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FEMA homes for storm victims ruined, unused

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 15, 2006

Hundreds of modular homes bought by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for victims of last year's hurricanes Katrina and Rita were damaged beyond repair as they sat unused and, in many cases, unprotected from the elements, the agency said Tuesday.

Many weren't used because of restrictions on where such homes could be erected, FEMA said. A June inventory had 1,790 homes in storage. FEMA spokeswoman Debbie Wing said it appears at least 250 homes are not salvageable, and FEMA put the total damage to homes both salvageable and unsalvageable at $5-million. The homes cost an average of $36,000 each, according to FEMA. Modular homes are made in large pieces in factories, so that they can be assembled quickly and easily.

Also ...

CROOKED LOBBYIST: Lobbyist Jack Abramoff reports to federal prison today to begin serving nearly six years for a fraudulent deal to buy casino ships in Florida. He also is awaiting sentencing for corrupting government officials and their staff members.

CIA LEAK: Vice President Dick Cheney asked a federal judge Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit against him by a former CIA operative who says the White House leaked her identity. Valerie Plame Wilson says she was outed as retribution for her husband's criticism of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

CENSUS SHAKEUP: Census Bureau director Louis Kincannon and deputy director Hermann Habermann announced Tuesday that they are leaving the agency, two months after it was revealed that census workers had lost 672 computers since 2001, some with personal data.

U.N. AMBASSADOR: Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Rep. Jim Walsh, R-N.Y., urged President Bush on Tuesday to name defeated Republican Rep. Jim Leach to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

[Last modified November 15, 2006, 01:59:16]