<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><DIV id=yiv2143057887>
<DIV id=yiv2044105901>
<DIV id=yiv1773399871>
<DIV>Nov. 20, 2009</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dear CHAT Members,</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>1. Hurricane Katrina lawsuit won<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>(but might be overturned upon appeals so don’t hold your breath).</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"></SPAN> </DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG><FONT color=#6000bf>The facts behind this lawsuit and behind the purposely hid defects in levee walls responsible for much of the flooding after Hurricane Katrina, the negligence of federal government that led to horrible and unnecessary loss of life during the flood, and the unfair treatment after the flood waters receded is why so many Road Home (RH) applicants are so angry at their treatment by this "compensation," not hand-out, program.</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></DIV></o:p></SPAN>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><A href="http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/11/18/louisiana.katrina.lawsuit/">http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/11/18/louisiana.katrina.lawsuit/</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/us/20orleans.html?_r=1"><FONT face=Calibri size=3>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/us/20orleans.html?_r=1</FONT></A></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-language: JA">In "New Orleans, Elation Over Katrina Liability Ruling </SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">By <A href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/campbell_robertson/index.html?inline=nyt-per">CAMPBELL ROBERTSON</A> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">Published: November 19, 2009 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">NEW ORLEANS — Since the first days after <A href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/h/hurricane_katrina/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier">Hurricane Katrina</A>, when the streets were still under water, many residents of New Orleans and its surroundings have maintained that the flood that wrecked their lives was the government’s fault, and that the government should pay for it.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">A judge ruled that negligent maintenance of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to flooding in New Orleans. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><A name=secondParagraph></A><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">On Wednesday night came news that many had hoped for but few had believed would ever actually happen: a federal judge agreed.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV></o:p></SPAN>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">Charles S. Miller, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said that the government was still reviewing the decision. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">“We have made no decision as to what the government’s next step will be in this matter,” he said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">But given the potential of liability, legal experts are expecting the government to appeal. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, where the case would go, has a record of hostility to plaintiffs in environmental cases, said Oliver Houck, a law professor at Tulane University. ...</SPAN></o:p></SPAN></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 5pt 0in; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-fareast-language: JA">Wednesday’s decision was about a different corps project, the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a navigation channel known as MR-GO (pronounced Mister Go). In the 156-page decision, the judge wrote nearly as much about complicated immunity issues as he did in determining that the corps’s negligent maintenance of the channel actually caused the flooding in two areas, including the Lower Ninth Ward...." <EM>[St. Bernard Parish was included.]</EM></SPAN></DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG>For so many Road Home Program (RH) applicants:</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> who never had an independent appeal to correct RH mistakes,</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> or who have extremely long grant processing,</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> grants squeezed by applicant-unfriendly changes in rules, </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> or were left in limbo for so very long by the RH,</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG>the distress caused by RH shortchanging, extreme nontransparency, and inaccessibility for answers to simple questions,</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG><BR> on top of the devastating losses from hurricane-floods,</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#40007f><STRONG> were piled on top of the anger that their losses were the government's fault,<BR><BR> and they were owed this money by the government,<BR><BR> and that this RH was really guilt money for Army Corp of Engineer mistakes<BR><BR>Government officials and contractors should not have dangled money in front of honest citizens with false promises and misleading statements about basic grants, HMGP elevation grants (in contradiction to statements below about encouraging applicants to <FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00" color=#407f00>build safer and stronger</FONT>), and additional compensation grants.<BR><BR>Will government officials ever "get it" and admit what hurricane-flood victims are due? <BR><BR></STRONG></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>2. $7500 Grants for Raising Air Conditioning, Shutters, And Other Individual Mitigation Measures (IMM Grants)</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 3pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>Road Home grants available up to $7,500 for storm shutters, roof tie-downs, other mitigation measures<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H1>
<H4 style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 3pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=2>By </FONT><A href="http://connect.nola.com/user/dhammer/index.html"><SPAN style="COLOR: #405094"><FONT size=2>David Hammer, The Times-Picayune</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=2> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H4>
<H5 style="MARGIN: auto 0in"><SPAN style="COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">November 16, 2009, 11:29AM<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H5>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The LRA says it is sending out letters this week to all families who elected to collect Road Home grants to rebuild their homes. That's about 115,000 homeowners across south Louisiana.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The letters will offer them the chance to opt-in to the Individual Mitigation Measures reimbursement program, which will pay up to $7,500 for safety measures such as storm shutters, roof tie-downs, elevated air conditioning and heating units, strengthened doors and anchored fuel tanks.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Each Road Home applicant getting a letter will have until March 10, 2010, to decide whether to participate in the program. They will also have a chance to sign up for another mitigation program that pays up to $100,000 to reimburse for the costs of raising their homes.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Interested applicants are urged to wait to start any of the work they want to be reimbursed for until after <FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00"><STRONG>a mitigation analyst can assess their needs.</STRONG></FONT> <EM><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #80ffff">[<STRONG>Why more waste of money and time on mitigation analysts; as we have seen in the HMGP elevation grant program?</STRONG>]</FONT></EM> The LRA says it will consider making payments when about half of the reimbursable work is done, to alleviate the financial stress for homeowners of having to front the money.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The state is in the process of hiring a company to do two-party checks and coordinate payment among the state, homeowners and their contractors, LRA spokeswoman Christina Stephens said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">But if an applicant has already done the work, he or she must present receipts for reimbursement, "and we'll be trying to work with them to help them get funds," Stephens said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The program will not be financed by the Road Home, but rather by a <A href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/08/road_home_changes_in_the_works.html"><SPAN style="COLOR: #405094">FEMA program called the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program</SPAN></A> -- the same one that is offering up to $100,000 for elevation costs. Therefore, any questions about the small-scale mitigation program should be directed to the mitigation hotline at 877.824.8312.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Thousands of Road Home applicants have been waiting for years for the small-scale mitigation program to begin. It was a key part of the state's initial promotion of the Road Home program in the summer of 2006. Posters and advertisements urged everyone to apply, even those who felt fully covered by private insurance, because the state promised to also provide up to $7,500 <FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00" color=#007f40><STRONG>to help them build stronger, safer</STRONG></FONT> homes.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">But budgetary problems kept the program on the sidelines. As recently as this spring, <FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00"><STRONG>the state provided a telephone hotline for those who wanted to participate in the program, but it wasn't staffed.</STRONG></FONT> It turned out the state wasn't ready to make payments yet, further frustrating homeowners.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 6.5pt; COLOR: #444e5c; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Instead, the LRA was able to free up the $300 million it would need to run the program by drawing mostly from the fund controlled by FEMA rather than from the Road Home budget. With $300 million, the state would be able pay about 40,000 homeowners the full $7,500, although not all will spend that much on qualified mitigation measures.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><BR><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>3. Raising Cap on the Additional Compensation Grants (ACG)</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>For applicants who got ACG money but whose grant was decreased because of a $50,000 maximum, you should have gotten a letter already from RH about additional money.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you have questions about ACG grants or IMM grants, please contact </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: red"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri size=3><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><A href="mailto:thomas.brennan@la.gov">thomas.brennan@la.gov</A> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><A href="mailto:carol.newton@la.gov">carol.newton@la.gov</A><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"><A href="mailto:dotty.tapscott@la.gov">dotty.tapscott@la.gov</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT face="Times New Roman">or<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000000> </FONT></o:p></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><A href="mailto:christina.stephens@la.gov"><FONT face="Times New Roman">christina.stephens@la.gov</FONT></A></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"> </DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT color=#000000>Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving rising above it all,</FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT color=#000000>Melanie Ehrlich</FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT color=#000000>Founder, Citizens' Road Home Action Team (CHAT)</FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><FONT color=#000000>Member, LRA Housing Task Force</FONT></FONT></o:p></SPAN></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></td></tr></table>