"45 cops AWOL in storm are fired; 228 who left and returned are under investigation" - New Orleans Times-Picayune

Forty-five New Orleans police officers who fled during Hurricane Katrina were fired as outright deserters Friday, but the police department still faces the more delicate task of investigating another 228 officers who returned to the job after leaving without permission at some point during the storm and its resulting chaos. Acting Police Chief Warren Riley said the termination letters he mailed Friday represented the easy cases because those officers have not contacted the department since leaving their posts. Of the AWOL cops, all carried the rank of patrol officer except for one ranking commander, a sergeant, Riley said. Six civilian employees also were sent "abandonment letters," he said. Riley did not release the names of those dismissed.

[This story is only accessible through an archive search.]

"Ninth Ward floods for the third time" - New Orleans Times Picayune

"Up to one foot of water crept into parts of the Lower Ninth Ward overnight Sunday and into Monday morning, once again flooding Florida Avenue and parts of Jourdan Avenue. . . . Four temporary pumps - attached to two 24-inch and two 30-inch pipes - spit out dark yellow water into the Bayou Bienvenue on Monday morning, at a collective rate of 90,000 gallons of water per minute, the Corps said. The city is still not allowing residents to return to the part of the Lower Nine that was mildly flooded on Monday. National Guard troops and New Orleans police have barricaded streets where the water stood, from North
Claiborne Avenue to the pumping station."

[Article accessible only through archive search.]

"Rumor often reported as fact in aftermath of Katrina" - Knight-Ridder

"The bigger and more diffuse the disaster, the more the gatekeeping function of the media fails in the rush to get the story out," said Henry W. Fischer III, director of the Center for Disaster Research and Education at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. The French paper Liberation ran a detailed report on 1,200 people drowning inside a school on Read Boulevard. Not true. Evacuees railed on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" about dead bodies and gang rapes. The accounts were false. . . . So where did the stories come from? "If you think about the conditions the victims of Katrina endured ... the stress and fear must have been unimaginable," David Emery, an expert on urban legends and folklore for the Web site About.com, said in an e-mail interview. "When real news isn't available, rumors percolate to fill the gap. ... People start conjecturing." Officials repeated the rumors.

[Full article available only through archive search at sunherald.com.]

"Hurricane-Damaged Alt Weekly to Return to N.O. in Nov." - Editor & Publisher

Clancy and Margo DuBos, who co-own the New Orleans-based Gambit Weekly, say the newspaper will be back in print on November 1. "There was never a nanosecond of doubt that we were coming back," Clancy explained in a statement. Hurricane Katrina left the Gambit's office submerged under more than two feet of water."We're about to celebrate our 25th anniversary [at the paper]. How could I work that hard and get the company where it is and walk away from that? It was just unfathomable to me to try and comprehend," said Margo DuBos.

[This story appears now to be accessible only in the Editor & Publisher archives.]

"Panelists to discuss coverage of Hurricane Katrina"

"Panelists to discuss coverage of Hurricane Katrina"

Prisoners left in their cells as Katrina approached?

Prisoners left in their cells as Katrina approached?

This just receieved from Emily METZGER, a columnist for the Shreveport Times:

"I'm enjoying keeping up with your blog. Although there have been some great examples of reporting by LA papers, there's one story that isn't being told: allegations by Human Rights Watch that more than 100 prisoners were abandoned in their cells in Orleans Parish Prison as Katrina came ashore. I address it my column in today's Shreveport Times here: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051012/OPINION0104/510120305/1058/OPINION03. There are some additional links on my blog here: http://emilymetzgar.blogspot.com/2005/10/prison-outrage.html"

From Shelters to Trailers

The Shreveport Times reports on hurricane evacuees moving from shelters to trailers in its Oct. 11 edition. The story, Shelter Residents Begin Move Into Trailers the reporter tells the story from the eyes of two women who came to Bossier Parish after Hurricane Katrina hit. The article says they can stay for up to 18 months, according to their agreement with FEMA.

Figuring out FEMA

The Daily Iberian gave tips to its readers on how to get aid in its article Figuring out FEMA. The newspaper instructs those affected by the hurricane to wait in a line outside Fremin’s Discount Fireworks. It also puts to rest rumors that have circulated throughout the parish.

Gulf papers seek ads to stay afloat

Gulf papers seek ads to stay afloat

A story from the Washington Times describing some of the efforts (involving two of the listed contributors to this blog and the Louisiana Press Association) to funnel federal advertising money to smaller papers in Louisiana.

Congressman addresses plight of Asian-Americans along Gulf

Congressman Mike Honda (D.-Calif.) writing for Asian Week: "Approximately one-half of Louisiana’s 30,000 Vietnamese have taken refuge in Houston, a gigantic displacement that is being assisted by the community’s established leadership.Other APA (Asian Pacific American) groups have faced similar disruption, including hundreds of Laotians and Cambodians who are being housed in temporary shelter in Louisiana’s Wat Lao Thammarattanaram. Leaders of the Laotian community, along with the Red Cross and other relief organizations, are working hard to provide necessary assistance for these evacuees. As caregivers mobilize to care for victims, I am concerned that many APAs will not get necessary treatment due to long-standing disparities in health care. There is a lack of language access, for example, which underscores a persistent failure of services in this country. Such disparities are very real, and they exist throughout American society. Specific services such as providing linguistic and culturally competent care are essential to addressing all the wide-ranging needs within the various APA communities. . . . For my part, I am trying to address healthcare disparities in this country through 'Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act,' legislation I introduced on July 28. As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), I will continue to coordinate with both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to push Tri-Caucus efforts to address the needs of the minority communities that have been adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina, and to address the disparities that threaten to create permanent divisions in our country."

California-based Times-Pic Cartoonist Returning to Big Easy

Editor & Publisher: Steve Kelley won't be an off-site editorial cartoonist much longer for The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Kelley was in California when Hurricane Katrina hit, and has been working from the West Coast ever since. . . . Kelley will have his own car to drive when he returns, because it has been in the top deck of an airport parking lot since late August. "I might have to take out a second mortgage to get it out of there," he joked.

FEMA Aid Applications Online

The Lafayette Daily Advertiser provides a link to a database of FEMA Aid Applications. "Want to see where the applications are coming from?" they ask. Search records by zip code. The site also has an extensive list of photo slide shows.

The mail gets through

The Hammond Daily Star reported that mail is now pouring in after a post-Katrina embargo on the 704 zip code was lifted. (I'm not sure what the full zip code is.) Prior to the hurricane, all mail was first shipped to New Orleans, and then rerouted. Since the hurricane, mail has been sent to Baton Rouge, as well as Houston and Beaumont, TX.

"Times-Picayune to Return to New Orleans"

"Times-Picayune to Return to New Orleans"

The paper expectes to be back in New Orleans within two weeks.

"Covering Hurricanes: Trials, Trauma, Triumphs"

"Covering Hurricanes: Trials, Trauma, Triumphs"

This seminar produced by the Poynter Institute and the Dart Center for Journaliasm and Trauma may be of interest to Louisiana reporters who covered and are covering Katrina, Rita and the aftermath.

Evacuees plan their futures

The Shreveport Times provides vignettes of some of the nearly 10,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Shreveport and Bossier City in the article "Evacuees Ponder What Future Holds". The story tells the stories of those who want to reclaim their homes in New Orleans, and those who want to start new lives elsewhere, leaving the tragedy behind. The reporter writes : "Multiply their plight and their choices by tens of thousands throughout Louisiana and dry parts of Texas and Mississippi and in states as distant as Utah and New Jersey, and you have the underpinnings of a crisis of mood that could affect the nation for generations."

Were we prepared?

The Opelousas Daily World asked this question in this article published on Oct. 2.
The paper compares preparation for Hurricane Rita with that of a storm three years ago:

"No water. No power.

These problems are fresh on the minds of many St. Landry Parish residents who went without these essentials in the days following Hurricane Rita, which made landfall a little over a week ago. But these problems haunted the area three years ago after Hurricane Lili, when they stuck around much longer than a few days."