Hurricane center gets new director
The News Review:
- Hurricane center gets new director
- Katrina Housing Aid to Be Used for Port
- Jindal wants US to cut La. tab for levee projects
- This winter ‘more typical’ than recent mild ones
- Gladiators Return to New Orleans Suburb
- NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas’ News Source
- EDITORIAL: FEMA going forward
Hurricane center gets new director
St. Petersburg Times – Jan 26, 2008
addVariable(“fontcolor” “0×336699″); ap. addVariable(“alerts” “false”); ap. write(“flashcontent”); Veteran forecaster Bill Read will take control of the National Hurricane Center half a year after a near staff revolt led officials to oust a previous director. "Awesome opportunity" Read said in an interview Friday. "I'm quite excited about the opportunity to take the reins. " Read 58 led the National Weather Service's Houston-Galveston office before joining the Miami-based center in August as interim deputy director. A Navy veteran with a master's degree in meteorology from Texas A&M University Read has 30 years of experience as a forecaster… But instead of rallying the troops his comments caused a backlash among his colleagues at the hurricane center who said he was overstating the case. He was replaced in July after just six months in the job. Read said Friday that the hurricane center's combination of top experts aircraft reconnaissance data and support from university experts makes it a top-notch institution. "There's nothing to compare it to in the world" he said. "Do I want more and better? Of course you'll never find a forecaster including me that says we don't want better. " He said he would most like to "crack the code" to explain why some hurricanes suddenly intensify and become much more dangerous.
Katrina Housing Aid to Be Used for Port
Washington Post – Jan 26, 2008
Barbour announced on Tuesday that the state would devote an additional $100 million toward affordable housing. Mississippi received $5. 4 billion in federal hurricane-recovery funding. The $600 million now going to the port was originally allocated for the state’s housing assistance program which provided money to families who lost property to Katrina’s storm surge. Man Pleads Guilty in Donation Coverup… He also acknowledged that he met with Antonini who is cooperating with federal authorities and others suspected of being Venezuelan agents. Three other suspects in the case have pleaded not guilty. Hurricane Center Deputy Head Is Named ChiefMIAMI — Bill Read interim deputy director at the. The center has been dogged by a year of turmoil; Read’s predecessor was ousted by the.
Jindal wants US to cut La. tab for levee projects
Times Picayune – Jan 26, 2008
“We believe this is a good solution”Powell’s spokeswoman Tara Wall said. “It gives thestate quite a bit of flexibility to come up withsolutions. ” Louisiana’s delegation hopes to tack the extrahurricane protection financing onto an anticipatedfast-moving war-spending bill the administration is expectedto unveil within two weeks. At the same time they will askthat the state’s share for three major flood-controlprojects be reduced from 35 percent to the 25 percent to 30percent levels they have been for years. That is projectedto save the state $200 million. The perceived inequity wasfirst raised weeks ago by Sen.
This winter ‘more typical’ than recent mild ones
Rockford Register Star – Jan 26, 2008
A fierce tornado the first in January in these parts in 50 years ripping a devastating path through Boone County. Fourteen days of below-freezing temperatures contributing to widespread ice jams on the Rock River. “For you guys up there in northern Illinois that (temperature variation) is a pretty big deal” said Andrew Ulrich a meteorologist with AccuWeather. But “you go through these things on and off through the years” Ulrich said. “It’s unusual but it does occur… “It’s unusual but it does occur. ”In other words said Ulrich and a Northern Illinois University meteorologist this month and this winter are not off the charts when you look at long-term weather patterns. In fact other than the rare January tornado the month has been pretty normal. “Believe it or not this is more typical than what we’ve had in six or seven years” said Gilbert Sebenste meteorologist at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. “Because of El Niño and La Niña we’ve had some very very mild winters and we’ve gotten spoiled. ”El Niño and La Niña are terms for Pacific Ocean temperatures that influence weather conditions widely generally bringing higher temperatures to the central United States. “Now we’ve got the coldest winter in seven years and we think the world is ending.
Gladiators Return to New Orleans Suburb
FOXNews – Jan 26, 2008
— Hundreds of people braved the dreary weather Saturday to welcome home the Krewe of Gladiators _ and mark another modest milestone in this region’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The krewe paraded through the New Orleans suburb of St. This isn’t the same community or same krewe. Perhaps 30000 of the 67000 people who lived in this blue-collar parish before Katrina are back said the parish president and the krewe traditionally a men’s organization went coed this year to fill out its storm-depleted ranks. “It’s been a booger trying to get back” krewe captain William Egan said several hours before the afternoon parade.
NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas’ News Source
Arkansas Democrat Gazette – Jan 26, 2008
Tapia was arrested in Brownsville last month and was released on a $ 50 000 bond. Prosecuting Attorney Fletcher Long of Forrest City filed the charges after a state police investigation revealed that Tapia had used Itravil an amphetamine manufactured in Mexico and banned in the United States. Tapia according to the police report had driven the Tornado Bus Co. coach 17 hours on Nov. 25 from Milwaukee to just east of Forrest City where the crash occurred. He was to drive the bus to Dallas. His driving log indicated that he was to pick up a second driver in Earle but according to Tornado Bus Co… He lost consciousness and woke up on the bus floor. Authorities said Tapia had ingested amphetamines because he was tired from driving. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered Tornado Bus Co. to cease operations in December after an inspection reportedly revealed numerous logbook infractions that covered up driver offenses. According to law drivers with commercial driver’s licenses can operate vehicles for only 10 continuous hours before resting for at least eight hours. Tapia also faces a civil lawsuit. The husband of one of the passengers killed filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Texas district court in Brownsville on Jan.
EDITORIAL: FEMA going forward
Times-Picayune – NOLA.com – The Times-Picayune – NOLA.com – Jan 26, 2008
11terrorist attacks. The agency was put under the newDepartment of Homeland Security and terrorism became thefocus rather than a broad all-hazards approach to disasterreadiness and response. This week though the federal government took animportant step toward reform announcing changes thataddress those valid criticisms by revising the nation’sdisaster plan and restoring FEMA’s leading role indisaster response. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said thatthe 427-page “National Response Plan” that was inplace when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast has beenscrapped in favor of a more flexible 90-page electronicdocument written after consulting with state and localofficials… “It’s going to be a partnership. ” That partnership should result in a more nimble responsethe next time disaster strikes. Hurricane Katrina victimssuffered terribly in the days after the storm — goingwithout food water and care for the sick and elderly –and the federal government’s slow bumbling responsewas to blame. That must not happen again.