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Answering Katrina's Call
by Randy Barrett
The technology sector is rising to the call as Louisiana and Mississippi reel from Hurricane Katrina. Numerous associations have tapped their members to help restore basic communications.
The telecommunications group CompTel/ALTS, which represents competitors to the regional Bell telephone companies, said several of its member companies already are helping to improve the situation in the Gulf Coast. "These companies are sharing their fiber, switches, generator capacity and facilities with other communications providers to provide vital emergency services in the damaged areas," CompTel/ALTS CEO Earl Comstock said in a statement.
TelCove, US LEC and Xspedius have functioning infrastructure in New Orleans, he said, and other companies farther away are offering help. Alpheus Communications of Houston has made eight strands of fiber-optic cable available to Louisiana telecom firms, and Caprock Communications, also of Houston, donated a satellite phone system to an ambulance serving the disaster area.
Closer to home, Gloria Dittus, alpha female at Dittus Communications, will hold a hurricane relief fundraiser Thursday. Joining her will be past members of the Louisiana congressional delegation, including: former Democratic Sens. John Breaux and Bennett Johnston; former Democratic Reps. Corrine (Lindy) Boggs, Thomas (Jerry) Huckaby and Chris John; and former Republican Reps. Bob Livingston and W.J. (Billy) Tauzin.
The event will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Dittus' home. Requested donations are $1,000 for individuals and $5,000 for corporations. Money will go directly to the Red Cross, the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and the Alabama governor's emergency relief fund. Those wishing to attend should RSVP to Rebecca.Hudson@dittus.com.
The Intel Foundation donated $1 million to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief. "The thought that major cities will not be inhabitable for weeks or even months is something Americans have never had to face before," CEO Paul Otellini said in a message to employees. "There is, of course, the eerie, striking similarity with the tsunami of last December. Thousands dead, families torn apart -- a hole in the human spirit is created by a terrible natural event."
The company said it also will work to help rebuild vital communications infrastructure in the areas affected by Katrina.
FastChannel Network of Needham, Mass., has donated its media distribution platform for Katrina relief appeals. The company will distribute television and radio public-service announcements to 14,000 media outlets. "People throughout the U.S. have seen the footage of this horrendous disaster and are seeking ways to help," Michael Greenlees, FastChannel chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "I'm pleased that FastChannel can make some small contribution toward reducing the distress and suffering."
Blogging For Hurricane Relief
The grassroots Internet community also was involved in fundraising. Hundreds of authors of online journals known as Web logs, or blogs, labored online over the Labor Day weekend to bolster hurricane relief, and their efforts reportedly yielded more than $1 million.
The coordinated fundraising divided along philosophical lines. Conservatives seized on the idea first and excelled in both organization and fundraising, expanding their one-day fundraiser on Thursday into a weekend-long event. The more than 1,800 bloggers from 35 countries used their online journals to make recurring appeals for donations to various charitable groups.
Law professor Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame played a lead role in organizing the work and generated about $340,000 in contributions through his site alone. The donations were logged on the honor system and tallied at The Truth Laid Bear.
Liberals took a different approach, providing free advertising space for a fundraiser via the Liberal Blog Ad Network. The effort has not been nearly as successful -- generating only $162,000 contributions so far, according to the tracker at DropCash -- but now Reynolds is promoting that ongoing effort.
"This one seems to center mostly around lefty blogs, but that doesn't matter," he wrote Tuesday at Instapundit. "The money's all the same color, and it's all needed."
A Warning About Online Scams
The National Cyber Security Alliance is warning the public about Katrina-related online scams.
"Online criminals are already taking advantage of generous individuals who are looking to donate online to disaster relief efforts," the group said in a statement. "The FBI is currently investigating hundreds of Web sites posing as online charities to lure in potential donors and obtain their financial information. In addition, there are reports of phony e-mails from fake charities being used to spread worms and viruses."
The public should be especially cautious about direct e-mails from hurricane victims calling for help and any unsolicited, Katrina-themed commercial e-mails, the group said.
Microsoft Hires Intellectual Property Lobbyist
Microsoft has hired Kaz Kazenske as senior director for its intellectual property group. Kazenske will work in Washington to help ensure patent protection for Microsoft inventions.
Kazenske spent 33 years with the Patent and Trademark Office, where he rose to the post of deputy commissioner for patent resources. Earlier in his career, he was associate commissioner and chief financial officer, and the deputy assistant commissioner of patent operations. Kazenske holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and is a graduate of the senior managers program at Harvard University.
In other news, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has appointed Patricia Brockley to its PA Relay Service Advisory Board. Brockley works for Pennsylvania Self Help for Hard of Hearing People. She was appointed to a two-year term on the board, which advises the Commission on matters related to telecom relay service for enabling the hearing- and speech-impaired to communicate by phone.
And at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Shara Aranoff was sworn in as a new commissioner on Tuesday. The Maryland Democrat, who previously served as the senior international trade counsel for Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, was confirmed in late July. Her term is set to expire in 2012.
New Web Face For Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations will unveil its redesigned Web site Sept. 14. A celebratory soiree will include Andrew McLaughlin of Google and Entrust lobbyist Daniel Burton.
Quote of the Week
"Our nation is prepared, as never before, to deal quickly and capably with the consequences of disasters and other domestic incidents."
Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in March testimony before Congress, months before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.
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