New Orleans to Demolish 1940s-Era Projects

The New Orleans city council today defied protestors and voted unanimously to tear down the first of four remaining major housing projects in the city to make way for mixed-income housing that will accommodate some, but not all, of the pre-Katrina public housing population. Needless to say, the self-appointed community activists were displeased: The scene outside New Orleans' City Hall ...

New Orleans Council Now Majority White

The political fallout of Hurricane Katrina has culminated in the first majority-white city council in New Orleans in 22 years. A former councilwoman won an at-large seat on the New Orleans City Council, creating the first white majority in more than two decades. Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson defeated Cynthia Willard-Lewis, who is black, with 53% of the vote. ...

Nagin Considers Gubernatorial Bid

Political Wire passes on a CNN report that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (D) "is seriously considering a Louisiana gubernatorial bid" and has raised half a million dollars towards that end. Those of us still mystified that he was re-elected as mayor after the fiasco that was his handling of the Katrina aftermath can take some small comfort that ...

Blanco Abandons Re-Election Effort, Blames GOP

Famously incompetent Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco will not be seeking reelection after seeing poll numbers that would even make President Bush blanch: Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, politically battered by a shaky post-Hurricane Katrina performance, announced Tuesday that she would not seek election to a second term this fall. The Democratic governor’s announcement ends months of speculation in Louisiana political circles, fueled ...

Auctioned Blanco Dinner Nets $1 Bid

A group of Monroe, Louisiana business leaders auctioned off a dinner with Governor Kathleen Blanco. Bidding ended at one dollar. It's a good thing they didn't throw in New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, too--they'd have wound up owing money. If they really want to raise money, the should auction off dinner with Saints QB Drew Brees.

U.S. Government Defrauded of Over $1 Billion in Hurricane Aid

The General Accounting Office is reporting that the Federal Government was defrauded of well over $1 billion of money intended to assist the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.Fraud involving payments supposed to help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita likely exceeds earlier estimates of $1 billion and only a tiny fraction of the money has been recovered, according to ...

Katrina Breast Flasher Dismembered, Cooked

A bizarre and sad epitaph to a Hurricane Katrina human interest story: A Hurricane Katrina victim who gained national notoriety by flashing her breasts for police cars in the wake of the devastating storm was apparently murdered and dismembered this month by her live-in boyfriend, who then cooked her body parts before committing suicide. Police in New Orleans say they found ...

Harry Anderson Leaving New Orleans

Today's NYT has a poignant story about comedian-magician-actor Harry Anderson's decision to leave New Orleans. In the weeks after the storm, even before the power was back, Mr. Anderson opened his club for what he called French Quarter Town Hall meetings. The weekly gatherings, which at first offered little more than camaraderie by candlelight and warm beer, evolved into a ...

The Hurricane Katrina Goldmine

This article from the Cato Institute paints a very depressing image of President Bush's bail out for New Orleans and the areas affected by hurricane Katrina. Calling President Bush, Franklin Delano Bush, based on this seems inaccurate in timing only given that President Bush has expanded spending at a rate that would have left Republicans sputtering in rage if ...

‘Breathtaking’ Waste and Fraud in Hurricane Aid

Today's New York Times fronts a story entitled "'Breathtaking' Waste and Fraud in Hurricane Aid." Among the many superlatives associated with Hurricane Katrina can now be added this one: it produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers up to $2 billion. A hotel owner in Sugar Land, Tex., ...

New Orleans Sinking Faster than Thought

Parts of New Orleans are sinking an inch a year, according to new findings. Everyone has known New Orleans is a sinking city. Now new research suggests parts of the city are sinking even faster than many scientists imagined — more than an inch a year. That may explain some of the levee failures during Hurricane Katrina and it raises more ...

Another Bad Day To Be Howard Dean

Drudge is reporting (exclusive) that the Democratic National Committee worked "secretly" to defeat New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, with the blessing of DNC chairman Howard "Yeaaaargh!" Dean; The DNC teams actively worked to defeat Nagin under the auspice of the committee's voting rights program. The party's field efforts also coincided with a national effort by Democrat contributors to support Landrieu. Landrieu had ...

New Orleans Saints Set Season Ticket Sales Record

The New Orleans Saints have set a new franchise season ticket sales record--despite a population half what it was before Hurricane Katrina. This is especially heartening considering that a few months ago there was serious talk of the Saints not returning to town. ________ Related:NFL May Move Saints to Los Angeles Sources: Saints Unlikely to Return to New Orleans Katrina: Impact on College and Pro ...

Katrina Fatigue

Peter King has a scathing article in, of all places, Sports Illustrated about the conditions in the poorest area of New Orleans eight months after Hurricane Katrina. His is incensed: "What I saw was a national disgrace. An inexcusable, irresponsible, borderline criminal national disgrace. I am ashamed of this country for the inaction I saw everywhere." How can we let ...

Humane Society Of The United States: Under Investigation

This is not your grandmother's "Humane Society". Those of us closely involved in dog sport have been long aware that the Humane Society of the United States is nothing more than an activist animal rights movement that has "appropriated" the identity of a long established and respected animal welfare organization. It is endlessly frustrating to hear their representatives quoted by media ...