Wednesday buzz, disaster and otherwise

Doesn't quite make sense to keep on separating disaster-related items from others so completely -- it's all getting to be the same ball o' wax -- so here's a combined review of new items today affecting multifamily housing and investment therein:

- The biweekly HAC News is out today with much more on disaster recovery and federal budget news, more or less from a rural housing perspective. The newsletter opens with a review of the emergency housing voucher situation in Congress that seems very much worth reading. [See also HAC's separate Katrina-and-housing analysis report.]

- HUD announces nationwide lead abatement grants and "Main Street" grants to five lucky small towns.

- USDA has posted advice on the dangerous work of cleaning up illegal meth labs -- possibly a timely consideration since, as the document notes, such things are liable to be found in "Real Estate Owned" foreclosed properties. Foreclosed properties being after all one of the sources of emergency housing currently being called upon for disaster relief.

- Here's the Federal Register edition of the SEC exemptions for securities filings of companies affected by Hurricane Katrina.

- Today's FEMA releases are shifting to the subject of Hurricane Rita. (Current Google News top headline: "FEMA Workers Flee Galveston Ahead of Rita.") FEMA statements on the existing relief operation include a proud summary of the increase during recent years of public dollars sent to Florida. There's also news of simplified procedures for the National Flood Insurance Program. The Flood Insurance Program increased some of its fees on Monday.

- Belatedly noticed in last week's coverage: a mention that the recently contracted Fluor Corporation is to "handle operations" for the Housing Area Command. And much on Katrina-relief trailer logistics from Sunday's Business Week.