FEDINFO E-letter from Pueblo

Welcome to the May 2005 edition of the Federal Citizen Information Center's FEDINFO E-letter! These subscription e-letters from Pueblo are sent 6-8 times a year with helpful updates, practical information, and special offers to make your life a little easier. You can always find the latest information at our websites: Pueblo.gsa.gov and www.USA.gov.

This issue includes:

Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 15 - May 21. Learn about hurricane hazards and how you can take action to prepare before disaster strikes. Hurricane hazards come in many forms: storm surge, high winds, tornadoes, and flooding. It's important for your family to have a plan that covers all of these hazards.

Last year's hurricane season was one of the most devastating on record. The 16 tropical storms and hurricanes caused extensive damage and many casualties in the Atlantic. Hurricane Jeanne caused an estimated 3000 or more deaths in Haiti from torrential rainfall flooding. Hurricane Charley was the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Andrew in 1992. Hurricane Gaston caused major inland flooding in the Richmond , Virginia area, resulting in 8 deaths. Hurricane Ivan caused considerable damage and loss of life as it passed through the Caribbean Sea.

Learn more about preparing for hurricanes at the Hurricane Preparedness Week website.

Hurricanes aren't the only cause of floods. Did you know that you don't need to live near water to be flooded? According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a flood can happen just about anywhere -- they are caused by storms, melting snow, hurricanes, and water backup due to inadequate or overloaded drainage systems, dam or levee failure, etc.

Learn the basics and how to protect your property against flood damage at FloodSmart.gov.

The USDA recently replaced the old Food Guide Pyramid with MyPyramid, a new food guidance system that emphasizes the need for a more individualized approach to improving diet and lifestyle.

At MyPyramid.gov, you can key in your age, gender, and physical activity level to get a personal recommendation based on your daily caloric intake according to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. You can also get suggestions for making smart eating choices from each food group.

If you're shopping around for a used car, consider buying from family. Uncle Sam sells more than 40,000 well-maintained vehicles each year, and buying a vehicle pre-owned by the Federal Government can be easy and convenient.

Visit USA.gov's one stop source for a comprehensive listing of Federal and state websites selling Seized & Surplus Cars and Vehicles where you can buy cars, boats, SUVs and planes from the government. Then follow the links to find an auction near you from the more than 40 sites nationwide.

The Federal Citizen Information Center frequently has special offers of free publications mentioned in magazines and newspapers around the country. We provide visitors to our website with an opportunity to order these publications online -- even if they didn’t see the original article. You can find these promotions on our Media Promotions page. It’s a page worth bookmarking so you can check back every so often to see what new offers have been added.

Note: Some of the older offers mentioned on the page have ended but they provide links to the publications online or you can order a free sample package of publications.

Many consumers are now using SPAM-blocking software or junk-mail filters offered by their e-mail providers. These filters may also prevent you from receiving e-letters that you have subscribed to like FEDINFO. If you are using these filters, you may want to consider adding the following e-mail address to your "safe list": cic.info@gsa.gov.