return to LUCAP main page

Monday, December 3

NOLA News from Today's Papers



Hey all. Here are some interesting articles about New Orleans from the last few days of papers:

  1. Brad Pitt is starting his project of rebuilding the Ninth Ward with his "Make It Right" project of 100 green houses in the area wiped out during Katrina. It seems like a very good project, that is well funded through Pitt's wealth. For now, in order to raise some awareness, Pitt has installed a "pink city" to symbolize where the houses will be. Take a look at the pic from the T-P, which has the Claiborne Avenue bridge in the background. If you've been in the 9th Ward over the past 2+ years, you have to feel good to see this area at least have a little construction.

  2. The NYTimes has an insightful article summarizing the rental shortage in New Orleans, time pegged to the announcement last week that FEMA was clearing out all trailer parks. The money quote here comes when a FEMA spokesman tries to justify the policy of kicking out residents without helping to provide housing:

    “We know it’s a tough decision, and that’s not lost on us,” he said, but “more and more housing becomes available every day, that’s a fact. The sooner you begin the process, the better. You want to start early and pick what’s right for your family.” He added: “We’re very sensitive to the fact that this isn’t an easy move. But it’s a necessary move.”

  3. The NYT also ran an Arts article about the recent performance of Waiting for Godot in the Gentilly and the Ninth Ward about a month back. Though the article focuses on the artist himself for my tastes, it discusses what was supposed to be a great piece of art done in our city. The article was in the top-10 read at the site most of the weekend, which is good, as many people from around the country were reading and emailing it to their friends. The Times has been giving some very expert, nuanced coverage to relevant issues down here in the past few weeks.

  4. Finally, a little more info about flood protection. There were a number of agencies investigating the levee breaches after Katrina, but the independent groups from the University of California and LSU are now alleging that their investigations were purposely disrupted by the Army Corps of Engineers. Read more about it at levees.org, which has nearly single-handedly kept the issue on the agenda.
Try out the comments section below. I'd love to get some discussions going.

That's all for now,
Bob

1 comment:

Rob Harman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.