Video – Meeting of the California Fraud Assessment Commission – Mother of injured biotech worker David Bell charged the DA’s in Yolo County & Sacramento were failing to prosecute fraud by AgraQuest owner Pam Marrone and Liberty Mutual

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Sharon Kramer

 

On September 9, 2009 at a meeting of the California Fraud Assessment Commission FAC in Sacramento, Sandi Trend who is the mother of injured biotech worker David Bell charged that the District Attorneys in Yolo County and Sacramento were failing to prosecute fraud by AgraQuest owner Pam Marrone and Liberty Mutual her insurance company. Trend’s son David Bell was sickened at the Davis based company and Marrone and Liberty Mutual refused to provide his healthcare despite evidence that he had over genetically engineered products in his body. She has presented this evidence to both offices as well as agents of the California Department of Insurance. For more information on this case go to biotechawareness.com.

 

Video

 

See also – Did Davis Biotech Firm Expose Davis to Potentially Dangerous Pathogens?

Note – Information on Riverstone Residential knowingly exposing tenants to extreme amounts of mold toxins at Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  katy

Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments managed by Riverstone Residential

Riverstone Residential Litigation

Mold Inspection Reports

Photos of Mold in Apartment

 
Posted in Environmental Health Threats, Health - Medical - Science, Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, Mold and Politics, Mold Litigation, Riverstone Residential, Toxic Mold | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Field Work Starts On Nation’s Largest Capital Planning Effort In a Decade – CAS Financial Advisory Services – HUD

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Sharon Kramer

SOURCE CAS Partners

Excerpt

BOSTON, July 30 /PRNewswire/ – CAS Financial Advisory Services (CAS FAS), the asset management group of CAS Partners, announced today that its capital planning subsidiary On-Site Insight (OSI) has started field inspections of the nation’s 1,300,000-home public housing portfolio. The findings from these inspections will give Congress and HUD a quantitative cost estimate of addressing public housing’s multi-billion-dollar capital backlog.

Together with the prime contractor, Abt Associates, which will be responsible for data integration and cost extrapolation, CAS FAS will assess the portfolio’s physical condition and quantify the total cost of addressing physical and functional obsolescence. Responding to a Congressional directive to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to survey this vital housing resource, the study is HUD’s first large-scale assessment in more than a decade, and the first ever to look out 20 years.

“You shouldn’t make billion-dollar decisions in the dark,” said David A. Smith, CEO of CAS FAS. “But nobody knows with any precision how much it will cost to bring these properties up to an appropriate standard. We’ll deliver exact numbers policymakers can use to make accurate spending decisions.”

Over the next five months, CAS FAS will visit and inspect more than 550 properties operated by 140 separate housing authorities in 39 states and territories. Home to more than 4,000,000 Americans, the public housing inventory is roughly half a century old, varies widely in age, quality, maintenance record, and current physical condition. Observations will be compiled into a statistically meaningful projection of capital needs funding required.

“There really isn’t anyone else out there that could take on a multifamily job of this magnitude,” said Jed Lowry, CAS Financial Advisory Services’ director of capital planning. “This property capital needs analysis requires experienced people who are trained to a consistent high standard. We looked at this for HUD back in the mid-1980s, we know the physical infrastructure, and we’re experts in the legacy building systems. We’ll give HUD the best available property-level assessment.”

CAS FAS’s field team of more than 20 inspectors averages more than two decades’ experience each in capital planning for multifamily housing. “Not only do we bring knowledge, we provide a structured and detailed approach,” added Lowry. “A CAS FAS capital needs assessment encompasses more than 150 distinct building systems, and is regarded as the industry standard for thoroughness and accuracy. CAS Financial Advisory Services experience includes more than 6,000 such assessments over the past two decades.

news.finance.yahoo.com

The connection between David A. Smith (author of ‘The Challenge of Mold’) – Recap Advisors – CAS – Riverstone Residential & Toxic Jefferson Lakes Apartments

TRUTH OUT Sharon Kramer Letter To Andrew Saxon MOLD ISSUE

New Action Committee – ACHEMMIC- Urges Transparency in EPA Policy Over Mold & Microbial Contaminants

Truth About Mold – the most up to date, accurate, and reliable information on Toxic Mold

FEMA Using US Chamber Fraud in Katrina Trailer Litigation; EPA, GAO & Both Isle$ of Congre$$ Turn Blind Eye$

Sociological Issues Relating to Mold: The Mold Wars

Certain Corporate and Government Interests Have Spent Huge Sums of Money and Resources DENYING THE TRUTH about the HEALTH EFFECTS of TOXIC MOLD

Political Action Committee – National Apartment Association (NAA) files Amicus Brief in mold case (two infant deaths in mold filled apt – Wasatch Prop Mgmt) citing US Chamber/ACOEM ‘litigation defense report’ to disclaim health effects of indoor mold & limit financial risk for industry

“Changes in construction methods have caused US buildings to become perfect petri dishes for mold and bacteria to flourish when water is added. Instead of warning the public and teaching physicians that the buildings were causing illness; in 2003 the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, a think-tank, and a workers comp physician trade organization mass marketed an unscientific nonsequitor to the courts to disclaim the adverse health effects to stave off liability for financial stakeholders of moldy buildings. Although publicly exposed many times over the years, the deceit lingers in US courts to this very day.” Sharon Noonan Kramer

Information on Riverstone Residential, the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, and the owners of Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana continuing to allow tenants to be exposed to extreme amounts of mold toxins

Irrefutable evidence indicates that Riverstone Residential, Guarantee Service Team of Professionals, & plaintiffs’ attorney, J Arthur Smith III, must have agreed to exclude evidence that would have shown the owners of Jefferson Lakes Apartments & Riverstone Residential had knowledge of the severe MOLD INFESTATION at the complex before we moved in

Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments managed by Riverstone Residential

Riverstone Residential Litigation

Mold Inspection Reports

Photos of Mold in Apartment

Attorney Malpractice

Posted in Environmental Health Threats, Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, Mold and Politics, Mold Litigation, Riverstone Residential, Toxic Mold | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riverstone Residential – New Condo Nightmare – CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Sharon Kramer

By whitmack
10-4-09

If there is one thing that is painstakingly obvious about Seattle right now, it’s the construction. New buildings are popping up everywhere and I’m curious as to who is going to fill them. Not only that, but who is in charge of them once they are built?

Some friends of mine moved into the second phase of the condos built at 17th and Madison above Trader Joe’s. The units weren’t selling as condos, so they desperately decided to lease them, and lease them to anyone. The building is more like a dorm now, with parties and noise and drunken people roaming the halls. Not quite what they had in mind for 1700 Madison.

Although it boasts luxury, large stains dot the carpet just weeks after being cleaned, again. Piles of puke can often be found in the stairwells, left for some fairy-maid to clean up. The entrance sidewalk was finally paved after 6 months of people moving in through dirt. The structure walls already have long cracks, the windows leak, and when it rains water rushes under the outside door into the hallway, causing the carpet and hardwood floor to bubble. My favorites: the beautifully crafted trim punctured by a nail gun and left to bare its open wounds, and the fake fireplace that blows as much hot air as the building brochures.

My friends went two weeks without knobs on their cabinets, and their building keys still don’t work in half the doors. A roaring jackhammer at 2 a.m. in the lower garages has caused countless sleepless nights, but never merit a returned phone call from management. The landlords expected people to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for this bogus structure when they can’t even get their act together. Maybe this is why 1700 Madison still has open units.

If you research the company, you find it’s just the property of some big business offspring called Riverstone Residential, and the women in the office are only in charge of leases. So who is in charge of taking care of this building? Who returns the phone calls? The company’s regional president for Washington is located in San Francisco – not much help.

I just know that according to the City of Seattle Landlord-Tenant Laws, landlords are obligated to “maintaining roof, walls and foundation and keeping the unit weather tight.” I also know from experience that the city will do nothing to help you enforce your rights, and this must be stopped. Someone must be held accountable if we must continue to pay rent and occupy units unfit for habitation.

Comments

Riverstone Residential is part of CAS Partners. Their main headquarters is in Dallas, TX. It sounds like they are running this place like many of their others. They own and manage some properties and just manage thousands of others poorly. More info at katy’s exposure.  katy

capitolhillseattle.com

Note – Information on Riverstone Residential knowingly exposing tenants to extreme amounts of mold toxins at Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  katy

Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments managed by Riverstone Residential

Riverstone Residential Litigation

Mold Inspection Reports

Photos of Mold in Apartment

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Fundraiser to benefit victim of mold poisoning – stachybotrys, aspergillus, penicillium and trichothecene

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Sharon Kramer

By SHAUN SMITH
Staff Writer 9-29-09

Excerpt –

In 2004, she bought a home in Egg Harbor Township. Little did she know that her house would slowly poison her.

She started having symptoms about a year after moving in.

Her motor skills, memory and respiratory system began to deteriorate.

An indoor air quality test in 2006 revealed extremely high counts of different strains of mycotoxins, or mold, her mother said.

Among those found were the toxic black mold stachybotrys, aspergillus, penicillium and trichothecene.  

They traveled to New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Connecticut trying to find a cure, to no avail. It wasn’t until August when they found Dr. Andrew Campbell, a Texas immune and toxic disorders specialist, that they solved the mystery.

Campbell diagnosed mycotoxicosis and prescribed six to eight months of treatment with Cancidas, a drug that is delivered intravenously. A port will be implanted in Parker’s arm and one hour of treatment will be administered by a home health nurse.

It will cost $1,000 a week.

The funding for treatment must be secured before she can begin because the medication must be meted out in full.

The Cancidas is designed to flush out the toxins in the body, and in time, Parker may regain her motor skills and the memory damage that Campbell described as a “brain fog.”

With treatment, Parker is hoping her immune system will recover. She said that she will always have strong allergies, but they won’t hinder her everyday life.

She said she will need to be tested regularly for aspergillus in her lungs, which could lead to cancer. However, her insurance claim for the testing has just been denied for the third time.

Having lived with the condition for more than four years, Parker is excited at the prospect of getting her life back to normal.

Finally having a diagnosis has brought some relief.

Full Story – shorenewstoday.com

Note – Information on Riverstone Residential knowingly exposing tenants to extreme amounts of mold toxins at Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  katy

Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments managed by Riverstone Residential

Riverstone Residential Litigation

Mold Inspection Reports

Photos of Mold in Apartment

 
Posted in Environmental Health Threats, Health - Medical - Science, Toxic Mold | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Parents Demonstrate Over Alleged Mold Problem

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Sharon Kramer

October 1, 2009
Story by Alicia Suka

School officials say the health department is investigating.

Excerpt –

BAILEYSVILLE —  A group of Wyoming County parents gather to draw attention to what they say is a major health concern.

Moms, dads, even grandparents lined up outside Baileysville Grade School this morning as the sun came up.

They say there’s mold growing in some of the classrooms at the school and it’s making the students and teachers sick.

The parents held signs to draw attention to the alleged problem.

They say they’re hoping the board of education steps in and takes control.

Full Story and video – wvnstv.com

Comments –

katy
10/2/09

It is many of these “common molds found in the environment and households” growing in abnormal concentrations inside that produce toxins!!!  And many are not BLACK. The health dept. knows that or should. www.katysexposure.wordpress.com

Truth About Mold
10/1/09

The following information has been sent to hundreds of elected officials throughout the country.

I am writing to you on behalf of millions of Americans who have been harmed by exposure to toxic mold. The following message has been sent to hundreds of elected officials including President Obama, all U.S. Senators, members of the U.S. House, the Governors of all 50 states, state legislators, state health departments, etc.

Toxic mold causes serious health problems. We need your help to get laws passed in order to ensure that the American people can get appropriate medical care and the correct information regarding the handling and remediation of toxic mold. We need laws and regulations in regard to people who test and remediate mold in order to stop the fraud and deceit that has been occurring throughout the country.

Toxic mold can happen to anyone. My family’s experience is a good example of what has been happening to families throughout the country. We had toxic mold in our home. We lost our home, our health, all of our personal belongings and our financial security. What if your family lost everything—your home, your health, your personal property, your family mementos, your financial security, and your children’s sense of safety?

For 50 years, the tobacco industry denied the truth about the health effects of tobacco. How long will the insurance industry and other stakeholders be allowed to deny the truth about the health effects of toxic mold? We need to expose the truth now and educate the public about the proper way to handle mold problems in our homes, schools and businesses. If your family was exposed to toxic mold, wouldn’t you want laws in place to protect your loved ones? This is all we are asking. We need your leadership and action on this very important issue.

The following information will give you a good place to start in understanding the issues that need to be addressed. These ten items are a very small sample of the thousands of documents available on this topic. I thought these items would be most helpful in your efforts to create new laws and regulations about mold-related issues. You might also review the mold legislation that was proposed by Representative John Conyers.

1. The following paper has an insightful discussion of whether mold contamination in homes can be regulated. “Can Mold Contamination of Homes be Regulated–Lessons Learned from Radon and Lead Policies”? The answer is YES.

pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es0620585

2. The State of California issued mold remediation guidelines. This is one of the most up-to-date reports available. It contains references to several important articles about the health effects of toxic mold. The U.S. Navy also has mold remediation guidelines.

www-nehc.med.navy.mil/downloads/prevmed/katrina/ihfom_ch13-3.pdf

3. The State of Nevada recently passed legislation designating September 2009 as toxic mold awareness month, and the State of Arkansas passed legislation regarding standards and qualifications for mold investigators. You could use this information as a starting point for one part of your legislation, but you would want to get input from experts.

www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Bills/ACR/ACR7_EN.pdf

www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/R/Acts/Act1467.pdf

4. The U.S. Surgeon General just announced the federal government’s new Healthy Home Initiative which discusses mold and mold toxins, along with lead paint and radon, and other issues that can affect the indoor environment in homes.

www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/healthyhomes/calltoactiontopromotehealthyhomes.pdf

5. The Center for School Mold Help has a lot of valuable information about mold in schools and also has an excellent article discussing how certain stakeholders are trying to hide the truth about the health effects of toxic mold. Another group, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, is focused on water damage and mold problems caused by construction defects.

www.schoolmoldhelp.org

www.schoolmoldhelp.org/content/view/1639/46/

www.hadd.com/

6. There are many books available on this subject including these two books:

Bioaerosols: Assessment and Control” This book was published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in 1999.

“Molds and Mycotoxins–Papers from an International Symposium” This book was edited by Kaye Kilburn, M.D. and was published by Heldref Publications in 2004.

7. Three of the experts who have been leading the way are James Craner, M.D., Jack Thrasher, Ph.D. and Ritchie Shoemaker, M.D. Dr. Craner has published several good articles and reports on this topic, including “A Critique of the ACOEM Statement on Mold.” Jack Thrasher, Ph.D., is a toxicologist who has assisted in many situations involving mold in homes, schools and businesses. Dr. Shoemaker has treated many people who have been exposed to mold and has written several articles and books.

www.drcraner.com

www.drcraner.com/images/ACritiqueoftheACOEMStatementonMold.pdf

www.drthrasher.org

www.biotoxin.info

8. The following links are from military textbooks. The first one is Chapter 34 on Trichothecene Mycotoxins, and the second one is Chapter 4 on Toxins (which includes information about mycotoxins). If the U.S. military can admit that mycotoxins are dangerous, then why are the insurance companies allowed to deny that mycotoxins cause health problems.

www.envirochex.com/Downloads/Chapter34_Military_Medicine.pdf

www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1018.5/MR1018.5.chap4.html

9. The University of Connecticut published a handbook in 2004 titled “Guidance for Clinicians on the Recognition and Management of Health Effects Related to Mold Exposure and Moisture Indoors.”

oehc.uchc.edu/images/PDFs/MOLDGUIDE.pdf

10. There are thousands of articles regarding the health effects of toxic mold, including the following one which is titled “The Validity of Environmental Neurotoxic Effects of Toxigenic Molds and Mycotoxins.”

www.ispub.com/journal/the_internet_journal_of_toxicology/volume_5_number_2_40/article/the_validity_of_the_environmental_neurotoxic_effects_of_toxigenic_molds_and_mycotoxins.html#h1-6

Toxic mold is a very serious health threat, and we need to do everything we can to help protect all Americans. I hope this information is helpful as you continue your work to develop laws and regulations about mold-related issues.

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