wearehereforyou.htm

Louisiana Katrina Relief Hotline: (866) 334-8305

Mississippi Katrina Relief Hotline: (866) 230-8903

Alabama Katrina Relief Hotline: (877) 273-5018

Need To Talk? Call: 1-800-273-TALK (1 - 800 - 273 - 8255 )

Locate A Shelter: 1-800-409-4828

Louisiana State Department of Social Services: 1-888-LA-HELPU
1 - 888 - 524 - 3578

Disaster Relief: GovBenefits.gov

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: MissingChildren.org

Missing Pets: PetFinder.org

Pet Rescue: 1-800-HUMANE-1    ( 1 - 800 - 486 - 2631 )

Report Price Gouging: 1-800-488-2770

Displaced Loyola Students Stabbed

             In Boston, Police Say

POSTED: 12:43 pm CDT September 14, 2005

BOSTON -- Two college students displaced by Hurricane Katrina are recovering

after being stabbed in Boston.

The students from Loyola University in New Orleans are attending classes at Boston

College. Police and BC officials say they were attacked after an argument with five men

at about 1:30 a.m. outside a convenience store in the Cleveland Circle neighborhood.

Nineteen-year-old Joseph Vairo was taken to Beth Israel Hospital, where he is listed in

serious condition. A 20-year-old student who was not identified was

treated at the hospital and released.

Police say there have been no arrests in the case.

Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn said Vairo is originally from Holden;

the other student is from Oakland, Calif.

They are among 150 students from Loyola and Tulane University who are

temporarily attending the school.

Blanco Delays Elections In Orleans

        And Jefferson Parishes

POSTED: 3:14 pm CDT September 14, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. -- In an executive order issued Wednesday, Gov. Kathleen Blanco

delayed upcoming elections in Jefferson and Orleans parishes that were

scheduled for October and November.

The governor did not give an immediate rescheduling date.

A day earlier, Secretary of State Al Ater formally recommended that Blanco delay

voting in local races for the school board, Kenner city council and a judgeship in

Jefferson Parish and special proposition elections in Orleans Parish. The elections

were scheduled for Oct. 15 and Nov. 12.

State law requires the secretary of state to certify to the governor when a state of

emergency exists that would affect elections. The governor must issue an executive

order formally delaying the elections.

Evacuees In Dallas Being Moved

POSTED: 3:48 pm CDT September 14, 2005

DALLAS -- Evacuees at the Dallas Convention Center are being moved

into Reunion Arena to consolidate operations.

Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said the evacuees will be moved over

the next couple of days, and they plan to have all evacuees out of the Convention

Center shelter and into Reunion by the weekend.

Wednesday, about 683 people were still at the Convention Center, and 170 at Reunion.

Meanwhile, many of those remaining in the shelters are working on plans to get into housing.

Call Center To Assist With

Children's Records

POSTED: 7:40 am CDT September 15, 2005

AUSTIN, Tx. -- Thousands of hurricane-displaced students have enrolled in Texas

schools and officials want to make sure their immunization records are available.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has opened a temporary call center.

The goal is to assist school and medical personnel, plus parents, in getting copies of

immunization records for the displaced children.

DSHS has obtained direct access to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals

statewide immunization registry.

Similar efforts will be made to secure registries in Alabama and Mississippi, which

also had evacuations.

There's no charge for the service.

For information, call: (800) 252-9152.

Phone Service Improving Across Region

POSTED: 7:28 am CDT September 15, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Those irritating busy signals and congested network messages

on your telephone soon may be a thing of the past. After more than two weeks of sporadic

service because of Hurricane Katrina, telephone lines in southeastern Louisiana are

slowly returning to normal.

Phone companies are repairing storm-damaged networks. They also are adjusting their

systems to contend with population shifts.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana Public Service Commission has asked wireless phone companies

in the state to give customers free service for September and October because wireless

phones have become the only means of communication for many evacuees.

Whether they will remains a question.

Despite the overall improvement in phone service, officials said about 150,000 BellSouth

phone lines remain dead, mostly in the parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines and Saint Bernard.

Only Operating Mall On Mississippi Coast

Sees Occupancy Rate Increase

POSTED: 8:21 am CDT September 15, 2005

GAUTIER, Miss. -- Singing River Mall in Gautier, Miss., has nearly double its occupancy

rate after Hurricane Katrina left other shopping areas and businesses in ruins.

Singing River is now the only operating mall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Mall operators

have signed new leases with Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, ALION Science and Technology

Corporation and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Mall manager Tina Dubose said five to 10 more businesses are currently going through the

leasing process. She confirmed that several of these undisclosed stores were previously

located in Biloxi's Edgewater Mall, which was severely damaged Aug. 29 by Katrina's massive storm surge.

Dubose says other businesses are waiting on liability insurance before signing contracts.

Singing River Mall received minimal damage.

Storm Evacuees Seek Help In Orlando

POSTED: 8:57 am CDT September 15, 2005

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Many of the evacuees who came to Orlando following Hurricane Katrina took

advantage of a deal worked out with the Red Cross that allowed them to stay in Central Florida for

two weeks at no charge, but time is running out.

That's where the faith community and churches like New Covenant Baptist of Orlando are

stepping up to the plate and offering some help.

The Williams family is one of the thousands who fled New Orleans for Florida. They've

been grateful to stay for free at an Orlando-area hotel, but soon they'll have to start paying,

and like so many evacuees, they need to find some affordable, transitional housing, but it's not easy.

"I've seen so many people before the storm living on the street in New Orleans, and I

wondered how they made it. Now, I know," evacuee Jessie Lumar said.

The Orlando Housing and Authority and the Urban League are working hard to help

evacuees find a place to live. They're even reaching out to Realtors to identify vacant

homes. According to the Urban League, one of the big challenges is that there is very

little affordable housing in the Orlando area and no vacancies in public housing.

Tax Assessors Try To Assess

Damage To Tax Rolls

POSTED: 9:53 am CDT September 15, 2005

COVINGTON, La. -- Tax assessors in hurricane-ravaged areas of the state will ask

the Legislature for changes in tax laws to give owners of ruined homes and businesses

adjustments on this year's property tax bills.

In Saint Tammany Parish, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 homes were heavily damaged

or destroyed. Tens of thousands more were destroyed or damaged across south Louisiana.

Saint Tammany Parish Assessor Patricia Schwarz Core said state tax laws do not allow

assessors to re-value properties damaged or destroyed by natural disasters after January

1 of the current calendar or property tax year. Those changes have to be made in the following year.

But Core and other area assessors want the Legislature to call a special session and

change the laws so home and business owners can be given relief in their 2005 property

tax bills scheduled to be mailed in December.

Core, like many residents, returned from Florida this week to find her home in Port Louis

west of Madisonville destroyed by Katrina.

Airport and waterfront to reopen

10:43 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 13, 2005

New Orleans awaited the reopening of the airport and the waterfront Tuesday for

the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit, and the coroner planned autopies on at least

44 patients found dead at a flooded-out hospital.

The new acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency pledged

to intensify efforts to find more permanent housing for the tens of thousands

of Katrina survivors now in shelters.

"We're going to get people out of the shelters. We're going to move on and get

them the help they need," R. David Paulison said in his first public comments

since he was named to replace Michael Brown. Brown resigned under fire over

the government's sluggish response to the disaster.

The exact number of bodies recovered Sunday from the 317-bed Memorial

Medical Center was unclear. A state official said the corpses of 45 patients

were found; a hospital administrator said there were 44, plus three on the grounds.

The discovery raised Louisiana's official death toll to nearly 280.

It was not immediately clear how the patients died.

Dave Goodson, an assistant administrator at Memorial Medical, said patients

died while waiting to be evacuated after Katrina struck, as temperatures inside

the hospital reached 106 degrees. He said the heat

probably contributed to some of the deaths.

Family members and nurses were "literally standing

over the patients, fanning them," he said.

Minyard says even though only about 300 bodies have been found in New Orleans

so far, Mayor Ray Nagin wasn't the only one who thought there

could be up to ten-thousand deaths in the city.

However, Steven Campanini, a spokesman for hospital owner Tenet

Healthcare Corp., said some of the patients had died and were in the morgue

before Katrina arrived, and none of the deaths resulted from lack of food, water

or electricity to power medical equipment.

Dr. Frank Minyard, the Orleans Parish coroner, said

autopsies will be performed on the bodies.

During an appearance Tuesday on NBC's "Today," he said he thought

the evacuation of the city was successful, considering how the death toll

so far was much lower than expected. However, he noted that searches continued.

"There just may be a lot of people who are still down in those deep waters,

and some of waters were 10, 12, 15 feet deep," Minyard said. "My biggest

fear is that we will find something down there that is

way out of proportion. Hopefully, it doesn't happen, but we worry."

Also Tuesday, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was

scheduled to receive its first commercial flight since Katrina struck on Aug. 29.

The port of New Orleans expected its first cargo ship since the hurricane

late Tuesday and expected at least three more ships by the week's end,

said Gary LaGrange, port president and chief executive. The arriving

ship was carrying up to 500 containers of coffee and wood products

from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, LaGrange said.

A shipment of steel coils was leaving the port Tuesday bound for a Hyundai

auto plant in Greenville, Ala., he said.

"It's a historical moment. Two weeks ago the prognosis was six months,

so to pull it off so our customers have enough faith and confidence

in us is very heartwarming," LaGrange said.

Officials announced the discovery of the bodies at the hospital on Monday

as President Bush got his first up-close look at the destruction in New Orleans.

"My impression of New Orleans is this: that there is a recovery on the way,"

Bush said after riding through New Orleans in a truck with the governor and mayor.

The recovery was visible in spots Monday. Nearly two-thirds of southeastern

Louisiana's water treatment plants were up and running, and 41 of

New Orleans' 174 permanent pumps were operational. Officials expect

the still half-flooded city to be completely drained by Oct. 8.

Business owners were let back into New Orleans on Monday to assess

the damage and retrieve vital records and equipment.

John Baus, a lawyer and construction manager, filled his SUV with computer

servers, monitors, fax machines and crates of files. He said he planned to

make the best of the disaster, starting a new company to help residents

handle disaster claims and rebuilding projects.

"Everybody's been scattered to the four winds," said Baus, who

evacuated to Baton Rouge. "How are they going to take care of insurance

claims? Meet contractors? Get their houses restored the way they were?"

Some homes will require rebuilding. St. Bernard Parish President Henry

Rodriguez told displaced residents there is not a structure left standing in

Hopedale, southeast of New Orleans. Parish Councilman Craig Taffaro

said no one should expect to live in the parish again before next summer;

before Katrina, its population was 66,000.

Sgt. John Zeller, a California National Guard engineer, said it will be at

least three months before the New Orleans' public water system is fully

operational. Some homes have running water now, but it is mostly

untreated Mississippi River water - for anyone wanting a bath,

"It's like jumping in the river right now," he said.

Some of those displaced may end up in temporary housing provided

by FEMA, which expects to use trailer homes to create "temporary

cities," where some 200,000 hurricane victims - most of them in

Louisiana - could live for up to five years.

"This may not be quite on the scale of building the pyramids, but it's close,"

said Brad Fair, head of the FEMA's housing effort.

In other developments:

- Lawmakers in Washington proposed some tax changes Monday to help

storm victims, such as letting them tap retirement accounts without penalty

and encouraging donations of cash, food and school books.

- Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial called for a compensation

fund for the hurricane victims similar to the fund created for victims of

the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Red Cross: 75,000 Katrina Survivors

Sheltered Sunday, 207,000 Overall

POSTED: 10:53 am CDT September 13, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Red Cross said it has housed more than 207,000 survivors

of Hurricane Katrina in 709 shelters across 24 states and the District of Columbia.

It said it has served more than 5.9 million meals to the hurricane's victims -- about

500,000 meals a day. As of Sunday, the Red Cross said it was housing nearly

75,000 in 445 shelters across 19 states and Washington, DC.

In all, the Red Cross has provided more than 1.9 million overnight stays. It

said nearly 74,000 Red Cross workers from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and

the Virgin Islands have responded to Katrina.

During this effort, the Red Cross has trained an additional 63,000 people in

specialized disaster relief skills, and has raised more than $578

million for the hurricane's victims.

Survivors can register for emergency financial assistance, 24 hours a day, by

calling toll-free (800) 975-7585 -- though the Red Cross notes that phone

lines may be overwhelmed.

Bush Takes Responsibility For Any

Failings In Hurricane Response

POSTED: 11:34 am CDT September 13, 2005

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush said Hurricane Katrina exposed "serious

problems in the response capability at all levels of government." He told reporters

that to the extent the federal government didn't "do its job right," he takes responsibility.

Bush, at a news conference with the visiting Iraqi president, said he wants to find

out if the nation is capable of dealing with another storm or a severe attack.

He said, "I want to know what went right and what went wrong."

Gov. Blanco Lashes Out At FEMA

POSTED: 1:13 pm CDT September 13, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco lashed out at FEMA Tuesday for

moving too slowly in the recovery of bodies.

She said that the federal agency still has not signed a contract with a company

that specializes in body removal, Houston-based Kenyon International Emergency Services.

Speaking of deceased victims of Hurricane Katrina, Blanco said they

deserved more respect than they have received.

The governor said Kenyon has been working without a contract and has

threatened to stop working if it does not get a contract.

Blanco said the company does not have enough people without a contract.

Blanco said she was "angry and outraged" and that she had received promises

from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who oversees FEMA,

and from FEMA officials but they had not followed through and signed the contract.

Senate Leaders Will Visit Gulf Coast Friday

POSTED: 11:27 am CDT September 13, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Several Senate leaders will head to the Gulf

Coast on Friday to tour damage done by Hurricane Katrina.

A spokeswoman for Majority Leader Bill Frist, said he will join seven

Democrats and six other Republicans on the trip. Senate Minority

Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and members from the affected

areas are also expected to attend.

The group is scheduled to travel to New Orleans, Mobile, Ala. and Biloxi, Miss.

Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance

Committee, is one of the members scheduled to take the trip.

Baucus and Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, chairman of the Finance

Committee, proposed a tax aid package for hurricane victims Monday. Among

other assistance, the legislation would allow those affected by the hurricane to

tap their retirement accounts without penalty and give families

who house evacuees a personal tax exemption.

The bill is expected to be part of a larger relief package that Congress will consider.

New Orleans Port Expects Visitors

POSTED: 11:52 am CDT September 13, 2005

NEW ORLEANS -- The head of the Port of New Orleans said Tuesday

offers "a historical moment."

He said a freighter loaded with coffee and wood products from South

and Central America, arrives Tuesday.

Port President Gary LaGrange said two weeks ago, officials thought hurricane

damage would keep the port down for a-half year. He said the quick turnaround

shows the city "is back in business." He adds, "From a commercial and

psychological standpoint, this is five stars."

He said another three ships are expected in this week.

The port is a gateway to a river system serving 33 states on the Mississippi or

its tributaries. About 100 dock workers have camped out on ships docked in the

port since the weekend, with up to 400 expected by the end of the week.

The port has no power for the incoming ship, so it will have to get an extension

cord from a maritime administration vessel.

Katrina Victims Finding

Relief in Fresno

Monday, September 12, 2005 TIME IS 11:45PM NOTE VIDEO TO THIS STORY ON KMPH DOWN HERE IN RED

LINKS TO FRESNO CA WEB SITE'S ON BIG 8 AT IT'S BEST NEWS WELCOME TO FRESNO CA IN RED TOO

WEB SITE TO THIS STORY KMPH FOX .26. OF FRESNO.CA. http://www.kmph.com/home/1843457.html

FOR WEB SITE LINK'S IN FRESNO .CA. LINK RIGHT HERE http://www.big8atitsbestnews.com/welcometofresnoca.htm

In the valley Katrina evacuees continue to trickle in and now local apartment complexes

are helping evacuee' get back on their feet.
Some evacuees may be moving into their own place at the Windscape Apartments in

Northwest Fresno. It's one of five complexes in the city, so far, that are offering free

rent to Katrina evacuees who plan on starting their lives over in the valley.
Vera slater, her husband, and their two kids left New Orleans with just their car and

each other. They ended up here in Fresno after some good friends

offered their home to them.
One of the first things she'll decide is what apartment complex to move into. She has a

choice of at least five complexes that are offering free rent for up to three months.
The idea is that in the next 45 to 60 days, they'll be getting aid. We just wanted to

help be there for them.
Hale says she has 15 units ready for move in the next day, and no security deposit is required.
It's the kind of help that'll give this family a boost in starting over, again.

This is the second time the Slaters have had to pick up the pieces from scratch...

The first time was after the Northridge earthquake.
Despite their loss, and through the tears, she says, it's your attitude that turns

you from an evacuee into a survivor.
Just persevere through it, you can do it, it may take time, it's not always

comfortable, but you could do it.
If you, or someone you know, would like to take advantage of the free housing

being offered to hurricane evacuees, here's the information you need.

Contact Sandy Hale, she's with Manco Abbott which

owns several apartment complexes in Fresno.
Her number is 559-256-4033.
And she can help you find a place and give you more information on what's available.

She says the only thing you'll need is either a Red Cross voucher or FEMA

as number proof that you've registered for emergency aid.

45 Bodies Found at New Orleans Hospital

September 12, 2005

The bodies of 45 patients have been found at a

flooded-out hospital, a state health official said Monday amid otherwise

encouraging signs large and small that New Orleans is climbing back

two weeks after it was slammed by Hurricane Katrina.

The bodies were found Sunday at 317-bed Memorial Medical Center,

which was abandoned more than a week ago after it was surrounded by

floodwaters, said Bob Johannesen, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Hospitals.

The Louisiana death toll rose to 279, up from 197 on Sunday, Johannesen said.

Meanwhile, more than half of southeastern Louisiana's water treatment

plants were up and running again Monday, and business owners were issued

passes into the city to retrieve vital records or equipment as New Orleans

continued to stir back to life.

Also, President Bush got his first up-close look at the destruction in

New Orleans on Monday, taking a tour that took him through several flooded

neighborhoods. Occasionally, he had to duck to avoid low-hanging electrical wires and branches.

In Washington, Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown

announced he is resigning "in the best interest of the agency and best interest

of the president." Brown has been vilified for the government's sluggish response

to the tragedy. Last week, he was stripped of responsibility for overseeing the

cleanup and was abruptly recalled to Washington.

As for the discovery of the bodies at the hospital, Johannesen said he had no

further information, and Police Chief Eddie Compass declined to answer any

questions, including whether police received any calls for assistance from those

inside Memorial Medical Center after the hospital was evacuated.

"I can't say nothing," Compass said, referring questions to a spokeswoman

for Mayor C. Ray Nagin who did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Dr. Jeffrey Kochan, a Philadelphia radiologist volunteering in New Orleans, said

he spoke Sunday night with members of the team that recovered the bodies. He said

they told him they found 36 corpses floating on the first floor.

"That's what they were talking about last night," Kochan said. "These guys were

just venting. They need to talk. They're seeing things no human being should have to see."

To prevent looting, business owners wanting to enter the city's central business

district and take what they needed to run their companies were required by

police to obtain passes.

Traffic was heavy on the only major highway into the city that was still open, and

vehicles were backed up for about two miles at a National Guard

checkpoint across the Mississippi River from New Orleans.

Among the businessmen allowed back was Terry Cockerham, owner of Service

Glass, which installs windows at businesses downtown. He has been

working out of his house because his business was destroyed by looters and flooding.

"This is about the most work I've ever had," he said. "We'll work seven days a

week until we get this job finished. I don't want to get rich.

I just want to get everything back right."

There were also signs of life at businesses elsewhere in the city.

In the French Quarter, Nick Ditta was at Mango Mango, the bar he manages

on Bourbon Street, searching for time cards. "It's a mess man. There is no doubt

about it," Ditta said. "But our people are going to get paid. That's all I'm worried about."

During his visit to New Orleans, the president denied there was any racial

component to the way the government responded to the disaster, disputing assertions

that Washington was sluggish because so many of the victims were poor and black.

"The storm didn't discriminate and neither will the recovery effort," Bush

said. He also rejected suggestions that the nation's military was stretched

too thinly with the war in Iraq to deal with the Gulf Coast devastation.

Though 50 percent of New Orleans remained flooded down from 80 percent

during the darkest days and teams continued to collect hundreds, perhaps thousands,

of corpses, there were clear signs of recovery: Over the weekend, trash collection

resumed, and the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport reopened

for cargo traffic. It planned to open to limited passenger service starting Tuesday.

A plane carrying equipment to rebuild New Orleans' mobile phone networks took

off from Sweden on Monday after waiting more than a week for a go-ahead from the

United States. The shipment included network equipment donated by the

Swedish cell phone giant LM Ericsson.

"Each day there's a little bit of an improvement," Coast Guard Vice Adm.

Thad W. Allen, commander of the New Orleans relief efforts, told NBC on

Sunday night. "And in the end run, maybe a week, two weeks from now,

someone's going to wake in the morning and have something they didn't

have the day before, and that's hope."

State officials said Monday that 16 of southeast Louisiana's 25 major wastewater

treatment plants were up and running again.

In the effort to drain the flooded area, 41 of 174 permanent pumps were in operation,

and officials expected an increase in temporary pumps within 24 hours.

As of late Sunday, water in many parts of the metropolitan area was going down at

least a foot a day, the Army Corps of Engineers said. Once the streets are dry,

crews can begin removing debris, checking buildings and other structures for

soundness, and restoring utilities.

Military cargo airplanes were set to begin spraying the area on Monday to kill

flies and mosquitoes. The standing water from Katrina is expected to worsen

Louisiana's already considerable mosquito problem. Before the storm hit, the

state had logged 78 cases of mosquito-borne West Nile virus and four deaths

from the disease this year.

Insurance experts doubled to at least $40 billion their estimate of insured losses

caused by Katrina a figure that would make it the world's costliest hurricane

ever. Risk Management Solutions Inc. of Newark, Calif., put the total

economic damage at more than $125 billion.

In the French Quarter, burnt-orange rubble from terra-cotta roof tiles sat

in neat piles for collection along the curb. Bourbon Street was cleaner than it

ever is during Mardi Gras. And Donald Jones, a 57-year-old lifelong resident,

said he was no longer armed when walking his street.

"The first five days I never went out of my house without my gun. Now I don't

carry it," Jones said over the weekend. "The only people I meet is military."

Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, commander of active-duty troops engaged in

hurricane relief, reiterated Sunday the number of dead would be "a heck of a

lot lower" than initial projections of perhaps 10,000.

Volunteers try to reunite missing

children with families

06:14 PM CDT on Monday, September 12, 2005

Sixteen-year-old Reshad Batiste got separated from his grandmother during the chaotic

evacuation of the Louisiana Superdome in the harrowing days after Hurricane Katrina hit.

For nearly a week, he lived in a Houston shelter not knowing what happened to

her. But that changed on Monday.

Batiste got a police escort to a Houston airport, where he boarded a plane for

Lexington, Ky., to see his grandmother.

"It was confusing that I lost my grandmother but when they told me she was

alive I was very, very excited," said Batiste, who said he stayed strong through

prayer. "Sometimes you just have to take the bitter with the sweet."

Batiste is one of more than 300 children reported as having been separated

from parents or guardians during Hurricane Katrina. The National Center for

Missing and Exploited Children has helped reunite at least 103 children with

their relatives, said Noel Schultz, one of the group's volunteers in Houston.

"They all went in different directions," Schultz said of families separated during

the storm. "I think the object was to get to safety as fast as possible

and then make the reunite later."

The organization has set up a Web site that shows the photos of children who

can't find their parents or guardians. The group is also working with police

departments in Texas, Louisiana and elsewhere to identify parents and

children who are looking for each other.

Child Protective Services workers, with the help of Red Cross volunteers,

are caring for 48 unaccompanied children in shelters across the state, agency

spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. CPS has taken custody of 30 of them for

a variety of reasons, mainly because caseworkers decided their caregivers weren't

in a good enough condition to care for them.

For example, two children in Harris County were placed in foster care because

their mother was hospitalized, CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin said. Two others

were removed from their mother's care because she was under the influence of drugs.

Among the unaccompanied children is a 2-year-old boy agency workers call

"David." Olguin said the boy was dropped off at the Louisiana Superdome

by his baby sitter, who provided a note explaining the child's father's name

was David Harold. The boy was later brought to Houston.

"We think his name is David, but we don't know," Olguin said. "He doesn't talk.

He is very clingy. He will not let go of whoever is holding him."

The boy has been placed in foster care until his relatives can be found.

The agency also is searching for relatives of 18-month-old Shakim Williams,

whose mother is teenager Melkim Williams, who may also be classified as a

missing child. A neighbor took in the toddler after she became separated from her mother.

"We are hoping that maybe the young mother ended up somewhere,"

Olguin said. "She might not even know how to access the missing kid's web site."

It is unclear how many other children may be staying with friends or neighbors

in other shelters or housing, Olguin said. She said it is important for anyone

caring for children who don't belong to them to register the children, so

their parents have a chance of finding them.

When families are reunited, it's gratifying, Schultz said. Among those his

group has helped is a mother of six, who waited and watched as each bus

arrived at Houston's Astrodome last week.

The woman told a volunteer how she became separated from her children and

soon a connection was made to six children who were living at a shelter 200 miles

away in Corpus Christi. A volunteer drove the children to Houston,

where they were reunited with their mom.

"That's why we are here," Schultz said.

Congressman says St. Bernard Parish is

"forgotten" in Katrina aftermath

06:35 PM CDT on Monday, September 12, 2005

U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon issued a statement today after President George

Bush visited St. Bernard parish. Melancon's district, including St. Bernard and

Plaquemines parishes, was particularly hard hit by Hurricane Katrina.

On September 4th of last week, the Congressman extended an invitation to President

Bush to tour affected parts of the district. "People in Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard

Parish and other affected area in Southeast Louisiana's 3rd District need to see that

the federal government has not forgotten them," he said then of the invitation. "We

need all the federal support we can get, and the only way to

understand that is to witness it first hand."

In reaction to today's visit, Melancon released the following statement:

"I am very pleased that the President was able to see first hand the situation in

St. Bernard Parish. When I invited him, it was with the hope that being on the

ground would help him understand just how serious the situation there is.

"I wish he had been able today to meet with residents and officials of St. Bernard

as I did. The thousands of displaced citizens who were at the State Capitol this

afternoon told the real story what's happening. I wish the President had been able

to hear their frustrations, but also their courage as they face the challenges of the

future. Their homes and businesses may be underwater but the community

of St. Bernard is alive and well.

"As this tragedy moves into the next phase of recovery and rebuilding, it is vital

that parishes like St. Bernard are not forgotten as they were in the early days of

the Katrina crisis. Rather, they deserve attention at the highest levels of government."

Feds trying to put aid in right pockets

With billions at stake, Congress

worries how FEMA can avert fraud

11:29 PM CDT on Monday, September 12, 2005

WASHINGTON – Fraud, waste, scams – and just plain shady deals.

As rescue and recovery turns to rebuilding and reconstruction along the Gulf

Coast devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the likelihood of abuse escalates with

the rapid infusion of federal funds, already exceeding $62 billion.

So much money will be going to so many people so fast that some fraud is inevitable,

said Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, one of the congressional authorities on

homeland security.

"The challenge," he added, "is to keep it to a minimum."

There is particular concern on Capitol Hill that the relatively small Federal

Emergency Management Agency, mired in controversy over its initial ragged

response to the killer hurricane, cannot – or will not – provide adequate oversight.

FEMA Director Michael Brown, who was recalled to Washington from the

disaster area by his boss, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, resigned Monday.

But FEMA remains the clearinghouse for much of the hurricane relief.

And it's been blistered by federal investigators for its handling of claims last year

in Miami-Dade County, Fla., after Hurricane Frances.

Nearly $31 million in spending was questioned by the homeland security inspector

general – and more than a dozen county residents were indicted on fraud charges.

Rent was given to those who did not need it, the audit found. Equipment was

purchased without proof of need. And several funerals were paid for in cases

not tied to the hurricane, which came ashore nearly 100 miles to the north

from where the deaths occurred.

"Given the complexity of what is occurring in the gulf, I can only imagine that

these types of mismanagements and inefficiencies are being exaggerated tenfold,"

said Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., who called for Mr. Brown's resignation in January

after Fort Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel newspaper detailed abuses in

FEMA's handling of storm funds.

The inspector general recommended a wholesale tightening of FEMA's

procedures for assessing claims and urged it to recoup some of the settlement

funds, though only small portions of the questionable claims.

FEMA did not respond to a reporter's request for explanations on how such

problems might now be averted.

In the wake of Katrina, which slammed the Gulf Coast two weeks ago, emergency

spending began at an eye-popping $500 million a day and quickly rose to $2 billion.

And while White House budget director Joshua Bolten says he does not foresee

sustained spending at that pace, there is no end in sight.

Various forecasts have placed the total costs of Katrina at well over $100 billion

and climbing exponentially. Should they approach $300 billion – at least a

probability considering the massive destruction and population relocations that

are just now being assessed – they would exceed the U.S. costs for the wars in

Afghanistan and Iraq.

So far, much of the attention has focused on the early, sluggish response to Katrina,

with much finger-pointing among local, state and federal officials. But many in

Congress recall cases of federal spending inefficiency following the 9-11 terrorist

attacks four years ago and in the rebuilding of Iraq as red flags for the latest hurricane relief.

To at least monitor the new spending, Congress, which rushed the spending bills to

President Bush's desk without committee hearings, has mandated in the last $51.8

billion appropriation a pair of new oversight mechanisms: weekly spending reports by

homeland security to the House and Senate appropriations committees and $15

million for more aggressive auditing by the department's inspector general.

If nothing else, Mr. Thornberry suggested, "There are a lot of people who are

going to be watching very, very closely how well they administer this money, in

terms of preventing fraud but also how effectively it is being used."

That's not enough, though, for Rep. Joe Barton of Ennis, the Republican who chairs

the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He supported the first $10.5 billion

emergency spending bill, but not the second for $51.8 billion.

"I am not opposed to spending the money to rebuild the economy and the public

infrastructure," he said. "But I am opposed to just throwing federal taxpayer dollars

at a problem because people are in a panic that we need to show that we are doing something."

The weekly reports and extra audit attention are good first steps in additional oversight,

he said. But there should be more, including wide-ranging committee hearings.

His own panel, he noted, had already held one hearing on Katrina's impact on gasoline

and other energy matters. And he stood ready to convene others.

"We have a system in place," he said. "We ought to use it."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wants to take another step or two

and establish an independent commission to oversee government

contracts related to Katrina relief.

Additionally, she urged tough congressional oversight to thwart price gouging in

the sale of gasoline – and natural gas and home heating oil, whose prices are

expected to soar this winter.

There was no indication on Capitol Hill, however, that such a commission was catching

on, particularly as Republicans, who control both the House and Senate, and

minority Democrats continued to wrangle over a GOP proposal for a special

joint committee to investigate the government response to Katrina.

At the White House, press secretary Scott McClellan said the administration

was well aware of the possibilities for fraud and would tolerate none of it.

Attorney General Al Gonzales had formed a Justice Department task force to

deal with reports of such crimes, Mr. McClellan said, and intended to

aggressively prosecute any perpetrators.

In addition to government benefit fraud similar to that in Florida after Hurricane

Frances, the Justice Department is interested in pursuing insurance fraud, charity

fraud and identity theft, which could easily escalate with documents

stolen from abandoned homes and businesses.

The task force will have national reach, the attorney general said, and will include

personnel from the FBI, the Federal Trade

Commission and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

And it will mount cooperative investigations with local

and state law enforcement agencies

St. Bernard Parish residents crowd

Capitol for town meeting

06:37 PM CDT on Monday, September 12, 2005

Thousands of St. Bernard Parish residents who journeyed to the state Capitol,

desperate for information about their homes, received only grim news Monday:

Every part of the parish was flooded by Hurricane Katrina. Some homes were coated

with oil from a nearby refinery. And one official estimated no one would live in the

parish until at least summertime.

"When you go back to St. Bernard, the only memories you're going to have is what

you left with," Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez told a crowd in the

House chamber that lined the walls, filled up the balcony and spilled

down the stairs of the building.

State police estimated the crowd reached as many as 5,000 people, who filled

hallways of the Capitol, hoping to gather scraps of information about a parish

whose devastation was overshadowed by the flooding of New Orleans and the chaos that followed there.

"It's sort of like the stepchild and the forgotten parish," said Frances Smith,

a resident of Meraux, awaiting a briefing from parish officials.

Rodriguez was upfront about the status of the parish. To Shell Beach residents,

he told them a few buildings weathered the storm but may not be repairable. To

Hopedale residents, he said not one structure was standing.

"When you go back, you won't recognize it," he told all residents.

For homes that may have been repairable after the waters receded, an

oil spill at Murphy Oil in Meraux may have made them uninhabitable, officials warned.

Amid the questions and the descriptions of devastation, a bitterness tinged with

pride was obvious among both the residents and parish officials, who said they were

left to rescue their own as the floodwaters swallowed homes and businesses. State

Sen. Walter Boasso, whose business and home were submerged in the flooding,

noted Canadian help arrived before the U.S. Army did.

"Did we get neglected? Absolutely we got neglected," he said. "But did the local

people take up the slack? You're damn right we did. We didn't wait for anybody to show up."

"Good thing," a resident shouted back.

Bodies of the dead still were being collected Monday. Sheriff Jack Stephens said the

parish death toll stood at 56 but officials knew of at least 10 more locations where they

needed to recover bodies. He said the highest risk areas, where water covered

the roofs of houses, hadn't been searched yet.

Boasso said 30,000 homes were completely lost and he's heard estimates that

it would take at least four months to clean up the parish that is home to 68,000 residents.

"I'm told we're going to be able to go back in an organized fashion to our homes

and try and recover what we want," said Boasso, choking up.

He said the water should be drained by Tuesday, but officials said environmental

testing to determine whether the soil or air was contaminated must be completed

before residents would be allowed back into the parish to collect what belongings

they could. And Rodriguez said when people are allowed to briefly return,

they should bring rubber gloves, boots and masks.

No one should expect to live in the parish again until next summer, according

to Craig Taffaro, a parish councilman.

Despite estimates of a long recovery, officials said they hoped the community

would rebuild and that residents would return.

"You give us such hope. Please, please stay with us. We will come back

again," said Judy Darby Hoffmeister, a member of the parish council.

N.O. Tourism Official Predicts Return

Of Tourists In 6 Months

POSTED: 8:48 pm CDT September 12, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The head of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors

Bureau predicts the tourists will start returning to the city in perhaps six months

time -- despite Hurricane Katrina's devastation.

J. Stephen Perry said most hotels, the French Quarter, and the city's Garden

District emerged from the disaster structurally sound.

Repairs are already underway -- and Perry said hotels plan to set aside 20 to 25

percent of their rooms for their workers as the recovery continues.

That will allow the hotels to house recovery workers first, and tourists later.

The plan is to pay for repairs from the revenues generated by paying guests.

Cleanup Continues, As Katrina's

Price Tag Keeps Going Up

POSTED: 2:13 pm CDT September 12, 2005

NEW ORLEANS -- The hum of activity in southeastern Louisiana is growing.

State officials said 16 of the region's 25 major wastewater treatment plants are

up and running again, after being knocked out by Hurricane Katrina.

Officials also said they expect to get more temporary pumps into operation for

the continuing effort to drain out the floodwaters.

Still, they said only a fraction of the permanent pumps are in working order.

About 50 percent of New Orleans remains under water. But some people are

breathing sighs of relief. For the first time in days, one resident said he can leave

his house without his gun. He said the only people he meets on the streets now are military.

Meanwhile, a plane carrying equipment to rebuild the city's mobile phone networks

is en route from Sweden. The shipment includes equipment donated by the Swedish

cellphone giant LM Ericsson

Hurricane Katrina Victims Get

Utility Deposits Waived

POSTED: 2:42 pm CDT September 12, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas -- Hurricane Katrina evacuees who are moving to Texas and trying

to connect new telephone and electric service will have their deposits waived this

month. That's according to an order by the Public Utility Commission.

Some Texas utilities already had voluntarily waived deposit requirements and

eliminated installation fees.

The order is in effect through the end of September. It does not cover municipal

electric utilities or electric cooperatives because the commission does not have

authority over them. But the commission is encouraging deposit waivers for

those customers as well.

The action comes after Gov. Rick Perry issued a proclamation suspending

regulations that "may inhibit or prevent prompt response" to emergency

conditions created by Hurricane Katrina

Approximately 8,000 AIDS And HIV-

Infected Patients Displaced

POSTED: 3:01 pm CDT September 12, 2005

About 8,000 people with HIV and AIDS who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina

now face the massive challenge of trying to manage their disease without their

doctors, their clinics and their support systems.

Federal officials said they are doing their best to streamline care to HIV infected

patients, and several drug companies are offering free medication.

Meanwhile, providers in Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and

beyond report that displaced patients are showing up at their clinics and asking

for new prescriptions, quickly.

Hospitals Treat Patients

In New Orleans Area

POSTED: 7:06 pm CDT September 12, 2005

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Good news for patients in need of ongoing care.

Ochsner Clinic Foundation said patients who can't get home for months can

still be treated at its facility in Baton Rouge. And once they are able to return

home, their records can be sent electronically back to New Orleans.

The hospital said the records of the more than 300,000 patients it treats in

southeast Louisiana are safe. Ochsner said its clinics in Baton Rouge on the

north shore of Lake Pontchartrain are in full operation.

Two other hospitals -- East Jefferson General and West Jefferson Medical

Center -- are also operating in the New Orleans region.

FAQ: Answers From The Experts

POSTED: 7:09 pm CDT September 12, 2005

WDSU has received hundreds of e-mails from residents

with questions about everything from

when schools will reopen to where you can find your lost pet. Check out answers to

some of the most commonly asked questions below:

Where can I get medical attention in the New Orleans area? East

Jefferson General Hospital, West Jefferson Medical Center, Ochsner

Hospital New Orleans are the three hospitals open in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

Ochsner New Orleans Clinics - OPEN