Disaster Relief

Edwards Theatres Inc., in cooperation with Coca-Cola, is producing 500,000 plastic cups featuring the U.S. flag and the Statue of Liberty. The cups will be sold at their theaters nationwide to benefit American Red Cross disaster relief in New York, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. For every 44-ounce, $3.75 drink sold, the theater will donate 25 cents, said Patti Edwards of Newport Beach, wife of Edwards Theatres Chief Executive James Edwards. "We will raise more than $100,000," she said.

More than a year after one of the worst salmon fishing seasons in decades, the state this week has begun disbursing $33 million in long-awaited federal disaster relief to the commercial fishing industry. The money, authorized in a bill by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), is meant to offset the dismal catch of 2006, which was barely one-tenth of normal.

A federal disaster relief center will open Friday in Pacoima to assist San Fernando Valley residents affected by the riots. The center will open at the David Gonzales Recreation Center, 10943 Herrick St., said Russell Bell, spokesman for Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Panorama City). Representatives of city, county, state and federal agencies will provide assistance and information to residents. "It's open to everyone who's had problems," Bell said.

Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said today that he hopes federal disaster officials react faster to the next national disaster than they did in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo. Riley said he met with top Federal Emergency Management Agency officials and found them sincere, but called the disaster relief law "grossly inadequate" and the response to the emergency too slow. "I hope next time a national disaster hits this country, the government will have a better response," Riley said.

The city has agreed to allow the American Red Cross to provide shelter in the Brea Senior Center, Pioneer Hall and the Brea Community Center in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency. Generally, the Orange County Chapter of the Red Cross has used local high schools during such disasters, officials said. But city and Red Cross officials said that some circumstances may create a need for additional shelters.

The state Department of Rehabilitation released a comprehensive plan Monday stipulating how emergency response teams should assist disabled people before, during and after natural disasters. The 81-page disaster preparedness report was presented by department Director Brenda Premo to Greg Renick of the governor's Office of Emergency Services' district field office in Pasadena at a news conference at the Independent Living Center of Southern California in Van Nuys.

The White House strove to make clear Monday that the devastation Hurricane Andrew caused in Florida was one domestic problem in which President Bush was fully engaged and the President himself said he would head back to the stricken region and to storm-damaged Louisiana for a follow-up look today.

The disastrous Armenian earthquake two weeks ago has shown the need for an international system to coordinate major rescue and relief efforts, the president of the American Red Cross said here Wednesday after visiting the disaster area. Richard F.

Is a tornado an act of God? Gov. Mike Huckabee believes that his God would never inflict such evil. State lawmakers insist that God must be responsible. And tornado victims just want the bickering over a disaster relief bill to end so they can rebuild their lives. "I'm trying to get my residence set up. . . . The state can do more," grumbled Charles Dunn, 20, who lost his mobile home and his parents' trailer in the March 1 storms that spun off dozens of tornadoes and killed 25 people.

Three senior Democrats proposed Friday to end the billions of dollars in federal disaster relief paid to states each year when earthquakes, floods, drought and fire wreak havoc. Under their plan, the current federal disaster program would be replaced by a voluntary state insurance program, which could cost tens of billions of dollars a year in premiums in states like California and Florida. Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.