Posted on 01/21/2006 2:56:08 PM PST by SmithL
ATLANTA -- Hurricane evacuees from Louisiana told federal and state officials at forums across the South on Saturday that what they want most when their state is rebuilt are affordable housing, better schools and stronger levees.
Some evacuees at the "Louisiana Speaks" forums also worried that officials have no real plans to restore certain areas, such as New Orleans' impoverished Lower 9th Ward.
"This (forum) is a good idea," Tereece Johnson, 40, whose mother and aunt lived in the 9th Ward and want to return there, said at the event held in Atlanta. "But is it going to accomplish something? I can't say."
Most of the 30 forums — sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Louisiana Recovery Authority — were held in Louisiana. Six were held in Atlanta, Houston and four other cities where tens of thousands of Louisiana residents fled.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, destroying about 217,000 homes and 18,000 businesses and causing $25 billion in insured losses. The state expects roughly $10 billion in federal funding for rebuilding, and Saturday's forums are part of a planning process in figuring out how to best use that money, state officials said.
Input from Saturday's meetings is to be incorporated in a long-term regional plan for rebuilding South Louisiana.
But some were not yet ready to talk about the future.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
They have a constitutional right to live below sea level.
Then why don't they go home and get to work. Instead, the whole city is filling up with illegal immigrant workers doing the jobs that the evacuees won't return to take.
Nothing's stopping them.
Oh, they mean for SOMEBODY ELSE to do it.
They can do it themselves but to ask them to do so would be racist.
My husband told me he cracked up Tuesday morning while listening to a morning show on the way to work, and the DJs played Nagin's "chocolate city" comment and followed it up with a Homer Simpson sound-alike saying, "Mmmmm . . . chocolate city . . ."
"And guess who they want to pay for it?"
The Vanillas in coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippt, and Louisiana? No WONDER the Vanillas are so quiet, right?
(just guessin' and /sarc'in))
I pity the next state(s) that is/are hit with a disaster because there will be NOTHING left for those victims after Louisiana has cleaned everybody out.
Yeah, I want my house rebuilt at somebody else's expense, too.
Last chance to send your dollars to dsc. Hurry, before it's too late!
I heard a radio report the other day haw the Vietnamese community in New Orleans has all ready opened up, guess they did not get the memo that they were to wait for the Feds.
It is soooooo damned easy to spend other people's money.
Good for them. Let them pay for it. As has been said before, the tax payers didn't rebuild Chicago after Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over the lantern so why should they rebuild LA bigger and better than before, in fact at all?
I have twice read in the NYT that Mississippi is giving, obviously from federal money, each homeowner who lost his house the tidy sum of $150,000.
Reliance on hand outs is a terrible thing. Luckily Blanco and Mayor Noggin' are too stupid to even get a start on rebuilding.
I've just about had it with these demanding "evacuees".
I'm curious.... what was the basis of the State giving each one that lost a home $150,000? Was it flood damage dollars, or what?
Has Blanco returned yet from Holland where she was investigating their dykes? Wonder if she found one she liked?
"Hurricane evacuees from Louisiana told federal and state officials at forums across the South on Saturday that what they want most when their state is rebuilt are affordable housing, better schools and stronger levees. "
Well, get your butts back and straighten out your corrupt political leaders and get to work.
"Well, they should fix themselves before we fix their city..."
And just how are 'they' to fix themselves
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