New Orleans to reopen parts this weekend, mayor announces

part of the link above -
Mayor Plans to Reopen Parts of New Orleans by Weekend


By MARIA NEWMAN
Published: September 15, 2005

New Orleans "will breathe again," beginning this weekend.

Mayor C. Ray Nagin said today that on Saturday, officials will allow residents and business owners to return to the city, ZIP Code by ZIP Code, with the French Quarter fully open for business a week from Monday.

"The City of New Orleans, starting this weekend, will start to breathe again," said a clearly ebullient Mayor C. Ray Nagin.

The reopening of the devastated city, he said, is being made possible through the coordinated efforts of federal, state and local authorities who are working closely to monitor water quality, provide security to the reopened areas and provide access to health care as residents are allowed to gradually repopulate the only American city ever to beevacuated on such a scale.

"The City of New Orleans, starting this weekend, will start to breathe again," said a clearly ebullient Mr. Nagin, who has complained about the pace of federal assistance to the stricken Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. "We will have life. We will have commerce. We will have people getting into their normal modes of operations, and the normal rhythm of the city of New Orleans that is so unique."

The mayor's announcement came as President Bush prepared to address the nation tonight on television in his first major speech about the Katrina recovery. Mr. Bush has faced bilateral criticism for his handling of the response to Katrina. Public opinion polls taken after Katrina struck also show his overall approval ratings are equal to their lowest in his presidency.The mayor said law enforcement officials would strictly enforce a curfew of dusk to dawn as they allow people to return into various sections of the city. Residents and business owners will be required to show ID cards with their home or business addresses to be allowed into the reopened areas.

The perimeter of those areas will be closely guarded by National Guard troops or other law enforcement, he said, to avoid the violence that threw the city into chaos shortly after levees that had held back Lake Ponchartrain broke and left about 80 percent of the city under water in the days after the hurricane ripped through the Gulf Coast.

I'm starting to wonder. Neither CNN or Google news has this on its site yet, at least that I see.

(talking to self here) Doesn't seem all that well thought out, to me.. though I can see the benefits, also see difficulty.

Osso


Osso, you asked what I thought of the Mayor's plan. His is an emotional response plan, not one logically thought out on the basis of the history of the land.

I've said on several sites that New Oleans should not be rebuilt in the same locations prior to Katrina. I suppose the City areas that survived with minimal damage could remain.

The Mississippi River basin must be restored to allow the natural drainage of all the areas east of the Rocky Mountains. The wetlands must be restored to retard further loss of land to the Gulf of Mexico.

I will repeat what I've said before. The terrorists now have the perfect formula for crippling the US economy. Wait until everything is restored as it was at a huge cost. Then the terrorists just bomb the levee systems and it's Katrina all over again.

BBB

Well, on the terrorists, that is true, to me, for the NY 9/11 site more so, if they build something high with some swirly spiral (I know, that one is over).

I am not as adamant as you that that is any where near primary on what happens re New Orleans rebuilding.

I agree with you on restoration of the delta natural floodplain, etc.

I have thought that it would be smart to study where and how the port should best be sited and function, with the Mississippi working all the way from the delta and to the north. Big money, I think. And then that it makes sense to have the city next to that point, wherever it is.

I've known though that there wouldn't be much study time.
Studies have already been done, and yes I have links; no, am not clear on the details of whether any of those studies thought of moving the port or not.

In part I'm exhilarated by the idea of people moving back, saving the oldest highest parts at least. In part I think, what? re toxins we've all heard about - which I've been a little iffy on the import of, myself, except maybe for lead, and then all sorts of industrial byproducts.

But, the levees are fragile, built on now continually lowering bedding beneath, built without good footing construction and not filled with concrete but with miscellaneous garbaaaage, as we say in my field. The mold and possibly the termites will be all enabled.

Then there is the immediate thing... organizing the re-entry.

Well, it apparently isn't just the mayor, but a coalition of the newly willing, feds, state, city.

However, since I haven't seen more since before 3 pacific coast time, I'm wondering if the mayor jumped the gun on the announcement.




Edit to add a bit about the levees.

And now, tonight, it's entirely disappeared from the NYT headlines.

Hmm.

Hmm, the original link still gives me the story...but with a very split screen. Will check back tomorrow.