A raging fire that apparently started in an ice cream shop raged along a New Jersey boardwalk badly damaged in Superstorm Sandy, destroying more than 30 businesses. …[more]
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
By Kate Seamons
The New York Times today shares what it’s calling “one of the strangest stories to emerge from” Superstorm Sandy: that of WineCare, a tony Manhattan wine storage facility that has been all but mum in the eight months since it was flooded in the storm. The players in the saga:… …read more
A Long Island town is honoring the spot where a bottle was found after Superstorm Sandy containing a message from a girl who died in 2010.
A plaque was placed on Saturday on a rock near the bridge at Patchogue Long Island Beach Club, where the bottle was discovered in December. It reads: “Be excellent to yourself, dude,” the same message inside the bottle.
The line is a quote from “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” The note was written a dozen years ago by 10-year-old Sidonie Fery and tossed into the ocean.
The girl died in an accident when she was 18. Her mother Mimi said Saturday she was amazed by the town’s kindness. She says her daughter brought joy to everyone.
The plaque also has a photo of Sidonie.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Hours after the Boston Marathon bombings, President Barack Obama gave the standard presidential line following a tragedy: “On days like this there are no Republicans or Democrats — we are Americans, united in concern for our fellow citizens.”
And, as usual, Republicans and Democrats alike quickly ignored his don’t-politicize-this plea.
This was inevitable.
Our leaders always play politics after catastrophe, whether made by man or Mother Nature. The Newtown shootings and Superstorm Sandy. The financial crisis and Hurricane Katrina. Our history is filled with moments when something big happens and elected officials maneuver quickly to take advantage of the changing public mindset — or at least the more intense media spotlight — on a specific issue.
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress leveraged public angst over the Depression and a worldwide war in the 1930s to enact the New Deal, overhauling financial systems, funding public works projects and creating Social Security. Some three decades later, Lyndon B. Johnson and his Democrats seized on social unrest to pass the Great Society, anti-poverty and civil rights measures, education and transportation initiatives, Medicare and Medicaid.
During the 1980s, Ronald Reagan and his GOP used the moment of sky-high inflation and a growing Soviet threat to win support for boosting the military, trimming government and cutting taxes. And, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Republican George W. Bush rallied a fearful America behind expanding the government‘s terrorist-tracking powers, streamlining intelligence gathering and toppling Saddam Hussein.
Most recently, when he took office amid the worst economic conditions in a generation, Obama saw an opportunity to advance an audacious agenda that included ending the costly war in Iraq, improving crumbling transportation arteries and overhauling the health care system. As his first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was fond of saying back then: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”
A gray area exists in all cases.
To some people, politicians who press for new legislation after a tragedy are seizing the perfect time to make needed changes, using typically fleeting we-are-one moments to reach consensus on an issue that long had been languishing behind more pressing priorities or struggling to get the necessary votes. To other people, these politicians are exploiting a tragedy in a blatant attempt to enact their pet, partisan policies.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Six months after Superstorm Sandy, tens of thousands of people in New York and New Jersey remain homeless and communities are still struggling to recover.
But progress has been made as well. New boardwalks will be ready for summer, and homes are being elevated even as ruined ones are bulldozed.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says some people are doing just fine while others are facing “horrendous” obstacles to recovery.
The federal government has paid billions in flood insurance claims and housing assistance in the two states, with more to come.
Lynda Fricchione (frik-ee-OHN’), whose Toms River, N.J., home was ruined, says a trip to New Orleans showed her people and communities can recover from terrible storms.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
More than 500 BMWs, Cadillacs, Toyotas and other vehicles damaged and towed during Superstorm Sandy remain unclaimed and will be auctioned off next month, city officials said Saturday.
The city is working with auction house David R. Maltz in Central Islip, on Long Island, to make the sales. Company vice president Richard Maltz said the vehicles are advertised on the company’s website as flood-damaged but may be salvageable.
Buyers need 25 percent deposits in cash or bank checks, and proceeds will go to the city’s coffers, except for a 10 percent premium for the auction house.
More than 3,300 vehicles were towed from emergency routes used for debris removal and street cleaning in the days following the late October storm, which swamped lower Manhattan and devastated beachfront neighborhoods including the Rockaways in Queens. Some cars drifted blocks away from where they were parked, landing on sidewalks, under giant tree limbs and inside homes.
The city created a hotline for residents to track down their vehicles and started notifying owners. As of January, 696 vehicles were unclaimed, the city said. The city contracted with the auction house to store the remaining vehicles, continue to issue notifications to their owners and eventually auction them off. As of Saturday, 535 cars were unclaimed.
Under state law, unclaimed cars can be sold after 10 days.
But city officials said they will continue to work with owners if they realize their cars are at the auction house.
Two auctions will be held, on May 2 and 7. The auction was first reported in the New York Post.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/TO8wUMdKmTs/
When superstorm Sandy turned and took aim at New York City and Long Island last October, ocean waves hitting each other and the shore rattled the seafloor and much of the United States – shaking detected by seismometers across the country, University of Utah researchers found.
Superstorm Sandy didn’t just rattle the East Coast, it also jiggled the ground across the country ever so slightly, scientists reported Thursday.
Earthquake sensors located as far away as the Pacific Northwest detected the storm’s energy as it surged toward the New York metropolitan region last year. The network typically records the sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust, but it can pick up shaking triggered by ocean waves, mine cave-ins and tornadoes.
As Sandy lashed at New York City and New Jersey, the force of waves slamming into other waves shook the seafloor, which was recorded by the system of 500 sensors.
The energy generated by Sandy was similar to small earthquakes between magnitudes 2 and 3, seismologists at the University of Utah estimated.
While they did not track Sandy’s strength last October, they went back and analyzed seismic data before and after the storm churned ashore. The findings were presented at a meeting of the Seismological Society of America in Salt Lake City.
Sandy, which started off as a hurricane that later merged with another storm system, caused widespread property damage, swamping homes and businesses along the jersey shore and parts of New York City.
Sandy wasn’t the first storm to be sensed by quake stations. When Hurricane Katrina took aim at New Orleans in 2005, instruments in California tracked the path of the punishing waves.
Other events also have been captured by seismic sensors in recent years. A deadly coal mine collapse in Utah in 2007 registered as a magnitude-3.9 quake. Earlier this year, a meteor that exploded over Siberia’s Ural Mountains sent rippling shock waves that were detected by ground instruments.
___
Online:
Seismological Society of America: http://www.seismosoc.org/
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/fmJ-LFwTKTI/
By The Huffington Post News Editors
NEW YORK — Federal mortgage payment relief has been extended up to one year for more than 200,000 homeowners whose houses were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the extension for homeowners with Federal Housing Administration-insured loans on Friday.
Read More…
More on Hurricane Sandy 2012
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/13/sandy-victims-mortgage-break_n_3074110.html
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) took to the Senate floor Tuesday to lament the need for crop insurance, pointing out that extreme weather has battered the nation in recent years. He cited historic drought and floods in the Midwest and Superstorm Sandy in the East.
But Roberts, who receives poor ratings from environmental groups, avoided linking the natural disasters to any kind of human-generated climate change, suggesting Mother Nature simply has it in for America.
“I don’t know what we’ve done to Mother Nature, but she sure hasn’t been very kind to us,” Roberts said.
Read More…
More on Climate Change
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Dealing with Recent Weather Patterns And Aging Water Infrastructure is “New Normal”
New Jersey American Water’s Chiavari Testifies to NJ Clean Water Council About Company Lessons from Sandy Response
VOORHEES, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– New Jersey American Water Vice President for Engineering Suzanne Chiavari joined New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin and other speakers testifying before the New Jersey Clean Water Council today to provide an overview of the water infrastructure damage from recent storms, including Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, and discuss water system resiliency and planning issues.
“Except in rare instances, our customers do not lose water service during storm events because we build our water storage tanks to act as buffers, and provide standby power for critical facilities, and we build our critical assets above 100-year flood elevations, while adding flood protection for older facilities as needed,” said Chiavari. Nonetheless, Chiavari told the council that recent weather storms such as Irene and Sandy, combined with the issue of aging water infrastructure are causing the company to review traditional planning and design criteria. “This new normal has led us to look beyond traditional reliability and emergency planning into a world that needs the speed of recovery and resiliency for much more widespread events,” she said.
Chiavari shared eight key learning points from New Jersey American Water‘s experience in Superstorm Sandy related to water system resiliency, which she told the Council needs to be a high priority in the state.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By The Huffington Post News Editors
HARTFORD, Conn. — Thousands of the toys and other gifts that poured into Newtown following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School ended up going to children’s hospitals, mental health programs, victims of Superstorm Sandy; some are even destined even for homeless children in India.
And a lunch box, a backpack and a stuffed animal went to 9-year-old Rashid Ricketts, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
The National Hurricane Center is changing the way it issues hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings after being criticized over its handling of Superstorm Sandy.
During Sandy, forecasters at the center in Miami stopped issuing advisories and hurricane warnings because the storm lost its tropical characteristics and mutated into a hybrid storm as it merged with two cold-weather systems. Some people said that caused Northeast residents to underestimate Sandy’s danger when it hit the New Jersey on Oct. 29.
Under the new policy announced Thursday, the National Hurricane Center says it will continue to issue advisories and warnings even when storms technically are no longer hurricanes or tropical storms.
The hurricane center attributed 72 deaths in the U.S. to Sandy, but some estimates were higher.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Advil® Launches Advil® Relief in Action Campaign Celebrating Active Volunteers Who Don’t Let Pain Hold Them Back
Kicking off with a private Aziz Ansari comedy show honoring Superstorm Sandy volunteers, and continuing with year-long partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, Wounded Warrior Project® & Tough Mudder, Advil® recognizes everyday heroes who exemplify #ReliefinAction
MADISON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (NYS: PFE) , makers of Advil®, is kicking off its Advil® Relief in Action campaign today that honors volunteers who don’t let pain get in the way of providing relief to others in need. Advil® Relief in Action celebrates the efforts of these tireless everyday heroes, as well as supports and contributes to the efforts of Habitat for Humanity and Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP), whose volunteers exemplify Relief in Action and work to improve the lives of others every day. Advil® is also kicking-off a national call to action for everyone to show Advil® how you see Relief in Action by sharing inspiring photos on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #ReliefinAction.
As part of the launch, Advil® is teaming up with comedian Aziz Ansari who will perform a private comedy show for 200 people, 100 Superstorm Sandy volunteers and their guests, who dedicated their time and energy to help their neighbors rebuild and get back on their feet. These volunteers know firsthand how aches and pains can result from actively volunteering to rebuild their community, but they didn’t let that hold them back.
“I’m very happy to help with the Advil® Relief in Action campaign,” Aziz says. “Tonight’s show at Barclays Center is for the amazing volunteers who helped out affected areas during the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. I’m very honored to perform for them.”
Initiatives recognizing volunteers include:
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Justin Loiseau, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Nonfarm private employment increased by a seasonally adjusted 158,000 jobs for March, according to ADP‘s National Employment Report (link opens in PDF) released today.
Human capital management company ADP partners with Moody’s Analytics to produce this monthly report based on ADP payroll data representing 416,000 U.S. clients employing nearly 24 million workers in the U.S..
Source: Author, data from ADP.
Although this month continues a three-year streak of improvements, month-to-month gains haven’t been this low since October 2012. After February’s revised 237,000 additional jobs, market analysts had expected a 205,000-job jump for March.
Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said in a statement today: “Job growth moderated in March. Construction employment gains paused as the rebuilding surge in the wake of Superstorm Sandy ended. Anticipation of Health Care Reform may also be weighing on employment at companies with close to 50 employees. The job market continues to improve, but in fits and starts.”
Goods-producing employment was the main culprit for March’s mediocre results, adding just 7,000 jobs for the slowest growth rate in six months. Services managed a 151,000 increase in employment, boosted primarily by a 39,000 gain for professional/business services.
The article March Employment Underwhelms originally appeared on Fool.com.
Y
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By CNNMoney
Filed under: Taxes, Charity, Tax Refunds
Thousands of Americans who donated to charities last year in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., may not get the tax benefits they were expecting.
While many of these charities were legit, others were scams or never received the proper approval from the IRS to become a 501(c)(3) charitable organization — meaning taxpayers aren’t allowed to deduct donations to these groups.
Last month, for example, the New Jersey Attorney General filed a civil suit against the Hurricane Sandy Relief Foundation, alleging that the group had falsely claimed donations would be tax deductible.
The organization had raised more than $631,000, but had given less than 1 percent to victims, state officials alleged. At the same time, roughly $13,000 in donations had been allegedly transferred to personal bank accounts, according to court documents.
The foundation’s website now says that it does not have 501(c)(3) status, but that it has applied for it.
The IRS wouldn’t comment on the case. The Hurricane Sandy Relief Foundation’s founders John Sandberg and Christina Terraccino, and their attorneys didn’t respond to calls and e-mails requesting comment.
If the IRS catches a taxpayer deducting a donation to a non-eligible organization, the filer has to pay a penalty and any unpaid taxes, as well as interest, said Mark Luscombe, principal federal tax analyst with CCH, a tax advisory firm.
Even as the Superstorm Sandy was approaching, more than 1,000 Sandy-related Internet domains had been registered. And in Sandy’s aftermath, the IRS warned donors to look out for potential scammers impersonating charities, especially those claiming to be tied to legitimate nonprofits.
The IRS wouldn’t comment on how many groups actually ended up receiving 501(c)(3) status. But a search for terms related to the storm in the IRS‘s database found fewer than 10 organizations with the status, not including well-established regional and national organizations like the American Red Cross.
Even organizations with the best of intentions can have a difficult time attaining the status needed for donors to get a charitable deduction, said Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer at the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.
Applications for 501(c)(3) status can take months to be processed and even then, there is no guarantee that it will be approved, explained Weiner.
Sometimes, though, the IRS will “fast track” applications received in the wake of disasters. For example, the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund headed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie‘s wife, Mary Pat Christie, received 501(c)(3) status on Nov. 27 — just four weeks after the storm hit, according to the state.
Meanwhile, funds set …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Images told the story: lower Manhattan in darkness, coastal communities washed away, cars floating in muck. Superstorm Sandy, a harbinger of future extreme weather intensified by climate change, caught the country off guard in October. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org
Filed under:
Mother Nature has done her share of damage to cars over the past twelve months. Less than a year after Superstorm Sandy took out 250,000 cars and trucks, tennis ball-sized hail fell from the Mississippi sky this week and pummeled countless unprotected vehicles. Initial estimates say that more than 1,000 cars and trucks were damaged – hundreds at a large dealer mall where new vehicles are sold, and hundreds more near Nissan’s assembly plant in Canton – plus those already registered by private owners.
“I’ve been through hailstorms before, but I’ve never seen one like this,” said Paul Moak, owner of Paul Moak Honda. “It came down for 15 minutes as we stood inside watching.” The damaged Nissan models were waiting for transit in Jackson, while Honda, Chevrolet, Lexus and BMW models were clobbered at the Herrin-Gear Autoplex.
Hail-damaged vehicles are rarely completely destroyed. Instead, damaged vehicles at dealerships are often repaired (new glass, replacement trim and dent removal) and marketed at an advertised discount at dealerships. The Nissan models, still owned by the manufacturer, will also be repaired. Vehicles unable to be returned to new condition end up being sold at auction.
Hail No! More than 1,000 vehicles damaged by weather in MS originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
By The Huffington Post News Editors
NEW YORK — The Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which sustained severe damage to its infrastructure from the surging waters of Superstorm Sandy, is not expected to re-open to the public this year, the National Park Service said.
The Oct. 29 storm bought water levels as high as 8 feet to Ellis Island, adjacent to the home of the Statue of Liberty, destroying boilers and electrical systems.
Filed under: Economy, People, Breaking News
By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI
TRENTON, N.J. — The lottery fantasies of mansions, luxury boats and unlimited travel are over for most people. But for the owner — or owners — of the lone winning ticket sold in New Jersey for Powerball’s $338.3 million drawing they’re just beginning.
New Jersey Lottery officials will release information on the ticket at a news conference Monday morning at the lottery’s headquarters in Lawrenceville.
Details on where and when Saturday’s winning ticket was purchased and other related information were not disclosed Sunday by officials, who also would not say if anyone claiming to hold the ticket had contacted them.
Lottery officials say it was the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history. The numbers drawn were 17, 29, 31, 52, 53 and Powerball 31. A lump sum payout would be $221 million.
Retailers in New Jersey said the growing jackpot had spurred a big boost in ticket sales in recent days, and many people were willing to stand in long lines to get their tickets.
“We are hoping that we sold it here because that would be a blessing for one of our customers in these tough times,” said a worker at a Camden area convenience store.
When Teddy Jackson heard Sunday morning that the winning Powerball ticket was sold in New Jersey, the Toms River resident combed through his 40 tickets and hoped for the best.
About 20 minutes later, after checking each ticket at least a couple times, Jackson realized he would have to go work on Monday.
“There were a few where I had one or two numbers, but that was it,” the 45-year-old electrician said Sunday.
“I hope whoever wins does good things with the money,” Jackson said. “It’s OK to buy yourself a few material things and take some trips, but $338 million can do a lot of good things. Help the people who lost their jobs, the ones who got destroyed by [Superstorm] Sandy, the folks dealing with serious medical problems … don’t become one of these stupid people who get a windfall and blow it all.”
Lottery officials said 13 tickets worth $1 million apiece — matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball — were sold in Arizona, Florida (2), Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina and Virginia.
Powerball said on its website that the grand prize jackpot has now been reset to an estimated $40 million or a lump sum cash amount estimated at $25 million for Wednesday’s next drawing.
No one had won the Powerball jackpot since early February, when Dave Honeywell in Virginia bought the winning ticket and elected a …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
