Grading the Rebuilding

FEMA is still having problems contracting for services. And MSNBC is pulling out a report card on the relief and recovery efforts. Let's just say that I'm not nearly as impressed with who MSNBC went to speak with as they were:

There are so many unanswered questions on key issues in New Orleans: the cleanup, housing, schools, jobs and the battered levee system. Eleven weeks after Katrina, with the initial shock and numbness having worn off, we thought it was time for a progress report in those key areas. We went to Andrew Kopplin, who heads the Louisiana Recovery Authority, for a non-partisan report card. He's worked for both Democratic and Republican governors.

Kopplin gives a failing grade in many areas for the NOLA rebuilding - from housing to the maligned levees. Jobs gets an incomplete.

I'd give MSNBC a failing grade on their hurricane coverage, because it starts and stops with New Orleans. The rest of the Gulf Coast was battered and yet New Orleans is the focus of the media. Still. The cleanup of the debris caused by Katrina, Rita, and Wilma will go on for months. FEMA will be derided for the duration because it wasn't doing whatever it needed to do fast enough.

And when FEMA tries to speed things up with no-bid contracts, it will be slammed because the no-bid contracts went to big companies that aren't necessarily tied to the local businesses that could use the work.

Meanwhile, there's an interesting story about future Hall of Fame basketball player Karl Malone. Like he did on the basketball court, he got things done and showed that government may have things wrong by trying to patch up houses instead of trying to clear all debris, including the thousands of houses damaged by the storms and starting from scratch. The wholesale clearing of properties may be a good idea in some areas, but not in others. It will depend on the kind of damage sustained in the various communities. However, clearing red tape and permitting those who want to volunteer their time, effort, and equipment should not have to jump through hoops to do so.

Oh, and Malone's experience suggests that there are plenty of job opportunities for those that want to do the work- between operating various kinds of heavy equipment and trucks, the Gulf Coast needs people who can help clear the debris and bring in new building materials. Then, there's all the service sector jobs that need to be filled to help feed, clothe, and supply the builders and transporters.

Harrah's casino is eyeing rebuilding, although they're considering consolidating all their casino operations on the Gulf Coast in a single facility.

There's an interesting story about how engineers and construction companies are working to rebuild the I-10 Twin Spans across Lake Ponchartrain. And architects are looking at how to rebuild so that the various structures that are build can survive storms like Rita and Katrina. And Jackson County has the right idea - demand that structures must be rebuilt on higher ground:

Jackson County supervisors have already voted to require 4 feet as the increase in elevation, above the current flood maps, for new construction and the total reconstruction of some homes.

The low-lying areas were the areas most affected by the flooding and storm surges, so restricting the construction of new homes and businesses in those areas is eminently reasonable and logical.

Technorati: flood aid; hurricane katrina; katrina aid; hurricane rita; slidell; biloxi; gulfport; pascagoula; nagin; blanco; barbour; hurricane rita; hurricane wilma.