, 2007.

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Thursday, September 13, 2007

Vitamin Relief Brings Needed Nutrition to School District Resurrecting After Katrina

OJAI, Calif., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer Vitamin Relief USA (www.vitaminrelief.org) and Tishcon Corp. (www.tishcon.com) joined Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District of Mississippi to launch a free vitamin distribution program designed to help reverse health problems in the area''s developing children. In a school district completely crushed by Hurricane Katrina, many of the families with children attending Bay-Waveland schools are unable to provide such basic necessities as a hot nutritious meal or food for sack lunches. Families are also exposed to harmful bacteria and mold created by the massive flooding from the hurricane as well as the area''s high temperatures.

School nurses report that children are suffering from allergies, asthma, respiratory problems as well as stress related illnesses such as headaches and gastritis. The health and well-being of the children have been a concern for parents and teachers alike, but thanks to projects such as Vitamin Relief USA, that concern is being met with action. Vitamin Relief is now providing the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School Districts with on-going supplies of high quality children''s chewable multi-vitamins for all its students.

Bay St. Louis-Waveland school district officials were able to open schools again last year, though all classes are now held in metal trailers. Many of the families who attend the schools are still busy rebuilding their lives as well as their bodies. 60-70% of the families still find themselves living in FEMA trailers. It is of the utmost importance that the children living in these conditions receive nutritional support to help strengthen their immune systems so their bodies can fight off harmful mold, bacteria and viruses in their environment and handle the stress of their difficult lives. As many of these trailers and living conditions are not equipped for hot food preparation, home cooked meals for most of these children are non-existent. For many children, malnourishment is a serious problem.

"Vitamin Relief USA is spearheading this free vitamin program to provide these children with the nutritional support they need. The fallout from malnutrition is not only evident in the daily life of a malnourished child, it also negatively impacts their entire family. Malnourished children feel sick, anxious, tired, and unmotivated. These parents are already dealing with so much. Helping improve their children''s health relieves some of the parents'' stress so they can focus on the daunting tasks before them," says Vitamin Relief USA''s Executive Director Michael Morton.

Recent reports have surfaced in the press saying that many of the FEMA trailers are contaminated with toxicity levels far higher then healthy bodies can handle, let alone malnourished systems, as is the case for many of the trailer''s inhabitants. The toxic element reportedly found in the trailers is Formaldehyde, a common wood preservative used in the trailers'' building materials. According to reports, Formaldehyde gas is emitting from the walls of some of the FEMA trailers and families are unknowingly inhaling the toxic fumes. Currently the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention are conducting a study on this issue at the request of FEMA. However, The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that exposure to low levels of Formaldehyde can cause a number of health problems including eye and throat irritation, fatigue, and nausea, but higher levels, such as the ones found in the trailers, can lead to difficulty breathing, attacks in people with asthma, and has caused cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans.(1) For people with decreased immune systems due to already unhealthy conditions, this exposure to toxins can be even more harmful. It is of extreme importance that these people are given the proper nutritional support to keep as healthy as possible while the research by the CDC is conducted.

By supporting the schools through an on-going supply of daily multi-vitamins, school administrators are able to ensure that their students are receiving the recommended daily amounts of essential vitamins and minerals to help the children''s already taxed bodies during this difficult time. At all participating schools, school health administrators distribute freshly manufactured, high-quality multi-vitamin/minerals to the parents of attending students. Educational information packets are distributed along with the vitamins so that family members will understand the importance of nutrition in helping to support their children''s health.

"Our vitamin programs have a track record of helping malnourished children become healthier and gain emotional balance, immune support, mental alertness and concentration, better grades, school attendance, and even self confidence. These daily multivitamins are extremely helpful for these children, particularly if the reports of Formaldehyde gas in the FEMA trailers are true," comments Morton.

Thanks to the generous donation of multi-vitamins from Tishcon Corporation, Vitamin Relief USA was able to jump-start this initiative to improve the health and well-being of children and their families throughout Bay St. Louis. "Tishcon Corp. has shown their great generosity for those in need for many years now. We are very grateful to them," says Morton. Tishcon Corp donated 3 million vitamins for Vitamin Relief USA''s Katrina Relief Program soon after Hurricane Katrina landed two years ago. Since 2000, Tishcon Corp has contributed over 44 million vitamins for Vitamin Relief USA''s children and adult programs across the country.

"Vitamin Relief invites everyone to join with us to help with this serious situation in our nation''s own backyard. To grow stronger as a nation, we must first take care of our own. We can make a tremendous contribution in these families'' health, their future and the future of our nation," says Morton.

Vitamin Relief USA has received the highest rating, two years in a row, from Charity Navigator, the renowned charity watchdog organization. Independent audits show that 93% of donated funds go directly to Vitamin Relief USA programs. Vitamin Relief USA currently provides daily multi-vitamins to more than 26,000 needy children at more than 300 sites in 33 states across the United States. Vitamin Relief USA has expanded under the umbrella of Nourish America, to not only provide multi-vitamins but also natural, functional and organic food products and health education to those in need in America.

Nourish America is a dba of Vitamin Relief USA, a tax-exempt, non-profit organization committed to improving the health status of children, seniors and adults at risk for malnutrition through vitamin supplementation, health education, and donations of nutritional foods. To support Nourish America -- Vitamin Relief USA, or for further information, please call 866-487-1484 or visit the website at www.vitaminrelief.org.

Tishcon Corp., founded in 1976, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of vitamins, related dietary and herbal supplements and private label non-prescription (OTC) pharmaceuticals. Some major products are Q-Gel? Forte, Q-Gel? Ultra,Q-Gel? Mega and the recently introduced Hydrosoluble Chew Q? 30mg and 100mg chewable tablets and Liquid Q?.

A full service manufacturer, Tishcon Corp. also specializes in technologies aimed at enhancing the bioavailability of nutraceuticals. Revolutionary technological developments include Bio Solv? -- hydro soluble softgels, which enable quick and optimum absorption of vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts.

Tishcon Corp. is registered with the U.S. FDA, NY State Board of Pharmacy, and is GMP Certified by the NNFA and NSF. Additionally, Tishcon has received Certification from the USP under their Dietary Supplement Verification Program (DSVP) for 7 of their Q-Gel products.

For further information, visit www.Tishcon.com; call 1-800 848-8442 or write to: Arun@Tishcon.com.

For media inquiries contact Karla Newendorp, of Christie Communications, at (805) 962-1347, or by email at knewendorp@christiecomm.com.

(1) US Environmental Protection Agency, August 22, 2007,

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html
Source: Vitamin Relief USA

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Allstate Cancels Policies in Brooklyn, NY, Blames Katrina

by Ana Maria

In an attempt to boost its ever growing and obscene amount of profits, Allstate is dropping like flies its Brooklyn customers who’ve faithfully paid their homeowner’s insurance premiums.

Are you kidding me?! Brooklyn as in . . . New York?!

Damian Young got the news last fall by mail: Allstate was dropping him, and he’d have to find another insurance company to get coverage for his brownstone. “[The letter] alluded to Hurricane Katrina and said they’re unable to carry the risk of living in coastal areas,” says the actor. “I live in Park Slope. I was like, What? This doesn’t make sense!” [Emphasis added.]
The Storm Before the Storm
New York Magazine

Park Slope is in Brooklyn, New York. Dropping insurance coverage in Brooklyn because Katrina hit the Gulf Coast is only about dollars and cents. The only sense this makes to me is nonsense.

What is this? Are Allstate and other insurance companies beginning to admit that they are deliberately choosing not to do business with the Americans who live along our nation’s beautiful coastlines?

Remember that the National Oceanographic and Atmosphere Administration states

“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.” [Emphasis added.]
“The Coastal Community Development Partnership”
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Wow. That’s a lot of financial vulnerability that 55% of us are going to experience as private insurance companies opt out of the insurance business. 55%. That includes an awful lot of American families, businesses, places of worship, schools, hospitals, police stations, fire stations, and doctors’ offices . . . groceries, bakeries, dry cleaners, book stores, coffee shops, restaurants, hair salons, appliance stores, cable companies, office supply stores, casinos, banks, gas stations, and so on and so forth that will have to scramble to find alternative insurance policies for their financial security.

For those who have a hang up about the 55% of us living along the nation’s coastal areas, here’s something to think about. SignalSuzie at DailyKos posted the following in response to the piece I wrote yesterday titled More "signs" of the times and which I had uploaded to my diary at DK.

I am a former Gulf Coaster who was living on the Gulf Coast of Florida for decades--because of military assignments. That's another reason for SHAME on the part of the Bush administration's rejection of insurance reform because they don't want to 'subsidize beach lifestyles!' What farce, what an insult. The number of military bases along the coasts in our country is huge--think about that. They put those bases along the coasts from Seattle south; from Texas to Florida; from Virginia to Miami. People move there when the military sends them to the bases. They raise families there and they retire there to remain close to a military community they've dedicated their lives to. So, they too suffer losses when hurricanes or other natural disasters strike. I had friends who lost EVERYTHING when Hurricane Andrew struck Homestead AFB in South Florida (MIAMI) in 1992. They had just had a baby, and of course everything in the baby's room was literally exploded along with their entire home.

Anyway, I still have family on the Gulf Coast, though I have now moved to the mountains to escape hurricanes. I'm glad to see that you're keeping the news going about how depraved the Bush administration is with regard to the suffering of good Americans. If there is a hell--they will be eternally damned to it for what they've done. [Emphasis hers.]

Isn’t that something? I hadn’t really thought about the situation that way. And, I was born and raised 30 minutes from Keesler Air Force Base. Traveling about three hours round trip every day, my father worked as an electrician at Avondale Shipyards, one of the largest employers in Louisiana, on the West Bank of New Orleans. Avondale builds military ships and is currently owned by Northrop Gunman.

Signal Suzie’s comment brought much to mind. Of course, if military personnel are stationed somewhere for any length of time, that is where they would buy homes. Community springs up around bases all the time. With military personnel—just like other employees of major employers in an area, additional services and businesses spring up so that the place is livable. Businesses spring up to provide the needed goods and services. You know, grocery stores and the like. This is so obvious to be ridiculously embarrassing that we haven’t thought of it ourselves.

Shipyards that build military ships are usually located near water. So when blowhards start opening their mouths about not wanting to pay for “beach town” lifestyles, test their patriotism. Talk with them about the military families that are based in coastal communities, that build their lives and raise their families there, then retire where they have lived and worked for years. Ask these blowhards how they intend to tell these patriots that after laying their lives on the line, that we’re going to tell them that our nation is going to also subject them to financial vulnerability as well.

The point of any insurance is to gain some semblance of financial security. The point of the blowhards is to pretend that their financial security is the only one that matters. When insurance companies spout similar propaganda it seems it is mostly to protect their executives’ massive bonuses and gargantuan salaries. Allowing either to have their way leaves the rest of us financially vulnerable, and that is unacceptable.

As we look at the practical aspects of our individual and business financial security, one important thing to keep in mind is that regardless of where we live in this naturally beautiful piece of the planet that we call the United States of America, we all live in a place that has us buying some form of insurance: theft, auto, fire, wind, water, health, life, disability, worker’s compensation, business loss, etc.

When it comes to our own financial security as well as that of our families and our businesses, we must have options that the insurance industry decided in the 1960s to no longer provide. Specifically, one policy for both wind and water.

That is the point of the Congressman Gene Taylor’s proposed multiple peril insurance policy embodied in H.R. 3121. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Committee Chair Barney Frank (D-MA) and Subcommittee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) unanimously support H.R. 3121 because they support protecting the financial security of our families, communities, and businesses.

To bring this policy proposal into reality, let’s continue to contact by phone and email—and encourage our friends, neighbors, and relatives to d the same—our congressional representatives. When we buy insurance, we expect to purchase some semblance of financial security.

With Taylor's multiple peril insurance policy (H.R. 3121), our financial security will be in better hands.

© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
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Cochran to go to bat for young volunteers

By MARIA RECIO
SUN HERALD WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON --
One of the most popular voluntary programs that came to public attention in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the National Civilian Community Corps, is facing a budget crunch.

The House has passed an appropriation for fiscal year 2008 that would dramatically cut back funding for NCCC from $26 million this year to the president's proposed budget level of $11 million. But in the Senate Appropriations Committee, the program has a booster - Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., the panel's powerful ranking Republican.

"It's a volunteer program that has meant so much to the people of Mississippi," said Cochran in an interview.

Cochran has pushed for an increase to $31 million, which the appropriations panel has approved and which now awaits Senate action. The Senate bill would open two new training campuses for volunteers - one in Vicksburg at a recently closed Episcopal boarding school and one in Vinton, Iowa. As part of a belt tightening this year, NCCC closed two of its five campuses, in Washington and Charleston, S.C. Its three remaining campuses are in Sacramento, Denver and Perry Point, Md.

NCCC, which is under the AmeriCorps umbrella, is a 10-month program for 18- to 24-year-olds who do short-term projects for six to eight weeks in areas of need. The approximately 1,200 volunteers a year receive a small stipend - making the program a target of fiscal conservatives who think it is not government's role to pay for charity.

But after Katrina the NCCC volunteers, who typically work in teams of 10, have been a welcome sight on the Coast.

"You can't go anywhere on the Gulf (Coast) to any civic meeting that when you mention the NCCC, you don't get a standing ovation," said Marsha Meeks Kelly, executive director of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Services. "They have really rocked the Coast."

The young members, as they are called, have played a major role in reconstruction projects. "We actually can't live without our NCCC," said Jeannie Antonetti, volunteer manager at the Habitat for Humanity-Mississippi Gulf Coast. "They're a great asset to our organization."

The NCCC has made a commitment to the Gulf region - Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Florida - to have 60 percent of members rotate through the area.

And that makes the prospect of a Vicksburg campus especially appealing.

"That would mean another opportunity to expand and train more members," said Jen Prall, assistant project director, NCCC-Gulf Coast. "To have that facility would certainly be a positive thing."

The site of the proposed campus is the former All Saints' Episcopal School, a boarding school on 40 acres in Vicksburg. Cochran said local proponents talked to him about using the site for the NCCC program. "It sounded like a good idea to me," said Cochran. "We're trying to be helpful.

"We hope we can be successful in negotiations with the House," he said. "I'm hopeful that we can get a generous appropriation for this activity."

Originally published here by the Sun Herald on September 13, 2007.

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Feud Brews Over Katrina Housing Funds

By SHELIA BYRD

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A state agency wants to divert $600 million from a Hurricane Katrina housing program to a port restoration project, outraging advocacy groups who say the proposal shortchanges thousands of people still homeless on the Gulf Coast.

The Mississippi Development Authority has proposed taking the money from the $2.25 billion remaining in Gov. Haley Barbour's Homeowners Assistance Grant Program, which is funded by federal block grants. Part of that program is dedicated to low-income and working poor homeowners.

"It's just unfair," Reilly Morse of the Mississippi Center for Justice said Wednesday. "We've been told affordable housing was supposed to be a priority. Don't rob the displaced to build a port."

Agency officials said there would be enough money in the housing fund to cover about 30,000 homeowners applying for grants to restore or rebuild property destroyed by the storm.

The development authority chose to tap the Homeowner Assistance Grant Program because it had excess funding, Donna Sanford, director of MDA's disaster recovery division, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

The proposal is open to public comment until Sept. 24, and organizations including Oxfam America and the Mississippi NAACP have said they will oppose it. The proposal needs approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The $600 million would be used to restore public infrastructure and publicly owned facilities at the State Port at Gulfport that were destroyed during the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane. It would also improve the operating capacity at the port, Barbour said in a news release.

Barbour said the restoration is "crucial to the economy of our state and essential to the revitalization of the Gulf Coast region."

The port generates about 3,000 maritime jobs and is the third busiest container port in the Gulf of Mexico, said Don Allee, executive director of the Mississippi State Port Authority.

Thousands of families still live in FEMA trailers and affordable rental property is scarce. Roberta Avila of the Interfaith Disaster Task Force said many coast residents haven't recovered because they don't qualify for the governor's housing program.

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Originally published here on September 13, 2007.

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Allstate Will Not Refuse to Renew New York Policies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Allstate Corp. (ALL.N: Quote, Profile , Research), avoiding a showdown with New York Insurance Commissioner Eric Dinallo, on Wednesday agreed it would renew homeowners' insurance for customers who do not take other Allstate policies.

In August, Dinallo had issued a citation to Allstate, the largest publicly traded home insurer in the United States, for failing to comply with his directive ordering insurers to continue policies to homeowners regardless of whether they bought automobile and life insurance from the company.

Allstate was due for a hearing on Sept. 19, but has now agreed to comply, Dinallo said.

Allstate spokeswoman Krista Conte said her company believes it was obeyeing New York state law but "respects the Insurance Department's authority."

The insurance department had charged Allstate with discrimination, saying it dropped thousands of homeowners since January 2006 simply for not taking other insurance products.

The Northbrook, Illinois-based property insurer is trying to reduce its coverage in storm-exposed areas such as Long Island as a result of the $5 billion of losses it took in 2005 when hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma hit the U.S. coast.

In other insurance department news, Dinallo said he was forming an Elder Protection unit that would support seniors dealing with insurance such as Medicare Advantage, long term care insurance and community care residential centers.

Dinallo said he was seeing a "growing number of complaints," including unfair and deceptive sales practices.

(Reporting by Ed Leefeldt)

Volunteers still making an impact on the Gulf Coast -- --

September 12, 2007

While New Orleans received most of the attention following Hurricane Katrina, small communities like Pearlington, Mississippi were also devastated by the storm. Two years later, relief agencies, including some with close ties to western Virginia, are still working quietly to help those communities recover.

When we last visited the Gulf Coast in November of 2005, volunteers from congregations at Smith Mountain Lake were helping to renovate the First Southern Baptist Church in Pearlington. Although that work is complete, volunteers are still making an impact. They are rebuilding homes and helping residents rebuild their lives.

A local contractor actually moved his family to Hancock County. Two years ago, Gene Butterfield was building homes at Smith Mountain Lake. Today, he is working a different waterfront with his group, Walls of Hope.

"It's still overwhelming to me. With the amount of loss that was here, and the amount of need that is still required to put, to get them back in their homes," says Butterfield.

After two years in a FEMA trailer, Ettie Lee is getting back into a home. The new home was built, financed, and furnished by members of western Virginia churches. "I appreciate everybody who had something to do with it," says Lee.

Walls of Hope and its volunteers have built 60 homes. By using wall panels trucked in from Iowa, and as much volunteer labor as possible, Walls of Hope can build a new home in a week.

Butterfield says Radford Baptist, Hales Ford Baptist, West Salem Baptist and other churches in Virginia have been a lifeline.

All content © Copyright 2004 - 2007 WorldNow and WDBJ7. All Rights Reserved.

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Judge refuses to bar lawyer from State Farm cases

Associated Press - September 12, 2007 8:44 PM ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A federal judge today refused to bar an attorney from representing dozens of Mississippi homeowners who are suing Bloomington- (Illinois) based State Farm for denying their claims after Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter chided State Farm for waiting more than a year to ask for attorney Richard Scruggs to be disqualified because of alleged ethical violations.

Senter, who expressed no opinion on the merits of the alleged ethics violations, said he is "at a loss to understand why State Farm has waited so long" to raise the issue.

State Farm accuses Scruggs of improperly using internal company records he obtained from two women who helped the insurer adjust Katrina claims on Mississippi's Gulf Coast.

Scruggs contends the documents support his allegation that State Farm manipulated engineering reports to fraudulently deny policyholder claims.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Associated Press story published on September 12, 2007, here.

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