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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post. We hope everyone enjoyed the last official August weekend of 2010. Whether you were watching Entourage, or watching the Emmy Awards (go Modern Family!) last night, the inevitable was going to happen: Monday morning would eventually arrive. But fret not. We have pulled together all the news you need to ease the transition back into the real world. So, as we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on!

Hurricane Katrina, Five Years Later
Yesterday marked the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana, causing over $80 billion in damage and killing nearly 2,000 people. Google Earth Blog offered a great deal of coverage to the event, as Google was able to contribute a variety of imagery updates and other resources to help. I had just started running Google Earth Hacks at that time, and users submitted quite a few KML files related to the hurricane. Despite only being on the market as “Google Earth” for a few months (it was previously available as “Keyhole”, though it was far less popular) many people, such as this couple, were able to use Google’s oft-updated imagery of the area to see the condition of their home. Read the full Google Earth Blog post here.

Technology Aside, Most People Still Decline to Be Located
Internet companies have appropriated the real estate business’s mantra — it’s all about location, location, location. But while a home on the beach will always be an easy sell, it may be more difficult to persuade people to start using location-based Web services. Big companies and start-ups alike — including Google, Foursquare, Gowalla, Shopkick and most recently Facebook — offer services that let people report their physical location online, so they can connect with friends or receive coupons. Venture capitalists have poured $115 million into location start-ups since last year, according to the National Venture Capital Association, and companies like Starbucks and Gap have offered special deals to users of such services who visited their stores. But for all the attention and money these apps and Web sites are getting, adoption has so far been largely confined to pockets of young, technically adept urbanites. Just 4 percent of Americans have tried location-based services, and 1 percent use them weekly, according to Forrester Research. Eighty percent of those who have tried them are men, and 70 percent are between 19 and 35. Read the full NY Times story here.

Facebook’s Location-Based Programs Mean More Setting Adjustments for Users
Facebook users should pay particular attention to Facebook Places, the social media site’s new location-based program. Places allows people to “tag,” or add, friends when checking into a location without permission. So if you’re tagged, your whereabouts show up on your Facebook page and your friend’s. Facebook introduced a new feature this month that allows people to use GPS technology to announce their whereabouts. It’s great for smart phone users who want to know where their friends are at any given moment. Some of them already use Foursquare and GoWalla to “check in” to restaurants, bars and other hotspots. But users who are concerned about privacy must proactively change their settings to opt out. Read the full Sun Sentinel article here.

Donley Pushes Major Space Changes
With the stroke of a pen Air Force Secretary Mike Donley engaged one of the most complex bureaucratic challenges faced by the service: how to buy, build and manage satellites and the rockets that move them into space. Donley, seeking to clarify what experts say was a confusing and sometimes ineffective system, ordered several important changes to how the Air Force’s space community is organized and to who makes what decisions. In perhaps the biggest change declared in his memo, Donley vested the service’s undersecretary, Erin Conaton, with the responsibility for guiding all space policy activities overseen by the Air Force. The assistant secretary for acquisition will now lead all space acquisition, combining traditional fighter, bomber and other service acquisition with space. Check out the full DoD Buzz story here.

Spy Satellite Hit by Power Problem
One of four Japanese spy satellites orbiting Earth has malfunctioned and been inoperative since Monday, the government said Saturday. According to the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, the No. 2 radar satellite, launched in February 2007, appears to be having problems with its power supply and is being examined. The other three spy satellites, all optical satellites, are working to minimize the impact of the malfunctioning satellite, a Defense Ministry source said. Read the full Japanese Times story here.

Tags: DoD Buzz, Donley Pushed Major Space Changes, Facebook Location-Based, Foursquare, got geoint?, Gowalla, Location-Based Services, Shopkick