Louisiana Questions

What is Lloyd’s of London vs. what is an education?

2008-02-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

What is Lloyd’s of London vs. what is an education?

The Sea Coast Echo reported February 3, 2008 that a school district (Bay-Waveland District) in Mississippi is being sued by an underwriter of Lloyd’s of London insurers. Please read their story about their continued recovery efforts. They also offer a newsletter at the bottom of the story page. I’ve made three attempts to download it and upon the third attempt one and a half hours later, it’s still downloading. I think a text or a document file would’ve been more suitable. I’ve very nearly given up!

Lloyd’s of London - (to call them and give them a piece of yur mind.)

New York Office

Amanda St Pierre, Communications
Lloyd’s America.
Tel: +1 212 382 4091

OR if you would prefer NOT to do that try this…

To Donate to the Bay-Waveland School District

Katrina Relief Fund
Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District
201 Carroll Avenue
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520

If you would like to speak to someone about our efforts, please call 228-467-6621.

Insurance co. sues Bay-Wave schools over Katrina claims
By Dwayne Bremer
Feb 3, 2008, 10:59

Ronnie Artigues, attorney for the Bay-Waveland Schools District
In an ironic – and perhaps historic – twist, an insurance company has sued its customer over damage claims from Hurricane Katrina.Students in the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District may have to continue to attend classes in trailers for years because the district and its insurance company are contending $24 million dollars in Katrina damage claims.
In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in district court, Cathedral Capital Limited, an under-writer of multi-billion dollar British insurance company Lloyd’s, London, said the school district is not entitled to any additional storm damage claims.
“The defendant has been paid everything owed under the policy for covered loss due to wind and hail from Hurricane Katrina,” the suit said. “The defendant did not have insurance coverage which provided coverage for the perils of flood or mold at the time of Hurricane Katrina.”School district officials have maintained that damage in numerous locations was caused by wind. At Second Street Elementary, for example, there was very little if any storm surge from Katrina.
“We have been sued by our insurance company,” school board attorney Ronnie Artigues said. “Hopefully, we can still sit down and negotiate a settlement, but we will defend ourselves if we have too.”
Artigues said the two sides have been conducting mediation meetings since November. The last meeting was this past Wednesday, the day the suit was filed.
Scott Ellzey, a Gulfport attorney who represents Cathedral, described the court action as a “declamatory judgment action proceeding.”
He said, however, that discussions between the insurer and the school district are still ongoing.
“Both parties continue to work towards a resolution of this claim,” he said.
The main point of contention seems to be the wind vs. water debate which has been so prevalent in most of the Katrina lawsuits.
This suit, however, is different because it is the insurance company which is suing a public entity.
Artigues said the school district suffered about $50 million in damages as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Currently, students at North Bay, Second Street, and Waveland Elementary are attending classes in portable trailers.
The litigation could potentially hold up construction of permanent schools for years and cost the school district large amounts of money in legal fees.
The school district’s policy with Cathedral is an “excess policy.” It pays only after claims on the district’s basic or primary policies have exceeded policy limits.
The first $5 million in damages was claimed under two other policies. The school district was paid that money. The third layer of coverage is an excess policy with a maximum benefit of $24.9 million.
Also at issue is the fact that the school district has submitted two different claims. The first claim, submitted on June 12, 2005, claimed a loss of $8,640,444.14. The excess policy in question would owe a possible $3,640,444.14 less any deductibles.
A second claim filed by the district, dated May 23, 2007, claims the loss to be $24,979,713.00. That would make the policy owe a possible $24,979,713.00 after deductibles and previous payments. That amount is equal to the total face coverage of the excess policy.
In its court filing, Cathedral Capital Limited states; “….defendant has fired its original public adjuster, and has filed a second Sworn Statement and Proof of Loss….This represents a $21 million increase from the Defendant’s original Sworn Statement and Proof of Loss.”
The insurance company also states that it has already paid what it says is its share of the first claim, $314,250.26. That left an unpaid difference of $3,326,193.88.
“The facts and circumstances set forth have given rise to controversy between the parties whether Cathedral is obligated to make any further payment to the defendant for this claim,” the suit said.
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney’s office said Friday it was not aware of the suit, but it would be studying it over the next week.

You can read more court opinions and judgements of Insurance claims lawsuits from the United States District Court, Southern District of Mississippi here.

Posted in Bay-Waveland, Hurricane Insurance, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane lawsuits, Insurance, Louisiana, Mike Chaney, Mississippi, lawsuit | No Comments »

Who is Katrina bashing, California?

2007-10-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Who is Katrina bashing, California?

I should be upset about the recent comparisons of the California, San Diego fires to hurricane Katrina. The media would like to take every opportunity to degrade the state of Louisiana and what happened during Katrina. The fact of the matter IS California is one of the richest states in the Union if NOT THE RICHEST state in the United States. Louisiana is rural. It’s largest city is New Orleans. Comparisons between Louisiana and California should be limited to Hollywood fantasy. . They quite simply cannot be made legitimately. Why the media has chosen to bash Louisiana again for hurricane Katrina, I do not know. These media types have been struggling for news stories, have forged journalistic credentials, and are typically dense and careless with their reporting. Of course California would have better emergency planning than Louisiana. They have more money. Those reporting comparitively should be required to donate their personal time in helping rebuild in Mississippi and Louisiana. As for those families in California who have lost everything - they have my condolences.

This post goes into the Clueless Katrina comments file.

And a new catagory - Katrina bashing.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 26th, 2007 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Associated Press, Baton Rouge, California, Capitol Hill, Clueless Katrina Comments, Disaster, Displaced, FEMA, Government, Governor, Housing, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Recovery, Internet Media, Katrina bashing, Media, Media Oversight, News, San Diego, Social Justice, Washington, White House, emergency, evacuation, evacuations, fire, opinion, politics, poor planning, shame, vote.

Why would I buy all that if I wasn’t fixing it?

2007-08-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

Why would I buy all that if I wasn’t fixing it?

Who is Ben?

What’s in the news for da parishes?

2007-08-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

What’s in the news for da parishes?

Who is fighting poverty in Louisiana? Anonymous “stakeholders and community organizers” .

2007-07-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

Who is fighting poverty in Louisiana? Anonymous “stakeholders and community organizers”

Who dat ? Say it isn’t so…

2007-07-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Who dat ? Say it isn’t so…

Hey, mister…where’d ya get that gas?

2007-07-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

Hey, mister…where’d ya get that gas?

How fast can you hand-wheel out of the path of a 450mi wide issue?

2007-07-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

How fast can you hand-wheel out of the path of a 450mi wide issue?

Hurricane Katrina destroyed, killed, and left many, many people homeless. For those of us who survived we have many things to be thankful for, however, we have many questions to ask our local politicians, our parish leaders, our state government. This is just one question that I cannot answer alone. "Why were some nursing homes not evacuated?" Given the immensity of the storm, the lay of the land, and the mandatory evacuation orders, the failure to evacuate or the failure of the evacuation plan is still unfathomable where the nursing homes are concerned.

Foti is under a gag order concerning the "levees" in the St. Rita's nursing home case. I don't think that he would be the only one to ask concerning the levee failures. The lawyer(s) for the nursing home owners contend that the levees are to blame for the deaths of residents after hurricane Katrina struck. I believe I would be asking the Louisiana Nursing Home Association a few questions. St. Rita's was not the only nursing home that for whatever reasons did not evacuate.

A recent meeting of healthcare professionals dubbed a "Nursing Home Hurricane Summit" indicated that nursing homes lacked buses for evacuation. The meeting participants from "...Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and other states was sponsored by Florida Health Care Association and a national nonprofit, The John A. Hartford Foundation, which is paying for a study on ways to improve nursing homes' disaster preparedness, " according to Victor Hull of the Herald Tribune.com Hull said, "Lack of transportation proved fatal when Hurricane Katrina slammed the northern Gulf Coast in 2005, and caused problems for Florida during Hurricane Charley a year earlier. Despite those vivid lessons, many nursing home administrators and disaster planners say facility residents remain vulnerable because no solution has been found to guarantee rides when storms force evacuations."

Consolidated Safety Services Inc., Vice President, Robert A. Watkins stated that nursing homes should "look out for themselves, rather than waiting for the government or someone else to solve the problem." There were some nursing homes who took the bull by the horns in order to evacuate in a timely fashion, I'm certain. The media is not covering the success stories of some of these evacuations and is leaving the investigation of the failure to evacuate to a bunch of lawyers. My confidence in the media dwindles daily as journalists like Victor Hull seemingly struggle to get the word out. His article singularly points out that this is a transportation issue - not a levee issue as the defense contends in the St. Rita's case.

I do not understand how the American Health Care Association can claim FEMA rescued anyone. (The preceding links are to articles concerning the "Hurricane Summit" from AHCA. Search term "evacuations" at AHCA.) From LQ @ Newsvine.

What's in the news for me today?

2007-07-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

What's in the news for me today?

How many of you knew that over 1/2 of Louisiana’s 64 parish’s (counties) we

2007-07-21T09:58:00.001-07:00

Discussion at LinkedIn continues after poll closed 7/21/2007.

read more | digg story

Why is FEMA Still a Four Letter Word ?

2007-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Why is FEMA Still a Four Letter Word?

Since when does a state of emergency in a National Disaster require bids to get out of my driveway?

Daily Kos

FEMA is still a 4-letter word here.

by gildareed

Sat Jul 14, 2007 at 06:21:34 PM PDT

Daily Kingfish

…Lord knows Louisiana needs it…

FEMA’s Still a Four-Letter Word

by: gildareed

Sat Jul 14, 2007 at 23:16:02 PM CDT

(This is the first post on DKF for Gilda Werner Reed, an amazing woman running to knock off Rep. “Bobby” Jindal in LA-01. - promoted by ryan)

Cross-posted over at Daily Kos.

Posted in Times Picayune, Hurricane Recovery, Nagin, Associated Press, Capitol Hill, LSU, CNN, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, bayou, Clueless Katrina Comments, LSU AG CENTER, poor planning, Delta Regional Authority, Bayou Buzz, Media Oversight, THE National Gaurd, Disaster, Governor, USA, Hurricane Katrina, recovery, politics, opinion, Katrina, Media, FEMA, Government, transportation, New Orleans, emergency, Corruption, Poverty, public, controversy, White House, News | No Comments »

What were the comments related to LQ’s recent poll?

2007-07-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Jul. 19th, 2007

LQ's Poll Comments

Please read, join la_questions community, and respond to the poll!

This poll originated at Blogger, however, it did not appear to be functioning properly and so I re-posted a poll from Live Journal that may offer better results. Most prefer to comment on the poll instead of actually voting! And so ... here are the latest comments from around the blogosphere.

Blueeyedgroupie from the Baton Rouge community asked what was my agenda for the poll. I really have not put my "agenda" to print and so I typed up some quick thoughts as to my reasons for the poll. I'm not accustomed to making references to "agenda's"! It sounds way too political!

I really didn't think about the question as being included in an "agenda", but I did have a few thoughts and ideas surrounding the poll. First of all I've read more than enough posts concerning Hurricane Katrina where people are blaming those who lived in low lying areas in New Orleans for not evacuating prior to the storm. I don't recall seeing Greyhound buses or New Orleans buses on the hurricane route where I used to live fleeing the storm. I don't believe that public transportation was available outside of New Orleans for those who did not want to ride out the storm. The River Parishes from recent news reports, if accurate, have cited that they are looking into a NEW public transportation system for that area. St. James Parish was recently cited in the New York Times as the home of a women living in a FEMA trailer, a former resident of New Orleans, without access to a nearby grocery store or childcare or public transportation. The Major media outlets do not get the full story. They only skim the surface and it is more than frustrating. There was no public transportation available where I used to live, either. This could also apply to the election, as there is one candidate who is attempting to be supportive of ending poverty. Hopefully, he meant in the United States and not some foreign country; although, I recognize that we, in the US, are rich in comparatively with many other countries of the world. Recovering from Katrina has been difficult for homeowners, however, the renting communities of the Gulf States - Mississippi and Louisiana - were left out of the equation with regards to the Road Home, FEMA, and other programs. I believe that housing issues prior to Katrina have been exacerbated by a slow recovery process. That's about it as far as an "agenda" is concerned. I believe the demographics prior to Katrina spell out the disaster most accurately and offer an opportunity for community leaders to focus on providing opportunities at improving the support systems vital to recovery for the populations most affected and least recognized - the poor. Improvements in public transportation, healthcare, and affordable housing should become a focus for community leaders in the recovery process, but it is all wishful thinking until it is acted upon! I suppose that this is the "agenda" that has formed the idea of creating a "poll". It's just one of those things in my head and won't remove itself until I act upon it in one form or another.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

Please join la_questions community and help make this a successful poll. Thanks! LQ - Louisiana Questions

LQ's poll on MSNBC NEWS links to Blogger

MSNBC US NEWS - LQ's Poll

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/government-non-profit/charity-non-profit/GOV_CNP/68601-13753877
LinkedIn Answers to Poll
Ed Hagan wrote: I didn't know statistically, but I'm not surprised. In my 7 years in New Orleans, I saw first hand the lack of infrastructure money going to a lot of the parishes around Orleans. The government had constant corruption issues, roads had potholes, crime was rampant, many abandoned buildings existed, especially the parish to the east of the French Quarter, which name I can't remember now. In all, the whole area and economy was just depressed, and you could tell that just walking and driving around. Somehow though, the people seemed to be happier than I've seen living in the Northeastern USA. Maybe they just accepted what they had and made the best of it. Good folks.

http://community.livejournal.com/storykatrina/
comments -

http://community.livejournal.com/poor_planning/
comments - As was Mississippi, don't forget. As with many things, we were constantly battling each other for the coveted spot of #1 of the poorest state in the US.

They only recently passed us in "most corrupt". Hurrah?

(Reply to this)

http://community.livejournal.com/nola_photos/
comments - It's still Bush's fault.

http://community.livejournal.com/fema_trailer/
comments - Mississippi isnt much better and rental price gouging is running rampant. As a disabled woman I have very little hope of finding a place anytime soon.

(Reply to this)

http://community.livejournal.com/da_parish/
comments - I didn't KNOW it, but I suspected it.

I knew that some Louisiana parishes were among the poorest areas of the US, but I didn't know that over 1/2 of them were in "persistent poverty."

(Reply to this)

http://community.livejournal.com/batonrouge/
comments - No, but I'd believe it.

(Reply to this)

Sorry to sound like an ass, but it's "parishes", not "parish's". Gotta watch that.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

What's your agenda behind posting this question?

(Reply to this)

Tags: blogger, katrina, linkedin, louisiana, lsu ag center, mississippi, msnbc, polls, wordpress

Posted at 09:00 am | Link | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Jul. 18th, 2007

louisianaquest

LQ's Poll from MSNBC US News

Poll #1023795
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Did you know that over 1/2 of Louisiana's 64 parish's were in a state of persistant poverty prior to Hurricane Katrina?

View Answers

Yes
0 (0.0%)

No
1 (100.0%)

MSNBC US NEWS

Posted at 10:50 am | Link | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Posted in The New York Times, Hurricane Recovery, St. Bernard, DRA, MSNBC, LinkedIn, LiveJournal, LSU, Louisiana, Mississippi, Jefferson, Baton Rouge, LSU AG CENTER, FEMA Trailer, poor planning, da_parish, Clueless Katrina Comments, Delta Regional Authority, bayou, Displaced, Slidell, Media Oversight, Disaster, Election, opinion, politics, USA, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane, FEMA, Katrina, Houston, Media, Housing, recovery, Texas, public, Poverty, New Orleans, debate, controversy, transportation, Dallas, polls, Social Justice, Government, News | No Comments »

Who is playing nice and who isn’t? The merry go round and round

2007-07-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Who is playing nice and who isn’t? The merry go round and round

July 17th, 2007

You can blame FEMA, the State of Louisiana, and local governments and politicians, but that merry go round and round stops once and a while in the media. It’s too bad that all of those people can’t sing the clean up song like the St. Bernard Project.

“Clean up clean up everybody everywhere…Everyone does their fair share…”

St. Bernard Project . org was featured on CNN last night. God Bless both the homeowner and the couple who changed their lives to help others in St. Bernard Parish. It was the only news CNN had to offer, unfortunately.

CNN - Cable’s Needless Notice
Anderson Cooper on CNN last night broadcast the criminals in New Orleans going free because of the justice system in New Orleans is backlogged or corrupt. Cooper and his cohort barely skim the surface of the issues in New Orleans - No. Cooper and his cohort don’t even touch the issues in New Orleans, but have burrowed into the “black hole” of journalism concerning real issues in New Orleans and Louisiana in the wake of Katrina. The interviews with Jordan were, of course, fruitless. I don’t know why I expect major media outlets to actually get to the meat of a story such as this one. For one thing, I don’t think they know how. It is extremely disappointing considering the history of crime in New Orleans prior to Katrina.

LQ’s comments on “Sometimes the cure is almost as bad as the disease” - From: intellectualize.org Jack Cluth

The federal muck and revolving door that local officials have to wade through in order to accomplish recovery gets a focus in this blog. Intellectualize.org blames my President and the Federal Government. I disagree only to this extent. Personally, I dealt with no less than 14 FEMA representatives, 5 different FEMA written responses, 3 FEMA contracted inspector, and several misplaced documents by FEMA. This doesn’t count the web application that FEMA utilized to begin the whole process that crashed at least 10 times mid completion before the application spit out a FEMA ID number. Then I was sent no less than 5 different FEMA ID numbers due to the computer glitch. By the first submission to FEMA, my local government had already failed. The local government’s right hand didn’t know what the left was doing and neither right nor left cooperated with the Governors’ office. It is ultimately up to the local politicians, leaders, and town councils in order to assist with the recovery process and from what news is available, outside of personal experiences and stories of recovery present on line, these local governments are all “what’s in it for me” and not the folks they were elected to represent before Katrina. The little guy gets it again and Jack blames my Prez fruitlessly. Issues in Louisiana are already the focus of several DOJ investigations and FBI investigations prior to Katrina - the numerous Federal Investigations have already been noted. Blaming my Prez gets you nowhere, it’s not his ultimate responsibility to clean up local politics and it’s local politicians responsiblity to FIND the issues pertaining to their constituents. “If it is to be … it’s up to me.”

Colorado AP reports a story on an elderly couple from Slidell.

Couple may lose home over $1.63 tax bill

posted by: 9 NEWS , Staff Colorado 07/16/2007

Topix Comments on Couple may lose home over…

One commentor lambasts the uncaring local government. It’s a sadly familiar story.

FEMA red tape strangling local governments

Posted by Coleman Warner, Staff writer July 14, 2007 8:58PM

Categories: Breaking News

As Jefferson Parish still awaits millions of dollars in reimbursements for emergency-repair spending after Hurricane Katrina, its finance director, Gwen Bolotte, has grown increasingly weary of delivering the same records again and again to FEMA or state disaster recovery officials.

With money just now beginning to flow to bigger infrastructure repair projects, she blames a revolving door of FEMA officials and relentless document requests from the state. Send in two invoices under the same contract, and state monitors typically will demand a copy of the contract each time, Bolotte says.

“I would think there would be a permanent file; most auditors have a permanent file,” she said. “People are getting frustrated, having to produce the same paperwork.”

Bolotte is part of a large contingent of locals officials who are mired in what seems an endless slog as they try to land grants through FEMA’s Public Assistance program.

The so-called PA, unfamiliar to most citizens and perplexing even to many government officials seeking the money, is the top source of federal disaster funding to rebuild public infrastructure: schools, roads, sewer lines, hospitals and civic auditoriums, police and fire stations. The program also offers rebuilding money to certain private institutions, such as universities, that are deemed essential to civic life.

FEMA expects to spend a whopping $2.7 billion on repair and construction projects across south Louisiana, more than five times the city of New Orleans’ annual operating budget before Katrina hit. That doesn’t include billions of public assistance dollars directed to emergency purposes, such as overtime and debris removal.

The process of getting the money, however, has proceeded in slow motion, because of the program’s inherent complexity and because of a failure of local officials to master the bureaucratic labyrinth.

Of the $2.7 billion ultimately expected to be spent on “permanent” work, $2.1 billion, or 78 percent, had been reviewed and approved, or “obligated,” by FEMA as of June 28 — but just $532 million, or 20 percent, had been released by the state. State officials said the release of money is influenced in part by whether they believe an entity is ready to spend it.

As regional FEMA executive Jim Stark noted: “It is grant money with strings attached. There are t’s to be crossed and i’s to be dotted.”

The pace of reviews by FEMA and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness dictate how quickly the grant money flows. FEMA officials write and critique project worksheets before they obligate a grant, and then state officials conduct their own reviews — requiring extensive documentation from local officials — before they release money.

Moreover, the frequent need for an increase in the amount authorized for a project after locals demonstrate that FEMA’s initial estimates were too low requires a new round of FEMA and state reviews, consuming even more time.

Many local officials view the process as unwieldy and confusing, a drag on efforts to rebuild. Testifying before a U.S. Senate disaster recovery panel Tuesday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said that while he is seeing “positive movement in our relationship” with FEMA, law and procedural changes are needed to make it easier for local entities to land PA money.

While views differ on whether there is a need to change the Stafford Act, a federal law that guides disaster responses, state and FEMA officials running the PA program said they are working to streamline procedures while still guarding against abuses of the federal purse.

While the PA benefits don’t pay costs that are covered by insurance — and include penalties for entities that didn’t buy enough insurance — the program will, in theory, foot much of the bill for putting storm-ravaged infrastructure back together.

And, in a rarity for any government program, FEMA puts no cap on total spending, provided the storm damages are well-documented.

“As long as we can agree on scope of work, cost should not be an issue,” said Timothy Brunette, a trainer for FEMA officials handling PA projects.

But even generally grateful recipients moan over the tedious and confounding process of securing the money, from preparing the first worksheet to undergoing auditor reviews to completing the bricks-and-mortar work.

Reaching agreement with FEMA on the scope of work, as well as “reasonable cost” for a project in a post-disaster economy, can become a tug-of-war. Nor is it easy to assemble enough money to get a construction project going, since PA is set up as a reimbursement program, and many agencies — especially now — have little cash at their disposal for upfront costs.

Local agencies must furnish records covering everything from past maintenance to completion of bids for a repair, and, in an exercise familiar to citizens navigating recovery programs, they often have to furnish them more than once.

Those obstacles — along with varying directives from a rotating cast of FEMA project monitors — are cited by local officials as factors in the painfully slow release of PA money.

Just $23 million of $304 million FEMA expects to spend in two public school systems in New Orleans had been released as of June 21, for example, although $136 million had been obligated by FEMA, meaning the state can release it after its demands are met.

Also, PA-financed repairs to New Orleans streets, which could wind up costing hundreds of millions of dollars, are far from reality because the preparation of worksheet information by FEMA and the city is just now getting under way.

Weary of being a rhetorical punching bag, FEMA officials made it clear that the PA program depends on legwork by local agencies, which, even as they struggle with thin staffs, must assemble documents and help assess damages.

Federal administrators pointed out, for example, glaring weaknesses in construction planning by the Recovery School District and said Nagin’s public works department was months slow in preparing a list of streets that need to be repaired. They demanded the list by July 31.

Criticism of the school district led to a push by state Superintendent Paul Pastorek to ramp up work on damaged schools. Nagin’s public works director, Robert Mendoza, conceded that the city had done little to prepare the streets list, but he said that was largely because of a past dispute with FEMA about what sort of damage would be covered. Nevertheless, Mendoza said the July 31 deadline would be met.

At times, FEMA officials note, local officials who blame slow progress on state and federal bureaucrats have made glaring mistakes of their own in how they use the PA process.

Slidell’s finance director, Sharon Howes, noted recently that after the city landed — and spent — $569,000 for equipment and vehicles lost during Katrina, it faced a FEMA demand for documentation to justify the grant once again. The demand came when Slidell asked for a change in a Federal Emergency Management Agency “Project Worksheet” that would add $238,000 to the earlier grant.

“It’s almost like they’re trying to wear me down, so that I give up,” said Howes, who said she was given to feeling like a homeowner trying to settle an insurance claim.

But FEMA officials said a routine evaluation of how money was spent in the first part of a grant turned up a glaring problem: Slidell had taken monies provided to replace police vehicles with cars of a similar vintage and value and had used the funds to buy a smaller number of new, better-equipped police cars.

FEMA has a process for executing just that kind of transaction, but Slidell ran afoul of the rule. The city erred in not applying for an “alternate” use of grant proceeds, a process that would have meant a 25 percent cut in the size of the grant, FEMA spokesmen said.

Just what will be done about the mistake, and the request for more equipment money, is “under review,” the officials said.

FEMA officials say they can’t estimate how long it takes for a PA project to move through the system because they vary dramatically in size and complexity. But long waits for infrastructure repairs that clearly qualify for PA grants anger and befuddle residents who are slogging through their own rebuilding challenges and are counting on government to do its part.

Evy Assaf, a resident of Lakeview for 60 years, said she plans to contact the city’s Department of Public Works, which is just beginning to assemble a list of needed street repairs, to ask that it secure help for her street, Spencer Avenue, near the site of the 17th Street Canal floodwall break. The street is full of major holes, beyond the capabilities of the city’s celebrated Pothole Killer machines, and has a protruding manhole cover that threatens to rip out the underbelly of any car crossing it, she said.

The needs couldn’t be more obvious, Assaf says. How much longer before the work crews and heavy equipment show up?

“There certainly should be some kind of efficient policy in force to take care of some of these problems,” Assaf said during a break from cleaning windows and shoveling dirt at her home. “I really don’t know what the problem is, why there should be such a delay and such an inconvenience to people who are trying to come back.”

FEMA officials say they are working closely with local officials to smooth out rough points in the grant process, and that their efforts, guided by the nearly 20-year-old Stafford Act, face an epic test, with more than 600 workers assigned to the Louisiana mission.

The federal officials say they are trying to remove one key bottleneck in the quest for myriad repairs — thin staffing at the local level to handle paperwork and surveys — by explaining to the agencies how they can secure extra PA money for administrative costs.

Some local officials are, indeed, seeing traction in freeing up of PA grants, pointing to the influence of John Connolly, 49, an agency veteran who helped lead recovery operations at the Pentagon after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A soft-spoken, casually dressed bureaucrat with an easy grasp of construction project minutiae, Connolly wants his division to squeeze the biggest impact from the PA pot, saying, “I’ve never seen the agency bend over so far to extend the maximum grant amount that we can.”

Connolly says FEMA will stick around in south Louisiana, for many years if necessary, to monitor rebuilding work, noting that the agency still keeps an office in Northridge, Calif., to handle issues from a 1994 earthquake.

New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board officials, who have sparred with FEMA almost since Katrina’s waters receded over how much of the utility’s badly damaged system should qualify for PA money, say FEMA representatives are becoming more helpful and pragmatic. In recent weeks, section chief Chris Colletti informed the board that FEMA had given up on trying to determine which pipe leaks were caused by Katrina and that the PA program will provide comprehensive repairs to the system, at least to the point of restoring its pre-storm capacity.

City officials celebrated the news.

“We’ve made more progress in the last 90 days than we had in the prior year,” said the board’s executive director, Marcia St. Martin. “We are cautiously optimistic.”

The water board has nearly 400 PA projects, many of them essential to quality of life, in the works. FEMA estimates that the program so far will provide $171 million for rebuilding needs. Of that, about $72 million, or 42 percent, has been released.

In the St. Tammany public school system, risk manager Kirt Gaspard, the district’s point man for PA requests, said there have been moments of indecisiveness on FEMA’s part because of turnover among project officers and times when the same documents have been requested more than once.

But he praised the efforts of FEMA and the state Office of Homeland Security in pushing rebuilding projects forward. He said they have been especially cooperative in the case of Salmen High School, which was ripped apart by an eight-foot storm surge, quickly allocating about $15 million to get a temporary campus open by August 2006. FEMA has tentatively approved spending more than $20 million on a permanent Salmen campus. Completion of architectural drawings is still months away.

“This is kind of a new scenario for FEMA as well because of the magnitude of destruction that Katrina caused, so you can expect they had a lot of new hurdles to overcome themselves, but overall we’ve done well in navigating the process,” Gaspard said.

A recent decision by Congress and President Bush to waive a requirement for a 10 percent local match for PA repair projects eliminated a key chokepoint, officials say.

While the Louisiana Recovery Authority previously had agreed to use Community Development Block Grant money to cover the required PA match, the dual funding sources and their differing rules created a paperwork nightmare and delays, LRA Executive Director Andy Kopplin said.

Congress has discussed revamping the Stafford Act, which governs FEMA assistance, to add flexibility and to give local FEMA officials greater leeway to cut through red tape, particularly in response to overwhelming disasters like Katrina and Rita. But that idea hasn’t gained momentum in a Congress restive about the spiraling costs of the Gulf Coast recovery.

Meanwhile, some would-be beneficiaries of PA grants fume about the slow delivery of help. Among them is Nicholas Felton, president of a union for New Orleans firefighters, who five months ago complained loudly about lack of progress in securing millions of dollars from FEMA for repairing uninhabitable firehouses that are plagued by sewage backups and rodents.

He still complains but can’t pinpoint exactly whom to blame. Many firefighters are still housed in trailers that aren’t safe in foul weather.

“We have not seen any movement, any money, from federal, state or local officials,” he said. “We have only been successful enough in repairing fire stations with generous donations from people around the city and country, and with firefighters putting in the work. I wish I knew where it (rebuilding money) is so that we could go tell folks to let it loose.”

Officials in Nagin’s administration who handle PA paperwork, including Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Cynthia Sylvain-Lear, say little, “other than they’re working on it, and they’re trying to get it. But it’s been almost two years and we haven’t gotten anything,” Felton said.

Sylvain-Lear couldn’t offer a timeline for fire station repairs. She blamed the lack of progress on a broader problem: Project Worksheets prepared by FEMA that estimate repair or rebuilding costs using figures that are far too low, forcing the city to ask for an amended Worksheet. Without the use of higher figures, the city is forced to find money elsewhere in its budget to fill the gap, she said.

While FEMA officials are willing to change worksheets repeatedly when given evidence that their cost estimates are too low, delays caused by those negotiations pose a big problem for local agencies, Kopplin said. State officials are urging FEMA to develop a policy, he said, that would allow a PA recipient to borrow against other approved projects to cover temporary funding gaps of the sort described by Sylvain-Lear.

In St. Bernard Parish, officials rail about the lack of upfront money for PA projects that they say makes it difficult, if not impossible, to advance major restoration projects. Such projects include rebuilding the parish’s sewer system and repairing St. Bernard’s civic center and government complex in Chalmette. Ironically, the last two projects, expected to cost more than $3 million combined, were cited by FEMA officials among 20 south Louisiana projects that will show a positive PA impact.

Unlike some local parishes, St. Bernard has little flexibility in its budget to cover early costs of a construction project while waiting for a FEMA reimbursement, and many contractors won’t bid if they aren’t sure when they will be paid, said Joey DiFatta, chairman of the parish council.

“We need federal help up front rather than on the back end,” DiFatta said. “How the hell do you spend it if you don’t have it?”

FEMA officials say that while PA offerings are labeled reimbursements, federal law allows advances on the money. But the state decides the details of when and how to front money.

Mark Debosier, disaster recovery chief for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, said DiFatta is misinformed if he thinks construction advances aren’t available. The state has a policy of advancing, when asked, up to 75 percent of the cost of a project, in increments that can be spent in a timely fashion.

“I don’t know that St. Bernard has ever even asked,” he said. “It’s primarily a reimbursement program, but there are provisions for advances.”

The state’s offer of 10 percent of FEMA-estimated project expenses for design and engineering is well-known. But Debosier said there has been limited use of other construction advances. He suggested that many agencies don’t apply for them because they haven’t figured out how to pay the portion of costs not covered by the PA grant.

The LRA’s Kopplin said the state hasn’t promoted use of construction advances until recently. To be sure, Slidell’s finance director said she had not heard about the availability of construction advances. And Tommy Couvillion, district manager of Associated General Contractors, said many companies that have landed PA-related work, most of it through the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board, reluctantly agreed to extend themselves, not sure when FEMA reimbursements would arrive.

“They’re being good corporate citizens, trying to help the city get back on its feet. If you can’t treat the sewage, and you don’t have potable water, we’re all dead in the water,” Couvillion said. “The unknown is always fraught with anxiety, you know? You’re betting the payments are going to come sooner (rather) than later. You’re hoping, and you keep the fingers crossed.”

Coleman Warner can be reached at cwarner@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3311.

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COMMENTS (9)Post a comment

Posted by xfire on 07/14/07 at 9:54PM

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SAY “FEME” RED TAPE IS STRANGLING THEM ————-
Now thats pure amazement…….and it’s only taken them 23 months to come to this concludion…….anyone could have known this just by talking to anyone who had to deal with FEMA……

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Posted by skydaddy on 07/14/07 at 10:25PM

Just wait until we get government run health insurance coverage that all these idiot main stream media types are trying to convince us that we need. What would anything to do with the government be like if they didn’t have red tape?

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Posted by xfire on 07/15/07 at 1:22AM

SNAKE24:
You had me right up to “Obama and Clinton”….You must be kidding…..

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Posted by nolano on 07/15/07 at 6:11AM

now imagine “the folks down city hall way” trying to deal with getting anything correct, folks, looks like we will all be needing 4 wheelers soon to “drive” our streets, I heard it took 3 hours ever day just to get meal orders correct for the connected “lunch crowd”, I b having a shrimpss on bum ,no mayo, but lots of hot stuff and plenty dem pickels , oh budda aslo, i b tankin u

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Posted by mdsolutions on 07/15/07 at 6:26AM

Its not FEMA as much as it is the State and Louisiana politics. FEMA passes money to the state and the state has a machine in place that is highly inefficient and primitive. Why? If the state machine can make the processes obnoxious enough so that most normal individuals will avoid bidding - then the friends of the state will use their contacts to cut special deals for each other and receive the high awards.

That is just how Louisiana works. It is well rehearsed and the standard operating procedure. Accept it.

How to get involved? It costs money.

How to stop it? Impossible. The state runs on these relationships.

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Posted by deadbeat007 on 07/15/07 at 8:15AM

The Department of Defence has managed to spend over 440 billion dollars in Iraq over the past 4 1/2 years, maybe they ought to take over that part of FEMA’s function.

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Posted by powerpakt on 07/15/07 at 8:56AM

HAS ANYONE HEARD OF THE 12.5 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF ICE THAT IS SIMPLY GOING TO BE ALLOWED TO MELT, RATHER THAN GIVE OR SELL FOR LESS AT ONES OWN RISK? IT WAS SENT TO NOLA AFTER KATRINA, BUT BECAUSE OF UNCERTAINTY OF ITS SAFETY AND STORAGE COST, THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO “LET IT MELT” UN-BLANKIN-BELIEVEABLE

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Posted by vidicon on 07/15/07 at 11:10AM

I tired of hearing local and state government blaming everything on FEMA. Obviously the TP interviewed cry babies from Jefferson Parish,these people would not last one week in a real job. I dealt with both Fema, SBA and very graceful for their help for both personal and business.State Government is a joke! The largest budget in history and real problem were not address ex: Homeowners and commercial ins., hurricane protection, health care in targeted areas.

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Posted by russian on 07/15/07 at 5:19PM

I understand that people cannot wait and patience. That is very real slow progress of rebuilding take longtime for 25 years They could not take a day or a week for rebuilding. They are not sure, because hurricane could hit in Gulf Coast again. That is why Governor Blanco hold $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Let me explain you that it will have an other major hurricane in 2009. Betsy-Katrina hit in Gulf Coast (1965 -2005) for 40 years. Camille-????? will hit in Gulf Coast (1969-2009) for 40 years. I hope not.. God Bless……….

I have my comments for you. I lost my everything in Eastern New Orleans. If I am elect Mayor or Governor I would like to demand in Eastern N.O. closed for good. I am very curious that what is your opinion comments.

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Posted in Hurricane Recovery, Caskets, Times Picayune, Associated Press, St. Bernard, evacuation, Nagin, DRA, levee, The New York Times, Levees, Arkansas, GIS, LSU, lawsuit, CNN, Louisiana, Capitol Hill, Tennessee, Mississippi, Long Term Care, Jefferson, evacuee, THE National Gaurd, Louisiana GIS, Hurricane Insurance, Bayou Buzz, CRPC, Delta Regional Authority, St. Rita's, Beaumont, Media Oversight, NOLA.com, Carolina's, Displaced, Baton Rouge, Nursing Home, ARRL, Katrina Evictions, Slidell, Katrina Radio, Disaster, Governor, recovery, California, Hurricane Katrina, USA, Texas, Dallas, Government, Social Justice, Virginia, military, politics, Radio, Houston, Katrina, Colorado, Media, Housing, opinion, Hurricane, FEMA, transportation, Alert, vote, debate, South Carolina, New Orleans, Election, North Carolina, DNA, Corruption, emergency, Poverty, public, Oklahoma, Seattle, Junk, controversy, White House, Washington, Death, Alabama, News | No Comments »

ALERT! - Public Transit Emergency Info Questions - ALERT!

2007-07-16T10:03:00.001-07:00

ALERT!: Public Transit Emergency Info Questions - ALERT!

July 16th, 2007

NOLA.com after initial review of its hurricane center website makes no reference to the Emergency.louisiana.gov website in addition to its references exclusively to NOAA. NOAA recently forecasted a storm on the wrong day according to one blogger. No one is perfect, however, and one system should not be depended upon alone for information.

In addition to this lack of information proliferation on the web the Emergency .louisiana.gov website lists the transportation link towards the bottom of their page where after clicking to access the LA DOTD the quick link to Emergency info is unavailable and non-responsive. This is going to require more follow through!
And along with follow through, you would think that the link to “Evacuations” from the Emergency.louisiana.gov would include public transportation information. It does NOT.

Louisiana Evacuation Map

This map does not indicate the local roads available in the different parish’s, which may be vital when attempting to locate shelter information. There are many shelters utilized en route that require local road map information. The Emergency.louisiana.gov website lists stopping points where shelter information will be available during an emergency. It is unclear from the state evacuation map where the local roads play a role in evacuation planning. Common snese and experience tells us that local roads can be hazardous as they are often lined with timber and gas stations infrequent or undersupplied.

River Parishes ready for new transit system
Pre-owned bus option may speed process
Sunday, July 15, 2007
By Victoria St. Martin

I searched for info on the transit systems available in the different parish’s, but St. Tammany Parish was the only one mentioned to have a contact phone number. The following article did not indicate, upon initial review, other numbers to call for evacuation or sign up for evacuation in the event of an emergency. The article was not dated but cited May? 2006 or 2007? as the last time anyone called St. Tammany for evacuation sign up.

Buses to evacuate any who can’t drive away
But leave on your own if you can
By Meghan Gordon
West Bank bureau

Emergency. la.gov did not mention public transportation in the event of an emergency evacuation, either. I’ll have to further review the public transportation web site. It was already clear that the CPTC transit from Baton Rouge did not have any available information concerning evacuations. New Orleans stated, humph, that it would assist other parish’s in evacuations. I can’t depend on the New Orleans Parish transportation system if I live in one of the River Parish’s. Both the New Orleans transit system and the Baton Rouge transit system require more information and investigation.A simple search at the Emergency.la.gov site did not immediately reveal public transportation evacuation information utilizing “public transportation” or the phrase “transportation” on 07/16/2007. There is a link towards the bottom under Agency Links for the LA DOTD that as I mentioned earlier offeres a “quick link” to emergency info BUT IS A DEAD LINK.

The links to the New Orleans RTA indicate that citizens are to call 311 to sign up for evacuation - only after they take a survey. The jpg image mentioned 800 numbers to call “at the rear end of this brochure” that are not available at the website. The jpg should be in PDF form for ease of reading, especially due to the map present. it cannot be viewed on my computer. I have 20/20 vision, folks. The map is way too small. In June, at the beginning of hurricane season, this website (Emergency.louisiana.gov) was unavailable for several days. Information from CATS concerning evacuation (Baton Rouge) was unavailable. I did not recall reviewing the New Orleans RTA website on June 1, nor do I recall links from CATS to the New Orleans RTA.

Neither CATS nor Jefferson Parish Transit had evacuation information for the public on their websites 07/16/2007.

LA SWIFT

Where can I get more information?
Call the LA Swift information line toll-free at 1-877-94-SWIFT (1-877-947-9438). If you have already called the information line but still need more assistance, call the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development toll-free at 1-877-4LADOTD (1-877-452-3683).

BRCATS

info@brcats.com

Jefferson Transit

Contacts

Administration Office:

(504) 364-3450

JeT contact form by web

RTA New Orleans

RTA Contact Information

Telephone :
Paratransit : 504-827-7433

Route and Schedule Information
Please direct all route and schedule information requests to:
Rideline
Hours : M-F 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Telephone :504-248-3900
Email : rideline@norta.com

General Manager :
Telephone : 225-929-8302 with voice mail
Fax : 225-389-7706
–> Email : mmajor@norta.com

Media Requests
Please direct all media inquiries to:
Rosalind Blanco Cook
Telephone : 504-908-3691; 225-929-8392
Email : rcook@norta.com

Human Resources
Please direct all employment questions and verification of employment to:
Telephone: (225) 929-8378; (225) 929-8380; (225) 929-8403
Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Streetcar and Bus Advertising–Exterior and Interior
Please direct all inquiries to:
Tim Fenasci, Clear Channel
Telephone: Office-504-523-7105; Cell-504-915-8160
Email: timfenasci@clearchannel.com

Useful Phone Numbers
401K Benefits : 1-800-554-6513
Orleans Parish OEP : 504-415-1158
American Red Cross : 800-438-4636

LA DOTD email comments! Please help

Welcome to the
Louisiana Department of Transportation
and
Development
Public Transportation Section
Website

The mission of the Public Transportation program is to improve public transit in all areas of the State so that Louisiana’s citizens may enjoy an adequate level of personal mobility regardless of geographical location, physical limitation or economic status.

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
Public Transportation Section
8900 Jimmy Wedell
Baton Rouge, LA 70807
Phone: (225) 274-4302
Fax: (225) 274-4314

PublicTransportation@dotd.la.gov

2006 Annual Transit Conference

2002 Transit Provider Map

This entry was posted on Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 4:37 pm and is filed under Hurricane Recovery, evacuation, Nagin, Times Picayune, Mississippi, LSU, Louisiana, Jefferson, Baton Rouge, evacuee, CRPC, Delta Regional Authority, Louisiana GIS, Media Oversight, Nursing Home, NOLA.com, Disaster, Governor, opinion, politics, military, Hurricane, FEMA, Katrina, Media, Hurricane Katrina, recovery, Poverty, New Orleans, emergency, public, Alert, Government, transportation, News.

Why were 63% of Louisiana Nursing Homes not evacuated prior to Katrina?

2007-07-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

63% of Louisiana Nursing Homes Not Evacuated: Why was Lafon nursing home not evacuated?

July 13th, 2007

The lack of proper planning shouldn’t justify the deaths of Long Term Care patients during a hurricane. The mis-placed blame for the deaths at St. Rita’s is disgusting enough, however, LQ was unaware of the lack of evacuation at Lafon Nursing Home in Eastern New Orleans.

At Nursing Home, Katrina Dealt Only the First Blow

Nuns Labored for Days in Fatal Heat to Get Help for Patients

By Anne Hull and Doug Struck

Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 23, 2005; Page A01

{…Three weeks later, Lafon is being investigated by Louisiana’s attorney general, along with other nursing homes where people died after a failure to evacuate…}

Search LQ @ Word Press for further information concerning St. Rita’s and the LTC evacuation preparations that are being tossed back into the Federal lap instead of aiming at the local Nursing Home administrators and owners for personal responsibility for evacuations. The legal blamegame must stop in order to progress! The tax paying citizens who helped found our present should not be left behind just because local money grubbing whiners that own nursing homes lack personal responsibility in running their so called “businesses” for the Long Term Care institutions.

Louisiana Questions has posted previous articles of meetings in Florida concerning the Lack of transportation for Nursing Homes in an evacuation. Someone should be questioning Joseph Donchess.

Herald Tribune - Southwest Florida Newspaper Article excerpt May 23, 2007

Joseph Donchess, executive director of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association, said he has been assured by state and federal officials that enough buses will be available if needed this year. But he expressed skepticism, given that his pleas for state police to help escort nursing home evacuees through pre-storm traffic jams have been rejected.

See Levees lawsuits and then click here for previously posted info on St. Rita’s. Also see the DRA's July 6th Newsletter.

July 6, 2007

Improving Transportation In The Delta

By Pete Johnson

During an intense planning retreat in 2005, the Delta Regional Authority board decided to focus its regional initiatives in the areas of transportation, health care and information technology. This has been a busy year for the authority in each of these areas, especially the area of transportation. Just six months into the year, we've already released the Delta Development Highway System plan, begun work on a multimodal plan for the region and continued promotion of an improved corridor from Interstate 55 in Mississippi to Interstate 40 in Arkansas.

Since the late February release of our Delta Development Highway System plan, we've received a great deal of media attention and numerous requests for copies of the report. Basing our efforts on the tremendous success of the Appalachian Regional Commission's highway system during the past four decades, we're proposing a 3,800-mile system in the eight states we cover. It wouldn't be cheap. Our plan estimates the price tag would be $18.5 billion in 2007 dollars. But the return on investment would be huge. We predict a return of $3.5 billion in benefits per year once the system is completed. Now, the task for Delta advocates in all eight states will be to make the case to Congress that this plan should be funded.

Of the roads in the plan, 27 percent already provide four or more travel lanes. The remainder are two-lane roads that would be enhanced. Our plan calls for improvements to existing corridors and, in some cases, new corridors. The proposed miles in the Delta Development Highway System are 383 in Alabama, 704 in Arkansas, 174 in Illinois, 230 in Kentucky, 591 in Louisiana, 753 in Mississippi, 566 in Missouri and 442 in Tennessee. If you would like to view the Delta Development Highway System plan, go to www.dra.gov , click on "Programs To Advance The Delta" and then click on "Transportation." I think you'll be impressed with what we've proposed.

This plan represents the culmination of thousands of hours of work by those of us at the DRA and some of the region's top transportation experts. We received input from transportation executives and local organizations in all eight states. Public meetings were held throughout the region last fall. Our consulting team consisted of Wilbur Smith Associates, the Michael Baker Corp. and Neel-Schaffer Inc. Staff members from the Federal Highway Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission provided additional assistance.

Our transportation activities this year have not focused solely on the Delta Development Highway System. When Congress passed a highway act in 2005, the DRA was directed to prepare an overall multimodal plan for the region. To meet this congressional mandate, we'll assess the transportation assets in the 240 counties and parishes we cover -- highways, bridges, railroads, airports, river ports, ocean ports and more. We next will assess the demands being put on the current assets. Once those assessments are completed, we'll prepare a plan that hopefully will address the demands far into the future. Our board recently selected the professional contractors to help us prepare this plan, which we hope to release in 2008.

It's important to look at much more than just highways as we seek to improve the Delta economy. For instance, freight rail systems are an integral part of the region's economy. Particular attention will be paid to activities at the east-west gateways of Memphis and New Orleans. Commodity movements within the region will be identified. In addition to assessing our freight rail systems, we'll identify passenger rail providers and service in the eight states. At the same time, the plan will identify all general, commercial and freight aviation facilities. In the area of waterways, we'll review statewide waterway and port plans along with data collected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This will ensure that all port and lock facilities are identified and their services are documented.

As we develop the multimodal plan, we'll meet with the key stakeholders throughout the region while ensuring that our plan melds well with the various state plans. The movement of freight will be among the critical factors we examine. We'll interview freight shippers who can assist us in identifying and addressing the needs in the areas of highways, water, rail, trucking and aviation. Finally, we'll develop a program of proposed projects with a thorough economic analysis of those projects. I'm confident that enactment of the proposals we make will help us lower the cost of doing business, strengthen our economy, improve the nation's productivity and make travel safer and more efficient. All America will benefit from what happens in the Delta.

We're also working with business, government and civic leaders in Arkansas and Mississippi to promote the idea of a four-lane connection from Interstate 55 at Batesville, Miss., to Interstate 40 at Brinkley, Ark. This route would, in essence, serve as an additional loop south of Memphis, allowing traffic to avoid the congested Memphis metropolitan area while speeding up the flow of goods across the country. Less congestion in Memphis would also make it easier for the area to meet air quality standards. Such a corridor would require a new bridge over the Mississippi River at Helena-West Helena, Ark. This bridge would be south of the worst areas of the New Madrid earthquake zone, ensuring the continued east-west flow of goods should a major earthquake destroy the Interstate 40 and Interstate 55 bridges at Memphis.

The Delta already is one of most important warehousing, distribution and logistics hubs in the country. With a systematic planning process and the political will to enact the various proposals that come out of that process, we can ensure a brighter future for the Delta and a strengthened American economy.

Pete Johnson of Clarksdale, Miss., is the federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority. He was appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2001.

St. Rita’s owners can blame feds
Scope of testimony grows in ‘05 deaths
Friday, July 13, 2007
By Paul Rioux
St. Bernard bureau

The owners of a St. Bernard Parish nursing home where 35 elderly residents drowned after Hurricane Katrina can present evidence at their negligent homicide trial next month that the government was responsible for the deaths, according to a state appellate court decision upholding a ruling by the trial judge.

But the First Circuit Court of Appeal overturned the judge’s ban on testimony and evidence about the fate of other local nursing homes, a double-edged sword for both sides in a case that has drawn national news media attention.

Prosecutors want to focus on the other three St. Bernard nursing homes, all of which were evacuated before Katrina made landfall in late August 2005 and had just one death among them.

Defense attorneys say they will seek to introduce evidence that the majority of nursing homes in the New Orleans area did not evacuate, including Lafon Nursing Home in eastern New Orleans, where 22 residents died. No charges have been filed in connection with the deaths at Lafon.

The ruling released Thursday was in response to a writ filed by prosecutors arguing that Judge Jerome Winsberg had erred in prohibiting evidence about what happened at other nursing homes while allowing the defense to blame the government for the tragedy.

Jim Cobb, an attorney for St. Rita’s owners Mabel and Salvador Mangano, who are facing 35 counts of negligent homicide, said he’s pleased with the ruling to permit testimony about third-party fault.

“It allows us to present evidence of who really was at fault for the deaths of the poor folks at St. Rita’s: the Army Corps of Engineers for the failed levees and a host of state and local officials who botched the evacuation,” he said. “It’s a critical part of our case.”

The state attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case, did not return a call seeking comment Thursday afternoon.

Examining other homes

In a partial victory for the state, the appellate court overturned Winsberg’s blanket ban on evidence about other nursing homes, instructing him to consider the admissibility of such evidence on a case-by-case basis.

The ruling fell short of prosecutors’ request that Winsberg be ordered to allow testimony about evacuations at St. Bernard’s three other nursing homes.

“In total, 188 frail, elderly folks were evacuated, many by ambulance, with the loss of only one life because the owners and administrators heeded clear warnings of danger and honored their obligation and duty to care for those entrusted to them in spite of the difficulties and cost of doing so,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Prosecutors argued it is impossible to assess whether the Manganos’ decision to not evacuate amounted to negligence without looking at what other nursing homes in the parish did.

“The whole theory of negligence presupposes some uniform standard of behavior,” they wrote.

Although defense attorneys have sought to bar comparisons between St. Rita’s and the other St. Bernard homes, Cobb said a broader comparison with homes in the region — not just in St. Bernard Parish — is more favorable to the Manganos.

He said figures compiled by the Louisiana Nursing Home Association indicate 36 of 57 nursing homes in the New Orleans area did not evacuate as Katrina approached.

“The truth is that most nursing homes did exactly what St. Rita’s did,” he said.

Cobb also said he will seek to introduce testimony about the little-publicized tragedy at Lafon Nursing Home run by the Sisters of the Holy Family. More than 100 elderly residents rode out the hurricane at the home on Chef Menteur Highway, and 22 died in the subsequent five days as help was slow to arrive.

Cobb has said it was improper for Attorney General Charles Foti to charge the Manganos but not the nuns at Lafon.

Trial to begin next month

The trial is slated to begin Aug. 13 in St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, where it was moved after Winsberg granted a defense motion for a change of venue.

Winsberg, a retired New Orleans judge, is presiding over the case because all St. Bernard judges recused themselves, most because they knew some of the St. Rita’s residents who died.

Katrina’s massive storm surge flooded the one-story nursing home near Poydras to the ceiling within 20 minutes, overwhelming the elderly residents, many of whom were confined to beds or wheelchairs.

The Manganos and staff members saved 26 residents, floating many of them out windows on mattresses. In addition to the negligent homicide charges, the couple is charged with 26 counts of cruelty to the infirm for the hardships endured by the survivors.

The couple had allegedly ignored a mandatory evacuation order from the parish and refused an offer by parish officials to bus residents to safety a day before the storm hit, authorities have said.

The Manganos, who are in their 60s, have maintained their innocence, saying through their attorneys that the nursing home had never flooded in 20 years and that they were worried some of the frail residents wouldn’t survive the ordeal of an evacuation. The couple also said they were never ordered to evacuate.

. . . . . . .

Paul Rioux can be reached at prioux@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3321.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 5:13 pm and is filed under Caskets, St. Bernard, levee, Times Picayune, Associated Press, Louisiana, Levees, Nagin, Long Term Care, evacuee, St. Rita's, Louisiana GIS, Media Oversight, Baton Rouge, Nursing Home, lawsuit, Disaster, Hurricane Katrina, Social Justice, Government, Hurricane, FEMA, Katrina, Housing, transportation, controversy, Corruption, Governor, debate, New Orleans, Death, public, News.

Who is avoiding another N* word?: The Associated Press.

2007-06-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

I’ve come to certain conclusions with regards to the Associated Press and the media in general. The message is buried here, in the following post. (This blog is cross posted in louisianaquestions.wordpress.com)

Weekend press reports indicate that the majority moving back to Louisiana and New Orleans are young couples. I despise realtors and agents who are selling out homeowners in Louisiana to those “come here folks” in the wake of Katrina. It’s especially painful for those who can’t go home and are forced to sell.

What is Normal?

It appears that there are people who still live nextdoor to abandoned buildings…we knew that!

Photos from Live Journal recently reveal much. Scratch Life - Posts a photograph of an abaondoned home in New Orleans. The subtitled comments offer clues to so called “normalcy”. “I play kickball outside, and I happened to photograph this house while I was there.” You just don’t live near abandoned buildings ravaged by Katrina on the West Coast of California or even Seattle.

Feild Negro @ Blogspot - He gets the Katrina thing, but he’s supposively a black Jamaican lawyer living in Philadelphia! The juxtaposition of terms there incited a feeling of “home” and a slight smile. (I really couldn’t believe someone would name his/her blog “Field Negro” to start with - but it was a treat.) Among his rants was the thought that if Katrina were to hit Seattle, GW would’ve been right there. -I can’t support this as I’m just madly in love with the Prez., but he may be right…as rain…

The straw that broke the camel’s back was Beyond Katrina ’s article, “Normal” is So Yesterday - Finally, recognition of FACTS indicates the rest of America wears those blinders you see on jackass’s. I’m not sure who has to be more stubborn, persistant, and steadfast in their beliefs and goals and everyday life, those who live with the reminders of the storm daily, or those who ignore what I’m seeing. This article from Beyond Katrina . . . I lack words for explaination . . .

Thanks Katrina shares a few photos of Normalcy on her hubby’s commute.

There are a few other parish’s who have similar issues, however, more rural in nature. Live Journal acknowledges a few more “normal” posts and comments from Jefferson. Reports from Dreamflower’s mathom-house @ Live Journal.

“Things are pretty much getting back to normal.” - Everytime I heard the word normal, it beligerantly slapped me in the face.

Normal isn’t reading this list of items and answering the questions in order to determine whether or not you should go “home.” (PDF FILE) Why should anyone have to ask themselves the following if everything is back to normal?

Voices of New Orleans posts from Live JOurnal on the Road Homeless.
http://www.chinmusicpress.com/books/doyouknow/voices/news/2007/06/pzb_poppy_z_brite_is_hopping_m.html
http://docbrite.livejournal.com/518063.html
http://chefcdb.livejournal.com/2007/06/25/

Private dollars leading recovery of New Orleans - Christian Science Monitor

From NOLA, but made NBC news, Study links hurricanes to teen smokers — It’s just an idiot reporters sidelining of Real Katrina issues in Beaumont, Texas. Someone from Beaumont told me he’s sick of the “five generations of welfare” in New Orleans that has increased the Texas crime rate. He doesn’t understand the statistics on persistant poverty in over 1/2 of Louisiana’s 64 parish’s. He doesn’t understand that persistant poverty remains due to the poor not having a voice in local politics, their communities, or a hand in the local government. The poor don’t play a role in the recovery process, either, after Katrina. They aren’t allowed to go home. It’s really smug of Beaumont to mention teen smoking, since the first guy from Beaumont I met this week prior to the article, loves Canadian dope. I’ve seen the AP speeding over Lake Ponchatrain out of New Orleans. It’s no wonder I’m holding the Associated Press in contempt. The AP just isn’t there…I agree with Beyond Katrina’s posting today that “Katrina” just doesn’t make headlines in the major media outlets. Nothing substantial, credible, or worthy of print anyway. It really is disgusting to witness. I’m led to believe (I can’t believe I’m saying this) the major media outlets, in their frustration for a real story, sat back and rolled a fat one.

I should’ve had decaf coffee this am. Here’s a normal post Katrina poem.

Normal is not snow.
Normal is not below 80*.
Normal is not rain that sprinkles daily.
Normal is not my pillow.
Normal is not underfoot.
Normal is not my yard.
Normal is not my flower bed.
Normal is not my grocery store.
Normal is not mine anymore.
Kiss my a** normal.
Normal is not the National Guard parked outside.
Normal is not the crime rate.
Normal is not living here.
Normal is not at home.
Normal does not live here.
Normal is not my school.
Normal is not my school board.
Normal is not my new friends.
Normal is not my neighbor.
Kiss my a** normal.
Normal is not the formaldehyde level.
Normal is not my shoes.
Normal is not my furniture.
Normal is not my memory.
Normal is not the trees.
Normal is not the bus.
Normal is not the radio stations.
Normal is not the latitude or longitude or wind speed.
Normal is not Katrina.
Normal is not the Road Home.
Kiss my a** normal.
Normal is not my local Government.
Normal is not my Federal Government.
Normal is not my levee.
Normal is not my canal.
Normal is not my city.
Normal is corrupt.
Normal is self rightous.
Normal is proud.
Normal is a sense of humor.
Normal is not laughing.

Reports from Dreamflower’s mathom-house @ Live Journal
http://dreamflower02.livejournal.com/227370.html

More Poems
http://bonniemac.livejournal.com/68283.html

Posted in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Capitol Hill, Caskets, Associated Press, Levees, GIS, LSU, Corruption, North Carolina, Election, DNA, Governor, lawsuit, Disaster, Hurricane Recovery, levee, THE National Gaurd, Louisiana GIS, Hurricane Insurance, evacuee, Bayou Buzz, Beaumont, CRPC, Media Oversight, Katrina Evictions, Baton Rouge, Nagin, DRA, Displaced, Carolina's, Katrina Radio, ARRL, vote, debate, USA, military, politics, Hurricane Katrina, California, Texas, recovery, opinion, Hurricane, Houston, Katrina, Colorado, Radio, Media, FEMA, Housing, Dallas, Virginia, Washington, Death, Alabama, public, Poverty, South Carolina, New Orleans, White House, controversy, transportation, Government, Social Justice, Alert, Ohio, Oklahoma, Seattle, News | No Comments »

What stinks at the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness?

2007-06-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

The Levees were not included in the Louisiana GIS CD!

How long were the gas lines on the evacuation routes after Katrina, Rita, and Wilma? Is there enough gas supplied on the routes?

Hello…hello…hello?

Opinions from Times Pic indicate that Levees management and engineering by the Corps are responsible for the flooding. The 17th St. Canal in particular is of interest as I know of people who had to evacuate this area during Katrina due to the massive flooding from the failure - Senior Citizens.

The fact remains that no one bothered at the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness to ask questions concerning the levees when they acted in cooperation with LSU, several La. State Offices, and USGS. The Levees were not included in the Louisiana GIS CD. I believe when eight to ten State offices omit something as large as the levees in a database of the entire state of Louisiana that includes local roads and pipelines and bridges there is a VERY GREAT chance that no one cared about them or there were questions of integrity at the time of its creation. The funny part about the whole ordeal I’m bringing to light here is that LSU assisted, too. And LSU was rumored, due to the lack of communication services after Katrina, to have been the first to announce the approaching hurricane in 2005 (Katrina). Nevermind the fact that the simulcast from television to radio at the time of August 26 (Friday) @ 6 AM did not include a vocal hurricane path or position for the hours ahead. The simulcast television station just referred to her visual map instead of making vocalized acknowledgments that would of been vital to EVACUATION TIMELINESS. Alas, all OEP offices, incl. the Louisiana emergency web site will ask you to listen to your local emergency radio station - regardless of their ability to broadcast the weather effectively to the masses via radio from behind their television cameras at the station. Not everyone in Louisiana watches television - that’s why there is radio and its why radio existed long before television. 2005 reports from WWL radio station indicated that there were people in Louisiana prior to Katrina who did not have telephone service - in two parish’s. Yeah, its a state where over or at least one half of its inhabitants (parish’s) are living at below the poverty level and in rural areas. It was defined as persistant poverty. Katrina emphasized this through the Brookings Institution and articles by B. Quigley , both a lawyer and professor from New Orleans. You can get the 2005 facts about the state from LSU Agriculture Dept. The communities involved combined with the local authorities, not just the police and fire departments, but the Department of Health and Social Services, hospitals, community leaders, and elected officials have long since been out of touch with these issues in the State of Louisiana. The complexity of “persistant” poverty in half of the 64 parish’s in Louisiana hasn’t been resolved with “welfare reform”. It is the lack of local cooperation in providing services to rural areas that has committed the so called crimes against humanity and the willingness of the local officials to blame the Federal Government in ease. Totally thoughtless, mindless control of tax paying citizens. The receipt for my toilet paper says that I pay state taxes, too! I wish the local leaders would start wiping theirs….instead of crying to the FEDS.

Hurricane protection must be based on facts - NOLA Live 06/26/07 - D. Daniel, Ph.D., P.E. , Chair ASCE Hurricane Katrina, U Texas Dallas

Corps responsible for failures - NOLA Live 06/26/07 Levees.org

Exactly how risky is it to live here?

Posted in Mississippi, Capitol Hill, Louisiana, GIS, Disaster, LSU, Levees, Hurricane Recovery, Media Oversight, Louisiana GIS, Katrina Radio, Displaced, levee, Baton Rouge, Governor, Corruption, opinion, USA, Hurricane, FEMA, Katrina, Radio, Hurricane Katrina, Government, Poverty, New Orleans, public, Death, Alert, controversy, News | No Comments »

Did Louisiana say Thank You?

2007-06-22T06:07:00.001-07:00

Links to current rebuilding, displaced Louisians, and a quiz.

News from MoreOver.com suggests A to Z Building, AZoBuild.com news story of International Association of Business Communication will be in the Ninth Ward in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity today. The link to the story follows.

IABC in Ninth Ward?

“Wells Fargo is delighted to show its support once again for the people of New Orleans and the IABC,” said Alanson Van Fleet, a Wells Fargo vice president and IABC member who will take part in the build. “This dovetails precisely with our desire to further the dream of homeownership in New Orleans and across America.”

Oregon students aid couple

Volunteers pitch in on New Sarpy home

Friday, June 22, 2007By Matt Scallan

Oregon Help in St. Charles Parish

More rebuilding links for this month

NOAH Rebuild in New Orleans

What is Going on in New Orleans?

Various

Message Found

Drugs in New Orleans?

Displaced Blogs

http://jackieduv.livejournal.com/7264.html

http://angellane354.vox.com/library/post/here-we-go-again.html

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=73407546&blogID=276606946

Hurricane Katrina Quiz

Are you registered to vote in Louisiana?

2007-06-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl061507tpelection.84abc38.html

Hurricane evacuee's are losing the right to vote. This article from WWL appeared Friday, June 15, 2007. LQ's WordPress blog has links to the registrar's information on maintaining your rights to vote in Louisiana.

55,000 could lose right to vote in Louisiana

Is the ICMP still at work in Louisiana?

2007-06-12T13:54:00.001-07:00

Please read the full article at WordPress.

The following letter was sent to the ICMP website on June 12, 2007 in light of the fact that Anderson Coopers blog on CNN didn't make links to his "previous years post" and did not cite its own (CNN's) article in 2005 citing that the ICMP was in charge of identifying bodies. Check out the CNN link to the article from CNN and then check out the ICMP website news release archives for 29 December 2005.

Hello,

I am curious to know if your organization is still working on identification of the victims of the 2005 hurricane season in Louisiana.

Thank You,

Louisiana Questions

ICMP

War graves experts to help with Katrina IDs (12.29.2005) Louisiana officials working to identify the last 170 unknown victims of Hurricane Katrina are getting help from seasoned Bosnian DNA experts. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/29/bosnia.katrina/index.html

June 12, 2007 House Meeting - This Tuesday

2007-06-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

Louisiana Questions finds post at Merlin Law Group concerning Insurance Issues after hurricane season 2005. June 12, 2007 upcoming meeting of House due to GAO report.

Louisiana Questions @ WordPress

2007-06-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Louisiana Questions! It's my home on the net - as I'm in exile!
Please redirect your browser to WordPress. Thank you!