"Note From New Orleans: BLACK OUT" plus

More on New Orleans' race/class cleansing.

From Village Voice

"Rose Harris was a resident of the Lafitte Housing Projects in the Treme (rhymes nearly with "dismay") neighborhood of New Orleans for 28 years. She lost a brother, a nephew, and a sister-in-law in Hurricane Katrina. The first floor of her home was flooded, and she has not been able to retrieve her things from the second floor because the project, like the majority of New Orleans' public housing, is currently locked to its former residents.
"HANO is not reopening at this time due to security and safety concerns," reads the Housing Authority of New Orleans website. "HANO has secured your unit with security doors and/or windows." more

The Snail-Paced Recovery of New Orleans
From Der Spiegel

"New Orleans, three months after "Katrina": The metropolis on the Mississippi Delta remains largely a ghost town. Whole neighborhoods remain uninhabitable, without electricity or water and with heaps of trash piled up along the streets. Only about one tenth of the 500,000 inhabitants have returned and the sweet smell of decay hangs in the air. But a few determined individuals aren't giving up. While the officials squabble and financial aid runs dry they have taken the initiative into their own hands to save the 300 year old architectural heritage of their homeland -- with sponges, brushes and optimism." more

'A WAR ZONE'
From Times Picayune

""I think I'm in a war zone, really," said Washington's brother Wilmot, who lost his house in eastern New Orleans. "I'm supposed to walk in this? What needs to be done hasn't been done. There is no reason they couldn't be doing something."

While Thursday marked the opening of the entire Lower 9th Ward, the city still had some rules and limits in place. This was still "look and leave," Mayor Ray Nagin's office said, and "enter at your own risk." The area is open only from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and no residents are allowed to remain after dark. Identification is required to enter.

Residents must sign in at the disaster recovery center at the intersection of Caffin and North Claiborne avenues and display a paper "pass" on their car windshields. Police barricades remain on most of the streets, as the city Thursday tried to usher all traffic through Caffin.

The city, along with activist groups, urge residents to wear protective gear, from masks to boots, and to wash their hands often. Activists were handing out respirators, gloves and foot coverings Thursday at Claiborne and Caffin.

Uncertain future" more