Posted on 11/20/2005 4:56:23 PM PST by caryatid
GULFPORT, Miss. --Gulfport and its neighboring towns -- from Waveland in the west to Pascagoula in the east -- were epicenters of destruction when Katrina came ashore Aug. 29. But more than two months later, with the reconstruction in full swing, Gulfport has the feel of a latter-day frontier boomtown.
At night, restaurants ... are packed, with hourlong waits for tables and a lively, manly bar scene....
Gulfport has a semi-intact infrastructure of motels, restaurants and retail stores ... shakily supporting the migrants who have flocked here to help rebuild and make a buck.
About a quarter of the city's 26,000 housing units were destroyed ... by Katrina. The pre-storm population was 72,000, but officials have no idea how many people are living in the city now. ...
"People who work long, hard shifts, they get out, they want to let off a little steam," said Gulfport Police Capt. Pat Pope, ... "It's the Wild West, Tombstone. ... The streets are safe, things aren't out of control, but we do have a drug problem."
Money is fueling the activity. Insurance settlements and cash payments from FEMA and the Red Cross have many locals feeling flush. Workers labor from dawn to dusk six or seven days a week and have money burning in their pockets.
[T]hree men [who] work in a Florida junkyard [were] [a]sked what kind of work they would seek in Gulfport, [and] responded: "Anything that pays good."
Law enforcement officials blame newcomers for a surge in drinking and drug offenses.
And while each day brings recovery another day closer, everyone acknowledges it will be months -- if not years -- before Gulfport returns to its relatively placid pre-storm pace.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(Excerpt) Read more at wwltv.com ...
Happy Thanksgiving to you, and yours!
"No difference today, just different drugs."
That's a sad statement.
One would hope things would be better.
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