Free Republic

WASHINGTON — The White House officially rejected a plan that would have created a federal corporation to purchase and redevelop Louisiana homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, introduced legislation last year to create the Louisiana Recovery Corp. The panel would use treasury bonds to buy damaged homes on parcels to be repackaged and redeveloped. But Allan Hubbard, the chief economic adviser for President Bush, indicated in conversations with Baker on Monday that the Bush does not support the legislation, Baker said Tuesday. “It’s dead now,” said Walter Isaacson, vice chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority,...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- The population of Louisiana's capital city has ballooned since Hurricane Katrina, its schools and neighborhoods now home to thousands of displaced New Orleans residents. A commission appointed by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was set to visit Baton Rouge Thursday night and listen to the displaced residents' concerns as the panel's members come up with recommendations on how to fix the ravaged city and lure refugees home. The meeting was one of five across the South that the Bring New Orleans Back Commission planned with evacuees before issuing a recommendation to Nagin by the end...