Making waves: The Water Institute of the Gulf says it is expanding its research beyond its initial Gulf Coast focus. The institute announced today that Mead Allison, director of physical processes and sediment systems, and Ehab Meselhe, director of natural systems modeling, are collaborating as co-investigators on a project in the Mekong Delta in southwest Vietnam as part of the “Tropical Deltas Directed Research Initiative” of the Office of Naval Research. The pair traveled to Vietnam to conduct research between Sept. 20 and Oct. 5. The institute has more details on the research project and how the findings will be used.
Building it up: The New Orleans-based Good Work Network is one of three organizations across the country that is receiving grant funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide tailored training to construction industry firms that participate in the SBA 8(a) business development program for small and disadvantaged businesses. SBA says the funding will pay for 33 training sessions to an average of 20 firms in the greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas. SBA has more details on the grant awards.
Taking aim: The American Red Cross mishandled its responses to Hurricane Isaac and Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and often seemed more focused on public relations than on helping storm victims, according to a report from investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica and NPR published today, the second anniversary of Sandy. American Red Cross spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego says in an email to The Associated Press that the organization disputes many of the allegations in the story. She calls it “distorted and inaccurate.” The report cites internal documents and interviews with current and former Red Cross staffers who said the organization repeatedly failed to get relief supplies to people who needed them. Read the full story.
