Mission Statement: The Louisiana Recovery Authority is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to plan for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. The authority is working with Governor Blanco to plan for Louisiana's future, coordinate across jurisdictions, support community recovery and resurgence, and ensure integrity and effectiveness. Working in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies, the authority is also addressing short-term recovery needs while simultaneously guiding the long-term planning process.
Lower 9th Plan: Start 'From Scratch'
Residents of the New Orleans neighborhood will hear results of a
consultant's study today. But it's not the only proposal in town.
By Ann M. Simmons, Times Staff Writer
September 23, 2006
NEW ORLEANS — A consulting firm hired by the New Orleans City Council to
devise a plan for the city's most storm-damaged neighborhoods will recommend
rebuilding the Lower 9th Ward — considered by many "ground zero" of the
destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina — "from scratch."
Miami-based urban planner and housing consultant Paul Lambert, along with
other urban planning groups, met with Lower 9th Ward residents and
incorporated their ideas into a proposal to change the area's street pattern
to create a new "town center." That idea is part of a report he is to
present to residents today.
In some 300 community meetings and workshops over the last five months,
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/22/jackson-blocked-democrats
EXCLUSIVE: Agency Report Shows Secretary Personally Blocked Contracts To
Democrats
In April, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson told a group of real estate
officials that he once canceled a government contract because the contractor
was critical of President Bush. Awarding contracts based on political
leanings “violates federal law.” Jackson is a “longtime Bush friend” and
former neighbor in Dallas, Texas.
The Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development
has conducted a detailed investigation and produced a 340-page report
detailing his findings. The agency has given a copy to Jackson, but refused
to release the report to the public.
ThinkProgress has obtained the executive summary. Here are some key
excerpts:
– “During the investigation, Secretary JACKSON’s Chief of Staff, as well as
the HUD Deputy Secretary testified that, in a senior staff meeting, JACKSON
FAIR HOUSING CENTER CALLS ON ST. BERNARD PARISH TO REPEAL DISCRIMINATORY ORDINANCE; ORDINANCE MAY BAN NON-WHITE RENTERS
http://www.gnofairhousing.org/
The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) calls on St. Bernard Parish to repeal a discriminatory ordinance recently passed by the Parish Council. According to the St. Bernard Parish website, “Except with a special permit, owners who weren’t previously renting out a single-family residence in R-1 zones will now be prohibited from doing so unless the renter is a blood relative…” www.sbpg.net/sep2006.html.
The ordinance’s blood relative requirement will prevent St. Bernard homeowners with covered residences from renting to any person not of the owner’s own race and national origin. The most recent estimates from United States Census Data indicate that whites own nearly 93% of St. Bernard Parish owner-occupied housing. As a result, in most circumstances, only whites would be able to rent most single-family housing in the Parish.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 22, 2006
CONTACT:
Natalie Wyeth
Louisiana Recovery Authority
(225) 382-5502
natalie.wyeth@la.gov
LRA Infrastructure Task Force and Healthcare Committee Hold Joint Meeting
Tuesday
BATON ROUGE, La. (September 22, 2006) - The Louisiana Recovery Authority's
(LRA) Infrastructure and Transportation Task Force and Health Care Committee
will hold a joint meeting on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to
12:00 p.m. in House Committee Room No. 5 in the State Capitol in Baton
Rouge, LA.
The groups will consider the future of healthcare infrastructure in New
Orleans, including the rebuilding of the Medical Center of Louisiana - New
Orleans and how it is integrated into the healthcare infrastructure system
in the region.
The agenda includes updates from:
Dr. Fred Cerise, La. Department of Health and Hospitals
Dr. William Jenkins, LSU Health Sciences Center
Dr. Allen Miller, Tulane Health Sciences Center
To view the full agenda, click here.
Stop the Violence Hip Hop Caucus
NEW ORLEANS ARENA
OCTOBER 21st, 2006
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Theme: Communities in Action
Greetings,
Please join the Hip Hop Caucus for a critical phone conference aimed at focusing our work and discussion on immediate actions to stop the violence in New Orleans and in Katrina diaspora communities, as well as addressing long-term challenges in the continuing struggle for accountability and justice.
DATE: Wednesday, September 20, 2006
TIME: 5:00 p.m. EST, 4:00 CST, 3:00 MST & 2:00 PST
Please call 218-936-6666 Code 10512#
Gandhi said "Poverty is the worst form of violence." After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast region, the truly deep and persistent poverty that exists in our country was exposed to the nation and to the rest of the world. Initially, there was unified national outcry at the shocking scenes of abandonment and failed government response. Today, however, the same people who were abandoned on rooftops and in the Superdome continue to be neglected by all levels of government and excluded in the rebuilding process. As a result, crime and violence is surging in New Orleans and in cities like Houston where large populations of Katrina survivors are living. The reality is, people are killing and people are dying because they have lost hope.
Wow, the media covered Iberville! Unfortunately not in the greatest of light.
But it does say that HANO plans on opening ALL 900 units!
http://www.wwltv.com/medical/stories/wwl091906tprats.26ca2fe6.html
Inspectors said one of the problem areas is the Iberville Development and that
it is being treated.
A spokesperson for HANO said that all of Iberville’s 900 units will soon be
opened so they have cleaned out the refrigerators and kitchen cabinets.
Who's scratching who's back?
From Jay:
To get campaign contributions of james carter go to:
http://www.ethics.state.la.us/cgi-bin/la98/forms/CAN990851/
hit icon and then hit "normal" where says contributions
web site for campaign contributions is
www.ethics.state.la.us
then hit "view reports"
then hit "search for a spefic electronic flier'
then just plug in name of politician you are searching for and follow above
directions
Lesson for FOLC: If they don't put it on paper, its not going to happen. St. Thomas is the perfect example of developers making promises to both the residents and the surrounding community. But once St. Thomas came down, the truth became apparent. Former residents were ignored and the neighboring properties to St. Thomas were torn apart by the "redevelopment". For developers, the dollar is the bottom line.
From the FOLC list:
The City Council is scheduled to hear Tom Bauer's request for rezoning a
group of properties in the area bounded by Basin St., N.Claiborne, Lafitte St,.
and St. Louis beginning at 11:30 am tomorrow. The parcels under consideration include land currently owned by the City that represents the footprint of the historic Carondelet Canal and that is
very important in determining how the linear park will meet up with and terminate at Basin St.
Mr. Bauer has agreed to the recommendations of the City Planning staff that the land be rezoned from Light Industrial to a mix of C1/C1A, with the riverside portion between Marais and Basin designated C1A, and the lakeside portion between Marais and N Claiborne designated C1. After hearing the concerns of members of several neighborhood groups who have met with Mr. Bauer, and considering the potential impacts of the proposed rezoning on the future of the linear park, I recommend that FOLC ask the Council tomorrow to defer approval of the change to C1 on the lakeside portion, because under the C1 designation, there is no limit to the height of residential buildings (i.e.: condo towers) that could be developed on this portion of the site, other than a Floor Area ratio of 4. While Mr. Bauer has committed on paper to working to facilitate creation of a bike path on a portion of this site, none of the design sketches he has made avaiblable indicate where this might be or
Its easy to offer a different perspective when you have no perspective. When was the last time Vitter used Charity? When was the last time any of his friends used Charity?
Rebuild Charity smaller, smarter
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
David Vitter
One of the most important discussions in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is how to rebuild our devastated health care system. Many have argued that we must rebuild Charity Hospital pretty much as it was, and quickly.
I want to offer a very different perspective: that we should rebuild Charity in downtown New Orleans quickly but smaller, and do it in the context of more fundamental health care reform that offers the poor what the rest of us enjoy: community-based primary, preventative care and choice.
First of all, it's important to say that no serious voice on the issue contends that Charity should not be reopened -- that we can do without its downtown emergency room, Level I trauma center and teaching hub. All of that must be rebuilt and reopened, and the sooner the better. The real question is how big that should be, and what should the rest of the system look like.