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September 8, 2005

Update from Rhode Islander in Corpus Christi shelter; Old-line New Orleans families plot the future

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2:40 p.m.
Update from Rhode Islander in Houston Corpus Christi shelter: Providence native Bob Fabrizio called again last night from Ben Garza Gym shelter in Corpus Christi, Texas. Here's his news:

-- No word on when the bus and plane tickets will arrive. Shelter officials said Tuesday night that Katrina survivors may go anywhere they wish except New Orleans.

-- FEMA officials were expected at the shelter yesterday but that didn't happen.

-- Children and some adults were taken to movies Sunday.

-- Children were taken to school yesterday for the first time. After school, two clowns came to the shelter to entertain them.

-- Women were taken to beauty parlors yesterday.

Bob again stressed how generous and warm the welcome has been from the local residents.

Elsewhere, word is the FEMA checks will take five to seven days to be issued. (The debit cards you're hearing about are from the Red Cross.)

Old-line New Orleans families plot the future: Fascinating read from the Wall Street Journal (reprinted in the Pittsburge Post-Gasette about the future of New Orleans. The venerable mansions Uptown are largely untouched. Mayor Nagin, the story says, has called a meeting in Dallas to begin mapping out a future for the city.

...The power elite of New Orleans -- whether they are still in the city or have moved temporarily to enclaves such as Destin, Fla., and Vail, Colo. -- insist the remade city won't simply restore the old order. New Orleans before the flood was burdened by a teeming underclass, substandard schools and a high crime rate. The city has few corporate headquarters.

The new city must be something very different, Mr. Reiss says, with better services and fewer poor people. "Those who want to see this city rebuilt want to see it done in a completely different way: demographically, geographically and politically," he says. "I'm not just speaking for myself here. The way we've been living is not going to happen again, or we're out."

Not every white business leader or prominent family supports that view. Some black leaders and their allies in New Orleans fear that it boils down to preventing large numbers of blacks from returning to the city and eliminating the African-American voting majority....

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 2:40 PM | Permalink