Hurricane Irene

  A few things that will help consumers still struggling form the hurricane. Maryland's Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Goldsmith said she activated emergency regulations, requiring health insurers to waive any time limits on payments for prescription drug refills or to replace medical equipment or supplies such as eyeglass and dentures. Plus, the state's insurance administration is taking questions and complaints about insurance in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 410-468-2340.

Homeowners should be wary of property insurers trying to charge percentage deductibles for damage caused by Sandy, the hurricane-turned-post-tropical-cyclone, according to a bulletin released Tuesday by the Maryland Insurance Administration. Only if the National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service issues a hurricane warning for Maryland can property and casualty insurance carriers charge a percentage deductible - instead of the more familiar flat-rate deductible - for damage done by a hurricane or other storm, according to Maryland law. The National Hurricane Center did not issue a hurricane warning for Maryland before Sandy hit. Therefore, most homeowners should be charged a flat rate “dollar deductible” on their property insurance claims, not a deductible that is calculated as a percentage of the total value of the policy.

Hurricane Irene continues to strengthen, and forecast storm tracks are trending closer to the mid-Atlantic beaches. All signs for this storm appear to be looking worse Thursday afternoon, instead of better. Irene risksAdd to that the saturating rains we've been getting Thursday from an unrelated line of thunderstorms, and we're being set up for serious flooding once the real rain gets here with Irene this weekend. Ocean City has already issued orders to evacuate the island.

If a hurricane threatens to barrel up the Chesapeake Bay in the next month, many Marylanders will watch the forecast with dread. Memories of spending days without power after Hurricane Irene and the June derecho are fresh and painful. Utilities such as Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. watch the forecast, too, readying forces to assess and repair damage to the grid. To many angry customers, though, utilities' preparations appeared to be lacking in recent storms. But what if there was a way to accurately pinpoint how many power outages a storm might cause?

New York Air National Guard 2nd Lt. Bryan Haynes , of Columbia, has been awarded the New York State Humane Service Medal for service in New York's response to Hurricane Irene. The award recognizes service in response to members of New York's Organized Militia who distinguished themselves by sustained meritorious service in a humane operation as a result of a natural disaster, such as floods, snow storms, hurricanes, tornados and acts of mercy during State Active Duty service at the direction of the governor.

Michele Bachmann says that the earthquake and hurricane that have recently hit the East Coast of the United States were sent as some sort of divine warning message to politicians in Washington to curb government spending. I must respectfully disagree. I thought the divine message was a warning not to raise taxes for the wealthiest 1 percent of our population. But then, I don't claim to be as close to the message's source as Ms. Bachmann. It is, of course, a real shame that a number of people in the U.S. have lost their lives in Hurricane Irene as part of God's warning about government spending, but sometimes collateral damage cannot be avoided.

I became quite dismayed on reading Frank O'Keefe's letter complaining about the reporters covering Hurricane Irene ("Enough about weather," Sept. 1). He derides their reports of siding being blown away from people's homes. These reporters were out in the thick of the disaster braving wind, rain and cold for hours on end. What did he expect them to report - the crisis in the Middle East, the Orioles' scores or Kim Kardashian's $6 million wedding? Those were all covered elsewhere.

The city government will be able to use some reimbursement funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover certain costs incurred when the city was hit by Hurricane Irene in August. An emergency declaration put into effect by President Barack Obama authorized FEMA to provide appropriate assistance for costs of required emergency measures. Under this declaration, the city of Laurel was eligible to receive funds to cover overtime for employees, equipment used and materials and supplies.

Here's some things to keep in mind while everyone is still clearing up after Hurricane Irene: From the Maryland Insurance Commission : if you were forced to evacuate and left without important medical equipment like eyeglasses or prescriptions, emergency regulations have been activated that require insurance providers to waive time restrictions on refils. These regulations will apply while the State of Emergency is still in effect. This also applies to dentures. The Attorney General's office sent out a warning to homeowners and others who might need the services of contractors, roofers, tree trimmers or others due to storm damage.

Reporter Gives Update Covered In Sea Foam: MyFoxNY.com   Hurricane Irene was something of a near-miss for Ocean City. Yes the town got hit with some high winds and lots of rain, but for the most part it didn't get the pummeling officials expected. This local news reporter from Washington didn't quite get what he expected either. Several websites have posted about WTTG-TV'sTucker Barnes who reoorted on the storm from Ocean City over the weekend, covered in some foamy substance that he described as being "organic.

Last Feb. 27, Project: Prom Dress raised $4,000 to benefit the American Red Cross in Howard County. The next day, a fire swept through an apartment complex in Columbia and, just like that, the funds were completely spent on the four families displaced by the fire. For about $1,000 a family, the Red Cross can provide immediate shelter, food, medicine, eyeglasses, clothing, even help with burying a pet that dies in a fire. But it's not just about the material things -- a disaster, whether it's a hurricane or a home fire, is traumatic and calls for well-trained, highly organized and unflinchingly compassionate people to help one get through it. That is the Red Cross.

The city government will be able to use some reimbursement funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover certain costs incurred when the city was hit by Hurricane Irene in August. An emergency declaration put into effect by President Barack Obama authorized FEMA to provide appropriate assistance for costs of required emergency measures. Under this declaration, the city of Laurel was eligible to receive funds to cover overtime for employees, equipment used and materials and supplies.

People are angry over the slow pace of restoring power following Hurricane Irene and the snow storms last winter. But BGE employees worked 130-hour weeks, and I'm sure the phone company was just as busy. People were brought in from 12 other states to restore power to folks who obviously didn't know bad weather was on the way, and had not stocked up on pet food, prescriptions, lamp oil and other essentials. Some have since suggested that power lines be buried underground to avoid future problems.

Remember the municipal panic that set in when flooding from Hurricane Irene put a stall in the delivery of Berger Cookies. It just goes to show you, you can never be too prepared. Berger Cookies are available for ordering online, packed in two-pound decorative tins for $20.99. Consider this a slam-dunk Christmas gift. Although, frankly, I'm not so sure about those decorative tins.

New York Air National Guard 2nd Lt. Bryan Haynes , of Columbia, has been awarded the New York State Humane Service Medal for service in New York's response to Hurricane Irene. The award recognizes service in response to members of New York's Organized Militia who distinguished themselves by sustained meritorious service in a humane operation as a result of a natural disaster, such as floods, snow storms, hurricanes, tornados and acts of mercy during State Active Duty service at the direction of the governor.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has added Baltimore and Baltimore County to the list of 13 Maryland counties eligible for federal disaster assistance in the wake of Hurricane Irene. FEMA and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency said the federal aid will support local recovery expenditures by state and local governments and some private, non-profit organizations. Eligible work includes the replacement and repair damaged roads, bridges, buildings, utilities, recreation areas and other public facilities.

The inaugural Silopanna Music Festival, which was scheduled to take place in Crownsville Saturday, has been cancelled because of Hurricane Irene, promoters Rams Head Group said in a statement this morning. Organizers and performers were concerned about their safety in the face of the Category 3 hurricane, which is quickly moving towards Maryland at 100 miles per hour. All tickets to the festival, which was to feature Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Matt & Kim, Trombone Shorty and Fitz and the Tantrums, will be refunded, the statement said.

If you had Caribbean dreams in your travel plans for this week, they're fading rapidly into reality with the arrival of Hurricane Irene , a powerful storm that has targeted Puerto RIco, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and potentially the entire Eastern seaboard of the U.S. As of this morning, the National Hurricane Center has issued hurricane warnings and watches for several of the Caribbean islands, with the chance for a direct hit over...

I was one of many at the Public Service Commission's hearing Tuesday night who had a story to share about BGE's poor performance after Hurricane Irene. The meeting did not start out well, as the 100 plus group of people who showed up were locked out of the building due to the failure of the PSC and BGE/Constellation officials to show up on time. BGE workers, many of them hired from out of state, who were sent to repair lines and do cleanup are not the ones to blame. They are working people doing their best.

Something positive resulted from last month's battle with Mother Nature: more places to catch trout this fall. More than 27,000 trout will be stocked throughout the state starting this month. Most of the trout will be either rainbow or golden trout weighing an average of one pound each. There will also be about 1,500 brown trout weighing about a pound each, as well as 300 rainbow and golden trout weighing two to three pounds each. Approximately 1,000 additional trout will be donated by The Freshwater Institute in West Virginia, a research facility.