Word: fema
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Governor to learn those kinds of lessons the hard way. In 1992 Florida Governor Lawton Chiles came under withering criticism for waiting three days after the destruction from Hurricane Andrew before making a written request for the federal troops that were standing by with food and tents. As for FEMA, Chiles later said ruefully, it "may be well meaning, but they have no clout in the initial phase ... You've got to loudly and strongly and probably with all kinds of paper tell the White House what you need...
...signs of hard feelings between the White House and the Governor were hardly subtle. Blanco hired James Lee Witt, Bill Clinton's well-regarded FEMA chief, as an adviser--and didn't discourage anyone from assuming that it reflected her feelings about the ineffectiveness of Bush's FEMA director, Michael Brown. When Bush decided to make a second trip into the state last week, Blanco learned about it from the media--and had to cancel her trip to visit evacuees in the Houston Astrodome. Blanco insists, however, that Washington and Baton Rouge are now on the same page. Bush...
While Blanco has come under fire, Republicans and Democrats in Louisiana's congressional delegation have stood behind her. Her fellow Governors, frustrated by FEMA's lack of response to their own offers of assistance, began trying to coordinate help through the National Governors Association. But by late last week, neither system appeared to be working. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, initially told to expect 300 evacuees, got 9,000; meanwhile, Virginia Governor Mark Warner arranged for 1,400 beds in Blackstone, Va., complete with Internet access, a school, day care, even a heated pool and gym. By Friday, not a single...
...FEMA and its chief, Michael Brown, fail their biggest test...
...flames blazed 400 miles away in New Orleans on Labor Day, about 600 fire fighters from across the nation sat in an Atlanta hotel listening to a FEMA lecture on equal opportunity, sexual harassment and customer service. "Your job is going to be community relations," a FEMA official told them, according to Joe Calhoun, an assistant fire chief from Portage, Ind., who was there. "You'll be passing out FEMA pamphlets and our phone number...