WE ARE NOT OKAY

The upcoming week brings with it the two year anniversary of Katrina. Coverage of that storm will be everywhere you turn. Here are some excerpts from local bloggers on this painful anniversary.
Over at the Chicory, Varg puts into words the feelings of many, many Gulf Coast residents . Thanks, Varg.

From Hurricane Radio I don't have to tell you what week this is.

There are black days on the internal calendar that rests in the psyche of all Americans. December 7th. September 11th.

And August 29th.

To be honest, the nightmare started before that, and for many, the horror continues even now. Today is August 25, and tonight, families in Florida are grieving. Their loved ones were taken from them in the opening moments.

Two years ago today, a category 1 hurricane named Katrina battered southern Florida and killed 14 people. Over the next week, this storm would march across the eastern United States, causing thousands of deaths in seven states from the Gulf of Mexico in the south, north as far as Ohio.


Taken from "Living on Earth", the words of Washington Post reporter Michael Grunwald ..... what happened in Hurricane Katrina was in many ways a tragedy of priorities. Everybody knew that wetlands are important. Everybody knew that New Orleans was vulnerable. But it was never anybody's top priority to make sure that this didn't happen. So that's why you have Louisiana's Congressional Delegation at a time when they never could get the Corps to build a decent levee for New Orleans. They never really did get a decent restoration program going for those coastal wetlands. You had these incredible boondoggles that were still getting funded like the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet which is supposed to provide a shipping shortcut to the port of New Orleans but actually ended up increasing Katrina's surge and contributing to the disaster. So, again the Corps is this strange beast that's controlled by Congress. You hear a lot about these earmarks and the entire Corps budget almost is controlled by these Congressional earmarks. It's pet projects. And the pet projects were not the projects that made New Orleans safe.....

Taking you to Slidell, Louisiana in a review of what's changed/not changed since the storm, I present the following:



Old Town Slidell Soda Shop owner Frank Jackson stayed in his house next door on August 29, 2005 and rode out the monster storm. He watched the floodwaters — which covered the town in a massive, tsunami-like wave after Lake Pontchartrain overflowed — engulf the little company he and his wife built from scratch in 1988. He saw Katrina take down friends’ and neighbors’ businesses all around him.

“You just watch it go and move on,” said Jackson standing near the rusty old soda fountain in what’s left of his shop. “You watch your friends’ businesses go, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You figure life will be different.”

Around the corner from the broken-down old soda shop is another business that had to close down: Slidell Cleaners, a 77-year-old family venture owned by close friends of the Jacksons.

The upstairs apartment, where owners Eric and Mary DuBuisson lived for the 24 years they ran the cleaners, came out of Katrina unscathed. But the downstairs sustained immense damage – too much to keep it going after all the recovery they’d done since the 1995 flood a decade earlier.

“This time, we had six feet of water and it destroyed everything … clothes, equipment,” said Eric DuBuisson, 56. “It was a real heartbreaker. We knew really quickly that there was no point [in trying to rebuild].”

The decision not to reopen came about two days after Katrina hit, he said, when the DuBuissons realized it would have cost between a quarter-million and a half-million dollars to bring Slidell Cleaners back.

“When both of you work in the same business and it all ends in one day, it’s very scary,” said Mary DuBuisson, 52.

“We seriously were afraid of bankruptcy,” added her husband. “I didn’t know what we were going to do.”

On top of their problems getting back on their feet professionally, the DuBuissons also had to worry about where to live, as the lakefront house they’d planned to retire to was flooded by three feet of Katrina water.

Onto some brighter notes, the best Chinese Restaurant (IMHO) in Slidell endured 4-6 foot flooding and has come back nicely.

A little over a year after the storm, Slidell was blessed with Louisiana-bred Rouse's supermarket that caters to good food.

A welcome relief to Walmart Supercenters, we're glad to have Rouse's here in our "bedroom community".

In the fast food world, Slidell lost a few fast-food chains and gained a new one


McD's on the southside of town (Pontchartrain Drive) hasn't reopened, but the one
on Hwy190 (aka Gause Blvd) was razed and rebuilt in a few months.

More new businesses have sprung up along Slidell's main thoroughfares.

And others sit silently - as if stopped in time as a result from the storm


Evangelines Coffee House



A once bustling Burger King

Mickey Dee's on Pontchartrain Drive.

The Katrinaville Chronicles

Gulf Coast - 2 years later

A few weeks ago we travelled to Gulfport-Biloxi to check out their recovery from Katrina. We hadn't been there since July 2005 and heard about the devastation that the storm visited upon them. Here are some pictures to document their efforts.

(Click on pictures for full-sized versions)


Besides the casinos, not much else is open.









Inside the gutted Mississippi Sound Historical Museux are life jackets probably last used two years ago.


Outside the building sits the steeple to the Gulfport Presbytarian Church, waiting to be placed upon the rebuilt church.


Edgewater Mall made it thru the storm despite its proximity to the Gulf.


The S.S. Camille. In April I posted about the the fate of this old boat requiring it to be moved but it's still where Katrina left it.
Here's a link to the Camille in better days


Here's the Olive Garden we'd visit every time we came to the coast. All that's left is the sign.


Along the beaches in Waveland/Bay St. Louis are these signs


Bay St. Louis constructed this pier and ferry landing before the Bay Bridge reopened.

The Bay Bridge is still under construction, but it's open to traffic.


These new condos are on Hwy 90 at the foot of the Bay Bridge.

We stopped for a late lunch in Bay St. Louis.
If you ever get hungry while travelling thru Bay St. Louis, I recommend Rickey's Restaurant. The food is delicious and they portions are generous.

The last leg of our trip brought us thru picturesque Pass Christian, Mississippi, where there seems to be a lot going on.


The Blue Rose has been repaired and is for sale.


Another beautiful home restored.



I think this little building was once part of Bourdin Construction.

Here's a link to photos taken in Pass Christian on September 5, 2005.

A friend told me that it would take a good five years for things to be back to where they were before the storm. By the looks of things on the coast, she's right.

MeMaw is "inspiring"

SELF magazine honors Gov. Blanco as an "inspiring woman".

The article spotlights an array of women from all walks of life, from Oprah Winfrey to Sandra Bullock. Gov. Blanco shares a spot on the list with the nation's eight other female governors "for showing the country and the world that women are cut out to lead."

I'm sorry, I just don't get it. The following examples of her work leave me just the opposite of "inspired".


from NBC , some examples of the real "leader":
She and the mayor waited until Sunday [Aug. 28] , only 20 hours before Katrina came ashore, to order a mandatory evacuation, the first of what disaster experts and Louisiana insiders say were serious mistakes by the governor."

Blanco's lateness in getting the Louisiana National Guard, which she commands, on the streets to try to establish security.

The governor would not say whether she made the decision not to use these troops, and tells NBC News that her state's response to Katrina was, quote, 'very well-planned' and 'executed with great precision and effectiveness

uh, huh...

Road Home Program

 Bush told Blanco that he was ready to move with troops and relief immediately, but Blanco requested a delay of 24 hours

From Time magazine
When it mattered most, Blanco appeared "dazed and confused," says Bernie Pinsonat, a bipartisan political consultant in Baton Rouge, La. When NBC's Matt Lauer asked her whether it was hard to find words to reassure the public, she tried to muster optimism, then circled back to despair. "You know, our people out here are so fearful. They're so worried ... It's a nightmare."
Blanco waited seven weeks to appoint a recovery commission. She was slow to call the legislature back into session to deal with a nearly $1 billion decline in tax revenue. Her suggested cuts--to education and health care--came under fire last week as unrealistic. In 21 years in state politics, Blanco, a Democrat, was always cautious and deliberative. But those qualities have turned into liabilities.

SELF magazine seems geared towards vacuous young women, as shown by some of their choices for "inspiring" women.

SI article on NOLA

An article in S.I. by Alexander Wolff grabbed my attention. It isn't dissing NOLA as we usually expect. It's worth the read.

The last two lines

Sorry, USA Today. Love your multicolored weather map, but ever since I got back from New Orleans, it reminds me of mold.

Besides, it's the weather page of the Times-Picayune -- and the fate it foretells -- that America should care about most.

Thanks, Mr. Wolff

Dean

Local bloggers are talking about the storm heading for the Gulf named Dean


Swampwoman gives her views on the available weather information services available. I agree with her on the sensationalist Weather Channel clowns.

Slate lets her loved ones know that they're staying put.

Ray has a link to a much different path for Hurricane Dean then others that I've seen.

From b.rox blog, a link to a blogger in Dominica expressing her fear of Dean

md filter is concerned on this Saturday morning about Dean slowing down

Suspect device mirrors my feelings about the whole world of our August weather.

Craig over at Metroblogging talks about the various forecast models and wonders if Harrah's should be taking bets on them.

Matt over at Blogging New Orleans provides a link to "a website that offers a constantly updated satellite stream of the Atlantic, and shows with great clarity the development of Dean from a cloud system off the coast of Africa to the bruiser it has become."

Nope, I don't like the fact that there's a storm coming towards the Gulf, but that's part of living here. I accept that threat as I accept the killer humidity that comes with August.

Our hurricane provisions are amassed and we've got the cat carriers for the five cats ready. I'll make a decision to make hotel reservations by Monday if Dean heads this way. But let's hope we can stay put and pray for whomever is destined to experience the wrath of nature.

Pearlington - August 2007

Not quite two years post Katrina, Pearlington, Mississippi is beginning to feel the effects of recovery. Hard hit by the storm, this small town sat stunned by the storm for almost a year due to the fact that it is an unincorporated community. As such, there is no government to advocate for these citizens. Thanks to the thousands of volunteers, Pearlington is coming alive again.

Last week, my husband and I drove through parts of Pearlington to record her come back.
Click on pictures for full-sized versions


The Recovery Center is still open





Utility lines are being reworked and strengthened




New homes are being built



But there is still a lot of cleanup to be done.

A few miles south of Pearlington on Hwy 90 is the White Kitchen Preserve.


Named after a restaurant famous decades ago this sign is all that's
left.


The preserve took a beating from the storm, but it retained some of its beauty as shown from this picture, taken from Hwy. 190.


A few miles down the road we spotted this Katrina-era sign which reflects the feelings felt by those that wanted to deter the scumbag looters.

Still not OKAY

For the next few weeks I'll be posting pictures that depict where some of the Gulf South is coming up on Katrina plus two years. Because the city of New Orleans gets plenty of coverage via the New Orleans bloggers , I'll concentrate on lesser known areas.

Today I've got pictures taken on August 10, 2007 in the Venetian Isles and Lake Catherine areas just east of New Orleans. This may be a first of several posts of this area, as hubby and I are voracious photographers.
(click on pictures for full-sized versions)

We took LA434 into Lake Catherine to witness the status of the new Rigolets Bridge.


A lot wider than the current span, I look forward to its opening!

After nearly two years, the debris pickup in Lake Catherine is in full swing.


I've been seeing this boat along side Hwy 90 forever.





The construction activity in this area is on the upswing, too.



Other places sit silently, awaiting insurance settlements or new buyers.


This boat has caught our eye for some time now, so we decided to check it out


We saw the name "Mary W" in the rusted metal.

All of the properties surrounding this lonely boat look like this


What's left of the home of the Mary W's owners. Pretty sad, huh?


Further down Hwy 90, closer to Venetian Isles is the church where Father Ginart, better known as Father Red lost his life.


Over the Chef Pass Bridge is Ft. Macomb and the newly demolished boat launch.

Quite a difference from what we saw in March of this year.
The Lake Catherine Community Center still sits silently by the bridge.


They're FINALLY demolishing the firehouse in Venetian Isles, which looked like this for the longest time



So there's a little piece of the "progress" made in this area in two years Post K.
Contrary to popular belief, people down here are not sitting around whining with their hands out. They're living in FEMA trailers and working their fingers to the bone trying to find some sort of normalcy.