National Clips
Louisiana Lawmakers Begin Special Session
on Rebuilding
By JEREMY ALFORD
Published: November 7, 2005
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BATON ROUGE, La., Nov. 6 - Gov. Kathleen
Babineaux Blanco opened a special session of the
State Legislature on Sunday, telling lawmakers that
their actions in the coming days would serve as a
catalyst for healing and as a guiding light for the
rebuilding of New Orleans and other areas
devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"I am confident that we will each do our part to see
that a new morning springs from Louisiana's darkest
night," Ms. Blanco said. "We all know that this
recovery is not a sprint. It requires endurance and
commitment from all of us."
The 17-day session will be a major test of Ms.
Blanco's leadership. She is pushing an ambitious
agenda with 77 subject areas, including tax
incentives for redevelopment, stricter building codes
and better management of levees.
But with a budget deficit expected to exceed $1
billion, lawmakers appear limited in what they can
accomplish in the special session.
"The challenges presented by our budget crisis are
some of the most difficult we have ever faced," Ms.
Blanco said. "We are, very simply put, adjusting to
reality. These times and our citizens demand
change."
The governor's initial agenda addressed only a few
legal technicalities, but it was broadened to include
budget issues and priorities put forth by Republicans
in the Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats.
On Saturday, Ms. Blanco, a Democrat, issued an
executive order that cut $431 million in spending
from the budget, including some that had been
singled out by Republicans.
Earlier, the governor ordered a hiring freeze and a
partial spending halt, saving the state an estimated
$70 million.
"I jokingly said we should bring her a switch card,"
said State Senator John T. Schedler of Mandeville,
chairman of the Senate Republican delegation. "As
much as an adversary as we have been over the last
two years, we find ourselves not wholly disagreeing
with her agenda. We could actually find ourselves
with the old paradigm of strange bedfellows."
Meanwhile, a disagreement seems to be developing
between the governor and leading lawmakers in her
party over Saturday's executive order, which was
originally destined to be considered by the
Legislature.
"It doesn't matter what she thinks she has," said
State Senator Francis C. Heitmeier, a Democrat
from New Orleans and chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee. "It all starts with us today. We're
going to look at every single item and see if we
agree or disagree."
In her speech, Ms. Blanco told lawmakers that she
would present another package of "more drastic
cuts" for them to consider. She also said she would
not ask for new taxes.
Robert Kirby Goidel, director of the Public Policy
Research Lab at Louisiana State University, said
Ms. Blanco might have to look to the Republicans for
support to implement significant changes.
"Blanco has been criticized in terms of her
leadership and for not taking action, so we're seeing
her build a coalition of people and not parties," Dr.
Goidel said.
Critics have argued that the session is long on
needs but short on time. Several of the
administration's crucial proposals lack details, and
Ms. Blanco announced the guidelines for the special
session only a week ago. Many lawmakers, though,
are sympathetic to the governor, who faces a
challenge unparalleled by those of her predecessors.
To help business and industry, Ms. Blanco has
proposed eliminating sales tax on machinery and
equipment, exempting new debt from the corporate
franchise tax and reducing sales tax on electricity
and natural gas. The measures could significantly
reduce revenue as budget cuts continue.
To make matters worse, the federal government
announced last week that Louisiana, with an annual
general appropriation budget of $18.7 billion, would
have to contribute at least $3.7 billion to help rebuild.
Lawmakers say the situation will send a strong
message to Congress that hefty demands for federal
aid are warranted.
"This session is going to be a wild ride," said State
Representative Jim Tucker, a Republican from
Terrytown and chairman of the House Republican
delegation. "Louisiana has a very strong
governorship. The political system here is not set up
for us to go around the governor, so it's critical that
she lead us out of this."
In Louisiana, Old Rivalries Resurfacing on
Storm Aid
By JEREMY ALFORD
Published: November 11, 2005
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BATON ROUGE, La., Nov. 10 - When she called a
special legislative session on rebuilding southern
Louisiana, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
expressed hope that the state's ancient political
rivalries, which have set lawmakers from the piney
woods of north Louisiana against those from the
swamps and bayous in the south, would finally be
cast aside.
"The nation must see a united front," Ms. Blanco, a
Democrat, told the Legislature on Sunday night, as
she prepared both to cut the budget deeply and to
spend large amounts on recovery from Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita.
But four days into the 17-day session, there are
already signs that the old geographic differences are
again bubbling to the surface. Representatives of
rural areas to the north are trying to protect their
programs from being slashed. Cities that have taken
in large numbers of evacuees want money to deal
with the overflow. And lawmakers from stricken
southern regions are desperately trying to begin the
rebuilding process.
Reggie P. Dupre Jr., a Democratic state senator
from Terrebonne Parish, said it was always a
challenge to persuade his colleagues from the
northern part of the state that coastal restoration and
flood protection should be priorities for Louisiana.
Some areas in the lower part of his district sank
under nine feet of water as Hurricane Katrina
traveled the coastline in late August, demolishing
homes and shuttering businesses.
"It's difficult to explain to people who aren't from here,
or who haven't seen it," said Mr. Dupre, who wants
the state to assume greater oversight of levee
maintenance. "Our priorities in south Louisiana are
not pork barrel issues, like some might say. They are
about the survival of coastal communities."
But Charles D. Jones, a Democratic state senator
who represents an impoverished northern district
around Monroe, said his constituents could not afford
cuts in government assistance programs, like the 60
after-school teachers who were laid off this month at
the Louisiana Center Against Poverty in Lake
Providence after the budget cuts began.
"The area was already poor in the first place," Mr.
Jones said in a recent interview. "Now, to absorb
these cuts on top of all this is tantamount to cruel and
unusual punishment."
He added: "I supported New Orleans. I voted for the
Superdome. I voted for everything these cities
needed to improve their economies. Our needs are
so great, and we need so much, but no one is paying
attention."
In the wake of the hurricanes, cities and towns
around the state sent hundreds of volunteers and
emergency workers to help. The cities took in
hundreds of thousands of evacuees from the south
and put them up in private homes, shelters and trailer
camps.
But many of the evacuees remain there, taxing city
services, and the spirit of generosity is being
strained by diminishing resources. Some legislators
have complained that the $1,000 per student they
have received from the state for educating evacuees
is not nearly adequate.
There has also been an outcry from northern
legislators at the governor's decision not to spend
any money from a discretionary fund long used to
pay for pet projects of members, in part to help
reduce a budget deficit approaching $1 billion. The
deficit is largely the result of the evacuation from
southern Louisiana.
Elliott Stonecipher, a political analyst and
demographer based in Shreveport, said the
traditional north-south divide in the Legislature dated
to the cultural origins of the state, with French and
Caribbean Roman Catholics in the
moderate-to-liberal south and Germanic Protestants
in the conservative north.
New Orleans, with a far more concentrated black and
Democratic population than the rest of the state, has
long had more power in the Legislature than
popularity.
"Everyone knows that all of Louisiana benefits from
New Orleans," Mr. Stonecipher said. "But New
Orleans has also roughed up the rest of the state
politically for as long as anyone can remember.
There's not a political official, not to mention
legislator, outside of New Orleans proper who has
not had projects near and dear to them die over and
over in the Legislature because of the sheer power
and clout of New Orleans. But now they need
everyone's help, and that is the irony we find
ourselves in."
Once the voting on cuts and spending begins, he
said, the old divisions will reassert themselves.
But Robert Adley, a Democratic state senator from
the northwest town of Benton, said he believed that
the hurricanes' devastation could still produce a
consensus.
"We all know there are three states in Louisiana:
north, south and the Isle of Orleans," Mr. Adley said.
"But we are a family, and families come together in
the time of a crisis."
After Hard Lessons, a New Game Plan for Hurricane Seasons
By JEREMY ALFORD
Published: March 29, 2006
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BATON ROUGE, La., March 28 — Federal and state emergency officials promised a different approach on
Tuesday to the coming hurricane season, saying they would no longer use "last resort" shelters like the
Superdome to house displaced residents.
Instead, they said, they will put into effect a better system of communication and evacuation to get residents
away from the path of a storm.
"Our goal is to create an environment for all of the individuals to leave in the face of a storm rather than stay,"
said Terry Ebbert, the homeland security adviser for Orleans Parish, speaking at a news conference with federal
officials regarding preparations for the 2006 season, which begins June 1.
To relocate a large number of people efficiently, Mr. Ebbert said, officials are planning an improved public
education campaign, and are exploring new ways to use buses, trains, airlines and other evacuation routes.
Those plans, however, are still in the conceptual stages and will probably not be ready until closer to the
hurricane season, he said.
R. David Paulison, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the new plans were a
direct result of lessons learned from last year's disastrous Gulf Coast hurricanes. By retooling the agency and
bringing in emergency resources before they are needed — supplies are being stockpiled at various locations
off the Gulf of Mexico — the federal government will not repeat its mistakes, he vowed.
"We have a different situation now," Mr. Paulison said.
While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will not issue its official forecast for the new season
until May, William Gray, a hurricane expert with Colorado State University, is predicting a tumultuous six months,
although the season is not likely to rival last year's devastation. In his December outlook report, Mr. Gray
predicted there would be 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes and 5 major events with winds exceeding 111 miles
per hour.
Aside from these threatening conditions, moving people out of hurricane-prone areas will be more challenging
than ever, Mr. Paulison said, because there are now more than 94,000 trailers housing evacuees in the Gulf
Coast region alone that are largely unable to stand up to severe winds. People living in trailers will face a
mandatory evacuation even for something as small as a tropical storm, he said.
Henry Rodriguez, president of St. Bernard Parish, a swampy area just east of New Orleans that was virtually
destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, said he would wait to see the actual response before he started cheering the
federal government, but expressed confidence that preparations would be improved over all.
He added that he hoped that preparedness for this year would not overshadow relief from the hurricanes that
had already left their mark on the Gulf Coast.
"I hope that they have learned their lesson by now," Mr. Rodriguez said. "I hope they know that everyone is
depending on them. They needed better planning, and it sounds like we're getting that. I just hope their response
is better than their efforts at recovery, though. There has been no progress there — only progressively worse."
5 Dead After Gunman Opens Fire in a Church in
Louisiana
By JEREMY ALFORD
Published: May 22, 2006
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BATON ROUGE, La., May 21 — A man opened fire inside
the Ministry of Jesus Christ Church here during a Sunday
morning service, killing four in-laws and wounding another
before kidnapping his wife and killing her, law enforcement
officials said.
The man, identified by the police as Anthony Bell of Baton
Rouge, also abducted three of his children, including an
infant, as the service was nearing its end, the police said.
The children were later found unharmed.
Mr. Bell, 25, was charged with five counts of first-degree
homicide and one count each of attempted first-degree
murder and second-degree kidnapping.
Resting his hands on his knees and shaking his head
outside the church, a small metal-frame structure attached
to a guitar shop, Chief Jeff Leduff of the Baton Rouge
Police said: "When you start stacking up human life like this,
it's sad. It's a sad day for the whole city."
Chief Leduff refused to release the names of the dead.
But Jeffery Howard, 47, of Baton Rouge, a church member,
said his parents, Gloria and Leonard Howard, were among
the dead.
Mr. Howard identified the suspect's slain wife as Erica Bell
and said he was her godfather. He said the other two
people killed were Deloris McGrew, Mr. Howard's aunt, and
Darleen Mills, his cousin. Mr. Howard said the wounded
woman was Claudia Brown, Ms. Bell's mother and the head
pastor at the church.
"He killed some good people," Mr. Howard said as about
50 friends and relatives spilled out of his family's home into
the yard. He added that the suspect "called my aunt before
he did it and told her what he was going to do."
Mr. Howard said the shootings probably stemmed from
domestic problems between the Bells.
"She was getting on with her life and wanted to keep
worshiping and following God, and he just wanted to run on
the streets," Mr. Howard said. "He was in and out of her life
a lot."
He said Mr. Bell had problems keeping a job and often
gambled.
Chief Leduff said Ms. Bell's body was found in a parked car
at the Ardenwood Park Apartments, a few miles from the
church. Mr. Bell was discovered nearby, he said, crying and
holding the infant, and was taken into custody.
Chief Leduff said the other two children were apparently
dropped off at another residence before Ms. Bell was killed.
By evening, the three children who were abducted were
sleeping at the Howard family home.
The church's members are mostly related, Mr. Howard said,
and total membership numbers about 100. At an average
Sunday service, 20 people might be in attendance, he said.
At the apartment complex, residents walked about holding
children, swapping details — from grossly misleading to
fairly accurate — and looking to the back of the parking lot
where police officers lingered.
"Ain't nothing like this ever happened out here," said Tina
Jones, 33, with her back to a window displaying a variety of
religious regalia. "I mean, I let my kids play out here all the
time."
Chief Leduff said it could take considerable time to confirm
everyone's connections and to determine Mr. Bell's motives.
Mr. Howard said that Ms. Brown's condition was stable and
that she was recovering at a local hospital.
New Orleans Preps for the Storm Next Time
By JEREMY ALFORD
Published: May 24, 2006
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BATON ROUGE, La., May 23 — Though it was fictitious,
"Hurricane Alicia" offered state and federal officials
gathered here on Tuesday an opportunity to test new plans
for evacuating and sheltering thousands of people fleeing
a major Gulf storm.
Tony Robinson, regional director of response and recovery
for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that
several signs suggested the new initiatives would be an
improvement. Armbands and bar codes were used to
track "evacuees" in New Orleans during the day's
exercises, Mr. Robinson said. Plans to use rail lines,
commercial air travel and military buses to move people
out of harm's way — efforts not employed last year — are
in the works.
For the purposes of the drill, officials tracked a fake
Category 3 storm as it was poised to make landfall in
southeastern Louisiana.
Had a catastrophic hurricane really been 48 hours out, the
state plan called for the activation of more than 6,000
National Guard troops, a voluntary evacuation of low-lying
areas and the reversal of traffic flow on the major Interstate
highways out of New Orleans to accommodate a multilane
exodus.
As Hurricane Katrina approached land last year, more than
one million people fled the New Orleans region, taking
refuge in Baton Rouge and other metropolitan areas along
Interstate 10. Those without transportation were left to deal
with the floodwaters that breached broken levees and with
the shortage of food and water in "shelters of last resort"
like the Superdome and the city's convention center.
Those buildings would not be an option for those hoping,
or forced, to ride out future storms, officials said.
Future evacuations, however, will be drastically different,
since only half the city's population has returned. Col. Jeff
Smith, acting director of the Governor's Office of
Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said
the state now anticipated more than 200,000 people
fleeing southeastern Louisiana in case of a hurricane.
Shelters in the state are being prepared to take in 65,000
people, Social Services Secretary Ann Silverberg
Williamson said. That is 20 percent more than could be
accommodated last year.
Officials added that a permanent shelter in northern
Louisiana was being designed specifically for evacuees,
with special-needs shelters already in place to provide
medical care and help evacuees in housing pets.
Colonel Smith said the state had been securing as many
buses as possible, taking loaners from schools, the federal
government and commercial companies.
The exercise indicated that three million bottles of water,
one million ready-to-eat meals, 20,000 cots and 34,000
blankets would be in place for distribution no more than 48
hours before a major storm. More than 90 boats had been
secured for search-and-rescue, Colonel Smith said,
adding that each would be equipped with six days' worth of
food, water and fuel.
In Washington on Tuesday, federal officials outlined
hurricane plans as well. Michael Chertoff, the homeland
security secretary, said the department had stockpiled four
times as many meals as it had last year and more than
twice the amount of water, which he said could sustain one
million people for seven days. Mr. Chertoff also said
FEMA would be able to track its relief trucks; that would
help to avoid the confusion from last year, when the agency
could not say when its trucks would arrive or even where
they were.
