I am in Baton Rouge today, working with a team representing each of the nine Small Business Development Centers to develop the disaster preparedness training in advance of the 2010 hurricane season. Forecasters expect that beginning June 1, we will see an above-average storm season, with a greater than average number of storms making landfall in the U.S., with those storms representing greater severity than historical averages. This year’s hurricane season particularly worries me because our states are facing $90 billion budget shortfalls. They simply don’t have the resources to fund a significant disaster relief effort. This was recently demonstrated to painful effect in Rhode Island. Sadly, the state with the second highest unemployment rate experienced its worst flooding in more than two centuries. This makes our preparedness efforts assume greater urgency, as with fewer resources to cushion our losses; we must redouble our efforts to mitigate the risks. On a happier note, this photograph shows one of my favorite seafood restaurants in Louisiana to which I am about to return! I can always count on being well fed when I am here.