New Orleans, One Year Later

It has officially been one year since Hurricane Katrina made landfall just east of New Orleans. One year ago, 1,800 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands were displaced due to the storm's intensity, the failure of the city's flood defenses, and the government's bungled response.
After the storm, we saw incompetence and compassion, frustration and determination, in New Orleans. To date about 250,000 New Orleanians have returned home and billions of dollars have been channeled into the city and the Gulf Coast for relief and recovery. Volunteers have poured into the city to help the beleagured residents rebuild. Many Americans have contributed some form of aid to New Orleans.

However, New Orleans faces many urgent challenges that must be tackled immediately and effectively if the city is to truly recover. The city's hurricane and flood defenses must be strengthened to the point where they can repulse Category 5 hurricanes and the flooding that can accompany them. It is crucial for long-term investment and settlement in the city. That new system must incorporate restored wetlands that will provide a buffer during future hurricanes. Furthermore, violent crime must be ended. The gruesome headlines of murder after murder in New Orleans are hurting the city's image at a time when the city is carefully trying to craft an optimistic image. The NOPD must be given the resources it needs, and the direction from capable officials at the top, to end the violent crime. In addition, New Orleans needs to shore up its school system to attract young families. Finally, the state of Louisiana needs to get its fair share of offshore energy royalties that are currently kept by the federal government. This money would do wonders for New Orleans.

A lot of people are not optimistic when assessing New Orleans' chances at fully recovering and regaining its former glory. Many say that not enough is being done. The damage from Katrina is still visible; some places have still not been cleaned up. The city is still underpopulated. While more certainly needs be done, I believe that the city will ultimately come back stronger. New Orleanians are determined to bring their city back, and the American people do not want to see New Orleans fail. One year later, the recovery has been set in motion but there is still much work to be done in the Big Easy.

Spike Lee and "When the Levees Broke"

While watching Spike Lee's documentary "When the Levees Broke" several thoughts came to mind. He did an excellent job in showing the destruction, both the physical and the emotional, of New Orleans. His questions during interviews with notable figures in the tragedy were dead on and brought out interesting and differing perspectives on the storm and its aftermath. The importance of drawing the distinction between when the storm's damage ended and when the man-made damage caused by the failure of the city's defenses and the federal government's response began cannot be underestimated.

However, all those things being said, I strongly disagree with the notion that the levees were "blown up" by the federal government. It was raised in the documentary and the fact that it has some proponents baffles me. I understand why the African-American community would distrust the federal government after so many years of injustice, but the claim that explosives were set to breach the levees so that African Americans would be flooded out is simply ridiculous. It would be impossible to flood just the predominantly black Lower Ninth Ward without also flooding predominantly white Chalmette and other areas of St. Bernard Parish. After any major tragedy, conspiracy theories always abound in an attempt to explain how something so tragic could have had happened.

This documentary is important in telling the world what happened in New Orleans on August 29, 2006 and in the days and weeks afterward. However, we must continue to look forward to the day when New Orleans will be rebuilt with strengthened hurricane and flood defenses.

Results of Meetings on Future Bill with Members of the Louisiana Congressional Delegation

I just returned home from my meetings in New Orleans with members of U.S. Senator David Vitter's staff and Congressman Bobby Jindal's staff. Both meetings were productive and went very well. We discussed SaveBigEasy.org's ideas for a bill in Congress in regards to the creation of a comprehensive Category 5 hurricane and flood protection system as well as a board that would oversee its construction.

Currently, the delegation is focused squarely on two bills that would give the state of Louisiana a percentage of all offshore energy royalties gained from oil drilling near its coast. If passed, the measures would provide the state with a large, annual sum of money. These bills have worked their way to a conference committee between the House of Representatives and the Senate. After those two bills are merged into one and its fate is determined, we will have further discussions about the proposal of a Category 5 hurricane and flood protection bill. In the meantime, SaveBigEasy.org will continue to work on behalf of New Orleans for upgraded hurricane protection to strengthen itself for the future.

Overall, the meetings were successful in that we were able to make new connections and gauge the position of some of Louisiana's representatives in Congress. In addition, SaveBigEasy.org received support for its goals and its work.