From NPR: 10 states and scores of local governments sue FEMA over higher flood insurance rates

From the NYTimes: California’s Snow Is Melting and It’s a Beautiful Thing.
An excerpt:

“But this year still feels like a reward. Rather than solely preparing for the upcoming natural disaster season of fire and drought, we get to anticipate a summer when flowing rivers and deep lakes will be full of people enjoying them. If only for one year, abundant, clear and cold waters will come down from the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s a breath of fresh air after seemingly endless bad news about water, climate, and natural disasters in the West, one to celebrate.”

From the WashPost: Melt from historic California snow may be less damaging than feared. Officials cite two reasons for the reduced risk: Luck with the weather combined with ongoing efforts to divert and manage the flood waters

This article adds to some of the concerns identified by the GAO in its recent report on FEMA staffing matters, and adds a dark side to some of the volunteer assistance that occurs in some places post disaster.

Note: the Diva was not familiar with the source called Grist, but was given this citation by a reliable reader.

This is the latest effort by the GAO to press FEMA to address its earlier reports:
Opportunities to Strengthen Management and Address Increasing Challenges.  
The full report is 20 pp., but there also is an executive summary available.

The Diva considers this a very important report. She is surprised at the tone of the report, which clearly shows the extent of GAO’s dissatisfaction with FEMA’s efforts to date to address concerns raised in several recent GAO reports.

Among the interesting graphics in the report is the chart titled “Staffing Gaps for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Disaster Workforce, Fiscal Years 2019-2022” and Figure 3 on page 11, which is a graphic depiction of the many federal entities involved in Recovery.

Opinion piece in HSToday by Richard Serino: A 10-Year Reflection on the Boston Marathon Bombing and a Call for a National Emergency Management Strategy.
An excerpt:

While nothing can replace those we lost, as a community we take solace that our preparedness saved lives. I often say: It was no accident that Boston was prepared to respond that day, it was no accident that equipment was on site. It was no accident that the patients were equally distributed across hospitals. It was no accident to see that lives were saved with tourniquets. Boston was strong because Boston was prepared.

From the Wash Post, Want to know why America is losing its edge? Look around campus.  An excerpt:

“Some 2.5 million fewer Americans are enrolled in college than in 2011, and the decline is accelerating. The college-going rate of high school graduates has dropped from 70 percent in 2016 to 62 percent in 2022, and if this trend continues, a group of young Americans will — for the first time in our history — enter the workforce with less education than the one before.”

From the NYTimes: 13 Lessons From the Covid Pandemic

The authors were members of the Biden-Harris Transition Covid Advisory Board, appointed by the then-incoming Biden administration in November 2020 to provide advice on the government’s pandemic response.

From the HSDL: Equal Access in Times of Crisis: How Extreme Weather Events Impact People with Disabilities