100-Year-Old Katrina Evacuee Returns Home Two Years After The Storm

I came across this article by NBC news and I found it very interesting….

It is about Rose Cosey, a 100 year old resident of New Orleans who left when the storm struck and just returned home this weekend. I found it very enjoyable to read. This elderly woman who is 100 years old is finally able to return home to a place she feels happy and content.  

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/usworld/news-article.aspx?storyid=97571

Katrina Poll: What’s the Government Doing for New Orleans?

There was a new poll taken by the Associated Press on how the people feel the government is doing with Katrina issues. (The poll surveyed 775 people outside of Louisiana to gauge their attitudes. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.)*62% were not impressed with how federal and charitable aid has been sent so far. *25% believed parts of New Orleans remain under water. *One-third believed the tourist-oriented French Quarter was one of the hardest-hit areas when, in fact, the Quarter was largely unharmed I think the outcome of this poll shows how many Americans are oblivious to the current conditions of the city. They did not know what areas were tragically hit and what has been recovered since Aug. 2005.

FEMA Progress

This cartoon basically shows the progress of FEMA…

 

There is an estimated 11,000 children still living in FEMA trailer parks two years later.

 “It’s been two and a half years since the hurricanes devastated the Gulf Coast region, and the level of uncertainty among tens of thousands of families who still do not have adequate permanent housing has manifested itself in the children, with a distressing rise of mental health and medical issues, as well as a drop in academic performance” The progress definitely needs to speed up, the consequences of these poor living conditions have a major effect on the children. http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Katrina/Rebuild/Katrina_Children_In_Louisiana_and_Gulf_Coast_At_Risk__5359.asp

Tourism is comming back…

One of the most important markets in New Orleans is tourism. Since 2004, the city has not made more then they did in the past. Although, the earnings of 2007 are expected to reach close to those of 2004 which is great financially for the city.  When USA Today says this in their article, it makes a point that the post Katrina the city is eventually getting its tourist back. In a city like New Orleans, they depend on the money tourist bring in so this is a great

 development for the city. 

Jervis, Rick. “Tourists Return to New Orleans as City Mends.” USA Today 11 Oct. 2007

Brad Pitt

New in the headlines this week is Brad Pitt and his effort to rebuild Louisiana. The actor plans 150 green homes in  New Orleans for Katrina victims. These houses will go in the lower ninth ward coasting around $150,000 each. Brad Pitt said that he will give $5 million to the project. Having a celebrity take an active role in the rebuild opens the eyes of millions of Americans. Once Pitt said that he would be making the donation it instantly reach headlines across the country and was all over the TV including popular stations like E! This will hopefully open the door for more help and development in the region. I think it’s a great thing that Brad Pitt is doing and hopefully he can inspire other celebrities and his fans to get involved.

This chart goes to show how the loss of community members can turn into a vicious cycle that is hard to recover from.

Cartoons…

I think this is a great cartoon that shows how the media attacked Bush once the storm struck. He was immediacy in the spotlight with the whole country filled with criticism as they turned toward the government for help.

I found this cartoon that mocks Hurricane Katrina, an issue many Americans didn’t agree with the handling of.

Sports

Bringing sports back to Louisiana is a major task to recovery. In a recent Sports Illustrated article, “The Long Road Back” it shows the importance of sports for a community. This article has a slightly different view point than the others. What I like best about the article is it talks about issues that many may not have even thought of.  In New Orleans, two years after the Hurricane, the lack of sports in the community in some sense shows a lack of spirit. In a community like the 9^th Ward, sports are a major part of everyone’s life. With three fourths of the community now gone, it’s a struggle for the residents to go back to their daily lives but having the sports teams back will give them comfort and security. This source will be great for me to use in my paper in order to show the feelings of the residence toward improving the current conditions.

New Orleans: Two Years Later

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FnSMxZxUbrM&feature=related