The funeral will be next Monday, the 12th, to give all the far-flung relatives a chance to get here.
11:00 a.m., St. Louis Cathedral service.
Immediately following, a second line jazz funeral through a bit of the Quarter, past his bike shop (and get some Chartreuse from Johnny White’s if you’re up to it). The repast will be at BJ’s around 4ish.
Sunday afternoon about 5pm, a driver veered off the road, hitting three pedestrians, who were standing in front of a house, killing one and injuring two others.
The accident happened in the 800 block of Lesseps, at the corner of Dauphine, just outside Vaughn’s Bar.
Billy Ding, 42, (Piano player - Billy Ding & the Hot Wings, & former owner of French Quarter Bicycles) was pronounced dead on the scene.
Michael Aaron (Owner - Recently closed Rock & Roll Collectibles on Decatur Street) is in critical condition. I believe he’s been taken to University Hospital. The other pedestrian, whose identity is as yet unknown, was taken away by ambulance as well.
The driver, who witnesses say was apparently learning to drive, was arrested. Drug and alcohol tests were pending.
Michael Aaron, our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Billy Ding, you will be missed, my friend.
Lord David
Skull Club
New Orleans
A federal court judge cleared the way Friday for the Army Corps of Engineers to face trial on claims that defects in its Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet destroyed wetlands and turned the navigation channel into a funnel for storm surge..After the way previous suits against the Corps have gone this is a lovely breath of fresh air. In order to engender respect from the community there needs to be responsibility, accountability and some from of pennance besides. Accountability has been evaded because of decades outdated immunities still on the books. Need I remind the world yet again that the winds that hit New Orleans were Cat 2, we were on the weaker backside of the storm. The levees were certified for Cat 3.U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval’s 40-page ruling “paves the way for the first and only trial that will likely be held on how the Army Corps of Engineers drowned New Orleans” during Hurricane Katrina, said California attorney Pierce O’Donnell, who leads the legal team that filed the case two years ago on behalf of a group of plaintiffs that includes WDSU-TV anchorman Norman Robinson, who lived in eastern New Orleans.
The suit alleges the controversial shipping channel flooded thousands of homes in eastern New Orleans, the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish.
Now the Corps is using newspapers to seal the gaps in the levees? Drag them through the court system and enforce accountability.
Without proper flood protection the world will lose a lot, not just the residents of New Orleans. Newsweek said it very well recently:This subtropical port, which looks to the Mediterranean, Africa and the Caribbean for inspiration, has always marched to the beat of a multitude of different and very funky drummers. Which city has more beguiling street names - Abundance, Beaujolais, Cupid, Desire? Other places have the Rotary and the Elks. New Orleans has Social and Pleasure clubs and the Mardi Gras Indians - African-Americans masquerading as Native Americans in a tradition dating from when Indians and slaves were natural allies. A Mardi Gras Indian designs and sews a new costume every year: one chief put the cost, in time and materials, at $100,000 each. There are secret rituals, songs and chants; even parade routes are classified. Masking is crucial - disguise, misdirection, all in the service of nutty, impractical, unclassifiable mystery - and it’s one key to understanding the city and its culture. New Orleans elevates the chores of daily life to a high level of culture. Porch railings are wrought into sculpture. In the kitchen, the humblest food becomes piquant. Even the funeral procession is an art form. In the wake of Katrina, New Orleans is doing what it does best: making something extraordinary out of next to nothing. There’s no Marshall Plan here - just small miracles in individual neighborhoods. “The culture of New Orleans emanates from the bottom up, not from the top down,” says Ellis Marsalis, pianist, composer and patriarch of the musical clan. The resurrection of the neighborhoods is doubly important because thousands of residents are still trying to come back, and because the city’s culture - particularly its music - is anchored in the neighborhoods. Unless they are revived, “the music won’t have a home anymore,” says saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., who is also the Big Chief of the Congo Nation, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe. “New Orleans needs the neighborhoods, because it’s the only city in America that retains its traditional styles.”In the increasingly mobile and digital age the world needs places like New Orleans. This is the last true American bohemia in so many ways, a place with a rich and vibrant (and yes, in many case unfortunate) history.
This is one of those rare moments of sanity over the past three years, I hope it goes the distance!
Now back to my foul weather Jazz Fest Blogging…
Loki, Founder and Cat Herder, HumidCity
Extreme Weather, dammit! Details here, read before leaving home.
I am firm in my opinion that George W. Bush is the worst President we have ever had. As a New Orleanian I remember too many events like his big speech on Jackson Square, lit by the only lights in the city, brought in just to illuminate his words. Lights that were taken down and shipped off immediately leaving only crocodile tears and empty promises, like Mardi Gras garbage in their wake.
I do not welcome him, I do not condone any of his actions, and his visits are always such a pain in the ass. Just ask our boys in Iraq.
Anyway, since he has decided to grace us with his prescence getting around town is going to suck. In order to help alleviate that here is a list of the downtown traffic headaches so you can try to avoid them, enjoy!
Loki, HumidCity FounderQ:What does George W. Bush think of Rowe v. Wade?
A: He doesn’t care how people get out of New Orleans.
On Sunday, April 20, 2008, from 2:00 pm, until Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 3:00pm, the following streets will be closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Additionally, no parking will be allowed during this time frame.I may not have agreed with how he lived his life or spent his money, but is was his life and his money. One thing you have to give him is that he was a self made man.
In the near future you will be seeing posts from a voice new to HumidCity: George Ingmire. You may be familiar with him through his Wednesday morning radio show on WWOZ 90.7fm, or you may know him through his work in the local film scene. It you read the Gambit you might recognize him from their most recent 40 Under 40.
Mr. Ingmire is responsible for producing and restoring the documentary film Think of Me First as a Person which was one of 25 films in the country to be added to the National Film Registry in 2006. George has been a fellow conspirator on projects going back to the days of the Silver Machine where he was kind enough to lend his audiovisual expertise to our projects on several occasions.
Check out this video interview with him on NOLA.com!
George, my brother, welcome to HumidCity!
Hey out there in NOLAland! Just wanted to announce the debut of the New Orleans Shows Community on Flickr. It’s a joint effort to document music shows within the New Orleans metro area. We already have a wide variety of pics ranging from VooDoo Fest to the Noisician Colaition.
Stop by, check ‘em out, add some of your own!
This photo of VooDoo fest at dusk courtesy of group member Sandstep, used under this Creative Commons license
Because you are such loyal lab rats, I’m going to give you a chance to win one of these wonderful SHOW POSTERS we’ve brewed up (and if you FAIL the test, the posters will still be available at the merchandise table.)Â To win, you must be one of the first 10 people to discern the correct answers to the following simple questions about our new episode, ‘Rock City Morgus’:
Question 1: How many times does Dr. Pinkerton say “Excellent”?
Question 2: How many times does Filbert say “Fargenargle”?
Question 3: How many warnings does Dr. Morgus give Dr. Pinkerton before taking action?
Write the three numbers that answer these questions on a piece of paper and present it to the person behind the merchandise table at the show. The first 10 people will receive a free poster that looks like this!
See you at the party!!!
-Dr. Milo T. Pinkerton III
www.ConsortiumOfGenius.com
(This message was syndicated by the COG despite the objections of normal people everywhere. The picture is courtesy of ddagradi -Loki)
Come on out today and join us fr the Sisth Alternative Media Expo at the Contemporary Arts Center! Look for Loki drifting between the Defend New Orleans and AuthorViews tables! See Jac form Defend New Orleans in a suit! See Leo McGovern in person and determine for your self whether he is only a cartoon character in After the Deluge!
Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, Step Right Up and see the most amazing array of non mainstream media ever gathered in New Orleans!| The Alternative Media Expo is in its sixth installment and features over 85 exhibitors with ‘zines, comics, photography, t-shirts, web design, films, blogs and other media. |
What is the Expo? It’s an event that’s much like a trade show and set up like a comic convention–exhibitors show everything from ‘zines and comics to handmade clothing, jewelry and crafts to photography, paintings, t-shirts and films.
If you’re a fan of alternative media, you’ll love the Expo–where else can you find all these things under one roof?
If you’re a media-maker, it’s the perfect opportunity to expose an interested audience to your work, as well as a great chance to network with like-minded individuals.
Special Guests:A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge and American Splendor artist Josh Neufeld!
Notes from New Orleans author Deborah Cotton
SPONSORS:
Humid Beings, Dirty Coast, the Charitable Film Network, Static TV, the New Orleans Craft Mafia, ANTIGRAVITY and Defend New Orleans
Committed exhibitors:
AuthorViews, 504 Whatstyle, A Year At the Wheel.com, Alicia Devora, Alternatives Magazine, American New Wave Media Group, Amy Davis Photography, Antigravity Magazine, ArtVoices Magazine, Ashe’ Cultural Arts Center, AuthorViews/HumidCity, Backporch Revolution, Baretta Vendetta, Bidonville Book and Paper Collective, Bizer Law, Black Rain Press, B.L.A.K. Pearl, Bluebird-Art, Brinson Gottshalk Productions, Caesar Meadows, Chainmaille Jewelry by Draillia, Chance Cenac 3-D Acyrlic Paintings, Charitable Film Network, Christina Zendt, Circular Accessories, City Hustlers, Claverie Crafts, C.O.G., Constance, Contemporary Cowrie, Corey Sanders, Curious Tribe, Dead Squirrel Girl, Deep South Samizdat Books, Defend New Orleans, Dirty Coast, dismantled designs, Dreamer 76, El MacFearsome Comic Squares, Etsy New Orleans, Flambeaux Deigns, Goodchildren Carnival Club, greenKangaroo, Gypsy Charms Jewelry/M. Bevis, High Voltage Youth Media Camp, Hip-Hop Teen Magazine, Homegrown Designs/SimplePlay Production, Humid Beings, Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, Icon Studios, Inkwell Press, Iron Rail Book Collective, Jeff Pastorek, Jeremy the Alien, Joey Jones Productions, Josh Neufeld, Kagen Water, Katrina Warriors, Kelly Jarvis, Killers of Kind, Kody Chamberlain, Lucid SFX Development, Magazine Metals, Mana Media, Media Underground Comics, Mardi Gras Service Corps, Maria Fomich, Michelle Lance, Morcos Media, Ms. Placed, Natural Awakenings Magazine, New Orleans Craft Mafia, New Orleans Film Society, Newcomb College Center for Research on Women, Nob Glass, NOLA Fugees, NOLA Party Productions, NOLA Rising, Nueveau, Photography by Emily, R. Scott Taylor and Chris Matherne, Rising Tide Bloggers Conference, Rotten Pathway Through the Digestive Track, Seraphemera Books, Sound Café/Beth’s Books, Spike Vessels, Static TV, Terror Optics, Third World Mojo, Toby Craig, The Trumpet, Truth Universal, Unique Products, UNO Filmmakers, Vance Kelly, Voodoo Maverick, WTUL, YES! (YMCA Educational Services), Zack Smith…the list is growing!
Questions? E-mail expo@antigravitymagazine.com!
FILM LINEUP (Coordinated by Static TV):
2pm—Films by DNO Videos
3pm—Films of Jason Affolder
4pm—Films by New Orleans Xposed’s Jody Smith
5pm—Films by Terror Optics
POST-PARTY: Jock Se Bloque @ Saturn Bar
Loki
Founder, HumidCity
Digital Outreach, Defend New Orleans
Tune in today, Wednesday (January 16th) from 11:30am to 2:00pm CST, as we celebrate Allen Toussaint’s birthday (January 14, 1938). From the late 50s to the present, from Devo to Irma Thomas, now’s the time to savor some Southern Nights and find those Lipstick Traces, as we listen to Allen Toussaint and those his music has touched.
WWOZ 90.7 on your FM dial!
If you are outside of the New Orleans Metro Area tune in the stream at WWOZ Online
Spammers, hackers, and scumbags have crash the site of one of my personal favorite voices in the local blogosphere: Gbitch. Not being one to allow the vile creatures win I have offered her sanctuary here on HumidCity until they can undo the damage. Be warned, my favorite angry African American female is about to assume her place here while in exile. (Bringing up the quality levels of our offering to you in the process.)
You will be seeing several new voices appear in the next few weeks as we begin our expansion of the site to include more new voices and perspectives from around our Humid City. Stay tuned, folks. The fun is only just beginning!
-Loki
Help save the wetlands, that’s what!
Help Rebuild Our Wetlands
City of New Orleans Christmas Tree Recycling Program
Residents can recycle their Christmas trees by placing them curbside before January 9, 2008 for collection. The City will make a special collection of Christmas trees from January 9th through the 12th.
Remove all decoration, lights, tinsel, garland, plastic wrap, tree stands, wire, rope, and other foreign materials from the tree before recycling.
Flocked trees cannot be recycled.
Trees will be used to help rebuild our wetlands!
Powered by ScribeFire.
I spent a significant chunk of my day today sitting it work down in the Bywater listening to the pounding of torrential rain on the window behind me. It was about 11:30am that a text message alerted me to the fact that strange things were afoot at City Hall. Moments later I was making the prior post.
Now I have had some time to dig through a variety of footage and punditry, windbags of the internet and the cathode tube alike. As usual I found jackal like barking on both sides of the argument. Sound and fury and extremism with little evidence of reason. In short a true bipartisan effort.
I would be a liar if I claimed to understand all of the intricacies of the situation, and a fool if I honestly thought I had the solution. What I do know is that I am weary with the vitriol that New Orleans has produced so copiously since that fateful August of ‘05.
As usual the few voices I found making sense were in the local blogosphere. If you want intelligent analysis I highly advise going to the source posts these excerpts are taken from and read them in their entirety. Lets start with Schroeder over at People Get Ready:I hope to have time to say more about what is shaping up to be one of the worst defeats in the history of New Orleans for racial harmony — the public housing controversy. For now, I’ll just say that I think that the most egregious offenders against the interests of public housing residents have been the uninformed lefty white poseur anarchist intellectuals who swooped into the city to save it from the uninformed right-wing white reactionary bourgeoisie.He goes on to make a statement that I believe everyone reading should take to heart and work towards:True — there are a number of locals in the mix as well — white and black — who have called for action, and action is necessary to force people to the table in search of compromise, instead of yelling at each other. I guess I’ve just decided that I won’t make a fool of myself by standing again with braggard activists who wouldn’t themselves choose to live in the public housing projects, and who aren’t so much struggling for better lives for public housing residents as they’re trying to champion their own egoistic hero complexes, and to confirm their distorted world views inspired by some manifesto they read somewhere.
On the other hand, I’m equally repulsed by the rhetoric issuing forth from conservative ideologues, mainly heard sqawking their boot-strap doctrine on Clear Channel Fox-affiliate 99.5 FM and the redundant Entercom stations 870 AM/105.3 FM/1350 AM.
Once again, the presidential candidates who emerge to represent their respective parties need to commit to an additional debate in New Orleans, to debate the future of New Orleans as the most important venue where the future crises of the rest of the nation are being staged today.So that is a small fragment of a passionately brilliant post from our favorite Peanuts Character. Now on to my favorite bivalve, Oyster from Your Right Hand Thief (a former HumidCity contributor), as he waxes eloquent on the photo from todays Times-Pic which shows Sharon Jasper, who wishes to return to her public housing. “I might be poor but I don’t like to live poor. I thank God for a place to live but it’s pitiful what people give you.” This is the quote that appears under a picture of her sitting next to a HUGE widescreen TV that most of the people I know could not afford. Instead of quoting him I’ll just send you over to read the post (its short) and see the picture. Draw your own conclusions. I’ll wait here for you.
Back now? Good.
Let’s check in on Varg over at The Chicory, shall we? The pertinent post (go read it all, you know you want to) starts off kicking:But one theme is emerging above all others: Don’t depend on the government for housing. As we learned in August of 2005, don’t depend on the government for ANYthing. It’s a losing proposition. Nagin said there was no win-win situation. The Chicory says for the residents, it’s a lose-lose situation.We have all seen it. We have all done the paperwork, endless reams of paperwork. The powers that be have been worse than useless, they have been self serving at the expense of the people they are supposed to lead. They are, as Frank Zappa so eloquently put it, jumped up used care salesmen in bad suits whose paychecks are drawn from our taxes. They work FOR us and need to be reminded of it. He goes on to sum things up beautifully:
I saw another photo that claimed housing as being a basic human right. This further drove me away from the protesters. It’s a responsibility isn’t it? I understand the situation many people find themselves in. I understand the various circumstances that can lead to someone finding themselves homeless. What I can’t understand is the point one reaches when they feel as though the government has a responsibility to provide them housing when they don’t accept that responsibility themselves. The government is an uncaring, globular institution which can be swayed in many different directions and will often leave its dependents without roofs over their heads. People of all classes should be strongly encouraged to become independent of it.So leave a comment, even if you are a confirmed lurker leave a comment. Give me some more viewpoints. It is a complex issue and one that we all need to get a grip on ASAP.
Loki
HumidCity Founder
A message from Jeanne Nathan. To respond, email jnyno@aol.com
Dear New Orleans Citizen,
The debate over demolition of public housing buildings in New Orleans has been cast in either/or rhetoric that has undermined any serious consideration of what is the best way to improve communities that were once home for 4500 mostly working families, many of whom are still scattered far from home.
Using the fear of urban crime and drugs as the banner for destroying over 700 sturdy, well built and well designed bricks and mortar buildings, HUD officials have failed to provide the facts, plans or contracts on which New Orleanians can judge the sincerity or appropriateness of their plans for building mixed income housing in their place.
Violent crime in the city has risen since Katrina, despite the fact that most public housing is vacant, and closed off to former tenants, who were, by the way, leaseholders whose possessions still lie frozen in time in their former homes. Violent crime, most of it perpetrated by teen age males against teen age males is rising nation wide. It is a by product of a drug industry that has replaced disappearing entry level manufacturing, port and service jobs. The abandoned urban public school systems have also failed to educate our youth for the increasing high tech and knowledge based economies.
HUD has spread lies about what tenants do and don’t want; how many new affordable apartments it “plans” to create; about how many affordable apartments are available in the city. Former tenants warn that past promises for new development turned out to be a mirage; that new mixed income communities never deliver the promises of affordable apartments. Vast acreage owned by HUD and ready for new developments lies vacant, waiting for new housing units HUD promised long ago.
Our public officials, long silent on these plans, now seem ready to accept HUD’s lies and public policy on face value without further exploration. Our news media has done little better so far, quoting HUD’s numbers, inaccurate depiction of housing, much of it virtually untouched by the storm, as “flood ravaged and obsolete,” and failing to go beyond the street protests to look at the valid arguments against wholesale immediate demolition of 4500 units of housing.
In today’s New York Times Adam Nossiter quotes a former New Orleanian living in southwest Louisiana as saying she opens her windows to listen to the cows for company at night, missing her city, but finding no neighborhood where she once lived.
Anyone who believes HUD’s claims that tenants do not want to return has turned their back on reality and their fellow citizens.
No one can know all the true facts about the need, alternatives and plans for public housing right now. There has simply not been enough examination of the alternatives. Many of us participated in the three phases of planning after the storm, and learned what participation in planning means. HUD regulations require similar planning involvement by its tenants. Yet, in fact, HUD signed preliminary contracts with developers that required wholesale demolition without such participation, setting up a sham series of noon time West Bank meetings only after the contracts were inked.
In the face of this confusion, many professionals familiar with housing, planning, preservation and social issues are calling for a time out. Rather than vote for demolition, they call on the City Council to vote for a moratorium to allow more careful review of the best ways to perhaps demolish some of the buildings in worst disrepair, others that would open streets through the once isolated developments, renovate units as Historic Restoration Inc. did in five older public housing buildings in the St. Thomas projects that became the River Garden complex, and add features that would attract a wide range of tenants, while offering a real one-for-one opportunity for working families to return to these new developments.
Lets take a few months to dig beneath the surface, get the facts straight, and create a more informed mandate for HUD to follow in creating new housing for former and new tenants.
The citizens of New Orleans, whether tenants, neighbors, or residents anywhere in our city, deserve informed decision making and plans. We talked about a new New Orleans in those desperate days after the storm. Lets not abandon that dream so fast.
We are seeking individuals and organizations to communicate with City Council members on these issues no later than tomorrow, before the Council meeting this Thursday. Please use the email addresses below to contact the council members.
Arnie Fielkow - Council Member-At-Large
AFielkow@cityofno.com
Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson –Councilmember-At-Large
jbclarkson@cityofno.com
Shelley Midura - District A
SMidura@cityofno.com
Stacy S. Head - District B
SHead@cityofno.com
James Carter - District C
JCarter@cityofno.com
Cynthia Hedge-Morrell - District D
CHMorrell@cityofno.com
Cynthia Willard-Lewis - District E
CWLewis@cityofno.com
image courtesy of Skeleton Krewe
Citizen Crime Watch * Pistolette * City Business
Dangerblonde * People Get Ready
Its a long fall from the lionized victor over Edwin Edwards to the most worthless DA in New Orleans history. Many of us hope he breaks something (or several somethings) at the end of it.
Now that we, the taxpayers, get to pay off the fiduciary penalties of this racist ass I have one question for our FORMER DA.
While you were depriving your department not only of its caucasians, but also of computers, voicemail, and the simple necessities of the job, how many of our children and neighbors die horribly?
Ask Pontius Pilate, blood on your hands never washes clean.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. (of course maybe it is all to get his lawsuit paid for…)
Mayor Approves Parking on Neutral Ground
NEW ORLEANS, LA (October 22, 2007) - Due to severe flooding conditions that are expected to persist throughout the remainder of the day and later in the evening, New Orleans City Hall and all city government offices will close at 3 p.m., today. Essential offices will remain open.
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has granted permission for the citizens to park on the neutral ground this evening. Citizens will not be ticketed for parking on the neutral ground and the city will not be liable for any damages to private property due to expected flooding or storm related hazards. Normal parking enforcement will resume at 9 a.m., Tuesday, October 23.
The National Weather Service reports that the city can expect a lull in the weather until approximately 5 to 6 p.m. This will provide the time for the Sewage and Water Board pumps to clear the streets. The pumps dispense one inch of water in the first hour and an half an inch every hour after. The city can expect another round of bad weather from approximately 5 to 10 p.m. During that time we can expect one to two inches of rain per hour. So far, the city have experienced anywhere between 3-6 inches of rain with the chance of 10 inches of total rain before tomorrow morning. The EOC is at a level one activation (OEP Staff Only).
As of 1 p.m. this afternoon, the Sewage and Water Board reported that all pumping systems are fully operational and working properly.
The Mayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness recommends the following:
This is horrible and should be passed on widely. Via LiveJournal New Orleans Community:
Compromise of FAFSA Data
A Boston-based company called Iron Mountain lost a significant number of Louisiana FAFSA records one month ago.
Food, shopping, live music and blogger sightings, what more could you ask?
-Loki
No, I (hopefully) do not mean a hurricane. There will be some changes here at HumidCity being unveiled over the next month or two so don’t be shocked if you surf through one day and things are different.
Comments (0)Friday evening a New Orleans classic returns! My old friend Lionel Milton is having an opening and DJ Soul Sista from WWOZ is spinning!
Be there, or be octagonal!
Here we go, the latest email submission from Mr. Fix The Pumps! Brace yourself because this is really bizarre: good news! Take it away Matt…
Dear New Orleanians,
This morning, FEMA issued its new Disaster Specific Guidance (DSG) for the Relocation Assistance program. This is the program to reimburse folks affected by Katrina and Rita for moving back home or to a new permanent address. The guidance was issued internally to FEMA’s front line customer service folks.
Note that everything below is not official guidance from FEMA. You should call (800) 621-FEMA to get the complete scoop.
Now, on to the good news…
Previously, FEMA had restricted eligibility for the program for those people who moved between February 1, 2006 and February 29, 2008.
Today, that opening date has been changed to August 29, 2005! That means anyone that moved back after the storm (and who meets all the other tests for eligibility) is now eligible. In other words, FEMA is no longer penalizing the pioneers who came back - or those folks who decided to put down roots somewhere else - as soon as possible after the storm. The closing date remains the same - February 29, 2008.
I assume there will be a press release on this in the coming days, but here’s some more details, straight from the actual DSG (note you can’t have already received these benefits from another organization, such as the United Methodist Church, the Red Cross, or any other agency that might have provided the assistance):
- as before, the benefit is a maximum of $4000. That is counted toward the theoretical maximum Individuals & Families Program benefit of $26,200. Thus, if your household has not received more than $22,200, you could receive up to the maximum $4000.
- a new part of the benefit is that FEMA will pay for one night of hotel stay if the move was more than 400 miles. They’ll pay for the room and taxes, but not room service or any other hotel services. If you had more than one room, (due to occupancy restrictions or had more than 4 people in your group during the move), FEMA will pay for another room. For each additional 400 miles over the first 400, FEMA will pay one more night.
- as before, the move must be 50 miles or more
- FEMA will pay for truck rental, moving help, moving supply purchases from the rental company (boxes, tape, etc), car rental, and even gas. Apparently, receipts are only required for the gas purchases, although they also mention you can put in for mileage (assumedly at the standard gov’t reimbursement rate in effect at the time of the move, though I would wait until the official guidance is released to the public for that detail). If you don’t have receipts for anything else, I think you can supply estimates or you can call the moving or rental company to get a duplicate receipt. But receipts are always best.
- FEMA will not pay for gas if you used your private vehicle to move back (they feel you would have been doing so anyway as part of a normal evacuation, and that any extra expenses incurred in such a private-vehicle move were covered by the $2000 Emergency Assistance - I’m not saying I agree… I’m just passing along the reasoning). If you rented a trailer to tow behind, they will pay for that.
- FEMA’s still paying for plane, train, and bus tickets home, as long as you haven’t had them paid for by some other organization.
- the program has been opened up to everyone in the Katrina-and-Rita-affected counties and parishes in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Previously, this program was only open to Louisiana storm victims.
There’s a few more details (you can only apply for benefits resulting from one of the storms, not both), but the big news is the date change. This is pretty huge, and will benefit thousands of people.
FEMA has set up a special fax number if you wish to submit your receipts by fax. It is:
(877) 828-9388
If you want to mail in your paperwork, the address is:
FEMA Relocation Assistance
NPSC
P.O. Box 10055
Hyattsville, MD 20782
As always, you should call 1-800-621-FEMA to register for the program and to get all the information. Ask to be transferred to a Relocation Assistance specialist. FEMA has specifically trained personnel to process this paperwork and answer aid recipients’ questions.
Note that FEMA has been holding off processing anyone’s Relocation Assistance claims that have been submitted in the last month (the program was announced August 27, 2007). They knew the program would be getting changed significantly, so they wanted to wait for the revised guidance. That way, everyone is being treated equally. According to the fellow I spoke with, processing of claims should begin today or tomorrow.
When the press release comes out, I’ll point you to it.
Matt McBride
It would seem that Harry Lee will not be running for another term when election time rolls around again, he passed away this morning, losing his ongoing battle with leukemia at 75.
