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Say What? Brad Pitt For Mayor!
"I'm running on the gay marriage, no religion, legalization and taxation of marijuana platform. I don't have a chance."
— Brad Pitt joked on the Today show this morning about running for mayor of the Louisiana town where he has been leading on Hurricane Katrina reconstruction efforts.
First of Brad Pitt's Make It Right Houses Done in New Orleans
Three years after Hurricane Katrina, the first homes built in by Brad Pitt's Make It Right rebuilding project are complete. Touring the building site in the Lower 9th Ward with Angelina and kids in tow this week, one ecstatic grandmother gave Brad a huge hug. She said of her new electric yellow house, "Honey, this is like heaven on earth."
New Orleans Locals Still Homeless After Katrina
A unique homelessness situation confronts post-Katrina New Orleans. A recent survey conducted by advocacy groups shows that a majority of the homeless were residents of New Orleans before the hurricane, and lost their jobs and homes as a result.
Figures cited in today's New York Times include:
- 86 percent of homeless are from the New Orleans area.
- 60 percent cite Hurricane Katrina as the cause of their homelessness, while 30 percent said they received assistance from FEMA at one time.
- 80 percent have at least one physical disability, 58 percent have had some kind of addiction, 40 percent are mentally ill, and 19 percent deal with all three issues.
- The number of homeless has doubled since Katrina, according to rough estimates.
Katrina Survivors Required to Repay Rebuilding Money
In another blow to Hurricane Katrina survivors who've struggled to rebuild their lives, some are receiving crushing phone calls — they may have to refund thousands of dollars of grant money they received to rebuild. Apparently in the rush to get aid to homeowners in need, over-payments were rampant.
The contractor who was hired to distribute payments from the Road Home grant program has just uncovered 1,000 to 5,000 cases that it says will require collection effort.
Headline: Katrina Victims Booted Out of FEMA Trailers
Government health officials are now strongly recommending residents still living in FEMA trailers following Hurricane Katrina, be relocated. Due to dangerously high levels of formaldehyde present in the FEMA trailers used for the past two years as temporary housing, the CDC is issuing a warning stating that the trailers are toxic enough to cause burning eyes and breathing problems for people who have asthma or sensitivity to air pollutants.
Fumes from 519 trailer and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi average five times the level that people are exposed to in most modern homes, according to the US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Did FEMA Withhold Health Info About Katrina Trailers?
40,000 FEMA trailers are still being lived in following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This week, the House science committee alleged that FEMA "ignored, hid and manipulated government research on the potential impact of long-term exposure to formaldehyde" directly impacting those still calling FEMA trailers, home.
The crux of the committee's argument is that FEMA chose to disregard the first opinion they received from the first Center for Disease Control and Prevention expert, which stated that there is no "safe" level of formaldehyde exposure, and that any exposure can pose a cancer risk.
NOLA Musicians' Village Makes Progress
In December 2005, three months after Hurricane Katrina, Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, both musical forces in New Orleans, along with Habitat for Humanity, announced plans to build Musicians' Village, a neighborhood of the Upper Ninth Ward centered around the Ellis Marsalis Center For Music for displaced local musicians and other qualifying homeowner families.
Musicians' Village is intended to both preserve the city's musical culture, and foster the education of its residents. Now, two years later, 70 single-family homes are either under construction, or have been built on 8.1 vacant acres, which the New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity purchased in early 2006.
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Before and After: Matt's Hurricane Katrina Makeover
Yesterday, I asked who you thought should win Design Star. You can still vote online through Wednesday. To make the most informed decision, I figured I'd show you some photos from each designer's makeover (check out Jen's makeover here).
Before and After: Jennifer's Hurricane Katrina Makeover
Yesterday, I asked you who you thought should win Design Star. You can still vote online through Wednesday. To make the most informed decision, I figured I'd show you some photos from each designer's makeover.
The Last Decade in Less Than Seven Minutes
Believe it or not, we're about to start a new decade in less than two months. That means we can all get ready for the barrage of recaps about the last 10 years, which have truly seen a lot of strange and sad events. This has been a decade dominated by terrorism, wars, Terri Schiavo, Hurricane Katrina, and gay marriage bans.
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