Katrina: Evening Roundup

Once again, I urge you to check out American Red Cross efforts around the country to donate time and money. Many people are depending on those efforts to make it through this difficult time.

The WWL blog is an invaluable asset for the latest news from the region.

Among the bits of good news:

Southeastern Louisiana University, which was on the ragged edge of Hurricane Katrina, plans to open its administrative and academic offices tomorrow. Students will return Thursday.

President Randy Moffett says it will take many students some time to return.

Southeastern also plans to work with displaced college students from New Orleans. Moffett says two special sessions for displaced students will held Saturday and Monday.

Some banks are waiving ATM fees in the affected area. Good on the banks.

Also, the Louisiana DOT notes that as of 2:28PM, the breach in the 17th Street canal has been repaired. However, the condition of the pumps near the area is uncertain. Those pumps will need to be operational to rid the city of water.

Already, we're seeing racial/economic politics entering the discussion over where the morgue for the deceased in New Orleans is to be located. The town of St. Gabriel, LA was chosen to be a disaster mortuary, where victims could be identified and treated with the utmost of respect. Yet, some are claiming that even this mission is being foisted upong the community out of economic politics.

Here's my response to those in that town. Consider it one of the highest honors to be chosen for that grim task. In the Jewish religion we have a tradition where someone is supposed to stay with the remains of the deceased until the time that the body is buried (Shemirah). For example, during the recovery operations after 9/11, a group of Jewish volunteers stayed with the disaster mortuary team at the City Morgue, watching over the tractor trailers full of victims as they were brought in and identified.

Jewish ritual law considers it to be one of the most sacred duties that a Jew can do - to watch over the body of the deceased and to make sure that the remains are respected at all times.

Mississippians are wondering what the heck is going on in New Orleans and a few have choice words for those in New Orleans who were busy looting instead of trying to help their fellow people. The official death toll in Mississippi stands at 147, though it is expected to rise further.

Meanwhile, the Truth Laid Bear blogothon has raised more than $891,000 since September 1, 2005.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is calling for a 9/11 style commission to look into the disaster recovery and government response. Not only is this premature, but considering the poor work of the 9/11 Commission (hey, does Able Danger ring a bell Senator?), what exactly will be gained other than missed opportunities by state and local governments to act, and the fact that the infrastructure was not able to withstand a direct hit of a cat 4/5 hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast. Oh, that's right - political opportunism.

Hey, Senator Clinton, what about New York's disaster preparedness plans for evacuating Long Island in case of a direct hit by a strong hurricane. Is it up to date? Does it have provisions for using buses to take people who are incapable of getting off LI on their own? Are roads and rail links sufficient to handle an evacuation? Is contraflow part of the plan?

UPDATE:
9/11 families are giving back to those affected in the Gulf Coast. They received tremendous compassion from the nation, and they're now returning the favor.

UPDATE:
People counting on each other to fill in the gaps left by military efforts. Others are critical of the response around Biloxi. They think that they should be getting relief quicker.

Help comes to Hancock County.

More than nine million pounds of ice, nearly two million gallons of water and 10 truck loads of ready-to-eat meals have been sent to Hancock County.

Several distribution sites have been set up, but because the county is so sprawling, some of the hungry and thirsty must travel several miles before reaching an oasis.

However, county spokesman Jim Johnston said members of the National Guard and the state Highway Patrol are driving backroads and tiny streets, hoping door-to-door delivery will help sustain life, at least until things begin to return to normal.

County officials believe some schools could be ready to open by the end of October, and what's more, Johnston said some parts of the county are less than a week from receiving power.

"In the Highway 603 area and in the Kiln and Diamondhead area," he said. "The more impacted areas, where the lines have been absolutely destroyed, that could take many more weeks."

Keesler AFB is slowly recovering from Katrina. Locals are complaining that they aren't doing more to help the local economy, but the base was wrecked by the hurricane and storm surge. Getting the base restored will help get not just Biloxi assistance, but the entire region around Biloxi.

Refineries in the Pascagoula area are getting ready to restart operations. The oil shock that was expected did not materialize despite a sharp jump last week. Offshore capacity is only at 32% of prestorm production, but it is starting to come back.

Meanwhile, in Gulfport, the situation remains dire. The LA Sheriff's office is dispatching a helicopter team and California authorities are dispatching both civilian and military units. These units are going to be based out of St. Louis Bay, Miss., at the John C. Stennis Space Center, and others are at a staging area at Gulfport City Hall in Gulfport, Miss.

The Gulfport casino operators are chipping in to help their employees. For example,

Harrah's Entertainment Employees of Grand Casino Biloxi and Grand Casino Gulfport will continue to receive regular base pay for 90 days. The company is covering health care premiums. No deductions will be taken from the pay checks of hourly or non-management employees.

Other casino operators are continuing to pay their employees base pay and are working to clean up their facilities to reopen.

The mainstream media would much rather cover the hissy fits of NOLA Mayor Nagin, the crying game of LA Gov. Blanco, but I'm more interested in showing the generosity of Americans to those in need and how folks in places not named New Orleans are faring. And that means even referring people to Moveon.org's Hurricane Housing, which claims to have nearly 150,000 housing units available for relocating hurricane victims. As much as I despise Moveon.org primarily because they haven't moved on from 2000, this endeavor will help many people in the interim until permanent residences can be arranged.

UPDATE:
Tulane University has established a temporary website because their primary site was knocked out by the hurricane. They're working to restore their facilities, but in the interim, the University hopes to be reopened by the Spring 2006 semester.

UPDATE:
What has the Navy been up to in the relief effort? A lot more than the media is willing to share.

USS Alabama (BB 60, ret.): Listing 8 degrees to port after her memorial park was devastated. This is pretty significant, as the ship actually sits on the bottom. The storm moved it. 18 park employees and their families rode out the storm aboard the ship and were stranded there. The park's aircraft pavilion was more or less wiped out, but the USS Drum submarine was undamaged.