Latest news with #SenateBill180
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas attorney general blocked from denying gender changes on driver's licenses
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas state appeals court has reversed a district court decision barring the Kansas government from making changes to gender markers on driver's licenses, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Friday. In July 2023, Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit in state court against the Kansas government agency that issues driver's licenses, asking the court to hold that a state law, Senate Bill 180, prohibits transgender people from changing their gender markers on their driver's licenses. A trial judge granted a temporary injunction, which has blocked the Kelly administration from allowing gender marking changes while the case goes forward. The ACLU of Kansas, the ACLU and Stinson LLP intervened in the case on behalf of five transgender Kansans who claim to have been harmed by Kobach's effort to ban and reverse changes to the gender markers on their driver's licenses. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe activates National Guard, declares State of Emergency On Friday, in a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel, the Kansas Court of Appeals lifted the trial court's injunction, which has prevented transgender people from changing the gender markers on their driver's licenses to reflect their gender identity. The court observed that there was no evidence 'beyond mere speculation' to support the trial court's finding that allowing transgender people to change their gender markers would somehow impair the identification of criminal suspects. The Kansas Court of Appeals also determined that Kobach had not shown a substantial likelihood of his view that S.B. 180 requires all new and renewed driver's licenses to list the driver's sex assigned at birth. As of Friday, the temporary ban is reversed, and the Kansas Department of Revenue may resume allowing Kansans to change their gender markers on their driver's licenses. The attorney general has thirty days to appeal the court's decision. 'Being required to use a license with the wrong gender marker has already meant that transgender Kansans have been outed against their consent in their daily lives,' said D.C. Hiegert, Civil Liberties Legal Fellow for the ACLU of Kansas. 'We commend the incredible courage and sense of community our clients have had in standing up to this attack on all of our fundamental rights.' 'Today's decision is a welcome victory for our clients and the rights of all people to safe, usable identity documents,' added Julie Murray, co-director of the ACLU's State Supreme Court Initiative. 'The Attorney General's move to target transgender people in this way has always been baseless and discriminatory. As this case returns to the lower courts, we will continue to defend the ability of all Kansans to access driver's licenses that reflect who they know themselves to be.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas court halts gender marker change restrictions
KANSAS (KSNT) – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced in a press release that it has won a court case that barred Kansans from changing their gender markers on their driver's licenses. A Kansas state appeals court stated the Kansas Department of Revenue may resume allowing Kansans to change their gender markers on their driver's licenses, according to the ACLU. Kobach has 30 days to file an appeal in the case. 'This decision recognizes that the Attorney General failed to show any harm at all in allowing transgender Kansans the same personal autonomy, privacy, and dignity that all Kansans have,' said D.C. Hiegert, Civil Liberties legal fellow for the ACLU of Kansas. 'Being required to use a license with the wrong gender marker has already meant that transgender Kansans have been outed against their consent in their daily lives. We commend the incredible courage and sense of community our clients have had in standing up to this attack on all of our fundamental rights.' Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit in 2023 to prevent transgender people from changing their gender markers, citing the recently passed Senate Bill 180 that defined biological sex. A trial judge granted a temporary injunction in March 2024 blocking gender marker changes while the case moved forward, according to the press release from the ACLU. AG Kobach rejects Gov. Kelly's requests to join funding lawsuits The ACLU was allowed to intervene in the case in August 2023 as it raised questions about the constitutionality of SB 180, which establishes definitions of 'male' and 'female' in the state's statutes. 'The Governor has stated that SB 180 changes nothing with respect to drivers licenses and birth certificates. That is nonsense. The Legislature passed SB 180 and overrode Governor Kelly's veto specifically to ensure that those documents reflect biological sex at birth. The Governor doesn't get to veto a bill and then ignore the Legislature's override. She is violating her oath of office to uphold Kansas law. We will see her in court.' Kris Kobach, Kansas Attorney General wrote on June 29, 2023 The ACLU said the Court of Appeals didn't find that changing gender markers would impair criminal identification and that Kobach didn't have evidence to support his interpretation of S.B. 180. Kansas political divide intensifies as leaders support or condemn President Donald Trump 27 News has reached out to the Kansas Attorney General's Office for a statement on the recent court decision and will add it to this article after it is released. In the past, opponents of a gender marker ban have argued it raises privacy concerns. An example would be the employment process. People are usually required to submit proof of identity and employment authorization, including a birth certificate. If the gender listed on the birth certificate doesn't match an individual's identity, information about them being transgender may be outed. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Controversial bill that would limit rebuilding after hurricanes sparks debate: 'It's shortsighted'
New state legislation designed to help Floridians prepare for and rebuild after devastating storms could instead end up making resilient reconstruction more difficult. According to reporting by writers from the Miami Herald and Bradenton Herald published in late May by multiple outlets, including the Tampa Bay Times, Senate Bill 180, if signed into law, would provide for further training of emergency teams and a more efficient permitting process to smooth rebuilding. However, the bill might also get in the way of Floridians rebuilding stronger homes after hurricane damage. A building code freeze included in the legislation could allow developers to construct new homes under the same codes that left properties vulnerable in the first place. Additionally, the bill would increase flood insurance rates for "more than 44,000 Floridians" in a dozen communities. Kim Dinkins, policy and planning director at the nonpartisan nonprofit 1000 Friends of Florida, said of the bill, "It's shortsighted." "We said that we want to be more resilient," Dinkins told the local reporters. "When is the time going to be to do that if you can't do anything right after a storm?" Senate Bill 180 was passed by both the House and Senate "with nearly unanimous support." To become law, it would still need to be signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted "above-normal hurricane activity" for this Atlantic hurricane season. Experts are forecasting between 13 and 19 total named storms due to factors like "warmer than average ocean temperatures" and the possibility of higher West African Monsoon activity. Generally speaking, hurricanes are a part of typical weather patterns. But human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, have contributed significantly to an overheated planet, thereby supercharging storms. Warmer ocean and atmospheric temperatures are driving more extreme weather events. A study published in February indicates that hurricanes are likely to become more intense and more frequent in the Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans, putting communities at risk. Inland areas are also increasingly in danger. Systems and structures improved for resilience could help residents navigate these storms and their aftermath, especially in areas where hurricanes hit each year, making them harder and harder to recover from. Many in Florida are still trying to rebuild after previous storms. Stronger standards for resilient construction might help them going forward — weaker standards and higher insurance costs almost assuredly won't. Do you think your house could withstand a hurricane? No way Maybe a weak one I'm not sure It definitely could Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. NOAA reported $182.7 billion in damages from weather and climate-related disasters in 2024. Last year's Hurricane Helene, regarded as the deadliest in the contiguous United States since 2005's Hurricane Katrina, caused about $80 billion in damage in the U.S. In mid-May, Paul Owens, president of 1000 Friends of Florida, published an editorial in the Orlando Sentinel stating that "with a two-thirds majority in both houses, the presiding officers could expand the [legislative] agenda to address the existential threat to local land-use planning in Florida, while preserving the good elements in SB 180." While state legislators may still have options to retain the parts of the bill with the potential to save rather than cost residents money and damage, DeSantis may also simply decline to sign the bill as written. As events unfold, Floridians might continue to share their opinions about the legislation with their elected officials. Regardless of what may happen with SB 180, there's more that can and must be done. Residents can voice support for pro-environment policies, such as those prioritizing resilient infrastructure and ecological restoration. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended coastal protections like a living shoreline created with plants, reefs, and other natural barriers to reduce erosion and flooding. Residents will also want to prepare for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. NOAA has released guidance to help communities get ready, suggesting steps like developing a safe evacuation plan, assembling disaster supplies, and weatherizing homes to reduce damage and even lower energy costs. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Miami Herald
12-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
‘When's it going to stop?' Bill could open Florida Keys to new development
The Florida Keys is poised to see a flurry of new development — despite warnings that island chain is already overpopulated with worsening traffic and rising flooding risks — thanks to a new bill set to become law at the end of the month. Senate Bill 180, which primarily focuses on hurricane recovery and emergency response, would also allow up to 900 new developments over the next 10 years in the Florida Keys through a small change in the mandatory evacuation window for Monroe County, pushing it just a half hour back from 24 hours to 24.5 hours. The small tweak could have big consequences for the Keys, the only place in Florida with state controls on growth. Long-time activist Ed Davidson, chair of the environmental group, the Florida Keys Citizens Coalition, spoke out at county and state meetings against the additional development in what he sees as an already overbuilt community. 'We've long since passed our environmental carrying capacity,' he said. 'And yet every time we reach the limit we all agreed to, we simply issue more development units.' The bill sailed through the Legislature, passing nearly unanimously earlier this year, and could become law by default on July 1 or sooner, with the stroke of the governor's pen. Monroe officials also downplayed the impacts. 'They have to be distributed out over at least 10 years, I wouldn't call it a boom,' said county growth management director Emily Schemper. Limits imposed in the 1970s In the 1970s, the state put a limit on future development in the Keys, based primarily on the single road that residents have to evacuate from the numerous hurricanes that wallop the island chain. Those permits for development, also known as a Rate of Growth Ordinance or ROGO, were set to officially run out in 2023, capping development in the Keys. READ MORE ABOUT SB 180: Florida bill could block communities from rebuilding stronger after hurricanes But that year, a state study found there were almost 9,000 vacant lots still awaiting potential development, and residents and local politicians began clamoring for the right to keep building in the Keys. 'That was supposed to be the build-out of the Florida Keys. That's it. We're full. And yet when we get there, they simply ask for the same number all over again,' Davidson said. Last year, the Monroe County Commission agreed that they would be OK with upping the evacuation window to get all permanent residents — not tourists — out of the county in the event of a hurricane from 24 hours to up to 26 hours. An earlier version of SB 180 called for expanding the evacuation window to 26 hours and allowing up to 3,600 new developments over the next 40 years, but the final version settled on up to 900 over a decade by expanding the window to 24.5 hours. Still, even a slightly longer evacuation window worries some, as more hurricanes begin to rapidly intensify, or strengthen very quickly over a short period of time. Every Category 5 hurricane that's ever hit the U.S. was a tropical storm or less three days prior, according to NOAA. If signed, the 24.5-hour evacuation window in the Keys would be only for permanent residents. Tourists are supposed to leave a day earlier. 'Except there might not be an extra day. With rapid intensification, we may not have 48 hours,' Davidson said. Cory Schwisow, Monroe's head of emergency management, said the proposed update would not affect how Monroe County plans and executes evacuations. 'The emergency management director looks at each storm differently based on the size, speed, and confidence level of the track, working closely with the National Weather Service,' he wrote in a statement. 'Each storm is looked at in a unique manner and residents and visitors will be given as much time as possible to evacuate safely.' Keep the development going If passed, the bill could restart development in some Keys cities and keep the permits flowing in others. While some municipalities — like Marathon — are fresh out of new development permits, the county is still working through its supply. It should be completely tapped out by 2026, said Schemper, Monroe's growth management director. The 900 more allowed by this bill would have to be spread out over a decade, and she estimates it would take at least a year before the state and county worked out a way to begin handing them out to would-be developers. 'It could allow the county to continue giving out permits, but probably slower than we do now because there's less than we have been giving out,' she said. The bill leaves some open questions that would still have to be addressed before the permits could be handed out. For instance, the bill specifies that these new developments would be single-family. But it also says that owner-occupied, affordable and workforce housing would be prioritized for building permits. Affordable and workforce housing are often multi-family, to save on building costs. The biggest concerns seem to be with traffic, which already can be sluggish on the Overseas Highway. A county-commissioned study found that with an estimated 1,000 more developed lots, Monroe would run into issues with traffic in the upper Keys, have slightly fewer school buses than needed and potentially need to beef up its fire department. Currently, the study found, Monroe has too many drivers to keep traffic moving smoothly in Upper Matecumbe and Windley. With 1,000 more developments, Lower Matecumbe would also face traffic stress. Water, wastewater, electricity and trash needs could still mostly be met with all those extra residents, the study found. However, not everyone agrees with the findings. Steve Friedman, an Islamorada commissioner, called the concept of adding this much new development 'ludicrous.' 'None of the residents that live here, unless you own property, really want this. Nobody wants more development,' he said. 'When's it going to stop? It was supposed to stop in 2023. We have to draw the line in the sand somewhere.' The county study also did not mention sea level rise, which is already swamping some spots in the Keys regularly and driving up costs for drainage fixes. Monroe County has seven road elevation projects underway — a $300 million bill footed largely by federal and state grants. There's still $4.7 billion of road raising left to go in the next few decades for the Keys alone. Threat of lawsuits looms Other than straining environmental and governmental resources, the biggest impetus behind allowing new development in the Keys appears to be the threat of lawsuits from property owners who don't get the chance to build. The fear is that developers left at the end of the ROGO musical chairs game with an empty lot and no permit to build on it will sue for the full value of their potential property — a multi-million dollar sum. Monroe's official stance appears to be that as long as there are development permits to hand out, they can avoid lawsuits. So this bill could help stave off a potential flood of suits. 'It's not just kicking the can, it's also allowing time for additional strategies to combat that,' said Schemper, who suggested that Monroe could use the coming decade to round up more money to buy out vacant lots and halt development. Monroe just finished the paperwork on the last of its property buyouts from Hurricane Irma, a process that was so popular there was a waiting list at one point. Those homes are now empty lots, not counted in the official tally of undeveloped properties. But environmentalists like Davidson doubt that landowners actually have much of a legal case. And if a judge rules they do have standing, Davidson would like to see governments simply pony up the cash rather than allow new development. 'Unless you owned the property before critical concern was designated, you have been on public notice that we're going to run out of permits in the Florida Keys, and you might well never get a building permit,' he said. 'It is vastly cheaper to say no and pay everybody $1 million for an empty lot than to say yes and pay for all that expansion, not to mention ruining the Florida Keys.'
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislature wants to make it impossible for local governments to build back better after hurricanes
A BMW lies submerged during flooding in New Smyrna Beach caused by Hurricane Ian, via New Smyrna Beach official Facebook page Hello, is this the 911 operator? I need to report someone who's a danger to themselves and others. It's the Florida Legislature. No, operator, this is not a joke! Didn't you hear what they did? After one of Florida's worst hurricane seasons in years, they passed a bill to block local governments from trying to build back better. And they did it right before the start of another hurricane season, one that's predicted to be above normal, just like last year. No, I can't tell you why it's supposed to be so bad. It involves climate change, and the governor doesn't want us to talk about that. Even if climate change wasn't heating up the Gulf of Whatchamacallit to a temperature that you're more accustomed to seeing in an oven, this hurricane season seems especially fraught with peril because of the chaos in Washington. The tumult and the shouting in D.C. are interfering with disaster aid and preparation. Nothing increases everyone's pre-storm jitters like hearing that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is not ready for the season. I know Gov. Ron DeSantis has been trying to convince everyone that Florida doesn't really need FEMA, even though it stepped up to hand over $1 billion to aid homeowners and renters last year. But this is the guy who can't even get members of his own party to approve a new state budget. That means we could be facing a state government shutdown on July 1, shortly after the start of hurricane season on June 1. So, given the unreliability of FEMA, the prediction of another horrible hurricane season, and this ill-considered bill that passed Tallahassee with flying colors, can you see why I'm worried that the Legislature wants to kill us? I mean, does it sound to you like they're paying attention to anyone's safety, including their own? Operator, the bill they passed, the one that puts everyone in peril, is Senate Bill 180. That's a pretty good description of it, too, because it's 180 degrees from what would have been much safer for all concerned. The specific part of the bill that's got me and a lot of other people worried would prevent any local government in Florida from adopting anything for its growth regulations after a hurricane that could be deemed too 'restrictive or burdensome' to developers. 'One part of the bill prevents cities and counties listed in federal disaster declarations for Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton — a majority of the state — from adopting tougher development rules until October 2027. The ban is retroactive to August 2024, also threatening to undo any recent rule changes,' the Miami Herald reported last week. And there's no real end-date for what it does, either. We could be stuck with this restriction forever. 'Another part of the bill calls for a similar one-year ban anytime a local government is listed in a federal disaster declaration and lies within 100 miles of a hurricane's path,' the Herald said. 'It could renew each time a storm strikes Florida's coast, a regular occurrence for the storm-plagued state.' 'These are decisions that need to be made by local governments locally, not by people in Tallahassee,' Kim Dinkins of the smart growth group 1000 Friends of Florida told me. 'Every time a storm comes through, we learn more about how to deal with them.' Worse, she pointed out, the bill will interfere with the ability of cities and counties to take advantage of money from the feds and the state for converting septic tanks to sewers and fixing drainage problems. If those fixes require ordinance changes that affect development, such as requiring new homes to connect to the sewer lines, this bill won't allow it. How did we get here? Bear in mind that we're a state surrounded on three sides by water, so we're especially vulnerable to a rising sea level. Yet our state has seen rampant overdevelopment in flood-prone spots in recent years. Our blatantly pro-development legal and political structure has turned the state into a hotbed of poorly planned projects that are constantly risking inundation. Developers don't want that to change. Here's the truly alarming thing, operator: This idiotic bill was sponsored by Sen. Nick DiCeglie, whose own home flooded during Hurricane Helene. He's a storm victim himself, yet he's OK with blocking cities and counties from putting in place any additional protections for future storm victims. DiCeglie is in the trash-hauling business, so maybe that's why he pushed this particular piece of garbage. Despite the obvious life-threatening flaws in this bill, our fine Legislature passed it by nearly a unanimous vote in both houses. I swear, it's as if we're being governed by the writers of the TV show 'Seinfeld: 'No hugging and no learning!' And operator, did I mention that this isn't the first time they've done this kind of thing? The first time this happened was in early 2023, a few months after Hurricane Ian. Ian, you may recall, clobbered the Southwest Florida coast and killed 149 people. 'Scores drowned as they fled on foot, while in their cars or after seawater swallowed their homes,' NBC News reported. 'Ian was one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the U.S. in the past 20 years.' The high body count showed that the development pattern in that area had flaws. It would have been great if Lee County had done something to adjust its building regulations in response. But Lee couldn't. When the Legislature met in special session the following February, one of Lee County's own, Sen. Jonathan Martin of Fort Myers, sponsored a bill that said local officials in the area hit by Ian could not impose any new development rules deemed 'more restrictive or burdensome' than what was already on the books. Marttin's bill passed the Legislature and was signed into law by DeSantis. It covered a 100 square mile radius affected by Ian. Also, it was set to expire in 2024. That was strike one. Months later, the Big Bend area was smashed by powerful Hurricane Idalia. The casualty count wasn't as high, but the property damage was really bad. During a special session in November 2023, a new bill, sponsored by Rep. Jason Shoaf of Port St. Joe, extended the ban on any commonsense regulation changes on development through 2026. Worse, it expanded the area affected to list 10 specific counties that had to wear the Legislature's handcuffs: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee, and Sarasota. DeSantis signed that one into law as well. Call that strike two. Then came this year's session and SB 180. The guv hasn't put pen to paper on this one, so we can't call it strike three — yet. Some groups, such as Volusia and Miami-Dade counties, are urging him to veto it. The bill will 'not only limit our ability to responsibly manage development, flooding, and ensure public safety … but also could expose local governments to attorney's fees and costly litigation if local government regulations, enacted in good faith, are challenged,' Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava wrote to the governor this week. 'This legislation prevents local governments from enacting changes that may help our citizens in future storm events,' the Volusia County Council wrote to him in its own veto letter. But I doubt DeSantis will listen to them, because this bill benefits developers. Our governor loves developers even more than he loves eating pudding while wearing his white go-go boots. Operator, I asked around about who was behind this bill. The word in Tallahassee is that its major proponent is a big-time developer in Manatee County named Pat Neal. Neal is a former legislator who's built 25,000 homes in Florida, most of them in Manatee and Sarasota counties. He's now a billionaire, according to Forbes magazine, but compares himself a hungry seagull — and not the touchy-feely Jonathan Livingston kind. 'I have the right to swoop down on any chicken bone,' he told the magazine proudly. That's not a motto you'd hear from someone who's much concerned about the fate of his fellow man. Thus, even though the Florida housing market seems to be headed for another crash with all the rapidity of a competitor in a demolition derby, Neal plans to keep building more and more homes. It's what he's been doing since the '70s, and as the '70s soul duo McFadden & Whitehead would say, 'Ain't no stopping him now.' However, the Manatee County Commission, alarmed by flooding from last year's hurricanes, has proposed a development moratorium while they figure out how to build subdivisions and other projects that will drain better. Neal has been one of the more vocal opponents of a development moratorium, and his opinion does carry a lot of weight. He's a guy for whom public officials tend to do favors. For instance, 10 years ago I watched in open-mouthed wonder as the members of the Southwest Florida Water Management District board did Neal a huge favor. They did so despite the fact that it went against a judge's ruling and they did it over the strong objections of environmental activists. Now that the Legislature has said no local government can pass any 'burdensome' post-storm regulations, the Manatee moratorium has been murdered in its crib. All you little Floridians must kneel to Neal and his needs! Give him all your chicken bones! I tried reaching Neal to ask him about this, but he didn't respond. Perhaps he was too busy squelching other good ideas for coping with the increasing intensity of Florida's hurricanes. If this bill becomes law, all the folks buying Neal-built homes will be just as much at risk of flooding as they were last year and the years before that, too. But more importantly, Neal will still make money and spend his spare time contemplating his legacy. 'We want to make sure that what we leave behind is authentic and good,' he told Forbes. I hope someone will point out to him that homes he considers 'authentic and good' won't stay that way if they turn soggy with the next big storm surge and fill up with mold. The larger problem, dear operator, is that Manatee County was far from the only place in hurricane-ravaged Florida where officials were talking about imposing new building regulations. Just down the road from Manatee, over in Polk County, the county commissioners were considering new stormwater requirements for developments in stressed basins, as well as some other changes. Not anymore. Here was the headline in the Lakeland Ledger: 'Polk County delays vote on roosters, chicken coops and development issues over pending state bill.' The chicken coop line is no yolk (sorry!). Polk commissioners had been considering new restrictions on where homeowners can keep their chickens. But because DiCeglie's bill passed, it's Polk County that's cooped up with its existing regulations. Polk's commissioners voted to hold off taking any action until they see what DeSantis will do. But that's not as big an impact as what's happening in New Smyrna Beach. Back in 2022, after Ian passed through, the town of New Smyrna Beach first proposed a moratorium on growth. In those days, you almost never heard the M-word in Florida. But the folks in New Smyrna Beach were desperate. During Ian's onslaught, the city experienced 'close to 21 inches of rain and 4 feet of storm surge in some areas,' the Daytona Beach News Journal reported. 'County and city first responders rescued about 215 individuals as a result of the flooding, while over 850 homes suffered catastrophic damage to their properties.' That was followed in 2023 by two non-hurricane storms that caused serious street flooding in a section of town called Venetian Bay. Major roads were impassable for days on end. Residents demanded the city do something. That led to a moratorium on building permits pending work on fixing the drainage system. The city also passed new stormwater regulations in February. But all that will go away if DeSantis signs SB 180. As a result, city officials have written to the governor urging him to veto the bill, and they're encouraging all of New Smyrna's 32,000 residents to do the same. I sure hope they fill up DeSantis' inbox with urgent pleas for him to pay attention to this issue. So, tell me, operator, can you help us all out? Send over some paramedics or even some cops to handle these self-destructive lawmakers? Help them to recover their sense of who they're supposed to serve? Because if not, all of us residents are likely to need some really urgent aid around the time the first big storm hits. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
