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A28 u.s. news
Diabierna 2 Juli 2021

Safety concerns halt rescue efforts at condo collapse site

cialist with the Federal Emer- “I mean, they’ve done ev- said, adding that the state will
“This is life and death,” gency Management Agency. erything they can. But we ”provide whatever resources
Biden said during a briefing. He said there were alarming trust the people that are on they need” to allow the search
“We can do it, just the simple indications of movement the ground. And obviously, to continue.
act of everyone doing what Wednesday night at three lo- they’ve got to do what’s best
needs to be done, makes a cations. for their people, right? Be- Cominsky confirmed Thurs-
difference.” cause it is a dangerous situa- day that workers tried to res-
“What was of specific concern tion,” he said. cue a woman shortly after the
was that over the last six days building collapsed when they
“There’s gonna be a lot of we had not seen that type of During a private meeting heard a voice in the rubble.
(AP) — Rescue efforts at pain and anxiety and suffer- significant movement, or in with family members, Biden
the site of a partially col- ing and even the need for some locations any move- drew on his own experiences “We were searching for a fe-
lapsed Florida condomin- psychological help in the days ment in those elements of the with grief to try to comfort male voice ... we heard for
ium building were halted and months that follow,” he structure,” Nacheman said them. Biden lost his first wife several hours, and eventually
Thursday out of concern said. “And so, we’re not going Thursday during a briefing and baby daughter in a car we didn’t hear her voice any-
about the stability of the anywhere.” for family members. crash and decades later lost more,” he said.
remaining structure after an adult son to brain cancer.
crews noticed widening Rescue work was halted af- Heavy equipment in the rub- Cominsky said they contin-
cracks and up to a foot of ter crews noticed several ex- ble pile caused vibrations, ac- “I just wish there was some- ued searching. “Unfortu-
movement in a large col- pansions in cracks they had cording to Nacheman. Rain thing I could do to ease the nately, we didn’t have success
umn, officials said. been monitoring. They also has also been entering ex- pain,” he said in a video post- on that,” he said.
observed 6 to 12 inches of posed parts of the building, ed on Instagram by Jacque-
The stoppage that began movement in a large column saturating items and adding line Patoka, a woman who The cause of the collapse is
shortly after 2 a.m. threat- hanging from the structure weight to the floors. was close to a couple and under investigation. A 2018
ened to keep search teams “that could fall and cause their daughter who are still engineering report found
off the rubble pile for an un- damage to support columns” Covering parts of the struc- missing. that the building’s ground-
known period and dim hopes in the underground park- ture to prevent further water floor pool deck was resting
for finding anyone alive in ing garage, Miami-Dade Fire damage or tearing down the Biden spoke of wanting to on a concrete slab that had
the debris a week after the Rescue Chief Alan Comin- building risks additional loss switch places with a lost or “major structural damage”
tower came down. sky said. of life because those steps missing loved one. “The and needed extensive repairs.
would require sending peo- waiting, the waiting is un- The report also found “abun-
The rescue operations were In addition, they noticed ple back inside, Nacheman bearable,” he said. dant cracking” of concrete
called off on the same day movement in the debris pile said. Demolition would also columns, beams and walls in
that President Joe Biden and and slight movement in some add debris on top of areas that Miami-Dade County Mayor the parking garage.
first lady Jill Biden visited the concrete floor slabs “that have already been cleared of Daniella Levine Cava said the
devastated community. could cause additional failure rubble. search-and-rescue operation Just two months before the
of the building,” he said. will continue as soon as it is building came down, the
The collapse of the 12-story Peter Milián is a cousin of safe to do so. president of its board wrote a
Champlain Towers South Officials will work with Marcus Guara, who died letter to residents saying that
beachfront condominium structural engineers and along with his wife, Anaely Gov. Ron DeSantis said state structural problems identi-
killed at least 18 people and other experts to “develop op- Rodriguez, and their two engineers, the fire depart- fied in the 2018 inspection
left 145 missing. Hundreds tions” to continue rescue op- children, 10-year-old Lucia ment and county officials are had “gotten significantly
of search-and-rescue per- erations, Cominsky said. Guara and 4-year-old Emma exploring options on how to worse” and that major re-
sonnel have painstakingly Guara. Milián said he under- deal with the structural con- pairs would cost at least $15.5
searched the pancaked rub- Critical points around the stands why the rescue work cerns. million. With bids for the
ble for potential signs of life, site have been monitored had to be temporarily halted work still pending, the build-
but no one has been rescued with sensors since the rescue and is confident search ef- “Obviously, we believe that ing suddenly collapsed last
since the first hours after the operation began, said Scott forts will continue. continuing searching is very, Thursday.
collapse. Nacheman, a structures spe- very important,” DeSantis

New Mexico gives most US funding to child care of any state

(AP) — New Mexico is directing package. federal approval of the new formu- efits, especially those who earned too
the nation’s biggest chunk of fed- la in Washington, D.C., where she much to qualify for past subsidies but
eral coronavirus relief money to Some states, like New Jersey, offer served as assistant superintendent of too little to pay for child care without
helping middle-class families pay subsidies at 350% of the federal pov- early learning for the District of Co- spending half their paycheck.
for child care, a vast expansion erty line but only when relatives are lumbia before taking the job in New
aimed at getting parents back to providing care. Mexico. While the formulas are not The expansion is paid for in part by
work in one of the poorest states identical, the experience there pro- $300 million in federal awards that
in America. New Mexico also will be the first vides an idea of how much child care expire in 2024.
state to increase payments to child providers will benefit.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham an- care providers by using a reimburse- Democratic state lawmakers already
nounced Thursday that the state will ment formula that focuses on the Child care providers in Washington have a plan in motion to increase
subsidize child care at 350% of the local cost of running child care busi- got a 24% to 57% increase in reim- child care funding long term by tap-
federal poverty line, or about $93,000 nesses, instead of the market rate of bursement during the transition in ping into a unique $20 billion state
for a family of four. That’s up from what parents can pay. 2019, according to officials there. No endowment funded by resource ex-
about $54,000. providers saw a decrease. traction royalties and market invest-
State Early Childhood Secretary ments.
New Mexico’s two-year spending Elizabeth Groginsky called the an- Early childhood advocates say the new
commitment will expand eligibility to nouncement an “important land- rules will lead to increased pay for A ballot initiative before voters next
the highest income levels of any state. mark on our journey towards creat- child care workers, who often make year could increase the amount of
It’s the largest and latest example of ing a true cradle-to-career education just above minimum wage. They also funding from the endowment to the
states using pandemic relief aid to system that helps all New Mexicans expect improvements in worker-to- state’s Early Childhood Education
subsidize child care. Others include thrive.” child ratios, the main benchmark of and Care Department and possibly
Georgia and Montana, while Califor- child care center quality. replace the federal funding when it
nia is debating a child care funding Groginsky was pivotal for winning Parents should see immediate ben- expires.