[StBernard] News You Can Use - 10/02/05

[Westley Annis]

October 2, 2005

 

Help for Business Owners.

 

To help business owners who sustained damages or loss of sales from
Hurricane Katrina, the Southeastern Louisiana Small Business Development
Center will hold business  workshops offering disaster relief assistance
starting Monday through  Oct. 7 in Tangipahoa, Washington, Livingston and
St. Tammany parishes. Sessions are free but registration is requested. For
more information, call (985) 549-3831 or sbdc at selu.edu. 

 

Participants should bring any available information regarding their
businesses, including income tax returns, balance sheets, profit and loss
statements, damage descriptions and proof of insurance.  Businesses without
records will still be able to apply for assistance, SELU officials say.

 
FEMA Grant Money – Be careful on how you spend it


First off, please be aware that I am as frustrated as you most likely are
with the whole FEMA thing.  Perhaps most frustrating is learning that while
a few of us have received the second grant in the form of $2,358 of rental
assistance (good for 3 months, and may be continued for 18 months), many of
us have been denied for reasons that are unexplainable. Trust me when I tell
you I’m on top of this.  This morning, I found the e-mail addresses of some
people at FEMA who should be able to get us some answers and  most
importantly, some assistance.   I’ve sent off a few e mails and hope to
start getting some info to you soon.

 

 

The following is from the FEMA website.

People receiving disaster assistance as a result of losses from Hurricane
Katrina or Hurricane Rita must use the money according to instructions
provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA). 

The initial $2,000 in Expedited Assistance was granted to hurricane victims
for housing or other essential disaster-related needs. Any other FEMA
assistance will be granted for a specific purpose, such as home repair or
rental assistance. 

Minimal repair grants are available to homeowners to make their residence
livable until more extensive repairs can be made. Rental assistance is for
homeowners or renters whose homes were destroyed or substantially damaged,
so they have a place to live while repairs are being made.

Applicants receive a letter indicating how their grant money should be
spent. Recipients of these funds should always keep the receipts for three
years. They are required to sign a declaration and a release certifying all
funds will be spent on the expenses for which they are intended. If the
recipient receives money from insurance policies to cover the same expense,
the FEMA disaster money must be returned. Random audits may be made to
confirm funds were spent properly. 

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=19258

 

Saving Photographs

Given that many of us have now been to our homes and gathered some of our
precious belongings including photographs, I thought the following would be
helpful.  It was taken from the Northeast Document Conservation Center
website noted below.

 
Because of the number of photographic processes and their wide variety,
responsible advice for the emergency salvage all kinds of wet photographs is
difficult to provide. Some processes can withstand immersion in water for a
day or more, whereas others would be permanently disfigured or even
destroyed by a couple of minutes of exposure. In general, wet photographs
should be air dried or frozen as quickly as possible. Once they are
stabilized by either of these methods, there is time to decide what course
of action to take. 

Ideally, salvage should occur under the supervision of a conservator who can
minimize damage to a collection if he or she can direct the salvage and
treat the collection immediately after the damage has occurred. Time is of
the essence: the longer the period of time between the emergency and
salvage, the greater the amount of permanent damage that will occur. 


MINIMIZE IMMERSION TIME


Photographs in water will quickly deteriorate: images can separate from
mounts, emulsions can dissolve or stick together, and staining can occur.
Mold can grow within 48 hours at 60% relative humidity and 70°F, and it
often causes permanent staining and other damage to photographs. For these
reasons photographs need to be dried as quickly as possible. If photographs
cannot be dried they should be frozen. 


SALVAGE PRIORITIES FOR WET PHOTOGRAPHS


In general, films (plastic-based materials) appear to be more stable than
prints (paper-based materials); therefore, prints should be salvaged first.
Important exceptions include deteriorated nitrate and safety films, which
are extremely susceptible to water damage. 

Photographs made by the following processes should be salvaged first:
ambrotypes, tintypes, collodion wet plate negatives, gelatin dry plate
negatives, lantern slides, deteriorated nitrate or safety film, autochromes,
carbon prints, woodburytypes, deteriorated or unhardened gelatin prints, and
color materials. Photographs made by many of these processes will not
survive immersion. 

Photographs that are more stable in water include: daguerreotypes, salted
paper prints, albumen prints, collodion prints, platinum prints, and
cyanotypes. 


AIR DRYING PHOTOGRAPHS


If personnel, space, and time are available, photographs can be air dried. 

Separate photographs from their enclosures, frames, and from each other. If
they are stuck together or adhered to glass, set them aside for freezing and
consultation with a conservator. 

Allow excess water to drain off the photographs. 

Spread the photographs out to dry, face up, laying them flat on an absorbent
material such as blotters, unprinted newsprint, paper towels, or a clean
cloth. 

Keep the air around the drying materials moving at all times. Fans will
speed up the drying process and minimize the risk of mold growth. 

Negatives should be dried vertically. They can be hung on a line with
plastic clips placed at the edges. 

Photographs may curl during drying. They can be flattened later. 


FREEZING PHOTOGRAPHS


If immediate air drying of photographs is not possible or if photographs are
stuck together, freeze them. 

Wrap or interleave photographs with waxed paper before freezing. 

Interleave or wrap individual photographs or groups of photographs before
freezing with a non-woven polyester material or waxed paper. This will make
them easier to separate when they are eventually treated. 


DRYING FROZEN PHOTOGRAPHS


Frozen photographs are best dried by thawing, followed by air drying. As a
stack of photographs thaws, individual photographs can be carefully peeled
from the group and placed face up on a clean, absorbent surface to air dry. 

Vacuum thermal drying, where the frozen material is thawed and dried in a
vacuum, is not recommended for photographs. Gelatin photographs undergoing
this procedure have a tendency to mottle severely and stick together. 

Photographs can be vacuum freeze dried; in this process no thawing occurs.
Gelatin photographs may mottle during the procedure, but they will not stick
together. 

Wet collodion glass plates must never be freeze dried; they will not
survive. This is also true for all similar collodion processes such as
ambrotypes, collodion lantern slides, and tintypes. 

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf38.htm

 

 

Perhaps you went home and found your file cabinet had spent many an hour
submersed in that beautiful swamp water spit at us by Katrina.  In that file
cabinet are your car titles, insurance policies, tax returns, etc.
Previous editions of the “News You Can Use” have given information on how to
get copies of your insurance policies.  Today, here are instructions on how
to get copies of your automobile titles and Federal Tax Returns

 

Auto Titles Replaced

 

All titles that have been generated from August 25, 2005 and until further
notice whereby the registered owners mailing address was in the 700, 701, &
704 zip code area are currently being pulled and a “TI” (title in file) flag
set on the master record.  These titles are to be re-printed and mailed upon
request by the registered owner of the vehicle. 

 

Hurricane Katrina victims may apply for a duplicate title issued at no
charge and without notarization of the DPSMV1799
<http://www.dps.state.la.us/omv/forms/1799.pdf>
(http://www.dps.state.la.us/omv/forms/1799.pdf) form provided:   

             

•    Applicant resided in the primary disaster areas of Louisiana
•    The owner(s) signature on application is acknowledged by 2 witnesses
•    A lien satisfaction is submitted, if applicable
•    Applications presented in an OMV field or Public Tag Agent Office must
have the owner(s) signature witnessed by the Motor Vehicle Compliance
Analyst or the authorized public tag agent

 

 

Drivers License and ID Cards Reissued

 
The LA Office of Motor Vehicles is making every effort to assist evacuees in
obtaining proof of identity as soon as possible.  Identity is not only a
concern but a necessity to conduct any type business, cash checks, or apply
for state or federal assistance.  

EVACUEES CURRENTLY LOCATED IN LOUISIANA
ADDRESS CHANGE:  If the customer has PROOF (utilities bills, etc) that they
have resided in/around the New Orleans area - and their DL/ID address had
not been changed - it WILL be acceptable to change it. 

ID - Replacement :
•    There will be no charge for replacement ID cards for Katrina victims.

•    To the extent possible, these persons are encouraged to visit a local
motor vehicle office as soon as possible to apply for a replacement
identification card.
If that is not possible, an application is now available through OMV’s
website (www.expresslane.org) or can be faxed to the individual upon
request.  Call (225) 925-4195 or 1-877-DMV-LINE (1-877-368-5463) for further
assistance.

•    Identity documents will not be required if the person already had a LA
driver’s license or ID card that can be verified through OMV photo-retrieve
and signature files.

 

 

http://www.dps.state.la.us/omv/katrinavr.html

 

Copies of Old Federal Tax Returns 

Copies or transcripts of filed and processed tax returns can help you begin
to reconstruct tax records destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. 

The IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of tax
returns for people who need them to apply for benefits or to file amended
returns claiming disaster-related losses.

To request a copy of your tax returns:

*	Complete Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return
<http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf>
(Link:http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf)

1.      Complete the form online and print it.

2.      Write the words “Hurricane Katrina” in red at the top of the form.

Mail the Form 4506 to the IRS address listed on the form for your area.  The
Louisiana address is RAIVS Team,  Mail Stop 6734,  Ogden, UT 84201

*	Copies of Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ are generally available for
7 years from the filing date. Other returns may be available for a longer
period of time. 

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=148237,00.html

 

That's it for today.  I hope everyone has a very pleasant Sunday. Remember
to be thankful for all you have today and go out and do something fun.

 

 

DISCLAIMER:  This e mail is intended to help those of us who have been
impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  It may contain information that is somewhat
legal  in nature or affect your taxes.  References to legal or tax
considerations are intended only to alert you in a general way of those
considerations which may effect you.  We do not engage in the practice of
law.   All legal considerations must be referred to and passed upon by your
attorney.  All tax considerations should be reviewed by your tax preparer.
 
Paul V. Perez
Certified Financial Planner
 
Financial Network Investment Corporation, Member SIPC
7642 Old Hammond Highway
Baton Rouge, LA  70809
(504) 494 3144
(225) 248 6635