Topics GeographyHeadlinesInfrastructureKatrinaNeighborhoodsPeopleRecreation
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July 2006 You might think that $100 billion of public money has been spent on the
city already. That's the myth. The reality is that outside of insurance
payments $19 billion has made its way to the relief effort. That
includes all the helicopters, contractors and administration that the
feds have
provided. 75% goes to administration, 25% to work. Net-net we've gotten
the equivalent of $4 billion in real relief over 10 months (by
"real" I mean, relief we would have contracted for and paid for
ourselves). That still seems generous. Of course our local politicians
have hustled to get their share. That still leaves 3 billion to the
people. Individual fraud
has accounted for a few million more in leakage. It seems like at least
$2.9
billion is leaking though to provide actual disaster relief. It could
actually paying the guys who haul debris and replace roofs.
Corp Incompetence continues - Vitter blasts the corps for failures
especially to meet deadlines in repairs,
westbank still unprotected, pumps not fixed, flood walls not in place,
levee repairs incomplete. Recommendations of BNOB Infrastructure
Levees group are falling on deaf ears. Congressionally mandated Corps
study
on Cat 5 Protection was gutted of details and proposes an additional 18
months of study. Strong OCS Revenue
Sharing passes House and a much weaker version in the Senate.
FEMA Follies continue unabated - 400 St. Bernard residents are still
waiting for trailers while hundreds of others are having trouble
getting trailers removed. Debris
removal continues at a snail's pace for princely fees. Effort could be
directed to resuming regular twice weekly garbage pickup but as we
continue to hear Stafford-Simpson provisions that govern FEMA
prevent doing sensible things like permanent repairs even if they are
cheaper.
Layers of contractors continue to consume billions. 75% of money spent
through FEMA goes to administrative layers.
Louisiana Road Home program remains on launching pad. $12 billion in
federal funds sits awaiting disbursement. Payments to uninsured and
under insured individuals highlight weakness this misguided program designed to get money
into the hands of those least able to use it well. $750 million
contract let to administer the program.
The City announced that it intends to enforce ordinances that property
owners must clean up (not repair but gut and remove mold) their
property from storm damage by August 29th.
Insurance companies won't write new homeowners policies in New Orleans.
Louisiana Fair Plan (insurer of last resort ) growing by leaps and bounds. Curiously the La Fair Plan charges 10% more than commercial providers to avoid the notion that the state is competing with private industry. Still no
concept of help has been offered to insurers (there might not be one possible). Insurers are the clearest "Canaries" in this mine. Motivated strictly by money, no one accuses these guys of emotional bias.
Utility company struggling with damaged distribution system. Operating
in bankruptcy, can't fix damaged distribution system. System lacks
redundancy. Repairs slow. No help offered to these guys, resistance to
rate increases intensifies. City seems determine to act as adversary in
yet another business relationship.
City taking no action on BNOB infrastructure recommendations. Rockefeller Urban
Planning grant being wasted on neighborhood efforts without oversight.
Mayor's Plan to "Rebuild Everywhere First" continues to be the
operational
concept. Without consideration for infrastructure and its costs,
attempting to fill the city's entire footprint is bound to lead to
disappointment. Leadership is missing at the local level.
67% of drinking water leaking out of pipes before reaching the
consumer. It undermines city streets and homes as well as being
wasteful. The S&WB complains that money promised by FEMA just isn't
arriving no matter how hard they work to follow the process.
The Criminal Justice System is in disarray. Criminals prefer New Orleans.
Judges let them go. DA doesn't prosecute. Evidence lost. DA complains that police can't
be bothered to write up arrest records or appear when subpoenaed. Indigent defense funds lacking.
Crime on the rise. Drug, gang war raging in central city. State
Police and National Guard back on the streets. Juvenile curfew being
enforced. Witnesses intimidated. Tennis shoes draped over utility
lines marks turf. Judges back to business as usual, attending continuing education in Jamaica and Sandestin.
National Guard and State Troopers are in place. Murders though slowed
for a while seem to be again on the rise. A recent case is
illustrative. When gunmen invaded a home and shot two occupants to
death in their beds, the other occupants of the house refused to
cooperate with police. Instead they sent a gunman of their own to shoot
the shooters.
A Health care crisis is looming. Indigent care costs skyrocketing without
Charity Hospital operating. Med students returning to town. Four Tenent Hospitals sold to Ochsner.
The State Attorney General Charles Foti investigated allegations that
doctors and nurses at Memorial Hospital euthanized patients in the
wake of the storm. He conducted his investigation and turned the
results over to DA Eddie Jordan with the recommendation that a doctor
and two nurses be charged with four counts of murder. Jordan intends to
present the case to a Grand Jury. The ensuing firestorm of debate,
outrage, despair suggests these legal actions threaten to undermine the recovery of the medical community in New Orleans.
About half of preK Public Housing is still closed. Four big
housing projects will be demolished and replaced by mixed income
developments. Of course there are lawsuits. Leaders are maneuvering for
position. Stories of 30-40 year tenure by some residents show the
system wasn't working.
Poverty and racism are still fueled by the multi-generation entitlement
system. Originally designed as a social safety net, the welfare, food
stamp, public housing, indigent health care system isn't working to move
its clients out of poverty. Instead it enables the working poor an
alternate, degenerate lifestyle which can be passed on for generations.
The failure of the public schools has only worsen the situation .
Schools reorganizing at a breathtaking pace. NOPS signs on a new
Superintendent for $150,000 per year although only seven schools remain
in the district (why). Recovery District and Charter Associations will
operate the 52 of the 57 schools to be open in 2006/7. Universities are
struggling.
Tulane eliminates undergraduate engineering programs except chemical
and biomed, Newcomb to be dismantled. UNO enrollment down.
Business recovery uneven. Construction booming limited only by labor.
Tourism returning. Big convention with 19,000 librarians in June a huge
success.
Politics in New Orleans continues to be rocked by new allegations of
public malfeasance, corruption and ineptitude. The latest focus a
recently ousted city council member unveils a pattern of using public
funds to support private non-profit organizations. That doesn't sound
so bad until you look under the covers and find the non-profits were
owned and controlled by politically connect individuals including
members of William Jefferson's clan and that they were 100% state
funded and performing little or no public service. Trace this back to
the slush funds provided by the state legislature in earmarks to local
interest projects. Doesn't anyone see how this form of governmental
revenue sharing always leads to unintended consequences.
The council continues to fight formation
of the ethics panel and the Inspector General's offices called for in
the city charter.
Five transit authorities, twelve assessors, twenty police forces,
twenty-five levee boards, and fifty-two separate courts continue to
serve the metro area poorly.
The mail is being delivered. 600 plus restaurants are open. Most stoplights are working in the populated areas.
The number of missing persons related to the storm has been nearly
resolved. Fewer than 100 remain unaccounted for. The coroner says those
may never be found if their bodies were carried away by the floods. I
wonder if any of the missing had substantial life insurance policies.
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