August, 2006 Prepare to party...it's been a year and New Orleans is ready to remember what we have yet to outlive. Biggest debate in town is how to commemorate the Katrinaversary. Some want to celebrate, others want to grieve, some just want to soldier on.

The Mayor is looking pretty ineffective. The city council is new but not doing much either. The city looks much the same and the paper keeps reporting opportunities missed. Katrina fatigue is hitting lots of folks pretty hard right now. Inmates in OPP are still doing Katrina time.

Traffic lights are failing around the city. A drive through the CBD today was pretty discouraging. Lights at Lee Circle were working but temporary stop signs had not been removed. Along Julia Street the lights had failed entirely. What could possibly be going on?

Crime is scaring people away. As I sat awake at 4:00am last night I heard noises in the street and around the house. I've never felt so insecure. New Orleans has always been an interesting place to live. But the Police have had some effect. Now I've begun to wonder. My house is less than 1/2 mile from the latest double murder. I don't believe I am in a targeted demographic but I sure don't want anyone in my household to be collateral damage.

The utility and insurance companies are scaring people away. Threatened rate increases do not aid the recovery. The government took the responsibility to protect the people from flooding. Not only did the people bank on this pledge but the companies did as well.&; The government failed. The people expect restitution and they are getting it. The companies do too but they won't get it. Who do you think will pay? The feud between these businesses and the city, the newspaper, and too many of the people is a symptom that New Orleans is not business friendly nor business oriented. This is too bad. New Orleans ought to be the strongest possible for advocate for Entergy, Allstate and hundreds of other companies that were injured by the storm. Stick it to the stockholders is not a business oriented sentiment.

The newspaper has taken an editorial dislike to Entergy Corporation that makes no sense. Entergy has been a good friend to New Orleans. They provide thousands of quality jobs, buy Saints tickets, bring cultural events, basically do all the things a Fortune 500 company headquarters does in other American cities. Surprised that the federal government  offered no help in restitution (unlike the way the feds helped Con Ed after 911) Entergy has worked hard to restore electric power and gas distribution while operating in bankruptcy. Even in MS where Katrina was strictly a natural disaster CDBG money has been programmed to help the utility companies repair their distribution system. Only in New Orleans where the bulk of the disaster was man made as a result of negligence and neglect by the federal government and the Corps of Engineers has the prevailing sentiment been to stick it to the regulated utility company. (And by the way, unlike the TP's James Gill would have you believe, utility regulation does not provide a fixed income nor guarantee profits to the utility and if they do over earn through unforeseen circumstances, regulators are quick to demand a refund. Try that with ExxonMobil and see what you get.)

The missing have been found. Only 165 remain unaccounted for. God Bless you. We will find a few more, but all but a few are dead. The rest may be in hiding, hoping for life insurance settlements.

The LRA and their contractor, ICF, are gearing up to distribute an estimated $12 billion in CDBG grants, loans and remediation monies over the next six months. A 400 applicant pilot program was conducted in early August to iron out the kinks. The first checks will be cut in August and then things will speed up. With an estimated 123,000 grants to be distributed by March 2007, ICF will have to process over 20,000 applications per month. As ICF moved beyond the pilot program they were surprised to discover that people were upset that they were fingerprinted and photographed as part of the identification process. Are we criminals was the refrain.

Saint training camp is under way in Jackson MS. Given the amount of air time afforded this event, football is much more interesting to New Orleanians than other civic affairs. Only a storm in the Gulf could divert attention from this Saturday's pre-season game.

The Governor has taken the feds to court over new OCS leases. We are waiting for the House-Senate conference to settle the contents of the energy bill.

Algiers charter schools are open and providing an alternative. The RSD is registering students and NOPS is still hanging on. RSD is struggling to hire teachers, struggling with so called "soft registrations" in which students register for more than one school, struggling to clean up, struggling with bad press, struggling in general.

As of August 6 the FEMA funding terms require the RTA to charge for its services. So once again it costs $1.25 to ride the bus or street car.

Spike Lee has a story to tell. I'll tell you what I think after I see it. "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" sounds pretty ominous. I hope he remembers that New Orleans is no stranger to adversity.