CNN Newsnight - Crisis In Florida

[Opusnone]

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/aaron.brown/

10:00 pm ET

Big story involving a very blue region of a red state, with a Bush in charge, getting little to no coverage.

South Florida DU'ers please check in. I would love to discuss.

[stop the bleeding]

1. What it has only been 10 days and now they want to cover a story

they are about as useless as Jebby and Florida Power

[Opusnone]

2. People down there sound stressed out

I realize it's nowhere near as devastating as Katrina, but it is still devastating.

Lots of people, money, businesses affected.
Many seniors, working poor, etc.

[stop the bleeding]

4. I live in the Tampa area and what little bits and pieces that I have been

able to find on this have mostly come from here and Rawstory, but it is still pretty bad, yeah they don't have a lot of the flooding but they do have a lot of the same problems when it comes to infrastructure, running local governments and commerce in general, this area will be a long time in recovering I keep hearing figures of 6-10 billion$ to clean up and fix everything.

[ChiciB1]

48. FPL Is Getting Hit Hard!!!

[RagingInMiami]

3. I live in Miami

And I still have no power and it doesn't look like I will get power until Nov. 10th. Cold showers suck. I've been spending my nights walking around my house with a flashlight and a cooler of beer.

Thankfully, ice is not as hard to come by as it was last week. Anyway, I am on my laptop at a restaurant. If it wasn't for wireless technology, I would really be out of touch with the world.

[Opusnone]

5. Do you live on the beach?

Or in Miami proper?

My nephew said the clubs and restaurants had power as do the hotels, etc. Seems reasonable, but the people who work in these places need power too.

If, as FPL says, there are thousands of out of state workers making repairs, why haven't they all converged and swarmed into the remaining blackout areas? My neighbor says he hasn't even seen a power truck in ten days. Seems strange.
WTF?

[RagingInMiami]

7. I live in Miami proper

The beach, of course, got power restored late last week, just in time for the weekend. I have yet to see an FPL truck in my neighborhood.

[shoelace414]

6. Is htis the first hurricane to hit Florida?

I'd expect these problems if a hurricane hit Wisconsin, since we're not "used to it"

[Opusnone]

11. No, it's not the first hurricane to hit Florida

It's the worst to hit the huge metro area in 50 years, and 50 years ago the population was less than one million, now it is over 6 million. So it makes quite a difference.

And having held my doors shut during the storm, and seen everything happen in front of my eyes, I can attest to the storm's fury and destructive power.

Don't buy into the "people weren't prepared" bullshit, if you hear that, that's Jeb and Fed propaganda. The story just isn't getting coverage.

here:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/

and

http://www.palmbeachpost.com

[Loge23]

37. Don't blame the victims

Many of the most seriously affected are very elderly people on fixed incomes. These are not the mostly red newly-minted millionaires that now over-populate the state.
The elderly cannot stockpile water, supplies, or own generators. They live in buildings with elevators - elevators that are no longer running.
Frankly, I'm tired of people dismissing Floridians as idle millionaires with a beach fetish. The vacation aspect of Florida is enjoyed mostly by...vacationers. The majority of residents are below middle income with very limited resources. They could use a little help - not ridicule.

[shoelace414]

38. I'm blaming Florida (the state government)

for not seeming to know what happens to the state when a hurricane hits

[ChiciB1]

49. Nopity!

[Jack from Charlotte]

9. Broward still has the most remaining outages......

My 86 year old mother in Hallandale got her power back last Friday eve. The building she lives in had a large anmount of it's roof torn off. I just sent them some huge tarps from here in Charlotte, as there aren't any down there.

My mother lives in a small condo building of just 12 units or so on three floors. What are people doing that live on the 40th floor? I wonder about elderly who can't walk down that far on those high buildings. Seems there ought to be a zoning reg that buildings of a certain height ought to have a generator to at least run the elevators a few times a day.

Hope your power is restored soon. Hang in there, Miami boy.

[Opusnone]

13. Yeah, Jack

The elderly are getting hit hardest. Many live in older buildings, including my own mother.

Don't get old or sick in the USA.

[DoYouEverWonder]

42. Jeez, my grandmother use to live in Hallandale

This is the first time since she died that I'm glad she's not around any more.

[soothsayer]

10. Feel for ya! Lost power for 2 weeks with Isabell (in VA!)

Sucks

[geomon666]

16. I'm in Miami too and I finally got power back on Monday.

I'm so pissed off about this whole situation. Everyone failed us. FPL, FEMA, the locals. It's pathetic. Hell, I remember getting more help after Andrew (a CAT 5). I wonder if it's because that was an election year. Bastards.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

8. Hope Floridians learn their lesson and vote Democratic.

I am sorry our fellow DUers and other progressives have to suffer because of the incompetence and corruption of the Republicans.

Hey, I wonder how many FEMA credit card shopping sprees are occurring right now that are taking advantage of the storm in Florida at our expense. What did they do with those guitars bought in Atlanta during Katrina? Serenade the disaster victims?

[Opusnone]

12. They're not giving out credit cards

Where did you hear that?
Some people can't even get tarps for their roofs.

The FEMA ripoffs were perpetrated last year in areas of Miami that got no storm destruction. I don't mean to sound accusatory, but it was an election year, and FEMA money was flowing freely into Democratic working-class neighborhoods.

Thanks to a Sun Sentinel investigation many arrests have been made, money has been accounted for, and FEMA's lack of leadership is in the spotlight.

[Lindsay]

15. I wonder if Lonely isn't referring to the increased credit

available to FEMA people on their credit cards. As I recall, the credit limit for them was raised from $2,000 to $20,000 after Katrina.

[papau]

20. The Fema credit card for employees limit was raised to $250,000

For more eff and speed and they they will do the accounting later -

heck these are family values types with solid GOP backgrounds - nothing to worry about. The increased limit was actually made part of a law that was being passed at the time!

[LonelyLRLiberal]

27. Referring to abuse of credit cards by FEMA employees - heard it on news

Here's the first link that showed up on a search for "FEMA, credit cards, guitar":

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-02-fema-credit-cards_x.htm

Sorry I was not clearer - sure was not criticizing any Florida victims of the storm. Hope this clear it up.

Maybe someone else would like to make this a separate post if it hasn't been done today.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

28. See my post number 27 this thread. nm

[Opusnone]

30. Thanks for clearing that up

You know how rumors get started.
I'm not a blame FEMA kinda guy, but there are those who need help, that's what FEMA is there for, and they're not helping.

[RagingInMiami]

14. This time

FEMA is "reimbursing" storm-related expensives, which means only the rich will get to cash in because it's not like the poor have a lot of cash laying around for hotels or generators.

[geomon666]

18. My mother couldn't even get help to cover the hole in her roof.

She called FEMA, FEMA told her to call the Operation Blue Roof guys, they said they couldn't help her. Why? Because her roof is flat. What the hell is that?

[Swamp Rat]

23. No fucking shit!

I had to get up on the roof myself and replace the impossible to find slate shingles (I found architectural tiles - but I need a whole new roof... yesterday), only to come downstairs to see FEMA posting "UNQUALIFIED FOR BLUE ROOF" on my fucking door!!! :mad:

So, I gotta leave 16 feet of open roof or GET UP THERE AND BECOME A ROOFER!!! :grr:

[Opusnone]

24. Nice to know FEMA is helping

Be careful on your roof. We can't afford to lose another man.

[geomon666]

31. She has a $2000 deductible, which FEMA will not pay for.

She had to get two estimates from roofing contractors before FEMA would do anything. One estimate came back at $8,000. She barely makes $500 a month on her own. Her husband to climb up there and lay down his own tarp after it had already rained. She's lucky her ceiling didn't cave in but that too will need to be replaced.

These people are animals and they treat us worse than they would their own dogs.

[Swamp Rat]

32. I know exactly how she feels ... give her my best.

:hug: It rained in my bedroom and got moldy. The sheet rock must all be torn out too. x(

[LonelyLRLiberal]

29. See my post number 27 explaining reference to credit card.

[AirmensMom]

25. Well, we're not rich.

We paid for our generator with a credit card and we stayed in the house. My husband read somewhere that if the damage doesn't meet the huge insurance deductible, FEMA won't pay anything. So we'll have to suck it up as far as the damage to the house goes.

I agree that the poor will lose again, worse than us. It's frustrating beyond words.

[geomon666]

17. Miami, Broward, West Palm Beach all went blue so....

I've heard barely a whisper about what's going on in Naples and Marco Island.

[varun]

19. No power in Dania Beach

I was there last weekend (Oct 29-31) and saw the uprooted trees, downed power lines...and lived with no power and hot water for two days. My BF who lives in Ft Lauderdale still does not have any power. FPL has promised to restore power to 95% of Broward customers by Nov 8.

[Opusnone]

22. They barely missed a step

Back online, if I recall, two days after the storm. Good for them. Red voter-heavy areas.

Just got off the phone with a buddy in North Lauderdale, no power, very depressed, told me not to return yet.

[Malikshah]

21. We do, but the bastards find a way to steal the votes

or shut them down.

[kcass1954]

26. I'm in a suburb of SW Ft Lauderdale.

We got the electric back last Thursday. We never lost the regular phone service, but cell service was spotty for a few days. The cable is out, so no internet yet either.

The stores that have regular power (not running on generators) are beginning to re-stock perishable items. The gas lines have all but disappeared.

My employer did a couple of nice things though. On Friday afternoon, they gave all employees 3 gallons of gas to help us get through the weekend. And they paid everyone for 40 hours last week, regardless of how many hours were actually worked.

My job is still running on partially on generators, so we've got power but no a/c. At least it's November and not August!

Mr. kcass's employer gave administrative leave for Monday and Tuesday last week. They got power back on Tuesday, so they resumed their normal schedules. And he came home from work with 10 bags of ice on Saturday. We didn't need it by then, but knew people who did.

We've had friends over to our house to do laundry and take hot showers. We extended the offer to several people, but only a couple have taken us up.

Broward schools are still closed, and my day-care is having trouble getting enough employees in to meet the worker-to-child ratios, so my 9-yr-old has been at work all week.

The biggest problem for me has been traffic. There are still a fair number of lights out, and people are getting tired of the 4-way stop stuff. I live 6-1/2 miles from work, and it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get home.

It could have been worse...

[Opusnone]

33. Didn't see this story posted

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-chousing03nov03,0,4228023.story?coll=sfla-news-broward

Up to 5000 homes just in Broward, several thousand more in Miami Dade and Palm Beach counties.

I'd say that was a bad storm. Where's the media?
Hello, Wolfie!
Alot of Dems in these areas.

[Synnical]

34. Desperate Times

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-pseniorsnov03,0,3806873.story?coll=sfl-bonusrail

Wilma creates desperate times for elderly retirees in Century Village, elsewhere

By Joel Hood
Sun-Sentinel
Posted November 3 2005

DESPERATE TIMES: In the days after Hurricane Wilma, it has become a struggle to survive for the nearly 10,000 seniors at Century Village in West Boca

Margit Grasswick plays the worst-case scenario over in her head.

In the three days following Hurricane Wilma, Grasswick, 93, tried to reach the local Red Cross by phone to tell them she was cold, alone and running low on food. No answer.

She tried the Salvation Army. Busy signal.

She tried Palm Beach County officials, the city of Boca Raton, even the emergency number given to her by management at Century Village, where she lives.

"The phone just rang and rang," she says softly, her blue-gray eyes shining brightly behind saucer-sized glasses.

While power returns in much of Palm Beach County, these still are desperate times for the nearly 10,000 seniors at the Century Village retirement complex west of Boca Raton, and for the tens of thousands of seniors in communities like it across South Florida.

Margit Grasswick, 93, carries a flashlight, white flag and newspaper to call for help if the situation at Century Village in Boca Raton gets worse. However, when she telephoned for help in the days after Hurricane Wilma, none came.
(Sun-Sentinel/Joe Amon)

[Opusnone]

35. Kick for all the blue voters in South Florida!

[Synnical]

36. Someone let me know what the program covers

I'm still w/out cable - minor annoyance - my satellite needs to be repositioned and I can't get to it nor do I have the tools to adjust it.

I got power back last nite and the boil water order was lifted. I gave my battery operated lantern to a 60-ish lady across the street who still doesn't have power. She resisted at first, "What do I need light for?" But relented and is now using it - just couldn't stand to see her sitting there in her kitchen with the door open and one candle burning. (Her son lives a block away so I'm not concerned about her health or well being.)

Three people in my office still do not have power and the majority of traffic lights are still not operating here in Fort Lauderdale.

If you read that article, it's terribly sad and unforgivable situation for the elderly (we have a huge elderly population down here) and the low income people in the area. Folks in assisted living facilities stuck in their homes with no power and no way to leave because they cannot walk down the stairs and no one to help them! It's unconscionable!

To whit, here's another article:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-chousing01nov01,0,3310515.story

Hundreds of Broward residents evicted after homes are declared unsafe

By Shannon O'Boye, Toni Marshall and Megan O'Matz
Staff Writers
Posted November 1 2005

Mattresses straddled car tops and plastic bags transported clothes, shoes, important papers and toys, as roughly 1,000 residents of a Lauderhill condo complex were given a few hours Monday to pack up and move out, rendered homeless by Hurricane Wilma.

[Opusnone]

39. Well, it was nothing

I swear they ran teasers for it yesterday afternoon.

Paula (Stepford) Zahn had only one short Wilma story about a poor couple who lost apartment, belongings, etc. being bounced around from shelter to shelter. Both working for $7/hour with three kids. Touching, but not expansive coverage.

I've checked the CNN site and it mentions nothing about Crisis in Florida. Maybe they need more deaths? Or maybe old people dying in condos is not sexy enough?

On the plus side, Paula did cover black women in rap videos, a spaniel puppy who saved his owner and several other marginal "news" stories.

Will keep you informed.

[Synnical]

40. Broward officials slam Feds for slow, ineffective aid to Wilma victims

Locally . . .

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-ccommand04nov04,0,5508855.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

By Paula McMahon,
Scott Wyman and Jean-Paul Renaud Staff Writers
Posted November 4 2005

Too little, too slowly.

That's what Broward County leaders and storm-weary victims say about the federal emergency response to Hurricane Wilma.

People whose homes have been destroyed are being herded from temporary shelter to temporary shelter. Longer-term housing has not yet been identified. Federal centers where people can apply for relief will not be set up until this weekend.

Eleven days after Hurricane Wilma struck Broward County, local officials are increasingly frustrated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and wonder when the promises of help to the thousands left homeless will become a reality.

Jeb isn't helping and his reversal on drilling off the coast of Florida, well, it's obvious he's not going to run for the Senate.

-Cindy in Fort Lauderdale

[tinfoilinfor2005]

41. I live on a boat in south Key Largo and run a resort in north Key Largo;

My boat sustained about $7,000 worth of damage, but this comes weeks after being hit by Katrina when I had about the same amount of damage, which BoatUS immediately covered. Wonderful insurance for boaters, by the way. The buildings at our resort weren't damaged but the grounds were destroyed. All fences down, dock and boardwalk destroyed, miniature golf course destroyed, tree in the pool, tree on the tennis court. And three neighboring docks washed up on our property.

The biggest problem with Wilma is that it covered an immensely large area. My friend in Key West lost her home and car to flooding, and at the same time my friend in West Palm Beach lost her home to wind. And these towns are hundreds of miles apart. And unfortunately, many folks on both coasts still haven't fully repaired their homes from last year's hurricanes. Don't let them fool you that the Bush brothers were on top of those hurricanes. They pretty much just hung around for the photo ops.

[Synnical]

43. Exactly

The Blue Counties get no help from the feds or now, apparently from Jeb since he cannot run for re-election.

[DoYouEverWonder]

44. I use to live on a boat

at Pilot House Marina years ago. What's the name of your resort?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

47. Florida Bay Club on Adam's Cut, right across the cut from the

flea market. Just north of Walgreen's Pink Plaza. You know, the cut where everybody comes to shrimp.

My girlfriend makes the Key Lime pies and other desserts for the Pilot House. They've changed hands many times in the last few years, so I don't know if they still have a live-aboard marina.

[DoYouEverWonder]

50. Cool, I'll have to check it out next time I'm down there

I went down there to visit last year and stayed at the Amoray Dive Resort and took my son to dinner at the Pilot House. It's definitely a little more upscale then when I use to live there.

Glad you had insurance for your boat, so many people don't bother.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

51. Is that Amy Slates dive business?

Yes, insurance is a must, especially when your boat is your home. And it is mandatory at most of the marinas down here now, if not all. Huge liability if an uninsured boat breaks loose and damages another boat in the marina.

[AnnieBW]

45. My Friend Is Volunteering Down There

My friend Abby is volunteering in the Miami area with a group of Federal employees. FEMA sent out a request to some agencies for help, and she volunteered. She was supposed to go to Mississippi, but got diverted to Florida when Wilma showed up.

If you see a girl who looks like Hermione Granger as an adult, say hi to her for me!

[ChiciB1]

46. I Live In Sarasota/Venice.... Saw Two FEMA Trailers

on I-75 when I was coming home today. They were heading South, but when I saw them I was wondering WHY were they on I-75???

Miami is on the East... I live on the West. Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers, Naples maybe??? But they were supposed to be "outing" the trailer dwellers in Punta Gorda by now!