In Orleans it's yet another Catch 22 in the long road to recovery and another lesson in government provided services. We should never let the government get in our pants like this story as reported by the local newspaper on February 8th, five and a half months after the storm:

"Within weeks, residents began returning to the city, gutting their houses and replacing their flooded wiring. But once it came time to have the electrical panel inspected, they found there were only six city inspectors charged with issuing permits for the thousands of rewired houses.

"We can't waive the inspection because unfortunately the liability would be too great," said Clinton Vince, an attorney who advises the City Council's utilities committee. "The electrical work needs to be inspected because if the wire is not installed properly, it could cause serious safety problems -- including loss of life."

Meffert, the deputy mayor, said the city tried to get money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hire more inspectors. But FEMA spokeswoman Nicol Andrews said FEMA money cannot be used to pay a City Hall employee's salary."

So what are residents doing. Some are breaking the law by replacing their own meters without the inspection. The ones interviewed for this story have broken the meter seals but replaced the meter and are being billed normally. Some are waiting patiently. Some are protesting, Some are writing newspaper stories.