August 11th - August 17th, 2006

Pataki Signs Legislation to Aid 9/11 Rescue Workers, Families

Monday, August 14^th: Governor George Pataki this week signed into law three different pieces of legislation designed to assist September 11^th rescue workers who became ill from the dust and debris at Ground Zero obtain benefits.

The first allows workers who became sick after the two-year deadline for workers' compensation passed to resubmit applications for further consideration. The second allows families of police officers, firefighters, and other uniformed personnel who aided in the rescue to apply for accidental death benefits. And the third eliminates the statute of limitations to allow rescue and recovery workers who retire from public service to later have their retirement reclassified as accidental disability if illnesses related to their work on 9/11 surface. To read more, please click here.

Memorial Site Readied for Construction

Wednesday, August 16^th: Heavy equipment was offloaded into the pit at Ground Zero while workers from E.E. Cruz & Company prepared to dig the foundation for the World Trade Center Memorial, the Daily News reported. Edward Cruz, president of E.E. Cruz, which aided in the 9/11 cleanup efforts, told the Daily News; "All our people are very ecstatic that they're going to be in on this project. It's great to be back to make something positive." The arrival of equipment marks the start of a $17 million phase of foundation construction for the Memorial. It will take place adjacent to the digging of the Freedom Tower foundation, which began in April, the paper added.

The New York Post spoke to WTC Memorial Foundation spokeswoman Lynn Rasic, who commented on the construction: "It shows that the project is moving forward. This is a great step." Rasic added that the project is on track toward its scheduled September 2009 completion date, the Post reported.

Group Encourages People to Remember 9/11 Through Volunteer Work

Wednesday, August 16^th: The nonprofit group One Day's Pay is encouraging Americans to remember the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, by volunteering their time, Newsday reported. The group encourages all Americans to volunteer with a charity or perform a good deed such as checking in with elderly neighbors, the paper continued. One Day's Pay has also launched a website, MyGoodDeed.org, where people can find causes they support and pledge to perform charitable acts, Newsday added. New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Representative Peter King are advocates of the idea and agree with the group's co-founder, Jay Winuk, that September 11^th shouldn't always be about remembering despair, the paper added.

Construction of WTC Memorial Footings Begins

Thursday, August 17^th: Construction of the footings that will support the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum commenced at 7 a.m. as workers from New Jersey firm E.E. Cruz & Company began necessary excavation work, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced. To read more, please click here.

Victims Name Placement Reconsidered

Thursday, August 17^th: Officials may entertain the idea of inscribing September 11^th victims' names on the World Trade Center Memorial in some type of order rather than randomly, the New York Times reported. A possible solution to the varying wishes of different groups is to place the names around the appropriate tower footprint and arrange them by company while not actually including the company name, the paper continued. According to the Times, emergency workers' names would be inscribed on the southern edge of the south tower footprint and arranged by unit and rank, although that information would also be omitted. The idea behind this proposed organization is that it would allow mourners to find victim's names among those of their coworkers and friends but would still appear random to outside observers, the paper reported.