[Rhodes22-list] A Better Solution (was "Where's FEMA?")

[Herb Parsons]

Brad,
I'm not going to go in all the details again, because I'm sure it would 
begin to sound self-serving (if it hasn't already, which I'm sure it has 
to some); but I did some volunteer work in NO immediately after Katrina. 
I was no less cynical then than I am now, and really did think I knew 
what I was going to see (though I wasn't right exactly, I DID have the 
right idea). The cynical part of me saw so many people that were there 
because of their own choices in life, most of them recent choices, but 
almost all of them the result of bad choices piled on top of bad choices.

It would have been amazingly easy for the typical cynical part of me to 
take over completely; however, even though probably 8 out of 10 people I 
saw "in trouble" were in that situation because it was exactly the 
situation they brought upon themselves, there were those other 2 out of 
10. Those are the ones I was there for.

Unfortunately, I feel that the statistics are compounding. I believe 
that probably all but 20% of that original 20% have gone elsewhere to 
make better lives elsewhere. That leaves the original 80% who were 
sponges of society to begin with to be an even greater majority.

I love that entire area, but I fear for it. I had high hopes for a new 
version to be built, until I watched the mayoral election. Then the 
cynical part of me said the infection was coming back, worse than ever.

Brad Haslett wrote:
> Herb,
>
> You're being cynical.  These people need housing so they can be close to
> their jobs and not contribute to global warming.  What?  They didn't have
> jobs?  How did they survive?  OK, now after two and a half years I'm
> starting to get the picture, "my tit got blowed away and all you're offering
> me is this little nipple!"  On a serious note, I'm proud of a handful of
> things we've done.  We cleaned-up our neighborhood (after getting thrown off
> the beach).  We still offer help to the retired SeaBee we adopted. Tens of
> thousands of people have helped their fellow citizens. Every US citizen
> should be proud of the tremendous outpouring of money and labor volunteered
> to Katrina victims and all the other disasters in our country.  But, when
> are people going to get a clue?  I've got a solution to the FEMA problem.
> Blow their friggin' building up in DC and start over.  Rename the agency.
> WWYABYW - We'll Wipe Your Ass Because You Won't.  My kids didn't until they
> were about three! We should make exceptions for exceptional circumstances -
> we'll wipe your ass at any age!
>
> Brad
>
> On Feb 17, 2008 11:14 PM, Herb Parsons <hparsons at parsonsys.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> Instead of buying them new trailers of any kind, I offer a better
>> solution.
>>
>> Since we're over 2 years past Katrina, I'd suggest that instead of
>> replacement trailers to replace the existing trailers that were
>> temporary housing, the government simply purchase enough dictionaries to
>> distribute to each resident of the current trailers, with the work
>> "temporary" highlighted, and the page marked for easy lookup.
>>
>> Brad Haslett wrote:
>>     
>>> Screw it, I give up!  Whichever candidate is promising a brand-new
>>> double-wide to every man, woman and child in the US gets my vote. Hell,
>>> include Africa as well to be on the safe side. The latest news from the
>>>       
>> Gulf
>>     
>>> Coast is that FEMA is moving everyone out of travel-trailers (and into
>>> mobile homes) because everyone (or at least many people) have discovered
>>>       
>> the
>>     
>>> newest scam, "I'm suffering from formaldehyde!" The lawsuits would be
>>>       
>> bigger
>>     
>>> and faster but for the fact that the biggest Katrina lawyer is currently
>>> awaiting trial on a Katrina lawsuit scam (tried to bribe a Judge and
>>>       
>> Trent
>>     
>>> Lott retiring as a US Senator is completely unrelated to this being his
>>> brother-in-law). Here's the solution - my brother has been living in a
>>>       
>> very,
>>     
>>> very used travel-trailer in KatrinaLand longer than Katrina victims.
>>>       
>>  The
>>     
>>> key to good health is aging - just like wine.  The Gubment should pay a
>>> premium for our environmentally friendly trailer and give us one of the
>>>       
>> new
>>     
>>> ones to age for them.  Better yet, Berkeley has some nice housing.
>>>       
>>  Forget
>>     
>>> temporary housing, commandeer housing in Bezerkly and tell every
>>>       
>> 'victim' to
>>     
>>> take their time getting back on their feet. No good deed goes
>>>       
>> unpunished!
>>     
>>> Brad
>>>
>>> ----------------------
>>>
>>> Cali Wildfire Victims Ask: Where's FEMA?
>>> *RAMONA, Calif., Feb. 17, 2008*
>>> ------------------------------
>>> *(AP) *Patty Reedy is still waiting for someone at the Federal Emergency
>>> Management Agency to send her the mobile home she was promised before
>>> Christmas.
>>>
>>> In December, agency inspectors said she wouldn't get a government house
>>>       
>> to
>>     
>>> replace the one she lost during last year's wildfires because it would
>>>       
>> be
>>     
>>> too difficult to haul the 60-foot, three-bedroom prefabricated home up a
>>> winding road to her remote mountaintop property.
>>>
>>> Reedy isn't alone. FEMA brought dozens of mobile homes to Southern
>>> California after the fires, only to find their own guidelines prevented
>>>       
>> them
>>     
>>> from putting them on many properties in rough terrain. San Diego County
>>> officials say dozens of applicants were denied homes because their
>>> properties were inaccessible to trucks, didn't have connections into the
>>> electrical grid or were on hillsides deemed at mudslide risk.
>>>
>>> "They don't have any familiarity with these areas so they can't conceive
>>>       
>> of
>>     
>>> the needs being different," said Deena Raver, a contractor who was hired
>>>       
>> by
>>     
>>> San Diego County to help fire victims. "You're talking about one area
>>>       
>> with
>>     
>>> sewage and water and other places that are very rural."
>>>
>>> The mobile home delay is another blemish on a beleaguered agency.
>>>
>>> When the fires broke out in five Southern California counties, forcing
>>>       
>> half
>>     
>>> a million people to flee, many thought FEMA - still bruised from its
>>> performance after Hurricane Katrina - had a golden opportunity to repair
>>>       
>> its
>>     
>>> image.
>>>
>>> But the fires blackened about 800 square miles and destroyed nearly
>>>       
>> 2,200
>>     
>>> homes, a fraction of the 90,000 square miles and roughly 500,000 homes
>>> ravaged by the hurricane, and left roads, power lines and sewage systems
>>> largely intact.
>>>
>>> "FEMA wasn't really tested here," said Paul Light, a professor of public
>>> service at New York University. "It really wasn't a dry run for
>>>       
>> sustained
>>     
>>> response and recovery."
>>>
>>> FEMA spokesman James McIntyre said the agency applied lessons it learned
>>>       
>> in
>>     
>>> Katrina to streamline its operations in Southern California - like the
>>>       
>> need
>>     
>>> to respond quickly. Two days before President Bush declared a federal
>>> disaster, FEMA crews were moving into fire-stricken zones and setting up
>>>       
>> at
>>     
>>> San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium.
>>>
>>> Within a week, the agency had begun disbursing grants up to $28,800,
>>> short-circuiting detailed accounting requirements that slowed relief
>>>       
>> after
>>     
>>> the 2003 fires. So far, FEMA has paid more than $13.1 million to 1,973
>>> people, mostly in San Diego County.
>>>
>>> But the agency has only distributed 33 mobile homes in the county,
>>>       
>> including
>>     
>>> 14 on American Indian reservation land.
>>>
>>> In 2003, the agency sent short, adaptable "travel trailers" to house
>>>       
>> people
>>     
>>> living in the mountains, but they are being avoided now amid concerns
>>>       
>> about
>>     
>>> toxic chemicals; this week the agency said it would move hurricane
>>>       
>> victims
>>     
>>> out of more than 35,000 trailers because tests indicate some of the
>>> temporary homes contain high levels of formaldehyde.
>>>
>>> Instead, FEMA only dispatched three-bedroom modular homes to Southern
>>> California - luxurious compared to the 15-foot travel trailers, but, at
>>>       
>> 60
>>     
>>> feet, too long to fit on many properties or be moved up steep roads full
>>>       
>> of
>>     
>>> switchbacks. They also require too much electricity to run off
>>>       
>> generators or
>>     
>>> solar panels and have to be hooked into the power grid. They have to be
>>>       
>> on
>>     
>>> flat land, away from any hills that might be at risk for mudslides.
>>>
>>> Grace Yim, a FEMA branch manager in Pasadena, said she didn't know how
>>>       
>> many
>>     
>>> eligible fire victims were denied homes.
>>>
>>> "We met a lot of challenges with the kind of unit that was available to
>>>       
>> us -
>>     
>>> there are canyon areas, mountainous areas so we had a lot of sites that
>>>       
>> came
>>     
>>> back infeasible, and then there's just nothing we can do," Yim said.
>>>
>>> People who were unable to put the large trailers on their properties
>>>       
>> were
>>     
>>> referred to other agencies, mainly Housing and Urban Development, for
>>> subsidized apartments, Yim said.
>>>
>>> But living far away from isolated lots can slow reconstruction for
>>>       
>> people
>>     
>>> who are cash-strapped to begin with, said Bonnie Frede, director of a
>>> nonprofit-funded fire recovery center in the mountain town of Ramona,
>>>       
>> about
>>     
>>> 35 miles northeast of San Diego.
>>>
>>> "These people want to be on their land," Frede said.
>>>
>>> Reedy, a lithe 51-year-old, said she already put more than 7,000 miles
>>>       
>> on
>>     
>>> her pickup truck driving up and down the mountain, costing her $2,000 in
>>>       
>> gas
>>     
>>> out of her $28,800 grant. She had hoped to get the mobile home on her
>>>       
>> land
>>     
>>> and eventually use the grant money to buy it.
>>>
>>> She said she will keep trying to get the promised FEMA home on her
>>>       
>> property.
>>     
>>> "I ran into my first FEMA inspector at the grocery store, and he said,
>>>       
>> 'You
>>     
>>> pay your taxes, so don't let them tell you no,"' she said. "As long as I
>>> know what I'm working towards, I can start to plan, but right now it's
>>>       
>> just
>>     
>>> sitting in the bank while I waste gas."
>>> __________________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>> --
>> Herb Parsons
>> S/V O'Jure - O'Day 25
>> S/V Reve de Pappa - Coronado 35
>>
>>
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>>
>>     
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>
>
>   

-- 
Herb Parsons
S/V O'Jure - O'Day 25
S/V Reve de Pappa - Coronado 35