'Death Map' Plots Where Most Fatalities Could Occur

This probably will not come as a shock to many living in the South along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, but those residents have a greater likelihood of dying from a natural hazard compared to residents in the Great Lakes area and the urbanized Northeast.

Those findings come from a new map plotting deaths from forces of nature, revealing where Mother Nature is most likely to kill you.

And while intense hurricanes and tornadoes steal headlines for their intense winds and overall destruction, the new map reports what other previous studies have found, that everyday hazards, such as severe winter and summer weather, and heat account for the majority of natural hazard deaths in the United States.

"This work will enable research and emergency management practitioners to examine hazard deaths through a geographic lens," said researcher Susan Cutter of the University of South Carolina, Columbia. "Using this as a tool to identify areas with higher than average hazard deaths can justify allocation of resources to these areas with the goal of reducing loss of life."

Cutter and Kevin Borden, also of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, analyzed nationwide data from 1970 to 2004.

Along with the South having high mortality from natural hazards, other risky areas included the northern Great Plains region where heat and drought were the biggest killers and the Rocky Mountain region (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico) with winter weather and floods as top killers. The south-central United States is also a dangerous area, with floods and tornadoes posing the greatest threats.

Cutter and Borden discovered that of the natural hazards, some were deadlier than others over the years.

"It is the chronic hazards like severe summer weather and severe winter weather and heat that are contributing the majority of the hazard fatalities, not fatalities associated with things like earthquakes or hurricanes," Cutter told LiveScience. She added that people and officials tend to be more prepared for big hurricanes and tornadoes, which could partly explain the lower mortality from these storms compared with everyday occurrences.

The natural hazards research, which will be detailed in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Health Geographics, was supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism.

Arson Investigation Continues at Palin's Church

EDITOR'S NOTE: This item was taken from our sister site at: dailyinsurer.blogspot.com)

Officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are working with other agencies on an arson investigation at the Wasilla, Alaska Bible Church after a costly fire gutted parts of the building last Friday night.

The ATF is now the fifth agency to join in the investigation at Gov. Sarah Palin's church in Wasilla, along with the Central Mat-Su Fire Department, Anchorage Fire Department, Wasilla Police Department and the State Fire Marshals Office.

An on-site investigation discovered that an ignitable accelerant had been poured on and around the the Wasilla Bible Church, including at its main entrance, according to the ATF.

The blaze was set while a small group, including two children, were inside the church, but no one was injured.

Damage to the 2 1/2-year-old church building is thought to be at around $500,000.

Palin, who was recently in Georgia to campaign for re-elected Sen. Saxby Chambliss, said she hoped her membership in the church was not a factor in the arson.

Haven Trust Bank Seized by Regulators

Yet another bank has hit rock bottom.

Haven Trust Bank outside Atlanta has been seized by state and federal bank regulators, marking the fifth failure in Georgia this year.

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T Corp., which is the fourth largest bank in the metro Atlanta area, takes over all deposits from Haven Trust, which compiled total assets of $572 million and total deposits of $515 million as of Dec. 8.

BB&T, which plans to acquire Haven Trust's three branches, noted total metro Atlanta deposits of $5.3 billion as of June 30, 2008.

Georgia 2009 Economic Forecast Sluggish

About 1,000 Atlanta executives, government leaders and University of Georgia alumni recently attended the Georgia Economic Outlook luncheon in Atlanta.

The 26th annual economic forecast luncheon was hosted by UGA’s Terry College of Business. Speakers included UGA President Michael Adams, Gov. Sonny Perdue, Forbes magazine publisher Steve Forbes and Terry College Dean Robert Sumichrast.

The Georgia and U.S. economic forecasts summarized here were prepared by the Terry College’s Selig Center for Economic Growth.

The Georgia Forecast

At a Glance – The Selig Center forecast offered a grim assessment of the Georgia economy, predicting a recession that will be “severe rather than mild and prolonged rather than short,” according to Dean Robert T. Sumichrast of UGA’s Terry College of Business. “I believe that the first and second quarters of 2009 will be dreadful. Just how dreadful depends on when, and to what degree, the credit markets thaw.” Noting that recessionary periods historically average about 10 months, Sumichrast said he anticipates this recession lasting 18 months. “It will be the longest downturn since the Great Depression.” But he stopped short of calling the current economic cycle a depression.

“That’s largely because the policy responses by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and the FDIC have been massive, targeted and very timely,” Sumichrast said. “The Feds have pulled out all the stops to prevent a depression. We are about halfway through the really bad stuff. This is not the time to lose your nerve or to panic. The main takeaway from my remarks is that this is the time to plan and soon it will be time to act. You can take advantage of the economic recovery that is coming in 2009.”

Where’s the Bottom of the Trough? “Given what we know today, the most likely scenario is that the economy bottoms out in the third quarter of 2009,” Sumichrast said. “Until the upswing begins, we are going to see very sharp pullbacks in spending by consumers and businesses. The aftershocks of the financial panic will continue to be felt. People and companies have lost assets. Many are truly less well off. And the wealth that has been lost will not easily be rebuilt. So, even though the economy is likely to bottom out in two more quarters, it will be very slow to recover.”

By the Numbers – For the year, Georgia’s economy is expected to grow just 1.0 percent in 2008, after adjusting for inflation. And in 2009, the state’s gross domestic product is forecast to shrink 1.4 percent. Georgia’s economy will slowly begin to turn around in the third quarter and will accelerate to about 2.5 percent growth by mid-2010. “That’s on par with the average rate of economic growth in Georgia over the past 10 years,” Sumichrast said.

Unemployment Will Double – The period of declining employment in Georgia is forecast to last for 17 months – through July 2009. But when hiring resumes in the third quarter of 2009, job growth will be too anemic to keep pace with the growth of the labor force. Consequently, Georgia’s unemployment rate will keep rising throughout 2009. “It will peak at about 9 percent in early 2010,” Sumichrast said. “That will be the highest unemployment rate since the current data series began in 1976.” Georgia’s jobless rate was 4.4 percent in 2007, rising to 6.0 percent this year.

Contrasts with 2001 Recession – “Our last recession was in 2001. Georgia’s gross state product will decline much more sharply in this recession than it did in 2001, but the job losses will be only moderately greater this time,” Sumichrast said. “We anticipate a loss of 175,000 jobs in this recession, as compared to the loss of 150,000 jobs in the 2001 recession. The main reason job losses will not be significantly worse is that many businesses entered this recession with very lean staffing. So the job losses associated with this downturn will mostly reflect substantial declines in demand, rather than overstaffing or overdue restructuring. That contrasts sharply with the excessive spending on technology and staffing that preceded the 2001 recession.”

Housing in Freefall – New housing permits in Georgia have dropped about 75 percent since their peak in the first quarter of 2006. “That is a freefall,” Sumichrast said. “Georgia’s single-family housing starts are at their lowest level since the 1981 recession when our population was about half of what it is today – almost 10 million. Relative to the size of the economy, today’s housing downturn really is much, much worse than the 1981 retraction.” The Selig Center forecasts that the steep drop in single-family home sales will bottom out by April. Two months later, new home construction should hit its low point and begin to change course.

Commercial Construction Retreating – Conditions in nonresidential construction will worsen dramatically in 2009, and an upturn in this sector will not happen before midyear of 2010. “The pipeline of projects is being completed, and the credit crunch is severely limiting the development of new projects,” Sumichrast said. “In addition, there is a lot of vacant commercial space.”

Why So Slow to Rebound? “The wealth destruction of this recession has been intense, and it has done much more damage to middle class households than is typical. That’s because the losses this time are in residential real estate, as well as in equities,” said Sumichrast. “Middle-income consumers are likely to come out of the starting gate much more slowly in the second half of 2009 than they did in previous recessions. That’s one reason why the first two quarters of the upturn will be anemic.”

Have Cash? Be Bold – Sumichrast suggested that this may be a good time to start or expand a business, if you can get access to cash or financing. “Rents are depressed. Talent is available. And established businesses are cutting back on promotions,” he said. “It will be hard for startups to get bank loans, but some of you will get loans; others of you will be able to convince your families and friends to invest in your venture.” It’s also a great time to build, if you have the capital, need the space and are ready to stop renting. “Many contractors will cut their normal profit margins to keep their crews busy,” he said. “But the best deals will be had when the recession is at its absolute worst. Think second quarter of 2009.”

Former Pebblebrook High Teacher Surrenders

A former Pebblebrook High School teacher has turned himself in to face charges of enticing a child for sex.

Corey L. Grayson, 32, of Duluth, is accused of soliciting a 15-year-old student in the schools bleachers last week, according to the warrant. Grayson, who recently resigned his job post at the school, reportedly asked the student to write down what she wanted him to do to her on a piece of paper and put her number and address on it, according to the arrest warrant.

According to the schools Web site, Grayson was a member of the Mableton High Schools physical education department, coached freshman basketball and was an assistant volleyball coach.

Grayson was booked and released after posting a bond of $1,313.

GSU: Georgia Ranks High for Uninsured Residents

Georgia has the sixth highest number of residents without health insurance in the United States and ranks 11th in its percentage of the population lacking coverage, according to a new report from the Georgia Health Policy Center and the Center for Health Services Research at Georgia State University.

In 2007, about 18 percent of all Georgians and 20 percent of those under age 65 (approximately 1.66 million people) were without health insurance — roughly the same number reported in 2005 and 2006 but higher than the national average of 15 percent (45.7 million Americans).

Nationally, the number of uninsured Americans decreased from 46.9 million in 2006 to 45.6 million in 2007 while Georgia’s number of uninsured remained constant.

The report is a combination of data from the U.S. Census Current Population Survey (CPS) and an independent Georgia Population Survey of more than 15,800 people commissioned by the Georgia Department of Community Health. The Georgia Population Survey was conducted between February and April 2008.

Though the overall number of uninsured Georgians remains relatively unchanged over the past few years, the share of the population with employer-based private insurance has declined over the past eight years while the share with publicly funded health plans (Medicaid, PeachCare) has edged upward. Between 2000 and 2007, the percentage of Georgians with private health insurance coverage dropped by about eight percentage points. And from 2000-'06, the percentage of uninsured non-elderly Georgians rose from 16 percent to 20 percent. All Georgians 65 or over are eligible for Medicaid and are therefore not included in the report.

According to the report, roughly half of Georgia’s uninsured live in a family headed by someone who works for a small business with fewer than 100 employees.

And while the majority of Georgians have private insurance through companies large enough to provide it, the economic slowdown could leave thousands without coverage. More than 90 percent of Georgians with private health insurance have employer-based health plans, the report finds.

According to the report, only one in five individuals living below poverty have private insurance and nearly 38 percent are uninsured.

In addition to employees of small businesses and those in poverty, other groups at particular risk for being uninsured include those in families headed by a part-time or part-year worker and young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, according to the report. And while those aged 45 to 65 were once the least likely to be uninsured, they’re the only age group to see an increase in the percentage of uninsured over the past two years.

Georgia’s men are also at risk – they’re more likely than women to go without coverage, but women are more likely than men to have public coverage.

As in past years, residents of Georgia’s rural areas, who are more likely to have low incomes and work for small firms, were also found to be more likely to lack health insurance than those living in urban/suburban areas. When grouped by public health district, about 22 percent of residents in Southeast and South Central Georgia health districts are uninsured; 21 percent in Southwest Georgia; 20 percent in North Georgia; and 19 percent in West Central, Northwest and Northeast Georgia districts.

By contrast, metro Atlanta has a significantly lower percentage of uninsured (though greater in its total number of uninsured due to its larger population). Only 12 percent of residents in the East Metro Georgia health district (including Gwinnett) are uninsured, 13 percent in Fulton, and 15 percent in the Cobb-Douglas and DeKalb districts. The only exception, according to the report, was Clayton County, in which 24 percent of residents are uninsured.

To see the full report, visit the Georgia Health Policy Center Web site at www.aysps.gsu.edu/ghpc.

Delta Offering Voluntary Severance Payouts

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines announced Friday that it will offer voluntary severance payouts to a large number of the 75,000 employees at Delta and Northwest's mainline operations as part of a plan to eliminate an unspecified number of jobs.

Chief Executive Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian reported in a memo to employees that the program is similar to one earlier this year that Delta used to cut approximately 4,000 jobs. Northwest had already trimmed jobs of its own before being acquired by Delta on Oct. 29.

According to executives, the cuts are needed because Delta will be reducing systemwide capacity next year by 6 percent to 8 percent as the weak economy has eroded demand for seats on airplanes.

The entire company, including regional subsidiaries Comair, Mesaba and Compass, fields approximately 85,000 employees. The 12,000 pilots of Delta and Northwest and a number of management and administrative employees do not qualify for the voluntary severance programs.

According to the company, the voluntary severance programs, to be offered next month, include one for employees with 10 or more completed years of service, whose completed years of age and service add up to at least 55. The second program is an early-out program to be offered to those employees who do not qualify for the first program but who are frontline/contract ground and flight attendant employees with five or more years of service and merit/salaried employees hired before the first of next year.

Nichols Escapes Death Penalty, Gets Life

The man responsible for killing a judge and three other people three years ago escaped the death penalty on Friday, instead looking at a life sentence behind bars.

As jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision on the sentence, it in turn means Superior Court Judge James Bodiford must sentence Brian Nichols to life, only having to decide whether that will include the possibility of parole. A hearing was slated for Saturday morning.

Prosecutors had urged jurors to sentence Nichols to death after he was convicted in November of murder and dozens of other counts in the 2005 killings.

The 37-year-old was on trial for rape when he seized a guard's gun and fatally shot the judge, a court reporter and a sheriff's deputy in the courthouse.

Nichols fled and gunned down a federal agent in an Atlanta neighborhood.

Vick Dogfighting Home Returns to Auction Block

While he waits to get out of jail, there is a good chance suspended NFL QB Michael Vick will never step foot in his infamous Virginia home again.

The residence that served as the headquarters for Vick's famed dogfighting operation in Surry County, Va., is once again on the auction blocks.

Motley's Auction and Realty Group is in charge of the sale of the five-bedroom house in Surry County. The company's Web site reports that the bidding Friday was to start at $590,000.

Developer Wilbur Ray Todd Jr. purchased the home from Vick for $450,000.

A year ago at auction, he rejected a bid of $747,000, which is the assessed value of the property for tax purposes. The house was placed on the market but has not sold.

Vick, meantime, who once quarterbacked the Atlanta Falcons, is serving a 23-month sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy.

Vick's former team is currently 8-5 with QB Matt Ryan leading the way.

Indictment Returned for 1986 Murder

Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh announced today that the Dawson County Grand Jury has indicted Manford Bruenn for the March 1986 murder of Donald Wade Smith.

The investigation into the murder has been an ongoing effort by agents from the Cleveland Office of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Dawson County Sheriff's Office and the Cobb County Police Department.

The 1986 investigation determined that Smith was kidnapped in Cobb County and taken to Dawson County where he was killed. At that time, Cobb County Police arrested three people for the kidnapping, all of whom were later convicted.

Bruenn was also charged with kidnapping Smith by Cobb County Police, but he disappeared and his whereabouts are unknown. Bruenn has family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and may have been hiding over the past 20 years in the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas.

GBI forensic artist Marla Lawson composed a sketch (see picture) of what Bruenn may look like now.

Anyone with information on Bruenn is asked to call the GBI tip line at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).

Oops....We Raided the Wrong House

A Lawrenceville couple got quite a surprise Wednesday when the police came knocking.

According to Gwinnett County police officials, they mistakingly raided the wrong home during a drug raid in Lawrenceville yesterday. According to the homeowner, he and his wife were kept at gunpoint for several minutes before officers noted their mistake.

Gwinnett County Police reported they planned to execute a no knock search warrant at a home at 2934 Valley Spring Drive in Lawrenceville, which is an unincorporated area of Gwinnett County. One small problem was investigators mistakenly went to the wrong home.

The search warrant was served as a result of a three month drug investigation, as Efrain Pedruza, 31, was nabbed without incident. The search warrant yielded approximately 24,000 dollars in cash.

Police officials blamed the mistaken raid on human error.

Unemployment Benefit Claims Down From October

If there is a silver lining to the current economic crisis, it came from the Georgia Labor Department today.

According to the GLD, statewide unemployment benefit claims increased nearly 55 percent in November from the same month of 2007. The November increase was less than October’s 75 percent jump, snapping a string of three consecutive months in which claims rose by 70 percent or more.

The GLD noted that 74,480 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for all of November, including 10,310 in metro Atlanta, where monthly claims jumped 58.5 percent.

Dalton was hardest hit with claims jumping 147 percent, while Augusta saw the smallest jump at 23 percent.

New Law Impacts Consumer's Auto Premiums

InsuranceQuotesUS.com reports a sudden rise in auto insurance rates in the state of Georgia.

According to the company, auto insurance premiums have gone up almost 7 percent on average in Georgia due to a new law that does not require insurance companies to get state approval before changing auto insurance rates.

A vast majority of Georgia residents have reportedly seen their rates jump. Some auto insurance premiums have even doubled for certain drivers viewed as high risk, including the elderly and teen drivers.

"InsuranceQuotesUS.com is urging consumers to shop around for the best rates. Although many have increased auto insurance rates in the state of Georgia, there are still some carriers who have not changed their underwriting criteria and premium rates. Also, some companies have only minimally increased there auto insurance rates while others have gone for the maximum auto insurance rate increase," states Eric Oster, CEO of InsuranceQuotesUS.com.

Sex Scandal is Subject at Augusta Middle School

Apparently there was more going on than just reading, writing and arithmetic at an Augusta middle school.

According to authorities, seven Richmond County educators are being punished after school officials uncovered a sex scandal involving teachers, coaches and even the principal of the school.

School Superintendent Dana Bedden reports that seven Spirit Creek Middle School faculty members have been implicated in a number of incidents that included daytime sexual encounters on an inflatable mattress in the school's public safety office.

No students reportedly took part in any of the encounters, which came to light after a former teacher sent an e-mail about the allegations to school system leaders.

Denise Ogden resigned last month after her reported involvement in a love triangle that also cost former Principal Sharon McAlevy and former school board public safety officer Ronnie Collins their employment in the district.

Multi-jurisdictional Stolen Truck Ring Busted

The GBI and Houston County Sheriff’s Office culminated a yearlong investigation today by serving search warrants and arrest warrants at a Macon County trucking company. The trucking company is located at 2524 Drayton Road, Montezuma, Ga.

While running a trucking business, the group reportedly stole tractor trailer trucks and took them to the business where employees would disassemble the trucks and sell the parts to different venders.

Some of the stolen parts were sold in Bibb, Jones, and Houston Counties. A truck was recently stolen from Nebraska and was recovered by Ft. Valley Police Department during a traffic stop after it reportedly left the Freeman property. Other trucks were stolen from Houston County, Dooly County, Quitman, and Montezuma.

Fletcher Freeman, Sr; Fletcher Freeman, Jr; Sean Benard Freeman, and Timothy Tookes were arrested and charged with Theft by Receiving Stolen Property. Additional charges are pending.

Insurance Commissioner Issues Claims Directive

State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has issued a directive informing automobile insurance companies statewide regarding the proper handling of diminished value claims.

Oxendine's order makes it so all auto insurers cease using any language that implies that the Georgia Insurance Department has endorsed or approved a particular formula for determining diminution of value in physical damage automobile claims.

Diminished value is the loss of value in a vehicle that suffers damage and is then repaired. The commissioner had previously issued a directive seven years ago regarding the Georgia Supreme Court ruling that set precedent for diminished value claims. In the present, Oxendine wants to be sure that companies understand there is no single formula for determining the amount of diminished value to be paid in a particular claim.

"There seems to be some misunderstanding in the industry that a particular formula exists for diminished value," Oxendine said. "I want to clarify the matter by reminding insurers that my office has never issued any regulation requiring the use of a specific formula for determining diminished value, so each claim should be evaluated on its own merits."

For further information, visit www.gainsurance.org/

Rain, Rain Go Away

The weatherman can assure local residents of one thing - your grass and plants will be nice and wet.

Heavy rains continue in the local forecast as a flood watch is in effect for the majority of the metro Atlanta region and northern Georgia through tomorrow.

Weather officials have also issued a tornado watch for north Georgia today, to include metro Atlanta as severe storms come through the area.

Heavy rain is forecast to continue into the day tomorrow, before tapering off by late Thursday evening.

See the full Atlanta forecast on the right side of the blog for more information.

Mega Millions Amount Continues to Rise for Friday

If you are looking for a little extra holiday cash, plan on stopping by a store in the coming days that sells lottery tickets.

Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing produced no major winner, therefore resulting in an estimated jackpot of $207 million for Friday's drawing.

Tuesday's winning numbers were 11, 12, 26, 31, 33 with the Mega Ball being 27. One ticket purchased in Georgia did produce five of the numbers, but not the Mega Ball. The end result is someone is $250,000 richer.

Mega Millions is played in Georgia, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Passenger Gets 'Hung Up' at Hartsfield-Jackson

Chalk this one up as a different way to smuggle drugs through an airport. Or at least attempt to do such.

Authorities at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport arrested a passenger Monday evening who reportedly tried to sneak cocaine through in coat hangers.

According to authorities, Julio Alejandro Almonte, 28, was arrested and charged with felony drug trafficking when U.S. Customs agents noticed something unusual in one of his bags.

A set of wooden hangers was lying on top of his clothes, which prompted officials to do a secondary check. When checked a second time, it was discovered the hangers had been altered and filled with cocaine.

Almonte had flown into Atlanta from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with a final stop planned to LaGuardia International Airport in New York City.

Needless to say, Almonte missed his next flight and was being held in the Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro.

Fighter Plane Crash Claims 4 Victims, Pilot Safe

Editor's note: This information provided by our sister site at: gocalifornia.blogspot.com

Authorities in San Diego today discovered the fourth victim of yesterday's deadly F/A-18D plane crash in the city's University City section.

At approximately noon (PST) yesterday, a distressed fighter plane that had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln crashed onto a street in the UC community after the pilot reported engine problems. The pilot safely ejected from the plane shortly before it went down.

Three bodies were found in one home, while a second home was apparently empty when it was destroyed by the crash and ensuing fire. The plane crash-landed on a street and plowed into the two homes, setting off a massive fire. Six other homes suffered damages from the crash and fire.

The deceased victims in the home were identified as a 36-year-old Korean woman, her daughter, and the child's grandmother. The fourth victim, a baby girl, was located in the home early this afternoon.

View home video at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Home_Video_from_the_Crash_Site_San_Diego.html