The Katrina Rebuilding Roundup

Today marks the election day for New Orleans to look towards the future and find a replacement for Mayor Ray 'Whiplash' Nagin, who was in charge before, during, and after the debacle that was known as the New Orleans hurricane response 'effort.' Nagin is facing competition from 22 other candidates, and among the questions is just how many New Orleans residents will actually vote.

Given these stakes, if evacuees don't vote in large numbers, it will likely become a topic of an emotionally charged debate: Is it because they wanted to vote but weren't able to because they were disenfranchised, or because they just didn't want to vote? Historically, African-Americans, particularly low-income African-Americans, have not shown much inclination to vote absentee. Many evacuees have settled into their new locations, found housing and jobs and put their kids in school. They may not see New Orleans, with its crippled economy, housing shortage and battered school system as having much to offer them. But the suggestion that some evacuees may not want to vote is anathema to civil rights activists and advocates for New Orleans, who insist that the evacuees want to return to the city but can't, and point out that voting is one way to show they still consider themselves to be residents.

No one knows how large the electorate will be. More than 13,300 current and displaced residents of the city have cast ballots after a week of early voting. According to Louisiana Secretary of State Al Ater's office, a large percentage of those voting so far have been African-American. A majority cast their votes in person at polling places set up in 10 parishes across the state, while a small percentage have mailed in absentee ballots.

It is a very distinct possibility that those who were displaced by Katrina are not looking back and are making a new and better life outside New Orleans. They may choose not to vote because they no longer have a stake in the future. And the civil rights groups are going to raise the inevitable stink because it is their core constituency that decided to turn its back on the city if they choose not to vote.

Not that any of that might matter because the city will be bankrupt in a month unless something radical is done in the short term. And the problems are so big, that experts are saying that bankruptcy wont solve them.

Elections in Slidell, LA aren't nearly as difficult to figure. Mayor Ben Morris won in overwhelming fashion with 80% of the vote.

The Louisiana Public Facilities Authority has approved an agenda that includes nearly $700+ million in projects:

$500 million for Entergy New Orleans, Inc. to rebuild facilities in Orleans Parish that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina;

- $135 million for Sugar Growers of Central Louisiana, Inc., a non-profit organization, to build a sugar processing facility;

- $75 million for a high-rise residential facility for seniors in Jefferson Parish;

- $16 million for a 300-400, single-home development north of Slidell in St. Tammany Parish; and

- $1 million for a water well and water treatment facility in Eunice.

The $500 million would be in the form of a bond offering.

And if you thought that Trent Lott was out of the political picture, you'd be sadly mistaken. He's working on a political comeback, precipitated by the destruction caused by Katrina to his hometown of Pascagoula, MS.

A turning point for Lott came in August after Hurricane Katrina struck his home state, destroying his stately home in Pascagoula, Miss., a framed photograph of which sits on his office coffee table. In announcing last January that he would seek election to a fourth Senate term, Lott cited the need to help Mississippi recover.

Friends say Lott is giving serious thought to a bid for an official leadership post next year, perhaps seeking the job of Republican whip, the No. 2 slot. But Lott said he was not "obsessed" with the idea.

"I am OK with the role I'm playing now," he said

While some senators have urged Lott to run for leadership, not everyone believes reinstating Lott is a good idea. Some say the baggage from his Thurmond comments remains damaging and that the party needs a fresh face.

Not sure that he's the right guy for a leadership post, but his unique perspective having watched his own home destroyed by Katrina gives him insights into what thousands of other Americans face throughout the Gulf Coast. Lott has the potential to be an effective spokesperson for them.

Rebuilding is still going in fits and starts, though having flood plan maps is a start - though the maps don't entirely make sense considering that raising your building three feet would do little to spare it from total devastation where some areas of New Orleans were flooded by 12-15 feet of water for weeks at a time. This graphic shows just what some of the changes might mean in New Orleans. Have no doubt that the decisions were determined by cost, not necessarily by how safe the resulting flood maps will be. Mississippi localities are also looking at their flood maps.

People are still working to get their financial situations in order, and state and federal programs are straining to keep up. More than 29,000 are expected to seek assistance in Mississippi alone under programs that would assist property owners who were flooded out but not within flood zones:

Bailey hopes he qualifies for some money from the $3 billion in federal grants the Mississippi Development Authority soon will hand out. An estimated 29,000 homeowners are expected to qualify for grants totaling as much as $150,000 each to help them rebuild their insured, flooded homes that weren't in flood zones.

After months of anticipation, applicants will begin meeting MDA officials on Monday in Gulfport, Gautier and Bay St. Louis.

MDA spokesman Scott Hamilton said about 11,900 people already have called to make appointments.

"No one has gotten a busy signal," he said. "There are 70 people at the call center. Fifty work at a time."

Pete Smith, Gov. Haley Barbour's spokesman, said as many as 75,000 people could apply, although they all won't be approved for this phase of the program.

"We're not going to discourage anyone from applying," Smith said. "The governor has said we have never done anything like this before. It's not going to be very smooth."

A second phase of the program could make about $1 billion available to uninsured homeowners and apartments owners. Those plans have not been announced.

Problems aren't confined to the physical rebuilding of the city. The legal system is also suffering from problems as well. Defendants aren't able to get court appointed attorneys for criminal cases, and that's affecting the disposition of many cases.