All of us at Voices of September 11th wish you and your family a very Happy St. Patrick's Day! Everyone is Irish on St. Patty's Day and we hope you will celebrate the day surrounded by family and friends. We offer this Old Irish Blessing to warm your heart as the last days of winter fade away into spring:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

As always, we at VOICES are here to help. Please contact our office at (866) 505-3911 or by email.

Warm Regards,

Mary Fetchet

Thank you to those who signed up for the special Moussaoui trial phone group. Due to recent events in the trial, VOICES is suspending the ongoing phone groups. Those interested in other groups are encouraged to view our list of ongoing phone groups and contact our office for further information at (203) 966-3911 or toll free (866) 505-3911.

Beginning this April, World Cares Center will host a new workshop program, developed and conducted by senior faculty from Columbia University. The core philosophy of this workshop is that resilience, or “power of recovery,” can be cultivated, practiced, and enhanced in preparation for future major stressful events. The CURE program has been specially designed for individuals who have been affected by the 9/11 attacks. This program is not a treatment for PTSD, depression, or other psychological conditions that resulted from 9/11; however, staff can assist in finding treatment for persons in need of more intensive professional help.

CURE workshops will be conducted in five weekly meetings, each approximately two hours in length. The meetings will take place at September Space Lower Manhattan, 11 Broadway, 11th floor. Dates are set for the first three workshops, which will have a maximum of 12 participants. Additional sessions will be available throughout the coming year.

Group A: Tuesdays, April 11-May 9 from 4:00-6:00 pm
Group B: Tuesdays, May 16-June 13 from 12:00-2:00 pm
Group C: Tuesdays, June 20-July 25 from 5:30-7:30 pm

The CURE program is offered at NO COST through the generous support of a Red Cross 9/11 Recovery Grant. For more information about this program and to participate, please contact Kathryn Moroney at 646-289-3098 (Tuesday 10:00 am -6:00 pm, Wednesday 5:00-9:00 pm, or Thursday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm), or by emailing kmoroney@worldcares.org. Visit the Columbia Trauma and World Cares websites to learn more about this program.

Construction on the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site, “Reflecting Absence,” began Monday in the shadow of 9/11 family members protesting the planned design for alleged safety concerns and design flaws. The Coalition of 9/11 Families filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan last Friday to halt work on the Memorial. The suit charges that LMDC and the Port Authority, the site's owner, failed to consult with the group on the design and to follow proper procedure. A judge began hearing arguments on Wednesday, according to a Canadian TV News Report.

LMDC President Stefen Pryor, quoted in the Associated Press said Monday that the Memorial would "fulfill the highest standards of both safety and beauty." He said the agency had consulted extensively and publicly with its Family Steering Committee and would continue to hear family members' concerns as construction proceeds.

Groups of up to one hundred 9/11 Family Members have protested at the site this week for various reasons. Some called for “no underground Memorial,” claiming the location of “Reflecting Absence” below ground would trap visitors during an emergency. Others claim that placing the Memorial underground dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims. "Many families feel this shows a great deal of disrespect. There's nothing above ground. But we're also concerned about the safety," said Diane Horning, whose son died in the WTC, quoted in a New York Newsday article.

Governor George Pataki’s administration issued an ultimatum to Larry Silverstein Wednesday after negotiations between the Ground Zero developer and the Port Authority broke down without an agreement on how to proceed with construction. Silverstein must begin construction of the Freedom Tower on schedule next month or “move out of the way” by ceding control of building the controversial skyscraper to the Port Authority, according to a New York Times article.

Stumbling blocks in the renegotiation of Silverstein’s $3.2 billion lease of the site include what exactly to build at the former World Trade Center site and who will foot the bill for construction and maintenance of the new buildings. Also at stake is billions of dollars in Twin Towers insurance money and Liberty bonds earmarked for downtown redevelopment. New York State and Port Authority negotiators charged that Silverstein seeks to maximize his profit at the expense of the public interest. Some critics, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg charge that Silverstein doesn't have the money to build five planned office towers, and will pocket millions in public funds while failing to complete the 5-tower redevelopment scheme, according to the New York Post.

Silverstein has blamed bureaucratic red tape for delays in construction, and offers the recently opened 7 WTC tower as evidence that he can rebuild at Ground Zero. "It is inexcusable that the Port Authority abruptly walked away from the talks without a plan to move forward," Silverstein said Wednesday, saying he made a good-faith offer to the Port Authority on control of the Freedom Tower, as quoted in the New York Observer. Governor Pataki believes downtown Manhattan redevelopment is central to his legacy, and is committed to building the symbolic Freedom Tower on schedule as he mulls a Presidential run in 2008, according to a New York Times analysis of the breakdown.

The Zacarias Moussaoui death penalty trial took a bizarre turn this week when the judge disqualified witnesses seen as central to the prosecution’s case because of apparent witness tampering by a government lawyer. Judge Leonie Brinkema halted the trial Monday after learning that Transportation Safety Administration lawyer Carla Martin coached aviation security witnesses on their testimony and provided transcripts of the trial in violation of Judge’s orders. In the courtroom illustration at left, defense lawyer Edward McMahon asks Judge Brinkema to dismiss the death penalty charge as his client, Moussaoui, looks on. Judge Brinkema denied the motion, but the future of the trial is anything but certain. She ordered the trial recessed until Monday to give the prosecution and defense time to adjust to the new circumstances.

Martin faces tough consequences for her actions. Brinkema told her on Tuesday that she could be charged with civil or criminal contempt, and later said she appeared to have violated rules of legal ethics. That means she could be fined, disbarred or imprisoned, or some combination of those, according to an Associated Press article. In an interview with ABC News, Martin's lawyer gave this cryptic statement: "There is no doubt that there is more to the story than has been presented in the courtroom and has been reported in the press. There's a lot more. We are not prepared to talk about it now, but part of what we are doing and we will do, so that everybody understands exactly what happened." (Read more about the allegations against Carla J. Martin)

"A trial, particularly a death penalty case, simply cannot go forward with this many errors," Judge Brinkema said before announcing Tuesday that seven witnesses tainted by contact with Martin would be barred from testifying, according to the New York Times. Prosecutors said the decision would severely undercut their case, which relies on the testimony of aviation security officials to prove that the government would have taken steps to defend against the 9/11 attacks if Moussaoui had told interrogators all he knew about the plot when arrested in August, 2001. Even if the death penalty is dropped, Moussaoui faces life in prison for pleading guilty to six counts related to al-Qaeda conspiracies to commit acts of terrorism.

"Whether the witnesses have actually been tainted or not is almost impossible to tell. There are a number of errors so serious that that portion of the government's case has been seriously eroded," Judge Brinkema said on Tuesday. Lead prosecutor Robert Spencer agreed: “We don't know whether it is worth us proceeding at all, candidly, under the ruling you made today." Both are quoted in an Associated Press article. Prosecutors have considered appealing the Judge’s decision to a higher court, but it is not clear whether the Federal Appeals court can overrule the decision because trial judges are typically given extensive leeway in excluding witnesses, according to a legal analysis by attorney Andrew Cohen. "I don't think in the annals of criminal law that there has ever been a case with this many significant problems," said Judge Brinkema, quoted in the Los Angeles Times. VOICES will continue to cover these explosive events as the trial is set to resume Monday.

Dubai firm expects US assets sale in 4-6 months -- The state-owned Arab company whose purchase of U.S. port terminal assets unleashed a political firestorm expects to sell them within four to six months to a U.S. buyer, a company statement said on Wednesday (Reuters)

Secure ports seize agenda in Congress -- The outcry over the Dubai ports deal, now defunct, showed lawmakers that voters care about ports - and Congress is scrambling to move new legislation and funding streams to reassure the public that security at ports is a top priority (Christian Science Monitor)

200,000 People in U.S. Terror Database -- Police and other government workers in the U.S. have come in contact with terrorists or people suspected of foreign terror ties more than 6,000 times in the past 28 months (Associated Press)

WTC Families For Proper Burial Court Date
A show of support is vital. Please make every effort to attend.
When: Monday, April 3rd, 2:00 pm
Location: Judge Hellerstein's Courtroom, US Courthouse, 500 Pearl St. NYC
Contact: For more information, visit WTC Families for Proper Burial