Free Republic

BILOXI, Miss. — This seaside gambling resort along a stretch of the Gulf Coast, sometimes called the “redneck Riviera,” has 40 percent fewer hotel rooms and only two-thirds as many slot machines as it did before Hurricane Katrina. A major bridge that connects the casinos in this popular tourist destination to Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and other points east remains closed, and Mayor A. J. Holloway estimates that as many as 15 percent of the city’s pre-Katrina residents still have not returned. Yet business in the gambling halls of Biloxi has reached all-time highs in recent months, so much so...

5 Evacuees Charged In 3 Murders, Home Invasion Crime Stoppers Rewards Offered In 2 Cities POSTED: 2:56 pm CST February 16, 2006 UPDATED: 2:58 pm CST February 16, 2006 HOUSTON -- Crime Stoppers rewards are being offered in two cities in hopes of catching five suspects wanted in three murders and one home invasion in the Houston area, KPRC Local 2 reported. All five are Louisiana residents who relocated to Houston following Hurricane Katrina, and are believed to be either in the Bayou City or in New Orleans. Investigators said Richard Foster, 17, and Ricardo J. Irvin, 18, are charged...