Ian aftermath even harder to fix with supply chain tattered
The difficult job of rebuilding communities pummeled by Hurricane Ian is expected to be made even worse by a problem that’s lingered since the early days of the pandemic: snarled supply chains.
Ian tore a path of destruction across Florida, leaving more than 2 million homes and businesses without power, after landing as one of the strongest storms to hit the U.S. Residences, bridges and other infrastructure are in ruin, with damage estimates ranging from $65 billion to $100 billion, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said it will take years to recover. Construction groups warn that labor shortages and supply-chain difficulties are likely to hamper rebuilding efforts.
“Across the board, we are seeing challenges in obtaining all types of building materials in a reliable time frame,” said Steve Cona III, president of Associated Builders and Contractors’ Florida Gulf Coast chapter.
Damage in Florida’s Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties is “devastating,” and it will take substantial time and resources to rebuild, Cona said. Compounding those challenges are ongoing labor shortfalls, supply-chain issues and the fact that material costs remain unpredictable, he said.
—Bloomberg News
Shasta County officials warn of people impersonating election officials, voter intimidation
Shasta County, California, officials are warning residents about a group of people impersonating election officials who are questioning voters about their registration.
Members of the group wear reflective vests and claim to be part of a "voter task force," said County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen. She said her office has not authorized any house calls and that she considers these kinds of aggressive tactics to be a form of voter intimidation.
These people sometimes claim to represent an elected official or are otherwise vague about their affiliation, Allen said. They are not conducting door-to-door canvassing but instead are driving into neighborhoods, parking in front of people's homes and knocking on their doors to ask them questions.
"All of those things combined made me very concerned," Allen told the Los Angeles Times. The clerk and registrar of voter's office received four messages from Shasta County voters about house calls in mid-September. On Monday, Allen released an advisory notifying the public that the county did not authorize these at-home interviews.
—Los Angeles Times
Hackers set Monday deadline for LA Unified School District to pay up or have private data posted on dark web
LOS ANGELES — A criminal syndicate has set a Monday deadline for the Los Angeles public school system to pay a ransom or have its data released on the dark web, which could potentially expose the confidential information of students and employees.
In response, L.A. Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said Friday that the district would not pay the ransom and would not negotiate, following the advice of law enforcement and federal officials.
The deadline was posted on the dark web site maintained by Vice Society, which had informally confirmed to at least three reporters that it was responsible for the hack that L.A. Unified uncovered while it was in progress on Sept. 3, during the Labor Day weekend when most district employees were off work for four days.
District and law enforcement officials have declined to name Vice Society as the culprit, but federal officials posted a warning to education institutions about the syndicate immediately after the attack on the nation's second-largest school system.
—Los Angeles Times
Ukraine bids to join NATO despite long odds against wartime move
Ukraine formally applied to join NATO Friday, but the alliance is likely to react cautiously to avoid provoking a full-blown conflict with Russia since members are pledged to come to each other’s defense.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the accelerated bid in a video address to the nation, saying Ukraine has already made its “path towards NATO,” demonstrating “compatibility with the alliance’s standards,” he said.
“We trust each other, help each other and protect each other,” he said. “We know it is possible.” A NATO spokesperson didn’t immediately comment.
Ukraine may have trouble getting allies to even accept the invitation given the current tensions with Russia. Putin has repeatedly pointed to NATO’s enlargement as a threat to Russia, even though U.S. and European officials have dismissed those allegations.
—Bloomberg News
