FEMA decides some LA neighborhoods are in danger of flooding. LA Crime writer Michael Connelly's Los Angeles. And a letter to the new police chief.
Episode 205 Segments:
Hung Out To Dry?
Hundreds of Los Angeles area home owners are being hit with steep fees for flood insurance. Why? Because FEMA, using 40 year-old maps, has declared their neighborhoods as flood zones. The city could have intervened, but they failed to act. Correspondent Judy Muller investigates.
Michael Connelly: One-on-One
Novelist Michael Connelly honed his writing skills as a police beat reporter. He shares his insights about LA with Val Zavala.
An Open Letter to the New Chief
The LA Weekly's Jill Stewart shares her thoughts about the LAPD with us, and with Charlie Beck, the new police chief.
Web Extras:
Am I In A Flood Zone?
Check out this interactive map, and then visit Floodsmart.gov to get your flood risk profile.
Legwork: Documents From "Hung Out To Dry?"
If you like being a nosy reporter yourself, do the legwork. Check out these primary sources used to produce our segment "Hung Out To Dry?"
Cops And Writers
Before turning to fiction, crime novelist Michael Connelly spent years covering the police for the LA TImes. Turns out newspapers are good places for budding crime novelists.
Free Preview
Want some noir? Read an excerpt from Michael Connelly's new book, "Nine Dragons."
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Good beginning to a story that needs to become more public. I live in Ventura county and will be paying this mandatory "tax" starting Jan 20th. Our group has been trying to pound some sense into FEMA's head regarding the way they calculated this 100 year flood event. They use outdated, circa 1967, USGS studies that warn the user (FEMA) about how inaccurate these studies really are. FEMA won't budge! They are the omnipotent federal agency that can do as they please, we are all but the sheep being lead to slaughter. This 100 year flood event can not be predicted using any amount of statistical data, predicting the perfect storm is barely doable 1 week before it hits, imagine the problems with predicting it in the next 100 years?! Even with 132 years of measured rainfall data vs actual flood levels showing that flooding has never been as severve as they predict, they continue on with their new tax and spend strategy. "How the rest of the US is paying to rebuild New Orleans"
I would like to continue this further with KCET and any other national network at anytime.
The 'Hung out to Dry' piece was excellent. The interviews with the victims of FEMA's irrational decisions and heavy-handed tactics were very well done. A SoCalConnected crew came up here today to do a similar piece, interviewing myself and others who have formed an association and retained legal council to try and stop FEMA from putting us in a floodzone this coming January. I only hope our show comes out as well as "Hung out to Dry.'
KCET SOCAL CONNECTED you are good.
Hung out to dry?
A very good report on a subject that has been
overlooked for years.
thank you
I am also a member of an Oxnard group trying to seek justice for our neighborhoods in north Oxnard in regards to being placed in a flood zone based on preliminary studies of the Santa Clara River. I am looking forward to viewing tonight's segment dealing with our concerns about FEMA. Thank you for taking an interest in our dilema.