Broussard on Meet the Press... More dispute before the storm..

Times-Picayune | July 13, 2005 | Sheila Grissett and Ed Anderson

[AngryCapitalist]

This is a follow up on my previous post in the Bloggers & Personal section...

SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 867 words

HEADLINE: Jeff may abandon evacuation compact; Broussard: Parish security comes first

BYLINE: By Sheila Grissett and Ed Anderson, Staff writers

BODY:

A battle over the state's new evacuation guideline grew more heated Tuesday with Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard saying Jefferson could pull out of the plan and Gov. Kathleen Blanco suggesting it may be time to discuss whether state officials, and not parish leaders, should have the final say on evacuation orders.

In a stinging, four-page letter to Blanco, Broussard criticized portions of the evacuation procedure and some of Blanco's public remarks about the need for southeast Louisiana parishes to stick together and follow the plan, completed three months ago.

During a public appearance on an unrelated matter just minutes after getting the letter, Blanco said one issue that needs considering is whether the state's top emergency personnel, including State Police and Homeland Security, should have the final say on when or if parishes should evacuate.

"We will be talking about that in the next few weeks," Blanco said.

Broussard said Tuesday that he wouldn't turn over decision-making authority unless the Legislature put the state in charge of the process

"I would never willingly abrogate my responsibility," he said.

Contraflow request

The new plan was written to correct mistakes that led to September's nightmare evacuation from Hurricane Ivan. It calls for residents from low-lying coastal communities to leave first, followed by the West Bank and, finally, the heavily populated areas of East Jefferson and Orleans Parish.

Last Friday, Broussard recommended that all Jefferson Parish residents begin a voluntary evacuation at noon as Hurricane Dennis approached Cuba, 50 hours from its eventual U.S. landfall. He also asked State Police to implement contraflow, a system of reversing interstate lanes that isn't called for in the state plan until the winds of a serious storm are about 30 hours from hitting the coast.

Broussard has said the plan isn't flexible enough to provide advance, daylight evacuations for residents in his parish, and he reiterated Tuesday that he would pull out of the arrangement before following procedures that he and his staff don't think are in the best interest of Jefferson Parish.

Blanco had little to say about the controversy Tuesday and offered no direct criticism of Broussard. But she suggested that when emergency officials meet in coming days and weeks to evaluate Hurricane Dennis, a topic of discussion will be who should be authorized to order evacuations.

Blanco didn't say she favors shifting responsibility to the state, only that the concept should be explored.

Although many Louisianians are hurricane-savvy and know when to evacuate, others rely on official direction. In those cases, Blanco said, a premature evacuation is just as harmful as a late one.

"A premature decision causes you problems," Blanco said. "If you do that constantly, people lose confidence" in officials and will not leave when a major storm imperils an error.

"I think this will all work out in the long run, but I think right now emotions are high and everybody's justifying their decisions," the governor said. "I think everybody will settle down and look at the needs of the region."

Stands by actions

Broussard said Tuesday that he remains confident in his decision last Friday to recommend a midday evacuation to ensure parish residents had plenty of time to reach a destination before dark.

The contraflow requested by Broussard would have closed I-10, I-55 and I-59 to incoming traffic at a time when Hurricane Dennis had not yet reached Cuba and before any other parishes, including low-lying communities south of the Intracoastal Waterway, were being advised by their emergency officials to evacuate.

"But I learned my lesson," Broussard said Tuesday. "I won't ask for contraflow again. I'll recommend evacuation and leave it to state officials to implement contraflow."

State officials who helped write the new plan said using contraflow in the final stage of their three-phase evacuation will allow the efficient evacuation of the entire southeast Louisiana region.

"We can move the population out in 50 hours," said Lt. Chris Bodet, evacuation coordinator for Troop B. "Of course, we always like to see people leave early. It makes it easier for them, and it puts less people on the road in the final stage of evacuation. But lots of people can't do that, especially in Orleans Parish, and this is a plan designed for the entire region."

Will stay in line

Broussard said he and his top advisers don't believe that the area can be evacuated in 50 hours. And even if it can, he said, the phased evacuation doesn't give him the flexibility to ensure that Jefferson Parish residents can always begin to evacuate during daylight hours.

Unless he is forced to pull out of the plan, Broussard said, he will continue to try work within the state's guidelines and always give low-lying parishes the opportunity to evacuate ahead of Jefferson.

"Emily is coming," Broussard said of the new tropical storm expected to be near Cuba on Sunday, "and I pledge to the other parish presidents today that I will endeavor to implement this (state) plan without endangering my residents."

. . . . . . .

Sheila Grissett can be reached at sgrissett@timespicayune.com or (504) 883-7058.

LOAD-DATE: July 13, 2005

[Atchafalaya]

"Je suis..." lol. No one has had the guts to say what a shithole NO was before Katrina. I lived and went to school there 30 years ago and that was when it started to sink. Oppertunity is here; the taxpayers are riding to the rescue.
BTW, Katleen lost the keys.

[A Citizen Reporter]

"MEET THE PRESS (NBC): U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad; retired Gens. Wesley Clark, Wayne Downing, Barry McCaffrey and Montgomery Meigs.

Without peeking at the transcript would anyone care to tell me what Weasley Clark said about Hurricane Katrine last week?

[Howlin]

I looked for the transcript but I couldn't find it.

But, of course, that was last week: last week is so "The Iraq War Is a Quagmire."

[2rightsleftcoast]

I was agreeing with you, not correcting you.
It just struck me that he was able to talk to "Momma" every day. But he couldn't get a boat or a raft or something.
Watching his performance it reminded me of the old
Dukes of Hazzard tv show.

[hole_n_one]

Without peeking at the transcript would anyone care to tell me what Weasley Clark said about Hurricane Katrine last week?

I'm gonna guess it was something like......

We need to withdraw all the National Guard troops for Louisiana as soon as possible.

[Atchafalaya]

who?

[nunya bidness]

Remember the other night (they all blend at this point) when I told you to listen to the local radio after the mayor was on his rant that, thankfully, got major airtime?

After the mayor was on two Parish Presidents were on and one was Broussard. He did the same crocodile tears shuck and jive on the radio but his story at that time was that his son asked him for gas for the car so he could leave town. He turned on the waterworks and said that he couldn't give his son gas for the car because there was none left. Then he went on to decry the president and the federal effort at length after regaining his composure in a miraculous fashion.

I imagine that this guy has his fingers deep in a Levee Board and possibly further. It was no coincidence that he followed the mayor in such a hamfisted performance that had callers wanting his head for not going and getting aid from the freeway.

[exhaustedmomma]

:)

I didn't take it wrong. I am just reeling at how I was suckered into this hype. And, reminded how twisted the MSM and the left is. Your phone point was so pertinent. Amazing that nobody questioned it.

[Siobhan]

BTW, Katleen lost the keys.

LOL!

[A Citizen Reporter]

"I imagine that this guy has his fingers deep in a Levee Board and possibly further."

Yes, that's been fairly obvious. During Broussard's crying jag this morning, he THANKED THE LEVEE BOARD. He did this on national TV.

[nunya bidness]

Yes, that's been fairly obvious. During Broussard's crying jag this morning, he THANKED THE LEVEE BOARD. He did this on national TV.

And to be clear he's the Parish Prez for Jefferson Parish that suffered little or no flooding. I'm going to be looking in to this guy.

[A Citizen Reporter]

Well, good. We've been.

[nunya bidness]

Source

NEW ORLEANS -- Two more Jefferson Parish officials are being drawn into the corruption probe dubbed Operation Wrinkled Robe, according to a newspaper report.

The Times-Picayune reports that investigators have issued subpoenas to Parish President Aaron Broussard and 24th District Judge Kernan "Skip" Hand.

The story says the subpoenas are related to political donations made by Bail Bonds Unlimited to Hand's campaigns.

Last month, Judge Alan Green was convicted of mail fraud as a result of the ongoing investigation.

He was caught by FBI video surveillance taking an envelope stuffed with money from a Bail Bonds Unlimited employee.

[TrebleRebel]

It won't be hard to de-bunk this one. With all of Broussard's histrionics, journalists will be turning that office upside down, looking for the man who had to keep putting his mother off while she waited to be rescued. They're going to want pictures, more tears, when is the funeral.....

My gut tells me that the real story is very different.

[nunya bidness]

Source

Aaron Broussard Jumps The Gun

During Hurricane Dennis many in the newsroom were making fun of Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard because he called a voluntary evacuation before the storm even entered the gulf, and while the state senate election was still scheduled to go on. Luckily, it didn't seem to matter because so few people left, but still... What a sloppy move!

Worse yet, he ignored the evacuation plan that all the parishes had agreed on. The newsroom got a call from the LA State Police after JP's press conference stating that only they (the LSP) had the authority to manage an evacuation. Governor Blanco released a similar statement to us also.

Honestly, I think it is always wise to evacuate the unprotected low-lying areas, but for those of us behind the protection levees it is unnecessary. Broussard jumped the gun, and what's worse is that in the future people will take his evacuation orders less seriously. Tsk tsk.

On toppa that - the local stations didn't challenge Broussard very harshly on his actions because if you piss off a political leader then they won't give you interviews in the future. And in the news business you just can't afford to be left outta the loop on stories, hence soft questions galore. And that is just a fraction of how bad this system gets, my friends.

posted by nolagrit at 2:28 PM   

[nunya bidness]

Source

Contraflow call in Jeff stirs criticism. But parish president defends his decision

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

By Sheila Grissett

East Jefferson bureau

Jefferson Parish's call for an evacuation with contraflow as Hurricane Dennis approached Cuba on Friday deviated from a new regional disaster plan and drew stinging criticism from some elected officials in neighboring parishes.

"If you are going to have a plan, you have to stick by the damn plan," said Larry Ingargiola, St. Bernard director of Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "My biggest worry and the council's worry was that if Jefferson was going to pull the plug that early, what's going to happen to our people?"

The new plan calls for evacuating less-populated, lower-lying communities of southeast Louisiana ahead of East Jefferson and New Orleans, and using contraflow only if needed to finish evacuating the area's two most heavily populated parishes.

Parish President Aaron Broussard made the call at noon, ahead of all coastal parishes.

"I feel totally comfortable based on circumstances at the time and the advice I received from Dr. Maestri," said Broussard, referring to parish Emergency Management Director Walter Maestri.

But it was his request that State Police enact contraflow, or the reversal of interstate lanes, that caused the most consternation.

"Aaron Broussard has a right to order a voluntary evacuation for Jefferson Parish residents whenever he sees fit," St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens said. "But had contraflow been put into place, it would have placed the whole metropolitan area on an early forced evacuation."

Nagin didn't OK evacuation

Had contraflow started Friday at midday, all outbound lanes of Interstate 10, I-55 and I-59 would have been reversed to accommodate evacuees, and inbound traffic would have been blocked, officials said.

Under the new plan devised by the state and endorsed by Broussard and other local leaders in April, lane reversal is for use only in the final stage of an evacuation to accommodate drivers from heavily populated East Jefferson and New Orleans.

Nagin never recommended evacuation for New Orleans. And the presidents of St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes only suggested evacuation for their residents later in the day Friday, which was in keeping with Stage 1 of the plan to clear out low-lying communities 50 hours in advance of tropical-force winds hitting the coast.

Under terms of the new plan, designed to improve on the hair-pulling evacuation experienced before Hurricane Ivan in September, contraflow is intended to begin about 30 hours before a Category 3 storm or larger is expected to strike Louisiana, and it is employed only after the coastal communities and the West Bank have been evacuated.

None of those conditions was in effect Friday at noon, when the strike probability for New Orleans was at 14 percent, and the state refused Broussard's request.

"I achieved exactly what I wanted to achieve," Broussard said Monday. "I gave the people in Jefferson Parish who wanted to evacuate the impetus to do so on Friday and to get somewhere before sundown. . . . I feel totally comfortable, based on the circumstances at the time, and I would do it again if I thought it was best for the people of this parish."

Blanco opposed contraflow

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, whose approval is needed for contraflow to begin, said Friday that she understood Broussard was doing what he thought was best for parish residents. But because regional cooperation is essential to a successful evacuation of the entire southeast area, Blanco said everyone involved needs to keep talking.

But Blanco, supported by her emergency chiefs of staff, said contraflow was unwarranted.

"The governor spoke to Mr. Broussard late Friday. He explained his reasons for deviating from the plan," Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher said Monday. "She listened, and she urged him to follow the plan."

Plaquemines Parish President Benny Rousselle said he also believes the plan can work only if it's followed by all the parishes.

"We didn't put it in blood," Rousselle said. "We agreed we were going to work together."

But he stopped short of criticizing Broussard, who he said called him Monday morning to explain his Friday evacuation decision.

Officials in St. John the Baptist and St. Charles parishes said Monday that they had no quarrel with Broussard.

St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis said he talked Friday morning with Broussard and "we were aware of what he was thinking about doing."

In New Orleans, a top official did not criticize Jefferson Parish but did emphasize the need for areawide cooperation.

"If the trigger is pulled by a local jurisdiction, ideally it should be done by all the players," said Terry Ebbert, director of the city's Office of Homeland Security, which supervises the Office of Emergency Preparedness

For example, Ebbert said that if New Orleans executed the plan independently "and clogged all the roads," it would be tough for St. Bernard and Plaquemines residents to evacuate.

"The idea is you roll it up from the coast outward and on up. You let them get out first and then deal with areas where the larger masses of people live. It's a well-developed plan."

"Coordination is essential, particularly in the greater New Orleans area," Bottcher said.

Broussard said he recommended the evacuation because he feared that waiting could have resulted in the kind of extreme congestion that marked the Hurricane Ivan evacuation or perhaps have forced evacuees from his jurisdiction to leave the area at night.

"In the abstract, this plan is a good one," he said. "But what it's missing is common sense."

[Ntv.Texun]

When will enough be enough? I'm getting sick of Russerts constant campaigning for the DNC. The Mainstream media has lost their friggin minds. Give them some feedback,please.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/

[nunya bidness]

Source

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Johnny Bradberry met with members of the New Orleans-area Regional Planning Commission on Tuesday and pledged his department’s support to positive changes in hurricane evacuation procedures.

            “We’re going to look at anything that can approve the process,” Bradberry told the group, which consisted of the mayor of New Orleans and parish presidents from Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes.

            Bradberry and Col. Henry Whitehorn of the Louisiana State Police presented a list of immediate actions that can be taken if another evacuation were ordered this season, which ends Nov. 30. That list includes:
* Starting the contraflow traffic pattern earlier.

* Establishing a joint DOTD/State Police Traffic Control Center to gather real-time traffic information and disseminate it to the public through the news media.

* More variable message board signs to direct drivers to alternate routes.

* Extended green or flashing yellow lights on major non-interstate routes.

 

            A joint DOTD-State Police task force, formed at the request of Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, also is working on long-term solutions, including computer modeling of contraflow alternatives and a public affairs campaign to inform the public of evacuation routes and alternate routes to the interstate.

            Several parish presidents, including Aaron Broussard of Jefferson Parish, thanked Bradberry and Whitehorn for participating in the meeting.

            “I commend you on the professional presentation and your willingness to work with us,” Broussard said.

            Many parish presidents also noted the need for better communications during an evacuation among state, parish and local agencies and between officials and the public.

            The parish and local officials also agreed to set up a regional conference call before evacuations are ordered so people who live in low-lying communities can leave before larger areas are evacuated. The goal is to attempt to stagger evacuations to avoid unreasonably long traffic delays and gridlock.

            Bradberry told RPC Executive Director Walter R. Brooks that he will continue meeting with the group to get input and present findings from the task force study.

 

[CyberAnt]

This jackass is one of the problems.

He didn't care about the people in his own district. He left them stranded .. and now all he does is point fingers at others .. typical liberal.

[xrhopsiomega]

contraflow did seem to work pretty well.
I think they said the last evacuation the flow was about 4000 people/hour with all kinds of problems. I didn't see it in print, but I heard a reporter say that 18000/hour were leaving at one point.