"How can I spend the money?" That question is being asked by many Texas wildfire survivors who have received recovery grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency .
More than 80 percent of the nearly $12.6 million in grants FEMA has provided since the wildfires have been aimed at getting survivors into permanent safe, sanitary and functional housing — in the best way they see fit. Instead of using a grant to repair or rebuild a damaged home, for example, recipients may apply the funds toward the purchase of alternate housing.
“In the information packet we send to eligible survivors, FEMA provides guidelines on how to use the money,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Kevin L. Hannes. “However, we want to empower Texans to take charge of their recovery by providing options.”
FEMA’s Individual and Household Program includes grants for temporary housing, home repair or replacement, and other disaster-related needs.
Temporary housing grants allow homeowners and renters to lease a dwelling for a limited period of time when the disaster has made their home uninhabitable. Survivors can choose to rent an apartment or a home. In Bastrop and other wildfire-damaged Texas counties with a shortage of rental properties, FEMA has provided temporary housing units while survivors work on a permanent housing solution.
Survivors receiving temporary housing grants will successfully manage the money when they: Use it for rent and not for home repairs, personal property or other items. Save receipts, as these will be required if a survivor wishes to request additional rental assistance.
Housing repair or replacement grants help eligible homeowners get back into a safe, sanitary and functional home. The funds are not intended to bring a home to its predisaster condition. A grant can be used to help purchase a new home, to purchase materials or to hire contractors or skilled trades workers to complete essential repairs in such areas as: The foundation, outside walls or roof Windows, doors, floors, walls, ceilings and cabinetry Septic or sewage system Well or other water system Heating, ventilating and air conditioning system Utilities — electrical, plumbing, and gas systems Blocking, leveling, and anchoring a mobile home and reconnecting or resetting its sewer, water, electrical, fuel lines and tanks
Other Needs Assistance grants are given to eligible homeowners and renters for a wide variety of losses, including self-employed workers’ lost tools or protective gear, students’ damaged educational materials, household items, furniture, appliances, fuel to heat a home, vehicle damage, clean-up tools such as a wet/dry vacuum or air purifiers, moving and storage expenses or medical and dental expenses caused by the disaster, including lost medications or medical equipment.
Survivors can preserve peace of mind by spending the money on disaster recovery, keeping good records of their spending and saving receipts for three years. If specific receipts are missing, a credit card statement or other evidence can show the grant money was spent on wildfire recovery. As with many other federal programs, the government audits a percentage of grants to assure the money was spent as intended.
2011年11月29日星期二
2011年10月31日星期一
Charity golf tournament has new meaning for Doug DeCinces
On this morning, like every morning of his young life, Beckett Williams dances into the living room hardwood wearing flannel pajamas with feet and knows it's time for therapy.
Beckett, the 2-year-old grandson of former Angels All-Star third baseman Doug DeCinces, climbs into a cushioned chair in front of the television. His mother, Amy, puts a black vest over his shoulders and fastens the Velcro straps snuggly around his tiny chest.
Then she gently places a nebulizer mask over his mouth and nose, its hose delivering puffs of warm medicated air to inhale. She turns on a small medical device that rapidly inflates and deflates the vest, filling the room with a familiar rattle and hum of the air compressor.
His father, T.J., turns up the volume on "Top Gun," Beckett's favorite movie. The boy loves airplanes and Angels baseball.
Everything on his 31/2-foot body — the guitars on his pajamas, his curly blond hair, his tiny fingers and covered feet — shakes, loosening whatever mucus builds in his lungs and moving it toward larger airways so he can breathe more easily.
When Beckett was 12 days old, he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic defect that causes the body's mucus-producing cells to produce thick secretions. For 30 minutes every morning and night, he wears the vest that beats on his chest wall. The disease is relentless.
"When a child has CF, everything that is normal changes," said Amy Williams, who, until Beckett got the vest when he was a year old, took turns with T.J. patting on 12 spots on their son's chest and back for daily therapy.
"This is our normal."
A black and white photo of Beckett wearing an Angels cap and T-shirt and crawling onto third base at Angel Stadium adorns the invitation to the Angels Baseball Foundation 65 Roses Golf Classic benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The annual event, started by former Angel Don Baylor 33 years ago, take places Sunday and Monday at Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park.
"Knowing Don, I played in 17 of these events over the years before finding out that CF hit close to home," said DeCinces, an Angel from 1982-87 who resides in Laguna Beach.
"Watching Beckett grow up has been very emotional, and seeing how my family has handled everything to try to give him the best chances at living a full life has made me very proud."
65 Roses takes its name from how young children tried to say "cystic fibrosis." DeCinces, in the early years of the event, remembers meeting CF children who would die before they were 10. But with early diagnosis and medical advances in treatment, CF patients can live well into adulthood.
Beckett's parents, T.J, who is in real estate, and Amy, who designs new home interiors, are self-employed so they can be home to care for Beckett and their older son, Brody, 4. They deal with CF as a family.
After morning therapy, Beckett, freed from vest and mask, scrambles out to the backyard with his brother, dodging overturned Big Wheels, toy cars, a batting tee, plastic bat and Wiffle ball, to climb onto a large trampoline. The two run and jump high, the motion triggering Beckett to cough.
"This is a good thing," says Amy, watching her sons chase each other before Beckett hops for safety into her arms.
The parents have taken every step to keep Beckett healthy. All visitors wash their hands with sanitizer. The windows in Beckett's room are kept closed and the air purifier stays on beside his crib.
Shoes stay outside to keep dirt off the floors that are now wood instead of the dust-trapping carpet. Even their two Labradoodles play on artificial grass so the dogs don't drag soil into the home.
"The boys are too young to understand what CF is but they've handled everything really well," said T.J. Williams, who became active in CF charities last year and is chairman of this year's 65 Roses event. "We have a lot of fun."
The family went to Disneyland last month and bought Beckett's duck caller, which, like all the whistles and the harmonica around the house, get him to blow, breathe and strengthen his lungs.
They went to the Miramar Air Show so Beckett could watch the planes. They made it to a half dozen Angels games this season so Brody, who likes to smack home runs in the backyard, can see baseball and Beckett could clap at the sight of fireworks.
Beckett, the 2-year-old grandson of former Angels All-Star third baseman Doug DeCinces, climbs into a cushioned chair in front of the television. His mother, Amy, puts a black vest over his shoulders and fastens the Velcro straps snuggly around his tiny chest.
Then she gently places a nebulizer mask over his mouth and nose, its hose delivering puffs of warm medicated air to inhale. She turns on a small medical device that rapidly inflates and deflates the vest, filling the room with a familiar rattle and hum of the air compressor.
His father, T.J., turns up the volume on "Top Gun," Beckett's favorite movie. The boy loves airplanes and Angels baseball.
Everything on his 31/2-foot body — the guitars on his pajamas, his curly blond hair, his tiny fingers and covered feet — shakes, loosening whatever mucus builds in his lungs and moving it toward larger airways so he can breathe more easily.
When Beckett was 12 days old, he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic defect that causes the body's mucus-producing cells to produce thick secretions. For 30 minutes every morning and night, he wears the vest that beats on his chest wall. The disease is relentless.
"When a child has CF, everything that is normal changes," said Amy Williams, who, until Beckett got the vest when he was a year old, took turns with T.J. patting on 12 spots on their son's chest and back for daily therapy.
"This is our normal."
A black and white photo of Beckett wearing an Angels cap and T-shirt and crawling onto third base at Angel Stadium adorns the invitation to the Angels Baseball Foundation 65 Roses Golf Classic benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The annual event, started by former Angel Don Baylor 33 years ago, take places Sunday and Monday at Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park.
"Knowing Don, I played in 17 of these events over the years before finding out that CF hit close to home," said DeCinces, an Angel from 1982-87 who resides in Laguna Beach.
"Watching Beckett grow up has been very emotional, and seeing how my family has handled everything to try to give him the best chances at living a full life has made me very proud."
65 Roses takes its name from how young children tried to say "cystic fibrosis." DeCinces, in the early years of the event, remembers meeting CF children who would die before they were 10. But with early diagnosis and medical advances in treatment, CF patients can live well into adulthood.
Beckett's parents, T.J, who is in real estate, and Amy, who designs new home interiors, are self-employed so they can be home to care for Beckett and their older son, Brody, 4. They deal with CF as a family.
After morning therapy, Beckett, freed from vest and mask, scrambles out to the backyard with his brother, dodging overturned Big Wheels, toy cars, a batting tee, plastic bat and Wiffle ball, to climb onto a large trampoline. The two run and jump high, the motion triggering Beckett to cough.
"This is a good thing," says Amy, watching her sons chase each other before Beckett hops for safety into her arms.
The parents have taken every step to keep Beckett healthy. All visitors wash their hands with sanitizer. The windows in Beckett's room are kept closed and the air purifier stays on beside his crib.
Shoes stay outside to keep dirt off the floors that are now wood instead of the dust-trapping carpet. Even their two Labradoodles play on artificial grass so the dogs don't drag soil into the home.
"The boys are too young to understand what CF is but they've handled everything really well," said T.J. Williams, who became active in CF charities last year and is chairman of this year's 65 Roses event. "We have a lot of fun."
The family went to Disneyland last month and bought Beckett's duck caller, which, like all the whistles and the harmonica around the house, get him to blow, breathe and strengthen his lungs.
They went to the Miramar Air Show so Beckett could watch the planes. They made it to a half dozen Angels games this season so Brody, who likes to smack home runs in the backyard, can see baseball and Beckett could clap at the sight of fireworks.
2011年6月29日星期三
As public servants face cuts, one raises a stink about office aroma
Working in the public service stinks, apparently.
A Citizenship and Immigration employee has missed hundreds of hours of work over nearly a decade, claiming the smell of cologne and perfume at the office is so strong he just can’t take it.
At a time when public servants are fearing they may be next to be told their jobs have been eliminated via government-wide spending cuts, temporary resident visa processor Terrence Juba has kept his for years despite calling in sick as much as possible.
“Mr. Juba said that he has been absent from work for hundreds of hours,” states a Public Service Labour Relations Board report released Tuesday and written by adjudicator Paul Love. “He explored the possibility of working from home. Suggestions were made that he quit his job. He requested and was provided an air purifier.”
Reports from the Labour Relations Board often provide a window into the small battles waged inside the public service, where numerous avenues are available for federal employees to file grievances about their work conditions.
One 2006 email listed in the report indicated that Mr. Juba’s contract allowed him 176.5 hours of sick leave. Mr. Juba was asking to have his used sick days returned because his office did not act fast enough to accommodate his condition.
The report states that Mr. Juba’s boss, Paul Snow, took the condition seriously, going so far as to seek help from something described as “JOSH,” the “Joint Occupational Safety and Health Committee.”
The manager then arranged to have an expert on scents come in to teach Mr. Juba’s work colleagues at the Vegreville, Alta., Case Processing Centre about the importance of not being overly fragrant.
“The training was delivered by a person from outside the Centre to avoid stigmatizing those who were scent sensitive and to demonstrate that it was a serious issue,” according to the report.
A sign was also put up in the office that read: “Scent sensitive zone.”
Ultimately, the adjudicator dismissed Mr. Juba’s request.
And that wasn’t the first time the public servant used the various grievance options available to workers inside government.
In 2002 Mr. Juba made a claim for compensation with the Workers’ Compensation Board, on the grounds that he had experienced headaches, a runny nose and occasional nosebleeds from being around co-workers wearing perfume.
A Citizenship and Immigration employee has missed hundreds of hours of work over nearly a decade, claiming the smell of cologne and perfume at the office is so strong he just can’t take it.
At a time when public servants are fearing they may be next to be told their jobs have been eliminated via government-wide spending cuts, temporary resident visa processor Terrence Juba has kept his for years despite calling in sick as much as possible.
“Mr. Juba said that he has been absent from work for hundreds of hours,” states a Public Service Labour Relations Board report released Tuesday and written by adjudicator Paul Love. “He explored the possibility of working from home. Suggestions were made that he quit his job. He requested and was provided an air purifier.”
Reports from the Labour Relations Board often provide a window into the small battles waged inside the public service, where numerous avenues are available for federal employees to file grievances about their work conditions.
One 2006 email listed in the report indicated that Mr. Juba’s contract allowed him 176.5 hours of sick leave. Mr. Juba was asking to have his used sick days returned because his office did not act fast enough to accommodate his condition.
The report states that Mr. Juba’s boss, Paul Snow, took the condition seriously, going so far as to seek help from something described as “JOSH,” the “Joint Occupational Safety and Health Committee.”
The manager then arranged to have an expert on scents come in to teach Mr. Juba’s work colleagues at the Vegreville, Alta., Case Processing Centre about the importance of not being overly fragrant.
“The training was delivered by a person from outside the Centre to avoid stigmatizing those who were scent sensitive and to demonstrate that it was a serious issue,” according to the report.
A sign was also put up in the office that read: “Scent sensitive zone.”
Ultimately, the adjudicator dismissed Mr. Juba’s request.
And that wasn’t the first time the public servant used the various grievance options available to workers inside government.
In 2002 Mr. Juba made a claim for compensation with the Workers’ Compensation Board, on the grounds that he had experienced headaches, a runny nose and occasional nosebleeds from being around co-workers wearing perfume.
2011年5月10日星期二
Ahhhchoo, allergy season coming on strong
An abundance of rainfall this spring has made this year’s allergy season a particularly bad one for seasonal allergy sufferers.
“Just look outside and you can see,” said Parsippany-based allergist Dr. Neal Nadler.
There’s pollen everywhere.
Rain holds pollen down, but when the rain dries up the battle begins, Nadler said. “Now all the pollens that have been suppressed come out in full blast, and people get the itchy eyes and running nose,” he said.
The allergy culprits of the moment are trees and mold (though, Nadler said, mold is a year-round irritant), and come August, ragweed will cause its own share of sniffles and sneezes, he said.
Seasonal allergies last from April to October, or, until the first frost comes and there are about 40 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies.
Dr. Leonard Bielory, a specialist in allergy and immunology with the department of Environmental Sciences at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, said he sympathizes because this year’s allergy season looks to be particularly harsh.
“The grass pollens started last weekend and that Sunday our phones started ringing off the hook,” he said, referring to patients seeking relief at his private practice in Springfield. “This will continue to persist at these elevated states through the end of May and the beginning of June.”
Bielory, who is conducting research on pollen and allergies, said that on Tuesday tree pollen counts soared to 5,600 grains per cubic meter, which is considered high. Information on the daily pollen count can be found on the Asthma and Allergy Research Center, NJ School of Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry website, he said.
Point Pleasant Dr. Richard Murachanian said it’s hard to tell whether it is worse than previous years because there are so many effective, nonsedating over-the-counter allergy medications, like Allegra and Claritin, that people may choose to purchase the medication rather than visit a doctor.
“Just look outside and you can see,” said Parsippany-based allergist Dr. Neal Nadler.
There’s pollen everywhere.
Rain holds pollen down, but when the rain dries up the battle begins, Nadler said. “Now all the pollens that have been suppressed come out in full blast, and people get the itchy eyes and running nose,” he said.
The allergy culprits of the moment are trees and mold (though, Nadler said, mold is a year-round irritant), and come August, ragweed will cause its own share of sniffles and sneezes, he said.
Seasonal allergies last from April to October, or, until the first frost comes and there are about 40 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies.
Dr. Leonard Bielory, a specialist in allergy and immunology with the department of Environmental Sciences at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, said he sympathizes because this year’s allergy season looks to be particularly harsh.
“The grass pollens started last weekend and that Sunday our phones started ringing off the hook,” he said, referring to patients seeking relief at his private practice in Springfield. “This will continue to persist at these elevated states through the end of May and the beginning of June.”
Bielory, who is conducting research on pollen and allergies, said that on Tuesday tree pollen counts soared to 5,600 grains per cubic meter, which is considered high. Information on the daily pollen count can be found on the Asthma and Allergy Research Center, NJ School of Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry website, he said.
Point Pleasant Dr. Richard Murachanian said it’s hard to tell whether it is worse than previous years because there are so many effective, nonsedating over-the-counter allergy medications, like Allegra and Claritin, that people may choose to purchase the medication rather than visit a doctor.
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