On Monday May 3, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin was succeeded by Mitch Landrieu. New Orleans’ mayors are, by city law, only allowed to serve two terms and Nagin has done that; much of his tenure was spent dealing with the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Nagin left office with a mix legacy – many criticized his ability to handle the evacuation, recovery and subsequent rebuilding efforts in the city. He’s fired back at his critics and calls out FEMA for the lag in redevelopment efforts. Where the blame lies is open to debate but one thing is clear: progress has been made but things are moving far too slowly.
Data shows that just seven percent of the city’s 283 public buildings, including police and fire stations, that were slated to be rebuilt have been completed. Neighboring parishes haven’t had the same delays. For example, nearly 90 percent of St. Bernard Parish’s government buildings are either under construction or open for business while more than 50 percent of Plaquemines Parish’s government buildings have been rebuilt or are close to being finished.
Immediately after Katrina, the city of New Orleans was, understandably, concerned with clean up efforts and restoring basic services to residents. However, as time went on, the city had trouble prioritizing its next move. It was important to get residents back home, to be sure, but they needed housing and jobs. Making things happen was difficult, considering the widespread damage and the amount of governmental red tap city officials had to deal with. Because the plan for redevelopment was so scattered, many efforts have moved along at a snail’s pace.
To be fair, New Orleans is a different city than it was in the months after Katrina hit. About 80 percent of the city’s residents are back and newcomers have made the city their home; life in New Orleans almost seems ‘normal’. But a quick drive through many of the city’s neighborhoods reveals that life is anything but normal: abandoned buildings stand as a reminder to the storm that killed thousands and caused billions of dollars in damages.
Landrieu is taking office at an interesting – and important – time. The five year anniversary of Katrina is approaching. He should take that opportunity to reveal his plan for taking rebuilding efforts to the next level. And he needs much more than a plan: he needs action items, deadlines and ways to measure success. Without these, any plan suggested by him or the city council is nothing more than a stack of paper and a bunch of promises that could be too easily broken.
Now is the time for the new mayor, and his supporters, to reveal a clear plan of action, one that would not only rebuild the city but work to eliminate racial and economic disparities that plagued the city long before Katrina’s winds rages through. City officials must work to give New Orleanians reasons to be proud of their home, reasons that go beyond a Super Bowl championship.
Dear Judge Mathis, me and so many others were watching your show on tuesday May 11th 2010 on channel 3 at 5 p.m., Judge Mathis you were wrong in awarding the judgment to the white man and his wife who complained about the black caterers who served cold pig. Judge Mathis, have you ever thought the black caterer could not really come out and answer the question being asked?? And when he did realize what you were saying, he gave the appropriate answer and you dismissed it and said his case was dismissed and the white man’s case was awarded, that was wrong, we don’t believe they threw mostly everything in the trash, we believe they ate everything or as much as they could eat, it was their word against the caterer’s word, those white people were LYING and they should have paid the caterer the amount he was asking for, instead of the cater paying back them the full amount at the time of order. We are really surprised at you Judge Mahis, please don’t do this, it seems like to us that you were trying to not show bias by just throwing the white lady out the courtroom but you also dismissed and threw the black caterers out the courtroom as well. We’re not saying that black people have to be right on everything but this black cater was right in their suing, that white couple wanted to have a pig roast with the black caterers taken back to slavery. We feel that this white couple was prejudice in their ordering and how many times have they done this to others, ordering, eating and then not paying the whole full bill afterwards. Once again we all are really surprised at you Judge Mathis, you need not to forget about your black roots, especially when they are in the right. You are the and supposed to be the judge, so judge correctly, judge Mathis or your ratings will go down because of lack of viewers.
HELLO JUDGE MATHIS ITS LISA HOW R U I BEEN WATCHING YOUR SHOW QUIT OFFTEN NOW DAYS SINCE I HAVE BEEN HOME FROM NOT WORKING I JUST FOUND OUT THAT SOME ONE IN CALIFORNIA OPEN A SECURITY BUSSINESS AND BOUGHT A HOME IN MY NAME AND THE IRS FOUND ME IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA WHERE I LIVE NOW SO WHAT DO I DO NEXT. JUST ASKING THANKS.
I LIVE HERE IN NEW ORLEANS 10 YEARS NOW CAME BACK SINCE THE STORM AND I REALLY DONT SEE WHAT RAY NAGIN REALLY DID THE CITY LOOKS HORRIBLE AND CITY HALL IS A BIG MESS, JOBS R VERY SAD SINCE THE STORM MOST DONT WANT TO PAY WORKERS, RENT WENT UP, FOOD WENT UP, THE CITY NEEEEED VERY MUCH SO MUCH HELP. THANKS LISA