Top China cop seeks asylum in US consulate?

BEIJING?? A prominent Chinese official who might have been the country's most famous policeman has dropped from sight amid unconfirmed reports of a political scandal and a bid for U.S. asylum.

1. Only on msnbc.com

   1. Second wind for Santorum with victories in Minn., Mo., Co.
   2. Grandaddy of standardized tests on way out?
   3. Taliban lite? Afghans ponder power-sharing
   4. Wal-Mart plans simple label to ID healthy foods
   5. Why do Dickens characters still resonate?
   6. CDC: 9 in 10 Americans eat too much salt
   7. Maddow on GOP, Iran and Eastwood

The Chongqing city government said Wednesday that Wang Lijun, its police chief until last week, had "reportedly" taken leave to recover from anxiety and physical ailments resulting from his heavy work load.

A brief government notice said Wang, who is also a vice mayor, was undergoing "vacation-style therapy," but gave no details.

A city government spokesman, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would only give his surname, Ye, confirmed the notice but did not elaborate.

Wang made his mark busting gangs, but Chongqing announced last week that he was being shifted from his police duties to deal with economic and other matters.

He has been the subject of days of speculation since then, including online reports that he sought asylum at the American consulate in Chengdu after a falling-out with the city's powerful Communist Party secretary, Bo Xilai.

Bo, who sits on the party's powerful 25-member Politburo, appointed Wang in 2008 to clean up the force and take on organized crime in a campaign that drew national attention, as well as criticism that it ignored proper legal procedures.

'No threat' to consulate
On Wednesday, many Chinese microblog users speculated that Wang had been purged. Some said Wang had sought asylum at the U.S. consulate in Chengdu in southwest Sichuan province, several hours' drive from Chongqing, prompting police to gather around the consulate.

The consulate referred questions to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where the spokesman Richard Buangan told Reuters he was "not in a position to comment regarding reported requests for asylum."

Chinese shrug at offensive Super Bowl ad

"I can tell you there was no threat to the (Chengdu) consulate yesterday, and the U.S. government did not request increased security around the compound," said Buangan.

Ye, the city government spokesman, said he could neither deny or confirm the reports of Wang's asylum bid.

"We saw that on the Internet too. I don't have relevant information now," Ye said.

In a sign of the sensitivity of the matter, search results for Wang and Bo were blocked on China's hugely popular Sina Weibo microblogging service and the comments sections attached to online reports about Wang were disabled.

Wang, a 52-year-old martial arts expert, entered law enforcement in 1984 and served more than two decades in northeast Liaoning province, where Bo was once governor.

He won a reputation for personal bravery in confronting gangs and was once the subject of a TV drama called "Iron-Blooded Police Spirits."

'Big blow'
His law enforcement success led eventually to high political office, and his association with Bo gave him countrywide name recognition.

A former commerce minister, Bo is considered a leading "princeling" in the party, a reference to the offspring of communist elders whose connections and degrees from top universities have won them entry into the country's elite.

Bo garnered huge publicity for his anti-crime campaign and an accompanying drive to revive communist songs and poems from the 1950s and 1960s.

Those campaigns have since fizzled, leading analysts to pull back on speculation that he might be promoted to higher office when the party begins a generational change in leadership later this year.

"This will be a big blow to Bo Xilai, because Wang was instrumental in his anti-organized crime campaign, and that was instrumental in building Bo's appeal in public opinion and even among officials," said Chen Ziming, an independent scholar who studies party politics.

"Now the hero of that campaign has turned into a scandal, so at the least that's a blow to Bo's public prestige," said Chen, a former political prisoner who lives in Beijing.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46306742/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

extract bobby jindal bobby jindal talladega pumpkin carving texas tech football bridge school

Video: Matthews: Elections are all about the incumbent

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46287140#46287140

world series mvp rocky horror picture show risky business weather nj weather nj nyc weather nyc weather

Make job search easy with recruitment agency London ...

We are surviving in the hyper competitive market where getting involved with the right employer demands great efforts and time. Not everybody is fortunate to find a good job on their own but an employment agency can be relied on when it comes to finding a decent work opportunity. It is actually true that candidate?s efforts and experience make a difference but a recruiter is the person who best represents the credentials. They are well versed and can effectively represent the qualifications of a candidate in front of employers. Possessing the knack organizing the skills; recruiting firms make them highly appealing which many job seekers fail to do.

How recruitment agencies London can help in attaining a worthy job

London?s employment agency offers job seekers a fair chances and can be beneficial in many ways as mentioned below:

Recruitment agencies London are capable of selling the skill in most desired in precise and direct way. They utilise job seekers? strategies to their advantage rather than just submitting CV to companies. Agencies are aware about the that aspects which canattract employers.

Job hunters can save time, as association with the right recruitment agencies lets candidates eliminate the feeling that their resumes are lost in the huge virtual world, staying positive when you fail to receive any response. Besides, the agency makes sure that relevant employers should approach the job seeker matching the skills and experience.

London employment agency can be banked on for all type of jobs; from temporary to full time. They also offer jobs in a vast number of career fields including Bodyguards/Close Protection Officers, Nurse, Chauffeurs, Administrative Household Managers, Party/Event/ Wedding Planners, Receptionists, Chefs, Butlers, Valets and other private household, support and corporate staff.

The internet is recognised as wide platform for information. There are several websites which are associated with job advertising and job searches. An individual can mark his or her presence by registering on these websites, building a profile or portfolio. By posting the ?Curriculum Vitae?(CV) over the internet, employers can view your resume. Candidates are contacted, if the profile attracts the companies. With just few clicks and profile creation on online recruitment agencies London, can benefit the job seeker with several reputed job offers.

Incoming search terms:

• Powered by Article Dashboard it companies
• Powered by Article Dashboard legal positions
• jobs in london
• Powered by Article Dashboard business opportunities work from home
• Powered by Article Dashboard home work business opportunities
• powered by phpBB field of medicine

Related posts:

1. Why are more and more companies choosing recruitment agencies in the South West for their recruitment in Bristol?
2. How to Use a PR Agency to Find a Job
3. Improve your online performance through Web design Agency, London
4. Improve your operational presentation through Web design Agency, London
5. London based Web Design Agency enhance the presentation by a single click

Source: http://www.articleszones.com/business/careers/make-job-search-easy-with-recruitment-agency-london

hakeem nicks alpha lipoic acid 105.1 alex trebek lightsquared jane lynch matt ryan

Marathon Nutrition for Race Day Situation | Articles Fancy

Adjusting for Temperature

The biggest factor able to affect your tested nutrition plan could be the temperature. Necessary running ?stasis? is about 60-degress Farenheit. By stasis I mean place where one can run for a complete health capability and suffer smallest external effects on your nutrition. Once you exit that window, it?s essential to start off modifying your plan. Here i will discuss certain pointers regarding conditions.

On Cold Days?you?ll be less more likely to drink albeit your body will require it. You won?t sweat as often, and you won?t automatically experience the immediate cues to go on with taking in fluids. Eating shouldn?t be issues, though in case your core temperature starts to fall over a longer event, you probably troubles as your body will sooner or later begin to shunt bloodflow away from your gut for a brain and other critical organs like a defensive measure. So run cold, by all way, but do it accurately!

On Hot Days?you may feel dry pretty speedily. In order to soak up more fluids carefully, you?ll have to to improve your drinking frequency (not only volume). For everybody who is wishing on the course and your fluid possibilities are imperfect by a fix distance, then either reflect on carrying a number of your personal fluids as being a supplement or plan on slowing down rather at each aid station to make sure you absorb enough fluids. A secure suggestion is taking 20 steps at the station ? so run to anyone you wish to take fluid/food from, then begin walking, drinking and counting.

Ever since your body will probably be using all on hand fluids to function, you?ll might want to guarantee you soak up a beneficial amount of water with each fuel source you consider. Gels are easy to sling, but still require water. Anything more solid than that would force significant fluids in your stomach to process.
Not only will you may want more fluids, you might be tempted to try an innovative new flavor or particular beverage just because that you?re dehydrated also it?s right there in front of you. Accomplish with caution!

Getting On for an Early Start

Every now and then it?s not the weather, it?s any time of day that gets you. There is certainly many marathons to choose from, including the Disney Marathon, that need runners to begin on a lower than optimal time. Aside from doing numerous training runs at that time of day, there is little else you can do to physically prepare for the first start.

From the nutrition standpoint, feel free to use those key runs to start adjusting your pre-race fueling plan. Do not forget ? you can expect to finish eating your pre-race meal about three hours before race start. Since this will mean eating in the midnight, you may need to locate a simple-to-make and eat option that can permit you to get right back to bed. One example can be described as pre-made smoothie (Odwalla comes to mind) that includes a ton of excellent calories. And don?t forget you?ll will need to practice planning to bed early also?you don?t would like to wake up at Mile Two and realize you forgot something critical to your mood!

Getting Ready for Stomach Cramps

If you have run afoul of the nutrition gods, there is still hope for you. It?s not a good spot that should be, although you should be capable to adjust and recover. One of the best ways should be to decelerate instantly, so your body can start on to accommodate your gastric distress. This easy act will give your system the wiggle room it must get to figure, and it will give your brain an instant to review the situation and find out what went wrong. It?s not easily done, as many runners equate walking with failure, when in most cases it?s actually part of a coherent strategy to get your race back on track.

o Did you run way too hard? In that case, slowing will help.
o Did you eat too much? If so, you now have time to absorb the food.
o Have you overloaded on sugars? If you have ate a gel food and followed it up with sports drink, that could be enough. Sipping water may also be a good trick.

In combination with slowing down, remember to continue to drink water as you may still need it whenever you pick the pace back up again.

It?s A Wrap

While there isn?t any one single way to solve a particular nutrition problem. the longer you run and the greater you race the greater likely you?ll have the opportunity to overcome most nutritional troubles. In reality, your goal should be to learn to recognize the warning signs and sort of things before they become full-blown problems.

Looking to find the best deal on Marathon Training Schedule, then visit www.marathonnation.us to find the best advice on Marathon Training for you.

Source: http://articlesfancy.com/recreation-sports/marathon-nutrition-for-race-day-situation?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=marathon-nutrition-for-race-day-situation

the firm new york philharmonic critics choice awards marines urinating on taliban super pac dre kirkpatrick mls superdraft

Where's the snow? Not in Lower 48, but elsewhere

In this composite image made on Feb. 1, 2012, hundreds of cars are seen stranded on Lake Shore Drive on Feb. 2, 2011, in Chicago, left, while traffic moves along smoothly on the same stretch of Lake Shore Drive on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, right. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago on Feb. 1, 2011, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

In this composite image made on Feb. 1, 2012, hundreds of cars are seen stranded on Lake Shore Drive on Feb. 2, 2011, in Chicago, left, while traffic moves along smoothly on the same stretch of Lake Shore Drive on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, right. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago on Feb. 1, 2011, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Buds are seen on the branches of cherry trees along the Tidal Basin Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, in Washington. Snow seems to be missing in action this winter for much of the United States. This January was the third weakest month on record for snow covering the ground for the U.S. Lower 48, according to the Global Snow Lab at Rutgers University. Records go back to 1967. Two years ago more than two-thirds of the Lower 48 was covered in snow. Last year, it was 52 percent as a billion-dollar blizzard barreled through. This year, it's only 19 percent. Forget snow, for much of the country there's not even a nip in the air. On Tuesday, all but a handful of states had temperatures hitting the 50s or higher. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Bosnian people caring food supplies in a remote village, cut of by road due high snow fall, near Bosnian town of Sokolac, 70 kms east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 .Rescue helicopters are airlifting supplies and evacuating dozens of people from snow-covered villages in Bosnia, as the death toll from Eastern Europe's severe cold spell has risen to 79. Central and eastern Europe are experiencing a severe and snowy cold snap with temperatures in Bosnia plummeting to lows of minus 10 Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).(AP Photo/Radul Radovanovic)

A pair of joggers enjoy the view of Lake Michigan Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2012, in Milwaukee. Temperatures have been above normal recently and most of the snow melted as the area experiences and unusual winter weather season. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Luz Telles, of Milwaukee, catches a frisbee while playing with a friend along the lakefront Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2012, in Milwaukee. Temperatures have been above normal recently and most of the snow melted as the area experiences and unusual winter weather season. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Snow has been missing in action for much of the U.S. the last couple months. But it's not just snow. It's practically the season that's gone AWOL.

"What winter?" asked Mike Halpert, deputy director of the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center. For the Lower 48, January was the third-least snowy on record, according to the Global Snow Lab at Rutgers University. Records for the amount of ground covered by snow go back to 1967.

Last year, more than half the nation was covered in snow as a Groundhog Day blizzard barreled across the country, killing 36 people and causing $1.8 billion in damage. This year, less than a fifth of the country outside of Alaska has snow on the ground.

Bismarck, N.D., has had one-fifth its normal snow, Boston a third. Buffalo is three feet below normal for snowfall this year. Midland, Texas, has had more snow this season than Minneapolis or Chicago.

Forget snow. For much of the country there's not even a nip in the air. On Tuesday, the last day in January, all but a handful of states had temperatures in the 50s or higher. In the nation's capital, where temperatures flirted with the 70s, some cherry trees are already budding ? weeks early.

For the Northeast it's one of the warmest and least snowy winters on record, with most of the region's temperatures the last couple months averaging 5 degrees warmer than normal, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

"I am disgusted that golfers are golfing on my cross-country ski course," said New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson, director of the Global Snow Lab.

Matt Dulli, an assistant golf pro at The Golf Club at Yankee Trace in the Dayton, Ohio, suburb of Centerville, said 115 rounds were played Tuesday amid balmy temperatures that reached a high of 60 degrees.

"The first thing you hear out of people's mouths is, 'Can you believe we're playing golf in January?' They're just ecstatic that they can get out at this time of year," Dulli said.

But there is lots of snow and dangerous cold ? it's just elsewhere in the world. Valdez, Alaska, has had 328 inches of snow this season ? 10 feet above average ? and the state is frigid, with Fort Yukon hitting a record 66 below zero over the weekend.

Nearly 80 people have died from a vicious cold snap in Europe, and much of Asia has been blanketed with snow. January has been the ninth snowiest since 1966 for Europe and Asia, though for the entire northern hemisphere, it's been about average for snow this season.

The weather is so cold that some areas of the Black Sea have frozen near the Romanian coastline, and rare snowfalls have occurred on islands in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. Ukraine alone has reported 43 fatalities, many of the victims homeless people found dead on streets. More than 720 other Ukrainians have been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite.

The reason is changes in Arctic winds that are redirecting snow and cold. Instead of dipping down low, the jet stream winds that normally bring cold and snow south got trapped up north. It's called the Arctic oscillation. Think of it as a cousin to the famous El Nino.

When the Arctic oscillation is in a positive phase, the winds spin fast in the Arctic keeping the cold north. But in the past few days, the Arctic oscillation turned negative, though not in its normal way, Halpert said. The cold jet stream dipped in Europe and Asia, but is still bottled up over North America.

That's because another weather phenomena, called the North Atlantic oscillation is playing oddball by staying positive and keeping the cold away from the rest of North America. About 90 percent of the time, the North Atlantic and Arctic oscillations are in synch, Halpert said. But not this time, so much of the United States is escaping the winter's worst.

What's happening isn't just an inconvenience.

Trees and plants budding early may lose their chance to bloom when the inevitable deep freeze returns, said U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Jake Weltzin, who heads a national network that monitors the timing of spring for plants and animals. He said peach trees are budding in Georgia and in Oklahoma forsythia and daffodils have been out for two weeks now, adding "it's happening everywhere."

"If you think about plants and animals being kind of biologic thermometers, they are indicating a very early spring," Weltzin said. "That's a problem."

This could mean less fruit available this year, Weltzin said. In New York, it could weaken the grapes used to make wine, added Cornell University horticulturalist David W. Wolfe.

But it is getting people outside more often.

In the heart of the snow belt, Holden Arboretum saw a 32 percent jump in December attendance and a 20 percent jump in January visits. Over the two months about 4,200 people visited the site in Kirtland, Ohio, outside Cleveland, that features gardens, woodlands and trails.

Along Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio, a ferry service that carries visitors to islands was beginning winter routes Wednesday for the first time in six years.

"We've just had a remarkable run of unusual winters in the past six years globally," said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Mich. "I have to say that winter hasn't really hit yet. Certainly not where I live."

____

JoAnne Viviano and Doug Whiteman contributed to this report from Columbus, Ohio.

___

Online:

The Global Snow Lab: http://bit.ly/wFuAtV

National Weather Service map showing snow cover: http://t.co/0HIAPU1j

Weather service map showing warm temperatures around the nation: http://t.co/rpNNt7Sp

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-02-01-US-SCI-Where's-The-Snow?/id-6d9e9efe843345e6a8139a917dbfe06f

nick diaz vs carlos condit hall of fame occupy dc my fair lady ufc 143 fight card don cornelius conversion disorder

and into your mobile phone, they're acquiring a damaging effect ...

With much more gadgets getting plugged into wireless networks from the minute, before long we?ll all be besieged by much more of these invisible menaces than at any other point in background. The mobile phone communications sector is generating billions of dollars every year, and undertaking small, to nothing at all to educate persons about the quite true and damaging mobile phone wellness risks.

Electricians and engineers who perform with electricity and electromagnetic vitality for a living can inform us all horror stories from the harm that invisible frequency waves wreak on the human entire body wow private server Heck, all you have to try and do is evaluate the improve in auto accidents and fatalities attributable to mobile phone use to understand that this can be one trend that isn?t gonna finish properly for any of us. Or, you could check out a cancer hospital and count the number of brain cancer individuals and compare this figure with all the amount 10 a long time ago. Be conscious from the invisible issues which have been going on around, in, and by the body. Is it really worth getting able to text that joke or to get a vacuum cleaner that does connect towards the World-wide-web, in case your brain and entire body endure for these ridiculous luxuries?

It is wonderful to check out numerous persons tied towards the leash of a mobile phone as of late. It appears which you can not drive or even take a walk with no seeing scores of individuals with cell phones seemingly implanted into their ears.

Even though the improve in communications technology is surely extraordinary, quite small is getting brought into the public discourse about mobile phone wellness risks. What you do not how to make a minecraft server know about the mobile phone that is glued to your ear a number of hours daily, could lead to some critical wellness matters later on inside your lifestyle and really lead to harm to your brain. If you apply a little of vital considering for a moment, the mobile phone wellness risks really are a great deal much more realistic than you could have assumed. Give thought to this ? the radio waves, wireless network signals and also other communication waves which have been circulating by the air are able to penetrate wood, metal and also other creating resources with quite small resistance. Have you believed about these very same waves beaming by the body 24 hours daily? Well, it is happening. And should you have that smartphone of yours glued to your head, it is like holding a lightning rod within the middle of a thunderstorm. Our brains and bodies are infinitely complex, and rely on electrical impulses to imagine, breathe and take action. When these potent electromagnetic waves make their way by the air and into your mobile phone, they?re having a damaging impact on the electrical impulses inside your brain.

To put it differently, that ?smartphone? of yours may well really be generating your significantly less smart the much more you use it. Scientific tests have shown that cognitive ability sharply drops when persons use their cell phones, and it is not merely a matter of getting distracted both. The physiological results of magnifying the electromagnetic waves immediately toward your head results in impaired considering and reasoning. We?re all surrounded by dozens of individuals every day and each one of these has thoughts and beliefs that govern not merely their lifestyle, but additionally influence the reality from the persons around them. You may not understand it but, but thoughts and beliefs are crucial to you in each location of your respective lifestyle What you imagine and think in impacts each minute of each day you live and is incredibly significant in identifying how profitable, potent or influential you will be.

This entry was posted in Popular Topics. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.newhendersonhotelxa.com/and-into-your-mobile-phone-theyre-acquiring-a-damaging-effect-around-the-electrical-impulses-inside-your-brain/

uss arizona memorial uss arizona memorial d day fun. words with friends words with friends roy orbison

FEMA's levee standards may impose extra insurance on North ...

Beverly Scott, who?s lived in North Richmond for three years, likes to take her daughters on walks near the creeks that run through North Richmond. Her family often participates in creek cleanup events. Since her family has lived in the neighborhood, the creeks have run low and there hasn?t been flooding or signs of flooding.

The neighborhood hasn?t flooded since the Army Corps of Engineers erected levees decades ago around the two creeks. But although their record so far is good, the levees now don?t meet Federal Emergency Management Agency standards.

The program is currently on hold, but according to the current standards the disaster agency could ?decertify? North Richmond?s levees ? essentially removing them from federal maps as if they aren?t there at all. If FEMA decertifies the levees, Scott?s house, every other house on Malcom Drive and Henry Clark Lane, and about 200 hundred other pieces of property in North Richmond, some vacant and some occupied, would be mapped onto a high flood hazard zone. Residents and businesses owners in this zone would be forced to buy special flood insurance.

Scott, like many of those owners, doesn?t have the money for additional insurance, and says she thinks the extra insurance would be unnecessary.

Before people settled in the neighborhood, North Richmond was predominantly a flood plain and mudflats. The area flooded severely in the ?50s and continued to pour mud over the neighborhood, through the streets and into homes, into the ?80s.

?Cleaning up mud out of the streets ? was a regular occurrence,? said Mitch Avalon, deputy chief engineer of Contra Costa County?s Flood Department, while describing how he spent his first days in the department 33 years ago.

The Army Corp of Engineers erected levees, both earthen and concrete in the ?80s, which seemed to solve the flooding problem. An earthen levee looks similar to a creek that has been dredged out, with grassy hills on either side, while a concrete levee is more obvious, with concrete walls and floors. Wildcat Creek runs through both kinds of levees, through the middle of North Richmond, just north of the residential portion of the neighborhood.

FEMA started asking counties and cities across the country to assess their levees in 2003, when Congress allocated money to improve flood maps and get them into the digital world, said Eric Simmons, a senior engineer in FEMA?s regional office.

All levees, nationwide, must meet what FEMA calls the 100-year flood system: strong enough to withstand a once-in-a-century flood.

Any levee that doesn?t meet the 100-year flood standard is decertified, and the area surrounding the levee is considered to be in a high-hazard flood zone, regardless of the levee?s record protecting a neighborhood.

?Physically speaking the levee looks the same and provides the same level of service,? Avalon said. ?The way that FEMA looks at it, if the levees don?t meet their standards, then the levee isn?t there.?

In a letter written last year to the director of FEMA, 34 members of the House of Representatives and 27 Senators, many from flood-prone areas like Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, and California, urged the agency to reconsider its mapping system. ?In cases where FEMA treats a flood control structure as if it has been completely wiped off of the map, we may be unnecessarily devaluing property and hurting the economies of cities, towns, counties and businesses,? the letter said.

Contra Costa County had to scrounge for the money just to evaluate the levees, which cost about $576,000. It will cost millions of dollars to get the levees up to standards ? money the county does not have, said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia.

The problem with the levees is the ?free board,? the space between the top of the levee and the top of the water in a worst-case scenario. The calculation relies on three things: vegetation has grown on the bottom of the creeks, slowing the water; over the past few decades, the heavy concrete levees have sunk into the ground a few inches; and a few inches of additional sediment on the bottom of the creek leaves the free board below the FEMA standard of three feet.

But that still leaves a few feet of room for water to rise without putting the neighborhood in danger.

?It?s not like these are designed with the water surface right at the top of the levee,? Avalon said.

While Avalon said there is no real danger of a flood in North Richmond, FEMA representatives disagree. ?Levees do reduce the likelihood of flooding, but they never eliminate the chance of flooding,? Simmons said. ?This area will flood again, it?s just a matter of time. We like citizens to be aware of their risk.?

Gioia doesn?t want properties placed into a flood zone but more importantly, he said, he wants to keep properties safe from the potential flood. ?If something happens like a tree falls into the creek and blocks the flow, because the water level is so high, it has a greater risk of overflowing the levees and affecting the nearby property,? he said.

David L. James, Beverly Scott?s neighbor in North Richmond, said he?s also not convinced that the levees will fail. ?Maybe 30 years ago, it might have been a flood area, but now we barely get enough rain to keep the plants growing,? James said.

Scott said she was more concerned about the additional cost of the special flood hazard insurance. ?I can?t afford the current insurance,? she said, ?let alone any extra insurance.? The amount that the insurance will increase varies from hundreds to thousands of dollars a year, depending on the property.

In part because of concerns like that, there has been a national pushback against the levee standards, particularly in the Midwest. In response, FEMA put its floodplain-mapping program on hold this year, and the agency is in the initial stages of modifying its guidelines.

Connect with Richmond Confidential on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Source: http://richmondconfidential.org/2012/02/03/femas-levee-standards-may-impose-extra-insurance-on-north-richmond-residents/

mike mcqueary joe paterno fired joe paterno fired glen campbell matt nathanson matt nathanson rick perry oops