Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Society, Inc.

Attorney Volunteers Needed for ABA/LSBA Program for Louisiana Residents

Attorney volunteers are needed to facilitate breakout sessions during the Saturday, May 6, program, “Rebuilding, Reconstruction and Starting Over After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: A Free Program on Insurance and Eminent Domain Issues for Louisiana Citizens,” sponsored by the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section and the Louisiana State Bar Association. The program is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. Among the topics to be addressed are eminent domain, mediation, insurance and environmental issues. To volunteer, contact Communications Director Brooke Monaco at (504)619-0118 or e-mail bmonaco@lsba.org. To RSVP for the program, call (504)619-0137.

Business Center for Displaced Attorneys Still Available in Bar Center

The Business Center for displaced attorneys is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, in the Louisiana Bar Center, 601 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans.

The Louisiana State Bar Association, with the assistance of the LSBA/LBF (Louisiana Bar Foundation) Disaster Relief Fund, opened the business center for attorneys who have lost their offices and/or equipment in the recent hurricanes. The business center is free to all LSBA members on a first-come, first-served basis and offers access to independent work stations, high-speed Internet, printers, a copy machine and a fax machine. Office space and wireless Internet access are available for members wishing to use their own laptops. The LSBA also is providing complimentary use of Bar Center conference rooms during regular business hours. For more information on these services, go to http://www.lsba.org and see the item under “Latest News and Developments.

Attorney Volunteers Needed at Call Center and Disaster Recovery Centers

Attorney volunteers are still needed to provide free legal advice at the Louisiana Legal Assistance Call Center, operating at Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center, and at FEMA disaster recovery centers (DRC) statewide. The Call Center is being staffed five days a week, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and can be reached at 1-800-310-7029. To volunteer for both projects, go to: http://www.lsba.org/home1/pdfvolunteer.pdf.

For DRC service, return the form by fax or e-mail to Susan Simon at ssimon@ln-law.com, fax (337)233-9450, or call (337)237-7000 (office) or (337)654-4507 (cell).

Your input is wanted in the Louisiana Recovery Authority Citizen Survey hosted by the Public Policy Research Lab at Louisiana State University. The state of Louisiana is seeking your input to ensure that your thoughts, opinions and concerns are included in rebuilding efforts. The survey is voluntary and all the survey responses will remain strictly confidential.

Take the survey on the website http://www.survey.lsu.edu/lra/ or by phone (1-866-294-7870).

If you have any questions or comments, please send them to survey@lsu.edu or call (225) 578-7499.

The organization NOEBA (New Orleans East Business Association) is requesting that homeowners in new Orleans East complete a survey on their website. This information is being used as evidence to rebuild the East. Please complete this survey on the website:

Notice 2006-38, advising taxpayers of certain relief provided to taxpayers having rehabilitation credit projects in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Wilma in 2005.

This notice will appear in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2006-16, dated April 17, 2006. Link: N-2006-38

Other Links:

* Help for Hurricane Victims: Information on Tax Relief, Charitable Issues -- http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=147085,00.html

* Katrina News Releases and Technical Guidance -- http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=148203,00.html

Louisiana citizens may qualify for grants of up to $150,000 depending upon uninsured property damage/rebuild costs and market values of properties.  Some assistance also may be available for landlords willing to abide by the State's restrictions when placing rental properties back into commerce.  For more information: 1-888-762-3252 or www.louisianarebuilds.info

Louisiana citizens, affected by either Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, who have uninsured losses to personal property purchased after 1970 may be eligible for refunds from the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

For more information, please visit the following links:

http://www.revenue.louisiana.gov/sections/katrina/1051(9_05)F.pdf

http://www.revenue.louisiana.gov/sections/katrina/1051(9_05)F.pdf