Free Republic

At the moment, rescue and relocation are the primary concerns along the Gulf Coast ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. In time restoration will become the leading issue. Most property owners from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans will want their buildings repaired or replaced. They will seek to recreate the past instead of looking to the future. A more comprehensive approach is appropriate. Let's consider the Gulf Coast as a region, centered on New Orleans, that stretches from Florida to Texas. This area is highly attractive for an extraordinary variety of commercial and recreational purposes. It also is hurricane prone. Given what...

Troubled Los Angeles Community Bank to Be Phased Out of Existence LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A federally funded bank created after the 1992 Los Angeles riots to revitalize low-income neighborhoods is going out of business. The Los Angeles Community Development Bank has been plagued by bad loans, poor management and often fell short of its mandate to create jobs for the city's poorest residents. City Council approved a plan Friday directing it to phase out operations over the next 18 months. The bank was launched four years after the riots, which erupted following the acquittal of four white officers in...