The numbers are staggering - 1,400 wildfires burning around the state. Over 70 homes destroyed and 7,800 under threat. President Bush has declared the fires a federal emergency and released $50 million in federal aid, announced by FEMA administrator David Paulison - surely a sign that the feds are fully engaged in the fire aid effort, right?

Not so fast. There is a difference between an "emergency," which frees up something like the $50 million in firefighting funds, and a "federal disaster" declaration, which frees up the full range of FEMA assistance to fire victims, including relocation shelters and financial assistance.

According to the Monterey Herald the federal government has refused to declare the California fires a disaster:   Read More »
Posts By Month
2008

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Community Posts

Prop 8 supporters sue to destroy campaign finance laws
Posted Jan 08, 2009 8:17pm
by Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign
Comments (0)

The elephant in the room
Posted Jan 07, 2009 4:38pm
by Robert Cruickshank, Courage Campaign
Comments (0)

2009 Headlines Preview
Posted Jan 05, 2009 12:35pm
by User from Newport Beach, CA
Comments (0)

Read More >

Recent Comments

Re: great
Racists. That is the correct spelling. Also, y...

I feel your pain
I wanted to scream when Obama picked Rick Warren t...

The Drowning Economy..
I really appreciate your article. As we observe be...

I didn't expect that........
I didn’t expect that Jeremy Piven was also t...

great
why don't you move your a** to a socialist country...


Blog Roll


Calitics
The Bayne of Blog
California Progress Report
California Majority Report
D-Day
DailyKos Down With Tyranny
Fog City Journal
High Speed Rail Blog
Left in SF
The Liberal OC
Living in the O
Michigan Liberal
MyDD
OB Rag
San Diego Politico
Square State
Surf Putah
Sweet Melissa