The program on Monday announced it is nearing the halfway point in reaching its initial goal of raising sufficient funds for 150 affordable, environmentally friendly homes. The average construction cost is estimated at $150,000 per house.
Hot pink tents have been erected to represent the homes.
Most of the donors through Make It Right's Web site have been "average Americans who want to help." In one week alone, after the project's official launch Dec. 3, nearly $500,000 was raised just through the site.
That's what I call doing something good without holding a hand out to the government.
Tim (of the nameless blog) posts about the New Orleans pioneers this Christmas and their belief in the rebirth of the beautiful city.
Yes, we struggle on. We want for so many things in New Orleans, but not the frivolous fare hawked this time of year—not flat-screen TVs, diamond jewelry and xbox gadgetry. We are still trying to get back the basic things that make a community viable, livable and prosperous. We struggle for schools, for hospitals, for basic, decent housing for the poor and elderly.
Voices of New Orleans website discusses the reasons behind the FEMA's flaccid response in Katrina's aftermath versus the lightning fast reaction following the California wildfires recently. It turns out that the difference between the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Louisiana after Katrina and in California after the fires boils down to this: In California, they listened to Nancy Ward and in Louisiana, they didn't
From an AP report last week A week after Hurricane Katrina, a senior official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of streamlining the flow of disaster aid issued a directive that would have helped a staggering 1,029 rebuilding projects and $5.3 billion in funds cut through the agency's infamous red tape.
But in a decision critics say led to losing precious time in the post-storm recovery, her three-day deadline to clear projects through a final bureaucratic hurdle was rejected. The rebuilding of schools, roads, hospitals, firehouses and other desperately needed infrastructure was stalled for months of interagency reviews that ended at the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Gil Jamieson, FEMA's head of Gulf Coast recovery and one of the officials who dismissed the directive of colleague Nancy Ward, said her order would have given federal agencies too little time to check for funding duplication.
Thanks, Mr. Jamieson. Lord knows that your rejection of Ms. Ward's deadline made sure that you had enough time to eliminate the possiblility of funding duplication.
From a a GAO report "FEMA made nearly $20 million in duplicate payments to thousands of individuals who claimed damages to the same property from both hurricanes Katrina and Rita. FEMA also made millions in potentially improper and/or fraudulent payments to nonqualified aliens who were not eligible for [FEMA's Individuals and Households Program]. For example, FEMA paid at least $3 million to more than 500 ineligible foreign students at four universities in the affected areas. This amount likely understates the total payments to ineligible foreign students because it does not cover all colleges and universities in the area. FEMA also provided potentially improper and/or fraudulent IHP assistance to other ineligible non-U.S. residents, despite having documentation indicating their ineligibility.
One of the many musical gifts from my hubby this Christmas was Tab Benoit's CD, Fever on the Bayou .
One of the best cuts on the CD is "The Blues is Here to Stay", written by Cyril Neville. This song is a powerful reminder of where the music comes from and the universality that makes it a permanent fixture in the cultural landscape.
Whether you're a fan of Benoit or new to his music, take a listen to some of the cuts on this CD. It's worth it!
After more than 2 years at a temporary location at Handsboro Presbyterian Church, the displaced congregation of St. Peter's by the Sea Episcopal Church have returned back home.
Church members with what they call the best view in town will celebrated Christmas 2007 here.
Hurricane Katrina's surge of 10 to 12 feet hit the gulf front church, but the upper infrastructure survived the storm.
Following hurricane Katrina many decided not to build back near the water, but not St. Peter's. Members said they felt a financial as well as moral obligation to come back to their chapel by the sea.
The 100 year old congregation is no stranger to the perils of mother nature.
On August 17, 1969, Hurricane Camille, the most severe storm on record, hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Although badly damaged, St. Peter's quickly reopened its doors to feed and shelter as many survivors as possible. Sister churches along the Coast had suffered complete destruction. The Parish Hall became a headquarters for distribution of information and relief. Funerals were a regular occurrence.
In the mid 1990's, Mississippi Gulf Coast voters approved casino gaming and a large casino was soon built directly across the street from St. Peter's. The nature of the neighborhood changed dramatically, and "the sea" could no longer be seen from the church. In 1997, the Grand Casino bought St. Peter's property and the Building Committee looked ten blocks east and found a site for a new, gothicstyle church. On June 26, 2000, St. Peter's newest location, constructed by George P. Hopkins, Jr., and George P. Hopkins, III, was consecrated by Bishop A. C. Marble. The Dorhauer bell was once again hung in a tall bell tower atop the church.
From NOLA.com Kayla Tisdale, who Covington police say is 2 or 3 years old, was found after she knocked on a neighbor's door on East 35th Avenue at about 9:20 a.m., West said. The child, who suffered from ear and upper respiratory infections, was wearing an overfull diaper and thin cotton pajamas, he said.
Officers found a vehicle with a child seat in front of the Tisdales' home and smelled natural gas when they knocked on the door, West said. When Lauren Tisdale answered, she told officers that her daughter was sleeping in bed, he said.
As they searched the home, police found that the living room floor had collapsed, the bedrooms had separated from the rest of the building, electrical wires were exposed and -- despite recent freezing temperatures -- the home was unheated, West said. In addition, the stove was piled with rotting food and piles of trash and dirty clothes, he said.
After a code enforcement inspection, natural gas and electricity were shut off at the home, West said.
much gas had accumulated that West said he felt dizzy as he searched the home. Lauren Tisdale, who told police she is pregnant, and her husband were treated for natural gas inhalation and released from St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Doctors told police that had the parents been exposed to gas for another half-hour, they would have become comatose, West said.
Both parents were arrested on charges of child desertion and leaving a child in need of care, West said. Both also were booked with contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, the second time Adam Tisdale has been charged with the offense.
Both were on probation stemming from "numerous charges" that include burglaries and theft, West said.
"In every case I've worked like this, where a child is in deplorable conditions like this, the child is wonderful," West said. "It breaks my heart."
Kayla Tisdale was turned over to her grandfather after the investigation, West said.
West said that to protect the privacy of the neighbors who found Kayla, he would not release their name or address. But he lauded their generosity, which included feeding and cleaning the girl and dressing her in warm clothing and a clean diaper.
"I'm sure the only thing the little girl is going to remember about this Christmas is the kindness those people did for her today," West said.
This resident of St. Bernard Housing Development at yesterday's protest TP Photo by Mike DeMocker Seen here in her Section 8 housing TP Photo by Ted Jackson From a New Orleans blogger On the other hand, few people would trust the views of Sharon Jasper who seems to be arguing for why she should be allowed to return to the St. Bernard development because she can’t afford the deposit and utility bills in her Section 8 property. She could probably make a down payment on a modest house with that 60 inch television in her living room.
There's some great writing and comments about this issue at YRHT
The Chicory hits the nail on the head with this comment am assuming the photo was meant to suggest that many people view public housing units as eyesores and fail to realize within them are communities and homes. What I took from it is an amazement that anyone would consider such places homes. What the sign says to me is public housing is a failure. The moment someone considers the government to be their caretaker is the moment they have lost their sense of worth. I am open to debate on this. But I will need an answer as to why the entire anti-demolition movement isn’t being geared toward educating and empowering the displaced residents rather than getting them back into the situation (dependent on the government) that has impoverished them for decades?
An under-the-weather Adrastos gives his feelings on the debacle at city hall yesterday: In spite of all the lofty and moralistic rhetoric, this episode brought out the worst in everyone. Of course, cant and posturing always seems to do that. I'm inclined to think (wishfully?) that the most violent moments were initiated by non-locals. Why? New Orleans is a violent place but like good Mediterraneans, NOLA violence is usually *personal* and not political. And thank God or whatever for that. Council meetings here feature a lot of screaming and posturing but not much punching until today, that is.
Celcus opines have many thoughts I could offer, and I’ve posted a few comments around, but there really isn’t much point. We’ve reached the point where the whole issue has been neatly packaged into two positions which are equally divorced from reality. Any vocalization of any opinion outside of the orthodoxy of the extremes is usually taken to mean one supports of the other of those extremes.
Some news media are claiming that innocent, peace loving people were cruelly tasered and maced during the demonstration. Here's a pic of rapper Sess 4-5 from the 9th Ward. He isn't looking too peace loving to me
And these folks don't look to peace loving either
These lilly white girls are probably not residents of the projects in question.
I've been on Christmas break for a few days and have not been checking the local news. Big surprise when I did this morning. I noticed that the fight over the demolision of four New Orleans Housing developments became quite heated yesterday. It's a shame that things have deteriorated to this level. I believe that it has gone to that level is partly related to "outside agitators". (I see nothing wrong with the term "outside agitators", unlike some folks who think it's a racist term. I think anything can be termed "racist" if it's used in a racist way.)
Anyway, at this time I am torn about what's going on in the city. I've been trying to study up on this story and get a good background on it, but the more I dig, the more small facts are either misrepresented or missing. It's difficult to peel off all the bullshit and hysteria related to these protests to get to the core of the issue.
So far, I've done a history of the projects in questions. Here we go:
ST. BERNARD HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
The St. Bernard Housing Development was the fifth of ten such developments built between 1940 and 1960. Initially, there were 744 units in 74 buildings constructed on 30.9 acres of land. The boundaries were St. Bernard Avenue to Gibson Street and Senate to St. Denis Streets. The architects used the same principles of design of most "housing projects" of the times. Two and three story brick apartment buildings encircled parking lots and playgrounds.
In 1946, a gas explosion on the southside of the development killed seven people and injured 38. Fourteen buildings were demolished.
In the 1950's, The Housing Authority needed to relocate 700 families. Through the 1949 Housing Act, the St. Bernard expanded, adding 720 more units. It is regarded as one of the largest housing developments in New Orleans.
Scattered sites were first introduced to New Orleans in the late 1960s as an alternative to higher concentrated family dwellings. The idea was to have families "scattered" throughout existing neighborhoods to reduce the number of units in one location. One of those sites is the Imperial Scattered Site Housing Development, just to the west of the St. Bernard development. In 1968, the Housing Authority of New Orleans purchased 54 two-bedroom houses and in 1972, bought 200 more.
The St. Bernard Projects are one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans. Located in the city's 7th Ward, the complex was built over a few decades, beginning in the 1940s and has the distinction of being the largest housing project in the city. Like most public housing developments, it was not a very safe complex but by the standards set by other facilities in the city, like the Magnolia Projects, it was one of the city's safer projects until planned closures began and residents of 'rival' housing projects were moved into the St. Bernard.
It has been closed since Hurricane Katrina, much to the dismay of residents and activists. Survivors Village, a tent city created by residents of New Orleans housing projects, was established on June 3, 2006 to call attention to what participants and supporters say are violations of the UN International Policy on Internally Displaced Persons.
C.J. PEETE (aka Magnolia)
From 1952 through 1978, the manager was Cleveland Joseph Peete. In the 1980s and 1990s conditions in the projects declined severely. In 1998 demolition of portions of the projects began as part of a Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) revitalization plan. There are plans to redevelop the area along the lines of what had been done with the St. Thomas Projects.
By 2005, only the 1955 expansion had been razed. The majority of the remaining buildings were vacant and fenced off, with only a portion still occupied, when the area flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (see: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans). Redevelopment work has been delayed in the aftermath of the disastrous flood which devastated the majority of the city.
It is one of the most notoriously dangerous housing districts in the United States and ranks even globally. This section of New Orleans has a local crime rate higher than many full municipalities in the US and has a significant influence in New Orleans' extremely high murder rate.
Here's a slide show put together by a C.J. Peete resident .....…do you really want people to move back here? (beware the language for the crap rap that plays during the slide show)
The project was built between 1939 and 1941. The original boundaries were South Dorgenois, Erato, Calliope (now Earhart Boulevard) and South Prieur Streets. In 1941 rents ran from $8.25 a month for a one bedroom apartment to $22.00 a month for a three bedroom.
There are 690 apartments in the original development. In 1949, a gymnasium was added at Broad and Calliope Streets.
In 1954, a twelve block expansion added 860 new units. The expansion pushed the western boundary of the Calliope back two blocks from Erato Street to Melpomene Avenue (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard).
In May 1981, the Calliope was renamed the B. W. Cooper Apartments. Mr. Cooper worked for the Housing Authority of New Orleans for 33 years and served on several civic and social organizations until his death in 1974.
The Calliope Projects (or simply Calliope to the locals) are among the most notorious in Uptown New Orleans and the United States along with the Magnolia Projects. The drug trade and subsequent violence from it were two of the primary reasons New Orleans was nicknamed the "Murder Capital of the U.S."
A popular nickname for these projects is "CP-3" meaning "Calliope Projects--Third Ward".
Notable residents have included Master P and brothers C-Murder and Silkk The Shocker, as well as the Neville Brothers.
Most of Calliope is closed due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. As of January 2007, a small section of Calliope has been reopened to residents.
LAFITTE HOUSING PROJECT In 1941, the Lafitte 896-unit housing development was completed. Lafitte was to house African American tenants while the nearby Iberville development accommodated Caucasian tenants.
Low-income families, including residents of the Lafitte Housing project, will be able to return to new homes as part of a $350 million development project to revitalize the predominantly African-American Tremé neighborhood. The construction of 1,500 new homes on the site of the Lafitte Housing Project and scattered throughout Tremé will preserve all 900 subsidized housing units that existed pre-Katrina, while renovating and building an additional 600 vacant properties as affordable homes.
The omnibus appropriations bill contains key funding for Louisiana that will help us recover from the 2005 hurricanes and boost our economy by fueling infrastructure projects all over the state.
The bill now must return to the House of Representatives for final consideration before being sent to President Bush's desk.
Katrina wrought so much destruction and pain. But there are some things related to the storm's aftermath which may have a positive affect on the area and hopefully more wide spread areas in the near future.
One such project is the grassroots efforts started by an non profit organization in the Slidell area called Bio Liberty .
The brainchild of US Vet Gordon Soderberg of Slidell, Bio Liberty aims to help rebuild the Gulf Coast.....and use recycled materials and renewable energy techniques through the following aims:
1. Market the use of bio diesel that we use in our vehicles and equipment. 2. Market our lot clearing and tilt wall construction services. 3. To demonstrate a sustainable business model 4. Provide jobs for Veterans of the US Military.
Located in the heart of the Bayou Liberty area in Slidell on the same land used by hundreds of volunteers from the Bayou Liberty Relief Organization , Bio Liberty has already manufactured 500 gallons of "Gator Grease ®". It's used in their tractor, bobcat, stump grinder, trucks, a media buse, and a Volkswagon TDI. Gator Grease powers the equipment used to run the machines that perform lot cleaning services in Slidell and New Orleans. All drivers and operators have reported increased fuel economy, horsepower, and engine response using the Gator Grease. To date, Bio Liberty has cleared 50-60 lots in the Lower 9th Ward.
Here's a link to a video that tells the whole story of Bio Liberty. It gives one a good feeling to know there are people out there who are actively pursuing to make this area come back better.
