The Obamas and McDonnells meet briefly–FEMA Funds discussed

MoonHowler

 The above video explains the damage in neighboring Culpeper, Virginia.  The main damage was done near the epicenter in Mineral, Virginia, 35 miles from Culpeper.

Richmond Times Dispatch:

Gov. Bob McDonnell and Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell met privately with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for approximately 10 minutes this morning in Hampton in what was described as a “friendly visit” by McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin.

The conversation ranged from Louisa County disaster aid to a park designation for Fort Monroe to the focus of the president’s event — veterans. 

McDonnell and the first lady welcomed the Obama’s to Virginia and the governor thanked the president for making the hiring of veterans a priority, according to a brief description of the meeting by Martin. 

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FEMA flicks off Virginia, again

MoonHowler

 

Richmond Times Dispatch:

Still fuming from a denial of federal aid for earthquake-battered Louisa County, Gov. Bob McDonnell has invited President Barack Obama to join him in Louisa next week during Obama’s swing-state bus tour.

McDonnell, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Obama that “it would benefit your administration to understand the devastation brought on by this historic earthquake, and to see how the community’s recovery will be hindered as a result of FEMA’s denial of important emergency relief funds.”

The Aug. 23 magnitude-5.8 earthquake that shook much of the East Coast was centered near Mineral.

The state was notified Friday that its request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance for residents of Louisa was turned down. The declaration would have made federal grants and low-interest loans as well as unemployment assistance and crisis counseling available to homeowners, renters and businesses.

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Feds cut spending…at Virginia’s expense

MoonHowler

 

 

Sometimes efforts to cut spending have a price tag we don’t like.  Virginia was recently denied FEMA relief by the Obama administration.  Ouch!  Here’s what went down.  Governor McDonnell declared Virginia a disaster area so several countries ripped apart by tornadoes in April.  Virginia saw more than 30 tornadoes last month.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

The Obama administration has rejected Virginia’s request for federal disaster aid for rural counties hit last month by tornadoes that killed 10 and destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 homes. The state might appeal the decision.

In a letter Friday to Gov. Bob McDonnell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said that it was turning down Virginia because it concluded that the state could handle the cleanup on its own.

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