Mayor defends reopening city
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Mayor Ray Nagin asks if the Coast Guard official in charge of the federal hurricane recovery effort is now "the new crowned federal mayor of New Orleans."
Nagin is responding to Thad Allen's repeated public comments questioning if the city is ready for people to return. Residents started trickling back in this morning under Nagin's phased return.
Allen has been warning about the lack of safe drinking water, shaky city services and threat of another storm.
Nagin tells Fox News that residents "deserve the opportunity to see what they have left and what they can salvage." He says if Allen is suggesting he's "pushing a little hard," the admiral is right.
An Army Corps of Engineers commander in charge of draining the city says depending on Tropical Storm Rita's path and strength, people may have to evacuate again."
I heard that the full story is, they're suspending reopening the city until they find someone qualified to act as mayor....
Maybe if NOLA took another hit the FEDS would have second thoughts about rebuilding
In other words he would rather be right this time then be what he was last time...