Who dat ? Say it isn’t so…

Ashley Morris offered links to the new Saints website developed by a Seattle, Washington consulting company.  Ashley was unimpressed with  the fact that the Saints didn’t “buy local”. They are our home team.  They should buy local. The Saints made me proud last year for the first time since the 80’s. Morris was right on that note. “Unimpressed”, wasn’t the word that first came to my mind.  Negligent, ignorant, selfish, foolish, corporate…buffoons!  I have a string of expletives I can’t share.

The buy local buy Louisiana campaign has long since been thrown under the radar and should be front page news daily.  The fact that most of the revenue base has been shipped to Texas ie evacuated and likely will never return is a sore spot for many of us. You can view the pdf file from the left about Houston area evacuees for those numbers.  Ashley rants further about the fact that a woman from Texas held a sign up during Mardi Gras, “We’re from Texas – You owe us!”  I have another string of expletives…

Someone should give at least a verbal credit to all of those companies that buy Louisiana products.  A journalist from Washington State wrote a story recently on sodas that use pure cane sugar.  A photo of Zatarain’s Rootbeer accompanied the article.  Zatarian’s  Rootbeer isn’t available on the West Coast.  There were addresses and phone numbers of local Washington State merchants  who offered various brands of home made soda products.  Of course, none of the merchants called had even heard of Zatarains rootbeer.  The author of the article would not return phone calls.  I was livid.  Zatarain’s, now a division of McCormick, stated to the effect that this was a “snafu” of sorts.  They were not informed of the use of the photograph and should have been. Here’s where I got ugly…

I’m reminded of the lack of milk during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and being surrounded by dairy country.  My recent post on the gas shortage lifted me somewhat as a Hammond area gas station offered free gas to a dairy farmer who needed it to milk his cows.  Buying local milk, however, is a bit more difficult considering the dairy industry.  Every container of milk you buy from Winn Dixie has a Jacksonville, Fla stamp.  You just can’t buy local milk!  It all gets thrown into one great big vat and shipped around.

Agriculture Hearings April 2007 – local dairy farmer speaks an talks about Katrina’s impact and current issues pertaining to the Louisiana dairy industry April 2007.

“…It is important for the Committee to note that Louisiana is a milk deficit state which means that we do not produce enough fluid milk to satisfy consumer needs and consequently milk from other states has to be shipped in at various times to meet demand. Maintaining as much milk production as possible from the existing dairy operations in the state is critical!…”

Press Release July 27, 2007 La. Dept. of Ag 

It’s frustrating to go into the stores and see Chinese shrimp for sale knowing that Louisiana Shrimpers are out there working for Louisiana in the Gulf.  I can’t find one Made with Pride in Post Katrina Louisiana sticker.

Here are two links for Louisiana food products. Cajun Shop  and   Louisiana Seafood .  And this is from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture Marketing.   Then there’s the export directory of Louisiana Products. This export list is from August 2005.  I’m not certain if it is accurate reflection post Katrina.  It will take some work to find out. The Ag website doesn’t give a specific date that i can immediately see, just “August 2005”.   The Ag website does have a 2007 list of Louisiana Food and Non-Food Products. I can’t download those to review right away — this post Katrina dialup puter is so slow. So check them out at your own leisure.

Hey, mister…where’d ya get that gas?

Last month the Houston Chronicle printed a story on the plans being made to get gas to evacuating residents. I’m wondering given the absence of articles in daily Louisiana papers if there are any plans in local parishes along the hurricane evacuation routes to get generators to those gas stations that have gas during evacuations. Here are two stories on the issue that I’ve found on line. There are no others to date that I have found. Let me know if you have found other stories on the gas lines and shortage on the Louisiana Hurricane Evacuation routes from your local parishes.

Plan aims to get gas to evacuating residents -Houston Chronicle
June 24, 2007, 3:09PM
Oil industry helped Texas craft storm strategy
Plan aims to get more gas to evacuating masses
By TERRI LANGFORD
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
3 stations are ready to pump
Hammond Daily Star Online – By Brennan David
Monday, July 9, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

“…Cashio’s Chevron and Quinn’s Texaco Service own generators in Hammond, as well as Harris Gas and Liquor in Ponchatoula – all three were open after the hurricane hit this area Aug. 29, 2005…

In fact, all three stores claim they were the first to start their generators to supply gas.

No other gas stations have come to own generators since Katrina.

Demand for gasoline was so high at the time that the City of Hammond approached Charles Cashio of Cashio’s Chevron about opening his store. Cashio did not own a generator at the time, but he was allowed to use a welding machine that could power the pumps…”

“…Gasoline was pumped throughout the day, supplying both public, private and government vehicles by all three providers.

“The city asked if we had gas in the tank,” Cashio said. “So they let me use a welding machine. The city needed the gas to clean the streets and clean things up. I had the gas and was willing to sell it. I just needed the power.”

Cashio said once the gas was pumping, the main obstacle was to not run out of gas. If emergency vehicles needed gas in the evening, he might not have any to give.

In the week after Katrina, Cashio said times were so busy that he was asking other gas stations to open their doors to lighten the load.

Across town at Quinn’s Texaco Service, owner Davey Quinn was also open for service after Katrina, and today has the capability to power all six pumps in the event of a power outage.

“We had people from Washington Parish that needed gas to milk their cows,” Quinn said. “I gave away a lot of free gas. Some people would drive up with nothing. I would fill them up and tell them to leave.”

Like the other two owners, Quinn said a supply truck would refill the station’s empty tank each day. Everyday for almost a week Quinn ran out of gasoline but would reopen once resupplied…”

KATRINA DAYS – Traffic backs up along West Thomas Street near Quinn’s Texaco Service in the days after Hurricane Katrina. Quinn’s is one of a few service stations in the area that has a generator to power gas pumps during extended power outages. Daily Star File Photo by Kari Wheeler

What’s in the news for da parishes 7/25/07?

SBA ERRORS from The New York Times – Agency Erred in Canceling Loans to 8,000 Along Gulf, Audit Finds, By RON NIXON

“We all wanted to see the loans processed and disbursed more quickly and the red tape removed,” said Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the committee. “Unfortunately, even with good intentions, some disaster victims are still being left behind, and that’s not acceptable.”

More NYT Katrina

National Geographic on New Orleans(Link Courtesy of –The Mosquito Coast) – August National Geographic

The National Geographic seems to educate the masses, however, their lack of some information concerning New Orleans is evident. Louisiana State Text books from the 1950’s put New Orleans above sea level, whereas, current studies (last 20+ years) have technologically advanced systems like GIS that have assisted in determining issues of both Coastal Erosion and “sinking”.

Legislator resigns seat for DOTD post
By MARSHA SHULER
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: Jul 25, 2007 – Page: 18A

“State Rep. Roy Quezaire, D-Donaldsonville, resigned his House seat to take an $86,500-a-year job with the state’s transportation agency…

…House Clerk Butch Speer said no election would be called to fill the remainder of Quezaire’s term, which ends in January.

Under state law, Salter must call an election if there is more than six months left in a term. But he has discretion if there’s less than six months remaining.

Qualifying for the regular election opens in September. Quezaire’s House District 58 includes parts of Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes.

Quezaire said his experience in the legislative arena on transportation issues makes him “absolutely” qualified for the new job…”

Maybe Quezaire can assist with transportation issues from the inside the DOTD that face the areas he formerly represented. I wonder if he catches a bus to work…I doubt it. LA SWIFT says it make intermediate stops in St. James, however, there is nothing to indicate from St. James Parish where these stops are located (from on-line sources.) Most of the issues found over the web concern the tourist industry in the parish.

RTA plans to pick up new buses
Fleet to get smaller and more efficient
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
By Frank Donze

… “We’re losing riders,” said Commissioner Barbara Major. “My friends have taken to their bicycles because they can’t depend on the buses. It’s awful. It’s been two years. If we can’t get them a decent bus, we’ve failed.”

More than half of the RTA’s 350 buses were wiped out by flooding, and most of the vehicles that survived Katrina are nearing the end of their 12-year life expectancy. As a result, the agency has been forced to use a patchwork fleet of its own run-down buses and castoffs from other transit systems. ”

Two years later...

St. Charles staff plans shelter role
If evacuated, they would help Avoyelles
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
By Matt Scallan

Canal eroding, but still safe, corps says
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
By Sheila Grissett
“…A high-ranking official in the corps’ hurricane protection office said Tuesday that three district engineers doing a detailed walking inspection of the floodwalls and water-side canal banks after Hurricane Katrina saw erosion in the area, photographed it and included it in a “trip report” that should have been passed along to the East Jefferson Levee District for action.

“This scour was noted right after the storm,” said John Grieshaber, executive support chief in the Hurricane Protection Office.

“We would normally consider it (scour) a maintenance issue . . . and show it to the appropriate” levee district, he said.

Report not received

But Fran Campbell, executive director of both the East Jefferson Levee District and the regional levee authority, said no one from the corps gave her the report or told her about the erosion. ..”

…A section of the east floodwall breached during Katrina…”

Someone should be fired for that…

Marsh Maneuvers’ Teaches 4-H’ers About Coastal Environment
Tom Hess
Students at Marsh Maneuvers listen to Tom Hess, at left, talk about coastal erosion at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge. Hess, a biologist for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told the students that several erosion control methods will be tested at the refuge.

Scotsman.com Living, High and Dry by: SHAILA DEWAN

“THIS was not how Cindy Cole pictured her life at 26: living in a caravan park wedged amid the refineries and cane fields of tiny St James Parish, 18 miles from the nearest supermarket, and sustaining three small children on nothing but food stamps, with no playground, no security and nowhere to go.

Rather than being here at Sugar Hill, Cole was supposed to be paying 275 a month for a two-bedroom house in New Orleans – next door to her mother, across the road from her aunt, with a child-care network that extended the length and breadth of her large family. With her house destroyed and no job or savings, however, her chances of recreating that old reality are slim.

For thousands of evacuees like Cole, going home to New Orleans has become a vague and receding dream. Living in bleak circumstances, they cannot afford to go back, or have nothing to go back to. In the two years since Hurricane Katrina hit, the shock of evacuation has hardened into the grim limbo of exile…”

“…Hardly any of the 77,000 rental units destroyed in New Orleans have been rebuilt, in fact, and the local and federal governments have done almost nothing to make it possible for low-income renters like Cole to return. Because she was never a homeowner, she is not eligible for a federally funded Road Home grant to rebuild her house, destroyed in Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters along with the rest of her neighbourhood…”

“…IN MANY ways, evacuees have become the region’s new pariahs, shunned by towns and parishes, who have erected a series of legal barriers to keep them out. At least five jurisdictions in Louisiana and neighbouring Mississippi – St Bernard Parish, St John the Baptist Parish, Jefferson Parish (all of which are in Louisiana), Pascagoula and Ocean Springs (both in Mississippi) – have begun revoking permits for trailers or allowing their zoning exemptions to expire. Those moves affect families still living in some 7,400 trailers across the Gulf Coast, according to the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, a group based in Washington that has sued to stop the evictions…”

The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights was founded to fight racial discrimination. Katrina didn’t discriminate…

“There are severe racial overtones to these actions. There’s all this concern that black and low-income people will be coming into your neighbourhood.” – Joe Rich, project director.

The Committee’s major objective is to use the skills and resources of the bar to obtain equal opportunity for minorities by addressing factors that contribute to racial justice and economic opportunity.

“…In Jefferson Parish, a suburb just west of New Orleans, officials blocked a 200-unit complex for the elderly, citing concerns that it would increase crime, and are fighting the construction of a second similar complex nearby.

“Some people just lack any degree of civilisation,” insists Chris Roberts, a Jefferson Parish councillor who has fought to remove Fema trailers and block subsidised housing developments. “I think low-income housing which is not properly run invites those people.” He complains that such residents are often idle, but many evacuees have burdens that prevent them from working…”

Like lack of transportation services….Day care….Adult day care… Home Health care… Health care…Phone service…etc, typical low income issues city, town, parish, and state officials ignore continuously. And therefore, the “persistent poverty issues in Louisiana continue.”

I finally did find transportation at the St. James website. And Jefferson Parish transit info can be found here. St. Charles lists a “demand responsive” transit from the Council on Aging also used by the general public. This means you have to call first, usually. The fees are outrageous.

LA DOTD website I cannot see the links clearly on my puter… the website mouse over links are icky. Here’s the rural link.

Transportation in rural areas of Louisiana demands improvement.

Iberia Parish President Quits

The Daily Iberian – 25 July 2:10PM

“NEW IBERIA, La. (AP) — Iberia Parish President Will Langlinais agreed to resign Wednesday to avoid prosecution on charges that he used public funds to do work on private property and pressured parish employees to help in political fundraising.

At a court hearing, Langlinais also pleaded no contest to malfeasance in office and agreed to pay $50,000 in restitution. Sentencing was scheduled Aug. 2…”

How fast can you hand-wheel out of the path of a 450mi wide issue?

Advocates decry lack of housing in New Orleans
High rents undermine aid extension, they say
“…HUD spokeswoman Donna White said 377 apartments are available, mostly at the Iberville complex. She said another 400 are being rehabilitated and should be available soon. Opening the doors to renters has been slow because the Housing Authority of New Orleans is required first to contact the former apartment residents to see whether they want to return…”

Of course, two years later most have HAD to MOVE on. FEMA rules indicate that if evacuees moved in with other family members they were not eligible for FEMA reimbursed housing assistance.

Poll: 1 in 3 would not evacuate for hurricane
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 1:50 AM EDT
“…Robert Blendon, the Harvard professor who directed the survey said he expected more people to say they would not evacuate after a mild 2006 Atlantic hurricane season.

“It just shows how people can become complacent if they’re not immediately threatened,” Blendon said.

In addition to finding that 31 percent of respondents would not evacuate, the study found another 5 percent said it would depend on the circumstances.

The poll was conducted by telephone and surveyed more than 5,000 people 18 or older in coastal areas in eight Southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. All respondents lived within 20 miles of their state’s coastline. The poll was conducted between June 18 and July 10…”

States other than Louisiana and Mississippi during Katrina did not sustain a high number of fatalities. I believe, Alabama, had between one to three fatalities from hurricane Katrina in only one county – Washington – and that was on the highway. Most of the fatalities in Louisiana were due to drowning . . . 60-70% were elderly or infirm.

EDITORIAL: Katrina’s lessons lost
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
“…Residents of hurricane-prone areas shouldn’t have forgotten the hard lessons of Katrina so soon, but a new survey shows that people have dangerously short memories.

The Harvard School of Public Health surveyed residents of eight states beginning last month and found that 31 percent would not leave this year if the order came to evacuate. That’s up from 23 percent last year. ..”

FEMA available for questions on formaldehyde
Published: Monday, July 23, 2007 6:35 PM CDT

This site has the ability to post comments in addition to providing the 1-800# to call for questions.

Defense wants attorney general’s recusal in Hurricane Katrina nursing home deaths case
By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer- ST. FRANCISVILLE, La. (AP)

“…A couple charged with negligent homicide in the deaths of 35 nursing home residents after Hurricane Katrina said Monday that they want the attorney general barred from prosecuting the case, citing a conflict of interest.

Defense counsel for Salvador and Mabel Mangano, owners of St. Rita’s nursing home, are expected to use evidence of alleged negligence against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state of Louisiana and the government of St. Bernard Parish at trial.

But Attorney General Charles Foti also has filed a $200 billion claim against the Corps, contending faulty levees caused floods that inundated the New Orleans area, including St. Bernard Parish…”

Now why didn’t I think of using the levees as an excuse for poor emergency evacuation planning? It seems that everyone else is blaming the levees instead of having personal responsibility for evacuations. A Plan, you know, would be prudent and essential. Now why or how this facilities plan fell apart has become a “levee” issue in the courts. Yes, the levees failed, however, the evacuation plan indicates ….hello? …an EVACUATION PRIOR to …the levee failure…the storm…a serious problem…a singular negligent homicide…encountering a 450 mi wide storm.

I hope someone who advocates for the elderly, nursing homes, and those who are defenseless is paying attention to this case. This is infuriating!

More LQ’s rant on this from Newsvine.

National Guard deployment raises questions over storm preparedness – 09:36 PM CDT on Monday, July 23, 2007
Maya Rodriguez / Eyewitness News Reporter

We can’t say thank you enough to the military for their response during hurricane Katrina!

What’s in the news for me today?

News from the net

Retreat planned to discuss issues

Jefferson Parish sues over New Orleans pump station

HUD extends rental aid program

HARRISON’S RECOVERY SURPASSING HANCOCK’S

Southeastern channel airs growth documentary

Group wants FEMA to stop selling or donating travel trailers

From LiveJournal 

More ignorance wrote: wcurtis in neworleans @ 2007-07-21 08:32:00
Anyone else care to send letters to correct this nutjob-generated, ignorance-filled tirade against the rebuilding published in the enlightened republic of Nebraska:

New Orleans debacle continues – Freemont Tribune By Bryce Lambley/Platte Valley Outdoors

It’s in the SPORTS SECTION!

Excerpts:

“The continued hand-wringing over rebuilding efforts (and our tax money being spent) in New Orleans is starting to wear real thin on me… Seems to me the smartest response is to simply rebuild the poverty-ridden city on higher ground; just annex the neighbors like Omaha did….

“Instead, in New Orleans (and Washington) it seems they’d rather point fingers, hold out their cup, or label the poor response as racism. That and blame the President, FEMA, the Red Cross, National Guard and the war in Iraq. Where is the federal relief money? Where is their FEMA trailer?”

Perhaps point out that most of the progress to date is despite FEMA, not because of it. And perhaps ask him which port he thinks allowed Nebraska to export its grain and beef to the world.
ILLEGAL IRRATIONAL RANT – TECHNICAL FOUL – PERSONAL FOUL PENALTY …Nebraska Author SHOVED IN SPACE
By: Louisiana Questions
2007-07-23 05:50 pm UTC
This guy needs a history lesson from a 1950’s Louisiana student textbook that states New Orleans is above sea level, just before the advent and launching of GIS systems and satelites. With comments like those he’s likely to be nominated to go up in the next launch and calculate sea level himself from space! I barely noticed this LJ post until I read it posted to these two blogs today.

Gentilly Girl and FEMA Katrina and other bad words

This story is one for the Clueless Katrina Comments file.

What were the comments related to LQ’s recent poll?

 

 

 

 

 

Please read, join Live Journal  la_questions community, and respond to the poll!    Poll Results

 

Blueeyedgroupie from the Baton Rouge community asked what was my agenda for the poll. I really have not put my “agenda” to print and so I typed up some quick thoughts as to my reasons for the poll. I’m not accustomed to making references to “agenda’s”! It sounds way too political!

I really didn’t think about the question as being included in an “agenda”, but I did have a few thoughts and ideas surrounding the poll. First of all I’ve read more than enough posts concerning Hurricane Katrina where people are blaming those who lived in low lying areas in New Orleans for not evacuating prior to the storm. I don’t recall seeing Greyhound buses or New Orleans buses on the hurricane route where I used to live fleeing the storm. I don’t believe that public transportation was available outside of New Orleans for those who did not want to ride out the storm. The River Parishes from recent news reports, if accurate, have cited that they are looking into a NEW public transportation system for that area. St. James Parish was recently cited in the New York Times as the home of a women living in a FEMA trailer, a former resident of New Orleans, without access to a nearby grocery store or childcare or public transportation. The Major media outlets do not get the full story. They only skim the surface and it is more than frustrating. There was no public transportation available where I used to live, either. This could also apply to the election, as there is one candidate who is attempting to be supportive of ending poverty. Hopefully, he meant in the United States and not some foreign country; although, I recognize that we, in the US, are rich in comparatively with many other countries of the world. Recovering from Katrina has been difficult for homeowners, however, the renting communities of the Gulf States – Mississippi and Louisiana – were left out of the equation with regards to the Road Home, FEMA, and other programs. I believe that housing issues prior to Katrina have been exacerbated by a slow recovery process. That’s about it as far as an “agenda” is concerned. I believe the demographics prior to Katrina spell out the disaster most accurately and offer an opportunity for community leaders to focus on providing opportunities at improving the support systems vital to recovery for the populations most affected and least recognized – the poor. Improvements in public transportation, healthcare, and affordable housing should become a focus for community leaders in the recovery process, but it is all wishful thinking until it is acted upon! I suppose that this is the “agenda” that has formed the idea of creating a “poll”. It’s just one of those things in my head and won’t remove itself until I act upon it in one form or another.

Please join la_questions community and help make this a successful poll. Thanks! LQ – Louisiana Questions

LQ’s poll on MSNBC NEWS links to Blogger

MSNBC US NEWS – LQ’s Poll

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/government-non-profit/charity-non-profit/GOV_CNP/68601-13753877
LinkedIn Answers to Poll

http://community.livejournal.com/storykatrina/
comments –

http://community.livejournal.com/poor_planning/
comments – As was Mississippi, don’t forget. As with many things, we were constantly battling each other for the coveted spot of #1 of the poorest state in the US.

They only recently passed us in “most corrupt”. Hurrah?

http://community.livejournal.com/nola_photos/
comments – It’s still Bush’s fault.

http://community.livejournal.com/fema_trailer/
comments – Mississippi isnt much better and rental price gouging is running rampant. As a disabled woman I have very little hope of finding a place anytime soon.

http://community.livejournal.com/da_parish/
comments – I didn’t KNOW it, but I suspected it.

I knew that some Louisiana parishes were among the poorest areas of the US, but I didn’t know that over 1/2 of them were in “persistent poverty.”

http://community.livejournal.com/batonrouge/
comments – No, but I’d believe it.

Sorry to sound like an ass, but it’s “parishes”, not “parish’s”. Gotta watch that.

What’s your agenda behind posting this question?

 

Tags: blogger, katrina, linkedin, louisiana, lsu ag center, mississippi, msnbc, polls, wordpress

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