One of the recent criticisms around here is that there are about 11,000 trailers sitting on an airfield that FEMA has not moved to NO yet. The logic is much as was stated here. Since there are no services, there's no need to move the trailers there. A steady stream of politicians have flowed through looking at the trailers and holding press conferences crying about the problem. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of them actually doing anything in Congress to force FEMA's hand in the matter.

Paul, who is responsible for getting the services hooked up?

So, is it just the power that's not connected to the Morris trailer? I can understand why you wouldn't want people living in a trailer with no water or sewer, but power should be optional. If there's no water and sewer, there's a public health concern, but that could be addressed temporarily by bottled water and a porta-potty.

It seems that authorities would rather people stay away until the infrastructure can be repaired, but lots of folks just don't have the financial resources to live somewhere else for a year. Better to put the FEMA trailers where they can be lived in, even if that's not in New Orleans, then to have them in New Orleans but not able to be occupied. Obviously, that level of coordination doesn't exist between FEMA and the authorities in charge of repairing the infrastructure.

As bad as this situation is, and I do believe things should be moving more quickly, let me play devil's advocate for a moment.
First of all it is not FEMA's responsibility to get the local utilities up and running.
Can you imagine what would happen if FEMA allowed folks to move into trailers without utilities?
I hate to say it, but the lawsuits would fly faster than anything you've seen.There are so many people (and I am not pointing at the subjects of this story) who just can't wait to be victims. These are the ones who look for an oppurtunity to never have to work for a living, just as long as they get free money, no matter how it is obtained.

After 7 months, WHY are the still waiting for SOMEONE else, to bail them out?

After 7 months, WHY are they still waiting for SOMEONE else, to bail them out?

Yeah, Vegas, the guy oughta just shimmy up the nearest "live" utility pole, string the cable himself, and hook the damned thing up, right?

Vegas sal
What precisely would you do in this situation? Please tell me specifically what you would do if you were 74 years old, had lost everything, and chances are really high that everyone else you know has, too? You obviously have enough bucks in the bank to just move somewhere else, but what if this guy doesn't? Apparently, as his house is gutted, he's there working on it so he can move back in. Houses don't gut themselves. That's why so many people requested trailers - so that they have a place to live where they can work on their homes. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of people. There's no neighboring community with enough housing to support this population, and it's really hard to gut that house from Texas. So what precisely would you do?

Hey folks, this is not a partisan problem. It doesn't matter which party is in power, government bureacracies and bureaucrats are always the same and the politicians just want face time on TV. I do not want to hijack this thread for another subject, but all you advocates of national health care out should be watching this stuff closely. If you think we have health care problems now, just let the government take over. It will get a hell of a lot worse. This is just another example of government at work. Government is and always has been grossly inefficient. Federal, state, local - it makes no difference.

I agree with Paul that this is not a partiasan issue, especially for the people directly involved.

In this situation the government is the problem, not the solution.
It is almost a perfect failure of every level of government from the city, through the Parish, through the state and every layer of the federal government. The people of New Orleans would of been much better if the whole aftermath was being handled strictly by private enterprise.

Whether the electricity has been restored in that area is only one of the stumbling blocks. Normally you can't get electricity turned on with out a permit, inspection by the city inspector or a minimum of a properly certified and licensed electrician. Don't forget possible deposits etc for the electrical company.

I am sure onec electricity is established, refusal will be because of no water, or sewer hook-ups which probably would have to meet a pre-Katrina city code etc.

However, if the Feds were seriously committed to fixing the problem, they could get enough certified, licensed electricians and inspectors to have everyone's electricity up and running in just a few weeks. Electricians still exist int he Active and Reserve military forces. They could also rewrite some statements of work and get some of the Halliburton "base-builders" diverted from Iraq for reconstruction.

Sadly, nothing will get done until the politicians at all levels of all parties understand that their political careers are done because of the lack of progress.

This sort of thing makes me angry. I don't know what it would take to cut through the red tape; maybe we need to declare martial law in the disaster zone, install Gen. Honore or somebody like him as the military governor, and handle the area like an occupied country that we're rebuilding.

Those poor people, this is ridiculous ! hook up- the damn power and let them at least sleep somewhere comfortable !

They're not waiting on FEMA to hook up the utilities; they're waiting for permits which have to be obtained before the utilities can be hooked up. Getting a permit can be a maddening, frustrating thing with people waiting a long time in the process. Some people have actually been interviewed on television showing how they spliced into the electrical service from their old home (trailers sit in the yard) just to get power and, on television, dare public officials to do anything to them. Mind you, this is after they've sat in the dark for MONTHS and taken cold outdoor showers.

To the people who say, "Why are these N.O. people still sitting around for a handout," you know nothing about what you speak.

Rhonda

Is there any info from the local utilities spokesman on why such a long delay? I would expect the local news channels to be all over this.

I'm not sure. It's hard to keep up with everything going on around here. Many of the city's employees had to be laid off, so they're not there to help the process, and Entergy is in bankruptcy here. That's just a couple of the things. If you had to look at the whole, it's mindboggling.

I did find an article to back up what I said about people taking utility matters into their own hands. It's from New Orleans' Times Picayune.
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL020506tplights.994e561.html

Are they waiting for service from the pole to the trailer, or service to the pole? It is a bit odd that power hasn't been restored in all areas by now. In past hurricanes you've seen power companies from different states coming in to help. I'm sure they did with Katrina also, but this does seem to be dragging out. There must be a far greater problem with the N.O. power infrastructure than typical cities that have been hit hard in the past.

It is absolutely ridiculous that they are not permitted to live inside the shelter until it apparently meets building code for residential dwelling.

People make up these laws to be "helpful"--here such a law is clearly the opposite of helpful.

Absolutely asinine.

A pox on nanny-state-ism.

One of the issues that applies most directly to this situation is that there aren't enough setup guys to take care of these FEMA trailers. My parents lost everything in the storm and need temporary housing (as they are currently bouncing between family members). No problem? Hardly. They have been trying unsuccessfully for 5 months to get a disabled access trailer, and have been shuffled from one bureaucrat to another. They have gone so far as to call Sen David Vitter at least half a dozen times as well as having letters written by their physicians detailing their need for this particular trailer. The common response? "We can only deliver and set so many at a time, Sorry." I myself have called every mobile home mover between Picayune, MS and Lafayette LA and have been unable to find ANY willing to do work for an individual. The only response I received was " FEMA has us booked. We have to be ready to go when they call. Try us back in a month, maybe we can do it then." I asked them if FEMA had a schedule of any sort, and I was told that they didn't. FEMA just releases a couple hundred trailers at a time and doesn't let the delivery crews know until it has happened.

One of the many problems is labor. My father-in-law owns an electrical contracting business in NO and he can't find or keep workers. There's simply not enough licensed electricians to do all the work (business and residential), which means someone sadly has to wait. There aren't enough unqualified people to train to do the work.
Also, talking with some engineers with the electrical utility, they spent millions reconnecting major service to the area, but are now missing 500,000 customers whowould normally be paying bills so the utility would be able to keep going financially.

The bottom line is, people need help.

Paul, we'll be there Tuesday. I've already lined up some teams of young people to start going door-to-door to see what people need. And it helps to know an electircal contractor. Can't wait to get my hands dirty helping out.

Jim

Lemme guess; living twenty feet below sea level with no flood insurance, and now he wants to stay in the same place, living in a FEMA trailer purchased with my tax dollars, waiting for my tax dollars to rebuild his house.

Yeah. Whew. Let's hurry up and get this Minuteman back in his LaZBoy in front of a 61" TV.

SS

Why can't the power be hooked up? Is this a local issue?

I don't understand why FEMA can't allow people to hook up a generator, use a porta potty, and buy some bottled water. This is INSANE! Do they honestly think that it is 'safer' for these poor people to live in their car!?

What we need is someone like Guiliani to take over...someone who gets things done, because Nagin and Blanco are obviously total failures and are more interested in passing the buck than they are in helping people. Declare martial law, for hell's sake!

It's not just the fact that the FEMA trailers need to be hooked up to utilities. You have to get an inspector to approve the hookups to issue the permits, which takes time and there are only a few inspectors who can check on these things.

And there's the 800 pound gorilla that lurks in the background - the 2006 hurricane season and the reality that those trailers are not capable of withstanding a hurricane hit.

These people deserve more, and government at all levels have failed them.

Of course you've got NOLA politicians running around trying to delay the elections for mayor because they want more favorable racial demographics, and could actually care less that the constituents are living in shambles. They're not getting housing rebuilt (though that is awaiting new flood maps, which should have been released back in January), and waiting on the government means more of the SS/DD that we've seen for the last seven months.

Paul -

You failed to add in that Entergy Louisiana is very close to shutting its doors, and the State has no course of action that it can take against the parent company to force it to continue to function. As I understand it, at that point, responsibility for electrical power would fall back on the city.

Sanssoucy:
Shut the F up! Don't post until you know what you are talking about. I live in Slidell, LA and have just been able to move back into my home on March 4 and have until then (SIX MONTHS) slept on a friend's sofa. I do not live below sea level nor did my house flood, I had a tree through the roof. I was not sitting around waiting for you to bail me out and I doubt these people are either the only way they can work on their house is to be near it not in another city and there, pretty much, are no places to rent or buy in the Slidell area and New Orleans is much worse.

NOLA is the perfect storm of corruption, stupidity, and incompetence. If the victims were able to slip Nagin The Corrupt and Blanco The Temple Whore 20K each, they'd have their power and all the "reasons" would evaporate. I understand that the local area may not have all of the talent required to do this quickly, but FEMA is throwing enough money at the problem that electricians from the neighboring states would be flooding to NOLA if their was a plan to solve the problem. As an example of the severity of the self-inflicted wound which is post-katrina NOLA, I heard recently that Nagin The Corrupt turned down an offer from a TX company to haul away the many rusting cars in NOLA. The TX company was essentially going to buy the scrap metal and haul it away. They were going to pay the city $5M and have the job done in 15 weeks. Instead, Nagin The Corrupt is working on a plan that will take 6-9 mos and cost the city over $20M to do the same job. Who do you think will be getting that money? Who do you think will be getting kickbacks as the "chocolate" mayor uses our taxes to create his own little banana republic? The problem is not FEMA, Bush, "the nation," "the government," or any of the familiar boogymen that are part of the media's blame arsenal, it's the local anti-leadership.

This is truly a mess, and demonstrates that our current system will not "solve" our disaster response problems.

But I can not help but be struck by the "sound bites" in the quoted article.

"I had a 61-inch television, two La-Z-Boys, and I enjoyed myself."

"...because they almost did not evacuate when the storm struck."

Our possessions are not our security, our choices and the people around us are. But do we act that way? Do most citizens put the same effort into being active in local politics that they put into maintaining their yard/home/car/boat? If we don't have an extended family to fall back on in times of need, do we develop a network of church/community/friends to offer the same, or do we depend upon the government to do that?

In this country we do have a choice about our local leaders, our planning and actions. When the results fall short, we shoulder them, whether we admit it or not. Improvement requires more than just isolated individuals, but rather a plurality of individuals individually and in groups acting responsibly.

NOLA is an example of what happens when local, regional and Federal groups have all failed in their responsibilities. And I'd say they all share a burden, but I'd lay a large portion on the local population, not for their geographic choice, but the the ones in the polling booth and local community. No one forced Nagle et al on NOLA but NOLA itself.

Paul and Rhonda are obviously responsible and wise individuals, but they are diluted by a larger inertia in the community that allowed things to be the way they have become.

Post-Katrina NOLA is not unique, but a warning to us all.

Matt made some good points, but it boils down to one truth....the source of most problems we currently face in America is government overregulation.

Has anyone who is commenting in the "why is this taking so long" vein been to the Florida panhandle recently? There are still tarps on roofs, plywood where windows used to be, and concrete slabs waiting for construction...because of Ivan in 2004. This ain't gonna happen overnight, folks, and it's a slap in the face to people who are still struggling to rebuild after storms of 2 or 3 years ago to hear the incessant rants about why it's taking so long to put things back together after Katrina.

I'm personally an advocate of inmate labor to help in the effort, as one of the biggest obstacles is a shortage of manpower, and not many people can pull up stakes and move into the area for a 2-3 year stint at cleanup or construction.

Still, it's rediculous to stand back and take snipe shots at the folks who lived there and lost everything. They're doing the best they can with what they have, and no matter your position on how much help the government should or shouldn't give these folks, can't we all agree that the government at the very least shouldn't be a hindrance to the process?

In Missiissppi, 30,000 FMEA trailers have been set-up. FEMA is starting to move families from Louisiana into Hancock County Mississippi. Hancock County still has only one grocery store and three gas stations open. There's not really enough infrastructure in place to support more people and yet 404 families from Louisiana have been placed in FEMA traliers there.

Zoning laws in the Coastal counties have been changed rapidly to allow for FEMA trailer parks to be emplaced and for homeowners to have FEMA trailers at the slabs where their homes stood.

I feel for those people who are still living in their cars in Louisiana and in tents here in Mississippi.

The thing is, the coastal counties of Mississippi are still reeling from Hurricane Katrina also. We really don't have the resources to take in those from Louisiana. I have to admit, I was against those Louisiana families being moved into Mississippi because of lack of resources, but by G-d, we'll work something out.

Steve said:

>One of the recent criticisms around here is that there are about 11,000 trailers sitting on an airfield that FEMA has not moved to NO yet. The logic is much as was stated here.

NO. The "logic" behind those trailers sitting there is that they can not be moved in case of another hurricane. Like the other 100,000 can. !?! There was an executive order signed by Jimmy Carter that said that FEMA could not place mobile homes in a flood zone. -- Knowing this, FEMA went a ehad and purchased A BILLION dollars of mobile homes they could not use. Thanks FEMA.

The mobile homes in Ark have nothing to do with electric.

-----------------

Tim asked (then said)

>Are they waiting for service from the pole to the trailer, or service to the pole? It is a bit odd that power hasn't been restored in all areas by now.

With all due resopect Tim you have no comprehension how big the problem is.

>There must be a far greater problem with the N.O. power infrastructure than typical cities that have been hit hard in the past.

NOW you are figuring it out. Entergy (local elec co) has an internal goal to have all serive restored by the 1 year anneversry of the hurricane. An entire city was destroyed. I know you've read that before but stop and think about what it means.

Really "restoring" power is the wrong word. They need to build a new city.

---------

THEN THERE IS AN IDIOT IN EVERY CROWD....

bonzai90210 whined...

>I understand that the local area may not have all of the talent required to do this quickly, but FEMA is throwing enough money at the problem that electricians from the neighboring states would be flooding to NOLA

bonzai, Shut the fuck up until you have any clue what you are talking about. You have no idea what FEMA is doing or is not doing.

>Paul, you're all over the map. You're upset that trailers were purchased....and you are also upset that folks can't live in the trailers purchased by the big bad organization, FEMA.....

no no on J... You miss the point.

The biggest thing that puts me over the top... and you can search the archives and see this for yourself... is when idiots who don't live here and have no idea what is going on tell me how life works.

I've never said a word about trailers in a hurricane zone. My comment was that FEMA allows "travel trailers" but not "mobile homes" .... but they spent a billion freaking dollars on mobile homes thier own rules say they can't use...

A billion dollars. Gone.

Then nimrods all over the country will whine that the politicians in New Orleans are stealing/wasting money... Excuse me? We never saw the money, FEMA pissed it away.

My overriding point is that if people want to comment they should either take a few minutes to learn what they are talking about or STFU.

Go dig thru the archives... There is a guy lawhawk or maybe lahawk... They guy knows more about the situation than 99% of the people posting and he is in freaking New Jersey (I think) WHY? Becasue he learns what the hell he is talking about before the opens his mouth.

Bonzi said FEMA was throwing money at getting electric restored. Wrong. Just Wrong. Not even close to correct. The city has asked MANY TIMES for FEMA to pay some of the cost but FEMA says that would be giving money to a private utility and they won't.

I only ask a very reasonable thing...

If you are going to make a statement, actually -you know- get a few facts and don't just make it up out of whole cloth. Is that an unreasonable request?

>Paul, you're all over the map. You're upset that trailers were purchased....and you are also upset that folks can't live in the trailers purchased by the big bad organization, FEMA.....

no no on J... You miss the point.

The biggest thing that puts me over the top... and you can search the archives and see this for yourself... is when idiots who don't live here and have no idea what is going on tell me how life works.

I've never said a word about trailers in a hurricane zone. My comment was that FEMA allows "travel trailers" but not "mobile homes" .... but they spent a billion freaking dollars on mobile homes thier own rules say they can't use...

A billion dollars. Gone.

Then nimrods all over the country will whine that the politicians in New Orleans are stealing/wasting money... Excuse me? We never saw the money, FEMA pissed it away.

My overriding point is that if people want to comment they should either take a few minutes to learn what they are talking about or STFU.

Go dig thru the archives... There is a guy lawhawk or maybe lahawk... They guy knows more about the situation than 99% of the people posting and he is in freaking New Jersey (I think) WHY? Becasue he learns what the hell he is talking about before the opens his mouth.

Bonzi said FEMA was throwing money at getting electric restored. Wrong. Just Wrong. Not even close to correct. The city has asked MANY TIMES for FEMA to pay some of the cost but FEMA says that would be giving money to a private utility and they won't.

I only ask a very reasonable thing...

If you are going to make a statement, actually -you know- get a few facts and don't just make it up out of whole cloth. Is that an unreasonable request?

"They need to build a new city."

Oh, *brilliant*. To the tune of another hundred billion dollars, I'm sure.

And lemme guess; they need to build it right where the current one is, 20 feet below sea level on the Gulf Coast, so the next hurricane can drown it and cost us another quarter-trillion dollars or so.

SS

"Paul and Rhonda are obviously responsible and wise individuals, but they are diluted by a larger inertia in the community that allowed things to be the way they have become."

I don't know about that. I know that I am heart-broken every single day. Sometimes I want to throw something, but most days I just say "Okay. Whatever."

Who are these people who judge us? That's what I would like to know. "Not with my tax dollar." Okay. But what about my tax dollars? I've paid them every year since I was 18.

Do you want to know how it feels? I have the answer. You wake up and get dressed for work, and then you go in and get gut-punched. And, then, the next day, you get up, get dressed and go into the office another day KNOWING all you're going to get is gut-punched again. That's how it feels.

And to the people who say, "Take care of yourself." Okay. I've done that. Seven (7) months now. Imagine the people who have drawn on their life savings -- just how little they have left. Business teaches you need three (3) months of savings to hang on. Okay. Well, we're now going on seven (7) months. Savings are going away. Every other fear is here. And some [whatever he is] wants to think I'm out for monetary gain. ROFLMAO!

What do I say to him? "This could be you." I've never asked for a single dime, but I know people who need them. And you sit there all smug and tell me what's wrong with this city? First of all, you have no clue. Secondly, you have no clue that you have no clue. I feel sorry for you. We will get out of this mess, somehow, someway. What will you do?

Since the Eisenhower administration, we are the ONLY state that has gotten no income from our offshore oil revenues. So, tell you what, sansoucy and the rest of you asshats: back pay us the principal - you can even keep the interest - and we won't take another dime of federal money including FEMA. The fact is New Orleans adds a hell of a lot more value to this country than most other cities. Aside from the history and tourism, we are the number two seafood provider. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of protein from New Orleans feed this country. You want to try doing without the oil and natural gas we provide? Good luck. Try shipping to many parts of the world if the port of New Orleans is closed. You need us. Deal with it.

And as for the below sea level crap, when you evacuate every coast, every person that lives below a dam or on a fault line or in a place with regular tornado activity, you will have a leg to stand on. Until then, shut up. You're embarrassing yourselves.

Laura, they're not going to do that. That would make too much sense. Instead, those (who think that way) will continue to do what they do best, which is not much.

It's frustrating, and it's infuriating as hell when someone has to stand up (after 8 to 10 generations, whose ancestors were granted land for their efforts in the Independence War and say, "WE LIVE HERE; THIS IS OUR HOME.")

And as far as the rubbish about people not having flood insurance, over half of our people did, whereas only 25% in other flood-prone areas have it. That's a fact. So, don't disregard us as people who have no clue, because that is also not a fact.

The mere fact that my neighbors look upon us and aay, "I don't care," is heartbreaking enough. But, then again, we have all of these college students who forego spring break and come here to help someone in need. That's where I choose to look. And if some idiot wants to think "you deserve it," well, do you know what? He doesn't deserve our energy. Let him think what he thinks. He, alone, has to sleep with himself. I wish him the best of luck.

"bonzai, Shut the fuck up until you have any clue what you are talking about. You have no idea what FEMA is doing or is not doing. "

Paul, you're all over the map. You're upset that trailers were purchased....and you are also upset that folks can't live in the trailers purchased by the big bad organization, FEMA.....

Trailers are dangerous in hurricaines-prone areas, but people can't set them up fast enough...

FEMA's bad....but we want their help, too.....

No wonder some here are already starting to get Katrina-lash....

Well, where would you have them live?

Somewhere there are houses, utilities and jobs, maybe?

> "Trailers are dangerous in hurricaines-prone areas, but people can't set them up fast enough..."

Well, where would you have them live?

As far as post-Katrina-lash, no one has it to a worse degree than us. And we know that. I'm tired of just being tired. I'm tired of NOT getting my mail; I'm tired of coming to work for liquidation mode; I'm tired of having customers scattered throughout the country who cannot pay their bills; I'm just tired. Try talking to the owner who wants answers from you, and all you can say is, "I don't know." He told me 20 years ago when he asked me a question he expected an answer. I absolutely have no answers.

Crazy? Hell, yeah, we're crazy. All of us right now. Me included. I'm crazy because I refuse to take drugs to help me sleep and function; I'd just prefer to feel it. Result? I don't sleep much. But I feel, and that's something.

Anyone who tells you it's "fine" right now in New Orleans, that's who you need to worry about. And who you need to pray about are those people who are tired of hearing it. Do you know why? Because somewhere in their life they have been hurt so badly that they have lost their compassion, and that's sad. You have to feel sorry for them. They don't know any better.

To anyone who isn't familiar with Chris Rose, this is his newest article in the TP:
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/living-6/1143532154207810.xml?nola

Laura -

If you are going to teach a history lesson, you have to be honest about it. The Eisenhower administration offered 50% of the revenues, but Leander Perez demanded 100%. Because of his unwillingness to move off an absolutist position, we ended up with nothing. That's not an excuse for not changing it in the interim period, but to be fair you have to acknowledge that the initial wound was self-inflicted. Even under the Jindal bill, it would only amount to $1 billion/year by 2010, hardly the kind of money that is needed to fund the recovery efforts.

And Rhonda, despite the fact that you and I both pay our taxes, the truth is that even before Katrina, Louisiana received significantly more in federal dollars than the dollars paid in from LA sources. We are 46th out of 50 in federal tax burden per capita.

The bottom line is that the recovery effort will require substantial federal support for years. It's frustrating because the rest of the country has moved on to other concerns, most of which seem (and are) inconsequential compared to the devastation that is NO East, or Gentilly, or Lakeview. I'm not sure how you change that reality, though.

ts If you are going to teach a history lesson, you have to be correct about it.

I've done a fair amount of research and nobody can tell me why we don't get the smae money as other places. I've been told by a professor of Louisiana history (@ LSU) that the Leander Perez story is just another myth.

If you can point me to documentation, I'll be more than happy to read it. So far -as best I can tell- the real reasoning behind the law is smply lost in histy.

Paul -

How many times have I told you to read source documents. Do you think I would have written that without one? Here's the link, I think you will find pages 39-40 most illuminating.

http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/studies/2004/2004-049.pdf

Regards -