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.

Art from Destruction

In March I ran a post about artists in Gulfport-Biloxi making lemonade from the lemons given to them by Hurricane Katrina.

This weekend hubby & I took a road trip to survey the coast almost two years since
that master storm. Among the hundreds of pictures we took are the following updates to the awesome work by these gifted artists.

We found several more examples of "art from destruction" along Highway 90. Here they are:
(click on each picture for full-sized versions)



Here are the original items shown in March. They have been stained and sealed.
































Each carving bore the name of "Dayton". Dayton Scoggins is "the chainsaw artist and he's given a little bit of happiness and awe to all who traverse Highway 90 in Mississippi where - less than two years ago - the only emotion known was sorrow.



These dolphins show the little bit of elation that will be felt in the years to come over here.
And I like to think that they give hope to all who can experience them first hand.

Thanks, Dayton!

The madness never ends in NOLA city Gov't

The Wall Street Journal ran this multimedia page that accompanies an article about the rampant ineptitude of Ray Nagin's administration.
(You can't read the whole article unless you're a WSJ subscriber, but Kim has the article here.)

City officials, trying to step up the struggling city’s comeback, have said they plan to flatten 10,000 hurricane-ravaged properties this year.

But the bulging list of doomed buildings includes some that weren’t damaged much by Katrina or that have already been significantly repaired — with building permits to prove it. Often, these property owners don’t even know they’re on the demolition list, because warning letters that are supposed to be mailed to them never arrive.

Thanks to the Library Chronicles for the heads up.

Scuzzbuckets of the Week

From the Times Picayune (8/9/07)
Under fire for how it spent millions of dollars in donations earmarked for rescuing and caring for animals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a California animal rescue organization has agreed to relinquish the $4 million that remains to help the storm's animal victims, particularly those in hard-hit Slidell.

Noah's Wish, which spent several weeks in Slidell after the storm and received more than $8 million in donations from around the country, reached the settlement last month after the California attorney general's office investigated spending practices by the organization that included a mammoth pay raise and the purchase of new vehicles for the organization's executive director.

As part of the settlement, Noah’s Wish must hand over the $4 million to the attorney general’s office. The money will be placed in a special account and distributed to beneficiaries that assist animal victims of Hurricane Katrina. Of the $4 million, $1 million was contractually agreed to go to the City of Slidell, La., to construct a shelter to replace one that was destroyed in the hurricane. Money will be reserved specifically for that purpose to fulfill the agreement. In addition, approximately $125,000 will be used to reimburse the attorney general’s office for costs incurred during the investigation.

The settlement also states that Terri Crisp, board member and founder of the nonprofit, may not be employed or attached to Noah’s Wish in any manner. Crisp also is forbidden from serving as a director, officer or trustee with any other nonprofit for the next five years.


While I don't fault all of the wonderful volunteers for this organization and the awesome job they did for months after Katrina, I am pretty disgusted with the higher ups that made the decision to embezzle monies from donations for the relief of these lost and abandoned pets.

FEMA's Formaldehyde Cover-up

From the July 31, 2007 edition of Gambit Weekly, an article on the FEMA cover-up of
the impacts of the presence of formaldehyde in the thousands of FEMA trailers issued Katrina victims in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.


The article reports on the decisions made by FEMA attorneys to keep a lid on any talk of formaldehyde problems in the trailers.

FEMA knew about the formaldehyde problem a year and a half ago and engaged in a concerted effort to hide it from Congress, trailer residents, other federal agencies -- even its own field staff, which consistently raised the issue to higher ups. Fearing litigation, FEMA attorneys in Washington stopped the agency's field staff from admitting the problem, from testing trailers, even from relocating sick individuals who asked to be moved.

I certainly hope your fear of litigation turns into your worst nightmare. But knowing the track record of this dysfuctional appendage of George Bush's domestic policy, you'll probably walk away scott free.

Warning to the victims of future national tragedies: beware of presidents making empty promises and FEMA.

Update August 8th, 2007 FEMA suspends use, sales of ‘toxic’ trailers... From MSNBC dot com:
Residents can get refund, new housing while agency tests for formaldehyde....
“Nothing is as important to FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security as ensuring that disaster victims have a safe and healthy place to reside during their recovery,” the agency said in a statement.

bullshit, you just got caught.

Bridge Ratings

Louisiana Bridge Ratings
in the aftermath
of the Minnesota bridge tragedy, the T.P. has put together an article on the health of SE Louisiana bridges
It's not good news for commuters from Slidell and Mississippi and beyond.

Update 8-8-07: MSNBC has a link to bridge ratings by parish

From the Times Picayune article:

The National Bridge Inspection System requires states to collect inspection reports at least once every two years on all public bridges longer than 20 feet. States use a scale of 1 to 9, with 6 meaning satisfactory, 5 fair, 4 poor, 3 serious, 2 critical and 1 forcing immediate closure.



The U.S. 11 bridge over Lake Pontchartrain,



the Interstate 310 Mississippi River bridge at Luling (aka the Hale Boggs Bridge),



and both of the Interstate 10 twin spans over Lake Pontchartrain were rated either "serious" or "critical," although the twin spans appear to be a special case, having been reconstructed since crumbling in Hurricane Katrina and inspected on a daily basis.

In December, inspectors found deteriorated and cracked girders, joints, diaphragms and caps in the 79-year-old U.S. 11 drawbridge, as well as exposed rebar, earning the bridge a "serious" rating. The Interstate 310 bridge is only 24 years old, but corrosion on girders above the roadway also earned it a "serious" rating, even though the structure below the roadway had few problems.


I commute over the 11 bridge daily. Have been for 25 years. It's always been in crappy condition and
I'm sure Katrina did a number on it based on the dips in the roadway and missing guardrails.

I stay away from the I10 Twin Spans due to crazy drivers who brake at the top of the hump. Gives me the
creeps.

I use the Hale Boggs bridge every time I take the trip to Thibodaux to see my daughter at Nicholls State.

Living in this part of the state we're surrounded by water. On my daily ride to and from work, its possible
to cross ten bridges on a roundtrip. I don't think of myself as a gambler, but I guess I'm always
playing the odds when I venture out from home, don't I?

browsing my favorite blogs, I found some interesting things to share:

From the Dead Pelican the story of
the continuation of nonexistant communication and the pain it causes.

FEMA and the city of NOLA mistakenly tear down a home
The last call I made yesterday, they told me FEMA did it. Then, a guy called me back from FEMA and said they're not in the business if tearing down homes,"

arrests have been made in the quadruple murder that happened last year.

Varg over at The Chicory tells a humorous but sad tale of the state of the city

Ashley posted an excerpt from Michael Irvin's Hall of Fame enshrinement speech in which Irvin related his feelings about the Saints' game on September 25, 2007. He gets it.


This house in eastern Slidell has finally been torn down. Nearly two years after the storm, demolitions have at last come!

Scuzzbuckets of the Week

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference president
President, Alabama Senator Charles Steele
recently announced during a news conference that the group will find a way to honor Atlanta Falcons
former quarterback Michael Vick
during its national convention that starts today in Atlanta.

Now, as I understand it, the SCLC is a civil rights group. In my opinion, Mr. Steele has very bad standards when it comes to honoring "upstanding citizens".
"We will recognize Vick for being an outstanding human being," said Steele. "We will work with anyone who opens their heart and arms to us."
Hmmm, perhaps Vick donated money to the SCLC to get some positive press to offset his misbehavin recently.
The 27-year-old Vick has pleaded not guilty to charges of sponsoring a dogfighting operation. His trial begins November 26.
Co-defendant Tony Taylor changed his plea to guilty earlier this week in a deal with prosecutors. He is expected to testify against Vick.

Just "sponsoring dog fights" is bad enough. But this sick puppy abused the dogs
thru shooting them, drowning them or even electrocuting them.

I'd like to understand how this "civil rights" organization considers sick Vick and outstanding human being. I'd say their values are a little tainted.

Remember this come elections

From Bayoubuzz website
Today, it was confirmed that a veto override session will not occur. A majority of Louisiana legislators returned ballots to cancel the session, which means that legislators will not be reporting to Baton Rouge next week to override the horrible vetoes made by Governor Blanco. Legislators are now free to participate in a junket in Boston, a national legislative convention, which many of them were looking forward to attending.

Other legislators will be campaigning for re-election. Yet, any legislators that voted to cancel this session should not be re-elected. Voters should not forget this momentous decision.

Unfortunately, the publicity campaign waged by the Louisiana Chemical Association failed. A more effective intimidation campaign was waged by the Governor's office, which threatened New Orleans legislators with retribution if they supported the veto session. New Orleans legislators crumbled in the face of this threat.

The override session could have restored necessary tax cuts for parents of private and parochial school students and businesses who face high taxes on utilities.

What is truly sad is that $32 billion was spent in the last session, but only a paltry amount was allocated to tax cuts. Then, several of the meaningful tax cuts approved by legislators were vetoed by Governor Blanco.

Our priorities are wrong, at least with this administration and this legislature. Hope springs eternal however, for elections are coming soon. These tax cuts should be restored by the next legislature, who will most likely have a much more cooperative Governor to work with.

Following is a list of Senators who voted not to hold a veto session.

No Veto Session Declaration List 2007 RS

Robert Adley

Diana Bajoie

Walter Boasso

Sharon Broome

Ann Duplessis

Reggie Dupre

Noble Ellington

Clo Fontenot

Butch Gautreaux

Nick Gautreaux

Francis Heitmeier

Ken Hollis

Don Hines

Lydia Jackson

Charles Jones

Art Lentini

Joe McPherson

Ed Murray

Ben Nevers

Derrick Shepherd

Mike Smith

Not Okay at all

For those that feel like it's time for us to "get over it" and "move on",
read what's STILL going on , complements of Cliff.

Still Not Okay

Coming up on two years post Katrina. A lot of people think everything back to being "hunky dory" down here (a phrase my from my Mother's generation). If it's not on Nightly News, it's forgotten.

The diverse group of bloggers living in New Orleans are doing a fantastic job of keeping the city on the radar, covering all aspects of their hell on earth, from runaway crime to national opinions of our local politicians and "working women "; from our undying love for the Saints to the evil, money grubbing bastardly judges who give the city a black eye ; from the state of necessary and unnecessary housing demolitions in the city to the camraderie that Katrina created among those talented people, the NOLA bloggers are truely awe inspiring.
One NOLA blogger, who writes in a style that makes you see, smell and hear his visions writes about life in Debrisville in late July 2007.

On this side of the lake, I'm beginning to construct a chronicle of what we that live here view as progress.
Here in the Bayou Liberty area, we are seeing positive progress


as well as negative progress

the construction of an I10 interchange, two years late

The depressing sight of people still living in those FEMA trailers

Debris trucks are still an every day sight SOMEWHERE in our daily commutes

In the Bayou Liberty Marina, new boat slips are being constructed.

Nope, things won't be "Okay" for a long time. To all of you who've been down here, working on helping please know that we will always be appreciative.

We love living here. We pay the price of our love.

New Orleans Levee

If you're looking for something irreverent that'll make you laugh at the state of this state, check out The New Orleans Levee
magazine.

An excerpt:

Jesus happy Louisiana's recovery complete
A joking and jovial Jesus Christ, choosing The New Orleans Levee newspaper for his first interview since the crucifixion, said issues such as courthouse religion, lame-duck politics, and other make it to him that Louisiana has, in less than two years, rebounded “beyond pre-Katrina levels.”
,

National Geographic

The most recent National Geographic online feature covers New Orleans .

With a wonderful photo gallery, a Bob Bea interview, an interactive graphic peek at the troubled rebuilt floodwalls and more, it's worth the look.

Swampwoman corrects this article on her blog the editor chose to describe this article in the front of the magazine and made a critical error stating that the flooding of New Orleans was caused by the Mississippi River. This is incorrect, the flooding came from the north, from Lake Pontchartrain as a result of the storm surge that flowed through the Rigolets and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.

Taken from the "did you know" section of the article:

Failing levees, sinking ground, rising sea level, development on drained marsh areas, saltwater intrusion—must be New Orleans, right? Unfortunately, New Orleans is not the only part of the United States that fits this bill. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a source of drinking water for about two out of every three Californians, and has been an agricultural hub ever since settlers moving West following the Gold Rush drained the wetlands and threw up dikes. More than a thousand miles (1,600 kilometers) of levees protect 700,000 acres (280,000 hectares) of land, and some areas have dropped as much as 15 to 20 feet (five to six meters) below sea level due to the natural oxidation of marsh soils after they are drained. The levees have failed 162 times in their history, and there was a major break in 2004. To compound this serious situation, the population behind the levees is rising as developers build more and more homes in the low-lying floodplains. Where New Orleans' flood defenses are at the mercy of hurricanes, the doomsday scenario for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is an earthquake that could cause serious breaches in the levee system, allowing seawater to flood homes and farmland and foul freshwater supplies.

—Heidi Schultz




Hat Tip to Humidhaney

Vidication

Take that, Foti.

Almost a year to the day since he decided to pursue murder charges against a doctor and two nurses, a grand jury of eight women and two men refused to indict on any count, ending the criminal probe into alleged homicides during Katrina.




Retire, Chuck. You're done. Take Eddie with ya.

Hurricane Tips

Received via email.
You MUST have a sense of humor in life to get by.


To: Former Gulf Coast Residents
Current Gulf Coast Residents
Future Gulf Coast Residents; and/or
Those who know a Gulf Coast Resident

We have just entered the 6-month hurricane season. Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Gulf of Mexico and making two basic meteorological points:
(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to live along the Gulf Coast.

If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one."

Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1. Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.

STEP 2. Put these supplies into your car.

STEP 3. Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan.
Most people will foolishly stay here in Gulf Coast area.

So we'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:

HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:

(1) It is reasonably well-built, and
(2) It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located along the Gulf Coast, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place.

So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss.

Since Hurricane Katrina, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.

SHUTTERS: Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages. Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off. Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December. Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.

HURRICANE PROOF WINDOWS: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska.

HURRICANE PROOF YOUR PROPERTY: As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc. You should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles.

EVACUATION ROUTE: If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says "Galveston, New Orleans, Houston, or any other location close to the coast, you live in a low-lying area.) The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES: If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Hurricane tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies: 23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes out, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

BLEACH: (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for. But it's traditional, so GET some!)

A 55-gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)

A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Hurricane Andrew in Florida; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

$35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers standing right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

Good luck and remember: it's great living in paradise! Those of you who aren't here yet you should come. Really!

Good place to hide

The Katrina Foundation for Recovery is hoping to shock people into turning their attention back to the storm-ravaged region.


“Bin Laden would be smart to hide where the U.S. pays the least attention -- New Orleans,” reads one of five advertisements prepared for the nonprofit, which raises money to supply clothing, shelter and other services in the area.



found at adblog

Things back to "normal" yet?

For all of the folks out there who wonder if things in this area are "finally back to normal" after almost two years post Katrina, Tim has offered up a very good answer.

Read it and become educated.

A Banner Week

Perhaps it's the mid summer blues or something, but seems like the scuzzbuckets are crawling out of the woodwork.
Found over at
The Chicory, it appears that some corn fed sportswriter is voicing his opinion about the rebuilding of New Orleans and his overall opinion of its denizens.

Mr. Sportswriter Bryce Lambley

Varg's retorts are great, but it's Mr. Lambley's comments like this that make me a tad pissed off

But let's put things into perspective. If you or I are crazy enough to build much more than a ramshackle cabin on a Platte River island or shore, and a flood sweeps it away, folks here won't have much sympathy for our decision to build there in the first place. We take the risks of developing such land knowingly.


All I can say is that I'm glad I live here in Southeast Louisiana where people have heart. I can't imagine living in a place where it's so cold it makes one heartless.

I hope one day a deer gets you, Mr. Sportswriter.

PERPETUAL SCUZZBUCKETS

the hits just keep on coming…..
From ABC news, another example of FEMA's total insanity, ice that was meant for the aftermath of Katrina is now going to be melted because it can't be used:

After a slow start, FEMA trucked in more than 200 million pounds -- way too much, as it turned out.
Stuck with the unused ice, FEMA put it back on trucks and sent it to storage centers all over the country -- even to far away Portland, Maine -- and paid storage costs, hoping to use it in a future disaster.
Now, two years later, FEMA has decided it may be contaminated, and will finally dump it.
We're talking big ice here -- 85 million pounds. How many gin and tonics could you ice with that? And how many people could you cool off who are pretty steamed about the waste?
On Sunday in New Orleans, Lauren Michele Fields told ABC News, "The ice story, it's infuriating but completely believable and obvious that it happened."

It's been $12.5 million to store this ice for two years, said Beth Normile, "and I think people will be outraged and frustrated."


I experienced the aftermath of Katrina in Slidell, Louisiana. We did not see ice for almost a week. It took that
long to get it shipped to the local Wal-Mart, where they were giving it away. For weeks ice was being rationed out to people. It was
a precious commodity. To see this as yet another example of the gross negligence of the federal agency is beyond disgusting.

On another front, the former head of FEMA, James Lee Witt found a way to jump into the "screw the victims" bloodbath
by charging the state of Louisiana double the cost for subcontractor services.

from MSNBC dot com
Blanco hired Witt Associates to help Louisiana’s stricken communities work through federal red tape and to help manage storm debris removal. The governor’s move was praised as a necessary step to getting the overwhelmed state on the road to recovery.
But the state’s open-ended no-bid contract with Witt Associates also raised concerns about the financial implications of privatizing disaster relief.
In an October 2005 New York Times article, Witt was clearly sensitive to the notion that he might prosper from the Katrina disaster. “I just don’t want anyone to say that we used this as a way to profit or to try to get new business,” he said. “I just don’t want that.”
And during a taped forum at the National Press Club the following month, Witt said emphatically, “I’m not charging Louisiana anything if I’m not doing something for Louisiana.”
Nevertheless, according to information obtained by NBC News through public records, internal documents and interviews, Witt’s company has made millions of dollars from sizable markups on work performed by its subcontractors

here is a copy of a timesheet
showing markups by Witt's company for services performed by RMI debris monitors
"RMI paid one worker $18 an hour. Records show that RMI then billed Witt Associates about $50 an hour. Witt Associates subsequently billed the state $100 for that same hour of work.
"

Again from MSNBC, Witt's organization blatantly falsified timesheets

“Every week, four to five times a week, I would write, you know, ‘very slow’ or ‘nothing going on,’ ” he recalls.

Yet, he says, his supervisor told him to report 11.5-hour workdays anyway.
“I was told by the supervisor that we had to do that or they would get somebody else to do it,”

There's much more in the article. I'm too disgusted to go on.