Word: nagin
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...result, Nagin himself has become part of the debate over how best to rebuild the devastated Big Easy. Critics suggest the qualities that endeared him to Orleanians before Katrina, among them his political inexperience and his shoot-from-the-hip approach, make him the wrong man for the massive, labyrinthine job ahead. But his supporters, especially members of the business community, say the reconstruction project offers Nagin, 49, a chance to dramatically change not only New Orleans' skyline but also the more larcenous and dysfunctional side of its free wheeling culture. "I'm still high on him," says Mark Lewis...
...earliest days of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, Americans saw, and certainly heard, the bold and blunt style that had made New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin a popular and effective leader in the Crescent City. Nagin's angry calls to "get off your asses" may have shamed the federal government into action, but many of his broadcasts since then-most notably, his controversial decision to let 180,000 residents and business owners back into New Orleans this week, before the approaching Hurricane Rita led him to reconsider-haven't been as well received. His tall, movie star-handsome swagger seems rattled...
...Nagin, the attacks are just part of the price he's paid, even before Katrina, for being his own man. "It's the piling-on effect," he tells TIME. "I'm a very focused person and I'm able to withstand criticism and keep at the job at hand. Have I stepped on a lot of toes? Yes. But I think a lot of those who are bashing me and questioning my leadership skills are those who are unhappy with our new way of doing things in this city." Given New Orleans' venal reputation, Nagin's assertion is hardly...
...Nagin's resident re-entry plan drew the ire of, among others, President Bush and his Katrina recovery director, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, who argued it was premature in light of the city's still ravaged and polluted state. Nagin in turn rebuked Allen for acting like "the federal mayor of New Orleans." ("We've since buried the hatchet," Nagin insists.) But, writes New Orleans Times-Picayune columnist Stephanie Grace, the fracas arose chiefly because "Nagin didn't line up the support he needed before opening his mouth, and he didn't take care of the specifics...
...Mayor Nagin, perhaps eying with envy the quick return offered to residents in nearby Jefferson County, was trying hard to be upbeat this week. "It's a good day in New Orleans," he said on Thursday. "The sun is shining. We're bringing New Orleans back." He opened up not only the central district but also some residential areas largely untouched by flooded areas with some of the priciest real estate. Still, the federal government warns that the elderly, children and anyone with asthma or allergies should not return. For those who do, precaution includ wearing protective clothing, gloves...