Word: nagin
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...weeks ago Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco called upon me to serve on the Louisiana Recovery Authority. I accepted. We are now working urgently with President George W. Bush, the Louisiana congressional delegation, state and local leaders, Mayor Ray Nagin and parish officials to rebuild the Gulf Coast communities in a way that will give people the confidence to return. That will require a strong hurricane-protection system of safe levees and coastal wetlands, updated building codes so people can reconstruct with a sense of security, business incentives that will create opportunity, and school reforms that will draw people home...
Mayor Ray Nagin opened up most of the city to returning evacuees last week, but only an estimated 60,000 people are spending the night in New Orleans these days, compared with about half a million before Katrina. The city that care forgot is in the throes of an identity crisis, torn between its shady, bead-tossing past and the sanitized Disneyland future some envision. With no clear direction on whether to raze or rebuild, the 300,000 residents who fled the region are frustrated--and increasingly indecisive--about returning. If they do come back, will there be jobs good...
...fast. Now FEMA is "awash in money," says a Democratic appropriations aide. Of the nearly $25 billion assigned to projects, checks totaling only about $6.2 billion have been cashed. As a result, a third supplemental-funding bill sent to Congress suggests taking back $2.3 billion in aid. Mayor Ray Nagin attempted to shore up support for the city's recovery before Congress last week, but he came home with little new. The comment of a G.O.P. aide was typical: "We want to see them helping themselves before they ask us for help...
...people in public life. But what residents want most is something the mayor pragmatically believes may be impossible for the moment--levees that will protect against Category 5 hurricanes. The Corps of Engineers plans to repair 40 miles of the 300-mile system before the next hurricane season. Nagin won promises from the Corps to rebuild the system to withstand a Category 3 storm "plus some," which means they plan to fix the flaws that reputedly caused the levee breaks that flooded 80% of the city--for as long as four weeks in some areas. The improved levees will...
...city as soon as possible. They need to see we're serious about making this one of the most livable cities in the world, where the old monopolies won't be allowed anymore." It's certainly a bold vision, even if his detractors call it a dream. Either way, Nagin has four months to convince the Crescent City that a businessman can make it a reality...