Nelson also reports: Feds vow to solve Frank Morris #murder #coldcase #civilrights #louisiana

TWO YEARS AFTER THE STORM: THE STATE OF KATRINA HOUSING RECOVERY ON THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST (PDF)

Media coverage of Hurricane Katrina raises questions about accurate representation and the resultant costs in human suffering. This article elucidates some of the documented facts related to Hurricane Katrina, its comparison to 9/11, and clarifies misconceptions of the initial relief effort and impact on those impacted by the Hurricane.

I question the media’s approach to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the exclusion of other affected areas, and examine the effect this had on the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s recovery and rebuilding effort. As a mental health professional and building contractor, I was on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for one year after the storm and was heavily involved in the recovery effort. I was witness to the efforts made by communities and volunteers from all over the world, as well as the efforts from the federal and local governments. This article is intended to bring to light the well-documented history surrounding the regions most directly affected by the events of August 29, 2005.

MONTEREY — The biggest moment in Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s life has nothing to do with politics.

It wasn’t even the births of his children or marrying his wife that topped the list.

“When I was asked what the single most important moment in my life was during a debate, I smiled to myself,” Jindal told the full sanctuary at Lismore Baptist Church in Monterey. “I didn’t even have to think about it. It was the moment I found Jesus Christ. I should change that to say the moment He found me, because I was the one that was lost.”

RT @ylove: 6-part blogseries on the BP oil spill done, written on location w/@weeddude at the #Louisiana #GulfCoast:

COCODRIE, La. — Oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico unabated Saturday, and officials conveyed little hope that the flow could be contained soon, forcing towns along the Gulf Coast to brace for what is increasingly understood to be an imminent environmental disaster.

The spill, emanating from a pipe 50 miles offshore and 5,000 feet underwater, was creeping into Louisiana’s fragile coastal wetlands as strong winds and rough waters hampered cleanup efforts. Officials said the oil could hit the shores of Mississippi and Alabama as soon as Monday.

I can’t talk about coffee houses and a coffee tour and not mention Cafe Du Monde. This was probably the number one place I ever had coffee.

Besides the fact that they are known for their long-standing coffee stand, chicory coffee, and beignets, they are located in the heart of New Orleans, Louisiana. I remember that I chose to not drink coffee on this trip, but gave in when we got to New Orleans. I couldn’t resist. It was raining that day (also was the 2-year anniversary of Katrina). The seating area inside, under the roof, is also open to the outside stree

For four years, Katrina survivors have been living in these toxic boxes. But there's more to this story than mere indifference or even incompetence - there was a concerted effort to push poor people out of the area after Katrina:

Neither version was correct—and both were. The reality was complex enough that people could assemble a story line, buffet-style, to suit their outlook. The proliferation of media outlets made this even easier. New “facts” popped up everywhere. The N

Thomas Moore, a retired Army Command Sargeant Major, and former Meadville, MS, resident, traveled to Syracuse, N.Y., to consult with Syracuse University Law College faculty and students who are working on the Frank Morris murder investigation.

Four decades after a Louisiana man was left to burn in his own store, Syracuse law students are trying to solve the crime

BAKER, La., Dec. 2 — Wynaen Walker keeps a change of clothes, her prescription medications and important papers in the trunk of a friend’s car. When she leaves her FEMA trailer, she tapes handwritten signs on the door with her phone number. “I still

New Orleans — More than 20 months after Hurricane Katrina, many communities in Mississippi and Louisiana are still haggling with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over how much money the government will reimburse them for debris removal and infr

New Orleans trails Gulf Coast communities in hurricane recovery because of a failure of local leadership and a lack of affordable housing, a report issued by the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana and the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

The city's official blueprint for redevelopment after Hurricane Katrina, to be released on Wednesday, will recommend that residents be allowed to return and rebuild anywhere they like, no matter how damaged or vulnerable the neighborhood, according to sev

letter to editor

It took months of sometimes contentious negotiation between city and community leaders, but the 2006 Carnival season officially began Friday with the heart-jumping call of the Soul Rebels Brass Band and an announcement that Zulu will roll and walk on Mard

Under the plan, proposed by Clerk of Criminal District Court Kimberly Williamson Butler's office, more than 50 precincts would be shifted to Municipal Auditorium and about 60 precincts would vote at Brother Martin High School on Elysian Fields Avenue. Tho

An Orleans Parish judge barred a local hotel from kicking out hurricane evacuees Saturday after a conflict arose at the St. Charles Avenue inn over those given shelter through a federal emergency lodging program.

Residents missing loved ones know that there are more dead yet to be uncovered in the debris, whose bodies would be wrongfully buried by demolition. Adding insult to injury, a history of redlining has left the land in the Lower 9th Ward not only low-lying

The city of New Orleans needs money, and corporate sponsors are now lining up for the city's biggest event.

In response to interest in applying international standards to assess the human rights of Hurricane Katrina victims and make policy recommendations to address their needs, the U.S. Human Rights Network is coordinating a documentation project spearheaded b

With a cell phone crooked in her ear and scores of activists cheering her on in the 2000 block of Reynes Street, lawyer Tracie Washington sent a backhoe and its crew packing from the Lower 9th Ward Thursday morning.

With schools continuing to reopen for the second half of the year, thousands of people are returning but many are finding it difficult to find a place to live.

consolidating all property tax assessments in one office, reducing the City Council's authority over zoning and land-use decisions, and merging the civil and criminal court systems.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, whose political standing nose-dived amid her administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, emerged Tuesday from a 17-day special legislative session with a string of victories on the state budget, business tax breaks, a statewide b

With deals like the Spangenbergs' moving forward, the real estate market is showing signs of life even in some of the neighborhoods that flooded.

Hurricane Katrina and the Bush administration's response to it were the main topics at the 29th annual Legislative Conference of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

More than three months after thousands of people lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina, local and federal officials are trading blame over the slow delivery of trailer housing.

The mother and family members of Gregory Lee gathered Thursday in front of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette, La. to tell the public about its efforts to secure justice for Lee, a prison inmate who died in

It was Thursday, Sept. 1, three days after Hurricane Katrina had ripped across the Gulf Coast. As New Orleans descended into horror, the top aides to Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana were certain the White House was trying to blame their boss,

One among many unsettling aspects of life in the new New Orleans is the abundance of uniformed and heavily armed men, not all of whom are soldiers or police. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck, the Nation reported on the presence of hundreds of p

Rose Harris was a resident of the Lafitte Housing Projects in the Treme (rhymes nearly with "dismay") neighborhood of New Orleans for 28 years. She lost a brother, a nephew, and a sister-in-law in Hurricane Katrina. The first floor of her home was flooded

maps Katrina diasopora

(BARHC Report #7, with photos)

review in Freedom Socialist of Showtime made for cable movie

The Nation: Boork Reviewo: The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement