YK Panel -- Rebuilding New Orleans from the Ground Up

Can you believe it's been almost two years? Two years since the levees broke. Two years since the Superdome. Two years since "Heckuva Job." Two years since Bush promised the nation that his administration "will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives." Two years out, leading on-the-ground experts will come to YearlyKos to talk about how far we've come in New Orleans -- and how far we still have to go.

The news is filled with stories of heartache, continued loss and mind-numbing governmental incompetence. But is that whole story? How are the people on the ground in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast faring as they fight to reclaim their communities?

On Saturday, August 4, from 10:30-11:30 am, a panel of leading on-the-ground experts tackle those questions and more in addressing one of the most profound and vital challenges facing government and the nation.

Despite facing almost unprecedented challenges, the people of New Orleans are making tremendous strides. There's the community organizer who built a free health clinic from scratch. There's the housing lawyer who fought to ensure everyone could return home if they wanted. There's the blogger who pored through mountains of media reports and government paperwork to give his readers the most thorough, up-to-date information on the rebuilding process. Without the diligent and often overlooked work of New Orleans residents themselves, the city may have been lost.

The panel, moderated by noted poverty advocate and CEO of PolicyLink Angela Glover Blackwell, will look at the progress and setbacks of rebuilding – and what the government and all Americans must do now to help bring New Orleans and the Gulf Coast back.

Panelists include Malik Rahim, a community activist and co-founder of Common Ground Collective; Tracie Washington, a prominent New Orleans housing lawyer and president of the Louisiana Justice Institute; and Alan Gutierrez, author of the ThinkNOLA.com blog

Come hear firsthand accounts from the folks working hard on-the-ground every day to reclaim New Orleans. Saturday, August 4, 10:30 - 11:30 am.

•  you better talk about tax policy

  San Francisco raised itself up from rubble after the 1909 earthquake by shifting tax policy off buildings and onto land.

  it charged development sustaianbly and created the modern city that essentially exiists today.

  read more here

  and also here as well but scroll down to the second article about New Orleans

  by stillman on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:24:57 AM PDT

  •  1906

    typo sorry

    by stillman on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:27:03 AM PDT

  •  Depressing

    Thank you for the links. Depressing to read but then any sane economic discussion in today's world is depressing given the robber barons in the White House.

    by susie dow on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:15:48 AM PDT

•  My Gosh I Wish My Brother Wasn't

  get married at the same time so I could be at Yearly Kos. There is no topic I've read more about then Katrina and the rebuilding (or lack there of) of New Orleans and there is just so much amazing stuff that could be done, but isn't.

  by webranding on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:25:01 AM PDT

•  This is good news.

  So many of us here at DK have been frustrated at the lack of attention paid to NOLA and post-Katrina recovery generally.

  I am so grateful that Yearly Kos will have a panel on this, and I hope that many diaries on it will result.

  OT: I'm adding "louisiana" to your tags so this diary shows up on leftyblogs.

  by Nightprowlkitty on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:25:59 AM PDT

  •  Amen, Amen, Amen

    I am often more then a little pissed by how little coverage this whole issue gets here.

    by webranding on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:28:16 AM PDT

  •  It's an ongoing struggle...

    ...to get folks to pay attention to NOLA -- their challenges, but also the successes. People are working so damn hard every day without much help. Battling through "Katrina fatigue" is probably going to be the biggest challenge during the next vital year or two.

    And Nightprowlkitty, thanks for the added tag.

    by PolicyLinkDan on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:41:24 AM PDT

•  Well One Issue I Am Sure They Will Touch

  on is the 9th Ward and affordable housing. IMHO the 9th Ward is the heart of New Orleans. Sure there are a couple areas where it might not be best to head into after dark, but that is the same with any large city. But you want food and music, go there.

  And most importantly most people know NO from the French Quarter (how sad BTW) and as tourist. And the people that carry your bags, cook your food, and clean your rooms need housing they can afford. I see nothing that shows this is happening and it is a crime on many different levels.

  by webranding on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:33:02 AM PDT

  •  Car rental

    I haven't really seen this discussed any where but if you try to rent a car in New Orleans, the loss damage waiver insurance is $50 a day while the car rental itself will only cost you $30 a day. If you've got insurance that covers rentals, you're covered. Or if you've got a credit card that covers your insurance you're ok too. But heaven help you if your poor with access to neither because the insurance companies in New Orleans region are going to rake  you over the coals and try and squeeze every penny out of you they can.

    Great way to promote tourism, huh?

    PS: East New Orleans needs a staggeringly enormous amount of help.

    by susie dow on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:04:20 AM PDT

  •  Affordable Housing

    We've got one of the best panels you could possibly want when it comes to the affordable housing crisis in New Orleans. Tracie Washington and Angela Glover Blackwell are two of the country's foremost experts in affordable housing policy -- and the lack of housing continues to be one of the biggest things holding back Gulf Coast rebuilding.

    For more on the New Orleans housing crunch, check out this new report by PolicyLink (PDF) on the dearth of rental housing in NOLA.

    by PolicyLinkDan on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:44:58 AM PDT

•  Without a strategy to restore the wetlands

  and rebuild the Mississippi delta this will all be for naught because New Orleans and the delta continues to sink. The natural barriers that protect New Orleans continue to be lost to the sea as sediments are funneled into the deep Gulf by short sighted engineering design.

  by FishOutofWater on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:35:26 AM PDT

  •  Without A Doubt

    And the issue is even more complex then I think most understand. I live a "few" miles north of New Orleans on the Mississippi outside St. Louis. Of course floods are actually a good thing, it is the reason we have great soil. But the fuck up that is the management of the river is hard to comprehend.

    by webranding on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:39:30 AM PDT

    •  Efforts to control a great river backfire

      The Mississippi river is over controlled. The control has benefits for moderate floods and "normal" conditions but leads to disaster in extreme events.

      Reduced controls would help avoid catastrophe by allowing more widespread moderate flooding rather than focused extreme flooding in 50 rare but predictable events such as 50 year storms.

      by FishOutofWater on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:52:54 AM PDT

  •  Barrier Islands and Wetlands

    I would be satisfied with just the restoration of the islands and the swamps and raising my house another 3 feet. This would be cheaper then gating and cementing mother nature and you are fighting mother nature naturally.  But, then the cronies, ACOE and Halliburton can't rape the tax payer.      

    by chigh on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 07:52:35 AM PDT

  •  Not long after Katrina

    ...I seem to recall reading an article that suggested the thousands and thousands of downed trees be taken to help rebuild that natural barrier.  Was anything along those lines ever done?  From a layperson point of view, it seemed to make a lot of sense.

    by BarbinMD on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:09:23 AM PDT

    •  The downed trees would be very temporary

      I didn't follow that suggestion.  

      Sediment must be allowed to build up along the delta, ot ir will continue to sink and erode. The technical solutions involve redirecting sediment laden waters to  the nearshore zones around the delta. A number of proposals have been made to do this already.

      The deep channelization of the Mississippi to force waters into the deep Gulf was good for shipping in the short term, but was utterly foolhardy in the longer term.

      The Army Corps responded to narrow corporate interests while ignoring the big picture. This is a recipe for disaster.

      by FishOutofWater on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:48:17 AM PDT

      •  Pumping Sand

        Another easy and cheap solution to rebuild the barrier islands is to have a pump barge out there rebuilding, but again very little money to made by these simple ideas.  

        by chigh on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 09:47:20 AM PDT

        •  Boats

          One problem with using trees to restore the barrier islands is that a lot of people lost their boats during Katrina and the waterways are still clogged up with debris.  

          Also, the ACOE has spent billions on the 17th St. Canal.  They seized property under eminient domain (putting restaurants, volleyball courts, homes, yards and an entire fishing village out of business) for no reason at all. They should have just shut the dam canal down and pumped rain water to the river.  Now the canal banks on the Metairie side are sloughing off in the vicinity of a high rise building that is built on the toe of the levee.  As the ACOE continues to test the pumps because they don't work, more land falls into the canal.  Will the ACOE now take the building?  

          by chigh on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 12:52:38 PM PDT

    •  Xmas Trees

      Prior to Katrina there was an effort by the local environmental groups and volunteers to recycle the Xmas trees as part of barrier island restoration. I doubt that the Halliburton sub contractors were paid to rebuild a natural barrier when "natural" would compete with cement contractors.

      by chigh on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 09:45:49 AM PDT

•  This panel

  ...is on my calender.  

  by BarbinMD on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:10:12 AM PDT

  •  I won't be able ...

    ... to attend YK.  I would so much appreciate it if you diaried on this afterwards.  And I don't think I'm the only one.

    Thanks in advance.

    by Nightprowlkitty on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:11:44 AM PDT

    •  Great minds

      As I was reading this diary and noting it as a panel I'd attend, I was thinking it would make an interesting post.  

      by BarbinMD on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:20:31 AM PDT

    •  Absolutely

      We'll definitely diary after the panel. I expect it to be a pretty great discussion.

      by PolicyLinkDan on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:47:49 AM PDT

•  the panel is going to be awesome

  I know PolicyLink's work and believe me, this panel is a must see.

  by DMIer on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:20:08 AM PDT

•  thanks

  terrific job here. Sounds like a very exciting panel.

  by OrangeClouds115 on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:28:57 AM PDT

•  Any questions for the panelists?

  I'm helping to prep the panelists later this week and would love to know if there are any specific questions or concerns y'all have. What do you want to know?

  by PolicyLinkDan on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 08:51:49 AM PDT

  •  questions:

    1. What specifically is being done right now re the formaldehyde toxic trailors?

    2. What is the status of the lower 9th Ward? Is it still dog-chasing tail -- as in -- people who want to come to N.O. can't because their homes were destroyed, and they had insufficient insurance. Those who HAVE come back don't know if they should rebuild -- can't get insurance, not even certain if the city will supply infrastructure to this area, or flood control structures. People waiting to come back are waiting to see if their neighbors are coming back to rebuild. If they aren't going to rebuild, then whatever property value there still is, will go down further since there is lack of faith the area can be revived; thus, those waiting to come back may not have property value to make it worthwhile. And finally -- Have specific decisions been made by the city of New Orleans, the State of LA, the federal govt, re whether the whole area will be bulldozed and considered uninhabitable land due to ongoing flood risks and the expenses that go with it?

    3. What is the economic outlook for the City? What is the level of tourism now, compared to pre-Katrina levels, and compared to 2006? If improving, by how much?

    4. My own experiences visiting at end of May (2007), both direct, and as conveyed by my parents and brothers who have lived in New Orleans all their lives, is that the level of service is way down in certain long established businesses. Many jobs (and knowhow) that had been performed by locals, at such places as, for example, Hardware Stores, are now being performed by people who have moved to the city to fill the voids due to people who have not returned. In some cases they have no feeling for or understanding of the city culture, and as a result, the quality of service is down -- which discourages locals even more.

    5. Racial tensions are still high, and perhaps even higher than before Katrina. I have actually heard some of the white people in Uptown New Orleans (where it didn't flood) express feelings, below the radar, that with a large percentage of the poor population of New Orleans now "gone", finally they don't have to carry the economic burden they've resented for so long -- where their property taxes are large % of funding for assistance programs for people who pay no taxes. With these sentiments seems to be a strange denial of the actual value of the black population of New Orleans -- as though their cultural contributions in areas like jazz and Mardi Gras traditions are not part of the draw that brings tourism TO New Orleans. Very complicated dynamics.

    6. Given some of the rebuilt levees by the Army Corps of Engineers were pronounced unsound and poorly conceived in their engineering design, and completely unable to withstand Cat 5 hurricanes, what is happening to those very levees? Are they going to be rebuilt again? If so, who is paying for that? And what is the prognosis for their suitability in withdstanding flood waters if another hurricane hits this season?

    7. What ever happened to Dr. Anna Pou, who was facing charges for the deaths of elderly patients at Memorial Hospital? Is she still going to be tried?

    just a few of the questions on my mind... plenty more including the corruption in government, and who is making sure the money being provided N.O. and Gulf Coast is being spent soundly, vs same old graft and corruption?

    by rhfactor on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 10:27:27 AM PDT

    •  Answers

      1.  FEMA is knocking on trailer doors and leaving notices.

      2.  9th Ward is status quo

      3.  Tourism sucks, it always does in summer.  Those planning KOS convention next year, summer deals to be had.

      4.  Service levels fluctuate because there are no longer any patterns of behavior.

      5.  Raccial tensions are spreading to the suburbs, might have been the plan all along.

      6.  New guy took over the ACOE recently, so far nothing has changed except for more problems on 17th (see my comment above)

      7.  Rally for Dr. Pou last week was well attended and Foti will have a very difficult time finding a jury.  

      by chigh on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 01:01:05 PM PDT

      •  wow! -- asked and answered!

        thank you -- well done!

        Also, I forgot, when I was there end of May-June, wasn't there yet another "czar" appointed to help "plow through red tape and get stuff done"? I talked to people all over who said they picked the wrong guy.. they thought an "outsider" would be better -- but the locals feel he has no sense of what the city was before, and thus off the mark.

        Is this accurate?

        by rhfactor on Mon Jul 23, 2007 at 05:35:17 PM PDT