Free Republic

Katrina evacuees say they need more than extension They welcome more time with housing help but say the problem is more long-term A six-month extension of emergency housing assistance will stave off an immediate catastrophe but will not solve the underlying problems preventing hurricane victims from rebuilding their lives, evacuees and their advocates said Monday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed that assistance would continue through Aug. 31 for about 128,000 households living in trailers, mobile homes or apartments, including about 14,000 in the Houston area. The assistance was scheduled to expire in February for victims of Hurricane Katrina and...

HOUSTON, Jan. 1 (AP) — The number of homicides last year in Houston hit a 12-year high, and the mayor attributed the rise partly to the arrival of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. Houston had 379 homicides in 2006, up from 334 in 1995, an increase of 13 percent. It was the most since 1994, when 419 killings were reported, the police said. Nationally, the murder rate rose by 1.4 percent last year, according to figures from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mayor Bill White pointed to hurricane evacuees from New Orleans as one reason for the increase. “We did have...

HOUSTON-- The number of murders last year in Houston hit a 12-year high and increased by 13.5 percent over 2005, figures the mayor attributes in part to evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. There were 379 homicides in Houston in 2006, according to the Houston Police Department. That's the most since 1994, when police reported 419 murders. There were 334 homicides in 2005. There were 202 homicides in Houston from January to June, a 28 percent increase over the 158 recorded over the same time period the previous year. Houston Mayor Bill White pointed to Hurricane Katrina evacuees from New Orleans as...