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I just heard Jim Rogers [a New Orleans resident at one time] say on Fox that the Board of Levees in New Orleans have used their funds to purchase a casino, purchase some kind of Marina, boats, and condos.

And a fountain. Don't forget the fountain.

EXCERPT:

Times-Picayune
December 30, 2003
Fountain price surges but plan OK'd; Project to cost $2.4 million
Frank Donze
Despite a price tag that has swelled more than $500,000 beyond original estimates, the Orleans Levee Board has given the green light to a plan to replace the Mardi Gras Fountain and rehabilitate the park that rings the once-popular Lakefront attraction.
(snip)
In May, the board approved a $1.9 million budget for the restoration, which will feature a 600-foot plaza north of the fountain between Lakeshore Drive and the Lake Pontchartrain sea wall.
Following several design changes, the board later agreed to spend $2.32 million on the project. But Broadmoor's bid, the lowest of four received by the board, came in at $2.43 million.
Board members unanimously approved the appropriation Dec. 17, saying that the $110,000 increase wasn't significant enough to scuttle an idea that's been on the drawing board for more than a decade.
Though flood protection remains the top priority for the cash-strapped agency, officials say they cannot ignore other responsibilities, including maintenance of property they have jurisdiction over along the lake.
Board members also have argued that improvements to the area, one of the city's major tourist destinations, will be more than aesthetic.
For example, they say the plaza, made of patterned concrete and supported by pilings, will address long-standing erosion problems along the water's edge, where constant pounding by waves has crumbled sidewalks and made it difficult for grass to grow.
Money for the design and construction is coming from a capital projects fund supported by a dedicated 6-mill property tax approved by New Orleans voters in 1983. The tax generates more than $6 million a year for the board.
(snip)