Jihad threat grows in Sinai

web1_Coe1.jpg

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ Brian Coe wins AHL executive award

First Posted: 1/30/2013 Gov. Christie deserves applause for quickly announcing tough new building standards for the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort.
The rules are based on new federal flood-plain maps, which are not expected to be made final for at least 18 months, so the risk assessments may change. But Christie said he deliberately set high standards so property owners can decide now whether to rebuild or move on with their lives.
Those who choose to rebuild now will receive guidance on constructing and elevating their homes and businesses.
Any property owner who rebuilds but does not meet the higher standards could face an expensive increase in flood insurance. Those who must move should be compensated for their losses. But people need to understand that, as sad as it would be to leave a home on the beach, it would be worse to live in danger.
Because more than 45 percent of the state's 8.4 million residents live in flood-prone areas, New Jersey already requires buildings to be elevated at least one foot above federal mandates. It's good to see Christie following that tradition of setting higher standards when it comes to rebuilding.
For his Sandy recovery announcement last week, the governor chose Seaside Heights, where Sandy shoved houses off their foundations and tossed a roller coaster into the waves. That imagery drives home the extent of the destruction that the storm visited upon New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
 
Some will complain that Christie's standards would have them put a house higher up on stilts than the federal government may require. They may complain that they can't afford to rebuild to the new standards. But knowing what is expected now will allow people to begin rebuilding -- or not -- sooner.
The Philadelphia Inquirer