Almost two months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the state, Governor Kathleen Blanco sought today to address the shortage of Advisory Boards, Task Forces, Steering Committees, Rebuilding Commissions, Advisory Panels and Blue Ribbon Committees in Louisiana.
Blanco names Louisiana Recovery Authority membersGov. Kathleen Blanco this morning announced the creation of the Louisiana Recovery Authority to help lead the state's rebuilding efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The authority will be led by Dr. Norman Francis, president of Xavier University, and New Orleans native and media executive Walter Isaacson. The governor's former chief of staff, Andy Kopplin, will serve as the executive director. ...
Three weeks ago, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced a 17-member business commission to "advise, assist plan and help the city of New Orleans as it makes recommendations" for rebuilding New Orleans.
In addition to the Mayor's commission, the Recovery Authority will also be joined by the Executive Committee named by the New Orleans City Council and the Advisory Panel named by the Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu to help New Orleanians address the hot air shortage.
Officials say that without these boards, hot air rationing was almost inevitable. "The Hurricane blew away all the hot air" said one member of the governor's staff "Kathleen was in tears knowing that our people were suffering without the basics like hot air."
Seven weeks after the storm, residents are wondering what took the hot air relief so long, "I've had to clean up my own house and have been trying to reopen my business without anyone in government blowing any hot air" said one frustrated business owner, "How can we rebuild the city without enough committees?"
Other residents see it as addressing only one of many needs, "We do have a shortage of hot air," said New Orleans based blooger blogger Paul of Wizbangblog.com "but the real question is, 'Can these guys swing a hammer?'"
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Hurricane Katrina
Tags: hurricane, katrina
Comments (8)
I was just about to post th... (Below threshold)1. Posted by lawhawk | October 17, 2005 2:41 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I was just about to post this to my blog, but figured I'd ask here first - does anyone on Blanco's Authority have ties to New Orleans municipal government?
Walter Isaacson,
Vice-Chairman
Dale Atkins
Donna Brazile
Philip Burguières
Rene Cross
James Davison
Donna Fraiche
Tom Henning
Sibal Holt
Linda Johnson
John Landry
Laura Leach
Walter Leger, Jr.
Dr. Calvin Mackie
Mary Matalin
Sean Reilly
Virgil Robinson, Jr.
Dr. Mary Ella Sanders
Matt Stuller
Susan Taylor
David Voelker
Rod WestIf you're looking to rebuild and want to coordinate and facilitate reconstruction, you'd want to make sure that you have input from within your organization from folks who know specifically about your locality and the politics. But, as we've all come to know and expect, LA and specifically NOLA politics is bass-ackward and all sorts of political mischief has undermined basic service provision.
1. Posted by lawhawk | October 17, 2005 2:41 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 17, 2005 14:41
2. Posted by kbiel | October 17, 2005 3:51 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Paul,
Why all the sarcasm and negativity? Can't you just give bureaucracy and cronyism a chance?
2. Posted by kbiel | October 17, 2005 3:51 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 17, 2005 15:51
3. Posted by McGehee | October 17, 2005 4:11 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Why all the sarcasm and negativity? Can't you just give bureaucracy and cronyism a chance?
LOL!
3. Posted by McGehee | October 17, 2005 4:11 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 17, 2005 16:11
4. Posted by New Orleans scandal | October 17, 2005 6:46 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Bios on the board members: here.
I hate to say this, but the LAT and Gary Hart seem to be right that Bush is dropping the ball. Whatever it's possible to say about Blanco and Nagin, what Bush is doing and not doing is worse:
Bush Is in No Hurry on Katrina Recovery
"The Art of Caring for Souls"
4. Posted by New Orleans scandal | October 17, 2005 6:46 PM |
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Posted on October 17, 2005 18:46
5. Posted by smitty | October 17, 2005 6:50 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Given Louisiana's and New Orleans' long and sordid history of political corruption, incompetence and outright criminality, we can look forward to local, state and federal tax dollars disappearing down innumerable rat holes. We might as well shovel the money into a furnace.
5. Posted by smitty | October 17, 2005 6:50 PM |
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Posted on October 17, 2005 18:50
6. Posted by The Sanity Inspector | October 17, 2005 10:10 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"Blooger"...?
6. Posted by The Sanity Inspector | October 17, 2005 10:10 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 17, 2005 22:10
7. Posted by Robert | October 17, 2005 10:31 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Cities can sometimes run fairly well, even under a corrupt regime. Chicago comes to mind, and some say Las Vegas was better when the mafia ran it.
I question though if Governor Queenfish would have the smarts to administer a properly corrupt machine. A sad comment indeed: ready and willing, but unable to deliver on a corrupt machine that works. Piss poor.
7. Posted by Robert | October 17, 2005 10:31 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 17, 2005 22:31
8. Posted by opine6 | October 18, 2005 2:57 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I've never seen anything productive come out of a committee of more than five to ten people. Anything larger than that is like herding cats. Nothing gets accomplished.
Keep tabs on all the people named to these committees, then see how much richer they get over the next couple of years. I sincerely hope someone honest in the Federal Government will be administering taxpayers' money, but I'm not betting on it.
8. Posted by opine6 | October 18, 2005 2:57 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 18, 2005 14:57