Interesting New Orleans articles from today's papers

A few interesting articles from today's newspapers:

1. This is from yesterday's T-P, but FEMA has announces it is going to close all trailer parks within 6 months.
   
   The FEMA spokesman frames the news as showing that FEMA is "being compassionate and making sure we have people taken care of with housing." But a Loyola law clinic lawyer says that FEMA has not helped previous trailer park residents find housing. The other issue about FEMA trailers is the never-answered questions about formaldehyde in the trailers. Testing has never been done on them.


2. On another housing-related issue for the poor/working poor, the housing projects around N.O. are slated for demolition December 15th. The article fails to mention any pending lawsuits/appeals to the demolition.
   
   One should also look at the blog comments below any public housing article on nola.com. There are some ignorant/racist comments on there, but there are also a few with different perspectives on the destruction of the projects, including the less compelling argument about important city architecture.


3. A T-P cover story marks the end of hurricane season.
   Anytime Mark Schliefstein writes something, you ought to read it. He is the T-P reporter about things like flood protection, wetlands, etc. He is always able to steer through the b-s peddled to him by the city, state, and federal bureaucracies and get to the heart of the issues. Here, he reviews how hurricanes avoided doing major damage in the U.S. this year, while pointing out the impossibility of predicting these things well.
   Most important thing here: the issue of hurricane forecasting is developing all the time. The predictions frequently are way off (as they have luckily been the last two years), but not because the scientists are bad at their jobs. Instead, the science is developing at such speed that every year yields new insights about how to more accurately predict hurricanes.


4. Finally, a nice travel piece from the NYTimes about some different places to visit around the city. It includes a few different places I haven't been before, in addition to Musician's Village (the go-to feel good place for tourists to visit after viewing the destruction), Ray's Boom Boom Room and Ignatius. Ignatius has good alligator po-boys.

That's all for now.

Festivus is upon us

Who's not a fan of Seinfeld? What was once a hair-brained idea of George's father's is now a gathering of local business and community members in New Orleans each holiday season.

The annual, month-long Festivus Market starts this Saturday! Festivus provides a "human-scale alternative of the loneliness of on-line shopping or the hassle of big box holiday parking lots." Its a one stop shop for holiday gifts and merriment.

Shopping locally builds a strong community and keeps our money in New Orleans where it can rebuild the city. Shopping at local businesses means your goods are traveling a shorter distance by gas-guzzling semi trucks. It's an all-around better idea!

The market is at 700 Magazine St in the Warehouse District. Go and support the long list of local businesses at the market!

Make trade fair this holiday

The holidays are here and the retailers are ready. Consumers spent over $8 billion on the Friday after Thanksgiving alone this year. Nearly all of those purchases pay into a commercial system that pays the workers who make the products almost nothing.

Fortunately, there is an alternative.

When buying this year, think Fair Trade.

Fair trade products are certified that the person who produced the item is paid a just wage. Common fair trade items include coffee, sugar, chocolate, clothing, and handicrafts. Fair trade items are like gift central. Tulane has opened a fair trade store called InExchange on their campus and its way cool. Its easy to buy fair trade goods online too. One great store is called A Greater Gift. When your friends and family open their fair trade gifts, you'll see the smile of the person who made the gift.