Friday, January 20, 2006
Thank Goodness
This is great news. We need to get these flooded cars out of here! There have been a lot that were removed by the insurance carriers already, but there are thousands more that need to be removed that were uninsured, or just overlooked. They are filling city parking lots everywhere, including most of the spaces underneath the overpasses and interstates. It's not a good image to be presenting.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's administration said Thursday that it has taken a step forward in erasing another eyesore: Katrina cars.
Those mud-caked autos, cluttered under overpasses or askew on neutral grounds with their windows smashed, may be towed away soon, although a date has not been fixed. A contract for the removal of the vehicles has been signed with a Colorado firm already involved in bringing tens of thousands of trailers to the city, and the deal is expected to be finalized within two weeks, administrators said.
More here
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's administration said Thursday that it has taken a step forward in erasing another eyesore: Katrina cars.
Those mud-caked autos, cluttered under overpasses or askew on neutral grounds with their windows smashed, may be towed away soon, although a date has not been fixed. A contract for the removal of the vehicles has been signed with a Colorado firm already involved in bringing tens of thousands of trailers to the city, and the deal is expected to be finalized within two weeks, administrators said.
More here
Yeah, we're going crazy down here.
Almost two months after Katrina hit, 20.2 percent of houses still had no water, 24.5 percent had no electricity, and 43.2 percent had no telephone service. And 49.8 percent of the adults exhibited levels of emotional distress indicating a potential need for mental health services. "We found that residents have a variety of environmental, medical and mental health needs," said Dr. Randolph Daley, a veterinary epidemiologist with the CDC.
"The impact of the hurricane was great and some of those needs have already been addressed, but there are many needs that will continue."
"The need for mental health services is going to continue for a good amount of time," Daley added.
More here
"The impact of the hurricane was great and some of those needs have already been addressed, but there are many needs that will continue."
"The need for mental health services is going to continue for a good amount of time," Daley added.
More here
Thursday, January 19, 2006
A Photo:
Taken near Jefferson & Magazine this morning with my phone...
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Agreement on demolitions reached
I can understand folks being upset about their former homes being torn down, but at some point you have to realize that they are just standing in the way of the city's progress.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The city of New Orleans says it will soon begin notifying the owner of every home slated for demolition, even those that were pushed into streets by floodwaters or reduced to piles of debris. The city sparked outrage last month when a top official announced that 2,500 buildings had to be torn down within weeks because they posed an imminent threat to the public.
More here
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The city of New Orleans says it will soon begin notifying the owner of every home slated for demolition, even those that were pushed into streets by floodwaters or reduced to piles of debris. The city sparked outrage last month when a top official announced that 2,500 buildings had to be torn down within weeks because they posed an imminent threat to the public.
More here
Point, Counterpoint
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Mayor Nagin's MLK Day speech
I don't have time to comment on this right now, but check it out and I'll post more later. More can be found at nola.com
"This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be," Nagin said. "You can't have it no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."
"will be chocolate at the end of the day."
Nagin attributed the recent hurricanes striking the United States to a God who is "mad at America" for waging a war in Iraq based on false pretenses. Nagin said God also is upset at the black community for not taking better care of its people.
"We ask black people. . . . It's time for us to come together,"
"It's time for us to rebuild a New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," he said. "And I don't care what people are saying in Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day."
"Surely God is mad at America," he said.
"Knuckleheads" were responsible for the gunfire that wounded a 34-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman and an 20-year-old man, he said. "When we come together for a second-line, we're not going to tolerate any violence. Martin Luther King would've wanted it that way . . ."
"It's time for all of us good folk to stand up and say, 'We're tired of the violence. We're tired of black folks killing each other,' " Nagin said.
"What are we doing? Why is black-on-black crime such an issue?" he continued. "Why do our young men hate each other so much that they look their brother in the face and they will take a gun and kill him in cold blood?"
In response to such senseless horror, King would say, "We as a people need to fix ourselves first," said Nagin, striking a frequent theme of his speeches. "The lack of love is killing us."
"Surely he's not approving of us being in Iraq under false pretense," Nagin said. "But surely he's upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves, we're not taking care of our women, and we're not taking care of our children . . ."
"This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be," Nagin said. "You can't have it no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."
"will be chocolate at the end of the day."
Nagin attributed the recent hurricanes striking the United States to a God who is "mad at America" for waging a war in Iraq based on false pretenses. Nagin said God also is upset at the black community for not taking better care of its people.
"We ask black people. . . . It's time for us to come together,"
"It's time for us to rebuild a New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," he said. "And I don't care what people are saying in Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day."
"Surely God is mad at America," he said.
"Knuckleheads" were responsible for the gunfire that wounded a 34-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman and an 20-year-old man, he said. "When we come together for a second-line, we're not going to tolerate any violence. Martin Luther King would've wanted it that way . . ."
"It's time for all of us good folk to stand up and say, 'We're tired of the violence. We're tired of black folks killing each other,' " Nagin said.
"What are we doing? Why is black-on-black crime such an issue?" he continued. "Why do our young men hate each other so much that they look their brother in the face and they will take a gun and kill him in cold blood?"
In response to such senseless horror, King would say, "We as a people need to fix ourselves first," said Nagin, striking a frequent theme of his speeches. "The lack of love is killing us."
"Surely he's not approving of us being in Iraq under false pretense," Nagin said. "But surely he's upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves, we're not taking care of our women, and we're not taking care of our children . . ."
May I just say, I seriously doubt this.
Alabama, Texas May Gain as Katrina Dims New Orleans Mardi Gras
Best quote:
Mobile promotes its festival as a family-friendly alternative to the New Orleans event, where women bare their breasts to receive plastic beads at post-parade parties. Mobile designated alcohol-free zones on its parade route in 2004. Float riders toss stuffed animals and chocolate-and-marshmallow treats called MoonPies along with beads.
``It's G-rated and we're proud of that,'' said David J. Cooper Sr., chairman of the Mobile Carnival Association.
Best quote:
Mobile promotes its festival as a family-friendly alternative to the New Orleans event, where women bare their breasts to receive plastic beads at post-parade parties. Mobile designated alcohol-free zones on its parade route in 2004. Float riders toss stuffed animals and chocolate-and-marshmallow treats called MoonPies along with beads.
``It's G-rated and we're proud of that,'' said David J. Cooper Sr., chairman of the Mobile Carnival Association.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Caption Game
Write your own fun caption for this one. Photo credit: David Grunfeld, Times-Picayune.
Note: That's President Bush doing something to the face of local business executive Boysie Bollinger. Makes it even funnier now, doesn't it?
Nagin's recent comments regarding rebuilding, etc...
NEW ORLEANS — Mayor Ray Nagin is asking local citizens not to discount the rebuilding proposal released by a volunteer planning committee last week based only on its controversial suggestion of a four-month moratorium on building permits. Speaking before a group of homeowners on Saturday, he said he believes safety factors and market forces will guide rebuilding patterns.
Along that line, he said he will advise residents of eastern New Orleans and the Lower 9th Ward not to rebuild in those areas as long as the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet remains open. Nagin made his comments before a group of about 175 homeowners from several lakefront subdivisions during a meeting at the Lake Vista community center.
Noting that the proposed moratorium on building permits had set off angry reactions across the city, he urged citizens not to be overly concerned about that provision and to take a closer look at the plan drawn up by the Urban Planning Committee of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission.
“I really think that the plan did not get its due justice because of the moratorium debate. So I would ask you to go online [see links below] and really take a look at the plan one more time,” Nagin said.
The mayor said that he is “not comfortable with” imposing a four-month moratorium because “we’ve been issuing permits since the event, and I don’t see how we can go back and stop people from doing the work that they’ve been doing.” In addition, he said, “four months is way too long a period of time. It stops any momentum that we may have going … and it just puts another uncertainty out there.”
Nagin said he believes that, ultimately, people will make good decisions about their own homes.
More here
Along that line, he said he will advise residents of eastern New Orleans and the Lower 9th Ward not to rebuild in those areas as long as the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet remains open. Nagin made his comments before a group of about 175 homeowners from several lakefront subdivisions during a meeting at the Lake Vista community center.
Noting that the proposed moratorium on building permits had set off angry reactions across the city, he urged citizens not to be overly concerned about that provision and to take a closer look at the plan drawn up by the Urban Planning Committee of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission.
“I really think that the plan did not get its due justice because of the moratorium debate. So I would ask you to go online [see links below] and really take a look at the plan one more time,” Nagin said.
The mayor said that he is “not comfortable with” imposing a four-month moratorium because “we’ve been issuing permits since the event, and I don’t see how we can go back and stop people from doing the work that they’ve been doing.” In addition, he said, “four months is way too long a period of time. It stops any momentum that we may have going … and it just puts another uncertainty out there.”
Nagin said he believes that, ultimately, people will make good decisions about their own homes.
More here
Mardi Gras Marathon is still on
Even though I don't know if "scenery" is the right word, it will be amazing, and as I've said here before the more we get people to see the destruction first hand, the better it will be for us and our city in the long run (no pun intended)
"The course, say in between mile 3 and mile 12, that will have some pretty amazing scenery," Burke said. "The water lines are distinct on those homes and property."
Full story here
"The course, say in between mile 3 and mile 12, that will have some pretty amazing scenery," Burke said. "The water lines are distinct on those homes and property."
Full story here
T. S. Eliot on the river
"I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river
Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable,
Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier;
Useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce;
Then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges.
The problem once solved, the brown god is almost forgotten
By the dwellers in cities—ever, however, implacable.
Keeping his seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder
Of what men choose to forget...."
Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable,
Patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier;
Useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce;
Then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges.
The problem once solved, the brown god is almost forgotten
By the dwellers in cities—ever, however, implacable.
Keeping his seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder
Of what men choose to forget...."
Senate Homeland Security cmte to tour gulf coast next week
The more of this we can get, the better.
WASHINGTON — Federal officials will get a closer look at post-Katrina New Orleans next week when members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee visit the city. Committee Chairman Susan Collins and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman today announced that they will visit Gulf Coast areas damaged by the hurricane as part of the committee's investigation into the preparation for and response to the disaster.
More here
WASHINGTON — Federal officials will get a closer look at post-Katrina New Orleans next week when members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee visit the city. Committee Chairman Susan Collins and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman today announced that they will visit Gulf Coast areas damaged by the hurricane as part of the committee's investigation into the preparation for and response to the disaster.
More here
Broadmoor ready to fight about...
Nothing, apparently. They seem to think that the dots on the BNOB commission's plan indicate spots where parks will be located, when this isn't the case at all. The report that was released was a template, and the neighborhoods will decide themselves where parks will be located. Such jumping of the gun, we are starting to see across New Orleans these days...
“Broadmoor is going to come back and we are organizing,” said Latoya Cantrell, president of the Broadmoor Improvement Association. “Green space is just not an option. We have plenty of green space around Broadmoor right now.”
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However, a key adviser to the Urban Planning Committee said that residents have misunderstood the intent of the plan. While it calls for the city to create parks as part of a water management strategy, the neighborhoods will determine which areas are turned into green space. Maps in the plan, which include large, dotted-line circles indicating areas for green space, are only suggestions, said John Beckman, master planner for the committee.
“It really is a diagram, and it is to be used as something to keep in mind,” Beckman said. “Actually the precise location and size and design of the parks will be something that will determined over time as part of the neighborhood planning process.”
“Broadmoor is going to come back and we are organizing,” said Latoya Cantrell, president of the Broadmoor Improvement Association. “Green space is just not an option. We have plenty of green space around Broadmoor right now.”
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However, a key adviser to the Urban Planning Committee said that residents have misunderstood the intent of the plan. While it calls for the city to create parks as part of a water management strategy, the neighborhoods will determine which areas are turned into green space. Maps in the plan, which include large, dotted-line circles indicating areas for green space, are only suggestions, said John Beckman, master planner for the committee.
“It really is a diagram, and it is to be used as something to keep in mind,” Beckman said. “Actually the precise location and size and design of the parks will be something that will determined over time as part of the neighborhood planning process.”
