Hurricane Katrina Aftermath (and other stuff I find interesting)

Normally I don't think endorsements are very significant at all. People don't really pay attention to them for major races, just for minor ones where they're not paying much attention at all.

However, when the 80 year old African-American newspaper in town makes its endorsements, these usually do carry some weight. The main surprise in this was the endorsement of Nick Varrechio over Arthur Morrell for Clerk of Criminal court. This is a tight race, and I've heard lots of positive things about Varrechio. Morrell has been a outspoken state Rep, but he's not getting the good press around town about his clerk candidacy.

Among other races, they reiterated their primary endorsement of Landrieu for mayor, Batt, Gill-Pratt, and Carter for city council, and the IQ ticket for assessor. Chase Jones & Betty Jefferson's debate on channel 6 a couple nights ago was enthralling, as Betty Jefferson just sat there with the complete and total air of contempt, obviously amazed that anybody would question her ability to be assessor. After all, her family has been the assessor for that district for decades! The newspaper has this to say about its IQ endorsement:

"We enthusiastically back the IQ ticket, but add a warning. The reason that
property assessments should reflect accuracy is so that the milliage rates of
all can be reduced to a more nationally competitive level.

This would decrease the disincentives that our property tax rates have created for
small business. If the end of accurate assessments is only to provide a stealth
tax increase with no direct benefits to the public, by keeping milliage levels
constant, the IQ candidates will have failed."

The other surprise was the non-endorsement in the at-large City Council race. This is going to be quite a close race, probably closer than the mayoral balloting for good or bad.

From San Gabriel, CA, where they are planning a benefit to help officers who lost their homes.

Hoedown planned for Katrina victims

More than 100 law enforcement officers lost their homes and personal items in the flood and are still in need of assistance. All proceeds from the hoe-down will be distributed by the Sheriff's Department to these officers.

So much for the tales of rolling balls of ants in the flood water. I guess they don't handle the brackish and salty water so well now do you ants?

The fire ant deaths apparently are due to the salty or brackish water that
flooded the coast. Fire ants deal with floods by clumping into a floating ball.
Many die, but many survive.

Scientists: Katrina killed fire ants; act now to keep them out

Or so read some of the residential real estate ads in flooded parts of town. I guess this is more common than I thought, as I know many people who have flooded homes that just invite people to walk through them as they tour these storm-damaged neighborhoods. It all seems a little odd to me, but I guess it's just another reality in post-K New Orleans. These neighborhoods are coming back, and people are investing a lot of their money, and more importantly, sweat, into these neighborhoods. With contractors difficult to find, everybody seems to be doing the work themselves.

Anyhow, check out this article from MSNBC.com which outlines the real estate realities in New Orleans. Turns out that things are pretty busy, which I have to say I have heard from realtors. Ms. Evacuee and I have been tempted to get into the fray, but we're going to hold off at least another year. I'm not entirely sure how the city will handle another big hurricane bearing down on the coast, or how the market for homes will handle a lot of inventory coming back online in Lakeview and Mid-City over the coming few months. Either way, the word is that homes under $500k don't stay on the market long, and the ones on the market for over $500k stay for days on end. Is that a more telling statistic than the number of homes sold? Only time will tell.

From a friend in conversation...

"St. Louis has the racial tension and crime of a New Orleans mixed with the lack of cultre and plethora of pavement of Houston."

This is crazy. You know, I say that like once a week now.

Second-grader sexually assaulted by 12 boys

w00t

Generally used to express a form of joy. The word originated in competitive online gaming as an acronym for "we own other team." The term has since adopted a more general meaning.

w00t we just smashed that team hard.

I got a new car, w00t.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2006-05-07-brinkley_x.htm

I'm a fan of Douglas Brinkley, however I'm quite curious to hear how such a large volume on the history of an event can be produced so quickly, especially while there are so many for whom Katrina is not history, it is still happening to them everyday.

Although it could be a Houston newspaper trying to gather support that their crime problem is due to Katrina evacuees:

New Orleans crime rate still low after Katrina

and

'Katrina effect' blamed for rise in homicides

After all, it's only been 240 days. (I'm looking for a link on this, it's all over the news this AM, but I can't find it on the web. Basically they're re-opening the Lower 9th from the river to Claiborne, but not north of Claiborne for residents to come back, get a FEMA trailer on their property, and make a go at trying to re-create a neighborhood).