La. parish president still facing lawsuits over Katrina

La. parish president still facing lawsuits over Katrina
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press Writer



Apr 29th, 2008 | METAIRIE, La. -- On the eve of Hurricane Katrina, massive pumps that keep water out of this New Orleans suburb went silent when the roughly 100 workers who run them were allowed to flee under a "doomsday" evacuation plan.

With the storm raging, backflow from levee breaks in New Orleans had nowhere to go, damaging thousands of homes, shopping malls and businesses between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish.

For parish President Aaron Broussard, a populist Democrat who rose to power over three decades, the evacuation of the workers could be make-or-break politically and legally.

While other government officials and agencies have persuaded courts they are immune from liability for Katrina damage or deaths, Broussard seems to be the last still dogged in public and in court.

After the storm, parish residents along the lake's east bank dried out and scraped the muck from their middle class and upscale homes. Then they went to court against Broussard, with a judge recently refusing to dismiss him from lawsuits that hold him personally responsible.

more...

http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/us/2008/04/29/D90BGEUG0_katrina_doomsday_plan/index.html

Should he have replanted the wetlands and closed the canal where the large swell of water that did in the levee system? Should he have forced the boooosh regime to restore the funding that could have reinforced the levee system and made it possible for those pumps to remain going? Hindsight is always 20-20 when anger and frustration sets in.

People in that area are justified in their frustrations and they have little redress. I was just through much of the flooded area and the anger isn't far from the surface towards virtually all public officials who were involved in Katrina.

TV imploring the powers-that-be to come to the aid of his parish; no food, water, etc. I think he was close to tears when he made his appeal. I agree with you; what could he have done? I feel bad for him. :(

because Brousard was so emotional and persuasive that Sunday morning. They've ridiculed him ever since.

It was a great look at the "recovery" in St. Bernard parish and the many things still neglected or left to be done. Also, it showed how many of these people found their own ways and means to get assitance and begin to rebuild.

I was the area in March and words can't describe what I experienced...or saw. The spirit of most who I met was very high and determined to rebuild, but there was a lot of frustration as well. For example, finding a rental next to impossible still...especially if you are lower income. One person I met had just moved back into his original apartment...he had lived in Houston for 6 months and then was able to rent in his building while his place was being redone. He got his old place back...at nearly twice the rent he had previously paid.

Sadly, there's also a lot of politics involved in this mess...and losing so many blacks from the 9th Ward has truly hurt efforts to rehabilitate and rebuild that area...but its a Catch 22...what can they come back to?

Cheers...

:hi: