I came across report the other day that the Fed gov might take away Galveston, Texas distaster recovery funds if certain improvements are not completed by certain time...specifically cutting down trees that were destroyed by hurricane. Has anyone heard of this before? not sure if this would be encouraging for local government or morale. I agree there should be an agenda, but don't see why fed would threaten to take away funds they offered to rebuild an area in turmoil.

There are thousands of these dead trees in Galveston, sadly. Here is a link to the progress. It does sound like Galveston is behind on this project, but the island was a mess after Ike, so first things first, I guess.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=acc0ab06200bc5e8

Here is a good article about progress made in Galveston since Ike. I was shocked they were able to proceed with the Dickens festival in such a short amount of recovery time. Good article.

http://blogs.chron.com/galveston/2009/06/memories_of_ike_weigh_on_galve.html

Just read that the funds are running out in September but lost the link. I guess Feds are not actually taking away the funds but instead, the deadline to use the funds is running out in September. Same difference...no money to remove trees after September so Galveston is gearing up to take them down now. After these hurricanes, I guess the city administrators are used to changing priorities. They are all dead but still giving some shade.

Here's another one I just found. Same thing. Talks about the "orange mark of doom" on the trees to mark them for cutting, that residents can ask for another evaluation if they think the tree is still alive. Galveston officials hate this as much as the residents.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=270d930ab8c2cd25


After Hurricane Alicia in 1983, I remember the palms being stripped and the long drive down Broadway appearing so barren. It took them a while to come back. Before Ike, it was a beautiful drive. I-45 South turns into Broadway as soon as you go over the I-45 South bridge onto the island, but I'm sure you know that since you are in Dallas. After that, just blocks and blocks of beautiful trees, buildings, flowers. Galveston will look quite different for a while, but the island is very resilient. Anyone visiting Galveston should inquire at the Historial Society office in the Strand area about the film showing the rebuilding of the island after the 1900 hurricane. That film is one of the best documentaries on human courage I have ever seen. Like most disaster documentaries, it will shock you what people went through back them. It is amazing how those old buildings stood up against that storm and some are still standing today.

I too lost a tree to a hurricane. I had a small tree, tall but a thin trunk, that was between the sidewalk and the street...about a four foot strip of grass. I thought the tree had made it through Hurricane Alicia in 1983. A few days after the hurricane, however (or a couple of weeks...whatever it was), I come home from work to find my tree laying directly across the street, blocking traffic. I guess the cars were just driving over it. It had been there for 18 years and was tall but with a very small trunk. I'm just glad it did not hit anyone because my street was only one block long and people liked to cut through to miss the light. Alicia was a bad storm but that tree was my only loss.

Dallas Broker, thanks for inquiring about Galveston. Galveston always seems to call us home, even if we were not born there.