Katrina Coverage

From this:
There’s a danger the federal court will take over New Orleans elections if legislators don’t change a law so more people can absentee vote, Secretary of State Al Ater said Thursday.
A federal takeover would be another black eye on the state in the wake of devastating hurricanes, Ater said.
“I could see the headlines across […]

From this:
A termite expert is questioning whether tiny, voracious Formosan termites played a role in the failure of levee walls in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
Louisiana State University entomologist Gregg Henderson said there are clear signs that the destructive insects were present, and he wants the opportunity to dig into the levees beneath the walls […]

From this:
A difference in soil boring data transferred from one chart to another may have played a key role in engineering decisions that led to the breach on the 17th Street Canal floodwall that flooded much of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, National Science Foundation investigators say.
A cross-section drawing in the project design documents shows […]

Freelance writer Chuck Hustmyre tried to visit a FEMA trailer park in Baton Rouge and got the run-around. None of the FEMA employees would allow him to interview residents. While a certain part of that is no doubt due to a concern for their privacy, there might also be something else involved.
Named "Renaissance Village", it […]

Kathleen Blanco is taking some heat for allegedly using various politicians as a backdrop for the start of her special session. Be that as it may:
…Blanco has included two housing issues on the agenda, as well as consolidation of governmental and court agencies in Orleans Parish; consolidating levee boards in South Louisiana; and setting in […]

Late last year came the news that Kathleen Blanco had ordered precisely $564,838 worth of remodeling done on her offices… after Katrina.
The article said the single costliest portion of the final bill was $44,000 for walnut trim and granite countertops.
Jerry Jones, director of the state Office of Facility Planning and Control, said the sixth floor […]

Robert D. Bullard, the director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, offers the plan that apparently president Bush has been following. While some of the points are interesting, the article is spoiled a bit with it's less-than-helpful viewpoint.
It's printed in the Pacific News Service, which has a habit of publishing racist […]

Sharply accessoried with bright blue umbrellas - the same color as the tarps that were installed by a partially-illegal workforce indirectly receiving federal money - 140 New Orleans women calling themselves the "Women of the Storm" visited Capitol Hill on Monday. They were inviting Congress members to visit their city and requesting more money for […]