The new New Orleans

Rebuilding by not rebuilding

2005-12-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Although their full recommendation will not be out until January, Mayor Nagin’s Bring New Orleans Back Commission have recently announced one aspect of their plan for rebuilding New Orleans: don’t rebuild parts. Wow.

Local developer Joe Canizaro on Tuesday said he and other appointees to the Bring New Orleans Back commission agree that some floodprone parts of the city should be returned to wetland, a key recommendation from the Urban Land Institute that has drawn protests from many residents and the politicians who represent
them.

These areas include “large sections of eastern New Orleans and Gentilly, the northern part of Lakeview, and parts of the Lower 9th Ward, Mid-City and Hollygrove.”

The plan calls for no building in these areas until environmental and hurricane-protection studies demonstrate that they are safe.

Canizaro has also mentioned the idea of having people rebuild wherever they want for the next three years and, then, go from there. If people decided they didn’t want to live in their old neighborhood, they could get the pre-Katrina value of their home to rebuild in a neighborhood that was flourishing once again.

To me, allowing people to rebuild where they want seems like the only reasonable choice.

The commission is worried about the city being able to sustain itself. Well guys, if you tell life-long residents (who are obviously extremely loyal to the city) that they can’t move back to the neighborhood they have always lived in, then I can almost guarantee you that they aren’t coming back.

I feel like this is a prime example of mixed messaging yet again. I’ve talked about the Medical School doing it (see previous post) but the entire city is demonstrating this as well.

In my blog class, we started a discussion about what is really the root problem of all rebuilding efforts in New Orleans: mixed messaging. The city wants to present this persona of “Come back. Let’s party. We are open for business,” hence the continuation of Mardi Gras and the French Quarter opening up so quickly.

However, at the same time, we are begging for money that we desperately need. Citizens, just the other day, testified about how horrible their lives are right now to Congress. These messages are not agreeable. You can’t really say both but some would argue that the city has to.

After all, we need tourists for businesses to be able to stay profitable but, at the same time, we need for businesses to be able to open at all. Its almost like city officials are scared that if people can’t come visit within these first few months, they will never come again.

I do not think this is true. Tourists want to return. They want to be a part of the celebration of the city but the city needs to be celebrating when they come. We need amenities and tourist destinations when they show up so that they are impressed enough to return again.

More importantly, we need this money. If federal aid is not large enough, New Orleans will never re-open and will never flourish again. The state can’t handle the burden.

From all of that, to me it seems we should continue to emphasize the “we need help now” card until we really get help. That is the card we should play until every resident is sleeping in some sort of housing, until major businesses are able to reopen and until every child is in a fully functioning school. The problem is that is going to take years and we can’t afford to wait that long for tourism and business.

It looks, to me, like the mixed messaging must continue to some extent. That scares me. I sincerely hope we get relief before people get tired of hearing about our problems (some already have which is why Katrina recovery makes the front page less and less) while also hearing about how we are open for business. That could mean major troubles.

Thoughts on this?

Levee update

2005-12-13T14:54:00.000-08:00

As one commentor requested, here is the update on the levees:

Nola.com reports today that, "Four sections of metal sheet pilings pulled Tuesday morning from both sides of the breach in the 17th Street Canal levee wall were all found to be more than 23 feet, 6 inches long, exactly as called for in design documents, Army Corps of Engineers officials said."

This is not what many expected.

"The depth of the pilings, which support floodwalls on the canal, had been questioned by independent engineers, who noted that sonar soundings taken elsewhere on the levees showed them going only about 10 feet below sea level. The engineers also had questioned whether even 17 feet below sea level would be deep enough to stop seepage below the canal bottom, which is blamed for causing the collapse of some walls."

So, they met standards. Great. But they still didn't work. Why?

"The combination metal and concrete wall was still not strong enough to withstand the force of storm surge entering the canal during Katrina, said University of California at Berkeley civil engineering professor Raymond Seed, one of several independent engineers investigating the levee breaks."

What will be done in the future to make sure this levee failure never happens again?

In a different article, nola.com reports that State Senator Walter Boasso made a first attempt by combining all levee boards into one regional board overseeing all levees. However, that bill was killed during the Katrina special session after too many amendments weakened the legislation.

Now, he and other Senators are promising another special session for the state Senate (no later than January) where more Katrina response issues can be handled. Thank goodness.

Additionally, a citizen watchdog group has been started by Debbie Settoon.

As president of the new group, she said their purpose was to make certain that local, state, and federal leaders take the right steps to protect local residents from natural and manmade disasters in the future. "We want to do whatever it takes to make Jefferson Parish safer," she said.

I sincerely hope that government is held to the highest of standards when dealing with the levees. If a Katrina-like hurricane hit again and New Orleans flooded again, I can't begin to imagine the amount of criticism the state would receive. People already see us as corrupt and some tried to criticize New Orleans residents for living there in the first place. It is up to the government to make sure that they are not stupid for returning. This time we have to use the federal aid perfectly and make sure we have the strongest of levees.

New Orleans is struggling to recover this time and I doubt we could do it twice.

Response slows to a crawl

2005-12-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

In one of few recent “victories” for Katrina victims, a New Orleans judge ordered today that FEMA continue to pay hotel bills until February instead of January as they had planned. This means 42,000 families have somewhere to live for the next two months. Unfortunately, this is not a universal truth.

As reported on cnn.com today, there is a MAJOR shortage of housing for victims of Katrina. It’s three months out and people are still living in tents. Unacceptable.

FEMA reports that they have some trailers and are just waiting for spots to put them – but there are not enough trailers to fill the great housing need. The President of St. Bernard Parish says they have identified more, cheaper trailers that FEMA could buy but that St. Bernard can’t pay for them. With the Parish Board doing the work for them (by finding the buyers and locations to put them), why isn’t FEMA moving faster?

FEMA official response was made by Nicol Andrews who said:

“So far, FEMA has provided rental assistance for more than 500,000 families and housed more than 40,000 in travel trailers.”

Great Nicol, but until every family has a house your work is not done. And, this idea of the slow response seems to be a trend.

Mississippi’s governor Hailey Barbour said, "we are at a point where our recovery and renewal efforts are stalled because of inaction in Washington D.C." Barbour went on to say there was no money to rebuild highways and bridges and school districts were close to bankruptcy.

So what is the Senate doing? They are still holding hearings and working on getting aid to Louisiana and Mississippi while thousands sit homeless and hungry, without jobs, schools or hope. Most frustrating is that, as the Senate stretches out their response, $30,000,000,000 sits unused and inaccessible in a FEMA account.

But wait, steps to prevent inaction are being taken.

Hopefully, Senator Mary Landrieu’s promise to block a December recess will occur if aid is not approved before the Senate’s Christmas holiday. It sickens me to think that the Senate would allow themselves a holiday break while thousands of their citizens sit homeless in the cold. I sincerely hope they get things moving quickly.

Additionally, the Daily Kos reports that two New Orleans residents are organizing a march on Washington for tomorrow – Dec. 14th. This would be great but it has not received much hype around Louisiana so I wonder if it will really happen.

Overall, I think this article says it best:

“After the initial slow government response to the disaster, President Bush flew to the region and promised the government will "do what it takes, stay as long as it
takes, to help our citizens rebuild their communities and their lives." Well that promise is feeling increasingly hollow to many people.”

I sincerely hope that aid is delivered before the holiday season but it seems unlikely with Christmas only 12 days away. People are becoming frustrated yet again. Promises are not being filled. The Senate who criticized Bush and FEMA for being slow is being incredibly slow. And every day, residents of New Orleans get more and more settled in cities across the country.

It looks like the early prediction (see previous post) that half of the city might not return could really come true. Not a very happy holiday.

Katrina: Mixing Up Louisiana Politics

2005-12-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest insider updates I have received about who is running for what. Remember, this is only educated speculation:

Al Ater (D) was appointed Secretary of State after Fox McKeithen (R) died but will not run for re-election because he feels as though the position should be appointed. Also, he is not going for Chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party as some had guessed early on.

However, there are a slew of potential candidates to replace Shaw CEO & Chairman Jim Bernhard as Chair of the Democratic Party. Third Vice Chair Larry Ferdinand, an African-American from Shreveport, has made it clear to some members that he's interested. Many grassroots activists would like for former LA AFL-CIO President Sibal Holt, a black woman and close ally of Blanco, to run for Chair. She would be the first female chair in Louisiana. She also serves on Blanco's Louisiana Recovery Authority and sits on the Louisiana Dem. Party Executive Committee.

Some people are supposedly encouraging people like former Attorney General Richard Ieyoub to run BUT that's just speculation that no one can really confirm. If no one credible decides to run, Chris Whittington, the legal counsel for the Party and a close ally of Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley, will probably throw his name into the hat.

Mitch Landrieu may still run for mayor, but sources close to Mayor Ray Nagin say he is still planning on running for re-election (which is news to many).

“Community activist and former state Rep. Leo Watermeier and radio announcer James Arey, both considered longshots, announced their candidacy before the storm but the devastation wrought by the storm and the reshuffling of the New Orleans' demographic profile from a predominantly African-American city to a seemingly majority white one has sparked speculation that Nagin, who is black, may attract formidable white opposition."

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the son of former Mayor Moon Landrieu and brother of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu is still considering the move but that would mean he would not run for Governor in 2007.

It would also leave a vacancy for Lt. Governor which could become a very interesting race. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Orleans School Board member Jimmy Fahrenholtz, a white Democrat recently announced that he plans on running but the school boards reputation is not in his favor. Former City Councilwoman Peggy Wilson, a Republican, has also said that she will consider running and, according to Louisiana Politics, has hired Roy Fletcher, an advertiser famous for his attack ads. The only potential black mayoral contender to surface is Council President Oliver Thomas. He is an ally of Nagin and will run only if it looks like Nagin will lose.

Marjorie McKeithen (D) will probably run for Secretary of State, the post that her father held for so many years (also reported on http://www.lapolitics.com/). She almost beat Richard Baker in 1998 (She is last Democrat to come close in the 6th Congressional District). The Republican will likely be state Sen. Mike Michot from Lafayette. This could be interesting if he runs strong in Acadiana and she runs strong in Baton Rouge and her family's home base of North LA. Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, a black woman and former Speaker Pro-Tempore of the House, is also considering running but fundraising would be a concern.

If McKeithen doesn't run for Sec. of State, then powerful state Sen. Francis Heitmeier would probably run. He has over $600,000 in his campaign account and is a great fundraiser. He has been the longtime chair of the LA Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Sen. Jay Dardenne was originally mentioned but he says that he will probably run for Governor (also cited on http://www.lapolitics.com/). This would throw a major curveball in the Republican side of things because he has a lot of money and is a true fiscal conservative, not the Christian Right. That would leave Jindal and Vitter scrambling. My souce said, “Pre-Katrina, it looked like Vitter would be the man, after all, he wants to run for President one day. But in the weeks and months after the storm, Rep. Bobby Jindal got all the local and national media attention. Remember, it was the New Orleans black vote that kept him from beating Blanco in 2003, a demographic that barely exists post-Katrina.” On the Democratic side, if Blanco or Landrieu don't run, look for state Treasurer John Kennedy, former Atty. Gen. Richard Ieyoub, or another big time name to step up.

Also, Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-3rd CD) will probably draw opposition from state Sen. Craig Romero (R). Romero finished 3rd in that same race in 2004 behind Lil' Billy Tauzin. Romero is able to raise lots of money, but Melancon has too much cash on hand and high poll numbers which could force Romero to run for a statewide position like Commissioner of Agriculture against iconic Bob Odom. State Sen. James David Cain has also expressed interest in that race. No telling though.

In the 7th Congressional District, former Congressman and 2004 Senate candidate Chris John (D), announced he will not run against Rep. Charles Boustany (R) in 2006. He did not rule out running in the future though.

No challengers have surfaced for Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley or Lt. Governor at this time.

No challengers have been announced for 1st, 4th, 5th, or 6th congressional races.

The 2nd Congressional District could be determined by who loses the New Orleans. Mayor's race. Congressman William Jefferson says he's still running for re-election, but he has been M.I.A. post-Katrina and was in the middle of an FBI investigation before the storm hit. If he runs though, "Dollar Bill" as many refer to him, would have a good chance at getting reelected.

Facebook Joke

2005-12-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

I just saw this inappropriate but hilarious joke on someone's facebook profile. Enjoy!

You know I love New Orleans, they're vowing to hold Mardi Gras this year come hell or -- no pun -- high water. They've always had a Mardi Gras drink called the Hurricane. They're not going to serve that this year, but they've got a new one called the FEMA. It's strong, it hits you about a week later. - Bill Maher

Blanco's response documented

2005-12-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

Recently, Gov. Blanco’s administration released over 100,000 documents to the Senate and House. Reports coming out now focus on one thing:

There was a major power struggle between Bush and Blanco almost immediately. Bush wanted to take over and Blanco wanted the people who were there in the first few days to stay in charge, particularly of the military response. Say what you will but it seems logical that this statement is true:

“A Blanco aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the people around Bush were trying to maneuver the governor into an unnecessary change intended to make Bush look decisive.”

Republicans tried to say that Blanco did not want to give power to the other party and was being stubborn but, honestly, when thousands of your citizens are dying and you feel betrayed and deserted for the past four horrendous days, don’t you have the right to be skeptical? It was partially political but Blanco was also very frustrated in the lack of aid and the unfulfilled promises. Why should she trust them to do a job that she had already started when it took them four days to show up? She made mistakes but atleast she had done something.

If our President had been a Democrat and federal aid did not come for four days while people died senselessly, I think Blanco still would have hesitated to give up power. After all, Blanco asked for and was promised Bush’s federal support the day of the storm.

I think this is demonstrated well in this note from one of her aides:
"She must temper her anger and frustration," Johnny Anderson, Ms. Blanco's assistant chief of staff, wrote a day after it became widely known that large crowds were suffering at the New Orleans convention center. "We have work too hard to lose the public relations battle."

They knew they made major mistakes like misunderstandings about how many buses were needed but there were also MAJOR federal mistakes.

Below is an e-mail I received from within the Democratic Party. It is long but definitely worth reading. Although it obviously highlights the positives of our state’s response and highlights the failing of the Bush administration, the facts are the facts. Blanco was decisive when Brown and Bush weren’t. I think she deserves credit for that.

At the same time, she deserves criticisms for what went wrong. This is exactly why release of these documents is so important. It will be very interesting to see where the blame lies permanently after investigations are completed.

If Bush’s documents are anything like Mike Brown’s emails where he comments on his wardrobe and wanting to quit, he is in for some trouble. After all, Bush did say, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”

EMAIL:

FYI, the Governor’s Office asked that I pass along the following document should you have any questions about the state response to Katrina.

This is the text of Governor Blanco's response to the U.S. House and Senate committee that are investigating the state's response to Katrina. It's the most expansive official account of what the state of Louisiana did in response to the storm:

Dec 02, 2005
Governor's Response to Congress

LOUISIANA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
RESPONSE TO U. S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNNMENTAL AFFAIRS DOCUMENT AND INFORMATION REQUEST DATED OCTOBER 7, 2005 AND TO THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE PREPARATION FOR AND RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA

SUBMITTED DECEMBER 2, 2005:
OVERVIEW OF GOVERNOR KATHLEEN BABINEAUX BLANCO'S ACTIONS IN PREPARATION FOR AND RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA

As a supplement to the tens of thousands of pages of documents provided by the Governor's office and the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the following overview details key actions taken by Governor Blanco in the days immediately proceeding and following Hurricane Katrina. This overview is in no way intended as a complete documentation of all actions, but is intended to be responsive to questions 8 and 10 specifically, and to capture the key events as they developed to the best of our knowledge.

A Brewing Storm
Hurricane Katrina first receives Governor Blanco's attention when it appears as a newly formed tropical depression, days before August 26th and prior to the storm receiving an official name. For the past decade, Terry Ryder, Executive Counsel to the Governor, has been entrusted with the responsibility for keeping his eye on the tropics, advising Governor Blanco and her predecessor of potential hurricanes. Governor Blanco instructs Ryder to alert her the moment he learns of a tropical depression. Once a tropical depression develops into a tropical storm, it receives an official name from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Ryder begins providing regular updates while tracking the storm on software provided by the Center. He also serves as the point person who communicates with the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to obtain needed information and to orchestrate the operational process.

As Ryder and the Governor begin discussing Katrina, all indications suggest that Louisiana will fall well outside of Katrina's cone. Since models initially project Katrina will target the Florida panhandle, Governor Blanco tentatively continues her longstanding plans to attend the Southern Governor's Association Conference in Atlanta, where she is to be installed as Chair. Her Executive Assistant, Paine Gowen, and her Legislative Director, Rochelle Michaud Dugas, travel ahead to Atlanta preparing for the Governor's participation. Up until the storm shifts and Louisiana moves into the cone late on Friday, based on NHC tracking charts and staff discussions, Hurricane Katrina appears no more threatening than many of the storms that the Governor and Ryder track during hurricane season.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2005
A Sudden Shift
Early predictions deteriorate on Friday as NHC steering factors evolve, and the Governor sounds the alert. Periodic updates have been filtering in all day long. By mid-afternoon, the National Weather Service reports that Katrina has shifted westward, with landfall now projected to fall near Mobile along the Alabama/Mississippi line instead of the anticipated Florida panhandle. Upon learning of the storm's dramatic and unprecedented shift, Governor Blanco signs and immediately issues Proclamation No. 48 KBB 2005, Declaring a State of Emergency, and places the Louisiana National Guard and all State agencies on full alert. She warns that "Hurricane Katrina poses an imminent threat to the state of Louisiana, carrying severe storms, high winds, and torrential rain that may cause flooding and damage to private property and public facilities, and threaten the safety and security of the citizens of Louisiana."

As Louisiana falls within the hurricane's cone, Governor Blanco cancels her trip to Georgia for the Southern Governor's Association Conference, and begins working with emergency preparedness officials to address the rapidly changing situation. The situation grows dire at around 10PM that evening as the storm again shifts westward, for the first time bearing down on Louisiana. The Governor immediately begins arrangements for a massive evacuation, conferring with her staff to strategize implementation of her recently restructured contra-flow evacuation plan for coastal Southeast Louisiana and the New Orleans region. She participates in an evening conference call with the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LOHSEP) regarding Hurricane Katrina, and is assured that all parishes and State agencies are on high alert and ready to activate the agreed-upon evacuation plans.

Friday evening, Governor Blanco focuses on the evacuation and contra-flow plan, knowing firsthand the urgency of moving people to safety. She confers with State Police Superintendent Colonel Henry Whitehorn regarding her intent to activate the contra-flow plan to facilitate the evacuation, and receives his assurance that the Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development will begin staging the equipment and manpower needed to move the masses. The Governor places a similar late-night call to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to alert him, per their prior agreement, that she is urging an evacuation of the New Orleans metropolitan area and requests that he be prepared to activate contra-flow of I-59 through Mississippi on Saturday.

Early Evacuation Planning Saves Lives
The successfully retooled evacuation plan was well executed, and can be lauded for avoiding additional loss of life during Hurricane Katrina. Governor Blanco's evacuation plan using contra-flow rapidly moves an unprecedented 1 million plus people out of harm's way relying on a system of phased evacuations. Governor Blanco had ordered the evacuation plan overhauled as a result of the lessons learned earlier in her term from Hurricane Ivan, when it became apparent to her that the evacuation of a large metro area with low-lying parishes under the State's existing plan could be more efficient. Because of frustrations caused by evacuations during previous storm threats, Governor Blanco recognizes that evacuations must flow smoothly. Otherwise, the risk is great that people will become so discouraged by gridlock that they opt to weather the storm at home.

Katrina confirms the value of this early planning, and demonstrates the importance of a well-planned evacuation to save lives. Evacuations also depend on the cooperation of the general public and local government agencies. The State's new evacuation plan has been designed in cooperation with local parish leaders who signed agreements and are asked to follow the plan. There are invariably those who will not or perhaps cannot leave an area, which is why Mayor Nagin set up the Superdome as the shelter of last resort. It is therefore recognized that some will always be in need of rescue. The goal is to minimize the numbers. Hurricane Katrina resulted in a devastating loss of life and property for Louisiana, but the tragedy would have been far worse if the initial evacuation had not been so efficient and safe.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2005
Leave While You Can
With the National Weather Service now predicting that Hurricane Katrina could slam into Southeast Louisiana, Governor Blanco begins the day early on Saturday at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Baton Rouge at LOHSEP to participate in the morning conference call led by Colonel Jeff Smith. She prioritizes this call because she wants to hear again that with evacuations set to begin at 9AM that morning, all parish presidents remain committed to following the phased plan as discussed and agreed upon the previous evening. Throughout the morning, the Governor personally calls parish presidents to verify their plans and to encourage evacuation efforts in compliance with the State's plan.

From Saturday, August 27, through Katrina and until the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, Governor Blanco sets up her primary headquarters in the Emergency Operations Center as it allows her to personally oversee the rapidly developing situation that often requires spur of the moment decisions. Working side by side with the National Guard, the State Police and other State agencies is essential, especially considering the local communications degradation that would occur later.

The Governor follows Friday's State of Emergency declaration with the first of many Hurricane Katrina-related letters issued to President Bush and other federal officials, urging him to declare a federal State of Emergency for the State of Louisiana under the Stafford Act, which he does. She expects early on that Katrina could be a catastrophic event that would overwhelm State resources, and wants to ensure that Louisiana would receive every form of assistance the federal government could provide. Governor Blanco engages in a considerable number of public appearances over the weekend, urging citizens to take this storm seriously and evacuate Southeast Louisiana and the New Orleans metropolitan area. As someone who has grown up with hurricanes, she worries that many people would play a familiar game of "hurricane roulette" - tempting fate and staying home in a gamble that this storm would be no worse than the last one that they weathered in their home. Believing this could be the "big one" talked about for years, she was adamant in urging people to avoid complacency and to leave, as evident in the news footage from Saturday and Sunday.

At around 1:00PM on Saturday afternoon, Governor Blanco stands first with Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard and parish officials, and then with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and city officials for press conferences emphasizing the importance of an immediate evacuation. In a state where hurricanes are a way of life, it is almost unprecedented for a Governor to participate with local officials in news conferences urging evacuations. Governor Blanco encourages local citizens to go door to door and plead with their neighbors to leave their homes and evacuate the region.

With the evacuations well underway as scheduled and traffic growing heavy, contra-flow officially begins at 4PM on Saturday. Both lanes of interstate highways will be utilized for travel in the same direction going away from the urban center. Louisiana National Guard members join State police and Department of Transportation officials in moving well over a million people to safety. At 5:30PM, the Governor is back on the phone on a conference call with statewide elected officials and the 65 legislators in the affected areas, warning them of the seriousness of the storm and the importance of leaving, as well as encouraging others to do so.

"Pray and Pack"
Late Saturday afternoon, Governor Blanco acts on a report from State Representative Cedric Richmond of New Orleans. Representative Richmond visited a local ballpark that evening where approximately 700 people were present, and learned that some people had not paid attention to the weekend news and did not realize the severity of the hurricane aiming at New Orleans. He worries that many may have thought that the hurricane was still targeting the Florida panhandle, as reported by the National Hurricane Center up until late Friday afternoon.

Governor Blanco calls her Assistant Chief of Staff, Johnny Anderson, and asks him to contact the African American ministers in the affected areas. The Governor suggests that they call their members urging immediate evacuations, and then advise those attending Sunday morning services to "Pray and Pack" without delay. Anderson stays up through the night making the calls to ministers and other leaders.

National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield calls Governor Blanco on Saturday evening to share his professional opinion of the severity of Katrina. The Governor calls Mayor Nagin and urges him to call Mayfield and speak with him directly to hear the dire warning for himself. Nagin calls the Governor back after his conversation with Mayfield, and tells her that he would order a mandatory evacuation first thing in the morning. Governor Blanco offers to join him to add her authority and support to this announcement.

Weekend: Pre-Positioning and Statewide Preparations Underway
On Saturday and Sunday, Governor Blanco oversees the State agencies as they move forward in a coordinated effort under the State of Emergency Operations Plan to pre-position and prepare for the storm. For example, as soon as the hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico, Governor Blanco authorizes the Adjutant General of Louisiana, Major General Bennett Landreneau, to mobilize 2000 Louisiana National Guard soldiers and airmen, with the numbers increasing to 4,000 and continuing to grow as the storm continues to shift west. The Louisiana State Police and the Department of Transportation and Development deploy personnel across the state to assist evacuating motorists and to help direct evacuees to appropriate shelters. As this occurs, the Public Service Commission stages utility repair vehicles and personnel in advance of the storm.

The Louisiana Department of Social Services (DSS), local parishes and the Red Cross identify shelters to accept pre-storm evacuees in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Monroe, and other areas, with certain shelters designated for the special needs population. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals works closely with DSS during this critical time to stage medical personnel to offer medical assistance to evacuees. The Louisiana Shelter Task Force diligently works to man shelter checkpoints and supply personnel to open the shelters. Further, Dr. Fred Cerise, Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals, assembles a team of officials staged to travel to New Orleans to oversee medical care for evacuees.

Aware that some areas will always experience flooding, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries stages some 400 watercraft at regional locations so they are poised to engage in search and rescue efforts. In addition to conducting needed rescues, these Wildlife and Fisheries agents would be able to provide early insight when little information is available from the affected areas immediately after the storm. The actions detailed above provide only a limited overview of the extensive planning process underway under the State Emergency Operations Plan, as the full resources of the State come together as planned in preparation for Hurricane Katrina.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2005
Governor Continues Urging Residents to Leave
Governor Blanco rises at 4AM on Sunday to appear on Good Morning America and four other news programs, continuing to urge the people of Southeast Louisiana to immediately evacuate. The Governor follows her request for a federal emergency declaration by requesting that President Bush issue an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration beginning on Sunday, thereby freeing up additional federal relief for the State.

General Landreneau keeps the Governor apprised as additional Louisiana National Guardsmen are activated, alerting her that 4,000 will be on duty by Monday. In addition, the General begins Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) coordination with individual states asking them to send their National Guard troops. Louisiana has a long history of sending National Guard members to help neighboring states recover from natural disasters, and now appreciates the reciprocation of Louisiana's neighbors.

Per their agreement on Saturday, Governor Blanco joins Mayor Nagin in New Orleans on Sunday as he calls for a mandatory evacuation of Orleans Parish. Governor Blanco receives a call from President Bush just before she walks into the news conference, telling him that she is with the Mayor and he will order a mandatory evacuation in just a few minutes. She tells the President that the evacuation of the affected areas started early yesterday morning and proceeded all through the night, and she thanks the President for signing the disaster declaration.

At the news conference, the Governor again urges people to heed the mandatory evacuation order. She advises people who have not done so to pick up evacuation maps at easy to reach locations around town and plan their routes and destinations. The Governor also advises families to pack as though they are going on a camping trip with food, water, toys, clothing, etc. for at least three days. She urges drivers to proceed with caution to avoid auto accidents.

On Sunday night, Governor Blanco holds a press conference to announce the end of contra-flow (which needs to end before the high winds begin so that DOTD and State Police employees and their equipment can be moved to safety) and to urge continued evacuations. The Governor chose to continue contra-flow until the last possible moment, sending a state police helicopter to fly over contra-flow loading points to make sure that there were no traffic backups remaining, and keeping it activated two hours after it was scheduled to conclude. She thanks the "citizens of the Greater New Orleans area for the heroic, serious and courteous manner in which they have conducted themselves in the past several days," and expresses "grave concern" about reports that some people are not evacuating. Even though contra-flow has ended, Governor Blanco stresses that people should still leave and get out of town now, as evacuation routes are still open.

The Governor participates in yet another conference call with legislators, statewide elected officials, and members of the Congressional delegation, updating them on all recent actions.

MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2005
Landfall
Governor Blanco awakes at 4:45AM to participate on the morning television shows, continuing to provide reports as Katrina makes landfall. She remains throughout the day at the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LOHSEP), participating in Emergency Operations Conference Calls at 7:30AM and again at 5:30PM, and monitoring reports of storm damage throughout the day. Major General Landreneau assures the Governor that the Louisiana National Guard has now alerted all available 5700 (eventually this number would grow to 6100) Louisiana members of the Guard who are not serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Throughout the day reports pour in from the affected areas, and the Governor learns that approximately 10,000 evacuees are riding out the storm in the Superdome. Agencies have their assets prepositioned and ready to roll as soon as it is safe to venture into the winds. The Governor's Chief of Staff, Andy Kopplin, sends out an alert to all staff telling everyone to be prepared to be proactive in providing information, coordination and assistance.

"We Need Everything You've Got"
Governor Blanco again speaks with President Bush, informing him that she would need every resource possible from the federal government. She recalls telling him, "We need your help. We need everything you've got." Based on their conversation, she believes he understands the urgency of the situation, and has every intention to send all of the resources and assistance within the power of the federal government. From the beginning, she believed and continues to believe President Bush desired to be as helpful as he could be in the face of such an unprecedented catastrophe.

Governor Blanco meets with Mike Brown, the Director of FEMA, who reviews what FEMA will do for disaster assistance and assures the Governor not to worry about costs, that all the State's needs will be provided. He mentions supplies, money for those with destroyed homes ($26,200) and that FEMA has 500 buses on standby, ready to be deployed. He cautions that drivers can only drive for 12-hour shifts and must rest. The Governor recommends that they double team and alternate drivers, and Brown replies that some do but others do not.

Worst Case Scenario
On Monday, it becomes clear that New Orleans has not dodged the bullet as some commentators initially suggested, and that was obvious throughout the day at the Emergency Operations Center as reports of a breach in the roof of the Superdome, major flooding in Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes and the Lower Ninth Ward are reported. The catastrophic damage of Katrina - the double punch of first the hurricane winds and then the surging floodwaters - becomes increasingly apparent. The Governor orders Secretary Dwight Landreneau of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to deploy rescue boats as soon as winds die down to gale force at 40 mph, so they can begin to rescue stranded people. Sam Jones, the Governor's Deputy Director of Community Programs, speaks with her by phone Monday night, and she orders him to begin recruiting private boats and volunteers to aid in the rescue effort. The LDWF directs a growing battalion of first responders and other spontaneous volunteers arriving with boats and equipment to assigned staging areas for rescue missions.

National Guard members rescue people from the Lower Ninth Ward waters, where Jackson Barracks, the National Guard headquarters, is located and has also flooded. In and around Jackson Barracks and St. Bernard Parish, the storm surge causes the waters to rise as much as twelve feet in a span of 30 to 40 minutes. Louisiana-based members of the Coast Guard are also running rescue missions. The heroism and selfless acts of bravery exhibited by these early rescuers and the thousands of volunteers who joined them cannot be overstated.

Scattered reports begin filtering in to the Governor from the affected areas. Representative Nita Hutter reports being stranded with the Parish President and a large number of people on the second floor of a building in St. Bernard Parish with water filling the first floor and with high water as far as the eye can see. Mayor Nagin alerts the Governor that the catastrophic damage of the storm may escalate, as they believe the 17th Street Canal wall is failing. The Governor reports this to Major General Landreneau. As early reports come in, the extent of the breach is not clear, but the 17th Street breach results in the flooding of vast residential areas as well as downtown New Orleans. The first signs of serious problems with the communications systems also become apparent on Monday as it becomes more and more difficult to reach the affected areas by phone.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2005
Assessing the Damage
FEMA Director Mike Brown and Senators Landrieu and Vitter join Governor Blanco for a Blackhawk flight to survey Katrina's damage on Tuesday morning. Their group meets with Mayor Nagin and receives an overview of the situation before returning to Baton Rouge. The Governor returns from the trip extremely concerned by the extent of the devastation and the limits of the State's resources.

The floodwaters continue to deepen and encompass most parts of the city and area parishes also flooded from other effects of the storm. On Tuesday, floodwaters are still surging across New Orleans and surrounding neighborhoods from levee breaks. It is now becoming harrowingly clear that the dreaded "big one" has arrived, and the city that lies below sea level is in dire trouble.

As the extent of the flood damage becomes apparent, Governor Blanco meets with Leonard Kleinpeter and other members of her staff, ordering them to locate buses to evacuate people who remained in New Orleans. It was still unclear at this point how many bus evacuations would need to occur, but Kleinpeter begins lining up buses from local school districts and churches.
The Governor's Office staff, under the direction of Kim Hunter Reed, sets up a call center and a staffing system to field the massive volume of incoming emergency rescue calls. The Governor orders that incoming calls are to be answered on an around the clock basis, as these incoming calls are primarily rescue requests and/or people seeking assistance in locating family members.

Initially the calls are fielded directly from the Governor's office. Later in the week, the Governor's staff arranges for a higher volume 800-number to be issued, and relocates the operation to a call center at the Department of Public Safety's Office of Motor Vehicles.
As floodwaters spread, the crowd surges beyond the initial evacuees at the Superdome. Initially many drive from their homes and arrive by car, with more arriving on foot and pushing family members on rafts as the water rises. Governor Blanco travels for a second time to the Superdome on Tuesday, to see for herself the developing situation as the communications systems are severely degraded. She wants to learn additional information and speak with the people who are gathering there. She sees that people are worried about being separated from their families in the rescue efforts, as so many are being forced to board separate boats. They say that the food and water lines are long, but the Governor is assured that at least there is food, water and medical care. With limited communications ability, it is difficult to calm nerves and communicate information to a crowd that large. The Governor leaves for Baton Rouge extremely concerned by the difficult situations these families face, and determined that the Superdome must be evacuated as soon as possible.

Governor Blanco calls General Landreneau after her return from the Superdome and expresses her escalating concern about the lack of significant federal resources to supplement the State's efforts. She instructs the General to ask for all available assistance from the National Guard and the United States Government, specifically federal military assistance. The Governor wants to know the status of the troops and if he has any information about the pending arrival of the FEMA buses, as she plans to use them to evacuate the Superdome on Wednesday.

Major General Landreneau reports to the Governor that he receives a call from United States Army Lieutenant General Russ Honore and relayed to Honore their request for significant federal troops and resources. General Landreneau reports that he also asks National Guard Bureau Chief Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum to assist with generating additional assistance from the National Guard units from across the country to help with the effort, and the Governor is assured that General Blum begins to do so immediately.

Late on Tuesday night, Governor Blanco calls Ann Williamson, Secretary of the Department of Social Services, and instructs her to find a shelter by 6AM for at least 25,000 people.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005
Governor Declares August 31st an Official Day of Prayer for the Victims, their Families, and the Rescuers Need for Federal Resources Escalates
When the expected and promised federal resources still have not arrived on Wednesday, Governor Blanco places an urgent morning call to the White House in an effort to reach President Bush and express the need for significant resources. She is unable to reach President Bush or his Chief of Staff, Andrew Card. A later phone call reaches Maggie Grant in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. The Governor receives a call from Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend. Andrew Card later returns her call too, and she requests his help in getting the promised FEMA buses into the New Orleans area. She suggests that 500 will not be enough, and that she might need as many as 5,000 buses. He affirms that he believes he can help with this.

Later Wednesday afternoon, the Governor places a second call to President Bush. She stresses to him that the situation is extremely grave and asks for additional resources. Governor Blanco also specifically stresses that she wants to continue to be his partner in a unity of effort as is called for under the National Response Plan. To relay the urgency and the magnitude of the need at that point in time, the Governor tells the President she estimates 40,000 troops would be needed, and again reiterates her frustration about the FEMA buses.

In the meantime, the Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana Department of Transportation, and the National Guard attempt to fill the breach in the canal wall. Major General Landreneau dispatches engineers and helicopters from the National Guard to airlift 3,000 pound sandbags to drop into the ruptured 17th Street Canal wall. The General later reports that the hole is far too deep and too large and there is no significant relief from the floodwaters in spite of early efforts to fill the breach. Reports are received that large crowds are beginning to gather at the Convention Center. The city has not pre-planned this building as an evacuation site. The Governor grows more concerned recognizing this situation makes the need for FEMA buses even more acute.

Governor Pushes Forward with Evacuation
Governor Blanco is determined to move ahead on evacuating the Superdome with or without the federal resources. With designated shelters, hotels and most households in Louisiana bursting at the seams from evacuees who left during contra-flow, she knows she has to secure additional locations where she can transport those who are still in New Orleans. Wednesday morning, Governor Blanco calls Governor Rick Perry of Texas to coordinate the arrival of evacuees from New Orleans to Texas. It was agreed that the Astrodome would be opened to accept evacuees. In addition to Governor Perry, she also calls to secure the support of Houston Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Robert Echols of Texas to pave the way for temporarily housing evacuees in the Astrodome.

General Landreneau presents Lieutenant General Russ Honore to Governor Blanco when he arrives on Wednesday at the Office of Emergency Preparedness. Everyone welcomes the appearance of Louisiana native General Honore, as the assumption is that his arrival indicates the federal troops are here or on their way with the equipment needed to help get the job done in response to the Governor's requests. The Governor asks him to coordinate the evacuation efforts in New Orleans, so that General Landreneau can concentrate on saving lives, search and rescue, and law and order issues. Governor Blanco later asks Honore if he brought a large number of soldiers, and learns that he arrived with only a small support staff. The evacuation must be conducted by National Guard troops, as the federal contingent has not arrived.

Brigade of Buses
With no sign of the promised FEMA buses in sight on Wednesday, General Honore requests more school buses and Governor Blanco issues Executive Order No. KBB 2005-31 later in the day, allowing her to officially commandeer or utilize any private property she finds necessary to cope with the disaster or emergency. Governor Blanco's office continues to direct each school superintendent to provide an inventory of school buses and bus drivers in their districts.
An estimated 1500 school buses were commandeered. Although all of the buses were not ultimately used, initial estimates indicate that at least 800 school bus trips were made shuttling evacuees to safety. The Governor's staff arranges a staging and implementation plan that keeps the buses flowing in convoys once the order is issued. It is important to note that as reports of violence escalate on the news, many potential bus drivers become understandably concerned about the safety of driving into the city on rescue missions. All available first responders from the Baton Rouge area and surrounding parishes are involved in the rescue efforts, so are not able to ride the individual buses on their missions. Police escorts accompany convoys in groups of ten buses. Those who respond to the call for bus drivers are saluted for their bravery.

With the FEMA buses rumored to be on the way and helicopter rescue operations increasing, at some point, it is suggested that the school bus convoys are not needed. Governor Blanco refuses to halt the school bus convoys, and instructs her staff to proceed with securing every bus - school, church or tour bus - they can acquire. She pushes to move the bus convoy full speed ahead as it is uncertain whether or not the rumored FEMA buses would ever materialize, and she is not willing to rely solely on helicopter operations to move people to safety. As of 10:30PM on Wednesday night, there was still no word about the status of significant numbers of FEMA buses.

Governor Blanco flies over the Cloverleaf area and sees the crowds gathering on raised highways and levees. She instructs her staff to send available school bus convoys to those areas too. As horrible and uncomfortable as conditions are in the Superdome, there is at least food, water and shelter from the sun. People brought to the raised surfaces as they transitioned to safety had no shelter from the sun, and many of these children, elderly and other adults had been subjected to the elements. As people were bused out from the highways, others took their place in a constant flow of evacuees deposited by the boat and helicopter rescuers.

Just before midnight on Wednesday, the Governor learns that a number of the promised FEMA buses are finally crossing into North Louisiana, some 7 or 8 hours away from New Orleans.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
With all shelters and communities bursting at the seams, on Thursday Governor Blanco issues Executive Order KBB 2005-24 allowing all evacuees occupying hotel rooms to continue occupying the room under the normal terms, conditions and rates. The Governor takes this precaution because she does not want evacuees competing for rooms with non-evacuees. In an effort to address the housing shortfall, Governor Blanco also writes to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson and urges him to consider both immediate and long-term housing solutions for evacuees.

A Growing Contingent of National Guard Troops
In response to widespread reports of looting and violence, a large number of security forces including Military Police that the Governor had ordered earlier in the week from the National Guard arrive on the streets of New Orleans. Governor Blanco announces that they are just back from Iraq, armed with M-16s that are "locked and loaded," that they are trained to shoot to kill and would accommodate anyone threatening the lives of evacuees or rescuers. They never fire their weapons, but law and order is restored. On Thursday evening, General Blum, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, arrives in Baton Rouge. His arrival is in response to General Landreneau's appeal for Blum's assistance in continuing efforts to recruit larger contingents of National Guard troops needed from across the country and the territories. General Blum meets with the Governor and General Landreneau to report on his progress and to inform the Governor that he has a large number of National Guard troops that have arrived with more on the way. The discussion turns to the role of the National Guard, and the Governor's desire for federal troops to assist the State.

General Blum provides his candid assessment that the Governor should not federalize the troops, recommending the dual command structure. He confirms the Governor's position that a joint command is appropriate, with Lieutenant General Honore commanding federal forces and Major General Landreneau commanding State forces, and that federalization would not be necessary to receive more federal assets. Additionally, any such move to place Guard troops on Title 10 status would have significantly limited our capacity to conduct law enforcement missions. We all know that the Posse Comitatus Act significantly limits the situations when the army and air force can conduct law enforcement missions. The reality is that thousands of Guard troops are pouring into the State, yet very few federal troops are on the ground to meet the Governor's request.

On Thursday evening, Governor Blanco decides to hire an experienced expert to serve as the State's liaison with FEMA and to cut through the red tape as the disaster recovery efforts continue. Governor Blanco hires former FEMA Director James Lee Witt to assist in the recovery. Witt is well respected within FEMA, and with more than 25 years of disaster management experience, is one of the country's foremost experts on responding to natural disasters. Executive Counsel Terry Ryder called Friday morning from the Governor's office to extend the offer to James Lee Witt, and he agrees to start immediately, arriving ready to work on Friday night.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
Bring the 256th Home
With all available Louisiana National Guard troops activated and thousands of National Guard forces pouring in from across the country to meet the tremendous needs of the State, Governor Blanco delivers another official request to President Bush urging him to allow for the expeditious return of the soldiers of the 256th Brigade Combat Team as they have completed their mission in the Iraqi theatre of operations and they are urgently needed here at home to assist in the recovery efforts. Her letter also requests federal assistance with aerial and ground firefighting support; a fleet of military vehicles that would remain in the affected areas; at least 175 generators; medical supplies including personnel, equipment, drugs and vaccines; assistance with mortuary affairs; and assistance in dealing with injured animals and animal remains. She prioritizes the need for federal help in rebuilding Louisiana's communications grid.

In an effort to utilize the services of doctors who were answering Louisiana's much needed calls for medical assistance, Governor Blanco issues Executive Order No. KBB 2005-26, declaring a state of public health emergency and facilitating the acceptance of additional medical professional assistance. This order temporarily suspends Louisiana's licensure laws, rules and regulations for medical professionals and personnel who possess medical licenses in good standing in their respective states, thereby helping out-of-state medical professionals and personnel treat those in need of urgent care.

Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
On Friday, Governor Blanco creates and announces the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, a non-profit foundation developed to accept donations pouring in to the State to meet the needs of Louisiana's people. In an overwhelming show of generosity and support, people from across the United States and the globe reach out to Louisiana in her time of need, sending their contributions and their prayers.

The Tide Begins to Turn
General Landreneau assures the Governor that some 30,000 occupants of the Superdome have now been evacuated, but alerts her that thousands more continue to come. He also notifies the Governor that improvement is underway at the Convention Center, with large shares of rations and security in place brought in by the National Guard. He reports on the continued escalation of EMAC forces. On day four after Katrina hits Louisiana, Governor Blanco sees the tide beginning to turn in search and rescue missions, evacuations and peacekeeping efforts. The first responders, National Guard, State officials, in and out of State volunteers, and citizens of Louisiana stepped up and pulled together to get through the crisis moments created by the largest natural disaster ever to strike this country. It was not pleasant to experience or watch, but tens of thousands of lives were saved.

Governor Meets with President
President Bush arrives in New Orleans on Friday for his first visit since Katrina, and schedules a meeting with Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and other members of the Louisiana Congressional delegation aboard Air Force One. Each local leader briefs the President on the situation, and gives him an overview of his or her concerns. As the official meeting concludes, President Bush invites Governor Blanco to join him in a private office with a member of the White House Staff.
The Governor has a private conversation with President Bush about the command structure of the operations, and reiterates her need for a significant number of federal troops. The President asks Governor Blanco to put her troops, the Louisiana National Guard and EMAC National Guard, under control of a Department of Defense appointed General. By the time of Friday's conversation, the situation has evolved and the immediate needs on the ground are far different than the needs when federal troops were first requested earlier in the week. By Friday, the State has received a massive National Guard presence including troops from other States under the command of Louisiana's Adjutant General (TAG), General Bennett Landreneau. Over 8,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen and women are on the ground, working in Louisiana as part of Task Force Pelican. Three thousand of these troops are from other states, with an additional 15,000 reinforcements expected by Monday. They are making giant strides stabilizing the situation and evacuating the Superdome and the Convention Center using the commercial buses that have finally arrived, but there are no significant numbers of federal troops in Louisiana.

In spite of the significant progress that has been made in the last two days, the Governor insists on securing more federal troops and assets that she realizes will be required to accomplish the work that lies ahead. Governor Blanco reiterates that she is satisfied with General Landreneau heading up the massive effort underway by the National Guard. When federal troops did not arrive, the National Guard increased their troops through EMACs, and moved mountains to turn the corner. This was the largest and quickest EMAC activation in American history, including the participation of forty-eight states and four territories. The Governor suggests that President Bush assign Lieutenant General Honore to command the federal troops that would be deployed to Louisiana, as there is still so much work that needs to be done. Even though Lieutenant General Honore arrived without his army, he is performing a valuable service helping to coordinate the evacuation of the city, and working side by side to complement the National Guard effort.

By Friday, unity of effort is already achieved. The supporting governors have already placed their National Guard forces under Governor Blanco's operational control. The President has directed Lieutenant General Honore to conduct the military assistance to civil authorities mission. Governor Blanco has communicated her intent and purpose to Lieutenant General Honore. He and Major General Landreneau are both executing that intent and purpose. Out of respect for the President, Governor Blanco agrees that she would talk to General Landreneau and her Executive Counsel and review the President's reorganization proposal. She remains clear and steadfast, however, that the present command structure is appropriate and fully capable to command both federal and Guard troops. Historically, the joint command structure worked well in other federal emergency responses such as Hurricane Andrew in Florida. The federal government could send troops under this organization that would remain under the command of Lieutenant General Honore, which is exactly what was done.

Much has been said and written about the Governor's private meeting with the President, and erroneous reports have been circulated that she denied federal troops or delayed help for 24-hours. The facts are clear and evidence confirms that the Governor requests early and often the need for additional military presence, including a federal military presence and assets. At no time does anyone from the federal government tell her that federal troops are withheld because the existing structure was inadequate. In fact, the new proposal is first presented to her aboard Air Force One on Friday, four days after the storm struck on Monday, and the President never suggests that federal troops were reliant on this new structure nor did he convey that the joint command structure is insufficient. She believes that the President is sincere in his pledge to help Louisiana. She is clear about needing that help, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

In agreeing to discuss the reorganization with General Landreneau and her Executive Counsel, the Governor is concerned that restructuring could confuse the steadily improving situation on the ground. The National Guard troops have risen to the occasion, and making an abrupt change in command for no apparent reason may disrupt ongoing operations. Sending the federal troops under the command of General Honore, as the Governor suggests, is indeed what the President decides to do on Saturday, five days after the storm, using the existing command structure.

Close to midnight on Friday, Governor Blanco receives phone calls from General Steve Blum, just after his return to DC, and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card who want to discuss with her their proposed organizational restructuring. She hears them out, but continues to believe, given the stabilization now underway and the massive National Guard buildup on the ground, that bringing in the federal forces and putting them under the command of General Honore to coordinate with General Landreneau who leads the Guard forces is the most effective solution.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2005
Federal Troops on Their Way
Just before the President delivers his Radio Address on Saturday morning, Governor Blanco speaks to Andrew Card who tells her that she will be pleased with the President's announcement. The Governor listens intently as the President speaks, and is thankful that he has authorized federal troops to work with the National Guard.

At noon, Governor Blanco reports to the press on her meeting with the President where she again asks for federal assistance. The State has now received his assurance that 7,000 additional troops are on the way. The troops are coming from the 82nd Airborne, the 1st Calvary, and the 1st and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Forces, and they would operate under the direct command of Louisiana native Lieutenant General Russ Honore, who commands Joint Task Force Katrina.

In the days that follow, the Governor and her staff are deeply involved in getting help to local communities, identifying housing, fighting to make sure Louisiana's people are employed in the recovery, reuniting families, visiting people in shelters both in state and out of state, meeting with visiting members of Congress, Secretary Chertoff, Admiral Allen, the Vice President, the President and his staff, and leading many follow-up visits to the affected areas. The magnitude of the devastation demands the full time and attention of the Governor. She and her staff work 14 to 18 hours, seven days a week, for weeks afterward.

Just last year, FEMA ran a federal, state, and local doomsday scenario called Hurricane Pam with emergency preparedness people from the State and the New Orleans area. While the analysis is still pending, nearly everything negative predicted in this fictional disaster comes true during the very real Katrina. There is one glaring exception. Pam predicts some 61,000 deaths would occur. Instead, at the time of submission, the Governor and Louisiana mourn the deaths of 1,067, a tragedy for the State but thankfully a far cry from predictions. Because of a well-organized initiative, well over one million people pre-evacuated the New Orleans region. Thousands who stayed were pulled from attics and rooftops; with some 78,000 bused or flown to safety in the aftermath of Katrina. We must never forget the heroes of Katrina.

State officials did not rest from the moment Katrina turned her firepower toward Louisiana. All the resources the State had to bear were brought to aid in the evacuation, rescue, recovery and rebuilding efforts. In a demonstration of the resolve and commitment to move forward, the State turned from Hurricane Katrina to successfully prepare for and respond to the additional devastation unleashed by Hurricane Rita and the floods that followed that storm. Today, Governor Blanco leads a massive rebuilding effort. Our people stand unified together as we rebuild Louisiana safer, stronger and better than before Katrina and Rita.

Interview with LSU's Student Body President

2005-12-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, I sat down with LSU’s Student Body President, Michelle Gieg, to ask her about the issues facing higher education. Here are some of the highlights (her responses are in bold):

It was recently announced that over 60 million will be cut from higher education here in Louisiana (see previous post). Is this amount higher or lower than what officials, student body presidents, etc. anticipated?

“Higher Education and healthcare are the only government-funded departments that can constitutionally be cut in Louisiana. Many officials in higher education were speculating an even bigger cut after the special session, but fortunately, higher ed was spared from a larger cut for the most part. In fact, every state agency was asked to report to the House Finance committee and go through – essentially line-by-line – how much they were cutting from their department and what those cuts would affect.”

In an earlier discussion I had with President Gieg, she mentioned that schools might be combined to handle this budget cut. For example, they were apparently considering combining LSUS and Louisiana Tech. About this, President Gieg said…

“There is conversation among the four systems of combining programs and, eventually Universities. We have made a state-wide commitment to community and technical college systems and hope to recruit more students into those institutions. There are also concerns about offering the same types of education in the same regional areas.”

In Louisiana, there is a renowned scholarship program known as TOPS (Tuition Opportunity Program for Students). This initiative was started in an effort to stop the “brain drain” from Louisiana. Outstanding high school graduates were pouring out of the state for higher education. With TOPS, students are encouraged to stay in-state because, with a reasonable GPA and ACT score, their tuition and fees are paid. But is this program at risk?

“Even before the Hurricanes, revisions to TOPS were being discussed. Louisiana, which has the highest poverty rates of any state in the country, has 95% merit-based scholarships and only 5-or-so% need-based (this is with the exception of Federal Pell grants). However, as of right now, TOPS will remain the same. The future of TOPS is, however, still a question.”

As a student at LSU-BR, I wanted to know what President Gieg saw as the biggest problem facing our university. After all, we are the flagship university of the state and, since the hurricanes, have taken in students from various New Orleans Universities.

“I am concerned that students will have to consume the majority of the 4-million dollar cut through assessment of student fees. However, it may be imposed to preserve the quality of the education students receive at LSU. If we can not compensate as a University for the cut, then we will begin to lose faculty, programs and eventually, quality. If we don’t patch the hole given to us by the state, then we could set ourselves back literally decades.”

In a previous post, I mentioned the mixed messages being sent by the Medical School in New Orleans. Here are the latest updates President Gieg has received.

“LSUHSC- NO should be online to receive students in spring 2006. However, their facilities are still severely damaged. Health Sciences took an even bigger hit budget-wise because they did not and are not receiving revenue from patients because of the Hurricane and closure of their hospitals. That school and hospital system is a real concern of the LSU system. The system, though, recognizes the huge economic impact the HSC has in New Orleans and the large impact it has in the social realm and they will rebuild it.”

As President of our Student Body, President Gieg is the “student voice” to state government and within the LSU System. She is also a member of the Council of Student Body Presidents for Louisiana – a collection of every student government president from every university within the state of Louisiana. So, what are the Student Body Presidents doing?

“We are discussing options for the future of education state-wide. Many presidents are interested in merging programs, but not necessarily Universities. We have drafted resolutions related to the cuts, encouraging the legislature to spare higher ed, which happened.”

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, a major concern for the state is getting people to return to the cities they evacuated – especially New Orleans. It seems to me that this HAS to be a concern of higher education institutions such as Tulane and the University of New Orleans. So, how are students who transferred out of state being recruited to come back?

“Each institution is handling that differently. The message of the state is that we are open for business and are encouraging students to come back. For example, UNO will reopen January 30 and will offer a wide variety of amenities that were not offered pre-Katrina, like lounges and coffee shops on campus. They want to assure students that their livelihood can return with their educational opportunities.”

(There was an article in our school paper about this issue and the University of New Orleans today. Click here to view that article.)

But what if these students decide not to go back to New Orleans? Will LSU-BR be able to handle the extra students permanently?

“LSU will be able to capacitate the number of visiting students who choose to stay. However, these students must meet the transfer requirements of any other student wishing to enroll at LSU.”

If you have any other questions for President Gieg, please add them in the comments and I will try to get an answer for you.

Blanco follow-up

2005-12-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

What will happen with Blanco going?

As I announced in my last post, Governor Blanco will not be running for re-election in 2007. But what does that mean now?

Obviously, Blanco and/or the Louisiana Democratic Party are not going to announce her decision for quite some time. I spoke with the editor of my school’s paper (he read my blog post) and he had heard the same thing but no one will go on record confirming that she isn’t running. Until that happens, the reports are just speculative and no newspaper will give it a large amount of attention (There are obviously more important issues to focus on anyway). However, it could still create problems early.

For example, if everyone knows Blanco is out and that she is going to take the heat for part of the problems in New Orleans, what if Republicans and Democrats both separate from her to distance themselves from the ‘source’ of the problem? This could leave her as a “lame duck” Governor and make her administration extremely ineffective in its recovery efforts.

I think this strategy is a strong possibility for Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu who is rumored to be running for Governor in 2007 (see last post). He will not want to be seen as Blanco’s right-hand man when he will have to run on a platform promising better performance than her administration demonstrated during Katrina.

I would say it’s a possibility that the Democratic Party may try to lay all of the blame on the Bush administration and emphasize a message such as, “We did everything we could. We asked for assistance. It is the Federal Government’s fault.” but this will NEVER happen.

First, it is not true. As Blanco already openly admitted, there were failures at all levels of government. They may have tried hard but it was not enough. Bush, too, already accepted part of the blame.

Second, if Blanco is not running for re-election, that is a second, strong acceptance of fault. It is sort of like hanging a sign on the Democratic Party leader saying, “I cracked and now I’m stepping down.”

What about close to the election?

Expect especially strong criticisms of Blanco’s administration from the Republican Party – obviously. But I would also expect them from the Democrats. With guilt admitted, Democratic candidates have to differentiate themselves from the “failures” if they want to be winners.

Overall, the demographics of New Orleans have been greatly altered, as I mentioned in my last post. This could lead to a stronger Republican constituency in the city but what about the rest of the state?

In a state that is primarily Republican (Bush won with 57% of the vote in 2004), it will be interesting to see how many switch to the other side and vote Democrat post-Katrina. After all, Bush’s approval rating continues to be low as he is constantly criticized for the war in Iraq and his ineffectiveness in the heat of this disaster. Maybe Republican candidates will use the same strategy that I suggested for Democratic Gubernatorial candidates in Louisiana – separate yourself from the “failure” (Bush and Blanco).

Wouldn’t that be something if the voters in New Orleans turned Republican and the voters in the rest of the state went Democrat? At this point, with the governmental leadership we have at the state and federal level, nothing would surprise me.

EXCLUSIVE -- Blanco is out in 2007.

2005-12-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

It’s official….well kind of.

Yesterday, I spoke with a top official from the Louisiana Democratic Party (who wished to remain anonymous). They confirmed for me that, indeed, the speculation is true. Although she will not announce it for quite some time……

Governor Kathleen Blanco will NOT be running for re-election in 2007!

Now, many could have guessed this. After all, many criticisms for failures post-Katrina were passed off on Governor Blanco. Fair or not fair, she took much of the heat.

Even though she is not running, does it really matter who the Democratic candidate is? Could they ever really win? After all, the Democratic Party has lost a lot of their voters in the evacuees from New Orleans. The numbers, no matter the candidate just may not be there.

So what Democrat will be brave enough to run?

This source mentioned that Lt.Gov. Mitch Landrieu was/is contemplating running for Mayor of New Orleans. However, Jimmy Fahrenholtz (a member of the Orleans Parish School Board) has also shown interest in running as the Democratic candidate. If he does, my source tells me, it is likely that Mitch Landrieu will run for Governor because Landrieu’s aunt (Phyllis Landrieu) is on the school board with Fahrenholtz and would likely want to support him. Additionally, the Democratic Party would not want two white males competing for the top spot, says my source. Very interesting!

Blanco's preparation for the hurricane?

2005-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting post I found on The Political Teen. They found a 2003 debate where Blanco had to describe what she would do in the event of a Category 5 hurricane headed towards Louisiana. Too bad it wasn't this simple.

http://thepoliticalteen.net/2005/11/14/blancolied/

Funny or not

2005-12-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, you just have to laugh....

Check out this story about the Christmas display at Lakeside mall.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/hurricane/cst-nws-hurr011.html

Medical Schools and Mixed Messages

2005-11-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

On November 10, the Daily Reveille reported:

"Larry Hollier, dean of the University Medical School, announced Tuesday that the medical school in New Orleans may be forced to close down if increased funding is not made available."

On November 23, they published a follow-up article that announced Governor Blanco's budget cuts for higher education -- $67 million. This cut will affect not only undergraduate institutions but also graduate schools such as the medical schools in New Orleans. The article reports:

"The LSU Health Sciences Center is facing massive deficits, and experts have estimated the center may be entirely out of money by the end of March 2006."

At the same time, the Medical School is sending out a message stating just the opposite to their applicants. A friend of mine received this e-mail message:

"Many of you may have seen the news story that broke about the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans closing. THIS IS NOT TRUE!!

The Dean expressed to the legislatre [sic] what could happen if we do not get any assistance from the federal government or if state appropriations are reduced. This is an unfortunate but serious situation, but LSU Health Sciences Center has contingency plans in place and the school WILL NOT CLOSE in February.

I realize that it is difficult to ignore all the rumors, especially when it is so widespread in the media. However, we are currently interviewing applicants and will be through the month of April for the 2006 entering class which will begin in August in New Orleans.

Thanks for your interest in LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans,
Sam G. McClugage, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Admissions"

So, what's the deal? Is the medical school just trying to save face with their applicants? I think so. They have to plan for the worst (testifying to the legislature about how they need money) but hope for the best (continuing to encourage applicants) so that they can continue if the money is there. But what if it isn't?

The first article mentioned above also reports that:

"Jenkins said about 75 percent of health care professionals that practice in Louisiana are trained in University Health Sciences Centers in Shreveport or New Orleans."

If these schools closed, we would have a huge brain drain in the state. If the medical school in New Orleans did not open back up, then we may not have enough doctors to staff all of the hospitals, especially the charity hospitals where anyone can receive medical attention no matter their income. I've heard, although I could find no source to verify, that Louisiana is one of only two states that provides this free Charity hospital service to all citizens. Has anyone else heard this?

If we lose that service so valuable to the underprivileged, it is even more likely that the make up of New Orleans will never be the same. It is imperative that these schools stay open and that LSU's New Orleans Medical School is relocated back to New Orleans (right now, it is in Baton Rouge).

However, it will all depend on how these budget cuts play out. Of course, I will continue to cover them on this blog.

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

More than ever, the importance of this holiday is evident this year. Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Sorry for the lack of substantive updates the past few days but I will be back at it within the next two days (I've been home in Illinois for the first time since pre-Katrina).

A thank you from New Orleans to my hometown Baton Rouge:
http://www.nola.com/living/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-5/1132818097317290.xml

Katrina Survivors Thanksgiving Stories:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051125/ap_on_re_us/katrina_thanksgiving

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051125/ap_on_re_us/katrina_thanksgiving

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/neworleans/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1132820919317290.xml

My days in the shelters

2005-11-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

I thought y'all might be interested in this.

During the weeks following Katrina, I was involved in a few different relief efforts. The most impactful was working directly in the shelters here on campus.

For the one-year anniversary of September 11, I had a friend living in New York who wrote about what it was like to be in the city that day. Reading it really made me feel more connected to the whole situation.

After Katrina, I wanted to do the same thing. I wrote four letters (originally to only 10 people) that were sent across the country and overseas. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were donated and tons of supplies were shipped to me to deliver to the shelter.

It was a humbling and inspiring situation.

One reader created this blog of my letters so that more people could read them:
http://katrina-lsu.blogspot.com

Times Picayune Editorial

2005-11-20T16:31:00.001-08:00

Great editorial/call-to-action from the editorial board of the Times Picayune.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1132475704190650.xml

Confederate Flag -- Possible Scenarios

2005-11-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

As a follow-up to my last entry, I would like to consider the various scenarios that could develop with this Confederate flag issue:

Situation One:
LSU does nothing. The Student Equity Commission never gains media coverage.

In this situation, the debate would die quickly (until next football season). We would, hopefully, still get national funding. Many students would still be offended but free speech would win out.

Situation Two:
LSU does nothing. The Student Equity Commission gains media coverage.

LSU would have to say they were defending free speech. Normally, the national audience would probably criticize the fans flying the flag but understand the importance of free speech and accept LSU’s decision. However, after the recent events surrounding Katrina, I really think there would be severe backlash. Immense pressure would be put on the school to ban the flag and let it go to court. I doubt the school would change its position once the issue had national coverage, though.

This could mean pressure be put on the state government to ban the flag. If they did, some would be glad it was ban. Others would be outraged that free speech was infringed upon. If they did nothing, national coverage could become more intense. This would be a hot topic on the “scream” shows. As I said in my previous posts, the state could lose federal funding.

Situation Three:
LSU bans the flag. The Student Equity Commission never gains media coverage.

I do not think this would EVER happen. LSU will not cause its own controversy unless they receive outside criticism and media coverage.

Situation Four:
LSU bans the flag. The Student Equity Commission gains media coverage.

Obviously, the Student Equity Commission would be elated.

LSU would look stupid to some for infringing free speech. Others would call it a moral victory and a strong stand for our minority students and minority Louisiana citizens. Despite their opinions, in court, I believe the ban would be ultimately overturned.

However, this could get positive coverage, in that, LSU is standing up for our minority citizens in a time when our government ignored them.

Overall....

I think a ban of the flag would never stand for long (once it went to court) and I don’t think that LSU would try a ban unless national media picked up on the story. Still, it could really hurt us if LSU does not enforce a ban or at least some stronger action against this display of racism once national media picks it up.

Some have suggested that LSU put it to a vote of the student body? Although I am positive this would mean the flag would stay, what would it say? Would the students be protecting free speech or racism?

The best situation for the university is for this to die down but will it? With only one game left in the football season (Friday against Arkansas), there is not much time for media coverage so I would say yes.

LSU's Confederate Flag -- Is it banned? Why does it matter?

2005-11-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

At Louisiana State University, over the past month or so, an annual debate has resurfaced with greater intensity than ever. The debate is over the purple and gold confederate or rebel flag.

Here at LSU this symbol that means so much to so many is often flown on LSU football game days. Recently our school paper – The Daily Reveille – reported that a new student organization named the Student Equity Commission was created to accomplish three tasks:

1. Get a ban on the Confederate flag passed by the administration at LSU
2. More funding for minority programs
3. More aggressive minority recruitment

In response, the Chancellor’s office has held a press conference and issued the following statement:

“…I want to make the university's position on this issue very clear. LSU does not consider this flag an appropriate symbol of pride or association with this university, as many in our LSU family find the flag to be offensive. LSU discourages the use and display of this flag, and the university has not and will not license the use of its colors and/or trademarks for use on such a flag. LSU has also made this position known to flag, specialty advertising, and retail businesses that sell LSU items or engage in the authorized promotion of the University.

Because of LSU's firm belief in the First Amendment and its right of free speech, the University cannot and will not ban or prohibit these flags or any other symbols that our students or fans choose to display. To do so would contest the constitutional right of free speech or expression – a principle we hold sacrosanct. But that does not mean that the University sanctions this flag or any other symbols that encourage intolerance or provoke divisiveness. The First Amendment guarantees free speech, but not responsible speech. We ask all those who claim pride and allegiance to LSU, or the South, to refrain from displaying symbols that many find offensive. Pride in LSU is best shown by flying the LSU flag…”

Despite efforts by the administration, the Student Equity Commission continues to work until the flag is banned. But wait. Maybe it already is?

In one of my political communication classes (which is led by Charles Zewe, a doctoral student in the Manship School of Mass Communication and a spokesman for the LSU System), he informed us that there is, indeed, an LSU policy statement that could be interpreted as a ban of all flags not approved by the university (including the purple and gold confederate flag), other than the United States and Louisiana flags.

This policy is Policy Statement 66.

After reading it, the document – to me – did not seem like a ban of all flags including the Purple and Gold Confederate flag. Instead, it seems to only apply to State and Federal flags. However, when I asked my professor further about this issue, he again confirmed that some people interpret the policy statement as a ban of all flags not approved by the University. VERY Interesting.

From the beginning of this movement to ban the flag, the administration has tried to keep the situation under tight control. In the Reveille article mentioned above, it discusses how if the Chancellor held a press conference saying he was against the flag, the Student Equity Commission agreed not to protest and, instead, they held a “unity rally.” Needless to say, a press conference took place.

Why? And how does this apply to the rebuilding of New Orleans?

If this issue gets national coverage – as it could – then this blatant show of racism by so many LSU fans could enforce what so many saw during the Hurricane and that is a divide down racial lines.

During Hurricane Katrina, many people pointed out how it seemed like all African-Americans who were left in the city as it flooded. Kanye West went as far as saying, “George Bush didn’t care about black people.”

To have LSU and LSU fans (mainly Louisiana natives) look “racist” to the rest of the world by flying the Rebel flag could affect the amount of money we receive in federal aid. To me, it seems that is most likely the University and the LSU System’s real worry. As a state and a university system, we need money now more than ever. So…

The Student Equity Commission continues to push for the ban. Others students stand by our right to fly the flag. All the while, our Chancellor Sean O’Keefe says the university cannot and will not make such a policy. But, do they have one already?

Zewe, a LSU System spokesman, says O’Keefe has been informed about PS-66 and the possible interpretation of this policy as a ban of the flag.

The Chancellor is probably worried about the safety issues behind enforcing this policy and the backlash it could produce. That seems like a reasonable fear. And as I said before, they want to keep the protests quiet because if they got media coverage, the university and the state could suffer.

However, what if the media finds out we have a policy that can be interpreted as a ban of the purple and gold rebel flag that our university is not enforcing? What then? Doesn’t that reinforce the images and theme that surrounded Hurricane Katrina? Will that affect the funds pouring into Louisiana? By not taking a stronger stand on this issue and trying to quiet all involved, is LSU A&M and Chancellor O’Keefe making the best move?

Only time will tell.

Free Shuttle to New Orleans

2005-11-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

On October 31, FEMA and the Baton Rouge and New Orleans transportation services launched a program entitled LA Swift. Their website explains the service as the following:

“LA Swift is an emergency bus service designed to transport displaced New Orleans-area residents with no transportation from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and back for jobs, job searches, and similar recovery efforts. LA Swift will begin Monday, October 31, as a 15-day pilot
program”

The buses take and drop off from only one point in each city but buses are available for free throughout the city of New Orleans courtesy of RTA.

For more information, call 1-877-4LADOTD.

This service will only continue if it is highly used. I will continue to monitor this programs existence as it is strong indicator of how many people need assistance in returning to the city – even here in Baton Rouge.

As of now, there are no other shuttles available from cities holding displaced residents to New Orleans. If you know of any shuttle services being offered, please let me know.

My Code of Ethics

2005-11-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

To my readers,

I promise to post entries analyzing the recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina regularly. These posts will include no profanities. If and when I express my opinions or evaluations of an issue, my sources to validate that opinion will be hyperlinked and cited clearly.

If I change a post due to a factual inaccuracy, grammatical error or missing hyperlink, the alteration will be noted with an underline. However, if there is new material about a previously discussed topic, I will create a new entry citing the old post.

I will strive to be insightful and truthful in all posts. If you disagree, feel free to comment or e-mail me at thenewneworleans(at)gmail(dot)com with your point of issue. Although I can not respond to every comment, I will review them regularly and respond when possible.

All opinions and viewpoints are welcome however I ask that you refrain from profanity and personal attacks. Any vulgar comments can and will be removed at my discretion. This is a blog meant to inspire debate and discussion. Please be open to all opinions and avoid belittling others’ commentary. In a blog about building back a community, it is only logical that we show a sense of community and welcome all ideas and opinions.

Commercial solicitations will be removed. Please post only authentic responses.

St. Bernard Schools

2005-11-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

As reported on the St. Bernard Parish Schools website, registration for school will begin today and run through Saturday, November 5th.

This is a very good sign as St. Bernard is one of the parishes hit hardest by the storm.

The website reports that buses and lunch services will be available. School will open (pending EPA and DEQ approval) on November 14th.

Congressional Hearing on Levees

2005-11-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Today, there will be a congressional hearing on the levees. As reported by the Associated Press,

"The engineers who designed the floodwalls that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina did not fully consider the porousness of the Louisiana soil or make other calculations that would have pointed to the need for stronger levees with deeper pilings and wider bases, researchers say."

What was wrong with them?

"Steel-sheet pilings driven into the ground are meant to stop seepage from the wet side of the levee to the dry side and serve as an anchor for the levees' protective, concrete walls. But a number of engineers have said the pilings apparently were not driven deeply enough into the relatively loose, porous soil endemic to southern Louisiana.

The result: Water seeped deep into the ground and destabilized the soil, causing the walls to collapse."

While the blame is now being pointed at engineers, earlier reports blamed cuts by the Bush Administration. During the storm, I received the following e-mail about the chronology of budget cuts. It was developed by Stanford Professor of Communication Henry Breitrose.

"CHRONOLOGY.... Here's a timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration:

January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.

April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May, Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are concerned that federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized entitlement program...." he said. "Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is anappropriate level."
(He also said, "The business of government is not to provide services, but to make sure that they are provided.”)

2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country." (also quoted in the Houston Chronicle)

December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.

March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on fighting acts of terrorism. (also quoted in the Washington Post)

2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.

Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You would think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it." (also quoted in this article)

June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay." (This writer and others say this quote came from a June 8, 2004 article in the Times Picayune but I can not find this article ANYWHERE -- including Lexis Nexis)

June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.

August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe, Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues with his vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a flat,defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.

A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of FEMA. Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was known to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was deliberately downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative agenda to reducethe role of government. After DHS was created, FEMA's preparation and planning functions were taken away.

Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane the size of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal response when it did happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It's the Bush administration in a nutshell.

-- Henry Breitrose
Professor of Communication
Department of Communication
Stanford University
Stanford, California USA 94305-2050
650-723-4700"

Whatever bias this e-mail may have against Bush, hindsight is 20-20 and obvious mistakes were made in the budget. It will be interesting to see how the report goes today. Were there already enough funds to make the levees safe for a Category 3 or 4 Hurricane as they said they were? Would more money have helped?

Alarming Numbers Two Months In

2005-10-31T13:08:00.000-08:00

In his article "New Orleans population to halve," James Bone reports the following:

"New Orleans could shrink to about half its previous population after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Ray Nagin, the Mayor, predicted.

The city, which had 484,000 residents before Katrina struck, can support only 250,000 to 300,000 over the next year, he said. Officials estimate that 110,000 of the city’s 180,000 houses were flooded, with many sitting for weeks in more than 6ft (1.8m) of water.

Although the number of evacuees living in emergency shelters has dwindled to about 6,900 from a peak of 270,000, about 200,000 of the displaced people are still living in hotels and motels. A poll of evacuees found that 39 percent did not plan to return home.
Mayor Nagin said yesterday that his top priority was housing. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 houses — about a quarter of the city’s housing stock — will have to be demolished as unsafe. Tens of thousands more may also be knocked down because homeowners did not have flood insurance and cannot afford the cost of refurbishing them. "

This is article is very disheartening. The reality of 39 percent of the New Orleans population not returning to the city would be devastating. However, I have heard uplifting news about homeowners insurance settlements.

I spoke with a claims consultant for State Farm Insurance who said that almost 50 percent of their claims from Katrina have been settled and over 90 percent of their policyholders have been met with. This, he said, is an incredibly fast response for the seriousness of this disaster.

Hopefully, people will be able to rebuild their houses quicker because of this timely response and return to the city before they become too comfortable in their new settings.

Helping the Schools

2005-10-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

In this morning’s New York Times, Cisco Systems announced that they will donate $40 million to schools affected by Katrina. The money will be used to buy computers for schools without them and to pay for wireless internet in many schools that have high-speed internet already.

From the article:

“Mr. Chambers, speaking at a presentation in Jackson, Miss., said the devastation left by the storm presented an opportunity to upgrade the schools and to provide a model for other districts around the country.”

I agree.

Before Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans public schools were among the worst in our state and country. In fact, according to http://www.psk12.com/, 31 of 60 worst elementary schools in Louisiana are from Orleans parish.

Additionally, the school districts of New Orleans were over $25 million in debt according to an article by the Associated Press published on http://www.nola.com/. A consulting firm, Alvarez & Marsal, was hired to fix the budget and schools through a school-by-school analysis. They specialize in turnaround management services.

There is a large gap in academic achievement along economic lines in New Orleans. According to Teach For America, students from low-income families are seven times less likely to graduate from college. By the time they are 9-years-old, low-income students (who, in New Orleans, predominantly attend public schools) are 2 to 3 grade levels behind their more affluent peers.

To fix these mounting problems, huge strides can and must be made. Now, more than ever, there is a real chance to start again. But major issues must be addressed.

Will leaders really be able to take this opportunity to improve the schools? Unfortunately, they may not.

According to the New Orleans Public Schools website, they are planning on reopening some schools as early as November. This is great, in that, for the city to really start up again, we must have schools. Families can not move back until their kids are being educated and businesses can not open until families move back. They need customers and employees. Until businesses are up and going, the city will remain “dead.” Thus, schools opening in November is great news.

However….

What will the curriculum be? How will students catch up when they were already behind? Who will teach?

And, most importantly…how will these low-income families get back in the city? Right now, so many families are dispersed throughout the country. It will be interesting to see how officials get them back.

The rush of reopening schools is necessary but scary. I sincerely hope they will reopen as new and improved institutions where every child has a chance to learn. (Hopefully, donations such as Cisco’s will continue to pour in because they will help tremendously in this great rebuild).

Now is our chance.

Here we go

2005-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. It has been almost two months since Hurricane Katrina and, still, there are so many recovery efforts to be made. Much of the population of the city remains dispersed throughout the country. People have lost jobs. Schools remain closed. It is going to take months if not years to get the great city of New Orleans back to "normal." I hope to follow that process. In this blog, I will attempt to analyze the steps politicians, business men and the citizens are taking to get the city back up and running. Please feel free to chime in with comments, suggestions or information that you receive.

I am confident we will eventually get the city back. How we will get there is anyone's guess.