State websites:  Louisiana   Mississippi  Alabama     Hurricane Katrina interative maps – New York Times

 

 1. Risk – AbsolutAstronomy.com

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Professions and governments manage risk

 

Means of measuring and assessing risk vary widely across different professions--indeed, means of doing so may define different professions, e.g. a doctor manages medical risk, a civil engineer manages risk of structural failure, etc.

A  professional code of ethics is usually focused on risk assessment and mitigation (by the professional on behalf of client, public, society or life in general).

Some theorists of political science, notably  Carol Moore and  Jane Jacobs, emphasize that smaller political units and careful separation of the roles of regulator and trader can improve   professional ethics and subordinate them to uniform risk limits that would apply to a particular locale, e.g. an entire urban area.

The political ideal of  bioregional democracy arose in part in response to these ideals, and problems of professional jargons and associations alienating power from real people living in real places.

"A profession by definition is in a conflict of interest with respect to the risk passed on to its clients." - Steven Rapaport.

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 2. Experts debate rebuilding New Orleans – AZ Central.com

 

Even before the evacuation of flooded New Orleans has been completed, hurricane scientists, disaster experts and reconstruction officials are raising the question of whether the city should be rebuilt at all.

 

President Bush has promised to help the city "get back on its feet," and few people can imagine an America without New Orleans. "I can tell you that someday there will people playing jazz in the riverfront," said Hassan Mashriqui, a Louisiana State University engineer who used a supercomputer to model flooding from Hurricane Katrina.

 

But others say the idea of rebuilding a below-sea-level city next to a large lake in a hurricane-prone area makes little sense, especially with the prospect of taxpayers having to foot repeated bills for aid and reconstruction. advertisement 

 

"Moving the city is clearly going to be an option," said John Copenhaver, a former southeast regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "It would be an unbelievably expensive and difficult proposition, but it has to be on the table."

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 3. Dreaming A New New Orleans, Version 1 - WorldChanging – USA

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What follows are very preliminary thoughts on principles for eventually creating a "New New Orleans," one that is more environmentally secure, more economically successful, and more socially healthy and equitable, while retaining the culture that made it world famous. As the news reports continue to create a picture of the city's horrible descent into hell, such an exercise feels a bit foolhardy; but there is so much dreaming to be done, to restore this great and wondrous city, that the dreaming must begin now.

 

These thoughts build on the earlier work of a consortium of regional leaders, which I and my colleagues had the privilege of supporting over the last few years. The results of that work seem, in many ways, even more relevant and urgent now.

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One of the most important, and surprising, conclusions of our initial research concerned an apparent lack of skill, on the part of regional residents, in envisioning a better future. Asked to name three things about their community that they thought would "get better" over the next ten years, only about a third of our 2,600 telephone respondents could, or would, do it. (This figure compares to 96% in a similar survey performed in northern California.)

 

Many of those on the Steering Committee were less surprised at this result than we were; they spoke often of a persistent regional fatalism, a sense that things "would always be this way."
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 4. Region's Recovery May Be Slow - Los Angeles Times - CA, USA

 

Like other disaster-ravaged areas, Louisiana and Mississippi are expected to eventually see massive rebuilding efforts that could boost their economic growth.

 

But unlike Florida, which is undergoing a speedy recovery from an onslaught of hurricanes last year, the two southern neighbors could find their revival much slower and tougher.

 

That's because a recovery's speed and strength can depend on several factors, including wealth, the condition of a disaster area's infrastructure, population growth — and even presidential politics.

 

The area hit by Hurricane Katrina has few, if any, of these factors going for it, economists said.

 

Florida's recovery from hurricanes last year was helped in part by the state's relative affluence and its status as a battleground state in the presidential election. The state is now adding jobs at a faster pace than the nation, thanks partly to rebuilding efforts.

 

The San Francisco and Los Angeles areas bounced back from earthquakes in 1989 and 1994 in part because their key economic engines — including technology and finance in the Bay Area and entertainment and trade in the Southland — were not severely hampered.

 

But Louisiana and Mississippi have two of the nation's lowest per capita incomes. And their economic engines — energy, ports and tourism — all suffered massive blows.
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 5. What if Hurricane Ivan Had Not Missed New Orleans? Natural Hazards Observer - Vol. XXIX No. 2, November 2004

 

New Orleans was spared, this time, but had it not been, Hurricane Ivan would have:

• Pushed a 17-foot storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain;
• Caused the levees between the lake and the city to overtop and fill the city “bowl” with water from lake levee to river levee, in some places as deep as 20 feet;
• Flooded the north shore suburbs of Lake Pontchartrain with waters pushing as much as seven miles inland; and
• Inundated inhabited areas south of the Mississippi River.

 

Up to 80 percent of the structures in these flooded areas would have been severely damaged from wind and water. The potential for such extensive flooding and the resulting damage is the result of a levee system that is unable to keep up with the increasing flood threats from a rapidly eroding coastline and thus unable to protect the ever-subsiding landscape.

 

Evacuation Challenges

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 6. Hurricane Risk for New Orleans – American RadioWorks – September, 2002

 

When emergency management officials think about the worst natural disasters that might befall America, San Francisco is always on the list. They say there's a 70 percent chance that a major earthquake will hit that city in the next 30 years and potentially cause thousands of deaths. But they say there's another disaster that could be far worse—and many people don't know about it. The chances that this tragedy will happen are much lower, but the death toll would be staggering. Government officials are trying to figure out if there's any way to prevent it.

 

Think about the great cities in this country, and one of them will be New Orleans. On a recent evening, a scientist pulls up in the French Quarter. Joe Suhayda takes a plastic rod out of his trunk and he proceeds to show us what could happen the next time a hurricane hits New Orleans.

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 7. KEEPING ITS HEAD ABOVE WATER - New Orleans faces doomsday scenario – Houston Chronicle – 12/01/01

 

New Orleans is sinking.

 

And its main buffer from a hurricane, the protective Mississippi River delta, is quickly eroding away, leaving the historic city perilously close to disaster.

 

So vulnerable, in fact, that earlier this year the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most castastrophic disasters facing this country.

 

The other two? A massive earthquake in San Francisco, and, almost prophetically, a terrorist attack on New York City.

 

The New Orleans hurricane scenario may be the deadliest of all.

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 8. Region Councils and emergency preparedness in news articles.

 

      a) 2,000 evacuees on their way - Muskogee Daily Phoenix - Muskogee, OK, USA

... One hundred nursing home beds, provided by the Eastern Oklahoma Development District. ...

 

      b) Loudoun Leaders Call On Residents To Be Prepared - Leesburg Today - Leesburg, VA, USA

The county's Web site home page, www.loudoun.gov, offers a link to the Northern Virginia Regional Commission's Your Guide To Emergency Preparedness, which ...

 

     c) Officials say KC can handle crises - Kansas City Star - MO, USA

 

Kansas City officials said Friday that they were confident of the region’s ability to respond to a major disaster.

...

“I think we’re much better off than we were a few years ago,” said Kansas City Councilman Charles Eddy, a board member of the Mid-America Regional Council, which coordinated Friday’s event, as it does much of the area’s homeland security planning.

 

 

      d) What if something happened here? 09-04-2005 - Plainview Daily Herald - Plainview, TX, USA

... "It´s coordinated through the 15-county South Plains Association of Governments and the State of Texas and is designed to handle any type of emergency that ...

 

 

 9. The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation - CSRwire.com (press release)

 

... author Greg LeRoy shows how in case after case, these promises—of good jobs and higher tax revenues in exchange for massive taxpayer subsidies—prove false or exaggerated. Instead, LeRoy argues, companies are using the sheep's clothing of "jobs, jobs, jobs" to fuel bidding wars between both states and localities. The end result: a massive drop in corporate taxes and a burden shift onto working families and small businesses.

 

These state and local job subsidies—the average state now grants more than 30 different kinds—cost states and cities some $50 billion a year. But the system is rigged, LeRoy documents, and lacks accountability. Companies are routinely getting subsidies of more than $100,000 per job to do what they would have done anyway. In some cases, companies even downsize or outsource after getting subsidies—or relocate existing jobs and call them "new." The other promised benefit—increased tax revenues—often proves false or exaggerated as well.

 

LeRoy cites dozens of companies and episodes, revealing scams such as "job blackmail" (Raytheon in Massachusetts), "payoffs for layoffs" (IBM in New York State), "exaggerate the ripple effects" (Illinois for Boeing), "stick taxpayers with hidden costs" (Wal-Mart in many states), "soak the taxpayer" (Dell in North Carolina), "ride Enron's coattails" (ConAgra in Nebraska), and "take the money and run" (Sykes Enterprises, shutting down call centers in several Plains states).

 

LeRoy also explains, in plain English, arcane tax-rule changes—such as "Single Sales Factor"—that companies demand in the name of jobs. Such giveaways, he documents, are costing states such as Massachusetts and Illinois billions of dollars in lost revenue—with no guarantee that even one job will be created or retained.

 

The Great American Jobs Scam also reveals that corporate subsidies are a significant cause of runaway suburban sprawl, paying companies as they leave urban areas to pave farmland and other natural spaces. LeRoy gives examples of massive subsidies that lead to retail sprawl, such as $1 billion benefiting Wal-Mart facilities and an absurd $31 million subsidy to reduce "blight" in an affluent St. Louis suburb, when an upscale mall decided it needed a Nordstrom store.

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10. Input sought on TANK direction - Cincinnati.com - Cincinnati, OH, USA

 

The future of public transit here could mean increased and more direct routes to local destinations, more park-and-ride lots and, eventually, a rapid-transit system.

 

Those are just a few of the ideas on a list of recommendations made by an advisory team at the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky charged with reviewing trends, challenges and goals for improved service.

 

TANK representatives and members of public and private organizations in the region - including the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and officials from Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties - are in the thick of the Transit Network Study.

 

This will be a guideline for future operation and investment through 2030.
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11. Commentary: Vaclav Klaus - Back to intergovernmental Europe - EurActiv.com - Brussels, Belgium

The two rejections of the constitution is a chance not to be missed, argues Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who would like to see the EU roll back on some of the EU integration.

 

The pause for thought that EU leaders gave themselves at the EU summit in June 2005 after the French and Dutch rejections of the EU constitutional treaty, has not been dragged out unnecessarily by Czech President Vaclav Klaus. The well-known eurosceptic fires the opening shot of the long debate to come in a comment in Financial Times, 30 August 2005. 

  

He writes that the "systematic undermining of the former inter-governmental nature of relations between countries" were undermined from the 1980's and onwards. "Critical arguments were not taken into account by the political elites and their fellow travellers. They have always considered themselves an infallible avant-garde, selected by history to lead the confused masses," barks Klaus. He calls for "a real discussion"

 

"We must first make clear what kind of Europe we want. Using understandable language, we have to say what the future Europe should look like and what costs and benefits such a solution would have. ...

 

12. Crisis points to need for more transit - Henry Herald - McDonough, GA, USA

 

The spring of a trap has been quietly set over years as metro Atlantans, baited by lower-than average fuel prices, developed their dependence on cars. This week, the self-imposed trap has snapped shut, at least temporarily, on drivers with a gas supply panic that sent fuel prices skyrocketing to unaffordable highs.

 

While the inflated prices will likely be short-lived, the chaos following rumors of a gas shortage Wednesday underscored the problems that experts say could become more permanent if transit habits are not changed dramatically.

 

But in a road-entangled metro region, which ranks fifth nationally in its money spent on middle-eastern gas, is there turning back? Can people escape their cars?

 

Mass transit experts say the answer is yes.

 

With residential development trending back into the cities' core, there is still a chance that residents in Atlanta will be able to survive without their car, said Catherine Ross, the chairwoman of Georgia Tech's Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development.

 

"We've got a chance to get it right," she said.

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13. Straight from Google.

 

      a) Latin American, Caribbean region trails Asian nations - Houston Chronicle - United States

... The Latin American and Caribbean region would need to double or triple the 2 percent of gross domestic product it spends on infrastructure to match increases ...

 

      b) Democracy has become way of life - Gorkhapatra - Kathmandu, Nepal

... He emphasized the need to evolve a coordinated mechanism involving all sub-regional organisations in Asia and the Pacific region to collectively respond to the threats of terrorism. ... 

 

      c)  EU boost for regional airports - Guardian Unlimited – UK

The European commission yesterday gave approval for a big expansion of EU regional airports, including more than a dozen in Britain, to combat congestion at ...

 

      d) Washington County to receive first phase of Regional Response System - Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise - Bartlesville, OK, USA

... The trailers are a part of the Regional Response System - a series of trailers and trucks with tiered levels of capability strategically placed across Oklahoma ...

 

      e) Sun ‘just risen' on subsea industry - The Herald - Glasgow, Scotland, UK

... "To attract bright young minds into the sector we must ensure that we communicate the exciting, long-term opportunities and not the boom-and-bust cycles which ...

 

      f) Regional Tier Bill Sent to EC - AllAfrica.com – Africa

... that seeks to establish regional tier governments has been forwarded to the Electoral Commission (EC) to initiate ratification process. ...

 

      h) Governors form regional council to manage oceans - Boston Globe - United States

PROVIDENCE, RI --New England's governors are forming a regional council to examine policies on ocean exploration and research and to coordinate plans to reduce ...

 

      i) Dane County to Unveil Plan for Regional Manure Digester - Wisconsin Ag Connection - Marshfield, WI, USA

... environmentalists and County Board supervisors was formed to investigate the issue and one of their recommendations was for a regionally-based digester that ...

 

      i)  New center will promote regional economic development - Nashville City Paper 

 
Tennessee communities will be able to share their best economic development practices and receive additional training from the new Tennessee Leadership Center ...

 

RCs: Tennessee Development Districts  

 

14. Other U.S. regional communities in news articles.

 

      a) Thayer arts center plan going to arbitration - Braintree Forum - Weymouth, MA, USA

 

... After its plans failed to win the support of the historic district commission three months ago, Thayer Academy appealed the commission's decision to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). ...

 

      b) Planner sees into future of growth - Charlotte Observer - Charlotte, NC, USA

... As a senior planner with the Catawba Regional Council of Governments, he is helping the Fort Mill school district estimate how many students will fill its ...

 

      c) Bike path users gush over QC's hidden gem - Quad City Times - Davenport, IA, USA

... Thanks primarily to Bi-State Regional Commission and River Action, this collection of separately built and maintained trails is now an extensive system ...

 

      d) Whitman-Walker to Remain Open - Arlington Connection - VA, USA

... estimated budget gap of $800,000. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission will distribute the funds on a cost reimbursement basis. ...

 

     e) Foreign competition takes 53,000 jobs in SC in past decade - Dateline Alabama - Birmingham, AL, USA

... or think they are too old to learn a new skill or move, said Sandra Johnson, work force development administrator for the Upper Savannah Council of Governments ...

 

     f)  Richland still upset over move to Meramec - Waynesville Daily Guide - Waynesville, MO, USA

... due to Richland's opposition to the county leaving the Lake of the Ozarks Council of Local Governments and moving to the Meramec Regional Planning Commission. ... 

 

 Lake of the Ozarks Council of Local Governments - PO Box 786 Camdenton, MO 65020 - Phone: (573) 346-5616

 

     g)  All following relate to the:  San Diego Association of Governments

          

          1) Labor: what is its future here? - North County Times - Escondido, CA, USA

... Marney Cox, chief economist for the San Diego Association of Governments, said that he thinks everybody has more or less the same goal throughout the region ...

 

          2) SANDAG to see if magnetic train link is feasible - San Diego Union Tribune - United States

... Yesterday, the San Diego Association of Governments’ Transportation Committee started the process of finding a consultant who can look into the engineering and ...

 

          3) Report favors beach-building over seawalls - North County Times - Escondido, CA, USA

 

... Encinitas Councilman James Bond, who serves on the San Diego Association of Governments' Shoreline Preservation Working Group, said Friday that he was elated ...

 

 

15. Other in the news:

 

      a) Security in the Americas : neither evolution nor devolution – impasse - MIPT Library

...

Professor Max Manwaring, in this persuasive essay, reminds us that security issues in the Western Hemisphere demand more attention from Washington than they often get and, importantly, a different kind of attention. Indeed, he invites collective Washington to stretch its mind, broaden its horizons, and accept a more holistic view (realistic, he would contend) of what national security really means in 2004.

 

The stakes, he argues, are high. Preoccupied as the United States is with the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), often treating “terrorism” as if it were a single enemy rather than a means to an end, this country loses sight of the overall risk of cross-border instability caused by failing states. Some of them are in the Western Hemisphere. That is too close to home, a threat we can ill afford.

 

An important circle of linkages which Manwaring wants us to consider is the interdependence among security, stability, development, democracy, and sovereignty (the last term including the notion of legitimacy). ...

 

 

      b) Air cargo market stagnating – Transportation Intelligence Online

 

Growth in the air cargo industry is slowing, according to figures released by IATA for July. The Middle East is the only region experiencing double digit growth, compared to North America where in the year-to-date there has been no growth at all. The spiraling cost of oil is severely impacting the airline industry. ...

 

      c) Trafficking in art objects next only to narcotics trade: UNESCO - Navhind Times - Panjim, India

...
Dr Galla said the nefarious trade in art objects had transcended the national and regional boundaries to emerge as an international phenomenon, and could be effectively curbed only through collaborative international ventures.

 

“The 1954 Hague convention on the subject is extremely euro-centric and does not address the concern of asian nations whose priceless cultural heritage continues to be trafficked in western markets,” he pointed out.

...

 

      d) Opinion: Get used to regionalism - Northwest Explorer - Tucson, AZ, USA

 

Don Cox, Oro Valley

The proposed upgrades to our regional transportation problems have been getting a lot of press recently. The proposed improvements and the associated additional sales tax have been cussed and discussed by nearly every group, panel, committee, board commission and council. There are many good points and some that raise eyebrows. I am still not convinced that a streetcar is an appropriate expenditure.

Selfishly, I look at the proposed improvements to see how they benefit Oro Valley. Will this proposal help our citizens get to where they need to go more safely and with less stress? Conversely, will this allow others better access to our businesses and thusly improve our sales tax revenue stream?

I think the answer to both questions is yes. The improvements to La Cholla, La Cañada, Magee and Tangerine roads are much needed. The idea that these projects will be funded regionally is also a benefit. Yes, we will also be funding some of the projects that have no bearing on Oro Valley, but we must look at the bigger picture. That's regionalism and we need to get used to it.

 

16. Announcements

 

      a) BookTV – September 10

11:00 am EDT	Dave Zirin, What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States
1:30 pm EDT	Harm de Blij, Why Geography Matters: Three Challenges Facing America -- Climate Change, the Rise of China, and Global Terrorism

 

 

17. Data & IT  

 

Hurricane, Floods Put IT Staffs to the Test  - ComputerWorld

 

At 2 a.m. on Aug. 27, two days before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Tim Babco grabbed a red binder containing the latest version of SCP Pool Corp.'s disaster recovery plan, put his dog and cat in the car, locked up his house and drove 500 miles from Covington, La., to the company's emergency operations center in Dallas.

 

Babco, senior director of IT at Covington-based SCP, a $1.3 billion wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, had relocated his operations on two earlier occasions when hurricanes threatened neighboring New Orleans. Both of those storms turned out to be near misses, but Babco said last week that the practice runs helped him fine-tune his plan for when the real thing finally hit.

 

"People would be lying to say these things always go perfectly," Babco said. "But has it succeeded in allowing our business operations to continue to buy, sell and distribute products? It certainly has, and that's what disaster recovery is all about."

 

However, the kind of disaster recovery planning done by Babco isn't universal -- especially for a calamity as massive as last week's. Gartner Inc. analyst Simon Mingay said that about 40% of Fortune 1,000 companies aren't prepared for a regional disaster. And small and midsize businesses are even less ready, he added.

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18. Subscription link story 

 

Sons of suburbia opt for intown - Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - GA,USA

 

They grew up in metro Atlanta suburbs, met at Georgia Tech and now live in the city, never to return, they say, to life outside the Perimeter.

 

Their homes are small, but there's more to do within walking or bicycling distance, more diversity and more fun.

 

This is the story of four 20- and 30-something guys who've bought houses within two blocks of one another in Grant Park and are committed to the 'hood.

 

Cam Caldwell, Mark Kaasa, Dan Kopp and John Sitton are part of a growing trend of young professionals who have rejected the suburban lifestyle they were raised in. Their migration from the 'burbs is an unscientific glimpse of the growing shift back toward urban life in metro Atlanta. It's the very lifestyle their parents' generation moved away from, typically in search of a big back yard, a lower crime rate and better schools.

 

Over the last several years, the city of Atlanta has gained population after decades of suburban flight. Last year, about 7,200 people moved into the city, according to estimates from the Atlanta Regional Commission.

 

But as the Georgia Tech guys one day start their own families, will they stay in the city? They say yes.
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