MEMPHIS, Tenn.(AP) -- It was a brazenand surprisingly long-lived scheme, authori-ties said, to help aspir-ing public schoolteachers cheat on thetests they must pass toprove they are quali-fied to lead their class-r o o m s .

For 15 years,teachers in threeSouthern states paidClarence Mumford Sr.- himself a longtimeeducator - to sendsomeone else to takethe tests in their place,authorities said. Each time, Mumford received a fee ofbetween $1,500 and $3,000 to send one of his test ringerswith fake identification to the Praxis exam. In return, his cus-tomers got a passing grade and began their careers ascheaters, according to federal prosecutors in Memphis.

Authorities say the scheme affected hundreds - if notthousands - of public school students who ended up beingtaught by unqualified instructors.

Mumford faces more than 60 fraud and conspiracycharges that claim he created fake driver's licenses with theinformation of a teacher or an aspiring teacher and attachedthe photograph of a test-taker. Prospective teachers areaccused of giving Mumford their Social Security numbers forhim to make the fake identities.

The hired-test takers went to testing centers, showedthe proctor the fake license, and passed the certificationexam, prosecutors say. Then, the aspiring teacher used thetest score to secure a job with a public school district, theindictment alleges. Fourteen people have been charged withmail and Social Security fraud, and four people have plead-ed guilty to charges associated with the scheme.

Mumford "obtained tens of thousands of dollars" duringthe alleged conspiracy, which prosecutors say lasted from1995 to 2010 in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Among those charged is former University ofTennessee and NFL wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, who isaccused of employing a test-taker for a Praxis physical edu-cation exam. He was charged in late October with fourcounts of Social Security and mail fraud. He has pleaded notguilty and is out of jail on a $10,000 bond. He has been sus-pended by the Memphis City Schools system.

If convicted, Mumford could face between two and 20years in prison on each count. The teachers face betweentwo and 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.

Lawyers for Mumford and Wilson did not return calls forcomment.

Prosecutors and standardized test experts say studentswere hurt the most by the scheme because they were beingtaught by unqualified teachers. It also sheds some light onthe nature of cheating and the lengths people go to in orderto get ahead.

"As technology keeps advancing, there are more andmore ways to cheat on tests of this kind," said Neal Kingston,director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluationat the University of Kansas. "There's a never-ending war

THE

LEGAL STREET NEWS

Place

Stamp

Here

Mailing Address

Circulated Weekly To Cities In Florida Volume 731 Issue 47 Established 1998 November 26, 2012

T E A C H E R S E M B R O I L E D

I N T E S T - T A K I N G F R A U D

In The News This Week

between those who tryto maintain standardsand those who arelooking out for theirown interests."

Cheating on stan-dardized tests is notnew, and it can be assimple as looking atthe other person's testsheet. The Internetand cell phones havemade it easier for stu-dents to cheat in a vari-ety of ways. In the pastfew years, investiga-tions into cheating onstandardized tests for

K-12 students have sur-faced in Atlanta, New York and El Paso, Texas.

Still, most of the recent test-taking scandals involved stu-dents taking tests, not people taking teacher certificationexams. Cheating scams involving teacher certification testsare more unusual, said Robert Schaeffer, public educationdirector for the National Center for Fair & Open Testing.

Schaeffer notes that a large-scale scandal involvingteacher certification tests was discovered in 2000, also in theSouth. In that case, 52 teachers were charged with paying upto $1,000 apiece to a former Educational Testing Servicesproctor to ensure a passing grade on teacher certificationtests.

Teachers from Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana,Tennessee and Mississippi took tests through PhilanderSmith College in Little Rock, Ark., in 1998. The college wasnot accused of wrongdoing.

Educational Testing Services also writes and adminis-ters the Praxis examinations involved in the Memphis case.ETS spokesman Tom Ewing said the company discoveredthe cheating in June 2009, conducted an investigation andcanceled scores. The company began meeting with author-ities to turn over the information in late 2009, Ewing said.

"These cases are rare, but we consider them to be veryserious and something we have to guard against happeningfor all the honest test-takers, students and teachers," Ewingsaid.

Ewing said ETS observes test-takers and reviews testscores to try to root out cheaters. ETS also has receivedanonymous tips that have led them to cheaters, Ewing said.

Prosecutors in the Mumford case say he, the teachersand test-takers used the Internet and the U.S. Postal Serviceto register and pay for the tests, and to receive payment. Theindictment does not say how much he allegedly paid the test-takers.

An experienced educator, Mumford was working forMemphis City Schools when the alleged scam took place.Authorities say Mumford defrauded the three states by mak-ing the fake driver's licenses.

"What happens at many testing centers is that a wholebunch of test-takers show up simultaneously, early on aSaturday morning, and the proctors give only a cursory lookto the identification," Schaeffer said. "It's not like goingthrough airport security where a guy holds up a magnifyingglass and puts our license under ultraviolet light to make sure

TEACHERS EMBROILED INTEST-TAKING FRAUD

It was a brazen and surprisingly long-livedscheme, authorities said, to help aspiring publicschool teachers. Page 1

FRANCE: SARKOZY'S PARTYBATTLES TO SAVE ITSELF

The only thing that's clear is that French politicsis a mess. Page 2

AP IMPACT: WILL NYC ACTTO BLOCK FUTURE SURGES?

Think Sandy was just a 100-year storm thatdevastated New York City? Imagine one just asbad, or worse, every three years.. Page 3

FLORIDA ACCIDENTSTATISTICS

Accident Statistics from Florida Departmentof Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Page 4

FLORIDA ACCIDENTREPORTS

This Weeks Accident Reports from Variouscountys in Florida. Page 5

GIFT GUIDE TO SMALLERTABLETS'

The tablet computer is without a doubt the giftof the season - just like it was last year. But ifyou resisted the urge in 2011, now is the timeto give in. Page 7

EXTREME WEATHER TOUGHON TRANSPORTATION

SYSTEMWild weather is taking a toll on roads, airports,railways and transit systems across the country.

Page 7

UN TO LAUNCH NEWROUND OF TALKS ON

GLOBAL WARMING

As nearly 200 countries meet in oil-and-gas-rich Qatar for annual talks starting Monday onslowing global warming, one of the main chal-lenges will be raising climate aid for poor coun-tries at a time when budgets are strained byfinancial turmoil. Page 8

NJ BEACHES 30-40 FEETNARROWER AFTER STORM

The average New Jersey beach is 30 to 40 feetnarrower after Superstorm Sandy, according toa survey that is sure to intensify a long-runningdebate on whether federal dollars should beused to replenish stretches of sand that only afraction of U.S. taxpayers use. Page 8

Continued on page 7

director of the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the Universityof Kansas, talks about testing fraud in his Lawrence, Kan., office. “There’s anever-ending war between those who try to maintain standards and those whoare looking out for their own interests," says Kingston.

2 Legal Street News Monday November 26, 2012

The Florida Legal Street Newspapers are happy to offer free subscriptions to individuals and businesses

that would like to receive a weekly publication. However, if you would like to have one of the newspapers sent toyou on a weekly basis, please fill out the form below and return it with a money order for $24.95 per year to coverpostage & handling. Outside Florida $52.95 Tax Incuded

Name__________________________________________________________________________

Address________________________________________Telephone____________________________

Subscription Request Form

Publisher & Editor

Jane L Rahim

Design, Production & Layout

Joseph Badamo

Records Department Administrator

Jane L Rahim

Administrative Assistant

Charlene Smith

Office Assistant

Erick Pennington

Office Assistance

Karen Green

Local Sales & Marketing Office

The Legal Street News, Inc.

1887 Wildwood Lane North

Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442

TOLL FREE (888) 708-3576

T h e L e g a l S t r e e t N e w sT h e L e g a l S t r e e t N e w s ™”, is pub-lished four times a month by “The Legal Street News Inc.”with editorial and advertising offices at 1887 WildwoodLane North,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442. All rights arereserved throughout the world. Reproduction in whole orpart is strictly prohibited. Editorial inquiries and manu-scripts should be directed to the Editor. Manuscripts orother submissions must be accompanied by selfaddressed, stamped envelopes. “The Legal Street News,Inc.,”, assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicit-ed manuscripts, photographs, or artwork. All correspon-dence regarding business, editorial, production, andaddress changes should be sent to:

Disclaimer: We are a news agency and consumer journalists. Weare not insurance, legal or medical advisors. So, while we try ourbest to write accurate articles on many different types of state andworld wide laws and government decisions. We are happy toanswer your questions, to the best of our ability and knowledge,nothing we say should be interpreted or considered as legaladvise or medical opinion.

The Legal Street News, Inc.

1887 Wildwood Lane North

Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442

The Legal Street News1887 Wildwood Lane North

Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442

Mail To:

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANET

EXPLORE, ENJOY AND PROTECT THE PLANETh t t p : / / w w w . s i e r r a c l u b . o r g /

LIVEUNITED

http://www.unitedway.org/

TAKE ACTIONGIVE

ADVOCATEVOLUNTEER

F R A N C E : S A R K O Z Y ' SP A R T Y B A T T L E S T OS A V E I T S E L F

THE WORLD WILDLIFEFUNDw w w . w o r l d w i l d l i f e . o r g /

You Can Help Make A Difference

By 2020, WWF will conserve15 of the world’s most ecologically important

regions by working in part-nership with others

PUBLISHER INFORMATION

PARIS (AP) --Parents struggle toexplain it to their kids.Ambassadors struggleto explain it to theirgovernments. Theonly thing that's clearis that French politicsis a mess.

Former PresidentNicolas Sarkozy's con-servative party led oneof the world's biggesteconomies for adecade and now, in thespace of a week, hasmelted down into something that may never be put backtogether again.

A mediation effort Sunday failed to reconcile theUnion for a Popular Movement party or figure out who'sin charge, seven days after a disputed election for a newparty leader. The conflict looks headed now for thecourts. The outcome could reshape France's politicallandscape and eventually weigh on Europe's directiontoo.

Central to the dispute is debate among French con-servatives over immigration and Islam in the countrywith Western Europe's largest Muslim population. Theelection a week ago split party members into those lean-ing toward the anti-immigrant far right, represented byJean-Francois Cope, and those hewing to more centristviews, supporting Francois Fillon.

Cope, who led France's push to ban face-coveringIslamic veils and talks of anti-white racism, was initial-ly declared winner of the Nov. 19 election.

Then uncounted votes were discovered that couldswing the vote in Fillon's favor.

Accusations of fraud swirled. Insults flew. Theweek wore on, and the party still had no clear leader.

On Sunday, a UMP commission that handles votedisputes met, then broke up in acrimony, the Sipa newsagency reported.

Hope turned to former Prime Minister Alain Juppe,who said the dispute has been "irresponsible and disas-trous" and convened both candidates Sunday night to tryto mediate and keep the party he founded in one piece.

After the meeting, he tweeted, "The conditions formediation are lacking. My mission is over."

Cope saidthe party com-mission shouldexamine thecomplaints anddeclare a win-n e r .

F i l l o n ,whose support-ers say thatcommission istoo Cope-friendly, saidhe'd go to courtinstead touncover "the

truth of the results and return the voice to the partymembers." In a statement, he said Cope rejected themediation effort and called him responsible for theparty's "failure."

Cope and Fillon want to lead opposition to SocialistPresident Francois Hollande - and run for presidentthemselves in 2017. Since Sarkozy lost elections in Mayin a wave of anti-austerity sentiment in May, France'spresidency, parliament and most regional governmentshave all been under Socialist control.

The UMP fiasco has worried officials beyondFrance's borders as well. Sweden's ambassador, GunnarLund, tweeted, "I'm trying to explain to my governmentwhat's happening at the heart of the UMP. Not easy!"

In the European Union, Hollande's Socialists havepushed against public spending cuts for indebted coun-tries that use the shared euro currency, and battledBritain over cutbacks in the EU budget.

A UMP collapse would benefit the Socialists in theshort term. But some French commentators haveexpressed concern that the Socialists - who long suf-fered their own divisions and who still lack cohesion -need a robust opposition to focus their energies at a timewhen they need to be making tough decisions.Hollande's popularity is weak six months into his term,as the economy struggles and one in 10 workers is look-ing for a job.

Meanwhile, France's far right National Front ishoping to capitalize on the UMP's troubles and bring innew support from the more hard-right members of theconservative party. And a new centrist party, UDI, saysit has already reaped benefits, winning new membersover the past week amid increasing disillusion with theUMP.

Continued on page 3

A P I M P A C T : W I L L N Y C A C TT O B L O C K F U T U R E S U R G E S ?

Street News Monday, November 26,2012 3

Think Sandy was just a 100-year storm thatdevastated New York City? Imagine onejust as bad, or worse, every three years.

Prominent planners and builders say nowis the time to think big to shield the city'score: a 5-mile barrier blocking the entrywayto New York Harbor, an archipelago ofman-made islets guarding the tip ofManhattan, or something like CDM Smithengineer Larry Murphy's 1,700-foot barrier- complete with locks for passing boats anda walkway for pedestrians - at the mouth ofthe Arthur Kill waterway between the bor-ough of Staten Island and New Jersey.

Act now, before the next deluge, and theysay it could even save money in the longrun.

These strategies aren't just pipe dreams.Not only do these technologies alreadyexist, some of the concepts have beenaround for decades and have beendeployed successfully in other countriesand U.S. cities.

So if the science and engineering aresound, the long-term cost would actually be a savings, andthe frequency and severity of more killer floods is inevitable,what's the holdup?

Political will.

Like the argument in towns across America when citizenswant a traffic signal installed at a dangerous intersection,Sandy's 43 deaths and estimated $26 billion in damagescitywide might not be enough to galvanize the public andthe politicians into action.

"Unfortunately, they probably won't do anything until some-thing bad happens," said CDM Smith's Murphy. "And I don'tknow if this will be considered bad enough."

Sandy and her 14-foot surge not bad enough? By century'send, researchers forecast up to four feet higher seas, pro-ducing storm flooding akin to Sandy's as often as severaltimes each decade. Even at current sea levels, Sandy'sfloodwaters filled subways, other tunnels and streets inparts of Manhattan.

Without other measures, rebuilding will simply augment thefuture destruction. Yet that's what political leaders areemphasizing. President Barack Obama himself has prom-ised to stand with the city "until the rebuilding is complete."

So it might take a worse superstorm or two to really get theproblem fixed.

The focus on rebuilding irks people like Robert Trentlyon, aretired weekly newspaper publisher in lower Manhattanwho is campaigning for sea barriers to protect the city: "Thepublic is at the woe-is-me stage, rather than how-do-we-prevent-this-in-the-future stage."

He belongs to a coterie of professionals and ordinary NewYorkers who want to take stronger action. Though pushingfor a regional plan, they are especially intent on keepingManhattan dry.

The 13-mile-long island serves as the country's financialand entertainment nerve center. Within a 3-mile-long horse-shoe-shaped flood zone around its southernmost quadrantare almost 500,000 residents and 300,000 jobs. Majorstorms swamp places like Wall Street and the site of theWorld Trade Center.

Proven technology already exists to blunt or virtually blockwind-whipped seas from overtaking lower Manhattan andmuch of the rest of New York City, according to a series ofAssociated Press interviews with engineers, architects andscientists and a review of research on flooding issues in the

New York metropolitan area andaround the globe.

These strategies range from hardstructures like mammoth barriersequipped with ship gates andembedded at entrances to the har-bor, to softer and greener shorelinerestraints like man-made marshesand barrier islands.

Additional landfill, the old standbyonce used to extend Manhattaninto the harbor, could further lift vul-nerable highways and other sitesbeyond the reach of the seas.

Even more simply, the rock andconcrete seawalls and bulkheadsthat already ring lower Manhattancould be built up, but now perhapswith high-tech wave-absorbing orwave-reflecting materials.

Seizing the initiative from govern-ment, business and academic cir-cles have fleshed out several dra-matic concepts to hold back waterbefore it tops the shoreline. Two of

the most elaborate proposals are:

- A rock causeway, with 80-foot-high swinging ship gates,would sweep five miles across the entryway to inner NewYork Harbor from Sandy Hook, N.J., to Breezy Point, N.Y.To protect Manhattan, another shorter barrier is needed tothe north, where the East River meets Long Island Sound,and another small blockage would go up near Sandy Hook.This New Jersey-side barrier and a network of levees onboth ends of the causeway could help protect picturesquebeach communities like Atlantic Highlands, in New Jerseyto the west, and the Rockaways, in New York City to theeast. This so-called outer barrier option was conceived fora professional symposium by the engineering firm CH2MHILL, which last year finished building a supersized 15-milebarrier guarding St. Petersburg, Russia, from Baltic Seastorms.

- An extensive green makeover of lower Manhattan wouldinstall an elaborate drainage system beneath the streets,build up the very tip by 6 feet, pile 30-foot earthen moundsalong the eastern edge, and create perimeter wetlands anda phalanx of artificial barrier islets - all to absorb the bruntof a huge storm surge. Plantings along the streets would

This artist's rendering provided by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture Research Office shows a proposed perime-ter wetlands and an archipelago of man-made barrier islets on New York's Manhattan island, designed to absorbthe brunt of a huge storm surge. The concept was worked up by DLANDSTUDIO and Architecture ResearchOffice, two city architectural firms, for a museum project.

F R A N C EB A T T L E S

Questions About Your Accident Report

CONTACT THE LEGAL STREET NEWS

Toll Free At

888-708-3576

Continued on page 6

it has not been tampered with."

Mumford was fired after news of the investigation cameout, and others, like Wilson, have been suspended. But atleast three teachers implicated in the scandal remainemployed with their school district.

Kingston, the university professor, said prospectiveteachers may not be confident in their knowledge base topass the test. Or, the cheaters may believe they are smartenough to pass on their own but also know they are poor testtakers.

Kingston said his research has shown that cheating onexams is getting more prevalent.

"The propensity to cheat on exams both through collegeand for licensure and certification exams seems to beincreasing over time," said Kingston. "People often don't seeit as something wrong."

The pressure of passing the test could make people dothings they normally would not do. And it could take a whilefor authorities and test-taking services to catch up with thecheaters.

"When people come up with a new method for cheating,it takes some time for folks to figure it out, partly because thishas been an understudied area in the field of assessment,"Kingston said.

Nina Monfredo, a 23-year-old history teacher at Power

Center Academy in Memphis, has taken Praxis exams forhistory, geography, middle school content, and secondaryteaching and learning.

Monfredo, who passed all her tests and is not involvedin the fraud case, said the exams she took were relativelyeasy for someone who has a high school education. Shesaid some people use study aids to prepare, but she didn't.And she didn't feel much pressure because it was her under-standing that she could take the test again if she did not pass.

"If you feel like you can't pass and you hire someone itmeans you really didn't know what you were doing," she said."I think it would be easier to just learn what's on the test."

Continued from page 1

T E S T - T A K I N G

F R A U D

All this means nostalgia for the charismatic butdivisive Sarkozy is on the rise, with many conservativeshoping he returns to politics. In a sign of how low thingshave sunk in French politics, support for Sarkozy resur-faced even as he was named special witness in an inves-tigation involving alleged illegal campaign cash thatcould see him face charges.

As the UMP's troubles dominated French media,the Europe-1 radio website published a guide Sundayfor parents trying to explain it to their kids. One bit ofadvice: how to answer if your child asks, "Is the UMP amafia?"

If You Hve It

Give Some Back

Continued from page 2

4 Legal Street News Monday November 26, 2012

F L O R I D A A C C I D E N T S T A T I S T I C SData From the Official Website of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. www.flhsmv.gov

HANDICAP PERMITS

Broke your leg? Had Surgery? A

new state law enables you to get a

90-day temporary permit to use

handicapped parking spaces.

The cost is $15.00 from county tagoffice locations, and the permit

hangs from the rear-view mirror soit will be clearly visible through the

windshield.

Applicants must have a physi-cian’s statement attesting to theirdisability. For more information,

visit or call your county tag office.

Motorcyc l i s t s and Bicyc l i s t s In jured

______________________________________Legal Street News Monday, November 26, 2012 5THIS WEEK

A U T O A C C I D E N T S I N S O U T H F L O R I D A

Southbound lanes ofInterstate 95 in West PalmBeach blocked after crash

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. -- Two major acci-dents causing problems for drivers Friday.

The first happening just before 11:00 on south-bound I-95, just south of Palm Beach LakesBoulevard, closing that section of the interstate.Backups stretched past 45th Street.

We are being told three vehicles were involved, acar and two trucks. Possibly lawn maintenancetrucks.

No word yet on how many people were injured.

The second, a six-vehicle accident on Florida'sTurnpike near Palm Beach Gardens. All three laneswere closed for a while.

A total of 14 people were evaluated for injuries andone patient was taken to Jupiter Medical Centerwith minor injuries. Traffic is all clear now.

November 20, 2012

November 18, 2012

Questions About Your Accident Report

CONTACT THE LEGAL STREET NEWS

Toll Free At

888-708-3576

Southbound lanes ofInterstate 95 in West PalmBeach blocked after crash

November 21, 2012

Man thrown from SUV,killed in Brevard crash

Datona Beach fatality in I-95 wreck

November 24, 2012

Boynton Beach womankilled in fiery crash on

Florida's Turnpike

http://www.aging-research.org

Multiple crashes asTuesday morning commute

winds down

November 19, 2012Crashes and incidents being reported by the FloridaHighway Patrol and Florida Department ofTransportation Tuesday morning on the area's majorroadways include:

8:44 a.m., northbound I-95 crash near OaklandPark Boulevard, possible travel lane blocked;

8:41 a.m., eastbound I-595 crash near UniversityDrive in Davie, no travel lanes blocked;

Florida Department of TransportationSee more topics »

8:37 a.m., northbound I-95 hit and run crashapproaching Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale,no travel lanes blocked;

8:36 a.m., southbound I-95 crash after GatewayBoulevard in Boynton Beach, no travel lanesblocked;

8:12 a.m., northbound crash on I-95 after SunriseBoulevard in Fort Lauderdale blocking a left lane;

7:55 a.m., northbound crash on I-95 near theSheridan Street exit, no travel lanes blocked;

7:54 a.m., northbound crash on I-95 near SampleRoad, no travel lanes blocked;

Wreck Shuts DownSouthbound Interstate 95

In West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Four lanes of south-bound Interstate 95 are blocked in West PalmBeach because of a crash.At least three vehicles were involved just south ofPalm Beach Lakes Boulevard about 10:30 a.m.

WPBF 25 News has learned at least one personhad to be extricated.

Traffic is backed up past the Palm Beach LakesBoulevard exit as a result.

November 22, 2012 A Cocoa man was killed Saturday evening when hewas thrown from an SUV in a single-vehicle crash.

Dalton Cook, 26, was a passenger in a 2000Toyota SUV driven by 28-year-old James Walker,also of Cocoa.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Walkerwas driving south on Grissom Parkway at about 6p.m. when he failed to negotiate a curve. He over-corrected, sending the vehicle into the northboundlane. The SUV overturned as Walker tried to returnto the southbound lane.

November 25, 2012

November 23, 2012

November 18, 2012FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Rescue

crews have found a driver who was ejected from hisvehicle during an accident.

Rescue units responded to the scene of thecrash near Cypress Creek Road, just east of theFlorida Turnpike, Friday afternoon.

According to police, the driver of a Honda some-how lost control of the vehicle, jumped the median,and struck two other cars.

Police say the Honda slammed into a guardrailand the driver was ejected from his car and into thewooded area adjacent to the road.

For more than an hour, rescue crews searchedthe woods for the driver, using chainsaws to cutdown some of the brush and thermal imaging cam-eras to find the driver. They eventually found himand airlifted him to Broward Health North inDeerfield Beach.

The driver, who is said to be in his 20s, is report-edly in extremely critical condition.

Authorities continue to investigate the crash, butbelieve the bad weather may be to blame for thedriver losing control of his vehicle.

Four lanes of southbound Interstate 95 are blockedin West Palm Beach because of a crash.At least three vehicles were involved just south ofPalm Beach Lakes Boulevard about 10:30 a.m.WPBF 25 News has learned at least one personhad to be extricated.Traffic is backed up past the Palm Beach LakesBoulevard exit as a result.

A St. Augustine Beach man was killed today

while trying to enter northbound Interstate 95 in

Daytona Beach and losing control of his pickup,

which rolled over several times, the Florida Highway

Patrol said.

Allan Hallman, 41, of St. Augustine Beach, was

thrown from the pickup as it rolled over about 3:45

p.m., an FHP report states. Hallman was not wear-

ing a seat belt, troopers said.

A passenger, Robert Thorton, 43, of St.

Augustine suffered serious injuries and was taken to

Halifax Health Medical Center. He had been wearing

a seat belt, troopers said.

Ejected driver found inwoods

Investigators said a man was killed when a car ranoff the Florida's Turnpike in Pompano Beach andflipped into a ditch next to a landfill.

State troopers said an employee at Monarch HillLandfill discovered the grisly scene at about 8:30a.m. and called 911.

Man Killed In PompanoBeach Car Crash

http://www.worldwildlife.org

www.veteransvoice.org

A 46-year-old Boynton Beach woman was killedin a fiery crash on Florida's Turnpike.

The crash occurred shortly before 4 p.m.Monday near the Bee Line Highway.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, KyraWilson-Long was traveling north in her sport utilityvehicle when she somehow lost control, veered ontothe shoulder and struck a metal light pole. The SUVthen slammed into a concrete overpass wall andburst into flames.

Wilson-Long was pronounced dead at thescene.

job of shielding New York neighborhoods behind them. Butthey'd actually make flooding worse just outside the barri-ers, where surging waters would pile up with nowhere to go.

The patriarch of this research is Malcolm Bowman, a nativeNew Zealander who leads a passionate cadre of barrierresearchers at Stony Brook University on the northernshore of Long Island. His warnings have mostly goneunheeded. "I feel like a biblical prophet crying in the wilder-ness: `The end is near!'" Bowman said.

Unbowed, he continues to preach against incrementalmeasures. "If you get a storm and a big oak tree falls onyour house, then whether you fix your gutter doesn't mat-ter," he said.

In recent years, his logic has finally begun to resonate a bitmore. Nicholas Kim, an oceanographer with engineeringfirm HDR HydroQual who studied with Bowman in the1980s, said his mentor has been thinking about barrierssince then: "Everybody said, `You're crazy!' But now it'sbecoming clear that we need protection."

Even massive structures don't shield everyone, though. A2009 four-barrier study co-authored by Kim found that in asimulated storm, barriers still failed to protect large swathsof Queens and sections of other outlying boroughs with atotal of more than 100,000 people.

Researchers also have predicted at least a modest addi-tional one-foot rise of stormy seas as water piles up outsidethe barriers. "If you're the guy just outside the barrier, andyou're paying taxes and you're not included, you're notgoing to be very happy," said oceanographer LarrySwanson at Stony Brook University.

How such barriers would affect water movement, silt andmarine life also remains an open question requiring furtherstudy for each case.

The scale and costs of hard barrier schemes have furtherput off many critics. After flooding from Hurricane Irene lastyear, city representatives asked Aerts, the Dutch planner, tocompare the cost and benefits of barriers to existingapproaches. His initial analysis will not be finished untilFebruary, but his early cost estimate for barriers and asso-ciated dikes for New York City is $15 billion to $27 billion -comparable to that of the record-setting $24 billion Big Digthat reshaped Boston's waterfront - not to block storms, butto unblock traffic and views of the waterfront.

Barrier defenders counter by pointing to the cost of stormdamages. Stony Brook meteorologist Brian Colle said:"When you think of the cost of a Sandy, which is running inthe billions, these barriers are basically going to pay forthemselves in one or two storms." Advocates say tolls ontrains or cars riding atop a barrier could help finance theproject.

While appealing for rebuilding, Council Speaker Quinn alsohas said that "the time for casual debate is over" and calledfor a bold mix of resiliency with grander protective struc-tures. She has estimated the cost of her plan at $20 billion.

Other massive protection schemes, like the greenmakeover of lower Manhattan, also would probably run intothe billions. And soft protections are meant only to defuse,not stop, rising waters. Sandy battered parts of Long Islandbehind barrier islands and wetlands.

Nor is it clear that Manhattan has enough space to fashionmore extensive wetlands of the sort that help protect theGulf Coast, however imperfectly. "New York is too far gonefor wetlands," said Griffis, the retired Army Corps com-mander for New York.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has announced he willspearhead efforts to request a corps study of whether bar-riers or other options would work better. However, itremains unclear if Congress would be willing to fund such astudy, which would undoubtedly take several years andcost millions of dollars.

And even before a dime has been appropriated, the corpsis lowering expectations. Says spokesman Chris Gardner:"You can't protect everywhere completely at all times."

6 Legal Street News Monday November 26, 2012________________________________________________________

If You Hve It

Give Some Back

http://www.network.directrelief.org

Healthcare Providers: If you are a healthcare provider locat-ed in the United States, contact us by

calling 1-877-30-DR-USA (1-877-303-7872).

help soak up runoff that floods the city sewers during heavyrains. This concept was worked up by DLANDSTUDIO andArchitecture Research Office, two city architectural firms,for a museum project.

What's missing is not viable ideas or proposals, but deter-mination. Massive projects protecting other cities from theperiodic ravages of stormy seas usually happened aftercatastrophes on a scale eclipsing even Sandy.

It took the collapse of dikes, drowning deaths of more than1,800 people, and evacuation of another 100,000 in 1953for the Dutch to say "Never again!" They have since con-structed the world's sturdiest battery of dikes, dams andbarriers. No disaster on that scale has happened since.

It took the breach of levees, a similar death toll, and flood-ing of 80 percent of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina in2005 to marshal the momentum finally to build a two-milebarricade against the Gulf of Mexico.

A handful of seaside New England cities - Stamford, Conn.;Providence, R.I.; and New Bedford, Mass. - have builtsmaller barriers after their own disasters.

However, New York City, which mostly lies just several feetabove sea level, has so far escaped the horrors visitedelsewhere. Its leaders have been brushing off warnings ofdisaster for years.

Retired geologist Jim Mellet of New Fairfield, Conn., recallshearing a story told to him by the late Bill A. O'Leary, aretired city engineer at the time: He and other engineers,concerned about battering floods, had approached powerbroker Robert Moses more than 80 years ago to ask him toconsider constructing a gigantic barrier to hold back stormtides at the entrance to the city's Upper Bay.

Moses supposedly squashed the idea like an annoying bug."According to Bill, he stood there uninterested, with hisarms folded on his chest, and when they finished the pres-entation, he just said, `No, it will destroy the view.'" Or per-haps he was already mulling other plans for the same site,where he would build the Verrazano Narrows Bridge yearslater.

Many city projects, like the Westway highway plan of the1970s and 1980s, died partly because of the impact theywould have on the cherished view of water from the con-gested cityscape. Imagine, then, the political viability of aproject that might further block access to the harbor or theview of the Statue of Liberty from the tip of Manhattan.

"I can assure that many New Yorkers would have strongopinions about high seawalls," said an email from a retiredNew York commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,Bud Griffis, who was involved in the permitting process forthe failed Westway.

However, global warming and its rising sea levels nowmake it harder simply to shrug off measures to shield thecity from storms. Sandy drove 14-foot higher-than-normalseas - breaking a nearly 200-year-old record - into car andsubway tunnels, streets of trendy neighborhoods, com-muter highways and an electrical substation that shortedout nearly all of lower Manhattan.

The late October storm left 43 dead in the city, and CityCouncil Speaker Christine Quinn estimated at least $26 bil-lion in damages and economic losses. The regional costhas been estimated at $50 billion, making Sandy the sec-ond most destructive storm in U.S. history after Katrina.

Yet heavier storms are forecast. A 1995 study involving theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers envisioned a worst-casestorm scenario for New York: High winds rip windows andmasonry from skyscrapers, forcing pedestrians to flee to

subway tunnels to avoid the falling debris. The tunnels soonflood.

With its dense population and distinctive coastline, NewYork is especially vulnerable, with Manhattan at the center.

The famous island can be pounded by storm surges fromthree sides: from the west via the Arthur Kill, from the souththrough the Upper Bay, and from the Long Island Soundthrough the East River. Relatively shallow depth offshoreallows storm waters to pile up; the north-south shoreline ofNew Jersey and the east-west orientation of Long Islandfurther channel gushing seas right at Manhattan.

Some believe that Sandy was bad enough at least toadvance more serious study of stronger protections. "I thinkthe superstorm we had really put the fear of God into peo-ple, because no one really believed it would happen," saidurban planner Juliana Maantay at Lehman College-CityUniversity of New York.

But nearly all flood researchers interviewed by the APvoiced considerable skepticism about action in the foresee-able future. "In a half year's time, there will be other prob-lems again, I can tell you," said Dutch urban planner JeroenAerts, who has studied storm protections around the world.

William Solecki, a Manhattan-based Hunter College plan-ner who has been at the center of city and state task forceson climate change, guessed that little more will be done toprevent future flooding beyond "nibbling at the edges" of thethreat.

In recent years, the city has been enforcing codes thatrequire flood-zone builders to keep electrical and other crit-ical systems above predicted high water from what wasuntil recently thought to be a once-in-a-century storm.Sealing other key equipment against water has beenencouraged. The city has tried to keep storm grates free ofdebris and has elevated subway entrances. The buzz wordhas been making things more "resilient."

But this approach does little to stop swollen waters of agigantic storm from pouring over lower Manhattan."Resiliency means if you get knocked down, this is how youget back up again," huffs activist Trentlyon. "They just weretalking about what you do afterward." He said Sandy's floodwater rose to 5 feet at street level in Chelsea, where helives on the western side of lower Manhattan.

The city has at least toyed with the idea of barriers andeven considered various locations in a 2008 study. "I havealways considered that flood gates are something weshould consider, but are not necessarily the immediateanswer to rush toward," said Rohit Aggarwala, a StanfordUniversity teacher who is former director of the New Yorkmayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability.

Unswayed by Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and hisassistants have been blunter. Bloomberg said barriersmight not be worthwhile "even if you spent a fortune."

Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said no specific measures -whether more wetlands, higher seawalls or harbor barriers- have been ruled out because "there's no one-size-fits-allsolution." But he compared sea barriers to the MaginotLine, the fortified line of defenses that Germany quicklysidestepped to conquer France at the beginning of WorldWar II.

"The city is not going to be totally stormproof, but I think itcan be very adaptable," he added. He said that new floodmaps informed by Sandy are being drawn up, and he sus-pects they will extend the zones where new developmentsmust install critical equipment above flood level.

Computer simulations indicate that hard barriers, whichhave worked elsewhere around the world, would do a good

A P I M P A C T : W I L L N Y C A C T

T O B L O C K F U T U R E S U R G E S ?

www.veteransvoice.org

Continued from page 3

_____________________________________________________Legal Street News Monday, November 26, 2012 7

If You Are A Charity OrganizationAnd Would Like To Place An Ad In

The Legal Street News

Call 888-708-3576

www.legalstreetnews.com

G I F T G U I D E T O

S M A L L E R T A B L E T SNEW YORK (AP) -- The tablet computer is withouta doubt the gift of the season - just like it was lastyear. But if you resisted the urge in 2011, now isthe time to give in. This season's tablets are betterall around. Intense competition has kept prices verylow, making tablets incredible values compared tosmartphones and PCs.

The first step in the buying process is to decide onthe size of the tablet. They fall into two rough cate-gories: the full-sized tablet, pioneered by the iPad,and the half-size tablet, epitomized by the KindleFire.

Full-sized tablets, which generally have screensmeasuring about 10 inches on the diagonal, arebetter for surfing websites designed for PCs, andfar better when it comes to displaying magazinesand documents. Overall, they go further towardreplacing a laptop. They cost $400 and up.

Half-sized tablets, which have screens measuringroughly 7 inches on the diagonal, are cheaper andlighter, but just as good as full-sized tablets for e-book reading. It's an excellent first computingdevice for a kid, or a gentle nudge into the digitalworld for an older adult with little computing experi-ence. This year's crop costs $199 and up, but lastyear's models are available for less.

If you've settled on a small tablet, here are sometop choices.

- Apple iPad Mini (starts at $329 for 16 gigabytes ofstorage)

The most expensive of the small tablets is also theprettiest. Its exquisitely machined metal rim sets itwell apart from competing tablets clothed in plasticand rubber. It's also thin and light, despite having ascreen that's 40 percent bigger than other "small"tablets. But the quality of the screen doesn't quitemeasure up to the competition. It has fewer pixelsthan other small tablets, and they're spread over alarger area, making for a relatively coarse, pixelat-ed look. On the other hand, the Mini has two cam-eras, front and back, which is a rarity.

Where the Mini really wins is in third-party apps: it'sthe only small tablet that has access to Apple's AppStore, with a superlative selection of high-qualityapps. It's an excellent addition to the householdthat's already hooked on iPhones and full-sizeiPads. For those not wedded to the "Apple system,"the other tablets merit a close look.

- Amazon Kindle Fire HD (starts at $199 for 16gigabytes of storage)

A year ago, the Kindle Fire was the plucky, cut-ratetablet, the Dodge Neon to the iPad's BMW. Thisyear, the gap in quality and features has narrowedconsiderably. The Kindle Fire HD has a betterscreen than the iPad Mini, and now sports a front-facing camera. The original Kindle Fire had none.

In another nice touch, it has speakers on eitherside of the screen when it's held horizontally, mak-ing for much better stereo sound when you're play-ing a movie.

The selection of content is narrower than for theiPad, since it's heavily slanted toward Amazon'sservices. Likewise, the selection of third-party appsis smaller than on the iPad or Google's Nexus 7.But there are enough games to thrill a kid for

hours, and like Barnes & Noble's Nook, the Kindlecan be configured with a special "kid mode" thatshields them from racier content - and from mess-ing up your settings.

The Kindle Fire is especially useful for members ofAmazon's Prime shipping service, since they getaccess to free streaming movies. On the otherhand, anyone could be annoyed by the ads thatappear on the lock screen. Getting rid of themcosts $15. There's no option for cellular broadband,so you're limited to Wi-Fi connections.

- Barnes & Noble Nook HD (starts at $199 for 8gigabytes of storage)

Barnes & Noble has paid a lot of attention to thescreens on its Nooks. This year, it's clearly outdonethe competition, with a screen that packs the pixelstighter than any other small tablet. It's very sharpand colorful, approaching the look of the Retinascreen that graces the full-size iPad.

The other strength of the Nook HD is that it has aslot for a memory card, meaning that you canexpand the storage space for movies and music by32 gigabytes for $25. It's the only tablet in ourroundup with this feature.

The downside is that the Nook HD is less of a gen-eral-purpose tablet and more of a consumptiondevice for books and movies. It doesn't have acamera, so it's no good for videoconferencing. Theselection of apps is the smallest. You'll find bignames like "Angry Birds" here, but there is nodepth to the catalog. There's also no option for cel-lular broadband.

Still, the Nook is an excellent choice for avid read-ers, kids and others who won't be frustrated by thesmall selection of things like 3-D shoot-em-upgames.

- Google Nexus 7 (starts at $199 for 16 gigabytesof storage)

Frustrated that Amazon and Barnes & Noble weretaking Google's Android software, gutting it andusing it to power tablets that don't yield the searchgiant a red cent in advertising revenue or e-booksales, Google this year launched the first tabletunder its own brand. The Nexus 7 has a power-house processor and a screen similar to that of theKindle Fire HD. Since it runs stock Android, it hasaccess to hundreds of thousands of applicationswritten for Android smartphones, and it has moresophisticated multi-tasking abilities than the com-petitors, so it's easy to switch from program to pro-gram. Like the iPad Mini, it has a GPS chip for nav-igation. It has a front-facing camera for videocon-ferencing.

There's a $299, 32-gigabyte version that can con-nect to AT&T's wireless network.

The Nexus 7 is a great tablet for the technophile whowould chafe at the restrictions imposed by compet-ing manufacturers. But anyone will be able to appre-ciate it. In terms of kid-friendliness, it's beaten byAmazon and Barnes & Noble.WASHINGTON (AP) -

www.veteransvoice.org

- Wild weather is taking a toll on roads, airports, rail-ways and transit systems across the country.

That's leaving states and cities searching for ways tobrace for more catastrophes like Superstorm Sandythat are straining the nation's transportation lifelinesbeyond what their builders imagined.

Despite their concerns about intense rain, historicfloods and record heat waves, some transportationplanners find it too politically sensitive to say aloud asource of their weather worries: climate change.

Political differences are on the minds of theAmerican Association of State Highway andTransportation Officials, whose advice on the designand maintenance of roads and bridges is closely fol-lowed by states. The association recently changedthe name of its Climate Change Steering Committeeto the less controversial Sustainable Transportation,Energy Infrastructure and Climate SolutionsSteering Committee.

Still, there is a recognition that the association'sguidance will need to be updated to reflect the newrealities of global warming.

"There is a whole series of standards that are goingto have to be revisited in light of the change in cli-mate that is coming at us," said John Horsley, theassociation's executive director.

In the latest and most severe example, SuperstormSandy inflicted the worst damage to the New Yorksubway system in its 108-year history, halted Amtrakand commuter train service to the city for days, andforced cancellation of thousands of airline flights atairports in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

In Washington state, "we joked we were having 100-year storms every year," said Paula Hammond,head of the state's Department of Transportation.

Last year flooding threatened to swallow up theOmaha, Neb., airport, which sits on a bend in theMissouri River. The ground beneath the airfieldbecame saturated, causing about 100 sinkholes and"soil boils" - uplifted areas of earth where water bub-bles to the surface. The airport was spared througha massive effort that included installing 70 dewater-ing wells and stacking sandbags around airportequipment and buildings.

Record-smashing heat from Colorado to Virginia lastsummer caused train tracks to bend and highwaypavement to buckle. A US Airways jet was delayedat Washington's Reagan National Airport after itswheels got stuck in a soft spot in the tarmac.

Dallas had more than five weeks of consecutive 100degree-plus high temperatures. "That puts stress onpavements that previously we didn't see," Horsleysaid.

States and cities are trying to come to terms withwhat the change means to them and how they canprepare for it. Transportation engineers build high-ways and bridges to last 50 or even 100 years.

The tablet computer is without a doubt the gift of the year. just likeit was last year. But if you resisted the urge in 2011, now is thetime to give in. This season's tablets are better all around. Intensecompetition has kept prices very low, making tablets incrediblevalues compared to smartphones and PCs

EXTREME WEATHER

T O U G H O N

TRANSPORTATION

S Y S T E M

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Asnearly 200 countries meet inoil-and-gas-rich Qatar forannual talks starting Mondayon slowing global warming,one of the main challengeswill be raising climate aid forpoor countries at a time whenbudgets are strained by finan-cial turmoil.

Rich countries havedelivered nearly $30 billionin grants and loans promisedin 2009, but those commit-ments expire this year. And aGreen Climate Funddesigned to channel up to$100 billion annually to poorcountries has yet to beginoperating.

Borrowing a buzzwordfrom the U.S. budget debate,Tim Gore of the British char-ity Oxfam said developingcountries, including islandnations for whom rising sealevels pose a threat to their existence, stand before a "climatefiscal cliff."

"So what we need for those countries in the next twoweeks are firm commitments from rich countries to keepgiving money to help them to adapt to climate change," hetold The Associated Press on Sunday.

Creating a structure for climate financing has so farbeen one of the few tangible outcomes of the two-decade-oldU.N. climate talks, which have failed in their main purpose:reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases that scientists sayare warming the planet, melting ice caps, glaciers and per-mafrost, shifting weather patterns and raising sea levels.

The only binding treaty to limit such emissions, theKyoto Protocol, expires this year, so agreeing on an exten-sion is seen as the most urgent task by environment ministersand climate officials meeting in the Qatari capital.

However, only the European Union and a few othercountries are willing to join a second commitment periodwith new emissions targets. And the EU's chief negotiator,Artur Runge-Metzger, admitted that such a small group isnot going to make a big difference in the fight against cli-

mate change.

"I think we cover at most 14 percent of global emis-sions," he said.

The U.S. rejected Kyoto because it didn't cover rapidlygrowing economies such as China and India. Some hope forstronger commitments from U.S. delegates in Doha as workbegins on drafting a new global treaty that would also applyto developing countries including China, the world's top car-bon emitter. That treaty is supposed to be adopted in 2015and take effect five years later.

Climate financing is a side issue but a controversial onethat often deepens the rich-poor divide that has hampered theU.N. climate talks since their launch in 1992. Critics of theU.N. process see the climate negotiations as a cover forattempts to redistribute wealth.

Runge-Metzger said the EU is prepared to continue sup-porting poorer nations in converting to cleaner energysources and in adapting to a shifting climate, despite the debtcrisis roiling Europe. But he couldn't promise that the EUwould present any new pledges in Doha and said developingcountries must present detailed "bankable programs" before

8 Legal Street News Monday, November 26, 2012

U N T O L A U N C H N E W R O U N D O F

T A L K S O N G L O B A L W A R M I N G

N J B E A C H E S 3 0 - 4 0 F E E TN A R R O W E R A F T E R S T O R MSPRING LAKE, N.J. (AP) -- The average New Jerseybeach is 30 to 40 feet narrower after Superstorm Sandy,according to a survey that is sure to intensify a long-run-ning debate on whether federal dollars should be used toreplenish stretches of sand that only a fraction of U.S.taxpayers use.

Some of New Jersey's famous beaches lost half theirsand when Sandy slammed ashore in late October.

The shore town of Mantoloking, one of the hardest-hitcommunities, lost 150 feet of beach, said Stewart Farrell,director of Stockton College's Coastal Research Centerand a leading expert on beach erosion.

Routine storms tear up beaches in any season, and oneprescription for protecting communities from storm surgehas been to replenish beaches with sand pumped fromoffshore. Places with recently beefed-up beaches sawcomparatively little damage, said Farrell, whose study'sfindings were made available to The Associated Press.

"It really, really works," Farrell said. "Where there was afederal beach fill in place, there was no major damage -no homes destroyed, no sand piles in the streets. Wherethere was no beach fill, water broke through the dunes."

The beach-replenishment projects have been controver-sial both for their expense and because waves continual-ly wash away the new sand. The federal governmentpicks up 65 percent of the cost, with the rest comingfrom state and local coffers.

How big the beaches are - or whether there is a beach atall to go to - is a crucial question that must be resolved

before the summer tourism season. The Jersey shorepowers the state's $35.5 billion tourism industry.

But the pending spending showdown between congres-sional Republicans and Democrats could make it evenharder to secure hundreds of millions of additional dol-lars for beach replenishment.

From 1986 to 2011, nearly $700 million was spent plac-ing 80 million cubic yards of sand on about 55 percent ofthe New Jersey coast. Over that time, the average beachgained 4 feet of width, according to the CoastalResearch Center. And just before the storm hit, the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers awarded nearly $28 million

worth of contracts for new replenishment projects insouthern New Jersey's Cape May County.

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, used aphoto of a pig on the cover of his 2009 report "WashedOut To Sea," in which he characterized beach replenish-ment as costly, wasteful pork that the nation could notafford.

"Taxpayers are not surprised when they learn howCongress wastes billions of dollars on questionable pro-grams and projects each year, but it may still shock tax-payers to know that Congress has literally dumped near-ly $3 billion into beach projects that have washed out tosea," he wrote.

A message seeking comment was left Monday withCoburn's office.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat,predicted lawmakers from New Jersey and New Yorkwould be able to get additional shore protection fundsincluded in the next federal budget, despite partisanwars.

"I think we will be able to make the case," he said. "Wecan show that this provides long-term protection to prop-erty and lives. You can either pay up front to keep on topof projects like this, or you can pay on the back end"through disaster recovery funds.

Menendez this week noted that Congress has approvedemergency recovery funds for victims of HurricaneKatrina and tornadoes in Missouri, among other naturaldisasters.

A private beach club lies wrecked atop the sea wall in SeaBright, N.J. in this Nov. 15, 2012 photo. President Obama senttwo cabinet secretaries to the Jersey shore on Nov. 16, 2012 topromise federal aid to the state for as long as it takes to recoverfrom Superstorm Sandy.

they can expect any money.

Sometimes, developingcountries seem to be saying,"OK give us a blank check,"he told AP.

Climate aid activistsbristled at that statement,saying many developingcountries have already indi-cated what type of programsand projects need funding.

"They need the finan-cial and technical supportfrom the EU and others. Yetthey continue to promise`jam tomorrow' whilst mil-lions suffer today," saidMeena Raman of the ThirdWorld Network, a nonprofitgroup.

Countries agreed inCopenhagen in 2009 to set upthe Green Climate Fund withthe aim of raising $100 bil-

lion annually by 2020. They also pledged to raise $30 billionin "fast-start" climate financing by 2012.

While that short-term goal has nearly been met by coun-tries including the EU, Japan, Australia and the U.S., Oxfamestimates that only one-third of it was new money; the restwas previously pledged aid money repackaged as climatefinancing. Oxfam also found that more than half of thefinancing was in the form of loans rather than grants, andthat financing levels are set to fall in 2013 as rich countriesrein in aid budgets amid debt problems and financial insta-bility.

Meanwhile, the concentration of carbon dioxide in theatmosphere keeps going up. It has jumped 20 percent since2000, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels such as coaland oil, according to a U.N. report released last week.

A recent projection by the World Bank showed temper-atures are on track to increase by up to 4 degrees C (7.2 F)this century, compared with pre-industrial times, overshoot-ing the 2-degree target on which the U.N. talks are based.

Conference flags are displayed ahead of the Doha Climate Change Conference, in Doha, Qatar. As nearly 200 countries meet in oil-and-gas rich Qatar for annual talks on curbing climate change, one of the main challenges will be raising hundreds of billions of dol-lars to help poor nations adapt to a warming world that may damage their health, agriculture and economies.