Wednesday, August 31, 2005
From last May's Federal Budget... to this week's tragedy.
"One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project"
New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faces cuts.
by
Deon Roberts
In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding.
It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans district, Corps officials said.
I've been here over 30 years and I've never seen this level of reduction, said Al Naomi, project manager for the New Orleans district. I think part of the problem is it's not so much the reduction, it's the drastic reduction in one fiscal year. It's the immediacy of the reduction that I think is the hardest thing to adapt to.
There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.
Money is so tight the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people, instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions. The freeze is the first of its kind in about 10 years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps' Programs Management Branch.
Stephen Jeselink, interim commander of the New Orleans Corps district, told employees in an internal e-mail dated May 25 that the district is experiencing financial challenges. Execution of our available funds must be dealt with through prudent districtwide management decisions. In addition to a hiring freeze, Jeselink canceled the annual Corps picnic held every June.
Congress is setting the Corps budget.
The House of Representatives wants to cut the New Orleans district budget 21 percent to $272.4 million in 2006, down from $343.5 million in 2005. The House figure is about $20 million lower than the president's suggested $290.7 million budget.
It's now up to the Senate. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, is making no promises.
It's going to be very tough, Landrieu said. The House was not able to add back this money ... but hopefully we can rally in the Senate and get some of this money back.
Landrieu said the Bush administration is not making Corps of Engineers funding a priority.
I think it's extremely shortsighted, Landrieu said. When the Corps of Engineers' budget is cut, Louisiana bleeds. These projects are literally life-and-death projects to the people of south Louisiana and they are (of) vital economic interest to the entire nation.
The Corps' budget could still be beefed up, as it is every year, through congressional additions. Last year, Congress added $20 million to the overall budget of the New Orleans district but a similar increase this year would still leave a $50 million shortfall.
One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes. SELA's budget is being drained from $36.5 million awarded in 2005 to $10.4 million suggested for 2006 by the House of Representatives and the president.
The project manager said there would be no contracts awarded with this $10.4 million, Demma said.
The construction portion of the Corps' budget would suffer if Congress doesn't add money. In 2005, the district received $94.3 million in federal dollars dedicated to construction. In 2006, the proposal is for $56 million.
It would be critical to this city if we had a $50 million construction budget compared with the past years, Demma said. It would be horrible for the city, it would be horrible for contractors and for flood protection if this were the final number compared to recent years and what the city needs.
Construction generally has been on the decline for several years and focus has been on other projects in the Corps.
The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and improve levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are included in a Corps line item called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding is scheduled to be cut from $5.7 million this year to $2.9 million in 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay salaries but little else.
We'll do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in the field, and that's the problem, Naomi said.
The Appropriations Committee in Congress will ultimately decide how much the New Orleans district will receive, he said.
Obviously, the decisions are being made up there that are not beneficial to the state, in my opinion, Naomi said. Let's put it this way: When (former Rep.) Bob Livingston (R-Metairie) was chairman of the Appropriations Committee, we didn't have a monetary problem. Our problem was how do we spend all the money we were getting.
Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
"One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project"
New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faces cuts.
by
Deon Roberts
In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding.
It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans district, Corps officials said.
I've been here over 30 years and I've never seen this level of reduction, said Al Naomi, project manager for the New Orleans district. I think part of the problem is it's not so much the reduction, it's the drastic reduction in one fiscal year. It's the immediacy of the reduction that I think is the hardest thing to adapt to.
There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.
Money is so tight the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people, instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions. The freeze is the first of its kind in about 10 years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps' Programs Management Branch.
Stephen Jeselink, interim commander of the New Orleans Corps district, told employees in an internal e-mail dated May 25 that the district is experiencing financial challenges. Execution of our available funds must be dealt with through prudent districtwide management decisions. In addition to a hiring freeze, Jeselink canceled the annual Corps picnic held every June.
Congress is setting the Corps budget.
The House of Representatives wants to cut the New Orleans district budget 21 percent to $272.4 million in 2006, down from $343.5 million in 2005. The House figure is about $20 million lower than the president's suggested $290.7 million budget.
It's now up to the Senate. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, is making no promises.
It's going to be very tough, Landrieu said. The House was not able to add back this money ... but hopefully we can rally in the Senate and get some of this money back.
Landrieu said the Bush administration is not making Corps of Engineers funding a priority.
I think it's extremely shortsighted, Landrieu said. When the Corps of Engineers' budget is cut, Louisiana bleeds. These projects are literally life-and-death projects to the people of south Louisiana and they are (of) vital economic interest to the entire nation.
The Corps' budget could still be beefed up, as it is every year, through congressional additions. Last year, Congress added $20 million to the overall budget of the New Orleans district but a similar increase this year would still leave a $50 million shortfall.
One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes. SELA's budget is being drained from $36.5 million awarded in 2005 to $10.4 million suggested for 2006 by the House of Representatives and the president.
The project manager said there would be no contracts awarded with this $10.4 million, Demma said.
The construction portion of the Corps' budget would suffer if Congress doesn't add money. In 2005, the district received $94.3 million in federal dollars dedicated to construction. In 2006, the proposal is for $56 million.
It would be critical to this city if we had a $50 million construction budget compared with the past years, Demma said. It would be horrible for the city, it would be horrible for contractors and for flood protection if this were the final number compared to recent years and what the city needs.
Construction generally has been on the decline for several years and focus has been on other projects in the Corps.
The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and improve levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are included in a Corps line item called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding is scheduled to be cut from $5.7 million this year to $2.9 million in 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay salaries but little else.
We'll do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in the field, and that's the problem, Naomi said.
The Appropriations Committee in Congress will ultimately decide how much the New Orleans district will receive, he said.
Obviously, the decisions are being made up there that are not beneficial to the state, in my opinion, Naomi said. Let's put it this way: When (former Rep.) Bob Livingston (R-Metairie) was chairman of the Appropriations Committee, we didn't have a monetary problem. Our problem was how do we spend all the money we were getting.
Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
When you think it can't possibly be worse... it is
from here:
City a woeful scene
Tuesday, 10:14 p.m.
By Brian Thevenot, Gordon Russell, Keith Spera and Doug MacCash
Staff writers
Sitting on a black barrel amid the muck and stench near the St. Claude Avenue bridge, 52-year-old Daniel Weber broke into a sob, his voice cracking as he recounted how he had watched his wife drown and spent the next 14 hours floating in the polluted flood waters, his only life line a piece of driftwood.
"My hands were all cut up from breaking through the window, and I was standing on the fence. I said, ‘I’ll get on the roof and pull you up," he said. "And then we just went under."
Weber sat among hundreds of refugees rescued Tuesday from rooftops, attics and floating debris in the 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish by an armada of more than 100 boats. Officials from the Coast Guard estimated they pulled thousands of people off of rooftops and attics, many with stories as grim as Weber’s. Officials believed hundreds and maybe thousands more remained in peril. They declined to estimate the number of dead. That will come later.
"We’ve got cadaver dogs, but we’re only looking for the live people at this point," said Rachel Zechnelli of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which deployed all available boats to the Industrial Canal Monday night. "We’re dealing only with live voices and heartbeats."
While the 9th remained the focus of the search and rescue effort, refugees from other neighborhoods flooded by the massive breach of Lake Pontchartrain streamed to the Superdome and CBD, trudging through deep waters to get there.
Then, in an evening press conference, Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the already crippled city would take yet another blow: Another surge of water from the failed 17th Street Canal levee that could push an additional 10 feet of water into already waterlogged neighborhoods – and possibly flood the remaining dry sections of Uptown.
The expected surge stems from a failure to execute a plan to dump sandbags via helicopter into the 200 yard wide breach. Nagin offered up no culprit but promised to investigate the matter.
"I thought everyone understood this morning that that was the highest priority," the mayor said. "It didn’t get done. Now there’s nothing to slow down the pace of the water."
That was enough to prompt some of the city’s few remaining residents to start packing.
Uptown resident Margeaux Gonzalez rode out Katrina at the Queen and Crescent Hotel, then returned to find her Laurel Street home dry. As she and her neighbors watched Nagin Tuesday night on a TV rigged to a car battery, they reluctantly made plans to evacuate to Baton Rouge.
"We were feeling really positive three hours ago," Gonzales said. "The storm is long gone, we suffered through the wind and the rain and survived the flood. It’s ridiculous that we can’t get the help we need from the government to keep the city intact. That’s sad."
Earlier in the day, as flood waters rose to knee-deep levels along Poydras Street, the city’s top brass evacuated to Baton Rouge via the Crescent City Connection, the only clear route out of town. They recommended others follow.
"Get out," said City Attorney Sherry Landry from the window of the SUV she would use to evacuate. "I’m serious."
For many, that wasn’t an option. In the impoverished 9th Ward, many didn’t flee the storm in the first place because of lack of money and transportation, as well as a belief the storm wouldn’t be nearly as bad as threatened. On Tuesday, they remained the focus of efforts to evacuate the newly homeless to the already crowded Superdome.
That left thousands of people in other neighborhoods close to the lake, whose homes had not flooded until late Monday when the canal gave way, with no option other than to walk to the few dry areas of the city. Interstate 10 remained largely devoid of cars, but a steady stream of pedestrians seeking food, water and shelter walked along the highway.
More than 100 New Orleans police officers who rode out the storm in the LSU Medical Center were still trapped by high water on Tuesday. Assumption Parish deputies in boats rescued them.
Some who left their flooded homes faced heart-rending dilemmas. Bethaney Waith of Mid-City, who walked in chest high water with a neighbor to the Superdome, had to leave her disabled housemate behind. The woman suffered from epidemia and can’t walk.
Those trapped in the city faced an increasingly lawless environment, as law enforcement agencies found themselves overwhelmed with widespread looting. Looters swarmed the Wal-mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, often bypassing the food and drink section to steal wide-screen TVs, jewelry, bicycles and computers. Watching the sordid display and shaking his head in disgust, one firefighter said of the scene: "It’s a f---- hurricane, what are you do with a basketball goal?"
Police regained control at about 3 p.m., after clearing the store with armed patrol. One shotgun-toting Third District detective described the looting as "ferocious."
"And it’s going to get worse as the days progress," he said.
In Uptown, one the few areas that remained dry, a bearded man patrolled Oak Street near the boarded-up Maple Leaf Bar, a sawed-off shotgun slung over his shoulder. The owners of a hardware store sat in folding chairs, pistols at the ready.
Uptown resident Keith Williams started his own security patrol, driving around in his Ford pickup with his newly purchased handgun. Earlier in the day, Williams said he had seen the body of a gunshot victim near the corner of Leonidas and Hickory streets.
"What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," Williams said.
Like-minded Art Depodesta sat on the edge of a picnic table outside Cooter Brown’s Bar, a chrome shotgun at his side loaded with red shells.
"They broke into the Shell station across the street," he said. "I walked over with my 12-gauge and shot a couple into the air."
The looters scattered, but soon after, another man appeared outside the bar in a pickup truck armed with a pistol and threatened Depodesta.
"I told him, ‘Listen, I was in the Army and I will blow your ass off,’" Depodesta said. "We’ve got enough trouble with the flood."
The man sped away.
"You know what sucks," Depodesta said. "The whole U.S. is looking at this city right now, and this is what they see."
In the Bywater, a supply store sported spray-painted signs reading "You Loot, I Shoot" and "You Bein Watched." A man seated nearby with a rifle in his lap suggested it was no idle threat. At the Bywater studio of Dr. Bob, the artist known for handpainted "Be Nice or Leave" signs, a less fanciful sentiment was painted on the wall: "Looters Will Be Shot. Dr. Bob."
As the afternoon faded, aggression filled the air on the neutral ground of Poland Avenue as well, as people grew increasingly frustrated with the rescue effort. Having already survived one nightmare, a woman with five children feared going to go to the Dome, saying that some of the men preparing to board transport vehicles had smuggled razor blades with them.
On the other side of the bridge, rescue boats continued to offload as many as 15 people at a time late into the afternoon, with no end in sight. Some said they had seen dead bodies floating by their boats.
Many stumbled from dehydration as they made their way onto dry land. Several rescue workers said some of the people trapped were so shell-shocked or stubborn they refused to leave their houses. "If you can figure that one out, let me know," said Oscar Dupree, a volunteer who had been trapped on a roof himself and returned to help save others.
The scene called to mind a refugee camp in a Third World nation. Liquor flowed freely and tempers flared amid complaints about the pace of the relief effort, which seemed to overwhelm the agencies involved and the city’s inability to contain flood waters.
As they emerged from rescue boats, at times wobbling and speaking incoherently, many of the rescued seem stunned they had not died. Johnell Johnson of Marais street said she had been trapped on her roof " with a handicapped man with one damn leg." Gerald Wimberly wept as he recounted his unsuccessful effort to help a young girl, who rescuers ultimately saved. Dupree said he had seen a young man he knew drown. "I just couldn’t get to him," he said. "I had to tell his people."
Weber, the man who lost his wife, seemed at the breaking point as he waited, surrounded by anger and filth, for a National Guard truck to ferry him to the Dome. After 14 hours of floating on a piece of wood, volunteers who knew him had fished him out.
"Another hour, I would have just let myself drown," he said.
A moment later, staring ahead to a bleak future without his wife, he said he almost wished he had.
"I’m not going to make it. I know I’m not."
from here:
City a woeful scene
Tuesday, 10:14 p.m.
By Brian Thevenot, Gordon Russell, Keith Spera and Doug MacCash
Staff writers
Sitting on a black barrel amid the muck and stench near the St. Claude Avenue bridge, 52-year-old Daniel Weber broke into a sob, his voice cracking as he recounted how he had watched his wife drown and spent the next 14 hours floating in the polluted flood waters, his only life line a piece of driftwood.
"My hands were all cut up from breaking through the window, and I was standing on the fence. I said, ‘I’ll get on the roof and pull you up," he said. "And then we just went under."
Weber sat among hundreds of refugees rescued Tuesday from rooftops, attics and floating debris in the 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish by an armada of more than 100 boats. Officials from the Coast Guard estimated they pulled thousands of people off of rooftops and attics, many with stories as grim as Weber’s. Officials believed hundreds and maybe thousands more remained in peril. They declined to estimate the number of dead. That will come later.
"We’ve got cadaver dogs, but we’re only looking for the live people at this point," said Rachel Zechnelli of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which deployed all available boats to the Industrial Canal Monday night. "We’re dealing only with live voices and heartbeats."
While the 9th remained the focus of the search and rescue effort, refugees from other neighborhoods flooded by the massive breach of Lake Pontchartrain streamed to the Superdome and CBD, trudging through deep waters to get there.
Then, in an evening press conference, Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the already crippled city would take yet another blow: Another surge of water from the failed 17th Street Canal levee that could push an additional 10 feet of water into already waterlogged neighborhoods – and possibly flood the remaining dry sections of Uptown.
The expected surge stems from a failure to execute a plan to dump sandbags via helicopter into the 200 yard wide breach. Nagin offered up no culprit but promised to investigate the matter.
"I thought everyone understood this morning that that was the highest priority," the mayor said. "It didn’t get done. Now there’s nothing to slow down the pace of the water."
That was enough to prompt some of the city’s few remaining residents to start packing.
Uptown resident Margeaux Gonzalez rode out Katrina at the Queen and Crescent Hotel, then returned to find her Laurel Street home dry. As she and her neighbors watched Nagin Tuesday night on a TV rigged to a car battery, they reluctantly made plans to evacuate to Baton Rouge.
"We were feeling really positive three hours ago," Gonzales said. "The storm is long gone, we suffered through the wind and the rain and survived the flood. It’s ridiculous that we can’t get the help we need from the government to keep the city intact. That’s sad."
Earlier in the day, as flood waters rose to knee-deep levels along Poydras Street, the city’s top brass evacuated to Baton Rouge via the Crescent City Connection, the only clear route out of town. They recommended others follow.
"Get out," said City Attorney Sherry Landry from the window of the SUV she would use to evacuate. "I’m serious."
For many, that wasn’t an option. In the impoverished 9th Ward, many didn’t flee the storm in the first place because of lack of money and transportation, as well as a belief the storm wouldn’t be nearly as bad as threatened. On Tuesday, they remained the focus of efforts to evacuate the newly homeless to the already crowded Superdome.
That left thousands of people in other neighborhoods close to the lake, whose homes had not flooded until late Monday when the canal gave way, with no option other than to walk to the few dry areas of the city. Interstate 10 remained largely devoid of cars, but a steady stream of pedestrians seeking food, water and shelter walked along the highway.
More than 100 New Orleans police officers who rode out the storm in the LSU Medical Center were still trapped by high water on Tuesday. Assumption Parish deputies in boats rescued them.
Some who left their flooded homes faced heart-rending dilemmas. Bethaney Waith of Mid-City, who walked in chest high water with a neighbor to the Superdome, had to leave her disabled housemate behind. The woman suffered from epidemia and can’t walk.
Those trapped in the city faced an increasingly lawless environment, as law enforcement agencies found themselves overwhelmed with widespread looting. Looters swarmed the Wal-mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, often bypassing the food and drink section to steal wide-screen TVs, jewelry, bicycles and computers. Watching the sordid display and shaking his head in disgust, one firefighter said of the scene: "It’s a f---- hurricane, what are you do with a basketball goal?"
Police regained control at about 3 p.m., after clearing the store with armed patrol. One shotgun-toting Third District detective described the looting as "ferocious."
"And it’s going to get worse as the days progress," he said.
In Uptown, one the few areas that remained dry, a bearded man patrolled Oak Street near the boarded-up Maple Leaf Bar, a sawed-off shotgun slung over his shoulder. The owners of a hardware store sat in folding chairs, pistols at the ready.
Uptown resident Keith Williams started his own security patrol, driving around in his Ford pickup with his newly purchased handgun. Earlier in the day, Williams said he had seen the body of a gunshot victim near the corner of Leonidas and Hickory streets.
"What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," Williams said.
Like-minded Art Depodesta sat on the edge of a picnic table outside Cooter Brown’s Bar, a chrome shotgun at his side loaded with red shells.
"They broke into the Shell station across the street," he said. "I walked over with my 12-gauge and shot a couple into the air."
The looters scattered, but soon after, another man appeared outside the bar in a pickup truck armed with a pistol and threatened Depodesta.
"I told him, ‘Listen, I was in the Army and I will blow your ass off,’" Depodesta said. "We’ve got enough trouble with the flood."
The man sped away.
"You know what sucks," Depodesta said. "The whole U.S. is looking at this city right now, and this is what they see."
In the Bywater, a supply store sported spray-painted signs reading "You Loot, I Shoot" and "You Bein Watched." A man seated nearby with a rifle in his lap suggested it was no idle threat. At the Bywater studio of Dr. Bob, the artist known for handpainted "Be Nice or Leave" signs, a less fanciful sentiment was painted on the wall: "Looters Will Be Shot. Dr. Bob."
As the afternoon faded, aggression filled the air on the neutral ground of Poland Avenue as well, as people grew increasingly frustrated with the rescue effort. Having already survived one nightmare, a woman with five children feared going to go to the Dome, saying that some of the men preparing to board transport vehicles had smuggled razor blades with them.
On the other side of the bridge, rescue boats continued to offload as many as 15 people at a time late into the afternoon, with no end in sight. Some said they had seen dead bodies floating by their boats.
Many stumbled from dehydration as they made their way onto dry land. Several rescue workers said some of the people trapped were so shell-shocked or stubborn they refused to leave their houses. "If you can figure that one out, let me know," said Oscar Dupree, a volunteer who had been trapped on a roof himself and returned to help save others.
The scene called to mind a refugee camp in a Third World nation. Liquor flowed freely and tempers flared amid complaints about the pace of the relief effort, which seemed to overwhelm the agencies involved and the city’s inability to contain flood waters.
As they emerged from rescue boats, at times wobbling and speaking incoherently, many of the rescued seem stunned they had not died. Johnell Johnson of Marais street said she had been trapped on her roof " with a handicapped man with one damn leg." Gerald Wimberly wept as he recounted his unsuccessful effort to help a young girl, who rescuers ultimately saved. Dupree said he had seen a young man he knew drown. "I just couldn’t get to him," he said. "I had to tell his people."
Weber, the man who lost his wife, seemed at the breaking point as he waited, surrounded by anger and filth, for a National Guard truck to ferry him to the Dome. After 14 hours of floating on a piece of wood, volunteers who knew him had fished him out.
"Another hour, I would have just let myself drown," he said.
A moment later, staring ahead to a bleak future without his wife, he said he almost wished he had.
"I’m not going to make it. I know I’m not."
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Waking Up to a new Reality
New Orleanians today are facing a new reality. The reality that this kind of damage is not going to be OK--that things will not be fixed in a few weeks.
Local media are reporting that the Jefferson Parish (suburban New Orleans) president is asking those with the means to do so to stay out of the city for a month or more. Power may not be fully restored for 4 to 6 weeks. There is no running water and there is sewage and toxic chemicals floating in the streets.
My beautiful city is a hazardous zone.
My family is all right, stuck in Houston. My grandparents, trapped by floodwaters in their high rise assisted living facility in suburban Metairie, are miserable - no electricity, no running water, no toilets that flush, food rotting in the fridge - but they're alive and I can occasionally reach them by telephone (the service goes in and out).
I'm getting emails from friends who have evacuated near and far. Everyone is hungry for news about the extent of the devastation. So far, it does not seem that any of my nearest and dearest have been hurt.
People are starting to think about long term plans as the city may well be unlivable for months. One website posted that New Orleans public schools are not going to re-open until December 1st!
I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.
If you have any news, have spoken to anyone and can give me a clearer view of the damage (especially to the uptown and riverbend areas), please email or post it here. The national news, CNN et al, are doing an adequate job of reporting for those who are just interested in the story, but for those of us who are locals, it is not enough detail or information.
New Orleanians today are facing a new reality. The reality that this kind of damage is not going to be OK--that things will not be fixed in a few weeks.
Local media are reporting that the Jefferson Parish (suburban New Orleans) president is asking those with the means to do so to stay out of the city for a month or more. Power may not be fully restored for 4 to 6 weeks. There is no running water and there is sewage and toxic chemicals floating in the streets.
My beautiful city is a hazardous zone.
My family is all right, stuck in Houston. My grandparents, trapped by floodwaters in their high rise assisted living facility in suburban Metairie, are miserable - no electricity, no running water, no toilets that flush, food rotting in the fridge - but they're alive and I can occasionally reach them by telephone (the service goes in and out).
I'm getting emails from friends who have evacuated near and far. Everyone is hungry for news about the extent of the devastation. So far, it does not seem that any of my nearest and dearest have been hurt.
People are starting to think about long term plans as the city may well be unlivable for months. One website posted that New Orleans public schools are not going to re-open until December 1st!
I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.
If you have any news, have spoken to anyone and can give me a clearer view of the damage (especially to the uptown and riverbend areas), please email or post it here. The national news, CNN et al, are doing an adequate job of reporting for those who are just interested in the story, but for those of us who are locals, it is not enough detail or information.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Beyond anything I could have imagined
100% power failures, whole sections of the city under 6 - 8 feet of water. Mass destruction all over the city.
I. Don't. Know. What. To. Say.
100% power failures, whole sections of the city under 6 - 8 feet of water. Mass destruction all over the city.
I. Don't. Know. What. To. Say.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Terrified
My parents are on the road with my aunt and cousin, somewhere just east of Baton Rouge. They have been on the road for a few hours and are crawling slowly on the I-10 contra flow towards Houston, where they have hotel rooms reserved.
My grandparents are too weak to spend the 12 or so hours in a car that it's going to take to get to safety, so they are staying in their assisted living building. My parents made sure that they have enough food, water, medicines and batteries to be ok for 7 days. Their building has a generator, so hopefully everything is going to be fine.
Most of my friends left yesterday for points north or west.
Most people have homeowners insurance and took the precious family items with them. The insurance should cover damage and hopefully, the National Guard will keep looting under control.
I just close my eyes, helplessly hoping that my beautiful city will still be there after that bitch Katrina is done with her.
My parents are on the road with my aunt and cousin, somewhere just east of Baton Rouge. They have been on the road for a few hours and are crawling slowly on the I-10 contra flow towards Houston, where they have hotel rooms reserved.
My grandparents are too weak to spend the 12 or so hours in a car that it's going to take to get to safety, so they are staying in their assisted living building. My parents made sure that they have enough food, water, medicines and batteries to be ok for 7 days. Their building has a generator, so hopefully everything is going to be fine.
Most of my friends left yesterday for points north or west.
Most people have homeowners insurance and took the precious family items with them. The insurance should cover damage and hopefully, the National Guard will keep looting under control.
I just close my eyes, helplessly hoping that my beautiful city will still be there after that bitch Katrina is done with her.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Inequities
I consider myself a feminist. Not a one of those misguided feminists that believes that all men are inherently oppressors or any other similar horseshit. No, I happen to love men, love chivalry and still feel that those things can peacefully co-exist.
But when I see inequality, when I see prejudice--well, I just have to speak out.
I have gone to every goddamn dry cleaner in our town. Why, why is it that my shirts--which use less fabric than my husband's shirts, have less stains than my husband's (mainly due to the fact that I am a much neater eater!) and should therefore, logically, be easier to launder and press--cost twice as much to clean?
I'm not talking about silk with ruffles and pintucks here; I mean good old, normal J. Crew or Banana Republic or Gap cotton button down shirts!
Every place I go charges at least twice as much for women's shirts. When I ask why, I am usually met with a stubborn stare and the answer, "women's shirts are more."
Why?
No one can give me a straight answer.
So, I am turning to you, my readers. Can anyone explain this phenomena? Is it just plain and simple prejudice or is there an actual reason? And, mainly what can I do about it? And finally, those of you in my neck of the woods (Montclair, West Orange, etc.), is there a dry cleaners that doesn't do this? I have literally been to 10 places in the last two years since we moved here.
I consider myself a feminist. Not a one of those misguided feminists that believes that all men are inherently oppressors or any other similar horseshit. No, I happen to love men, love chivalry and still feel that those things can peacefully co-exist.
But when I see inequality, when I see prejudice--well, I just have to speak out.
I have gone to every goddamn dry cleaner in our town. Why, why is it that my shirts--which use less fabric than my husband's shirts, have less stains than my husband's (mainly due to the fact that I am a much neater eater!) and should therefore, logically, be easier to launder and press--cost twice as much to clean?
I'm not talking about silk with ruffles and pintucks here; I mean good old, normal J. Crew or Banana Republic or Gap cotton button down shirts!
Every place I go charges at least twice as much for women's shirts. When I ask why, I am usually met with a stubborn stare and the answer, "women's shirts are more."
Why?
No one can give me a straight answer.
So, I am turning to you, my readers. Can anyone explain this phenomena? Is it just plain and simple prejudice or is there an actual reason? And, mainly what can I do about it? And finally, those of you in my neck of the woods (Montclair, West Orange, etc.), is there a dry cleaners that doesn't do this? I have literally been to 10 places in the last two years since we moved here.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Shades of Grey
Note: this is unlike my normal posts. If you come here to read about my new shoes or are looking for my normal lightness and fluff, you may want to skip this post.
I don't deal in absolutes--I'm not that kind of person.
I believe in ambiguities, in situations and decisions that are not clear cut or well defined. I don't believe in the divine, unless you mean the divinity in the human animal. I am envious, in my own way, of people who believe. You know, Believe--with a capital B. There are no ambiguities, no pesky soul searching to find the right way. No, they just read their sacred text, whether it's the bible, the koran, the torah, whatever--and, boom! Presto, the answer is given to them.
Only it doesn't work like that, does it?
Because blind faith without question brings us to what we have now. Terrorists with no fear of death, no fear of the unknown. Evangelicals who preach tolerance and peace, but whose actions are in direct contradiction to their faith's own tenets. Hatred. Death. War.
Fundamentalism in all its forms is not the answer to a morally ambiguous world, but increasingly, it is what people are choosing to help guide them through. I see it all around us--the fastest growing segments of our global society are those who choose extreme religious fundamentalism. It's a reaction to the times we live in. It's hard to be intellectually curious; to question and strive to understand. It's so much easier to just be given the answer.
Driving home the other day, I was following a large SUV with a bumper sticker that read, "No Peace? Know Jesus. Jesus is the Answer." Only, he's not. Not to me, anyway. Nor is god, or allah, or buddha or whoever.
I don't purport to have an answer. I just don't think that people are even asking the question anymore.
We live in increasingly violent times. No, I am aware that there are violent times in humanity's past. I know that a normal human's life in earlier times was short, hard and brutish. I understand that we have it easier than all previous generations, and that our children will have it easier still.
I know all of this, but I can't help but feel that we as a civilization are going in the wrong direction--toward fractiousness, hatred, fear. And I look around me and all I see is people burying their heads in the sand of religion.
Note: this is unlike my normal posts. If you come here to read about my new shoes or are looking for my normal lightness and fluff, you may want to skip this post.
I don't deal in absolutes--I'm not that kind of person.
I believe in ambiguities, in situations and decisions that are not clear cut or well defined. I don't believe in the divine, unless you mean the divinity in the human animal. I am envious, in my own way, of people who believe. You know, Believe--with a capital B. There are no ambiguities, no pesky soul searching to find the right way. No, they just read their sacred text, whether it's the bible, the koran, the torah, whatever--and, boom! Presto, the answer is given to them.
Only it doesn't work like that, does it?
Because blind faith without question brings us to what we have now. Terrorists with no fear of death, no fear of the unknown. Evangelicals who preach tolerance and peace, but whose actions are in direct contradiction to their faith's own tenets. Hatred. Death. War.
Fundamentalism in all its forms is not the answer to a morally ambiguous world, but increasingly, it is what people are choosing to help guide them through. I see it all around us--the fastest growing segments of our global society are those who choose extreme religious fundamentalism. It's a reaction to the times we live in. It's hard to be intellectually curious; to question and strive to understand. It's so much easier to just be given the answer.
Driving home the other day, I was following a large SUV with a bumper sticker that read, "No Peace? Know Jesus. Jesus is the Answer." Only, he's not. Not to me, anyway. Nor is god, or allah, or buddha or whoever.
I don't purport to have an answer. I just don't think that people are even asking the question anymore.
We live in increasingly violent times. No, I am aware that there are violent times in humanity's past. I know that a normal human's life in earlier times was short, hard and brutish. I understand that we have it easier than all previous generations, and that our children will have it easier still.
I know all of this, but I can't help but feel that we as a civilization are going in the wrong direction--toward fractiousness, hatred, fear. And I look around me and all I see is people burying their heads in the sand of religion.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
File Under WTF??
Something odd is happening to me.
Last Friday, we had Plans. You know, with a capital "P" -- a co-worker or John's sister was opening a bar. There would be drinks, music, food, etc. Instead, I sat on the couch at 8 PM begging not to go... "can't we just stay home and veg?"
A few weeks ago, we went to the beach for a long weekend. Instead of picking up my usual beach reading-- W, Vogue, Allure--to see what was happening in fashion, I got... Martha Stewart Living and Home & Garden.
This past year's bonus? The biggest purchase wasn't clothes or a fancy night out.. no, I bought 400 thread count sheets and a beautiful duvet cover.
Saturdays are spent watching HGTV and poring over paint schemes and decorating ideas. Who am I???
Can someone tell me what the f@%&?
Something odd is happening to me.
Last Friday, we had Plans. You know, with a capital "P" -- a co-worker or John's sister was opening a bar. There would be drinks, music, food, etc. Instead, I sat on the couch at 8 PM begging not to go... "can't we just stay home and veg?"
A few weeks ago, we went to the beach for a long weekend. Instead of picking up my usual beach reading-- W, Vogue, Allure--to see what was happening in fashion, I got... Martha Stewart Living and Home & Garden.
This past year's bonus? The biggest purchase wasn't clothes or a fancy night out.. no, I bought 400 thread count sheets and a beautiful duvet cover.
Saturdays are spent watching HGTV and poring over paint schemes and decorating ideas. Who am I???
Can someone tell me what the f@%&?
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Fresh Coat of Paint
New summery theme colors on ol' blog (it was actually supposed to be a spring overhaul, but... ahem... that took a little longer than anticipated), a long overdue update of the links, a fresh renewed commitment to writing here (I met a woman today who helped to remind me that I need to make time for little bursts of creativity or I'll just become that corporate drone I swore I would never be!).
It's been a long, hard, stressful spring and summer. I''ve been inundated with work and other stresses. But I am committing to a new post at minimum every weekend and hopefully more than that.
I'm brimming with news.
We will be closing on a charming cottage with a Manhattan skyline view on September 23rd (just over a month away). Charming is real estate code word for small, but that's ok. It has a lovely backyard with wild strawberries and a large tri-level deck for parties, hardwood floors, lovely, dark wood trim throughout, a fireplace and a large dining room overlooking the deck for all those great dinners we will serve in it. It has a finished basement that will serve as a cat wonderland and two nice size bedrooms. It's in a great neighborhood and is one block from the elementary school. It's all the things that five years ago I thought I didn't want, but now find that I do. The mortgage is committed, my life savings is away in escrow, the inspections are done and the paint colors are picked out. We're combing the yard sales for all those homeowner acoutrements we have never had--it's a done deal and I'm excited, scared, nervous, thrilled and every other possible emotion all at once.
In other words, welcome to Daniella's Misadventures, part deux in which our intrepid heroine tackles homeownership with aplomb, grace and finesse.
Ok, maybe not, but a girl can certainly dream, yes?
New summery theme colors on ol' blog (it was actually supposed to be a spring overhaul, but... ahem... that took a little longer than anticipated), a long overdue update of the links, a fresh renewed commitment to writing here (I met a woman today who helped to remind me that I need to make time for little bursts of creativity or I'll just become that corporate drone I swore I would never be!).
It's been a long, hard, stressful spring and summer. I''ve been inundated with work and other stresses. But I am committing to a new post at minimum every weekend and hopefully more than that.
I'm brimming with news.
We will be closing on a charming cottage with a Manhattan skyline view on September 23rd (just over a month away). Charming is real estate code word for small, but that's ok. It has a lovely backyard with wild strawberries and a large tri-level deck for parties, hardwood floors, lovely, dark wood trim throughout, a fireplace and a large dining room overlooking the deck for all those great dinners we will serve in it. It has a finished basement that will serve as a cat wonderland and two nice size bedrooms. It's in a great neighborhood and is one block from the elementary school. It's all the things that five years ago I thought I didn't want, but now find that I do. The mortgage is committed, my life savings is away in escrow, the inspections are done and the paint colors are picked out. We're combing the yard sales for all those homeowner acoutrements we have never had--it's a done deal and I'm excited, scared, nervous, thrilled and every other possible emotion all at once.
In other words, welcome to Daniella's Misadventures, part deux in which our intrepid heroine tackles homeownership with aplomb, grace and finesse.
Ok, maybe not, but a girl can certainly dream, yes?
