Anthony Advincula

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The water just kept rising. As the rain poured for hours and a nearby river swelled, Ben Gonzalez had no time to save any of his family’s belongings.

NEW YORK, NY — In a small reception area of the Henry Street Settlement’s Community Consultation Center in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a couple of young Asian women sit far apart from each other on maroon chairs lined up against the wall. One is busy browsing on her cell phone in a corner, while the other watches absentmindedly at the water leakage from the ceiling trickling into a large bucket in front of them.

NEW YORK, NY — Diversity at the leadership level in the environmental sector remains low despite a high proportion of well-educated and qualified people of color in the United States, according to a report released last Thursday. The problem: systemic bias in the hiring process, but also environmental organizations’ unwillingness to mandate diversity when using a search firm.

(This story is also available in Spanish) MIAMI, FL — About seven months after they moved to Florida, Irina Flores-Montalban found out that her 11-year-old son, Jose, had a blood clot in his heart and needed an operation. Without health insurance, she was advised to enroll him in the state’s Medicaid program in order to get immediate treatment.

NEW YORK — Diabetes-related mortality rates have reached an all-time high in New York City, with people of color hit the hardest, according to a report released this week by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Approximately one person dies of diabetes-related causes every 90 minutes in the city, according to a report released this week by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

BRIGHTON BEACH, NY — Almost a month after Hurricane Sandy ripped through this densely populated beach community, Mohammed Alhamshali still has no permanent home. He can no longer return to the basement of a single-family house that he had rented on Neptune Avenue, a few blocks from the storied Coney Island beach and boardwalk. In fact, he couldn’t even find his landlord.

NEW YORK, NY — At M.S. 88 in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, hundreds of school children – most of them from sixth to eighth grade – poured into the auditorium on Friday morning. Their lesson for the day: saving energy. “Turning the lights off is an important step,” said Kristin Compton, a pony-tailed 11-year-old girl, who sounded nervous as she spoke on the stage before the crowd. Her science teacher and three fellow students stood beside her.

ATLANTA — Contrary to perception in the South and other parts of the country that H1N1 virus has already ebbed in recent months, health department officials here reported an unusual uptick in flu cases and warned that the H1N1 pandemic is far from over.The last week of February alone saw 36 people hospitalized because of H1N1 and seasonal flu. In the first week of March the number had almost doubled, rising to 63.

“I have been depressed for many reasons: losing my house and staying at Salvation Army for days without any help. The thing that really angers me the most, though, is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been ignoring me for 18 months now,” said a Hurricane Katrina survivor.