FEDS PULL FUNDS FOR SIMI SITE : FOLK ART BOTTLE VILLAGE LOSES $500,000 GRANT.Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer Federal officials withdrew Friday a half-million-dollar grant to repair the folk art folk art, the art works of a culturally homogeneous people produced by artists without formal training. The forms of such works are generally developed into a tradition that is either cut off from or tenuously connected to the contemporary cultural mainstream. assemblage known as Bottle Village, saying they no longer believe it qualifies for earthquake relief. Following a monthlong review, Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical Director James Lee Witt James Lee Witt (born January 6, 1944) was Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during the administration of President Bill Clinton. Witt was born in Paris, Arkansas, and was raised in Dardanelle, in Yell County, Arkansas. ordered the return of the money given to the California as part of the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. relief. Nearly $19,000 spent so far by the group Preserve Bottle Village on architectural and engineering studies also must be refunded by the state, said Vallee Bunting bunting, common name for small, plump birds of the family Fringillidae (finch family). Among the American buntings are the indigo bunting, in which the summer plumage of the male reflects sunlight as a rich, metallic blue; the painted bunting, or nonpareil ( , director of emergency information and media affairs. In a statement, Witt said that Bottle Village didn't qualify because an audit found the Cochran Street site has remained closed to the public since 1984. Also, questions have been raised about how much damage actually was sustained in the January 1994 earthquake. ``As a federal agency, we are responsible for ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent in the most appropriate manner,'' Witt said. ``Today's inspector general recommendation upholds the integrity of the disaster assistance process, and I fully concur with the findings of the audit.'' Daniel Paul, a leader of Preserve Bottle Village, said the nonprofit group was notified of FEMA's decision Friday and had not yet decided how to respond. ``It was a surprise,'' he said. Republican Congressman Elton Gallegly Elton W. Gallegly (born March 7 1944), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, currently representing the 24th District of California (map). took the debate over repairing Tressa ``Grandma'' Prisbrey's cluster of buildings - built from broken bottles, headlights, doll heads and license plates held together by concrete mortar - to Washington, D.C., in January. He introduced legislation to block the funding, but also sought administrative action. Gallegly, the former mayor of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. who now represents the 23rd District, credited Witt and his staff ``for their prompt and thorough review of the situation.'' The congressman said he wanted to take taxpayers off the hook for repairs that clearly didn't qualify for earthquake relief and should be paid for with private donations. ``With one in every three dollars of damage from the Northridge Earthquake unreimbursed and families all over the country reeling from recent natural disasters, throwing money away on Bottle Village is just a crime,'' Gallegly said. Prisbrey died in 1988, shortly before her life's work Life's Work is a sitcom that aired from 1996 to 1997 on the American Broadcasting Company channel that starred Lisa Ann Walter as Lisa Ann Minardi Hunter, the assistant district attorney who had a husband named Kevin Hunter was dedicated as a state landmark. Preserve Bottle Village planned to spend the money reconstructing 15 structures. The work would be done by a team of experts including an architect, structural engineer and conservationist, with documentation by a fine art photographer, Paul said. |
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