stalled grant money.....

[Dionne]

The Jackson, Mississippi....Clarion Ledger (newspaper) is reporting in todays paper that the $250 million in federal money (Katrina grants) appropriated for house elevation projects has stalled. None of the money has been allocated. Here is the reason.....

"The global environmental assessment required by HUD is currently being performed."

Meanwhile 11,516 families are living in FEMA trailers.

Whoops.....sorry, they are no longer called FEMA trailers......the new politically correct terminology is FEMA housing.

[Dionne]

We just discovered some more interesting news about the grant money. A concrete block home in Pass Christian in a small community known as The Colony (group of Jackson business men developed in the sixties) is just off highway 90. It's less than an 1/8 of a mile to the gulf. It was a cottage, a weekend getaway. It was damaged during Camille and completely destroyed during Katrina. There was nothing left but a slab. The owner, a long time friend is rebuilding.....in fact they are pouring concrete today. Up until recently we expected the grant money for the elevation change required to rebuild. I was informed this past monday that the home did not qualify for the grant money.....the home is in "zone B". Every home in The Colony was destroyed. Who's drawing the lines?

Anyway....the new foundation is a mixture of pre-cast concrete beams and poured vertical columns.