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Wednesday, August 31, 2005


	St. Bernard RescueAbout 2,000 people have been rescued in St. Bernard Parish, but there are still people on rooftops, State Sen. Walter Boasso said Wednesday morning. Some of them have been moved to evacuation shelters by ferry, he said. "There have been no mass casualties at this time, Boasso said. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Utility workers are in short supplyThe 4,000 utility workers currently in southeastern Louisiana won't be nearly enough to restore power to the 703,000 Entergy customers still without power in metropolitan New Orleans, Entergy spokesman Chanel Lagarde said. But getting more workers to the area might be impossible until late this week because many utility crews from neighboring states are still restoring power to southern Florida, which was hit surprisingly hard by Katrina when she crossed the state nearly a week ago, Lagarde said. "There are severe limits on resources at this point," he said. "We are told that utilities in Florida are expected to wrap up later this week. Many of those (workers) will come directly here or to the east" in coastal Mississippi and Alabama, Lagarde said. The delay getting more restoration crews to the area further validated previous predictions by Entergy managers that many in the hardest hit parts of the state could be without electricity for a month or more. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Miller Beer sending waterWednesday, 12:40 p.m. WWL-TV reported that the Miller Brewing Co. was sending several truck loads of water to the region from its Albany, Ga., plant. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Oil refineries still shut down Oil refineries still shut down. (AP) - Eight Gulf of Mexico refineries remain shut and one is operating at a reduced rate while damage from Hurricane Katrina continues to be assessed by oil and gas companies. Access to some of the refineries is difficult. Conditions at those locations are as follows: _ Baton Rouge, La. - At nearly 394,000 barrels a day, one of the gulf's largest refinery owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. is running at a reduced capacity. _ Pascagoula, Miss. - Chevron Corp.'s 325,000 barrel a day refinery remains shut. The company says access to the refinery remains difficult. _ Norco, La. - Valero Energy Corp.'s St. Charles refinery is not likely to resume its 260,000 barrel a day operations for up to two weeks. _ Garyville, La. - Marathon Oil Corp.'s 245,000 barrel a day refinery remains shut. Access is limited. _ Belle Chasse, La. - ConocoPhillips' Alliance refinery remains shut while the company continues to assess damage to the 255,000 barrel a day facility. _ Convent, La. -- Motiva Enterprises's 255,000 barrel a day facility sustained minimal damage. _ Norco, La. - Access to Motiva Enterprises's 242,000 barrel a day refinery is limited, so damage still is being assessed. _ Chalmette, La. - Exxon Mobil has not been able to visit the 183,000 barrel a day refinery, which shut down on Sunday. _ Meraux, La. - The 125,000 barrel a day facility by Murphy Oil Corp. remains shut down as access remains limited. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Update on Superdome evacuationWednesay, 12:05 p.m. BATON ROUGE - The 23,000 New Orleans evacuees who have been holed up at the Superdome with little air conditioning, food and water, will be bused 12 hours to Houston to be housed for an indefinite period at the Houston Astrodome, Gov,. Kathleen Blanco said Wednesday. Department of Social Services Secretary Ann Williamson said the buses should start rolling later Wednesday. About 475 vehicles have been arranged to ferry the evacuees to Houston. State National Guard officials said the re-location should take two days or less. "We can use the Astrodome for a place for our folks to begin to normalize their lives," Blanco said. "This will help us immensely." Blanco said Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Houston officials agreed to make the Astrodome available. As people who have sheltered at the Superdome for several days are moved onto Houston-bound buses, new evacuees who've been stuck in their homes will continue to be brought to the Superdome for triage before moving elsewhere. Blanco said President Bush authorized the use of military troops as well as military ships to help in the evacuation operations, said .Army Col. Anthony Daskevich He said Army, Navy and Air Force troops will be involved in the operation but could not pinpoint numbers. He said the USS Bataan, a troop carrier, was within 80 miles of New Orleans by midday Wednesday. The ship will be used as a communications command post and for medical supplies, but could be used to ferry evacuees if needed, officials said. Other ships may also be sent to the state for relief efforts, Daskevich said, declining further comment. State officials said they hope that bringing in the Army to help with search, rescue and relief efforts will allow National Guard troops to redirect their efforts to restoring order and curtail the widespread looting taking place in New Orleans and elsewhere. "We're trying to shift our resources," said Denise Bottcher, a Blanco spokeswoman. Moving the New Orleans evacuees from one dome stadium to another "will be in the best safety interests of citizens," Blanco said. There have been reports of fights and shootings at the Dome in recent days and conditions have worsened for the evacuees in the Superdome. "This is one of the largest, if not the largest evacuations in this country," said Col. Jeff Smith, deputy director of the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Officials said they hope to keep ill evacuaees in Louisiana by taking them to hospitals in the state but if they have to be flown to the hospitals out of state, military aircraft may be pressed into service. "This (plan) buys us some time so we can figure things out," said FEMA spokesman Bill Lokey. - Ed Anderson and Jan Moller, capital bureau. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Lower 9th Ward evacueesWednesday, noon Deotis Washington, 38, and Nicole Rayford, 32, fled their Lower 9th Ward neighborhood in New Orleans on Saturday in Rayford's truck, and landed safely in Baton Rouge. By Tuesday night, Rayford cried outside a Baton Rouge drug store for the families they left behind. "My mother, she was ready to go but she didn't have a ride," Rayford said, through tears as she stood beside her best friend Washington. "She was going to wait on my brother's old lady. My brother called and said, 'How could you leave mama?" I told him I didn't, she was waiting on both of them." Her mother, Shirley Raiford (a birth certificate mistake, her daughter said, gave her the "y" instead of an "i") is 48 and lives in the 2800 block of Feliciana Street in the Lower 9th Ward. Raiford didn't know where her mother, two brothers, her grandfather, or nieces in New Orleans were. She didn't know if they had they made it out. Her mother cares for her sister's children, ages 4, 10 and 9, all girls. Washington left her 60-year-old mother and 61-year-old father in the family's Clouet Street home, a first-floor single house. There were five of them on Clouet, Washington said, including an 18-year old man, a 29-year-old man and another person in his 60s. The last time she had talked to her mother, the family was in the attic. "They were still in the attic," Washington said. "Her home was plain destroyed." "New Orleans is getting worse," Washington said, of the flooding. "It won't be New Orleans. It looks like it's ruined." Washington and Raiford were staying with Washington's sister in Baton Rouge. Raiford, who is diabetic, went to a Walgreens in search of insulin. "I left my insulin," she said. She didn't have the $30 to pay for it, though, so she left empty-handed. The pharmacist told her she needed a doctor in order to get it for free. A doctor's visit, she said, seemed as impossible as returning to New Orleans. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)

placemark (back in a few hours).

FNC: New Orleans Mayor says "hundreds maybe thousands dead".

Washington and Raiford were staying with Washington's sister in Baton Rouge. Raiford, who is diabetic, went to a Walgreens in search of insulin. "I left my insulin," she said. She didn't have the $30 to pay for it, though, so she left empty-handed. The pharmacist told her she needed a doctor in order to get it for free. A doctor's visit, she said, seemed as impossible as returning to New Orleans.

That's criminal. If she dies without insulin, I hope they put that pharmacist away for life. She has maybe 3-4 days to survive without it. And death from DKA ain't pretty or fun.

many utility crews from neighboring states are still restoring power to southern Florida,

Heard on the radio this morning that NSTAR is sending workers from Massachusetts.

"The 23,000 New Orleans evacuees who have been holed up at the Superdome with little air conditioning, food and water, will be bused 12 hours to Houston to be housed for an indefinite period at the Houston Astrodome"

12 hours? It's only about 350 miles from NO to Houston.

It will take 12 hours to get from New Orleans to Houston?


	St. Bernard RescueAbout 2,000 people have been rescued in St. Bernard Parish, but there are still people on rooftops, State Sen. Walter Boasso said Wednesday morning. Some of them have been moved to evacuation shelters by ferry, he said. "There have been no mass casualties at this time, Boasso said. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Utility workers are in short supplyThe 4,000 utility workers currently in southeastern Louisiana won't be nearly enough to restore power to the 703,000 Entergy customers still without power in metropolitan New Orleans, Entergy spokesman Chanel Lagarde said. But getting more workers to the area might be impossible until late this week because many utility crews from neighboring states are still restoring power to southern Florida, which was hit surprisingly hard by Katrina when she crossed the state nearly a week ago, Lagarde said. "There are severe limits on resources at this point," he said. "We are told that utilities in Florida are expected to wrap up later this week. Many of those (workers) will come directly here or to the east" in coastal Mississippi and Alabama, Lagarde said. The delay getting more restoration crews to the area further validated previous predictions by Entergy managers that many in the hardest hit parts of the state could be without electricity for a month or more. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Miller Beer sending waterWednesday, 12:40 p.m. WWL-TV reported that the Miller Brewing Co. was sending several truck loads of water to the region from its Albany, Ga., plant. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Oil refineries still shut down Oil refineries still shut down. (AP) - Eight Gulf of Mexico refineries remain shut and one is operating at a reduced rate while damage from Hurricane Katrina continues to be assessed by oil and gas companies. Access to some of the refineries is difficult. Conditions at those locations are as follows: _ Baton Rouge, La. - At nearly 394,000 barrels a day, one of the gulf's largest refinery owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. is running at a reduced capacity. _ Pascagoula, Miss. - Chevron Corp.'s 325,000 barrel a day refinery remains shut. The company says access to the refinery remains difficult. _ Norco, La. - Valero Energy Corp.'s St. Charles refinery is not likely to resume its 260,000 barrel a day operations for up to two weeks. _ Garyville, La. - Marathon Oil Corp.'s 245,000 barrel a day refinery remains shut. Access is limited. _ Belle Chasse, La. - ConocoPhillips' Alliance refinery remains shut while the company continues to assess damage to the 255,000 barrel a day facility. _ Convent, La. -- Motiva Enterprises's 255,000 barrel a day facility sustained minimal damage. _ Norco, La. - Access to Motiva Enterprises's 242,000 barrel a day refinery is limited, so damage still is being assessed. _ Chalmette, La. - Exxon Mobil has not been able to visit the 183,000 barrel a day refinery, which shut down on Sunday. _ Meraux, La. - The 125,000 barrel a day facility by Murphy Oil Corp. remains shut down as access remains limited. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Update on Superdome evacuationWednesay, 12:05 p.m. BATON ROUGE - The 23,000 New Orleans evacuees who have been holed up at the Superdome with little air conditioning, food and water, will be bused 12 hours to Houston to be housed for an indefinite period at the Houston Astrodome, Gov,. Kathleen Blanco said Wednesday. Department of Social Services Secretary Ann Williamson said the buses should start rolling later Wednesday. About 475 vehicles have been arranged to ferry the evacuees to Houston. State National Guard officials said the re-location should take two days or less. "We can use the Astrodome for a place for our folks to begin to normalize their lives," Blanco said. "This will help us immensely." Blanco said Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Houston officials agreed to make the Astrodome available. As people who have sheltered at the Superdome for several days are moved onto Houston-bound buses, new evacuees who've been stuck in their homes will continue to be brought to the Superdome for triage before moving elsewhere. Blanco said President Bush authorized the use of military troops as well as military ships to help in the evacuation operations, said .Army Col. Anthony Daskevich He said Army, Navy and Air Force troops will be involved in the operation but could not pinpoint numbers. He said the USS Bataan, a troop carrier, was within 80 miles of New Orleans by midday Wednesday. The ship will be used as a communications command post and for medical supplies, but could be used to ferry evacuees if needed, officials said. Other ships may also be sent to the state for relief efforts, Daskevich said, declining further comment. State officials said they hope that bringing in the Army to help with search, rescue and relief efforts will allow National Guard troops to redirect their efforts to restoring order and curtail the widespread looting taking place in New Orleans and elsewhere. "We're trying to shift our resources," said Denise Bottcher, a Blanco spokeswoman. Moving the New Orleans evacuees from one dome stadium to another "will be in the best safety interests of citizens," Blanco said. There have been reports of fights and shootings at the Dome in recent days and conditions have worsened for the evacuees in the Superdome. "This is one of the largest, if not the largest evacuations in this country," said Col. Jeff Smith, deputy director of the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Officials said they hope to keep ill evacuaees in Louisiana by taking them to hospitals in the state but if they have to be flown to the hospitals out of state, military aircraft may be pressed into service. "This (plan) buys us some time so we can figure things out," said FEMA spokesman Bill Lokey. - Ed Anderson and Jan Moller, capital bureau. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)
	Lower 9th Ward evacueesWednesday, noon Deotis Washington, 38, and Nicole Rayford, 32, fled their Lower 9th Ward neighborhood in New Orleans on Saturday in Rayford's truck, and landed safely in Baton Rouge. By Tuesday night, Rayford cried outside a Baton Rouge drug store for the families they left behind. "My mother, she was ready to go but she didn't have a ride," Rayford said, through tears as she stood beside her best friend Washington. "She was going to wait on my brother's old lady. My brother called and said, 'How could you leave mama?" I told him I didn't, she was waiting on both of them." Her mother, Shirley Raiford (a birth certificate mistake, her daughter said, gave her the "y" instead of an "i") is 48 and lives in the 2800 block of Feliciana Street in the Lower 9th Ward. Raiford didn't know where her mother, two brothers, her grandfather, or nieces in New Orleans were. She didn't know if they had they made it out. Her mother cares for her sister's children, ages 4, 10 and 9, all girls. Washington left her 60-year-old mother and 61-year-old father in the family's Clouet Street home, a first-floor single house. There were five of them on Clouet, Washington said, including an 18-year old man, a 29-year-old man and another person in his 60s. The last time she had talked to her mother, the family was in the attic. "They were still in the attic," Washington said. "Her home was plain destroyed." "New Orleans is getting worse," Washington said, of the flooding. "It won't be New Orleans. It looks like it's ruined." Washington and Raiford were staying with Washington's sister in Baton Rouge. Raiford, who is diabetic, went to a Walgreens in search of insulin. "I left my insulin," she said. She didn't have the $30 to pay for it, though, so she left empty-handed. The pharmacist told her she needed a doctor in order to get it for free. A doctor's visit, she said, seemed as impossible as returning to New Orleans. Print \| Send To A Friend \| Permalink (Learn More)