Cincinnati Change Response to Changing the Gulf

9/11

2006-09-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

This WAR is for REAL !

Who we at War with in totality is not yet clear, but to get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. The war in Iraq is a very large battle front. Even the War on Terror now is just a battlefront.

Cincinnati Change believes that the United States of America, our country, is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it.

This War will be as bloody as the Civil War and as great a challenge as the Second World War.

We are in World War IV whether we like it or not, or whether we know it or like it. We cannot appease our out of this, the other side wants to win.

The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means.

First, let’s examine a few basics:

1. When did the threat to us start?

Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far as the United States is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the following attacks on us:

* Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979;
* Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983;
* Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
* Leon Klinghoffer October , 1985
* Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988;
* First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
* Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996;
* Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998;
* Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
* Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000;
* New York World Trade Center 2001;
* Pentagon 2001.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET
(Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide).

Cincinnati Change on this one year Hurricane Katrina

2006-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Cincinnati Change on this one year Hurricane Katrina Anniversary believe that we have a plan to aid in which the playing field for the moderate to poor income consumer in Gulf through a alliance with companies from Cincinnati who will concentrate it's efforts in New Orleans.

We believe that if we lose New Orleans then we lose more than those poor black people that is the image of New Orleans. We lose ways of life that are unique to America. This includes a unique New Orleans perspective, jazz, gumbo ya-ya.

The Mission of Cincinnati Change through a operation called Gulf Change will address the needs of the people who were left behind long before the vicious winds and violent waters of Hurricane Katrina & Rita came along to wash them away. We are now picking up on this date the development of Gulf Change with a group of partners that includes Architects and Engineers.

The Superdome is repaired and the Saints are about to begin a pro football season there. Landmark restaurants are back and bustling, and new places are opening in the busy, unflooded Uptown neighborhoods. Xavier and Tulane University has put themselves back into action.

Citizens are resourceful and through our membership in two premier grassroots organizations, The National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now with whom we will work with in the flood zones and the close neighborhood after neighborhood as we tie together the opportunities to develop businesses owned by the people of Gulf.

Cincinnati Change will frame a vision for rebuilding that serves the interests of all residents in the city in cooperation with expertise drawn from greater Cincinnati to:

create the digital infrastructure that will help frame a vision for rebuilding that serves the interests of all residents and is connected to like people in greater Cincinnati;
use the expertise of contractors hired by Cincinnati Change to develop specific plans and proposals that are technically informed and resident-led that focus on those who have the least;
support the development and operation of 1,000 community based businesses;
create the infrastructure to support the message that resident voices must be consistently heard by city, state, and federal officials as key decisions are made in the months and years ahead as we create housing opportunities for 20,000 households through a investment in a mutual fund, and;
make sure that over the next three years that at least 50% of the job opportunities go those who are designated as hard to serve.

The release of billions of dollars in federal recovery funds for New Orleans, as well as some private grants, depends on the formation of a single master plan covering everything from city-wide infrastructure issues to neighborhood-specific projects. In a July 5, 2006 press release, Mayor C. Ray Nagin, the New Orleans City Council and the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) announced their agreement to adopt a common plan, to be overseen by the Greater New Orleans Foundation's (GNOF) New Orleans Community Support Foundation (NOCSF).

Among other things, the New Orleans Community Support Foundation calls for each of New Orleans' 73 neighborhoods to select from a recommended (selected by an expert national review panel) list of professional architects, urban planners and other professionals to assist in their efforts and/or endorse projects already in progress, spearheaded by the BNOB, the Lambert-Danzey group, and by the neighborhood groups themselves over the many months that no other resources were available.

Planning Teams
On June 5, 2006, the NOCSF issued a Request for Qualifications for parties interested in participating in their recovery process. A panel composed of one representative of the City Planning Commission and four "nationally recognized planning experts sifted through the 65 applicants to establish the official list endorsed for the Unified New Orleans Plan. Concordia coordinated the selection process, but was not involved as a voting member. The final list was recommended to the board on July 21, 2006:

Neighborhood and District Planning

ACORN Housing's New Orleans, LA branch. Acorn Housing (ACH) is a non-profit organization that was established to help low-to-moderate-income people become and remain homeowners. ACORN Housing Counselors make the homebuying process more accessible to first-time buyers. Instead of having to approach bankers or contend with brokers, first-time homebuyers can meet ACORN counselors in the local ACORN Housing office to pre-qualify for a mortgage.

AHC is governed by a diverse five-member Board of Directors whose professions range from a self-employed consultant who retired after 23 years working with 3M as a Senior Analyst to a long time activist and resident of East New York. The Board is best described as a dedicated and diverse group of individuals that is committed to seeing that AHC achieves its mission.

H3 Studio, of St. Louis, MO

Goody Clancy, of Boston, MA

EDSA of Columbia, MD

Frederick Schwartz Architects of New York, NY. Frederic Schwartz Architects have been selected to lead a neighborhood and district planning team for the City of New Orleans and to design affordable, sustainable, quality housing in the historic Lower Ninth Ward.

Frederic Schwartz is currently a finalist in four international competitions -- the Global Green affordable, sustainable housing initiative in New Orleans; a new airport terminal in Madurai, India; the New Silk Road Project in Xi'an, China (with CED alumni and THINK team member William Morrish); and the Paterson New Jersey Master Plan. His winning designs (national competition entries selected unanimously by 9/11 family members) for two memorials are now being realized. The Westchester 9/11 Memorial will be dedicated on September 11th, 2006, and the New Jersey State 9/11 Memorial will be dedicated on September 11th, 2007.

As the winner of a New York metro area architect/developer competition, the new 500,000 sf "Kalahari"-- the largest affordable, sustainable, quality housing project in Harlem--is now under construction. After teaching a Fall 2005 design studio "Cities in Crisis: New Orleans" at Harvard Graduate School of Design, he was invited to chair an international conference in Basel, Switzerland, give five lectures in India and at Berkeley and Harvard on post-Katrina and post-9/11 planning initiatives.

Neighborhood Only Planning

EDAW's Atlanta, GA branch
E. Eean McNaughton Architects of New Orleans, LA
Burk-Kleinpeter of New Orleans, LA
Williams Architects of New Orleans, LA
HDR of Omaha, NE and HOK of Tampa, FL
Duany Plater-Zyberk of Miami, FL
KL&M of New Orleans, LA and CH Planning of Philadelphia, PA
NOW, a joint venture between Eskew+Dumez+Ripple of New Orleans, LA, Chan Krieger Sieniewicz of Cambridge, MA and William Morrish of Charlottesville, VA
Davis Brody Bond of New York, NY
Torre Design Consortium of New Orleans, LA

City-Wide Infrastructure

Villavaso and Associates and Henry Consulting of New Orleans, LA

Public Meetings

On July 24, 2006, a meeting open to the public was announced by the NOCSF on BayouBuzz.com and on the Unified New Orleans Plan website, scheduled for July 30, 2006. An advertisement was placed in the Times-Picayune for two days before the meeting date. The time and location of 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM at The Pavilion of Two Sisters at City Park were posted at a later date. The agenda for the July 30 meeting was to "begin the process for community members to be involved in the selection of the technical assistance teams of professionals to support them in neighborhood, district and city-wide planning."

July 30, 2006 Attendees were directed to sit in the partitions designated for their official district. All 73 of New Orleans' official neighborhoods (as delineated in the 2004 map issued by the Greater New Orleans Coummunity Data Center (GNODC) were grouped into 13 Planning Districts. Actions undertaken by the attendees in the District sessions included redrawing their neighborhood boundaries, selecting the number of special "project areas" within their district and the number of planning teams required to attend to them, and generating lists of criteria and questions for the planning teams. Controversy surrounded the meeting and its organization during and after the event.

August 2, 2006 On August 1, 2006, short presentations were made by the NOCSF's teams in preparation for each districts' vote on their top three preferred teams. There was a two-hour period for attendees circulate among the booths set up by each of the 15 Neighborhood and/or District Teams, after which each team was allotted 12 minutes to make a presention. This meeting unfortunately coincided with the National Night Out Against Crime (NNO), which prevented many people who are active in their neighborhood associations from coming, since plans for NNO events were made before the announcement of the UNOP meetings. Votes online or via fax were to be accepted until 5:00 PM on Monday, August 7. After the votes are tabulated, the CSO will begin defining scopes and fees for neighborhood projects and assign planning teams to the 13 districts based on the districts' preferences as well as "capacity and cost," although what relative weight each of these concerns will be given is not stated.

ACORN Rebuilding Alliance convenes in Baton Rouge Nov. 7-8th Displaced New Orleans residents and leading urban planners, architects, and affordable housing specialists will meet in Baton Rouge November 7-8th for the ACORN Community Forum on Rebuilding New Orleans, a two-day conference to develop rebuilding plans for New Orleans that speak to the needs and dreams of the city’s low and moderate income residents.

Displaced New Orleans residents, representatives from AKSA (ACORN Katrina Survivors Association) and leading urban planners, architects, and affordable housing specialists will meet in Baton Rouge November 7-8th for the ACORN Community Forum on Rebuilding New Orleans, a two-day conference to develop rebuilding plans for New Orleans that speak to the needs and dreams of the city's low and moderate income residents.

Attendees plan to tour New Orleans neighborhoods on Monday, November 7th from 10am-5pm, The Conference itself will begin at 6pm that evening in Baton Rouge, and continue the morning of Tuesday, November 8th through 6pm.

Develop Neighborhood Plans Inclusive of Public Comments Aug to Oct 2006

Completion of Final Neighborhood Plans; Deadline for Submission of Neighborhood Plans to the City Planning Commission Early November 2006

City-Wide Framework & Plan Production (Inclusive of Integration of Neighborhood Plans) August to Jan 2007

Public Meetings & Input on the City-Wide Plan Jan to Feb 2007

Final Plan Edits & City Planning Adoption Feb to Mar 2007

Submit to City Council for Review & Adoption April to May 2007

100 days of Action

2006-07-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

The Lloyd Daniels Daniels Development Group will create a trust for a Pew Pastor Ministry of Ammons United Methodist Church under the leadership of Wanda Lloyd Daniels. The pastor the Ammons, Vera Cole, has provided leadership to a group of Cincinnati churches that after one year are continuing to mobilize their men to bring about change not only in their neighborhoods, but also to the people who live there.

The 100 Male March Ministries was launched one year ago on a 5th Sunday with a walk in a troubled Walnut Hills neighborhood from Peoples Corner to Ammons United Methodist Church. They will gather this Sunday the 30th of July 2006 to celebrate one year of action at 934 E. McMillan St. and march to Ammons United Methodist Church. Each man is asked to bring a boy to mentor. Call 513.545.7905 for more information.

According to Melvin Williams, president of the Cincinnati District United Methodist Men and manager of the CVS Pharmacy on East McMillan Street at Pebbles Corner, "We're trying to put a human face on Christianity from the male point of view."

LDG created Cincinnati Change to encourages increased economic activity in Hamilton County with faith based partners like Ammons. LDG will create companies that support the ministry like Hughes Electronics did the Hughes Medical Institute through trusts setup by each company that supports our youth. Over the next 100 days we will impliment a program that effects 20,000 households, 50,000 people in the region and supports 1,000 businesses.

Through Cincinnati Change LDG is proposing to create with Ammons United Methodist Church a Cincinnati Company called Churches Can Change Cincinnati NOW, Inc. (C4N) that over the next 100 days would impliment a plan of action to impliment a continium of care for young men and boys.

This company will also provide consulting, homeland safety and security infrastructure management, design and construction from our headquarters in Cincinnati as a faith based enterprise that is owned in part by the ministries of the churches involved and the companies created as church affiliated companies who will pay their taxes on unrelated business income and use the rest to support the needs of young men and boys.

During 2007, more than $500 billion dollars is being allocated for and through the federal, state and local government units in the United States and our for profit businesses will take advantage of these contracts with it's faith based sponsors in the following areas (through Ammons United Methodist Church) -:

Peace in the Hood, Jobs in the Hood Initiative
Veterans Assistance program operation
Creative Class Workforce and Network Development Program
Third Frontier Workforce Development Program
Housing program to build a million homes for young men and their families
ReEntry of Young Men into society
Preparing for and responding to future catastrophes
Immigration & Secure Boarders
U.S. Gulf Coast Reconstruction
Regional National Energy Policy Partnership Demostration Program

Uptown Security LLC

2006-07-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Cincinnati Change is partnering with 300 companies to create a Cincinnati Company called Uptown Security.

The mission of the company is to provide consulting, homeland safety and security infrastructure management, design and construction from our headquarters in Cincinnati. During 2007, more than $350 billion dollars is being allocated for and through our for profit businesses we will take advantage of contracts in the following areas -:

Preventing another terrorist attack on the United States
Detecting threats against the United States
Preparing for and responding to future catastrophes
Immigration & Secure Boarders
U.S. Gulf Coast Reconstruction
Iraq
Afghanistan
Africa
North Africa and Middle East
National Energy Policy

Cincinnati Change has created a program that serve the nation through and it's partner The American Academy of Distance Learning and Training, Inc.(AADLT) who has joined with Beauchamp Tower Corporation, Inc. and it's partners to support their proposal called Operation Enduring Service (OES).OES is a Cincinnati faith based leadership of a public-private sector joint operation that includes an Education Initiative, a Public Safety Collaboration, a Defense of the Homeland Alliance and a Disaster Response Program which incorporates Federally held Non-Retention Ships and Equipment with partners who have already invested millions of dollars in operations.

The 100 Male March Ministries was launched one year ago on a 5th Sunday with a walk in a troubled Walnut Hills neighborhood from Peoples Corner to Ammons United Methodist Church. They will gather this Sunday the 30th of July 2006 to celebrate one year of action at 934 E. McMillan St. and march to Ammons United Methodist Church. Each man is asked to bring a boy to mentor. Call 513.545.7905 for more information.

Over the next year, staring this Sunday 30 July 2006, we will develop a plan of action to create 1,000 businesses.

Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned

2006-02-25T23:48:00.000-08:00

Ms. Frances Fragos Townsend
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism

"Frances Townsend has been a trusted advisor on global terrorism in my Administration. Her strong background in law enforcement, coupled with her experience in the intelligence community, makes her an excellent choice to be Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor as we face the continuing challenges of protecting America from the terrorists who seek to do us harm," President Bush stated.

Ms. Frances Fragos Townsend was appointed Homeland Security Advisor by the President on May 28th, 2004. Ms. Townsend chairs the Homeland Security Council and reports to the President on United States Homeland Security policy and Combating Terrorism matters. She oversaw the creation of The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned Full PDF Document (3.19 MB) .

Every American policy maker should read this document -

Letter to the President from Frances Fragos Townsend
Foreword
Chapter One: Katrina in Perspective
Chapter Two: National Preparedness - A Primer
Chapter Three: Hurricane Katrina - Pre-Landfall
Chapter Four: A Week of Crisis (August 29-September 5)
Chapter Five: Lessons Learned
Chapter Six: Transforming National Preparedness
Chapter Seven: Epilogue
Appendices
Appendix A – Recommendations
Appendix B – What Went Right
Appendix C – List of Acronyms
Appendix D – Staff Page
Appendix E – Endnotes

$200B Rebuilding Cost

2006-01-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

The economic effects of Hurricane Katrina have yet to be fully evaluated, but already the call for federal aid to help the victims has escalated.

The unprecedented scale of the destruction wrought by Katrina has yet to be fully quantified, but estimates of the cost have been rising sharply.
The insurance industry now estimates the damage to buildings and property to be in the order of $150bn, of which only some $40bn will be covered by insurance.

In addition, there is extensive damage to government-owned infrastructure such as interstate highways, ports and levees.

There is also the cost of temporarily housing and supporting the hundreds of thousands of residents have been evacuated. Under current plans this aid lasts for a year and can total over $26,200 in direct grants.

Overall, the total cost of the hurricane could exceed $200B.

Cincinnati Change is joining demands for more public spending for a "domestic Marshall plan".

Cincinnati Change will create a partnership with an Inter Faith Based Leadership Caolition lead by Pastor Wanda Lloyd-Daniels, of Ammons United Methodist Church who is also a journeywoman of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, owner of Lloyds General & Electrical Contractors, a Ohio company that is 20 plus years old general contracting and technology company that is a FBE/MBE/SBE and she is the head of the Cincinnati Hamilton County Black Republican Forum.

Cincinnati Change Chairman & Chief Engineer

2006-01-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

My name is Frederick Hargrove Sr. PE, MBA and I am a native Cincinnatian, born, raised and educated here. I grew up in many of the neighborhoods which have now been designated as empowerment zones.

I went to school in Walnut Hills and graduated from Walnut Hills High School. I am a experienced 30 year Professional Engineer and have a Masters in Business Administration. I have lived in Japan and been around the world in my role as a consulting engineer.

I was born in the West End of Cincinnati, Ohio, shopped in Over the Rhine, and, when in college, I lived in Mt. Auburn and Clifton Heights. Most of my relatives were lived in Avondale and most of my school friends lived in Evanston.

Cincinnati has been my home and the home of my parents since the early 1950’s when they were forced to leave the south to avoid racial prejudice. As was consistent with the times, my parents came to Cincinnati to live with their relative and start a new life.

On September 25, 1954, I was born. I have lived in many different neighborhoods in Cincinnati and have spent most of my 48 years here. I have raised my family here and am proud of my heritage here.My education here started at Millvale Elementary, I was Valedictorian of my junior high school and graduated in the top 25% of my class at Walnut Hills High School. I was a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.

I went to the University of Cincinnati on full scholarship from General Electric for Metallurgical Engineering and a full scholarship from Procter and Gamble for Mechanical Engineering. After graduation I went to work for Procter and Gamble in their Engineering Division and was placed in their “fast track program for management candidates”.

During my tenure at Procter and Gamble I designed many patentable devices,( not the least of which was the device which produced the “Folger’s Coffee Crystal”) but because I was an employee all such creations were the property of Procter and Gamble and I was proud to simply be doing my part.

After five years of proven service I was sent to school to get my MBA to continue my rise in the organization. I graduated from Hood College with an MBA in operations. At the time, Hood College, in Frederick Maryland, was rated as the best small college in the United States.In 1980 Procter and Gamble, went thru reorganization and my mentors, as were many other people, were displaced. The company downsized and since I was in school, I was part of that down sizing.

However fortune smiled on me and I was able to gain employment with NCI, the National Cancer Institute, at Fort Detrick in Frederick Maryland, as an engineer in charge of the design, construction and maintenance of research facilities. My experience at Procter and Gamble allowed me out shine all of my competition and promotions and recognition quickly followed.

During my stay there I was invited to join the Board of Directors at NIH, the National Health Institute in Bethesda Maryland.I was a technical advisor, offering advice on the feasible and safety of allowing certain contagious research to be done in the research facilities controlled by NIH. This experience brought me face to face with the latest technology for the control and containment of infectious disease and biological agents such as AIDS, all types of Cancers, Anthrax and other contaminants still listed as classified.

During my stay at Fort Detrick, I was co-opted by the United State Army to provide engineering support for their “experiments” at Fort Detrick. (As a point of information, Fort Detrick was the old biological warfare facilities for the United States Military). Fort Detrick is about 45 miles from Washington D.C. It was also the home of Air Force One and the East Coast Relay Station which was responsible for the defense of the entire eastern seaboard.) During my stay on the east coast I worked for NCI, NIH, and the Department of the Army and as a security contractor the Department of Defense.

Based on my experience I am qualified to design a P-4 level facility anywhere in the world and currently design hospitals. I am currently on assignment with one of the worlds biggest design/builders of hospitals. I am now designing the hospital of the future with partners that can be built today. I also worked for a firm responsible for design clean rooms and chip manufacturing rooms and designed one of the first class 1 clean room facilities.

In 1986 I received a call from Procter and Gamble. It appeared they had a project which required certain expertise which was possessed by only a handful of people. I was one of them. It involved a cost saving project which resulted in a savings of approximately $200,000,000.00 per installation. Until this point they were unable to prove this technology.

My assignment was to prove this technology, install it, and perform a successful test. Six months later we had our first successful run of a technology which had the potential of saving billions of dollars in capital equipment requirements. Riding on this success, I decided it was time to venture out on my own.

I started what is now Hargrove Engineering L.L.C. in 1988. (It’s precursor, Hargrove Design and Drafting Services had started two years earlier, in 1986.) In the last eighteen years, I have personally led hundreds of design projects. I have actively participated in every design which has come into our office, whether it was a single family dwelling or a collaborative effort with NASA and Martin-Marietta to place a man on Mars. Our last two major government assignments was the management of the replacement of the roof at the US Army Tank Plant and a 2002 Homeland Security Contract for the city of Cincinnati Water Works.

Cincinnati has the opportunity to become the crown jewel of the Midwest once more. Acting in conjunction with a whole host of entities who believe there is still some majesty left in Cincinnati, we are attempting to be the catalyst for this revitalization. We profess a plan of overall inclusion with shared opportunities for everyone up and down the economic scale.

Our plan is to develop partnerships with experienced builders who can work with us to create a million smart homes by 2015. They will be for first responders, educators, public service employees, the military, fire fighters, police, health care workers and the students in creative class or third frontier organizations that bridge the gap to those who have not. We will use a already established mutual fund with over $600M in current investments.

No one can do this alone and we propose to do this because we are not alone. As long as there is good will among like-minded people dedicated to the improvement of life among the masses, we will never be alone.

I consider myself a product of the empowerment zones and along with partners like Hershel Daniels, Junior stand ready to develop housing under the authority of the President of the United States. I helped form on June 19th 2005 Cincinnati Change as my agent to do this.

We at Cincinnati Change believe that we can Change Cincinnati NOW. To make this happen, as Cincinnati Change’s Chairman I have accepted a position with Lloyd Daniels Development Group as President in their development in Port Arthur, Texas as the center point of redevelopment efforts in the south which will employ people in Texas and Ohio by the end of 2006 in building smartHOMES and buildings with our technology built into them.

Partners Needed

2006-01-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

We are looking for Partners for a DHS Contract
Emergency Preparedness and Response

a multi million dollar business opportunity

Office : Federal Emergency Management Agency

Location : Flood, Fire and Mitigation Branch (Formerly in FEMA : OFM)

Solicitation number : HSFEHQ-06-R-SB

Title : Z -- Maintenance and Deactivation of Manufactured Homes and Travel Trailers [7,000]

Synopsis - Posted on Nov 03, 2005

Solicitation 01 - Posted on Nov 03, 2005

Solicitation 02 - Posted on Nov 29, 2005

Modification 01 - Posted on Dec 01, 2005

Amendment 01 - Posted on Dec 01, 2005

Amendment 02 - Posted on Dec 12, 2005

Modification 02 - Posted on Dec 12, 2005

Amendment 03 - Posted on Dec 21, 2005

Modification 03 - Posted on Dec 21, 2005

Modification 04 - Posted on Jan 06, 2006

Amendment 04 - Posted on Jan 06, 2006

This procurement is a 100% set-aside for small businesses pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) ?19.502-2(b).

The NAICS code for this procurement is 561210, Facilities Support Services.

The small business size standard is $30 million.

In accordance with FAR 19.102(7)(i)(B) regarding joint ventures and the application of revenue-based size standards, offerors may assume that the estimated contract value exceeds one-half the applicable size standard. Therefore, the size standard for the requirement (NAICS code 561210 - $30 million) applies to individual persons or concerns, not to the combined assets, of the joint venture. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is authorized pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act , as amended (42 U.S.C. ?5121 et seq.) to provide assistance to applicants of Presidentially- declared disasters and emergencies.

The Individual Assistance (IA) Program provides for temporary housing assistance to disaster applicants in accordance with the Act. In order to accomplish its mission, FEMA requires maintenance and deactivation of manufactured housing and travel trailers.

The period of performance will be five years from date of contract award. Work will be performed only in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Pursuant to section 307 of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. ?5150), preference will be given to the maximum extent practicable to local firms based within the disaster area, Port Arthur, Texas.

FEMA intends to issue Performance Based, Fixed Unit Price, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), multiple award contracts, by state, based on preferences given to local, small businesses.

It is anticipated that approximately seven (7 )contracts will be awarded in the Gulf Region. Each multiple award contract will provide for maintenance and deactivation of approximately 6,700 temporary housing units. The maximum value of each contract will not exceed $100 million, we will bid approx. $90M.

Contract award will be based on technically acceptable, lowest price.

The estimated contract award date is February 1, 2006.

Prospective offerors are responsible for downloading the RFP and attachments, if applicable. It is the responsibility of the individual offeror to monitor the Fedbizopps (FBO) web page for the release of the solicitation and any amendments. The RFP should be available for downloading within fifteen (15) days following publication of this announcement.

Potential offerors that do not have the capability to download from FBO, may request, in writing, a copy of the solicitation, including any attachments, and amendments. Potential offerors making this request must include in their written request an adequate justification for not obtaining the solicitation via the Internet.

Requests should be made via e-mail addressed to nancy.costello@dhs.gov or faxed to Nancy Costello at 202-646-3846.

Offerors are cautioned to include Solicitation number HSFEHQ-06-R-SBLA (for Louisiana), HSFEHQ-06-R-SBMS (for Mississippi), HSFEHQ-06-R-SBAL (for Alabama), and/or HSFEHQ-06-R-SBTX (for Texas) on all documentation submitted in response to this requirement. We attended the pre-proposal conference will held as specified in the solicitation.

Call us at 513.257.2552 or email us at h.daniels@cincinnatichange.com our project manager is Fred Hargrove PE, MBA.

MLK Birthday in Cincinnati

2006-01-09T23:26:00.001-08:00

A celebration of the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., often called Martin Luther King Day in on Monday January 16, 2006 at the Cincinnati Music Hll. for a free concert starting at 11:30 AM.

It is a United States federal and state of Ohio holiday honoring the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and is observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, this year that is January 16, a day after his birth.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America.

We will commemorate at Cincinnati Music Hall the timeless values he taught us through his example -- the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership, which we need in the Nati NOW.

In 2001, the founders of Cincinnati Change submitted a request to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation (CEC) that they set out procedures to issue $100M of revenue bonds. The request was updated in 2002 and again in 2003. In 2004, the CEC set the procedures to issue the bonds through the Cincinnati Hamilton County Port Authority.

In 2005, Cincinnati Change assembled a team to meet its organizational objectives through creation of a mutual fund to fund its mission to Change Cincinnati NOW. On June 19th, 2005 Cincinnati Change received its charter from the State of Ohio and stands ready to change Cincinnati NOW.

On 16 January 2006 Cincinnati Change is creating a limited liability company called Queen City Development Group. It will be going after contracts to help those in the Gulf, like the $100M plus contract due on 17 Jan. 2006.

A Cincinnati Change Report

2006-01-06T19:29:00.001-08:00

A ubiquitous feature of the post-Hurricane Katrina cityscape -- the tens of thousands of cars, boats, buses and trucks littering streets and neutral grounds, marked with brown lines bearing witness to the height of floodwaters -- might finally start to disappear soon.

Nearly four months after the storm flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and left more than 30,000 ruined vehicles in public rights of way, Mayor Ray Nagin is poised to award a large contract to a private company that will oversee the collection and disposal of the wreckage, city officials said.

It's one of four major tasks the administration plans to outsource to private firms through contracts that, taken together, will be worth tens of millions of dollars and could amount to the city's largest professional-services deal ever.

Officials hope the contracts will be mostly paid for by the federal government. The Nagin administration also is seeking firms to manage projects, to stabilize and repair public buildings, and to hire workers to supplement city staff.

House Pannel Investigating Government

2006-01-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

The Republican chairman of a special House panel investigating the government's response to Hurricane Katrina decided Wednesday to reject, at least for now, a proposal to subpoena the White House for documents detailing internal communications before and after the storm hit on August 29.

The panel's chairman, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia, left open the possibility of subpoenaing the White House later.

"We cannot do our job if we don't get these documents, and we won't get these documents if we don't subpoena them," said Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Louisiana, who sought to get internal memos, e-mails, and other communications from the White House and the Pentagon.

The committee, which is wrapping up its investigation and plans to issue its findings February 15, requested hundreds of thousands of documents more than two months ago from the Bush administration, state and locals officials in Washington and the Gulf Coast. Though Davis said the White House has handed over some documents, it has refused others sent to and from White House chief of staff Andrew Card, citing executive privilege.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers also agreed to shelve subpoenas against Mississippi and Alabama officials for now after the states said they were trying to locate all the documents. Louisiana has handed over more than 100,000 documents to the committee.

TAX DEDUCTION FOR AID

2005-12-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

A New Tax Law Could Give You Twice the Deduction Until Dec. 31, 2005

A charitable cash gift made to Cincinnati Change this calendar year could be twice as advantageous from a tax perspective than in the past.

Through Dec. 31, 2005, donors may deduct qualified cash gifts up to 100 percent of their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) rather than the usual 50 percent limit. In addition, cash gifts will not be subject to the 3 percent reduction rule applied to itemized deductions when AGI exceeds $145,950.

This change is a result of the Katrina Emergency Act of 2005 (KETRA) enacted by Congress and the President to encourage contributions to the relief effort and charitable organizations that may have experienced a decline in gifts because of the hurricane devastation.

Another incentive is available to donors with IRAs who are at least 59 1/2 years old. They can withdraw funds, make a contribution to Cincinnati Change or another charitable organization (we will be glad to help you do so) with those funds, and offset nearly all of the income tax liability on the withdrawal.

Cash gifts can also be used to establish Charitable Gift Annuities (CGAs).

Available to those age 60 and older, CGAs provide a steady stream of income at a fixed rate for life. The gift establishing the annuity, $10,000 or more, qualifies for an income tax deduction, and a portion of the annual income is tax-free.

For details contact hershel daniels at h.daniels@cincinnatichange.com.

2005-12-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

President Commends Congress for Passing Tax Incentives to Assist Gulf Coast Region

I commend the Congress for passing an important part of my comprehensive plan to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast rebuild their lives and their livelihoods. The private sector is critical in the rebuilding effort, and these tax incentives will help boost investment, get people back to work, and return the region to prosperity. Americans will continue to stand with our fellow citizens in the Gulf Coast region. I look forward to signing this bill into law.

Port Arthur Hurricane Rita

2005-12-17T11:33:00.001-08:00

Hurricane Rita was the seventeenth named tropical storm, ninth hurricane, fifth major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the second-most powerful hurricane of the season, ahead of Hurricane Katrina but behind Hurricane Wilma. This hurricane is on record as being the strongest measured hurricane to ever have entered the Gulf of Mexico, and the fourth most intense hurricane ever in the Atlantic Basin.

After peaking in strength at 175 mph (280 km/h) steady winds, it made landfall between (Port Arthur Texas) Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana, at 02:38 CDT (07:38 UTC) on September 24, 2005 as a Category 3 hurricane, with windspeeds of 120 mph (190 km/h) and a storm surge of 10 feet (3 m). [1]

The storm first struck Florida after making an approach near Cuba and went on to strike Texas and Louisiana. It is doubtful that Cuba saw sustained tropical storm force winds. A day prior to landfall, the resultant storm surge also reopened some of the levee breaches caused by Hurricane Katrina a month earlier, and reflooded parts of New Orleans. [2] Post-landfall damage was extensive in the coastal areas in southwestern Louisiana and extreme southeastern Texas.

Because the Gulf of Mexico is a major center for crude oil production and refineries, as well as home to some of the busiest ports in the world, Rita initially presented the potential to do damage beyond the localized wind and wave surge. These concerns have so far not been realized, as no reports emerged of long-term damage to the major U.S. refining and shipping capacities in Houston, Texas City, Port Arthur, Texas or Beaumont, Texas [3] [4]. Power outages may have the greatest related effect.

Port Arthur is a town located in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area and is situated in East Texas. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 57,755.

Demographics

As of the census GR2 of 2000, there are 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density is 268.9/km² (696.5/mi²). There are 24,713 housing units at an average density of 115.1/km² (298.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 39.01% White, 43.70% African American, 0.45% Native American, 5.89% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 8.88% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. 17.45% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 21,839 households out of which 33.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% are married couples living together, 19.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% are non-families. 29.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 3.25.

In the city the population is spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $26,455, and the median income for a family is $32,143. Males have a median income of $30,915 versus $21,063 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,183. 25.2% of the population and 22.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 35.2% of those under the age of 18 and 14.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
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Hurricane Rita

During the night and through early morning of September 24, 2005, Port Arthur took a huge hit from the high winds and rain of Hurricane Rita. The damage was extensive and widespread, including flooding in Port Arthur's Downtown area.

Port Arthur had the highest recorded winds during Hurricane Rita's landfall - at 116mph.

NOAA reported Rita's record-setting Category 5 strength as a result of achieving a minimum central pressure of 897 millibars (hPa) (26.49 inches of mercury) on the afternoon of September 21, 2005. This record strength steadily diminished prior to landfall after Rita moved over cooler waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

President Bush is requesting $3.1 billion to help make the levee system in New Orleans, Louisiana, stronger than it was before Hurricane Katrina

2005-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan and Senior Officials on Levee Reconstruction

James S. Brady White House Press Briefing Room

12:27 P.M. EST 15 December 2005

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everyone. Happy holidays. I look forward to seeing everybody this evening at the White House holiday party for the press. We just concluded a meeting in the Oval Office with the President. I'm joined today by Secretary Chertoff; our federal coordinator for the hurricane reconstruction and rebuilding Don Powell; Mayor Nagin; and General Strock of the Corps of Engineers.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Good afternoon, everybody. Not a day goes by that we don't think about what's going on in New Orleans and what we can do to promote the process of reconstruction and recovery for the people who have been afflicted all over the Gulf Coast. We continue to do everything we can to help communities get back on their feet and people reclaim their lives. And let me just give you a little bit of statistical background before I turn it over to Chairman Powell for, I think, what will be a very important announcement.

FEMA has, to date, provided rental assistance to more than 650,000 families. We are now working to bridge into longer-term assistance programs. We're going to be extending hotel stays at least past January 7th. The long-term goal here is to get people into sustainable, long-term housing, so they can reclaim their lives, get their kids in school, get jobs, and position themselves to regain their economic and personal prosperity.

We've removed 55 million cubic yards of debris, which is a critical pre-condition to rebuilding. We've approved $392 million in community disaster loan assistance, which is important to let municipal and parish and county governments get up and running, and $205 million in unemployment insurance.

In total, the federal government has now provided approximately $5.2 billion in direct assistance to victims of Katrina and Rita. So that's a lot of material assistance. But, of course, one of the greatest forms of assistance we can provide people is hope -- hope that they can get back to the Gulf Coast and hope that they can back on with their lives.

The President believes deeply in New Orleans, and is deeply committed to its future. We understand that the people of New Orleans need to be assured that they're going to be safe when they get back home; that their city has an infrastructure that is capable of sustaining a possible storm next season or in the seasons afterwards. And one of the most important decisions we can take, therefore, is one that will help us accelerate the rebirth of this great American city on the levees of the Mississippi and the Gulf Coast.

____________________________________________________

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush is requesting $1.5 billion more to help make the levee system in New Orleans, Louisiana, stronger than it was before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

The money the president is requesting is in addition to the $1.6 billion he has already committed to repair the breeches in the levees, correct the design and construction flaws and bring the levees to a height that was authorized before the hurricane, a Category 4 storm, hit on August 29, killing more than 1,300 people.

"That work is being done as we speak," Powell said.

The additional $1.5 billion that the president is requesting would pay to armor the levee system with concrete and stone, close three interior canals and provide state-of-the art pumping systems so that the water would flow out of the canals into Lake Pontchartrain, Powell said.

Officials said the flood protection system would be rebuilt to its previous level of protection before the hurricane season next year, and that the process of strengthening the levees further would take two years.

The announcement came after Bush met in the Oval Office with Powell, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the head of the Army Corps of Engineers, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Louisiana officials say that bringing the flood protection system to Category 5 level is crucial to the future of New Orleans, as it would be hard otherwise to entice the many people displaced by the storm to come back.

"We understand that the people of New Orleans need to be assured that they will safe when they get back home -- that their city has an infrastructure that is capable of sustaining a possible storm next season or in the seasons afterwards," Chertoff said.

Bush's public schedule in recent weeks has been almost completely bare of references to Katrina or appearances related to the disaster. But Chertoff said the attention at the federal level has not faded.

"Not a day goes by that we don't think about what's going on in New Orleans and what we can do to promote the process of reconstruction and recovery for the people who have been afflicted all over the Gulf Coast," Chertoff said. "We continue to do everything we can to help communities get back on their feet."

Nagin thanked Americans for the money to rebuild New Orleans and told former residents of the city to come home.

"It's time for you to come back to the Big Easy," he said. "This action today says come home to New Orleans."

Nagin said the flood protection system will be stronger than ever. Officials said the levee system would be rebuilt to its previous level of protection before the hurricane season next year, and that the process of strengthening them further would take two years.

"These levees will be as high as 17 feet in some areas. We've never had that," he said. "We will have the holy trinity of recovery -- levees, housing and incentives."

Nagin acknowledged that the most heavily devastated areas of the city -- Lakeview and the Lower Ninth Ward -- were not ready for returning residents, but he promised they would be eventually. He suggested that officials may need to find housing elsewhere in the city in the meantime.

"At the end of the day, our entire city will be rebuilt," he said.

On Capitol Hill, meantime, Senate tax-writers embraced the casinos, golf courses and liquor stores as part of a roughly $7 billion program of tax incentives to rebuild Gulf Coast businesses damaged or destroyed by hurricanes.

The Senate could act as soon as Thursday on a package of tax breaks and other assistance that fulfills Bush's call for a special business zone in the Gulf Coast. Lawmakers hurried to finish the bill before taking a holiday break. The House earlier had denied including the casino and other businesses in the tax relief.

The House last week passed its own package of aid. Its key benefits matched the Senate and included increased write-offs for small business investments and an additional write-offs for other businesses purchasing equipment and new property.

Hurricane Rita and Port Arthur

2005-12-16T02:30:00.000-08:00

During the night and through early morning of September 24, 2005, Port Arthur took a huge hit from the high winds and rain of Hurricane Rita. The damage was extensive and widespread, including flooding in Port Arthur's Downtown area.

Port Arthur had the highest recorded winds during Hurricane Rita's landfall - at 116mph.

Cincinnati Change is establishing Gulf Coast Change to redevelop 20,000 homes tarting with 700 in New Orleans and 3,000 in Port Arthur. The company will start operations from a headquarters at 2439 Auburn Avenue.

FEMA Hotel/Motel Extension for Evacuees

2005-12-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval said victims of the Hurricanes and their aftermath must be given more time in hotels because FEMA cannot guarantee that all applications for other aid, such as rent assistance or trailers, will be processed by the agency's Jan. 7 deadline. The temporary restraining order was part of a class-action lawsuit filed in November by advocates for hurricane victims.

The ruling was in response to a class action lawsuit filed in November by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights along with the New York law firm of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP; John Pierre, Attorney and Professor at Southern University Law Center; the Public Interest Law Project; and the Equal Justice Society. The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.

FEMA is immediately complying with the court order. FEMA has extended the stay of all of those evacuees living in hotels and motels paid for by FEMA at least through January 7, 2006 . No hurricane evacuee will have to make the transition to longer-term housing without first receiving rental assistance from FEMA or being provided with referral options if ineligible for assistance. The federally-reimbursed hotel/motel program will end no earlier than February 7, 2006 for those still working with FEMA to receive assistance.

"We have extended the stay to all evacuees staying in hotels and motels to Jan. 7," said acting FEMA Director David Paulison during a teleconference Wednesday. "It has been our mission all along to make sure the evacuees making the transition into longer-term housing have the assistance they need. Our goals and those of this ruling are very much the same and that is to make sure no one is asked to make a transition to longer-term housing before receiving the tools to do so, such as FEMA’s rental assistance. "

Although the short-term lodging deadline is Jan. 7, during a conference Wednesday, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen said eligible evacuees who contact FEMA prior to the deadline would be allowed to reside in hotel or motel rooms after the deadline in order to find an apartment. The federally reimbursed hotel/motel program will end no earlier than Feb. 7 for those still working with FEMA to receive assistance.

FEMA has provided rental assistance to 653,000 families affected by this catastrophe so far. The Federal Emergency Management Agency continues to pick up the tab for about 41,000 hotel rooms in 47 states and the District of Columbia at an estimated cost so far of about $350 million.Judge Duval’s order requires FEMA to notify all displaced persons who were incorrectly told by the agency that they must apply for a SBA loan in order to obtain temporary housing assistance.

Pursuant to the court order, FEMA “must notify applicants and potential applicants that no such requirement exists and that no applications will be held up for Temporary Housing Assistance processing due to an SBA Loan application not being filled out, or being filled out incorrectly, unnecessarily, and/or superfluously.

”The needs of the relative few who remain in hotels and motels remain a top priority. FEMA continues to reach out to those evacuees who may not yet know of federal aid they are eligible to receive, and encourages those who have not registered to do so.This ruling is critical for the close to 100,000 hurricane survivors who are now living in at least 37,000 hotel and motel rooms throughout the country," said John Brittain, Chief Counsel of the Lawyers' Committee.

"African Americans made up a disproportionate high share of the hurricanes' survivors. Many have little or no resources and those that remain in hotel rooms are in most need of assistance at this time," added Brittain.Cincinnati Change will work to ensure that all victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have housing and economic development opportunities.

Cincinnati Change will work to ensure that all victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have housing and economic development opportunities.

Cincinnati Change Proclamation on December 7th as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

2005-12-07T20:35:00.000-08:00

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2005

A Proclamation by the Chairman of Cincinnati Change. On this day we celebrate a national remembrance for those lost on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. We at Cincinnati Change honor the courage of a generation of Americans who devoted themselves to one of the great missions in our country's history – global democracy and freedom.

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor took more than 2,400 American lives, millions of our citizens answered the call to defend our liberty, and the world witnessed the power of freedom to overcome tyranny.

During this global fight for survival America's ultimate triumph was far from clear in the early days of World War II. When our country was attacked at Pearl Harbor as in Asia and Europe, country after country had fallen before the armies of militaristic tyrants. However, the brave and determined men and women of our Nation maintained their faith in the power of God to support our freedom and spread democracy.

They fought and won a world war against two of the most ruthless regimes the world has ever known. In the years since those victories, the power of freedom and democracy has transformed America's enemies in World War II into close friends. This is the greatness of America the ability to reach out it's hand in friendship to those who are our today our enimies as our friends tomorrow. Witness Japan and Germany.

Cincinnati Change is dedicated to the spread freedom and democracy around the world. We are a organization dedicated to secure a more peaceful world for our children and grandchildren. We are grateful to the men and women who are defending our flag and our freedom in the first war of the 21st century. We look forward to the days of peace like our forefathers have done in the past.

These patriots are protecting our country and our way of life by upholding the tradition of honor, bravery, and integrity demonstrated by those who fought for our Nation in World War II and that is continued to this day by our military.

The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day." The service and sacrifice of our World War II veterans continue to inspire people across our country and set an example of sacrifice. Cincinnati Change remains deeply grateful for all that these heroes have done for the cause of freedom.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this Seventh Day of December , in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the two hundred and thirtieth year in the Independence of the United States of America.

FREDERICK HARGROVE SENIOR
PE, MBA
Chairman of Cincinnati Change

A New Start in the NATI on 1 December 2005

2005-12-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

Mayor and City Council in Cincinnati

Our plan is based on this speech by the new mayor for development in the Nati.

Good Evening Cincinnati.
I want to thank everyone for joining me here at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal this evening to share this momentous occasion.

I want to start by thanking the people of Cincinnati for placing their trust in me to be their Mayor. I am honored and humbled by that trust and I will work hard to make you proud.

I would also like to thank (the categories on the back of the program).

I want to thank my staff.
And, I want to thank the countless volunteers who devoted so much of their time to our efforts to bring change to the city. I would not be here today without them.

Finally, I would like to thank my wonderful family for their support and sacrifice throughout the exhausting campaign. My entire family has been dedicated to public service, and they serve as my inspiration for all that I do.

The city of Cincinnati was named after the Society of the Cincinnati, a fellowship organization for Army officers. However, the top priority of the society was to take care of the members of the society and their families.

Their motto was “He abandons everything to serve his country.” Thus our city is founded on the ideals of taking care of each other and selfless service to the city.
I believe that these founding principles should serve as the basis for how we conduct our everyday lives.

Over the last year, as I visited every neighborhood in this City, I was always impressed by the sense of hope around the city.

Everywhere, people would share their feeling that things needed to get better, and how they truly believed things would get better.

The fantastic thing about living in a democracy is that citizens are able to let their opinions be heard and make changes if they think that we can do better.

Elections are an excellent opportunity to start fresh and set a new course for our city. On Election Day, Cincinnati called for a change in the way that business is done in our city.

The citizens selected four new City Council Members and elected me the first Mayor not to come from Council since the 1930s.
We have the opportunity to have the fresh start that our city has desperately needed for a while. We have the opportunity to turn away from our past and chart a course for a new future.

This is a great city. We need to seize this unique opportunity for a fresh start and recommit ourselves to the founding principles of our city: taking care of each other and selfless service to the city.

We have the power and ability to create the change that we all know our city needs.

We share that sense that we are all part of the same brotherhood. In order to make that feeling of brotherhood stronger, we need to focus on the issues that unite us as one Cincinnati.

The desire for nice, safe neighborhoods.
The desire for good schools and opportunities for our children.
The desire for good jobs with quality benefits
The desire for a vibrant city where we can all have fun.

If we focus on these issues of commonality, it will allow us to put aside our lesser differences and work together to improve our city for everybody.

I believe that we have all felt the enthusiasm in the community. There is a sense that we are about to turn a corner and once again move forward.

People are optimistic that the time is right for a major change in this city. People are ready for that change and they believe that it can and will happen.

I share this belief. I think that in the next few years, we have an incredible opportunity to transform our city for the better and set in motion the type of progress that will once again make Cincinnati a city that is admired across the country.

But, we cannot passively sit and wait for change, we must control our destiny. If we truly want to see change then we must actively make that change happen.

Our city has taken the first step. We have elected an excellent group of talented and motivated Council Members to help us take begin down the road of change.

From my discussions with the Council Members, I can tell you that they are deeply committed to doing what is necessary to turn this city around.

Now we must turn this positive energy and commitments into accomplishments.

Change is sometimes difficult but it is absolutely necessary. This Administration will make decisions that are in the best interest of the common good.

We must seize the opportunity that we have been given a make a fresh start. It is only through our hard work that we can make that change happen.

I am dedicated to creating a team on City Council that will come together to put the best interest of the city ahead of all else. The common element that unites all of the Council Members is that we love our city and we want very badly to make it better. Much better.

Now, I would like to recognize our next City Council.
Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell
Jeff Berding
Chris Bortz
Laketa Cole
John Cranley
David Crowley
Leslie Ghiz
Chris Monzel
Cecil Thomas

This leadership team you have entrusted to turn our city around. We are going to capitalize on the energy in this room and across the city and make the necessary changes to turn our city around and make it better.

You are looking at the future of the City of Cincinnati. I am completely confident that this team will do great things for all of us in the city of Cincinnati.

But we cannot do it along. You, the citizens of Cincinnati, are part of this team as well. If we are going to truly change our city for the better, we need your help as well. We can only make this city better if we work as a team, from the Mayor’s Office all the way down to very last citizen. All working to move the city forward.

So, I want to make a challenge to you. My challenge is to get involved and be an ambassador to the city.

You must ask yourself…
What are you going to do to turn Cincinnati around?
What are you going to do to make our city better?

We are on the verge of a great turn around in the City. By working together as a team, Mayor to Council to the city departments to the neighborhoods, and not letting anything get in our way, we can create the type of change and improvement that we all know that Cincinnati is ready for.

The 10 of us standing in front of you will work hard for you everyday. I ask you to commit yourself to also working hard. Together, I know that Cincinnati will live up to its amazing potential and become the city that our country looks up to once again.

I want to thank you all for coming. Good night and God Bless Our City

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory's Inaugural Address

We have to get around how we deal with Public Safety is more police.

2005-11-03T21:24:00.000-08:00

We have to get around how we deal with Public Safety is more police. We need to deal with the root causes of crime in the African American community that deal with a history that is based on over 300 years of slavery, 100 years of government as your foe at all levels and 40 years of finding your way through integration.

Background: CINCINNATI CHANGE understands the Tri-state is politically fragmented and segregated by race and class. Many poor Cincinnati residents have a high degree of desperation and hopelessness along with the belief that things cannot change. Cincinnati Change was created to “change this perception” by taking action to change Cincinnati NOW on June 19th 2000 and took it's first action at the 2000 Black Family Reunion.

In 2001, the founders of Cincinnati Change submitted a request to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation (CEC) that they set out procedures to issue $100M of revenue bonds. The request was updated in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, the CEC set the procedures to issue the bonds through the Cincinnati Hamilton County Port Authority.

Background: CINCINNATI CHANGE understands the Tri-state is politically fragmented and segregated by race and class. Many poor Cincinnati residents have a high degree of desperation and hopelessness along with the belief that things cannot change. Cincinnati Change was created to “change this perception” by taking action to change Cincinnati NOW on June 19th, 2000 and took its first action at the 2000 Black Family Reunion.

In 2001, the founders of Cincinnati Change submitted a request to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation (CEC) that they set out procedures to issue $100M of revenue bonds. The request was updated in 2002 and again in 2003. In 2004, the CEC set the procedures to issue the bonds through the Cincinnati Hamilton County Port Authority.

All citizens of the city of Cincinnati, Ohio should read Independent Monitor's Eleventh Quarterly Report, Sept. 30, 2005.

Current Plan: In 2005, Cincinnati Change assembled a team to meet its organizational objectives through creation of a mutual fund to fund its mission to Change Cincinnati NOW. On June 19th, 2005 Cincinnati Change received its charter from the State of Ohio and stands ready to change Cincinnati NOW.

Cincinnati Change is creating a limited liability company called Uptown Security. This company will implement the Cincinnati Change vision as the lead developer of safe neighborhoods in 20 Communities in the city of Cincinnati.

Lloyd Daniels Development Group Inc. (“LDG”) a majority minority owned company located in Mt Auburn at 2439 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati Ohio 45219 will licensee to Uptown Security, a company who will create a new security, safety and support holding company. It will be a global communications, computing and professional services operation that is to be a high technology real estate development company for a million homes in the Americas and a million around the world.

It will provide distance learning, facility security monitoring, total media management system for audio, video, digital entertainment, and communications related technology. The company will sell over 10,000 SKU security equipment sales partnership with eBay and security and safety built into buildings as a professional engineer. It will do this through a tiered sales force that uses established communications networks to sell products and services to a potential global market of over 500 million people by 2009.

Mission: CINCINNATI CHANGE has adopted a mission that encourages increased economic stability in Hamilton County along with the development of an third frontier creative class information highway infrastructure.

Cincinnati Change will create memberships that which will provide jobs through the acquisition, and development of businesses, intellectual property and real estate properties through this lead developer of a private security forces which will provide to corporate partners with 100,000 employee's in the region an security, safety and support organization including remote security with companies like Tyco, Microsoft, CISCO, Lucent, Samsung, Sprint, Motorola, GE and overseen by a joint venture between Lloyd Daniels Development Group (LDG) and IBM.

Purpose: CINCINNATI CHANGE will implement a licensed business process from LDG and a patent license from MDDG LLC that will create a service that will provide security services to a market of 500 million people and a million businesses. We will develop a workforce that will number over 4,000 who are employed and empowered by developing the following objectives:

Schools - Working with the Cincinnati Public Schools and Wilson Military Academy will create a school infrastructure for the 20,000 disenfranchised school students from Ohio. The county will save over a million dollars a year starting in the 2006/7 school year with a focus on youth in Hamilton County needing this service.

By 2014 we will serve a global student population in military schools through a alliance with already established schools in Ohio. We will build facilities that will house over 100,000 Ohio students and a million students around the world.

Businesses - To create a community business development program with the SBA, private sector, non-profit organizations, and government agencies to support over 100 small and medium businesses that will employ students who go to and or graduate from our schools. Included will be guard services, digital security services, remote security, patrol and cab services, fire school, HRT training center, custom command and control vehicles, NBC Command Center Construction, Urban Emergency Command Center Network, AEC Hargrove Williams Daniels & Hefley lbo fund, and other services that will oversee the education of one million students in franchised public schools.

The first phase business model is based on the creation or acquisition of buildings that will house technology that is under contract to our company for at least ten years in 20 communities in Cincinnati that by 2014 is to cover the whole city. LDG will make money as the developer of the buildings, the supplier of the technology built into the buildings and the services used by the users of the buildings. LDG will prove our business model in Cincinnati that will serve as a global prototype. Here we will develop the infrastructure model that’s needed to reach a market of over 500 million people.

The Uptown Security MAM Global Total Media Management System goal is to consolidate by 2009 all of the information resources that touch a media project property during its life cycle through a partnership with companies producing over 100 million SKU for sale by our network and employees over 200 million people.

Uptown Security will at its core the complete digital control of the various assets associated with the media property, be they episodes of broadcast television, Internet based distribution, marketing key art, magazine articles, publicity stills of recording artists, concert access, ticket sales, video on demand, and HDTV displays. The MAM Global Total Media Management System is much more than digital ingest and archiving, it will be a universal secure network and facilities that will be managed from a world headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Uptown Security MAM Global Total Media Management System will drive customers to chose us as one of the company’s major objectives is the synchronization and collaboration of all departments security. Through IBM and 39 other partners we will create a strategically invaluable profile of each of all of our clients media properties (and their ancillary properties such as sequels, soundtracks, and cross-promotions) across the full sweep of distribution platforms, formats, and outlets.

By providing a real-time snapshot of a media property, The Uptown Security MAM Global Total Media Management System will allow media managers, licensee’s, franchisees and affiliates to make the best short- and long-term decisions, which ultimately affect their investments in development, production, licensing, programming, and marketing.

Homes - To create 20,000 homes in Greater Cincinnati with a focus on developing 12,000 homes for low and moderate-income households whose children will attend our schools along with homes for those who work, build and or teach in them. these homes will generate over 2 million dollars a year in revenue for 30 years. Each home is a camera site with over 70% being wired to monitor their community.

Each home will be HDTV based systems whereas the 16:9 display is backed up by a Microsoft IBM Fiber network with Hitachi, Sharp and Samsung technologies. We will use Dolby technologies and a adjustable 5:1 sound system through nuTECH. nuTECH is built into homes as our application of established patents.

Each home will be able to earn money through a variety of channels with over 2 Gigi bytes worth of bandwidth. We will oversee the creation of over two million homes across the globe for first responders based on the development of housing for the employees of Uptown Security.

Jobs - To create over 9,000 jobs in distance learning on jobs n public saftey, private securty and as a first responder along with high school education, first responder health care, seceiruty and saftey technology, hospitality security, entertainment and personal seciruty, real estate development and construction through partnerships with businesses that serve the public saftey and homeland security marketplace through Uptown Security and it's Empowerment Zone business, Renewal City business, MBE, DBE, FBE and HUB zone partners.

A primary job generator will be the 20,000 homes built that Uptown Security will monitor. we will also provide security to over 40 million square feet of retail, food service and mixed use space including a regional entertainment security zone that reaches into other states.

Uptown Security will work with Nati Action Agency to create training opportunities for over 1,000 uptown kids a year by 2007 through a alliance with the Cincinnati Public Schools. We will do that by creating a military school at the Riverfront, Uptown and in Bond Hill. By 2009 this infratsructure will employ over 4,000.

Capital: In the newest report on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) agreements, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) finds that $4.2 trillion dollars have been infused into minority and lower income neighborhoods since CRA passed in 1977. Banks have committed to 430 CRA agreements, instituting multi-year programs covering loans, investments and banking services to communities in need.

LDG will implement a business model under the CRA IDIQ Business Process developed by Hershel Daniels, Junior starting at 2439 Auburn Avenue. From a lot on 2439 Auburn Uptown Security will build a urban prototype of our NEBS Sigma Six Quality Secure, Environmentally Safe and Life Supportive personal dwelling - each to cost no less than $330,000 and up to millions.

Uptown Security will enter into a agreement to be the implementation agent to start a military school in Cincinnati in January 2006 at 444 West Third Street that is to open in September 2006. Till then the school will rent space at an authorized building.

Uptown Security Cincinnati will create affiliates of Uptown Security in over 250 Empowerment Zones and Renewal Communities domestically and in over 250 foreign locations. Over 100 locations with company equity will be in operation within the next five years as master territory licenses - Uptown Security (city name).

Each with equity based on already IRS established revenue bonds, which are not volume capped – in the case of Cincinnati that is a multi million dollar investment by the end of 2005 in Uptown Security Cincinnati.

We would create Uptown Security with equity held in trust for the residents of the Uptown Alliance whereas Cincinnati Change would be the implementing agent. By 2010 we expect that over 4,000 staffers would provide education to over 1,000,000 students in military schools around the world.

In Cincinnati we have the resources to do this. Join us in Changing Cincinnati NOW.

Copyright 2005 Hershel Daniels, Junior

Notice of Cincinnati Change Board meeting on the Response to Hurricane Katrina & Rita

2005-10-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

Cincinnati Change Response (MA7) to Hurricane Katrina & Rita

As President Bush stated, on Thursday September 15th 2005 in New Orleans, "In the aftermath [of Hurricane Katrina and now Rita], we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and uprooted, searching for loved ones, and grieving for the dead and looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random.

We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know - fellow Americans calling out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy, and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street."

THIS COULD BE US UNLESS WE PLAN FOR CHANGE IN CINCINNATI NOW

What we plan -

1. Online Blogg - MA http://gulfchange.blogspot.com/.

2. Online meeting (September 17th 2005) MA Will record next on October 3,4,and 5th.

3. Evaluation of Current Emergency Plan for the people of Hamilton County - have asked 4 star US Army General and two star US Army General to join our current commanding general a 1 star . We have started to plan the mission.

MISSION AUTHORITY

On June 19th 2005 Cincinnati Change received its charter from the State of Ohio and stands ready to change Cincinnati NOW as an example of Global Change, business process owned by Lloyd Daniels Development Group that meets national emergencies.

Federal Emergency Declaration

A federal emergency declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to exercise its power to deal with emergency situations; federal assistance also become available to areas that are declared to be in a state of emergency. For FEMA, emergency declarations are different from the more common disaster declarations done for hurricanes and floods.

In the United States, the chief executive is typically empowered to declare a State of Emergency. Typically, a state of emergency empowers the executive to name coordinating officials to deal with the emergency and to override normal administrative processes regarding the passage of administrative rules. Currently this rests in the hands of Vice President of the United States.

White House Statement on Extension of Federal Assistance for Texas from Hurricane Rita

The President of the United States on September 27, 2005 amended the major disaster declaration issued on September 24, 2005, for Hurricane Rita for the State of Texas. Under the President's order today, the time period for 100 percent Federal funding for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, is extended for a total of 34 days, through and including October 27, 2005.

The President of the United States, a governor of a state, or even a local mayor may declare a State of Emergency within his or her jurisdiction. This is relatively rare at the federal level, but quite common at the state level in response to natural disasters.

The courts in the United States are often very lenient in allowing almost any action to be taken in the case of such a declared emergency, if it is reasonably related. For example, habeas corpus is the right to challenge an arrest in court. The U.S. Constitution says, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."

Habeas corpus was suspended on April 27, 1861 during the American Civil War by Abraham Lincoln in parts of midwestern states, including southern Indiana. He did so in response to demands by generals to set up military courts to rein in "copperheads", or those in the Union who supported the Confederate cause. Lambdin Milligan and four others were accused of planning to steal Union weapons and invade Union prisoner-of-war camps and were sentenced to hang by a military court in 1864.

However, their execution was not set until May 1865, so they were able to argue the case after the Civil War. It was decided in the Supreme Court case Ex Parte Milligan 71 US 2 1866 that the suspension was unconstitutional because civilian courts were still operating, and the Constitution (according to the Court) only provided for suspension of habeas corpus if these courts are actually forced closed.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act allows presidents to declare national emergencies for the purpose of freezing assets in which a foreign party has an interest, but these national emergencies are not states of emergency. President Franklin Roosevelt declared such an emergency with respect to gold in 1933, which apparently remained in force until 1978.

The Supreme Court ruling in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer established that presidents may not act arbitrarily during an emergency.

On Saturday (27 August), Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) did indeed request that President Bush "declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina." The White House responded to Governor Blanco's request that same day (Saturday) by declaring the emergency and authorizing FEMA "to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."

Executive Board of Cincinnati Change Board of Directors will meet on October 8th to decide our course of action based on the below estimated requirements for assistance under the Stafford Act which we and our contractors can supply to support 40,000 people in greater Port Arthur and New Orleans:

Coordination
Technical and advisory assistance
Debris removal
Emergency protective measures
Individuals and Households Program (IHP)
Distribution of emergency supplies
Other (specify) SBA

Cincinnati can be prepared to handle mass emergency

2005-09-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release
Contact: Fred Hargrove, Sr., PE, MBA
Cincinnati Change
2439 Auburn Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219
Phone: (513) 381-5111 Ext 3
E-mail: mam@cincinnatichange.com

Organizational Blogg - http://gulfchange.blogspot.com/

Cincinnati Change believes that Cincinnati can be prepared to handle mass emergency situations that will include blacks and the poor residents of Hamilton County.

Many of Cincinnati Change program officers are veterans who will not be a witness to the kind of desperation witnessed in New Orleans.

We will work in Cincinnati so that no citizen of this great and generous nation should have to call out for food and with vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who have no mercy.

We will work with those who want to defend our homes and the people who live here.

Meeting the Needs of Schools and Students in the Gulf

2005-09-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

In recognition of the communities across the nation that have welcomed displaced students in need, the President is proposing to provide funding to school districts enrolling significant numbers of displaced children.

This funding would be used to reimburse school districts for the unexpected costs associated with educating additional children for the 2005-06 school year, such as teacher salaries, transportation, materials and equipment, special services for children with disabilities, supplemental educational services, and counseling.

To ensure that displaced families have maximum flexibility to meet the education needs of their children, the President's proposal would provide compensation to displaced families for enrollment in private, including parochial, schools.

We propose to create infrastructure to support over 100,000 kids in the Gulf Coast through alliances with over 100 companies in support of over 100 school systems.

The Danger in the Nati

2005-09-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

As President Bush stated, on Thursday September 15th 2005 in New Orleans, "In the aftermath [of Hurricane Katrina], we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and uprooted, searching for loved ones, and grieving for the dead and looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random.

We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know - fellow Americans calling out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy, and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street."

THIS COULD BE US UNLESS WE PLAN FOR CHANGE IN CINCINNATI NOW

What we plan -

1. Online Blogg.

2. Online meeting (September 17th 2005).

3. Evaluation of Current Emergency Plan for the people of Hamilton County.

4. Create unity between public policy holders and residents as to goals.

5. Implement goals via management by objective operation overseen by Fred Hargrove PE, MBA.

CINCINNATI CHANGE response to Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

CINCINNATI CHANGE response to Hurricane Katrina is through a mission that will encourage increased economic stability in Hamilton County along with the development of a third frontier creative class information highway infrastructure centered in the Gulf in New Orleans which will provide jobs through the acquisition and development of businesses, intellectual property and real estate properties through this lead developer which is to be called Queen City Gulf Change Development Group.

Text of President Bush's address Thursday 15 September 2005, as released by The White House:

2005-09-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

BUSH: Good evening. I am speaking to you from the city of New Orleans, nearly empty, still partly underwater, and waiting for life and hope to return. Eastward from Lake Pontchartrain, across the Mississippi coast, to Alabama and into Florida, millions of lives were changed in a day by a cruel and wasteful storm.

In the aftermath, we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and uprooted, searching for loved ones, and grieving for the dead and looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random. We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know - fellow Americans calling out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy, and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street.

These days of sorrow and outrage have also been marked by acts of courage and kindness that make all Americans proud. Coast Guard and other personnel rescued tens of thousands of people from flooded neighborhoods. Religious congregations and families have welcomed strangers as brothers and sisters and neighbors.

In the community of Chalmette, when two men tried to break into a home, the owner invited them to stay and took in 15 other people who had no place to go. At Tulane Hospital for Children, doctors and nurses didn't eat for days so patients could have food, and eventually carried the patients on their backs up eight flights of stairs to helicopters.

Many first responders were victims themselves - wounded healers, with a sense of duty greater than their own suffering. When I met Steve Scott of the Biloxi Fire Department, he and his colleagues were conducting a house-to-house search for survivors. Steve told me this: "I lost my house and I lost my cars, but I still got my family ... and I still got my spirit."

Across the Gulf Coast, among people who have lost much and suffered much and given to the limit of their power, we are seeing that same spirit: a core of strength that survives all hurt, a faith in God no storm can take away and a powerful American determination to clear the ruins and build better than before.

Tonight so many victims of the hurricane and the flood are far from home and friends and familiar things. You need to know that our whole nation cares about you, and in the journey ahead, you are not alone. To all who carry a burden of loss, I extend the deepest sympathy of our country. To every person who has served and sacrificed in this emergency, I offer the gratitude of our country.

And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes. We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.

The work of rescue is largely finished; the work of recovery is moving forward. In nearly all of Mississippi, electric power has been restored. Trade is starting to return to the Port of New Orleans, and agricultural shipments are moving down the Mississippi River. All major gasoline pipelines are now in operation, preventing the supply disruptions that many feared.

The breaks in the levees have been closed, the pumps are running, and the water here in New Orleans is receding by the hour. Environmental officials are on the ground, taking water samples, identifying and dealing with hazardous debris, and working to get drinking water and wastewater treatment systems operating again. And some very sad duties are being carried out by professionals who gather the dead, treat them with respect and prepare them for their rest.

In the task of recovery and rebuilding, some of the hardest work is still ahead and it will require the creative skill and generosity of a united country.

Our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of those who had to flee their homes and leave all their possessions behind. For these Americans, every night brings uncertainty, every day requires new courage and the months to come will bring more than their fair share of struggles.

The Department of Homeland Security is registering evacuees who are now in shelters, churches or private homes, whether in the Gulf region or far away. I have signed an order providing immediate assistance to people from the disaster area. As of today, more than 500 thousand evacuee families have gotten emergency help to pay for food, clothing and other essentials.

Evacuees who have not yet registered should contact FEMA or the Red Cross. We need to know who you are, because many of you will also be eligible for broader assistance in the future. Many families were separated during the evacuation, and we are working to help you reunite. Please call 1-877-568-3317 - that's 1-877-568-3317 - and we will work to bring your family back together, and pay for your travel to reach them.

In addition, we are taking steps to ensure that evacuees don't have to travel great distances or navigate bureaucracies to get the benefits that are there for them. The Department of Health and Human Services has sent more than 15 hundred health professionals, along with over 50 tons of medical supplies, including vaccines, antibiotics and medicines, for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes. The Social Security Administration is delivering checks. The Department of Labor is helping displaced persons apply for temporary jobs and unemployment benefits. And the Postal Service is registering new addresses so that people can get their mail.

To carry out the first stages of the relief effort and begin the rebuilding at once, I have asked for, and the Congress has provided, more than $60 billion. This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis, which demonstrates the compassion and resolve of our nation.

Our second commitment is to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast to overcome this disaster, put their lives back together and rebuild their communities. Along this coast, for mile after mile, the wind and water swept the land clean. In Mississippi, many thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed. In New Orleans and surrounding parishes, more than a quarter million houses are no longer safe to live in. Hundreds of thousands of people from across this region will need to find longer-term housing.

Our goal is to get people out of shelters by the middle of October. So we are providing direct assistance to evacuees that allows them to rent apartments, and many already are moving into places of their own. A number of states have taken in evacuees and shown them great compassion, admitting children to school and providing health care. So I will work with Congress to ensure that states are reimbursed for these extra expenses.

In the disaster area and in cities that have received huge numbers of displaced people we are beginning to bring in mobile homes and trailers for temporary use. To relieve the burden on local health care facilities in the region, we are sending extra doctors and nurses to these areas. We are also providing money that can be used to cover overtime pay for police and fire departments while cities and towns rebuild.

Near New Orleans, Biloxi and other cities, housing is urgently needed for police and firefighters, other service providers and the many workers who are going to rebuild those cities. Right now, many are sleeping on ships we have brought to the Port of New Orleans, and more ships are on their way to the region. And we will provide mobile homes and supply them with basic services, as close to the construction areas as possible, so the rebuilding process can go forward as quickly as possible.

And the federal government will undertake a close partnership with the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, the city of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast cities so they can rebuild in a sensible, well planned way. Federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the disaster zone, from roads and bridges to schools and water systems. Our goal is to get the work done quickly. And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely, so we will have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures.

In the rebuilding process, there will be many important decisions and many details to resolve, yet we are moving forward according to some clear principles. The federal government will be fully engaged in the mission, but Governor Barbour, Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and other state and local leaders will have the primary role in planning for their own future. Clearly, communities will need to move decisively to change zoning laws and building codes, in order to avoid a repeat of what we have seen. And in the work of rebuilding, as many jobs as possible should go to men and women who live in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Our third commitment is this: When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm. Within the Gulf region are some of the most beautiful and historic places in America. As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality.

When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets. When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those houses. When the regional economy revives, local people should be prepared for the jobs being created. Americans want the Gulf Coast not just to survive, but to thrive, not just to cope, but to overcome. We want evacuees to come home for the best of reasons, because they have a real chance at a better life in a place they love.

When one resident of this city who lost his home was asked by a reporter if he would relocate, he said, "Naw, I will rebuild but I'll build higher." That is our vision of the future, in this city and beyond: We will not just rebuild, we will build higher and better.

To meet this goal, I will listen to good ideas from Congress, state and local officials, and the private sector. I believe we should start with three initiatives that the Congress should pass.

Tonight I propose the creation of a Gulf Opportunity Zone, encompassing the region of the disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Within this zone, we should provide immediate incentives for job-creating, investment tax relief for small businesses, incentives to companies that create jobs, and loans and loan guarantees for small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises, to get them up and running again. It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity, it is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty and we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region.

I propose the creation of Worker Recovery Accounts to help those evacuees who need extra help finding work. Under this plan, the federal government would provide accounts of up to $5,000, which these evacuees could draw upon for job training and education to help them get a good job and for child care expenses during their job search.

To help lower-income citizens in the hurricane region build new and better lives, I also propose that Congress pass an Urban Homesteading Act. Under this approach, we will identify property in the region owned by the federal government, and provide building sites to low-income citizens free of charge, through a lottery. In return, they would pledge to build on the lot, with either a mortgage or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity. Homeownership is one of the great strengths of any community, and it must be a central part of our vision for the revival of this region.

In the long run, the New Orleans area has a particular challenge, because much of the city lies below sea level. The people who call it home need to have reassurance that their lives will be safer in the years to come. Protecting a city that sits lower than the water around it is not easy, but it can and has been done. City and parish officials in New Orleans and state officials in Louisiana will have a large part in the engineering decisions to come, and the Army Corps of Engineers will work at their side to make the flood protection system stronger than it has ever been.

The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. When that job is done, all Americans will have something to be very proud of, and all Americans are needed in this common effort. It is the armies of compassion - charities and houses of worship and idealistic men and women - that give our reconstruction effort its humanity. They offer to those who hurt a friendly face, an arm around the shoulder and the reassurance that in hard times, they can count on someone who cares. By land, by sea and by air, good people wanting to make a difference deployed to the Gulf Coast, and they have been working around the clock ever since.

The cash needed to support the armies of compassion is great, and Americans have given generously. For example, the private fundraising effort led by former Presidents Bush and Clinton has already received pledges of more than $100 million. Some of that money is going to governors, to be used for immediate needs within their states. A portion will also be sent to local houses of worship, to help reimburse them for the expense of helping others. This evening the need is still urgent, and I ask the American people to continue donating to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, other good charities and religious congregations in the region.

It is also essential for the many organizations of our country to reach out to your fellow citizens in the Gulf area. So I have asked USA Freedom Corps to create an information clearinghouse, available at usafreedomcorps.gov, so that families anywhere in the country can find opportunities to help families in the region or a school can support a school. And I challenge existing organizations - churches, Scout troops or labor union locals - to get in touch with their counterparts in Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama, and learn what they can do to help. In this great national enterprise, important work can be done by everyone, and everyone should find their role and do their part.

The government of this nation will do its part as well. Our cities must have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters, disease outbreaks or terrorist attack, for evacuating large numbers of people in an emergency and for providing the food, water and security they would need. In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security priority. Therefore, I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts, of emergency plans in every major city in America.

I also want to know all the facts about the government response to Hurricane Katrina. The storm involved a massive flood, a major supply and security operation, and an evacuation order affecting more than a million people. It was not a normal hurricane and the normal disaster relief system was not equal to it. Many of the men and women of the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States military, the National Guard, Homeland Security and state and local governments performed skillfully under the worst conditions. Yet the system, at every level of government, was not well coordinated and was overwhelmed in the first few days. It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces, the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.

Four years after the frightening experience of September 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as President, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution. So I have ordered every Cabinet secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane. This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We are going to review every action and make necessary changes, so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men, that could threaten our people.

The United States Congress also has an important oversight function to perform. Congress is preparing an investigation, and I will work with members of both parties to make sure this effort is thorough.

In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is an awesome force, and that all life is fragile. We are the heirs of men and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown and Plymouth, who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire, and San Francisco after a great earthquake, who reclaimed the prairie from the dust bowl of the 1930s. Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood and storm to build anew and to build better than what we had before. Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature and we will not start now.

These trials have also reminded us that we are often stronger than we know, with the help of grace and one another. They remind us of a hope beyond all pain and death, a God who welcomes the lost to a house not made with hands. And they remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this nation, and that the despair of any touches us all.

I know that when you sit on the steps of a porch where a home once stood or sleep on a cot in a crowded shelter it is hard to imagine a bright future. But that future will come. The streets of Biloxi and Gulfport will again be filled with lovely homes and the sound of children playing. The churches of Alabama will have their broken steeples mended and their congregations whole. And here in New Orleans, the streetcars will once again rumble down St. Charles, and the passionate soul of a great city will return.

In this place, there is a custom for the funerals of jazz musicians. The funeral procession parades slowly through the streets, followed by a band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery. Once the casket has been laid in place, the band breaks into a joyful "second line" symbolizing the triumph of the spirit over death. Tonight the Gulf Coast is still coming through the dirge, yet we will live to see the second line.

Thank you, and may God bless America.