Katrina Live Thread, Part XIV

President Bush continues to assess the catastrophic damage by air and on the ground in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Bush spent the day meeting with search and rescue personnel, relief commanders, and displaced residents in Mobile, Biloxi, and the New Orleans area. U.S. Congress passed a $10.5 billion relief package for the hurricane ravaged areas. First Lady Laura Bush issued a press statement from an evacuation shelter in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Patient and staff evacuations continue from numerous New Orleans Hospitals. Thousands of patients are being airlifted to a field hospital at Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport for triage, staging, and transport to hospitals throughout the United States.

The U.S. Coast Guard and civilian volunteers continue to evacuate thousands of survivors from their flooded homes in New Orleans. The Army Corps of Engineers continues work to repair the damaged levees.

The nation's airlines today began an operation intended to fly up to 25,000 refugees out of New Orleans. The airlines are volunteering their aircraft and crews for the program. Long convoys loaded with relief supplies arrived throughout the day into New Orleans, while convoys of buses are moving survivors out of the city.

Several large fires are burning in the city and greater New Orleans area. Reports indicate snipers are holding down firefighters. Reports of shots fired with LEO down in the St. Bernard Parish area. Rescue operations are underway. A bus carrying NOLA evauees rolled over in Opelousa, LA.

New Orleans Emergency Operations Center - is now open:
504-463-1000
504-463-1001
504-463-1002

WWL-TV New Orleans (via WFAA Dallas) - WWL-TV is operating from studios at Louisiana Public Broadcasting. CBS has a relay during the morning and afternoon. When available, use the CBS relay first as they have greater streaming capacity. Yahoo has also provided a relay.

WDSU-TV New Orleans - The news staff has started to return to temporary news studios near New Orleans. However, expect evening coverage from Hearst-Argyle sister stations WAPT Jackson and WESH Orlando when the New Orleans staff needs to take a break.

WGNO-TV New Orleans - New Orleans' ABC affiliate has returned to the air with WBRZ-TV and launched video streaming with continuous Katrina coverage.

WPMI-TV Mobile, AL - WPMI is webcasting from 5:30am - 10:30pm CDT. When off air, you can view pre-recorded reports on demand. This feed is often unreliable.

WKRG-TV Mobile, AL - This station is providing good coverage of the situation to the east in Mississippi and Alabama. However, the station is now signing off at around 10:30pm CDT like WWL and WPMI.

WJTV-TV Jackson, MS - The CBS affiliate in Jackson is providing live coverage for both the Jackson area and south Mississippi (knowing a lot of media in that area is off the air).

United Radio From New Orleans: WWL-AM, WNOE-FM, "KISS-FM," WRNO-FM, WYLD-FM, and WJBO-AM who have joined forces as United Radio From New Orleans, and they are streaming.

Due to the number of requests to assist, the following list of some charities is provided.
This is not intended as an endorsement for any of the charities.

www.redcross.org or 1-800 HELP NOW - note: website is slow, and lines are busy
Salvation Army - 1-800-SAL-ARMY or Salvation Army currently looking for in-state volunteers - (888)363-2769
Operation Blessing: (800) 436-6348.
America's Second Harvest: (800) 344-8070.
Catholic Charities USA: (800) 919-9338, or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: (800) 848-5818.
Church World Service: (800) 297-1516 or online at www.churchworldservice. org.
Lutheran Disaster Response: (800) 638-3522.
Nazarene Disaster Response: (888) 256-5886.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: (800) 872-3283.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is accepting donations at its 3,800 stores and Web site, www.walmart.com.
National Black Home Educators Resource Association http://www.nbhera.org/ Southern Baptist: NAMB - http://www.namb.net/
Samaritan's Purse - http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

The KALB reporter kept looking around the parking lot of the I-49 Welcome Center as if she expected to see Jesse Jackson's convoy pulling in at any minute, and this was the 10 pm (Central Time) newscast. Seems like an odd time to make a grand entrance. There have been lots of buses at the Welcome Center, but Alexandria is just a rest stop on the way to Texas. The passengers disembark and are escorted to an area where they can choose from donated clothing and other necessities.

I decided to go to the local Wal-Mart this afternoon. I wanted to see for myself what the mood is in town and what people are buying. I noticed the customers were purchasing a lot of bedding, towels, stacking storage cubes, small appliances, large quantities of diapers and toilet paper. It looked like some people have long-term houseguests, some people are setting up housekeeping in a new place, and other people are purchasing items for donation.

There were two distinct types of refugees (yes, this is a perfectly acceptable term because it's what they call themselves): people who are already familiar with the welfare system and previously self-sufficient people who have never needed help before.

I observed some women who were nicely dressed in one checkout line who started a conversation amongst themselves. They discovered that they were all from Metairie and immediately starting trading information. I noticed the credit cards they used to pay for their purchases. I then wondered how close those cards were to being maxed-out and what would become of these ladies when they couldn't use them any more. One aisle over, I looked at some women in ragged clothes with small children who had Louisiana Purchase food stamp cards. I realized it's the beginning of the month so they probably just got their benefits. Finally, an elderly woman caught my eye. She also had a Louisiana Purchase card, but instead of having her name and case number embossed on it, the card had blank spaces to fill in information. It looked like some caseworker at the Office of Family Support had simply taken a marker and scrawled her name across the top of the card (not surprising, considering the Alexandria OFS is now open 24 hours to process emergency food stamp claims). The cashier had to help the lady because she didn't know how to use the card.

I keep thinking of Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" -- it perfectly describes this situation!

Found this on how they work:

Orleans Levee District, Board of Levee Commissioners

6 members appointed by the Governor; must be qualified electors of Orleans Parish. Mayor of New Orleans or his designee and 1 other member of N.O. City Council, appointed by Mayor, serves Ex-Officio.

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Found this from 1998, very interesting (I thought so). I noticed that after 2001 everything on the levee's was to blame the administration for not enough money due to the war in Iraq... but they had BIG problems prior to President Bush.

NEW ORLEANS AGREES TO MORE THAN $200 MILLION SETTLEMENT

TO PREVENT SEWAGE FROM FLOWING INTO NEARBY WATERS

Sewerage and Water Board Will Restore Water Quality Near Abandoned Once-Segregated Lincoln Beach

Washington, D.C. -- The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that New Orleans has agreed to a settlement worth more than $200 million to address allegations that for several years its sewage system spilled raw sewage into nearby waters. The Justice Department and EPA also announced that the City will restore water quality in an area known as Lincoln Beach, a once-segregated beach that has been abandoned since the 1960s.

"This agreement is good for the people of New Orleans and good for the environment," said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. "It will help ensure that residents have an effective sewage collection system and safe, healthy water to swim and fish in.

They deserve nothing less."

Under the settlement, filed today in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, the Sewerage and Water Board will renovate its antiquated sewage collection system to prevent future sewage discharges into the Mississippi River and other nearby waters. It also will pay $1.5 million in civil penalties and spend $2 million improving water quality along Lincoln Beach, a park which was created for the purpose of serving African-Americans who were barred by law from admission to the then white-only Pontchartrain Beach amusement park.

Today's settlement resolves a suit filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1993. It alleged that the Board's failure to properly operate and maintain its treatment and collection system violated the federal Clean Water Act. The suit also alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

In 1997, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Orleans Audobon Society, League of Women Voters of New Orleans and Louisiana Environmental Action Network intervened in this lawsuit asserting Clean Water Act violations.

"This settlement shows how the federal and local government can work together to benefit the environment and protect human health. The renovation and cleanup projects that the city will conduct are good news for the citizens of New Orleans, who will be able to rely on Lincoln Beach, Lake Pontchartrain and its adjacent lands for boating and other forms of recreation," said Steve Herman, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance.

New Orleans is located six feet below sea level and often receives a very large volume of rainfall in a short time period. As a result, the capacity of the sewage collection system, which is deteriorating due to more than 50 years of disrepair, is often exceeded.

The overflow of sewage spills into city streets and into canals that drain into Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.

Sewage overflows are also common when the collection pipes carrying sewage are blocked, when the pipes break, and when equipment designed to pump the sewage to the treatment plant fails.

"This agreement will offer greater protection to the health and well being of New Orleans residents. Bringing the city's sewage collection system into compliance with the Clean Water Act regulations will prevent the release of untreated sewage into streets, canals, rivers and lakes," said Acting Region 6 Administrator Jerry Clifford.

Under the agreement, the Board, with approval from the City of New Orleans, which is also settling this lawsuit, will:

study the East Bank Treatment Plant and Sewage Collection System to identify the causes of overflow and completely renovate its collection system to alleviate future overflows;

implement a comprehensive preventive maintenance program that requires the Board to inspect and clean its sewer pipes and pumping equipment on a regular basis;

utilize a storm sewer monitoring program to assist EPA in determining whether the steps undertaken by the City under the agreement are successful;

work with environmental specialists to restore, enhance and create wetlands, including the planting of aquatic vegetation, to help filter and neutralize sewage pollutants in part of Lake Pontchartrain in the area of Lincoln Beach; and,

enter into agreements with the Orleans Levee Board, which governs Lincoln Beach, as well as the State of Louisiana and other necessary parties, to help ensure that no action is taken to disrupt the Board's efforts to undertake these water quality improvements.

United States Attorney Eddie Jordan said, "Lake Pontchartrain is a vital part of our lives in Southeastern Louisiana. Sadly, we can no longer swim in this wonderful lake because of the health hazards caused by raw sewage, among other things.

As we rapidly approach the day when we can once again take full advantage of the lake, it helps to know that today's settlement will bolster our efforts to keep our lake clean."

Added Jordan, "What's more, this agreement will enable our community to reclaim Lincoln Beach and transform a section of our lake, which once carried the stigma of racial discrimination, as well as substantial health risks, into a cleaner and safer natural resource which all members of our community can enjoy."

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Note: As I write this the military is showing Geraldo what they are doing to repair the breech in the levee .. Landrieu is a windbag.....

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