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Mike Brown: Everyone, let's go ahead and get started. It's noon, and we have a lot of business to cover today.
Before we get started, I wanted to very briefly introduce Michael Jackson, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, and my good friend from the old days. So, Michael, welcome to our little operation here.
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MR. JACKSON: Hi.
Mike Brown: Let's get started immediately. National Hurricane Center, do you want to give us an update?
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: For those following along on the website, we have made some last minute adjustments, so please refresh the website at fema.gov/hlt. We have both the Mobile Bay and New Orleans official storm surge slosh model best track runs posted on this website, and we will continue to post them as they are made available as the storm comes closer to the coast.
With that, we'll turn it over to Max Mayfield.
MR. Max MAYFIELD: Okay. Good afternoon. I don't have any good news here at all today. This is, as everybody knows by now, a very dangerous hurricane, and the center is about 225 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Putting the visual loop up here, Slide 100 here, just so you can see the size. You know, if there was ever a time to remind people not to focus on that skinny, black line, this is it. This is a very, very large hurricane, and you can even see some of these outer rain bands have already moved across the southeast Louisiana coast and are moving into the New Orleans area right now. That band will dissipate, and additional bands will start coming in later this afternoon.
Let's go to Slide 200, the infrared satellite loop. And I show this to really emphasize the eye. Right now, this is a Category 5 hurricane, very similar to Hurricane Andrew in the maximum intensity, but there is a big, big difference. This hurricane is much larger than Andrew ever was.
And for the folks in Louisiana, in Mississippi, and Alabama, and the Florida panhandle, when we're talking about the intensity -- in fact, especially the folks in Louisiana, if you remember Lily, Lily had been a Category 4 hurricane in the central Gulf of Mexico. It had a very, very small pinhole eye, and those small eyes usually don't maintain themselves very long.
Lily weakened down to a Category 1 hurricane by the time it made landfall. This one is not going to do that. When you have a large diameter eye like this, and as strong as this one is, I really don't expect to see any significant weakening. So I think the wisest thing to do here is to plan on a Category 5 hurricane.
Okay. Let's go to Slide 300, which is the water vapor animation, and I'm just going to spend a minute on this to talk about the steering currents. All of the computer models are developing high pressure here to east of Florida. The winds go clockwise around that high. That will help turn Katrina to the north, but there is also a drop -- a low pressure, as you can see, moving in on the ends of the loop here from the northwest.
And this is where there are some differences in how the models handle that. If this drop were just to continue to sweep in, it will turn more toward the north and even northeast faster. If it stays back here and, you know, farther removed from the hurricane, it will allow it to come in more in a north-northwesterly track.
No one can tell you exactly where that landfall is going to be, but this hurricane is so large that no matter where it hits it's going to have an impact over a very, very large area.
Let's go to the HRVC (phonetic) slides, Slide 400. This is our forecast at the present time, takes the center over southeast Louisiana, just east of Lake Poncetrain and on up into Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, into Ohio, in the three-day time period.
I want to say that -- and I know I'm preaching to the choir here -- that the -- this hurricane in particular is not just a coast event. The strong winds, the heavy rains, and the tornadoes will spread well inland, along this path that you see here. Having said that, I also want to make absolutely clear to everyone that the greatest potential for large loss of life is still in the coastal areas from the storm surge.
So let's go to Slide 500, where it says the storm surge forecast. This is the actual forecast based on the last forecast that came out about an hour ago that has the center coming over here, passing just east of the city of New Orleans, and covering the eastern side of the lake.
I really want to emphasize that, you know, and I think FEMA are staying here in southeast Louisiana, but Robert Latham and Bruce Bowman here, Mississippi and Alabama, these valleys that you see here along the Mississippi coast, those valleys are up over 20 feet. We're talking about a Camille-type storm surge here, even on the Mississippi coast. And we'll talk about Alabama here in a minute.
On the west side of the track, this is very, very complicated. You know, there's a very complex system of levies there in the New Orleans area. Some of the valleys that we see -- and I'm sure that all of these areas are already going under water out near the mouth of the Mississippi River. The colors that you see here show inundation over the land areas.
One of the valleys here in Lake Poncetrain, we've got on our forecast track, if it maintains its intensity, about 12-1/2 feet of storm surge in the lake. The big question is going to be: will that top some of the levies? And the current track and the forecast we have now suggests that there will be minimal flooding in the city of New Orleans itself, but we're -- we've always said that the storm surge model is only accurate within about 20 percent.
If that track were to deviate just a little bit to the west, it would -- it makes all the difference the world. I do expect there will be some of the levies over top even out here in the western portions here where the airport is. We've got valleys of 10 feet that can't overtop some of those levies.
The problem that we're going to have here -- remember, the winds go counterclockwise around the center of the hurricane. So if the really strong winds clip Lake Poncetrain, that's going to pile some of that water from Lake Poncetrain over on the south side of the lake. I don't think any model can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levies will be topped or not, but that's obviously a very, very grave concern.
Now, let's go to the next slide. This is Slide 600. I really want to make sure that various of the folks in Alabama know what can happen here. If you remember back Hurricane Jorge in '98, it made landfall in Mississippi as a Category 2, and you had five to eight feet of storm surge way up into the northern part of Mobile Bay.
You're going to have likely more than that from this hurricane. So we are, indeed, worried about the Mobile Bay area, and, of course, Dolphin Island and the Gulf Shores area there.
Now, let me go to the next slide, Slide 700. We have shifted the track here. This is not our official forecast right now, but if that track eases eastward just about 30 miles, which is almost to the noise level for us here, you could have much higher storm surge values both well up into the northern portion of Mobile Bay. And, you know, I'm showing 10 and 11 feet right now. We like to say we're within a couple of -- you know, 20 percent. So you could have, you know, 12 or 13 feet of storm surge there.
This is a -- this is going to have a real impact well out to the east, and I don't want to forget about Florida either. Even the northeastern Gulf there, east of the hurricane warning area, we full expect three to five feet of storm surge and wave setup that will have an impact on coastal areas. And I know some portions of Highway 98 there around Appalachia (inaudible) are already being eroded.
So big, big impact from the storm surge well out to the east. We need to understand that.
Okay. Any specific questions for me before I toss to the Hydranet Prediction Center and Jim Hope.
Mike Brown: Any questions for Max?
MR. Max MAYFIELD: Okay. Thank you very much.
Mr. JIM STETHKOVICH: We do have a question here in Alabama.
MR. Max MAYFIELD: Yes, sir.
MR. JIM STETHKOVICH: Hey, this is Jim Stethkovich, National Weather Service. We're getting some reports out of the Mobile office that they're starting to have projections of over 15 foot in northern Mobile County. We're wondering, based on what you just told us, Max, if that might be a little bit high.
MR. Max MAYFIELD: Well, you know, they may have centered the track farther east, and just -- you know, that's almost to the (inaudible). We've heard about 12 feet. Yes, two or three feet higher than that, that's certainly possible. That's not what we're forecasting --
MR. JIM STETHKOVICH: Thank you.
MR. Max MAYFIELD: -- but there is certainly that possibility. This is -- you know, this one is not just the intensity, but it's the size that really has us concerned, too.
MIKE BROWN: Okay. Mr. Buckley?
MR. Mike BUCKLEY: (Inaudible.)
MIKE BROWN: Max, there's a question coming from the audience.
MR. MIKE BUCKLEY: This is Mike Buckley from Headquarters. Can you comment on the forward speed and what might affect the track as well as the intensity of the storm surges?
MR. MAX MAYFIELD: Well, we've got it going about, you know, 10 knots, about 12 miles per hour. Once it makes that turn to the northeast, it's going to start accelerating. If that motion occurs earlier, you know, that -- that would speed everything up. But right now, we're talking about the center, you know, the actual center being on the coast tomorrow morning. But we really -- again, we don't want to focus on that.
I mean, the storm force winds are going to be there, you know, later this afternoon and this evening. So, you know, people are already running out of time. And, quite frankly, for the folks in Louisiana, if you can't get people out, you know, if you're ever going to, you know, talk about vertical refuge, this is the time to do it.
MIKE BROWN: Thanks, Max.
Other questions for Max? If not, let's go to the HPC.
JIM HOOK: Thanks, Mike. This is Jim Hook from the HPC. Good morning -- good afternoon.
I apologize for the quality of our video this morning. We have lost one of our video feeds, so I'm going to show you the presentation across the other feed. If you could follow along on the website, that would I think improve the quality of that feed.
The problem is on our end and not on your end.We expect considerable precipitation with Katrina over the next 48 hours. Fortunately, the storm is expected to move quickly once it makes landfall and move up through the central part of the United Sates. If you'll go to Slide Number 900, which is our Day 1 forecast, which is this morning at 7:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., we're looking for precipitation amounts of greater than four inches in the area in the vicinity of New Orleans and slightly to the east of that.
On this graphic, amounts greater than four inches are indicated in blue, with a maximum amount over the next day or so expected up to maybe seven inches in the lower Mississippi Valley area.
In the next slide, Slide Number 1000, we're looking at the precipitation from tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. CDT to Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. And this is once the storm is now on land, is producing a considerable amount of precipitation, amounts greater than -- we're expecting greater than four inches over a sizeable part of eastern Mississippi, western Alabama, and eastern Louisiana during that time period.
Then, the next day the storm will be quickly moving north and producing precipitation primarily in the Tennessee Valley and the Ohio Valley, and the storm will then continue up through the eastern Great Lakes. So for the three-day period, if you'll look at Slide 1100, you'll have our totals. We're looking for amounts of five to ten inches in the lower -- lower central U.S., with maximum of over 15 inches in isolated spots. That should then proceed -- be followed by smaller amounts, on the order of four to eight inches, in the Ohio Valley, with lesser amounts then as the storm moves into New England.
So the good news from this storm once it makes landfall is that we expect the storm to continue to move fairly quickly through the central United States.
Max, that's all from the Hydranet Prediction Center. Back to you.
National Hurricane Center: Thank you, HPC. We'll turn it over to John Smith, our hydrologist here at the Hurricane Center.
Mr. JOHN SMITH: Good afternoon. As we get a little bit closer to landfall, we wanted to start talking a little bit about some of the hydrologic implications as the storm moves north and east. This is just a quick slide of soil moisture. You can go back to Slide 1200, please.
What you can see is over July and August we had a lot of heavy rains through southern Alabama and northern Georgia. That area is very wet right now. Earlier in the week, the track of Katrina was kind of troubling towards a flooding perspective, because of the storm moving over that wet area.
As the storm goes ahead and makes landfall somewhere along the Louisiana/Mississippi coast, and moves north and then east and accelerates like Max and Jim just talked about, that eases the river flooding (inaudible) a little bit. If you go to Slide 1300, the River Forecast Centers in both Slidell and Peachtree City are calling for the possibility of significant river flooding all along the corridor of Katrina as it moves north.
If it starts to turn east and accelerate, the rainfall totals ought to come down a little bit. Flooding ought to be more localized when that happens. Down here is where we're really starting to get concerned. Much of this is storm surge flooding and is expected to reach well out to some of the rivers, some of the coast rivers.
Add to that the 10 inches of rainfall that might be possible, especially down along the Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana coast, and we're looking for some -- the likelihood of significant river flooding in that area.
Are there any questions?
MIKE BROWN: Any questions?
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Hearing none, this concludes the weather portion of the conference.
MIKE BROWN: Thank you very much.
At this time, I'd like to go to Crawford, Texas. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce the President of the United States.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, Mike, thank you very much. I appreciate so very much the warnings that Max and his team have given to the good folks in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama. Appreciate your briefing that you gave me early this morning about what the Federal Government is prepared to do to help the state and local folks deal with this really serious storm.
I do want to thank the good folks in the offices of Louisiana and Alabama and Mississippi for listening to these warnings and preparing your citizens for this -- this huge storm. I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared to not only help you during the storm, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm to help you deal with the loss of property. And we pray for no loss of life, of course.
Unfortunately, we've had experience at this in recent years, and I -- the FEMA folks have done great work in the past, and I'm confident, Mike, that you and your team will do all you can to help the good folks in these affected states.
Again, I want to thank Governor Blanco and Governor Riley and Governor Barber, Governor Bush of Florida, for heeding these warnings, and doing all you can possibly do with your state folks and local folks to prepare the citizenry for this storm.
In the meantime, I know the nation will be praying for the good folks in the affected areas, and we just hope for the very best.
Mike, thanks for letting me speak to the people I know who are working long hours. Again, I want to thank everybody involved in this effort. I appreciate the long hours you're keeping. I expect you to keep more long hours until we've done everything we can in our power to help -- to help the folks in the affected areas.
Thank you, sir.
MIKE BROWN: Mr. President, thank you. We appreciate your support of FEMA and those kind words very much. Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Okay.
MIKE BROWN: Okay. We'll move on now to the states. Louisiana?
COLONEL SMITH: Good morning, Mike. This is Colonel Jeff Smith here in Louisiana. We certainly appreciate those comments from the President, because I can tell you that our Governor is very concerned about the potential loss of life here with our citizens, and she is very appreciative of the federal resources that have come into the state and the willingness to give us everything you've got, because, again, we're very concerned with this.
I'm going to turn the briefing over for a moment to our Operations Officer, just to kind of give you a quick laydown of things. This is Colonel Bill Doriant.
COLONEL DORIANT: The Emergency Operations Center is at a Level 1, which is the highest state of readiness. We've got currently 11 parishes with evacuations, and climbing. Eight are mandatory, including a first-ever mandatory for New Orleans. We've got 38 parish declarations of emergency; also the state declaration and the Presidential declaration of emergency.
Evacuations are underway currently. We're planning for a catastrophic event, which we have been planning for, thanks to the help of FEMA, when we did the Hurricane Pam exercises. So we're way ahead of the game there.
Our priorities right now are sheltering, and then planning for search and rescue and commodities distribution after recovery.
That's all I have at this time.
COLONEL SMITH: I'll just tell you that the evacuation process is going much better than it did during Hurricane Ivan. Nobody anticipated that it would be easy. Nobody anticipated that there wouldn't be traffic jams. But by and large, it has gone much better than it did with Ivan. And, of course, we still have a contraflow in effect at this particular point in time, and we do still have heavy traffic coming out of New Orleans, but by and large that process is going very well.
We have established a unified command here with our federal coordinating officer. Our ERD-A team, ERD-N team is on the ground here. And, again, as our Operations Officer pointed out, we're spending a lot of time right now with the search and rescue, making sure that we marry the appropriate state assets and the federal assets, so we can have an effective search and rescue effort just as quickly as possible.
We're also taking a look at our sheltering needs, long-term sheltering needs, looking at sites to start bringing in the temporary housing. So we're not only fighting the current battle, managing expectations here with our local parishes, but we are also working with FEMA and our other federal partners to have the most effective response and recovery that we possibly can during this time.
So, again, I want to say thank you very much for all that you're doing. I think that at this point in time our coordination is as good as it can be, and we just very much appreciate the President and your commitments to resourcing our needs down here.
Any questions that you have, we'd be glad to take them now, unless you want to hold that until later. That's your call, Mike.
Mike Brown: Any questions? Colonel, do you have any unmet needs, anything that we're not getting to you that you need or --
COLONEL SMITH: Mike, no. (Inaudible) resources that are en route, and it looks like those resources that are en route are going to -- to be a good first shot. Naturally, once we get into this thing, you know, neck deep here, unfortunately, or deeper, I'm sure that things are going to come up that maybe some of even our best planners hadn't even thought about. So I think flexibility is going to be the key.
And just as quickly as we can cut through any potential red tape when those things do arise, you know, we just need to look at it. We appreciate your comments. I think they were to lean as far, far as you possibly can, you know, without falling, and your people here are doing that. And that's the type of attitude that we need in an event like this.
So, again, thank you very much.
Mike Brown: All right. I'll be in Baton Rouge probably about 4:00 this afternoon, so I'll see you sometime this evening.
COLONEL SMITH: Okay. (Missing) as far as coordination.
Mike Brown: All right. Any (missing)? Mississippi?
MISSISSIPPI: Mr. Secretary, little did we know less than a week ago when we had the opportunity to meet that we would be sitting here today facing the challenges that we face. I appreciate you listening, appreciate you being there, Mike. FEMA has been great. You're leaning forward, and we appreciate that. We're going to need everything that we can possibly muster, not only in this state and the region, but the nation, to respond to this event.
I was on the coast yesterday, and what I saw was, quite frankly, exactly what existed before Camille. People were not evacuating. I feared that. It seems to be now today we're in the middle of a panic evacuation. I can say that it's going well. The numbers are picking up. We're preparing to open shelters in all 82 counties. Search and rescue resources from within the state are being predeployed to the Jackson area today, will be predeployed to the coast this afternoon.
National Guard liaison teams will arrive no later than 1800 this afternoon for the three coastal counties. We also have been in close contact with our other assets in the region to see what we can bring in, should we need it, specifically search and rescue, water and ice and food. We had resources left from Dennis that we can carry over probably 24 to 36 hours.
We know that FEMA has got resources they can predeploy to help us. We're prepared to distribute those once the storm clears and we can get in there.
The priorities right now are evacuation for us, Mike. We just -- we think that people are finally starting to heed the warnings. I hope it's just not too late.
The sheltering, obviously, is a big issue, but the shelter spaces are there. Search and rescue, as I said, is a priority. National Guard -- we're also preparing to deploy some additional Guard resources to the Hattisburg/Camp Shelby area to get on the ground post-landfall for search and rescue, and even security purposes.
FCO is onsite. ERD-A is onsite. EMAC-18 is onsite. We've got everything that we need from the Federal Government.
And, again, we appreciate what you and FEMA are doing. Mr. Secretary, I appreciate you being there. It shows the support at that level. We really do appreciate it. We certainly appreciate the words from the President.
That's all I've got, Mike, unless you've got some questions for me.
MIKE BROWN: Questions for Bob? All right, Bob. (Missing.)
ALABAMA: (Missing) still at a Level 1 operations. We do have the ERD-A in place. Ron Sherman is team leader. We've been doing some joint planning. We've got liaisons down our coastal counties. We're still expecting a substantial storm surge in our two coastal counties.
We've got our search and rescue teams on standby. I have also volunteered help to Mississippi if they need some also. We've got our water rescue teams. Because of the flood problem, we've got sandbags stockpiled, so we're in pretty good shape. Water, ice, the other emergency commodities, we've been working with Ron on that, and we've got sufficient on hand to meet what we think are -- will be our initial requirements, Mike.
The Governor is signing an emergency proclamation today. We'll be going in with a request for an emergency declaration for about six counties. The Governor will also be issuing a mandatory evacuation for parts of Baldwin County. We do have voluntary evacuations going on in Mobile County at this time. So we're in good shape.
MIKE BROWN: Good. I'm glad (missing).
MIKE BROWN: Oh, yes. When should we expect your request in, Bruce?
ALABAMA: (Missing) right now, Toby Roth, the Governor's Chief of Staff is here, so we've got all the documents ready to go, Mike. So as soon as that happens, we'll get it to Ron and get it on up to you.
MIKE BROWN: All right. We'll turn it right around. Thanks.
Okay. Great. (Missing.)
FLORIDA: (Missing) responding. South Florida, we're maintaining that, and we're getting ready with the evacuations that are now occurring in the panhandle.
More importantly, I am not anticipating any FEMA assets other than the recovery assets we currently have. We're not going to put in a request for resources in lieu of the greater need to the west of us.
In addition, we're planning our search and rescue missions for our counties, also building our task force structures to provide assistance to the neighboring states in EMAC, and pretty much are gearing up with Governor Bush's direction to support our neighboring states as well as our initial response.
So other than what we already have, we're not going to ask for anything additional. We're going to try to do as much as we can in-house.
FEMA: Let me just (missing) Alabama, Mississippi, and (missing) Florida to be used. So if we need them, don't hesitate to let us know, so we can bend Craig's ear, move them out of Florida.
Thanks, Craig.
Are there any questions for Florida? Hearing none, we'll go to Georgia. Georgia? Texas? Do we have Texas on? You'd better. You're about to --
TEXAS: (Missing) Texas here. And we are basically preparing to move into a mass care assistance mode, standing up our capabilities to provide sheltering for evacuees who are moving into Texas.
We, in fact, already have several shelters that are open, and we are bringing on -- the Governor has ordered 200 members of the Texas State Guard, which is the Texas State Guard militia under the direction of the Texas Army National Guard, to duty to provide volunteer assistance with shelter management operations.
So we are working closely in conjunction with the American Red Cross and Salvation Army to provide that service, along with our local jurisdictions on the eastern part of the state.
The Governor has dispatched to Louisiana a liaison officer to work in the State Operations Center there, try to provide a liaison and make us -- or give us a better understanding of what -- some of the needs we might be able to supply there. The Texas Army National Guard is inventorying their assets in expectation if we get requests for assistance from them to mobilize.
Our Texas Building and Procurement Commission, which helps us manage the contracts that we do with private vendors, has sent a representative to the State Operations Center to begin to monitor and to work with contract operations in the event that that type of assistance is needed anywhere other -- in our sister states.
Of course, under the direction of FEMA, Texas Task Force I has been mobilized and is staged at Shreveport under the direction of FEMA to provide assistance, and we continue to monitor this situation.
We have got the mass care ESF coming to active duty at the State Operations Center beginning tomorrow morning. We have increased our staffing level in the State Operations Center.
MIKE BROWN: Thanks, Texas.
Any questions? Okay. Let's go to the regions. Region (missing), Gary?
GARY: (Missing) that's in Louisiana with Colonel Smith to kick off this presentation. Bill?
BILL LOKEY: Thank you very much, Gary. The -- we've got the ERD-N and the ERD-A established here, and also some of the FEMA staff members who were evacuated from the Disaster 1601 helping, working with the state. The basic priorities are life-saving missions, life-sustaining missions, and then moving to immediate and long-term recovery.
In essence, we formed planning groups in various areas, the priority being for search and rescue and some of the medical issues in supporting that, and refining some of the plans that were left over from the catastrophic planning efforts that were done here that have been helpful in getting things organized.
We have a number of other efforts going on in the distribution and staging, power, rapid needs assessment, debris clearance, temporary housing and roofing, external affairs, specialized needs, and setting up disaster recovery centers, and we're working on a safety plan for our own folks for riding out the hurricane.
We're meeting all of the state objectives as last we heard, and planning is going well.
That's kind of a summary, Gary, of what we're up to.
GARY: We'll go ahead and give a couple more updates here from the region, Undersecretary Brown. Go ahead, Tony.
SPEAKER: Yes. Our Regional Response Coordination Center has activated a Level I with all ESFs on a 24/7 basis. We do have an operational staging area that has been established at Camp Bureaugard with commodities of ice water, MREs, and tarps onsite. We are initiating actions to work with the Corps of Engineers to potentially some quarter boats to house workers as housing will become an issue in the Baton Rouge area.
We are moving requested commodities forward to support some state requests in Orleans Parish. We have established Camp Menden as a temporary housing staging area.
The Department of Energy is here in the RRCC and has started running modeling to provide estimates on the potential effects to the power infrastructure, and when we could potentially look at restoration, so we can identify where we need to move our most critical assets the quickest.
We've gotten a heavy generator kit that's scheduled to arrive in Barksdale at the Mobilization Center along with USAR task forces are to be in Barksdale as well today. All the Region 6 permanent staff are being made available for any response and recovery duties that will come up.
We have the Denton MERS Detachment that's onsite at Camp Beauregard and also in Baton Rouge. The Denver MERS unit is en route to stage here in Denton for further deployment, along with an emergency response team advanced element from Region 1 Boston is due in here this afternoon to Denton, in case we are needed to move them forward.
And we just continue to coordinate with the National Response Coordination Center, the ERD, and the state to refine our response plan and finalize getting our resources in place prior to tropical storm force winds.
MIKE BROWN: Any questions? (Missing) on the commodities that I want to see that supply chain jammed up just as much as possible. I mean, I want stuff (missing) than we need. Just keep jamming those lines full as much as you can with commodities.
My gut tells me we're -- that's going to be one of our biggest needs. So just (missing) up tight.
Any questions for (missing)?
Region 4?
REGION 4: (Missing) supporting the ERD-A in Mississippi and Alabama, and also rapid needs assessment teams are on standby and in place in Mississippi and Alabama.
We also are running our models for our Cat. 5 for Biloxi and Mobile in the panhandle. We were planning for anticipated increase in commodity flows. We are monitoring and identifying status and locations of teams and commodities. We're coordinating logistics and operations support with the Headquarters, as well as the field
We have Region 9's support in the lead in Mississippi, and we also have Region 4 en route and supported by Region 10 in Alabama. We also have MERS support at both Alabama and Mississippi.
We're working with the NDMS folks in identifying potential areas of critical facilities that we may need to look at after impact.
And at this time, I'd like to turn to our team leaders in Mississippi and Alabama for any additional comments they may have.
Mr. Carlisle?
MR. CARLISLE: Well, Paul, as you indicated, we're on the ground here. As the Undersecretary said, we also believe the commodities are going to be a major issue, and we're trying to get visibility over the things that are flowing to the states. But other than that, our biggest concerns, of course, are the urban search and rescue teams. We've got two of those moving into Meridian today.
Of course, DMAT and VMAT, with the large potential for loss and pollution down -- and carcasses down in the southern counties are also a concern. We're working that issue now.
But other than what has been covered by Robert, we're in pretty good shape in terms of where we are right now.
PAUL: I'd like to call on Mr. Sherman in Alabama for any additional comments he may have.
SPEAKER: Just one, Paul. One of the things we're going to finish working on today is clarifying the process we're going to use for transferring the commodities from FEMA to the state as the requester generated. That's it.
SPEAKER: Sir, that's all we have from Region 4. We're open for comments.
MIKE BROWN: Okay. Thanks, Paul.
(Missing.) Hearing none, let's go to Florida (missing). Scott, are you there?
FLORIDA LOG-SCOTT: I am here. (Missing.) We clearly are doing whatever we can to support the operation over in Louisiana and Mississippi. Just got off the phone with Mayor Croddy's office, and they have given us the go-ahead to use the Orange County Convention Center to bring in all the DAEs as a staging area, so we can process those and get them all of the -- all of their credit cards and everything taken care of down here.
And I think that's the best way we're going to be able to support now, as well as whatever personnel you all think you would need from us. We are willing to support whatever we need to do.
MIKE BROWN: Good. (Missing) issue an advisory to everybody. Everyone is on call. So it's all (missing). So, Scott, we'll fill up the Convention Center in Orlando. Tell them to get ready.
FLORIDA LOG-SCOTT: They're ready for it.
MIKE BROWN: Any questions (missing)? Hearing none, let's go to Headquarters. Operations?
OPERATIONS: The National Response Coordination Center has activated 24/7, a Level I. All of the emergency support functions are represented. So together (missing) we're all here to support life-saving and protecting property.
The Movement Coordination Center Branch has been activated at Headquarters to support all operations with ESF-1. The NDMS and national urban search and rescue resources are (missing). We have made arrangements for pre-landfall satellite imagery, and we have completed that (missing) Louisiana and surrounding parish area down to one meter and in color.
We also have ready Aviation and Maritime Office P3 flights arranged for post-event visual imagery.
We have made arrangements with the Coast Guard and EPA to prepare for Katrina's second landfall, to respond to flooding conditions and potential oil spills and hazardous material releases.
The NCS is working with industry around the clock to make sure that we identify what resources are pre-staged and available. We are also working on taking care of requests for wireless priority services. The Corps of Engineering is very actively involved in preparing (missing) New Orleans (inaudible) missions for post-landfall.
In addition to that, we are assessing the potential impact of the storm on the critical infrastructure, and we stand by to proactively support requests for assistance as necessary.
MIKE BROWN: Good. Any questions for Ops? Logistics?
LOGISTICS: As reported, we have been in constant communication with the (missing) and the field elements in our positioning of our commodities. Just to give everyone a rundown (missing) on hand by -- water, 619 trailer loads, (missing) million gallons, five-day supply. (Missing) 17 million pounds, (missing) supply (missing), which is about (missing) half a million MREs, which is a two-and-a-half day supply.
We have additional mission assignments and procurement actions in place for all of those commodities. All of the field elements when you're (missing) these commodities, order them, but (missing) quantities that you can realistically distribute (missing) tie up our (missing).
Any questions for Log?
MIKE BROWN: Any questions? Recovery?
RECOVERY: Number one priority for recovery is housing mission. We have sent Brad Gare and Kevin Suza down there to lead it up and meet up with the ERD-N team. They will be setting up the Housing Command Center in Baton Rouge to start, and working out the IOF. (Missing) Logistics to start moving housing entities down towards the southeastern area of the country to prepare post-hurricane.
(Missing) is to ensure that the call centers are up and running. They will go 24/7 tomorrow morning (missing) will be ready. Their priority is ensuring that we have IA staff, PA staff in the field, and they are surging down to Orlando like we heard earlier. And it's (missing).
MIKE BROWN: Questions for Recovery? Others? Mike?
MIKE: Mr. Undersecretary, let me just mention that given the predictions on the wind speeds, it's possible that some of the shelters -- that those wind speeds may exceed the design level of some of the shelters. So there does need to be some attention paid to those areas that might not be up to a design standard, and be prepared to deploy any medical resources to (missing), particularly in those shelters that are closer to the (missing) where the wind speeds are expected to be higher.
MIKE BROWN: In fact, let me just go ahead and (missing) and tell you what my priorities are and what my concerns are. Number one, you know that the Mayor has ordered the Superdome to be used as a shelter (missing) first resort. I didn't hear about any other shelters for people to go to as they left New Orleans.
As you may or may not know, the Superdome is about 12 feet below sea level, so I don't know what the heck (missing). And I also am concerned about that roof. I don't know whether that roof is designed to stand -- withstand a Cat. 5 hurricane.
So not to be (missing) kind of gross here, but I'm concerned about NDMS and medical and DMORT assets and their ability to respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe. So if I could get some sort of insight into what's going on in that Superdome, I think it would be very, very helpful.
While we're on (missing), I want to make sure that NDMS and the DMORTs and DMATs are ready to go, as soon as, because I do believe I also heard there is no (missing) mandatory evacuations. They're not taking patients out of hospitals, taking prisoners out of prisons, and they're leaving hotels open in downtown New Orleans. So I'm very concerned about that. So let's just keep that in mind (missing).
I've already mentioned a lot of these. I am concerned (missing) there's going to be a huge demand. I think the point that Log made about making realistic requests resources and commodities is good. But my point to Gary and the others is I want lines jammed up. So whatever those requests are, that we can fulfill those.
And then, finally, we need to reach out to all of your colleagues in the Departments, that this is really all hands on deck, and I really do expect to be able to call everyone -- everyone within FEMA is actually on call, and we may need you to deploy and go somewhere.
I don't want anybody to self-deploy, but be ready to go. And while I have the Deputy Secretary here at some point we may want to reach out to the broader DHS and ask for -- putting some men and women down there.
My gut tells me -- I told you guys my gut was that this (missing) is a bad one and a big one. And you heard Max's comments. I still feel that way today.
Now, the good thing about this is we've got a great team around here that knows what they're doing, and they (missing) to do it. I want to emphasize what I said yesterday, get to the edge of that envelope. And, in fact, if you feel like you (missing), go ahead and do it. I'll figure out some way to justify it, some way (missing) tell Congress or whoever else it is that wants to yell at me, just let them yell at me, (missing) not to worry about -- in fact, I don't want any of these processes in our way.
We're going to do whatever it takes to help these folks down there, because this is, to put it mildly, the big one I think. All right?
MIKE BROWN: Yes.
SECRETARY CHERTOFF: (Inaudible.) Yes. Hi, this is Secretary Chertoff. And, again, as it relates to the entire department, if there's anything that you need from Coast Guard or any other components that you're not getting, please let us know. We'll do that for you, OK.
Mike Brown: I appreciate it. (Missing.) Having been through many of these, the Coast Guard and ICE and all of the others have been incredibly good to us. And I hope we never have to call you and tell you that I can't get help from the Coast Guard or somebody.Thank you for those comments.
SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Secondly, are there any DOD assets that might be available. Have we reached out to them, and have we I guess made any kind of arrangement in case we need some additional help from them?
MIKE BROWN: We have DOD assets over here at the EOC. They are fully engaged, and we are having those discussions with them now.
SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Good job.
MIKE BROWN: (Missing.)
SECRETARY CHERTOFF: I did, yes. Thank you. (Missing.)
MIKE BROWN: Are there any other questions or comments anyone needs to make? If not, carry on. Next meeting noon tomorrow. I'll see you from Baton Rouge.
(Whereupon, the proceedings went off the record.)


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I agree. The Man in Black, Dread Pirate Roberts, or Wesley (the one with eyes like the sea after a storm), should certainly have been on this list, since he defeated Inigo with the "I am not left-handed" trick (one of the oldest in the book). Clearly, his defeat of Fezzik and Vincini show that he would bring a lot more than mere swordsmanship to any contest.
Of course, like Inigo, he is motivated by his desire for revenge on Humperdink and to be reunited with Buttercup ... lacking that motivation, I'm not sure he has it in him to defeat any of these blades -- he'd probably rather just ride off into the sunset or agree to serve as their valet.
No good deed goes unpunished. -- (attributed to) Oscar Wilde
In reply to Re^2: Who would win in a swordfight?
by ptum

subset: commoncrawl


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Last week, I attended the free @EDUCAUSE #EDUlive Developing Social Media Guidance in higher education with respect to #Privacy and #Security concerns. The presenters, from the University of Pennsylvania, shared ideas for how to promote safe usage of social media and detailed how to draft guidance for addressing issues in teaching, research, administrative, and other functions.
If you missed the #EDUlive event, you can check out the webinar recording and archives posted on the EDUCAUSE website, Developing Social Media Guidance, and you can also read through the Storify of #EDUlive tweets I collected.
During the webinar, I shared the Social Media: Sharing Strategies, Policies & Privacy Concerns in Higher Education open & shared Google Doc that was 1st created for a @BreakDrink Campus Tech Connection (CTCX) Show in September 2010. This document has been circulated around and curated for a while by myself and high ed professionals and faculty. Since there were a number of social media guidelines/policy examples shared during the webcast, I added them to this doc. For others interested in developing guidelines, I think there are a few solid examples I like in here, and I know that @EricStoller shared some of his favourite #SM guidelines from the list on InsideHigherEd recently as well.
Before diving into creating rules, guidelines or policies for social media, it is important to consider how this emerging technology is being used on your campus. In Chapter 6 of Social Media for Educators, Tanya Joosten (2012) shares her thoughts around institutional considerations for social media policy and practice [which we chatted with Tanya about on #CTCX Episode No. 61 as well]. There are often concerns about the use of social media at educational institutions, since these social and connected resources impact student behavior, online interactions, privacy concerns, and communication practices. When developing a social media policy, Joosten (2012) offers a few helpful suggestions for educators:
- review current technology use at your institution
- do not link policies to specific tools
- revise current student conduct and institutional policies
- use policy to address behaviors and activities, rather than focus on the technology
- learn about FERPA (or FIPPA in Canada) issues and privacy of student information at your campus
- develop best practices on campus for use by students, faculty, and support units
When thinking about the language of policy vs. guidelines, I am partial to establishing guidelines. There are probably already policies that address the actions and outcomes of student, staff, and/or faculty behavior on your campus. I think that it is important to review your home institutional policies and/or guidelines to best understand what is already being "regulated" on campus. It is also helpful to chat with your institutional office who deals with policy development, legal concerns, and/or questions you might have around privacy legislation.
Have you searched the terms "social media+policy" or "social media+guidelines" on your institutional website? Go on. See what shows up. If you find something, then start connecting and collaborating with that unit. If there is nothing to be found, then gather your peers and start the conversation.
Joosten, T. (2012). Social media for educators. San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.


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Stella, a great horned owl, began her career as Temple's live mascot in 2013. During home games, Stella can be found cheering on the sidelines of Lincoln Financial Field alongside Temple's official mascot, Hooter.
Though she's small—just 2 feet tall and only 3 pounds—Stella is a mighty predator, with an impressive 60-inch wingspan and talons capable of crushing prey with 28 pounds of force per square inch. She currently resides in the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where she also is a wildlife conservation teacher.
Stella originally hails from Washington state. Her favorite foods include rodents, rabbits and snakes. When she's not at a game or teaching at the zoo, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Sherlock, also a great horned owl. Stella is in the possession of the Elmwood Park Zoo by the authority of U.S. Fish and Wildlife.


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Too many paint fumes .... Maybe that's why Al Gore is telling kids they know more than their parents so they shouldn't listen to them. Hmmmm
Anyway, you're just not doing enough for the cause. I'll see if I can help by leaving my truck idling all day - with the exhaust pointed to my neighbor's house of course.


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The New American – by Alex Newman
The Environmental Protection Agency and its disgraced former boss Lisa Jackson are under fire from lawmakers and activists for, among other reasons, having recently been exposed violating federal law by using bogus identities and e-mail accounts to coordinate propaganda and policy with media allies, "green" groups, and policymakers to advance the Obama administration's radical "environmental" agenda. Other EPA corruption is also still in the headlines, too, with the agency being criticized for ripping off U.S. taxpayers and foisting more unconstitutional regulations on the economy by working with extremist pseudo-environmental groups using a controversial scheme dubbed "sue and settle."
The most recent major scandal, which began unraveling late last year after a federal court ruling, involves former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, who conveniently announced her resignation in late December. The self-styled "most progressive EPA chief in history" was caught, apparently in violation of federal law, using the fake name "Richard Windsor" and a bogus e-mail account to conspire with allies in the establishment media and friendly policymakers. The shady dealings were part of an effort to promote Jackson and the Obama administration's wildly unconstitutional policies without being exposed to public scrutiny.
The pseudonym and fake e-mail account scandal, already being called "Windsorgate," was essentially aimed at skirting federal record-keeping laws barring the use of fake names in official government dealings, according to analysts. The other purpose of the unlawful scheme, first uncovered by a researcher at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was to conceal the lawless EPA boss's activities from mandatory public and congressional oversight. After a Freedom of Information Act request and a successful lawsuit by CEI, however, the whole plot is slowly coming to light.
Unsurprisingly, the EPA — created in 1970 by an unconstitutional "executive order" issued by then-President Richard Nixon — is still trying to hide as much of the incriminating evidence as possible using bogus justifications. Among other concerns, the agency has been redacting — blacking out — massive segments of the documents it was forced to release under court order. It flat out refused to release hundreds more.
Indeed, CEI Senior Fellow Christopher Horner told the Washington Examiner his organization estimates that about 85 percent of the "Richard Windsor" e-mails released last week were redacted. The concealment of the information was "justified," according to the EPA, under the FOIA's exemption for documents dealing with a "deliberative process" used in formulating policy — possibly including the lawless policies surrounding the administration's so-called "war on coal."
Now, however, lawmakers and watchdog groups are starting to ask serious questions and demand answers. "For the sake of transparency, and of easing the road ahead for the next EPA administrator, we hope the EPA starts providing some answers,"noted CEI media coordinator Nicole Ciandella in a statement published by the Daily Caller, pointing out that the agency continues to stonewall all efforts to get to the truth. Other officials are publicly hammering the EPA as well.
Aside from the CEI, members of Congress are also trying to find out just what was going on at the EPA. Last month, for example, Republicans on the House Science Committee sent yet another letter to Jackson demanding that she hand over the documents — the third official request from the committee lawmakers since November of last year, when the scandal was first becoming a major public concern and a PR nightmare for the agency.
"The use of a false identity raises serious questions about whether the EPA has adequately preserved related records. Despite these legitimate concerns, the EPA has thus far refused to comply with the Committee's request," states the January 23 letter signed by six congressmen, adding that continued refusal to comply was "unacceptable" and could result in formal action to force the agency to obey.
The House committee's letter continued, demanding answers. "As we mentioned in our previous letter, the public trusts that its government will operate in an open and transparent manner," the lawmakers wrote. "EPA regulations have a significant impact on the everyday lives of Americans, and the agency should implement them in a manner that respects the public's trust."
The committee chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), has also been vocal in demanding answers, but so far, few have been forthcoming. "The American public deserves to know whether Administrator Jackson's secret email accounts were appropriately maintained by the agency according to requirements by federal law. If they have nothing to hide, why not comply with our request?" Rep. Smith wondered. "EPA's refusal only adds to suspicion that Administrator Jackson's secret email accounts were intended to evade transparency and circumvent congressional oversight."
In the Senate, lawmakers are speaking out, too. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), for example, said he thought the EPA alias scandal was the real reason for Jackson's well-timed resignation in late December. "I think this e-mail issue clearly spurred Lisa Jackson's resignation," Sen. Vitter was quoted as saying. "But it's much broader than her. It's about a culture of hiding an extreme agenda from Americans because it can't be sustained in public debate."
Some critics of the administration are even calling for a proper law-enforcement investigation and potential criminal prosecutions, saying it was obvious that federal law had been violated. However, with Attorney General Eric Holder already facing criminal contempt of Congress charges for covering up the Obama Justice Department's "Fast and Furious" scheme arming certain Mexican drug cartels, the chances of justice being served, at this point at least, appear slim. Holder, in fact, is currently abusing his position as DOJ boss to avoid prosecution himself.
Meanwhile, despite repeatedly promising to run the "most transparent" and "open" administration in history, this is not the first time President Obama's top officials have been caught trying to unlawfully avoid federal record-keeping laws. As The New American reported in August, scandals swirling around the Department of Energy, for example, are strikingly similar. Top officials there were exposed using private e-mail accounts for official business — again in an apparent effort to unlawfully conceal their shady dealings from the public and Congress.
Another EPA scandal back in the headlines this week is the so-called "sue and settle" scam, used by various agencies and especially the EPA, to rip off taxpayers, provide public money to extremist groups, and implement unconstitutional regulations by fiat. Essentially, the process works like this: A radical green group sues the EPA in court demanding that the agency do something — pass more unconstitutional, economy-destroying regulations, for example. Then, the agency agrees to "settle," taking the lawless actions that were already being sought by the administration while offering huge taxpayer-funded "settlements" to the organization that sued.
Millions of tax dollars have been funneled to extremist "green" groups using this tactic in recent decades, according to a 2011 official report by the GAO cited by Forbes energy and environment analyst Larry Bell. Among the largest beneficiaries of the scam — aside from the administration in its efforts to foist more lawlessness and pain on the American people — were organizations such as Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce studied the issue and concluded in a report that the "sue and settle" scam was responsible for many of the EPA's "most controversial, economically significant regulations that have plagued the business community for the past few years." The study found that among the regulations imposed on the American people using the strategy were restrictions on power plants, refineries, mining operations, cement plants, chemical firms, and numerous other industries and sectors, Bellreported.
Members of Congress have been meekly trying to rein in the out-of-control EPA for years. However, with each successive administration, the rogue, unconstitutional entity continues to usurp more and more power — destroying countless jobs and livesin the process. Critics of the agency, however, say it is time for lawmakers to abolish the EPA altogether. Not only is there no constitutional authority for such an agency, its lawless reign of terror is contributing to the destruction of the already-battered American economy — all with virtually no real benefits to the environment.
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at email@example.com.


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Megalodon Shark Tooth 3 & 7/8 in. REAL FOSSIL - SERRATED - NO RESTORATIONS. There is a reason why. 75% of our sales are from Repeat Customers! OVER 10,000 POSITIVE FOSSIL FEEDBACKS.100% Natural Megalodon Shark Tooth was found in the black waters of Georgia. This is a RIVER tooth and NOT an Ocean tooth. No repairs and No restorations. Nothing man made has been added to this tooth. This Megalodon shark tooth is in its NATURAL State of Recovery, just like fossils are suppose to be, and will make all the difference in the world if you ever go to resell it. I do NOT sale fake teeth or plastic molds. We do NOT measure our teeth on a ruler and round up. Why would you should be the question. We do NOT list low quality commercial grade teeth as "Gems" or World Class. We do NOT hide flaws during photographing. Please read the question and answer section below. I charge what the post office charges. Because if the package weighs 16 ounces or less, and 99% of them do, than the United States Postal Service does not require one. Question #3: Do you have a website? There is never such thing as a stupid question, and I answer all my emails personally. _gsrx_vers_855 GS 7.0.19 (855). The item "Megalodon Shark Tooth 3 & 7/8 in.
REAL FOSSIL SERRATED NO RESTORATIONS" is in sale since Thursday, April 9, 2020. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Rocks, Fossils & Minerals\Fossils\Vertebrates\Shark Teeth".The seller is "sydni816" and is located in Bradenton, Florida. This item can be shipped worldwide.


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Walker Budget Gives School District Surplus, Reduces Class Sizes, Hires More Teachers
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:
Cost savings from worker contributions to health care and retirement, taking effect today as part of the new collective bargaining laws, will swing the Kaukauna School District from a $400,000 budget deficit to an estimated $1.5 million surplus…. The district… plans to hire teachers and reduce class size.Let's stop and think of all the protesters who carried signs asserting that their opposition to Scott Walker was for the children.
Preposterous! Surely she cannot mean that lower labor costs per worker might free up money to hire more! What next, claims that increasing the minimum wage kills jobs? That much of the money lost to unionization is eventually recouped at the expense of consumers?
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.


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Olivares, Gaspar de Guzmán, conde-duque de
Olivares, Gaspar de Guzmán, conde-duque de gäspär´ dā go͞othmän´ kōn´dā-do͞o´kā dā ōlēvä´rās [key], 1587–1645, Spanish statesman. He was appointed chief minister on the accession (1621) of Philip IV, over whom he had earlier gained influence. Honest and hardworking, he fought corruption at the court, prosecuted the unscrupulous ministers of Philip III, and endeavored to restrict the privileges and landed wealth of the church. He repudiated the pacific foreign policy followed 1598–1618 by the Duke of Lerma and sought to reassert Spanish strength throughout Europe. Spain became involved more widely in the Thirty Years War, resuming the war with the Netherlands (1621), and entered conflicts in Italy. Olivares's aggressive centralizing policy within Spain led to an uprising, supported by France, in Catalonia and to the secession (1640) of Portugal. To obtain funds for his campaigns he resorted to oppressive measures. His unpopularity led to his fall in 1643. Olivares was a patron of the arts and literature and encouraged the painters Rubens, Velázquez, and Murillo and the writers Lope de Vega and Quevedo y Villegas.
See the biography by J. H. Elliott (1987).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Spanish and Portuguese History: Biographies


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The batter for this cake was like a big, overflowing bowl of clouds - light, billow-y and smooth, made using cake flour to ensure the cake will have a lovely tender crumb. I do recommend purchasing cake flour if you don't already have some handy - brands I've used numerous times before are Softasilk and Swan's Down, but I've recently just started using King Arthur's branded unbleached version and have found it works just as well, though the texture is not as ultra-fine. You could always try the common substitution of using all-purpose flour, taking out 2 tablespoons for every cup and replacing them with cornstarch, but I haven't personally used that method.
To give the cake some character, a crumbly streusel is scattered not only on top of the cake, but also used as a hidden layer inside. Half of the batter is spread into a tube pan, followed by the sugar-y crumbles made by working cold cubes of butter into a mixture of flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. For a bit of crunch, walnuts are also stirred into the streusel - pecans would be a good choice here too. I did double the recipe from the original as who doesn't love a boatload of streusel, but feel free to cut those ingredients in half for a lighter touch.
After the cake has baked and had a chance to cool, it easily released from the pan (have to love those two-piece tube pans for that reason alone), we had one more job to do before we called this cake complete - a snazzy maple-laced drizzle! All this entails is stirring together confectioners' sugar with enough pure maple syrup to make a thin enough glaze, which is haphazardly dribbled all over the top and sides.
The sour cream made the crumb incredibly moist, but if you're not a fan of its natural tang, don't be concerned, it doesn't translate into the cake's flavor. Between the rich brown sugar, cinnamon and crunchy walnuts, the streusel does play a starring role here, which made doubling it make sense, but it may have led to an issue I wasn't expecting.
I am a little disappointed in how the cake rose - it was fine on the sides and center near the tube, but the center ring seemed to peter out and stall. I'm going to guess it was the weight of the doubled streusel, but I'm not completely sold on that - any guesses out there? Saying that, Jeff and I both seem to think it did not affect the texture that much (it was a bit more dense than it probably should have been) and the flavor was still spot on.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake


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1-Mattis Justo Quam
1-consectetur. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.
Not Horsing Around
CHESTERTOWN, MD—Horses need homes, too. That's why on Saturday, Sept. 7, a capacity crowd of volunteers from the Washington College campus community ventured to SummerWinds Stables in nearby Worton for the College's first Community Day of Service.
Organized by the Habitat for Humanity club on campus, the service day completed substantial renovations to the nonprofit horse-rescue and riding-therapy facility. More than 150 volunteers from various academic and administrative departments, campus clubs, Greek life, and sports teams joined together to begin restoration of the rescue's newly purchased Kent County facility, which is located on 27 gently rolling acres off Cooper's Lane.
When need for the project and its scope were brought to the attention of WC Habitat for Humanity in April, student members and club advisor Maria Rose Hynson immediately set out to recruit more help. The club joined forces with the WC Western Equestrian Team, which uses SummerWinds as a training facility, and received sponsorship from WC Dining Services, which generously provided both lunch and dinner for the volunteers.
"This was the biggest project that the Habitat club has ever taken on," says Habitat for Humanity advisor Hynson. "We've been a part of big blitz builds before, but have never planned one ourselves. And when we first saw the size of the project, we thought, 'We can't do this alone.' It seemed that we were looking to do the impossible, until Dining Services agreed to help. Having that one piece of the puzzle made us think, "we CAN do this."
Hyson called the amount of cooperation and collaboration that happened during the planning and execution of the event "truly phenomenal. It wouldn't have happened without each and every person who volunteered their time and energy to making this Day of Service happen."
In the course of the 9-to-5 workday, volunteers began renovations to an old barn, where they cleaned the hayloft, restored a small office and classroom, and cleaned and painted the lower-level interior. They also worked in teams to rebuild fences, remove unsafe trees and reconstruct a debilitated jumping course. They also bathed groomed and bonded with the stable's 26 horses.
At the end of the hard day's work, the volunteers enjoyed a Shore dinner of crabs and barbecued chicken and pork catered by Dining Services.
"Words cannot express how deeply grateful we are to everyone who came to the Day of Service on Saturday," said SummerWinds co-owner Elena DiSilvestro. "The repairs and improvements we made are apparent, but the positive energy and love that flowed on Saturday was truly a gift. Everyone at the SummerWinds Stables — especially the four-legged residents, are so deeply grateful for all your help, hard work, and friendship."
– Kimberly Uslin '14


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AccuWeather's 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecasts 12 named tropical storms, five named hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
The 2012 hurricane forecast is near-normal for the Atlantic Basin.
Potential Impact This Year
Predicting exactly where storms will make landfall in the U.S. would be extremely difficult, but there are some indications of areas where storms may brew and coasts that may be vulnerable based on weather patterns anticipated this summer.
"Home-grown" storms in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, near the U.S. Coast, are a possibility this year.
"Fronts coming down during June and July could cause energy to break off and develop tropically," Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather.com lead long-range forecaster, said.
"Another big storm is possible for the East Coast with heavy, flooding rain," Pastelok added. "With a ridge [of high pressure] over the Rockies and a trough [of low pressure] over the Great Lakes and Appalachians, the East Coast will be open for a hit [this summer]. Of course, this depends on where the storms form."
Meteorologists Warn Against False Sense of Security
Although the overall forecast numbers for 2012 are lower than 2011, AccuWeather.com meteorologists warn that it only takes one major hit to the U.S. to have a huge and devastating impact.
"People should take preliminary precautions and make preparations for hurricane season. Get a hurricane plan together and get hurricane supplies in order, such as materials to mitigate property damage. Make a family plan for evacuation, including what to bring," Kottlowski said.
The 1992 Atlantic Hurricane Season is an example of how overall numbers can lead to a false sense of security and one storm can break "hurricane amnesia" for places that have not had a direct hit in years.
The tropical season started slow and there were low numbers of named systems in 1992. During the entire season there was one subtropical storm, three tropical depressions, two tropical storms and four hurricanes.
The first tropical storm of the season was named on one of the latest dates ever recorded, on August 17. That storm was named Andrew and later strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane before slamming into Homestead, Fla.
Andrew is one of the most infamous hurricanes to strike Florida, and the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since Hurricane Camille in 1969. According to NOAA, Andrew caused $26 billion in damage and killed more than 60 people.


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Men always ask us why women won't sleep with nice guys. We will. It's just that jerks have been able to perfect the first-impression package that catches our attention. And in our years as sex-advice columnists, it has become clear that you good guys can learn from the players. Just follow these steps to score like a jerk—without becoming one yourself.
Be Confident
Without this, you might as well forget the next eight steps, 'cause you ain't getting laid. We don't care what kind of Jedi mind trick it takes—a Raging Bull-style motivational speech in the bathroom mirror, or imagining her with a massive zit on her nose—you should force your body to act confident.
Don't slouch; do nod and smile when she's talking; and put your beer on the bar between sips, rather than clutching it like a life preserver. Because if you don't believe in yourself as a sex machine, she never will.
More From Men's Health
But Don't Be Arrogant
If you lay it on too thick and make yourself the focus (or, worse, the hero) of every story you tell, you know what we'll think? That you're insecure and desperate, and have something to prove. We can spot a Napoleon complex within 60 seconds.
What we like instead is self-deprecation—a guy who can laugh at himself. Make fun of yourself in the past tense. Everyone loves to bond about what dorks we were in high school. It proves that you can laugh at yourself while subtly conveying that you've become way cooler. One boyfriend of Lo's won her over by breaking out his hilariously hideous 1995 driver's-license photo. But be careful not to overdo the self-deprecation, lest you fail the next step.
Don't Whine, Complain, or Bitch
About anything—it's seriously unsexy. If you can't get a bartender's attention, for example, don't sigh loudly and complain about the service—laugh it off and ask her to give it a shot instead. And your problem at work? Don't care! We're drinking, here!
Stop Being So Considerate
Nice guys hate to offend, so they add "just kidding" after every sarcastic comment. It's the equivalent of smiley emoticons. You don't have to be so gushing and eager to please. Poke fun at her girly drink, her jukebox selections, her brick of a joke. You know, the way you made fun of the girls you really liked when you were in sixth grade.
Compliment Her
But make it about something besides her appearance. She's heard a thousand guys tell her she has great skin, so it no longer even registers as a compliment—she just assumes you're trying to get in her pants. But if you are genuinely listening to her (You are, right? Hello?) and you manage to observe something about her inner person, it will get you far, because it's rare.
You could be totally off base, but it doesn't matter: People are always fascinated by a near stranger's assessment of their character. It's kind of like reading a horoscope. If she makes you laugh, tell her she's funny. If she says something sweet, tell her she's kind. If she tells a great story, ask if you can steal it. Years ago, a guy in a bar told Em she had great style, and she's never forgotten it—it's a million times better than "You look hot in that."
Touch Her
After you've developed a rapport, find a lighthearted excuse for a little skin-to-skin contact—like a gentle shoulder punch when she makes you laugh, an elbow touch as you click on some shared delight, or a cozy duet at a karaoke bar. Or drag her onto the dance floor to something like Kings of Leon or upbeat Sinatra, so you can swing around together like a poor man's Fred and Ginger. But don't grope or gaze deeply into her eyes while putting your hand on her knee—she'll think you read some cheesy book on how to hook up (written by a man).
Recruit a Wingwoman
Wingmen are for beer ads. Wingwomen are for closing the deal. When a woman sees a guy with cool female friends, she assumes a) he's a laugh to be around; b) he genuinely likes women, rather than just their body parts; c) he's not desperate; and d) he'll probably still respect her in the morning. Moreover, wingwomen—especially cute ones—create an air of friendly competition.
Your college gal pals make great wingwomen, because you've known them long enough for the relationship to be obviously platonic. Or, if one of your guy friends has a cool girlfriend, invite them both out: Most women in relationships are chronic match-makers. Confide in her that you need her help—she'll be flattered. Then let her work her magic.
Buy Her a Drink
But let her buy the next round. It blurs the lines between pickup artist and pickupee. Let her do a little of the work so she'll relax into being seduced. If you don't, it'll make her more judgmental (and more likely to give you the Heisman). If you insist that she not pay for anything, she'll see you as an old-fashioned control freak who thinks that women who put out on the first date aren't "girlfriend material."
Make Her Laugh
If she's cracking up, she's too busy having a good time to wonder about your motives (not the case if you insist on supersmooth, seriously seductive pickup lines). Sharing a laugh makes her feel you two are "connecting." In fact, it's a far better indicator that she'll go home with you than sharing a kiss. But please, no knock-knock jokes or movie quotes—you have to be witty and irreverent.
Funny stories are always good—Em's fiancé cracked her up the first time they met by recounting how he got chased down by his neighbor's pet monkey after making monkey faces at it. And a cloak of humor can disguise your intentions just enough: Ask her jokingly if she'd like to come up and see your etchings. After all, the truth is often spoken in jest.
Emma Taylor and Lorelei Sharkey wrote The Big Bang: Nerve's Guide to the New Sexual Universe. Seek their advice at emandlo.com.


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Mark Leffingwell
Mark Leffingwell
Food: 2 1/2 stars
Service: 3 stars
Ambience: 3 stars
Price: $$
Address: 2115 13th Street, Boulder
Contact: 303-442-4880,
Hours: Breakfast, 6:30-11 a.m. Monday-Friday; a la carte brunch, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday; happy hour, 5-7 p.m. Monday-Sunday; dinner, 5:30-10 p.m. (spring/summer) and 5-10 p.m. Monday-Sunday (fall/winter)
Credit cards: Accepted
Noise level: Low
You don't need to stay at Boulder's landmark hotel, the Boulderado, to be delighted by its many charms.
Rather than reserving a room, consider reserving a table for breakfast at Q's. Not only is this a good way to pretend you're on vacation in your own city, but you'll be treated like a treasured guest by the attentive hotel and restaurant staff.
Bellhops snap to attention upon your approach, doors graciously swing open upon your arrival. Proceed through the hotel and take in the historic, breathtaking lobby on your way to the restaurant, or use the Q's entrance for a more direct route to the hostess stand.
It's amazing what a grand welcome and service with a smile can add to your day: You get both at Q's, where owner John Platt has obviously made staff training a priority.
Because the staff anticipated our needs, coffee refills — along with everything else we required — would appear, even before we realized we needed something. It was as if our smooth and suave server was conjuring up our condiments out of thin air.
Taking one of her suggestions, we began with the batter-fried apple starter. A large platter of Granny Smith apples came sliced, battered, fried and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Think a fried zucchini appetizer, only with a morning twist. Instead of an aioli-style dip, you get a heady, vanilla-scented custard in which to steep the slices. Apples were fried to a gentle crisp, the tart Granny Smith off-setting the richness of the batter. The lingering flavor of sweet creme anglaise remained on my tongue, preparing my mouth to receive the next bite.
If you go for weekend brunch, rather than a midweek breakfast, Q's offers a longer list of breakfast options, including zucchini bread French toast. House-baked by pastry chef Alex Doggett, hearty slices of cake are egg-dredged and pan-fried. Served with a side of hand-whipped sweet cream and lemon and orange zest syrup, we truly felt after eating that we'd had our cake, and eaten it, too — for breakfast.
I'm certainly not suggesting anyone add this exceedingly decadent specimen of French toast to a daily breakfast regimen, but it's too good to be served only to out-of-town guests on vacation. Splurge on yourself with this dish; it's worth it.
Another creative item is a Cuban-style breakfast sandwich replete with both grilled ham and pulled pork. Instead of using a more traditional pan Cubano bread, the pork duo situates itself atop a pillow of French toast, similar in style to a Monte Cristo, only with a Latin flavor. Melty swiss cheese, two eggs any style and a pickle round out this inventive plate.
My only complaint here was that the sandwich was a bit over-griddled. The result? Slightly dried-out pork, though this issue was nothing that a good soaking with the oozy golden over easy egg yolk couldn't remedy. Had I ordered my eggs otherwise, this might have been a bigger issue than it was.
You can get your requisite requirement of vitamin K for the day by ordering a plateful of seared greens. Vibrant emerald kale and beet greens are sauteed together and can be ordered as a side to any dish. Though healthy, these came to our table au natural, without any adornment of aromatic onion or salt or pepper seasoning. I'd have liked to have seen an attempt to flavor them up, even if only so slightly.
Rest easy knowing you can even bring the staunchest of eggs Benedict lovers to Q's, as the hollandaise sauce is most definitely up to snuff. Never under-acidulated, this rich mother sauce has just the right touch of vinegar and lemon to make you clean your plate.
We also tried a half-order of the chorizo scramble. A tussle of roasted green chiles, diced tomato, creamy avocado and morsels of spicy chorizo rumble together in this Spanish-style egg dish. Nicely browned home fries are served alongside. Though a completely adequate egg ensemble, the scramble was outshined by the other, more-thoughtful and creative brunch and breakfast offerings.
If attentive service, grand surroundings and an inventive menu aren't enough of a reason for you to try Q's for breakfast or brunch, I'll remind you that they have the best Bloody Mary in town. Even though I've written in great detail once before about the bacon Bloody Mary, it most definitely bears repeating and reminding: The bacon Bloody Mary is a veritable meal in and of itself. Garnished with a strip of crispy bacon, a lemon wedge, a pepperoncini, a pimento-stuffed olive and an entire stalk of celery, this smoky tomato concoction enhanced with bacon-infused vodka can be yours for the value price of only $6. And you can enjoy this liquid breakfast any day of the week.
So if you're stuck in a breakfast rut, free yourself from the routine. Take a midweek or weekend retreat from your usual haunts and give Q's a try. Head to the historic Boulderado, where you'll be treated like a guest by well-trained staff on the ready to serve you up some Boulder hospitality.