Tasers, Pepper Spray, and Arrests in the Struggle for Affordable Housing in New Orleans

by Bill Quigley
Guest Contributor

In a remarkable symbol of the injustices of post-Katrina reconstruction, hundreds of people were locked out of a public New Orleans City Council meeting addressing demolition of 4,500 public housing apartments. Some were tasered, many pepper sprayed and a dozen arrested.

Outside the chambers, iron gates were chained and padlocked even before the scheduled start.

The scene looked like one of those countries on TV that is undergoing a people’s revolution -- and the similarities were only beginning. (See video here.)

Dozens of uniformed police secured the gates and other entrances. Only developers and those with special permission from council members were allowed in -- the rest were kept locked outside the gates. Despite dozens of open seats in the council chambers, pleas to be allowed in were ignored.

Chants of "Housing is a human right!" and "Let us in!" thundered through the concrete breezeway.

Public housing residents came and spoke out despite an intense campaign of intimidation. Residents were warned by phone that if they publicly opposed the demolitions they would lose all housing assistance. Residents opposed to the demolition had simple demands. If the authorities insisted on spending hundreds of millions to tear down hundreds of structurally sound buildings containing 4,500 public housing subsidized apartments, there should be a guarantee that every resident could return to a similarly subsidized apartment. Alternatively, the government should use the hundreds of millions to repair the apartments so people could come home. Neither alternative was acceptable to HUD. A plan of residents to partner with the AFL-CIO Housing Trust to save their homes was also ignored.

Outside, SWAT team members and police in riot gear and on horses began to arrive as rain started falling. Those locked out included public housing residents, a professor from Southern University, graduate students, the Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana, ministers, lawyers, law students, homeless people who lived in tents across the street from city hall, affordable housing allies from across the country and dozens of others.

Inside the chambers, Revered Torin Sanders and others insisted that the locked out be allowed to come and stand inside along the walls -- a common practice for over 30 years. No one could recall any City Council locking people out of a public meeting. The request to allow people to stand was denied. The Council then demanded silence from those inside. Those who continued to demand that the others be let in were pointed out by police, physically taken down and arrested. Ironically, some young men were tasered right in front of the speaker's podium.

This was a meeting the council had repeatedly tried to avoid. It was only held after residents (100 percent African American and nearly all mothers and grandmothers) got an emergency court order stopping demolitions until the council acted. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced long ago it was going to demolish 4,500 public housing apartments despite the Katrina crisis of affordable housing no matter what anyone said. HUD had no plans to ask the council or anyone else for approval. The judge said otherwise, so the meeting was scheduled.

Leaders of the U.S. Congress, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, asked that the decision be delayed 60 days so they could try to move forward on Senate Bill 1668 which would resolve many of the demolition problems. This request was backed by New Orleans Congressman William Jefferson, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Presidential candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama.

Opponents cited the affordable housing crisis in New Orleans. Homeless people camped across from City Hall and for blocks under the interstate. The number of homeless people doubled since Katrina. Thousands of residents in FEMA trailers across the Gulf Coast were being evicted. More on the reasons to oppose demolition can be found here.

Solidarity demonstrations opposing demolition were held in Washington DC, New York, Oakland, Minneapolis, Houston, North Carolina, Maine, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Boston. Thousands of people across the country contacted city council members. Dozens of community, housing and human rights groups petitioned the Council not to demolish until there was an enforceable requirement of one for one replacement of housing.

But hours before the meeting began, a majority of the council publicly announced on the front page of the local paper that they were going to approve demolition no matter what people said at the meeting. The paper, the developers and others were delighted. Residents and affordable housing allies were not.

Inside, the council started the meeting surrounded by armed police, National Guard and undercover authorities from many law enforcement agencies.

Outside, the locked out could see the people who had been arrested on the inside being dragged away to police wagons. A few of the protestors then pulled open one of the gates. The police started shooting arcs of pepper spray into the crowd. A woman’s scream pierced the chaos as police fired tasers into the crowd. Medics wiped pepper spray from fallen people’s eyes. A young woman who was tasered in the back went into a seizure and was taken to the hospital.

Inside and out, a dozen people were arrested -- most for disturbing the peace. They joined another dozen who had been arrested over the past week in protest actions against the demolitions.

The City Council meeting continued. Supporters of demolition were given careful, courteous attention and softball questions by council members. Opponents less so.

Despite pleas from displaced residents, dozens of community organizations and federal elected officials, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to allow demolition to proceed. In their approval the Council did promise to urge HUD to listen to residents and to work for one for one replacement of affordable housing. Several city council members read from typed statements about their reasons to support demolition: the deplorable state of public housing; the lack of available money for repair; the oral promises of all, the federal government and developers, to do something better for the community.

After the meeting, residents vowed to continue their struggle for affordable housing for everyone and to resist demolitions -- putting their bodies before bulldozers if necessary.

The struggle for affordable housing continues as does the campaign to stop demolition until there is a real right to return and one for one replacement of housing. Residents and local advocates applaud and appreciate the support of allies from across the nation. Critics label national supporters as "outside agitators" -- exactly the same charge leveled at civil rights activists historically. But people understand that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Public housing residents and local affordable housing advocates welcome the humble participation of social justice advocates of whatever age, of whatever race, from whatever place, who join and act in true solidarity.

Residents vow to make sure that the promises made by the Council and the Mayor are enforced. For example, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, announced that he would not allow HUD to demolish two of the four housing developments until HUD gave documentation of funded plans including one for one replacement of the housing demolished and details of the developments and their plans.

The Senate will continue to be lobbied to pass SB 1668 -- which would really guarantee one for one replacement of housing. It is currently stalled in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee because of opposition by Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter.

Litigation is still pending in state and federal courts to enforce Louisiana and U.S. laws that should protect residents from illegal demolitions. Investigations into the legality of locking people out of a public meeting, the legality of a law passed at such a meeting, the indiscriminate use of tasers and pepper spray, are all ongoing.

Padlocked and chained gates will only amplify the voices of the locked out calling for justice. Pepper spray and tasers illustrate the problems but will not deter people from protesting for just causes. Bulldozers may start up, but just people will resist and create a reality where housing is a real human right.

Stephanie Mingo, a working grandmother who is one of the leaders of the residents, promised to continue the resistance after the meeting: "We did not come this far to turn back now. This fight is far from over. We are not resting until everyone has the right to return home."

Those wanting additional information should look to www.justiceforneworleans.org or www.defendneworleanspublichousing.org.

Bill is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. Bill is part of the team of lawyers representing displaced residents of public housing. You can reach him at Quigley@loyno.edu.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Well, I saw the bo weavil, Lord, a-circle in the air
Next time I seed him, Lord, he had his family there
Bo weavil told the farmer that "I 'tain't got ticket fare"
Sucks all the blossom and leave your hedges square
Bo weavil, bo weavil, where your native home?
"Most anywhere they raise cotton and corn"
Bo weavil, bo weavil, "Oughtta treat me fair"
The next time I did you had your family there.

-- Charley Patton, "Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues"

A humble beetle, the boll weevil has done so much to shape Southern culture. After crossing the Rio Grande into Texas in the 1890s, the voracious pest went on to devastate the South's cotton economy -- and helped bring about the region's economic diversification. It went on to star in numerous songs by blues, folk and rock artists, and even lent its name to sports teams such as the Piedmont Boll Weevils, a minor league baseball outfit from the textile mill town of Kannapolis, N.C. (renamed the Kannapolis Intimidators after NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt bought into the team).

Now more than 100 years after its arrival in the South, the boll weevil has been almost completely eradicated -- gone from "virtually every farm east of the Mississippi River and 94 percent of the entire country," according to a fascinating story in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"Definitely, the boll weevil was a bad boy," said Kevin Hendrix, a fourth-generation farmer harvesting cotton outside this east Georgia town. "We're sure glad he's gone."

Labels: agriculture, southern culture, southern history

The controversial "Road to Nowhere" is officially not going to be built. An environmental impact study recommendation in October led the way for Congress to appropriate money for a $6 million "down payment" on a $52 million cash settlement with the citizens of Swain Co., who were promised a new road when construction of Fontana Dam flooded an existing road in 1943.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC), who have long opposed the road, issued a joint press release:

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and U.S. Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC) today announced that they have secured $6 million in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus appropriations bill to begin a settlement between Swain County and the federal government for the North Shore Road – also known as the “Road to Nowhere” – through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The $6 million will be appropriated to the National Park Service to hold for use in the eventual settlement with Swain County.

The National Park Service recommended a monetary settlement to Swain County as the preferred alternative to the construction of the North Shore Road in their Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS) in October.

"For sixty-four years the issue of the North Shore Road has divided communities and families. This reserved funding, along with the Park Service’s final EIS, shows that we have finally reached the end of this long journey," said Rep. Shuler. "A full settlement is a commonsense solution that will protect the integrity of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, while also providing Swain County the resources it needs to invest in job creation and school improvement."

"It’s about time that we put a stop to the Road to Nowhere," said Alexander. "For decades we’ve been working for the right solution for the taxpayers of America, the people of Swain County, and those who love the Great Smoky Mountains. I’m glad this day has finally come."

This is a great win for conservationists and the GSMNP. The Sierra Club says it would be an environmental disaster:

Building a 34-mile road through the heart of the Smokies would forever alter the Appalachian backcountry and greatly impair water quality, air quality and wildlife in the area. Moreover, the road would cost taxpayers upwards of $600 million to build!

Residents in the area, like former residents of all the farms and homes and towns flooded by TVA reservoirs, had their lives disrupted and have been waiting a long time for a resolution.

For decades, the National Park Service has provided a ferry service to take residents across Fontana Lake to old family cemeteries and home sites. Supporters of the road argue that it would bring tourism and jobs to Swain County. The $52 million settlement, officially supported by the Swain Co. government, will give them at least some compensation.

Labels: environment, natural resources, north carolina

In an open letter sent Friday to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called on HUD to provide more details on its redevelopment plans before the city will grant demolition permits for two public housing developments. He wrote:

As you are aware, this has been a highly volatile issue, primarily because it most directly impacts an already vulnerable portion of our population that was made even more so by Hurricane Katrina and the resulting floods. These men, women and children rely upon public assistance for their basic housing needs. Many residents are distrustful that HUD will not move forward as promised and want assurances that there won't be delays in redeveloping the demolished complexes. Many also are concerned that they will not have a "voice" in the redevelopment processes and ultimately that they will be alienated from the communities that they love.

To that end, it is my responsibility as Mayor of this city -- and the responsibility of other local leadership -- to be true public servants and assure our citizenry that the principle established weeks after the storm that every public housing resident has the right to return to better housing will be upheld and that they indeed will have a "voice" in the redevelopment processes.

Nagin said that as a "demonstration of good faith" the city would let HUD proceed "without interruption" to tear down the B.W. Cooper and C.J. Peete developments, where demolition is already underway. But he called on the department to provide "by the end of the year or as soon as possible" redevelopment plans, executed development contracts, redevelopment and re-population timeline, and a signed redevelopment memorandum of understanding with the resident councils.

But before demolition may proceed at the St. Bernard and Lafitte developments, Nagin demanded the following by Feb. 28, 2008:

* that the HUD-controlled Housing Authority of New Orleans board be expanded from one to three members, including the mayor or his designee and a public housing residents;

* verification of full funding for the Tenant Protection Program;

* evidence of 4,534 actual units made available either through public housing units, affordable units consistent with the mixed-income model or home ownership vouchers;

* documentation of redevelopment financing plans, executed development contracts and signed MOUs with the resident councils.

* evidence of phased redevelopment for the complexes, with a minimum number of 75 interim units at St. Bernard and 94 units at Lafitte to be restored for occupancy within six months.

Nagin also called on Jackson to help the city secure funding to rebuild its affordable housing stock:

I have recently learned of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, or DIRF, as a source of already appropriated funds that the city can use to lessen this affordable housing crisis and burden on our citizens. No further congressional action would be required to access these dollars. This would be purely a policy decision made within FEMA’s leadership.

Secretary Jackson, your assistance in lobbying for these funds at the federal level and with the Congress will not only assist New Orleanians, but, as affordable housing is a critical issue in this nation, can serve as a model for affordable housing provision to other communities across this country.

Will an agency that's been hell-bent to tear down New Orleans' public housing complexes and replace them with mixed-income communities offering less space for the poor comply with the mayor's demands? We shall see.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (one of the most important books of 2007, in our opinion), offers her take on the decision to demolish four public housing complexes in New Orleans at Huffington Post:

The final showdown over New Orleans public housing is playing out in dramatic fashion right now. The conflict is a classic example of the “triple shock” formula at the core of the doctrine.

* First came the shock of the original disaster: the flood and the traumatic evacuation.

* Next came the "economic shock therapy": using the window of opportunity opened up by the first shock to push through a rapid-fire attack on the city's public services and spaces, most notably its homes, schools and hospitals.

* Now we see that as residents of New Orleans try to resist these attacks, they are being met with a third shock: the shock of the police baton and the Taser gun, used on the bodies of protestors outside New Orleans City Hall yesterday.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

THANK YOU to all of you who have already pitched in for Facing South's Year-End Holiday Fundraiser -- already more than $5,000 has come in! We've fixed the online donation server -- try it out now! -- and you can always give by snail-mail at ISS, P.O. Box 531, Durham, NC 27702. All donations tax-deductible!

Thanks, and have a wonderful holiday!

--All of us at Facing South

THE 2007 INSTITUTE HOLIDAY INDEX

Number of North Carolina pilots linked to CIA "torture flights" that an Institute investigation helped identify in spring 2007: 5

Number of fact-finding trips to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast conducted by Institute staff this year: 6

As revealed in an Institute report this August, percent of President Bush's "big check" for Hurricane Katrina that is actually going towards long-term recovery: 30%

Percent of that long-term recovery money that the Institute exposed had not even been spent as of August 2007: 55%

Date in September that Institute director Chris Kromm addressed Congress on the need to act swiftly to address the Gulf Coast housing crisis: 26

Number of times Institute staff were interviewed on TV and radio about Hurricane Katrina, the Jena 6 case and other key issues this year: 48

Estimated audience this media coverage reached: 25 million

Copies of reports on the Katrina recovery that the Institute distributed to grassroots leaders, policy-makers and the media: 12,000

Date in January that the Institute will release the first in-depth report on Hurricane Katrina and human rights, in tandem with a visit by a United Nations delegation: 14

Amount of money the John Locke Foundation, a right-wing think tank, received from fossil fuel while it denying the existence of human-caused global warming, according to a November Institute report: $125,500

In response to the report, number of times the Locke Foundation president called the Institute "kooks," "anti-Christian bigots" and Castro sympathizers: 1, 1 and 1

Minimum number of times that a senior editor at the Locke Foundation, which claims more science science is needed before states take action on climate change, has publicly stated that global warming isn't caused by humans but instead is fulfillment of biblical prophecy of End Times: 1

Percent of the Institute's Investigative Reporting Fund supported by readers: 92%

Value of government and large corporate contributions the Institute receives: $0

Date in May 2008 that the Institute will launch Facing South Magazine, the first in-depth online magazine about the South: 1

Goal for Institute's 2007 end-of-year fundraiser to support a fearless and independent voice for change in the South: $10,000

Percent chance that we will reach this goal with your support today: 100%

Labels: support the institute

Today we sent out an appeal for those interested in supporting our work at the Institute. We've since learned our online donation system is being buggy -- if you run into that problem, you can mail your tax-deductible contribution to ISS, PO Box 531, Durham, NC 27702. Thanks -- we hope to get it fixed soon!UPDATE : Problem fixed! Make your secure online donations here.

Change is in the air. Can we keep the momentum going?

Dear Friend:

Can you feel it? Change is in the air. Across the South and country, people like you have been saying "we've had enough" and are standing up for a new direction:

In Jena, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, thousands have stood up to reclaim their lives and dignity, torn apart by injustice and negligence.

Families have demanded an end to war -- and for Washington to confront real threats to our safety, like global warming.

In 2008, millions are gearing up to march to the polls and cast a vote for a new future.

As a friend of the Institute for Southern Studies, you know that by working together, a better future is possible. That's because on issues from war to working families, the Institute is always there - a leader and catalyst for change.

We take you to the front lines. We report on the issues others won't cover. We tackle the tough problems others won't touch.

You and thousands of others count on the Institute for information you can trust, tools you can use, and a bold new vision for this place we call home.

Now, we're counting on you - to support our unique voice for change and keep the momentum going for a better South and country.

Facing South is produced by the Institute for Southern Studies, the leading "think tank/act tank" in the South working for justice, democracy and peace.

Whether it's exposing under-reported stories or advocating for change -- from the halls of Congress to the streets -- the Institute helps you better understand the South and change it for the better.

We've been doing it all along: As the Columbia Journalism Review pointed out this fall, the Institute broke the story about Citigroup and the sub-prime lending crisis -- four years before the Big Media caught on.

Now, we need your help.

Change is coming at the Institute, too: this May, we will launch Facing South Magazine -- the first and only in-depth web publication about the South.

Facing South Magazine will deliver to you and thousands of others more investigative reporting, more fresh new Southern voices, and more resources for change.

Your support can make it happen. Today, I hope you will say YES to building a stronger, more powerful progressive voice in the South and make a special, tax-deductible gift to the Institute.

We don't take money from the government or big corporations. Over 90% of our investigative budget comes from loyal friends and readers like you.

With your help, we can take our work to the next level -- and change the face of media in the South.

Thank you -- your support at this exciting and important time is most appreciated!

My best wishes in the New Year,

Chris Kromm
Executive Director

P.S. -- Thank you to those who have already contributed more than $6,000 towards our goal. If you haven't had a chance yet, make your donation today.

If you would prefer to contribute by mail, please send your check payable to ISS to P.O. Box 531, Durham, NC 27702. Thank you!

Labels: support the institute

Now that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Sen. David Vitter, Mayor Ray Nagin and the entire City Council have turned their backs on the struggle to guarantee adequate affordable housing for New Orleans' poorest residents, what happens next?

Protesters have vowed that the fight to demolish some 4,500 public housing units in the city -- where rents have skyrocketed and the homeless population has doubled since Hurricane Katrina -- will continue in the courts and in the streets. But the odds don't look good. It's clear the powers-that-be are committed to tearing down public housing complexes and replacing them with private developments offering fewer slots for the city's poorest residents.

This might be a good time to ponder the words spoken earlier this week by an unlikely hero for New Orleans: actor and French Quarter resident Brad Pitt. He appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on Monday to talk about his Make It Right charity, which is building 150 affordable and environmentally sustainable homes in the city's hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward. While the project cannot meet New Orleans' enormous need for affordable housing, it demonstrates the sort of spirit it will take to rebuild the city justly and equitably in light of the government's decision to abandon the neediest (thanks to People Get Ready for the transcription):

CR: Tell me about New Orleans for you.

BP: To me it's one of our most unique cities. I find it to be absolutely authentic. You can't attribute it to any era, or any trend. They are their own thing. There's just a great vibrant community, and I think it'd be a real shame for American culture to lose that.

CR: Do you think there's a risk that we lose it?

BP: Listen, they have such spirit, and they're such fighters, I really don't think so. But it seems to be the approach has been let 'em die on the vine. …

CR: What's the problem? Why haven't those in positions of power done more?

BP: I don't know. They've certainly taken their eye off the ball. It's certainly illuminated -- the actual event, the storm itself -- that there is a -- I'm going to be polite about it -- a portion of our society that is being undervalued, and still being undervalued. …

CR: Poor and minority?

BP: Absolutely. Absolutely. We can talk all we want about education, and health, but until we get it right down there, we're not going to get it right anywhere.

CR: Eliminate an underclass in America?

BP: Yes, or at least treat with a sense of fairness and dignity, instead of as an afterthought. And I thought there was something we could do about this. This is not as I like it. So, listen, I wish this would have been taken care of at a federal level, or a state level, even at a local level, but if this be the case, you know, where we gotta hit it at a grassroots level, so be it. I mean, this is where we Americans are great. Sometimes it takes us to make the call, and they'll follow.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Violence broke out today at New Orleans City Hall as council met to consider the demolition of four public housing complexes. At 4:39 p.m., members voted unanimously to approve the tear-downs, the Times-Picayune reports:

"We have the opportunity to make our home a place that all New Orleanians can point to with pride," says Arnie Fielkow, the council president. "It's my hope that the word 'project' will never again be used in place of what should be 'transitional homes.' Every citizen deserves a safe and affordable place to raise a family."

Hundreds of citizens showed up for today's 10 a.m. meeting -- some three hours early -- but only 278 were allowed inside. When protesters who were shut out tried to force their way in through a gate, police hit them with chemical spray and stun guns, according to various news reports.

Bill Quigley, a Loyola law professor who sued on behalf of public housing residents to halt the tear-downs, was among the protesters locked out of the meeting this morning. He told the Associated Press that he would consider filing suit over the incident, which he says may have violated public meeting laws.

Among those who did not show up for today's meeting was Mayor Ray Nagin, even though his office is in the same building as council chambers. However, he submitted a letter asking the council to approve the demolitions with conditions, including redevelopment to take place immediately after demolition and the one-person board of directors for the Housing Authority of New Orleans expanded to three, including the mayor or designee and a public housing resident.

The demolition is part of a $750 million plan by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to replace about 4,500 public housing units with private, mixed-income neighborhoods that offer fewer slots for the extremely poor. The House passed legislation that would have mandated one-to-one replacement of all demolished public housing units, but similar legislation is stalled in the Senate due to the objections of Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).

(Photo of medics helping protesters hit with chemical spray by Darwin BondGraham/New Orleans Independent Media Center)

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

AP reports a disturbance at city hall:

Police used chemical spray and stun devices Thursday as dozens of protesters seeking to halt the demolition of public housing in New Orleans tried to force their way through an iron gate at City Hall.

Some were arrested as officers tried to establish order and an ambulance arrived on the scene. It was unclear whether there were injuries or the ambulance was a precautionary measure.

According to the article, the trouble started when the city council chambers reached capacity and the overflow crowd, there to protest council approval of a HUD plan to demolish public housing, took took their protest outside.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing

By Dr. Lance Hill
Guest Contributor

Adam Nossiter, writing for the New York Times, makes the startling claim that since displaced black voters failed to vote in large numbers in the city-wide election last fall, "the decision was made: there was no going back. Life in New Orleans was over." Nossiter would have us believe that the black Diaspora of more than 250,000 is now a permanent fact of life. There is, of course, no research indicating a relationship between absentee voting and the rate of return. Indeed, Nossiter does not cite a single demographer or social scientist nor a single study that supports his assertion that "thousands of former New Orleanians" made the decision to forsake their former homes in the last year. Proof for his claims amounts to a handful of his own interviews with a few displaced residents. The dangerous implication of Nossiter's commentary is that we need not provide housing, healthcare, education, or employment in New Orleans for the displaced since they have already decided not to return. The same thinking in the first months after Katrina caused state officials to drastically underestimate the number of returning students in January of 2006, a tragic mistake that led to the virtual collapse of public education for the city's poor for 18 months.

Contrary evidence abounds that thousands of people will return in the next few years -- with greater needs than ever before. Indeed, 32,000 students are currently enrolled in public schools in New Orleans -- approximately half the pre-Katrina number, and school officials say students are returning since September at the rate of nearly 1,000 a month. Business reports in the Times-Picayune indicate that newly-built apartments are leased as fast as they come on line in New Orleans East. In the the next five years, $869 million dollars will be invested in 45,000 units of affordable housing, which will become a magnet for the thousands of displaced citizens living on federal Section 8 housing vouchers in cities like Houston that have virtually no subsidized housing available. Eighty-five percent of flood-damaged homeowners have elected to keep their properties rather than sell to the state in the Road Home program, opting to eventually resettle in their homes or sell to new residents. Many have justifiably postponed their plans to return given that flood protection constructed since Katrina has followed the color line -- protecting predominantly white neighborhoods while leaving black neighborhoods susceptible to flooding until levees are finished in 2011.

Voting patterns, especially in the unprecedented forced evacuation of 450,000 people, are not a reliable indicator of displaced people's plans. Low voter turn-out for displaced blacks reflects frustration with complex absentee ballot requirements and the burden of driving hundred of miles to cast a single vote. That disaffected voters feel frustrated and angry after two years of trying to return to their families and protect their electoral gains does not mean they will not return; only that they will return frustrated and angry.

Lance Hill is the executive director of the Southern Institute for Education and Research at Tulane University.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, new orleans

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing today into the allegations of Jamie Leigh Jones, a young Texas woman who claims she was drugged and gang-raped by her fellow KBR/Halliburton employees in Iraq -- and then imprisoned and threatened with the loss of her job after reporting the incident to her bosses. KBR has denied the allegations.

While Jones courageously testified before the committee, no one from the Justice Department bothered to show up. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski sent a letter [PDF] yesterday to Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) explaining that the Department was unable to testify because of its "pending investigation" into the incident, which occurred more than two years ago.

But Conyers wasn't buying it. As he said in his prepared statement:

Simply put, it is unacceptable for our own Department of Justice to refuse to testify today. The letter they sent me last night does not begin to respond to the tragedy and injustice that we are looking at now. The department claims to be committed to law enforcement in Iraq, but 1) they will tell us nothing about what is being done in Ms. Jones’ case; 2) they cannot give us even one example of a prosecution where the victim was a civilian contractor employee in Iraq; and 3) they cannot describe any steps they have taken to ensure that such Americans in Iraq can report crimes by contractor employees there to federal law enforcement and that prompt investigation and prosecution will occur. The American people and this committee have the right to demand justice and accountability, and I intend to see that that is exactly what we get.

Also testifying before the committee was U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who played a key role in Jones' release after she was allegedly locked up by KBR. In his testimony, Poe reported that his office has heard from three other women who say they have suffered similar experiences. They include Tracy Barker, the wife of an Army Airborne sergeant who was recruited at Fort Bragg, N.C., to work for KBR/Halliburton in Iraq. She claims she was sexually assaulted there by a State Department employee who still works at the State Department today; the Justice Department has declined to prosecute that case. Barker also submitted testimony [PDF] to the committee in which she stated:

In short, when I initially arrived in Iraq I was exposed to a sexually hostile, physically threatening and verbally abusive environment. Although I reported the violations properly ... I was retaliated against and lost my job. I was eventually transferred to a dangerous and extremely hostile camp where I endured extreme sexually hostile conditions by my immediate supervisor and was attacked by a State Department employee. Due to the lawlessness that exists in Iraq I have not had a proper opportunity to seek justice in the criminal or civil arena.

Likening Iraq to the Wild West where no one seems to be in charge, Poe called for the law to intervene and restore order.

Labels: contracting, criminal justice, iraq

Today President Bush signed into law an energy bill that increases efficiency standards for vehicles, phases out incandescent light bulbs, and for the first time places limits on the amount of water that can be used by new washing machines and dishwashers. In a statement, Bush said the measure

...represents a major step forward in expanding the production of renewable fuels, reducing our dependence on oil, and confronting global climate change. It will increase our energy security, expand the production of renewable fuels, and make America stronger, safer, and cleaner for future generations.

However, clean-energy advocates point to serious problems with the final version. Faced with threats of a White House veto, the Senate dropped a provision that rolled back $13.5 billion in tax breaks to oil companies, which would have raised revenue for renewable energy investments. It also dropped a provision creating a federal renewable energy standard.

In addition, the law mandates an almost fivefold increase in the production of ethanol by 2022 -- from 7.5 billion gallons to 36 billion gallons. That means there will be more corn grown in the Midwest, which in turns means more nitrogen-based fertilizer running off fields, pouring into the Mississippi River and eventually flowing into the Gulf, where it will enlarge the "dead zone" -- a 7,900-square-mile area off the coast of Louisiana and Texas so depleted of oxygen that no fish, crabs or shrimp can survive.

As the Associated Press reported earlier this week, some researchers worry that the booming demand for corn will result in the very rapid expansion of the dead zone:

"We might be coming close to a tipping point," said Matt Rota, director of the water resources program for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, an environmental group. "The ecosystem might change or collapse as opposed to being just impacted."

Beside threatening species diversity in the Gulf, the dead zone is also a threat to the region's $2.8 billion commercial and recreational fishing industry. GRN points out that the amount of brown shrimp caught declines in years when the dead zone is largest, forcing shrimpers to look elsewhere for their catch.

Other parts of the country will also feel the impact from expanded ethanol production, says Mike Ewall with the Pennsylvania-based Energy Justice Network:

Many hundreds of additional communities are now going to become targets for ethanol biorefineries, including "advanced" biofuels, which will include even more use of biotechnology and which will clear our forests and crop lands to liquidate them to fuel vehicles. Even more troubling is that much of this will create a demand to try to turn trash, sewage sludge and other contaminated waste streams into liquid fuels. We're already busy enough trying to help communities fight these things and our work is going to get FAR bigger. The more we succeed in stopping these insane "biofuel" schemes in the U.S., the more we'll end up importing it and contributing to deforestation and global hunger in other countries.

(In the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration photo above, the reds and oranges represent low oxygen concentrations.)

Labels: energy policy, environment

The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) is conducting an ongoing study of voting and election systems in Tennessee. The first report on voting machine systems was presented to TACIR in June.

TACIR staff prepared a subsequent report of recommendations for improving Tennessee's election systems, including adoption of voter verified paper audit trails. The report also has results from a survey of county election administrators across the state. This report was presented to TACIR last week.

The findings are an interesting look at election systems, and instructive for other Southern states which do not require a paper audit trail.

The Commission's work is ongoing, and complicated by the possibility of new federal regulations with which Tennessee would have to comply. One such bill, "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" (HR 811), also known as the Holt Bill, has been held up in Republican controlled committees since it was originally introduced in 2003.

Earlier this year, the bill finally made it out of committee, but as of yet the House Democratic leadership has not scheduled it for a vote. Frankly, the bill should have been on the First 100 Days Agenda of the new Democratic Congress.

According to TACIR, the dilemma (other than cost) for Tennessee and other states moving forward with election systems reforms such as "voter verified paper audit trails" (VVPAT) is whether new systems will comply with whatever legislation may eventually be passed in Congress. For this reason, TACIR recommends that Tennessee adopt "a standard for VVPAT that would meet federal guidelines under consideration."

The Commission's study is, for now, focusing on VVPAT, because "Many voters and experts lack confidence in the machinery and process of elections despite the replacement of voting systems all across the country. Tennessee has not been immune."

Their report notes that "many states are in the process of changing over to voting machines with paper records, with 75% of states now having paper record requirements or using paper record technologies statewide.

The 12 states that still have no paper record requirements are Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia."

Other measures are being looked at to bolster voter confidence such as post-election audits and enhanced voter registration and verification. The study is also looking at ways better manage the cost of elections. TACIR also surveyed county election administrators across the state to find out their concerns and concerns of voters in their district.

Here are some highlights from the June report on Tennessee election systems, entitled Trust but Verify:

• Nationally, 16 states use optical scan, 13 states a combination of optical scan and DRE ("direct recording electronic") voting machines with VVPAT ("voter verified paper audit trail"), three states use DRE with VVPAT, and one state (Oregon) votes by mail.

• Concerns with DRE systems include: voters cannot verify their votes are recorded correctly, publicly viewable counting and independent recounts are impossible, proprietary software not available for public or regulatory review, closed and proprietary federal testing standards, design and programming errors that can affect election outcomes.

• VVPAT paper trail options include optical scan systems, add-on VVPAT printers for DRE systems, and voting by mail. Punch card and centrally tabulated optical scan systems are also discussed.

• Advantages of optical scan include: easy to understand, human-readable ballots for audit and recounts, under and over vote protection, HAVA disability compliance, many people can vote at once. Disadvantages: proprietary software, requires replacement of DREs in 92 Tennessee counties, ballot printing costs.

• Advantages of DRE with VVPAT include: utilize existing DRE equipment, no pre-printed ballot required, under and over vote protection. Disadvantages include: audit and recounts more difficult and time-consuming, exposure to malicious or negligent programming at both the voting and counting stages, confusing to voters, long ballots mean long lines at the polls.

• Advantages of voting by mail include: increased voter turnout, more time for voters to consider their choices, automatically keeps voter rolls updated. Disadvantages include: more opportunity for voter coercion and vote buying, prohibitive cost (although Oregon reports savings), and voters who prefer the tradition of voting at a local polling place.

The follow-up report presented to TACIR last week provides recommendations and includes findings from a survey of Tennessee county election administrators. Following are some highlights from that report.

Recommendations:

• Implement voter-verified paper audit trails statewide within a reasonable time frame.

• Adopt VVPAT that can be counted by hand, as well as by machine -- machine tallies to support prompt reporting of results with hand counting for audit and recount purposes. (The report notes that experience with DRE VVPAT printers has thus far been unsatisfactory, mainly due to difficulty reading the printouts).

• Adopt a standard for VVPAT that would meet federal guidelines under consideration.

• Request a review by the Election Assistance Commission to find out how much of Tennessee’s remaining HAVA funds would be available to purchase new voting machines.

• Require voting machine vendors to escrow all of their proprietary software so that it can be reviewed by experts as recommended by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and secured for further analysis if vote-counting problems should arise.

• Strengthen audit requirements to ensure that a random sample of machines is routinely tested by comparing hand counts to machine totals, and when results vary by more than a small percentage, that a broader recount process follows.

• Consider making early voting and voting by mail more accessible. (One simple change suggested is to not require a reason for absentee voting as is currently the requirement in Tennessee, and instead allow anyone to vote absentee for any reason.)

• Consider a Vote by Mail pilot program that would allow the state to assess the advantages and disadvantages of this type of voting in Tennessee.

• Strengthen security and pre-test requirements and make them consistent for all voting systems.

• Consider election day parallel voting machine tests to detect hidden programs that are triggered by election day conditions and are erased so that they cannot be detected later.

Election administrator survey results:

• Only 21% of counties report voting machine complaints. 85% have a formal complaint procedure.

• 98% have procedures to match the number of votes cast to the number of voters.

• 44% report "rare" eligibility problems at polls, 24% report "some", and 29% report "frequent". Only 3% reported "none".

• 91% would choose the same voting system again.

• The most frequent challenge reported was finding qualified poll workers, followed by voter education, followed by "fail safe" voters (provisional ballots for people who thought they had registered or who moved within the jurisdiction and failed to update their voter registration address), and staff/office budget. Several also noted voter apathy and convincing candidates that they lost.

• Advantages mentioned for holding local elections on the same day as state elections include cost savings, higher turnout, and voter convenience. Disadvantages noted include voter and poll worker confusion, longer ballots, less attention to local elections/issues. Several also noted that voters would sometimes have to declare a party to vote in non-partisan local elections.

• The two most frequently mentioned improvements to absentee voting included "no excuses" absentee voting and a better way to track military voters' change of address.

• The most frequently mentioned single change to improve the Tennessee election process was central voting locations (i.e. voters from any precinct can vote at any precinct location), followed by making central voting locations the same as early voting locations.

There is extensive analysis and discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the various voting systems and more detailed explanation of the recommendations. You can read the full report here.

The "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA) passed after the 2000 presidential election fiasco was more of a "Help American Voting Machine Vendors" act and has not addressed the underlying problems and in fact created new ones. The Holt Bill was introduced in 2003, too late for the 2004 elections. Now it is still stalled in Congress, with no hope for passage much less reforms in time for the 2008 election. That will be eight years we've had to fix this fundamental problem with American democracy.

There are some great recommendations in the TACIR report. And while states are taking measures into their own hands absent any federal action, this is a federal problem. A handful of vendors selling election systems in nearly every state are largely unregulated. Improved federal standards and stricter oversight are needed. The Holt Bill or something like it should be passed by Congress, and it should include federal funding for the necessary improvements, including VVPAT.

Labels: election reform

That's the questioned examined by an article in the latest issue of Newsweek, which reports on allegations that the former Arkansas governor's son David was involved in the hanging death of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998. The younger Huckabee, who was 17 at the time, was fired from his job as a camp counselor over the incident but never faced a criminal investigation.

John Bailey, then the director of the Arkansas state police, tells the magazine that the governor's chief of staff and personal lawyer pressured him to write a letter denying a local prosecutor's request for help in determining whether any animal cruelty laws were broken:

Bailey, a career officer who had been appointed chief by Huckabee's Democratic predecessor, said he viewed the lawyer's intervention as improper and terminated the conversation. Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee's office and fired. "I've lost confidence in your ability to do your job," Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was "I couldn't get you to help me with my son when I had that problem," according to Bailey. "Without question, [Huckabee] was making a conscious attempt to keep the state police from investigating his son," says I. C. Smith, the former FBI chief in Little Rock, who worked closely with Bailey and called him a "courageous" and "very solid" professional.

Huckabee says Bailey's account is "totally untrue" and describes him as a "bitter" ex-employee who he asked to resign because he had alienated the state police. Brenda Turner, Huckabee's chief of staff at the time, and Kevin Crass, the family attorney, also deny Bailey's account -- though both acknowledge talking to him about the dog killing. In Arkansas animal cruelty is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in prison.

But as Salon reports, Huckabee is hardly the only GOP frontrunner with "puppy skeletons" in his closet: Rudy Giuliani's wife, Judith, previously worked for U.S. Surgical Corp. selling medical staplers to doctors by demonstrating the devices on live, anesthetized dogs. And in the early 1980s, Mitt Romney took his family on a 12-hour drive to vacation in Canada -- with their Irish setter in a crate strapped to the car's roof. That's a likely violation of Massachusetts animal cruelty laws.

Labels: Election 2008

The plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit to block demolition of public housing complexes in New Orleans reached an agreement in court Friday with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-controlled Housing Authority of New Orleans that the teardowns won't proceed unless the City Council grants permits for the work. Council members are expected to take up the matter in their regular meeting this Thursday.

The agreement allows HANO to proceed with demolition work that was approved before Hurricane Katrina at the B.W. Cooper complex, while halting work at the C.J. Peete, Lafitte and St. Bernard developments. It also gives HANO a deadline of 5 p.m. today to provide the plaintiffs with legal proof that the agency has complied with Louisiana law in hiring companies for the demolition work. The lawsuit charges that HANO has ignored a statute requiring public bids for contractor selection.

Also on Friday, Congressional leaders weighed in on the planned teardowns, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sending a letter to President Bush asking for an immediate 60-day moratorium on the demolitions, which are being pushed by HUD despite the city's urgent shortage of affordable housing. Pelosi and Reid offered to work with the administration to craft a plan for replacement housing, writing:

Given the City's housing needs and the current availability of these affordable housing resources, we are extremely disappointed by the Department's insistence on moving ahead with this demolition despite insufficient resources to make up the clear loss of affordable housing. For the Federal government to reduce affordable housing units at a time when the City is desperate for this very type of housing is a misuse of taxpayer funds and runs counter to the mission of the Department, not to mention the core values that we share. Additionally, HANO has not completed a promised survey of displaced residents and has indicated that this important document now will not be ready until late January at the earliest. HANO has also not provided meaningful opportunity for residents to collect their belongings. The additional sixty days would allow for the resolution of these and other essential issues, including the completion of a comprehensive plan for HANO redevelopment of all affordable units, and replacement of any units proposed for demolition.

More than 100 organizations across the Gulf Coast and the nation have voiced opposition to the demolition plans; for a complete list, visit the website of Defend New Orleans Public Housing. Among those opposing demolition is Bishop Charles Jenkins of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, who in an open letter to the New Orleans City Council called on members to "reclaim and renew existing Federal Housing Projects as temporary and dignified homes" until replacement housing is developed.

Demolition opponents are also battling HUD over the facts behind the teardown. For example, a story in yesterday's New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that "[f]ederal officials, in partnership with developers, are pushing a plan that will demolish 4,500 units of traditional public housing, replacing them with 3,343 units of public housing and 900 market rate rental units." But the plan's opponents point out that HUD's and HANO's own numbers state that fewer than 800 units of traditional public housing will be built to replace what's torn down. To get the 3,343 figure, HUD is apparently counting over 2,000 existing public housing units that are not yet slated for demolition.

A new PolicyLink analysis [PDF] of HUD's progress in restoring subsidized homes in New Orleans since Katrina found that the agency has approved resources to rebuild just over a third of those homes, leaving few affordable options for senior citizens, people with disabilities and the working poor. At the same time, the analysis notes, the agency has put forth no comprehensive plan for addressing the loss of affordable units.

Meanwhile, a federal criminal probe continues into HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson's role in awarding contracts for the redevelopment of New Orleans public housing. The National Journal reports that investigators appear to be focusing on Jackson's ties to William Hairston, a stucco contractor from Hilton Head Island, S.C., where Jackson has a vacation home. Hairston was paid more than $485,000 for working as a construction manager at HANO over an 18-month period that ended in June.

In interviews earlier this year, Hairston told National Journal that Jackson had helped him land the work in January 2006. But in testimony before Congress and in statements to the HUD Inspector General, Jackson said that he had no role in department contracting decisions. Concerns have also been raised over the award of one HANO redevelopment contract to Atlanta-based Columbia Residential, which owes Jackson somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000 for past work.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) reportedly raised more than $6 million yesterday for his presidential campaign, surpassing the one-day record of $5.7 million previously held by Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

The grassroots fundraising effort was timed to coincide with the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, when American colonists took direct action against the British monarchy, dumping cheap imported tea in the city's harbor and helping brew the American revolution. In honor of that historic event, Paul supporters gathered on the State House steps in Boston and marched to Faneuil Hall for campaign speeches by Paul's son Rand, an eye surgeon and founder of a Kentucky eye clinic that serves the poor, and Carla Howell, a libertarian who ran unsuccessfully for Massachusetts governor in 2002.

The fundraiser was organized by musician and Internet entrepreneur Trevor Lyman, a political neophyte with no official connection to Paul's campaign. A former Florida resident who recently moved to New Hampshire, Lyman also orchestrated a nationwide fundraiser that raked in an estimated $4.2 million for Paul on Nov. 5 -- Guy Fawkes Day, which commemorates a British revolutionary who tried to assassinate King James I.

Paul's campaign has raised $18 million since Oct. 1, surpassing by 50 percent its goal of $12 million, Politico.com reports. The extra money will be used to hire new staff, air more ads in early states, and bring students to canvass in Iowa over the winter break.

Paul's fundraising haul is particularly impressive considering his low poll numbers: He was at 4 percent in the Dec. 7 CBS News/New York Times poll, trailing far behind GOP frontrunners Rudy Giuliani with 22 percent and Mike Huckabee with 21 percent. But the candidate's backers say the polls underestimate his actual support because they query only those who've previously voted Republican, while Paul's libertarian principles and calls for an end U.S. military imperialism attract many citizens who previously shunned mainstream party politics.

Labels: Election 2008

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next Wednesday on the disturbing case of Jamie Leigh Jones, the young Houston woman who alleges she was raped by several of her KBR coworkers in Iraq in July 2005 and then locked inside a shipping container by her employer, who warned her that she'd be out of a job if she reported the incident. Two years later, there have still been no charges filed in the case.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) has announced that the hearing is set for 10:15 a.m. EST on Dec. 19 in a statement on his website. Poe played a key role in freeing Jones after she managed to borrow a cell phone from a sympathetic guard posted outside the container where she was being held without food or water. She called her father, who called the congressman, who contacted the State Department, which dispatched agents from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to rescue Jones.

Jones went to Iraq as an employee of former Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root of Houston, now an independent company known as KBR. Within four days of her arrival, Jones alleges she was drugged and raped by several of her coworkers, who were stationed there as KBR firefighters. Army doctors reportedly examined Jones and confirmed she had been raped, but the rape kit containing critical evidence disappeared after it was handed over to KBR security officers.

Jones recently told her story to ABC News as part of an upcoming "20/20" investigation. This week Poe sent letters to officials at the State and Justice departments and joined Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) in a letter to the Attorney General demanding immediate answers on the status of the investigation. According to Poe's statement:

"Jamie Leigh Jones has bravely decided to waive her rights to privacy and come forward with her story of a brutal sexual assault that she endured while working in Iraq," said Poe. "In 2005, I was contacted by Jamie’s father to facilitate her return from Iraq after she called him for help. Two years later we are still looking for answers as to why this case has not been investigated. Through Jamie’s decision to go public with her story, we now have the ability to demand answers in a public forum."

Legal experts say Jones' alleged rapists will probably never face a criminal trial due to a loophole that's left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of U.S. law. In October, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill (H.R. 2740) sponsored by Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) that would subject all war zone contractors to U.S. criminal law, but that measure is still pending in the Senate.

In the meantime, Jones has filed a civil suit against KBR and Halliburton. She has also started a nonprofit organization called the Jamie Leigh Foundation, which helps women who were sexually assaulted overseas while working for government contractors or other corporations.

Labels: contracting, criminal justice, violence against women

The federal government has known there were toxic levels of formaldehyde in temporary trailers provided to people displaced by Hurricane Katrina at least as far back as April 2006. That's when the Sierra Club released the results of tests it conducted on Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers in Mississippi showing that the cancer-causing chemical was present at dangerously elevated concentrations. The group also found similar problems in tests of FEMA trailers in Louisiana and Alabama.

Following heated congressional hearings in July, FEMA leaders said that they would work with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct their own tests of trailer air quality. But it wasn't until yesterday that the agencies announced they would begin air sampling in 500 trailers starting next Friday, Dec. 21. The testing is expected to take about five weeks, with the findings to be released some time in early 2008.

In a posting to the Toxic Trailers website, Becky Gillette of the Mississippi Sierra Club says that at this point in time more tests are not the answer:

Instead of another round of testing, FEMA needs to immediately purchase some formaldehyde free emergency housing. That type of housing is available. Since the problem has already been well established, why is FEMA being so slow to act to replenish the stock of housing needed for emergencies from manufacturers willing to use building materials that don’t make people sick?

Another issue is remediation. With FEMA having purchased more than $1 billion worth of these campers, it should be joining with the CDC to evaluate various remediation tools for reducing formaldehyde to safe levels.

Gillette also raises concerns about why FEMA -- after having promised it would undertake tests back in July -- waited five months to get started:

...[I]t is troubling that FEMA/CDC have decided to undertake this testing at the time of year when formaldehyde emissions would be expected to be at their lowest levels. Formaldehyde outgassing increases with heat or humidity, so it seems no "accident" that FEMA -- which promise[d] last summer to quickly begin a testing program -- has delayed and delayed until the coldest weather of the year.

While FEMA is just beginning to get a handle on a serious problem brought to its attention more than a year and a half ago, new problems with Katrina trailers are coming to light that also demand the agency's action.

In the Institute's August 2007 report titled "Blueprint for Gulf Renewal: The Katrina Crisis and a Community Agenda for Action," [PDF] Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Mississippi's Coastal Women for Change, described how many of FEMA trailers have become infested with mold, compounding formaldehyde-related health problems and forcing cash-strapped survivors to continuously replace ruined possessions.

Last month, KNOE-TV in Monroe, La. investigated further, documenting a design flaw in FEMA's mobile homes that could lead to a buildup of potentially toxic mold levels. It also found that FEMA had been selling the flawed homes to the public in spite of the test results. One science building expert who examined the inside walls of two FEMA homes in Ouachita Parish, La. found one type of mold spore at up to 30,000 times the levels found outside, indicating a wall exposed to excessive moisture levels.

Formaldehyde and mold are not the only threats facing FEMA trailer residents, either. Another is fire.

An investigative report in New Orleans' latest Gambit Weekly newspaper found that trailer occupants face a high risk of injury or death due to fires and explosions that occur when gas fumes from propane burners build up inside the units and are accidentally ignited. The paper found that at least five Louisianans have been killed and nine injured by such incidents since January 2006. While trailer occupants are to blame for some of the fires, other incidents were caused by improper installation and maintenance by FEMA contractors:

A recent review of video-recorded meetings of the Louisiana LP Gas Commission (LPGC) Board shows prime contractors -- engineering firms such as the Shaw Group, CH2M Hill and Fluor Inc. -- also lacked sufficient understanding of propane systems when they received FEMA contracts worth several hundred-million dollars to install tens of thousands of trailers for storm victims. Setting up the trailers improperly increases the risk of explosions and fires, and LPGC regulations explicitly recognize this. ...

...It was before this board that the major three contractors for FEMA trailer installation and maintenance in Louisiana had to answer allegations they did not have the proper certification or permits to work on propane systems when they undertook no-bid, "price plus fixed-fee" federal contracts to provide housing for hurricane victims. Board records indicate none of the three had even applied for such certifications or permits until half a year later, after they were cited by LPGC inspectors. By that time, at least 80,000 trailers had already been installed. The violations were discovered after LPGC inspectors looked into the companies' operations in response to news reports about a surge in trailer explosions in the state.

One LPGC inspector told Gambit that working with the government contractors was "like dealing with used car salesmen on the seedy side of town." Are these really the kind of operators to whom taxpayers should be handing millions of dollars in no-bid contracts?

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, regulatory oversight

As demolition crews dispatched by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began tearing down the 14 brick buildings that make up the B.W. Cooper public housing complex in New Orleans yesterday, about 500 protesters tried to block a crane while chanting, "Housing is a human right."

This morning protesters planned to rally at New Orleans City Hall and from there march to HUD's offices to voice opposition to the demolitions, which are scheduled to continue Saturday at three other public housing complexes across the city.

There is also a protest over the demolitions planned for this afternoon at HUD's offices in Washington, D.C. Among those involved in that action are the Advancement Project, Hip-Hop Caucus, Code Pink and New Orleans public housing residents.

New Orleans has been experiencing a serious shortage of affordable housing since Hurricane Katrina. While HUD says it will replace the demolished complexes with mixed-income developments, the new developments will offer fewer slots for the poor. Under the current plans, 4,600 public housing units will be demolished and replaced with only 744 low-income apartments, for a net loss of more than 3,800 low-income units, according to a demolition factsheet from the Defend New Orleans Public Housing website.

A political standoff over legislation to require replacement housing for the demolished units continues between bill sponsor Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and her colleague Sen. David Vitter (R-La.). In September, following months of negotiations, Vitter and HUD abruptly announced their opposition to Landrieu's proposal, which has the support not only of housing activists and faith leaders but also of business groups worried that the lack of affordable housing is slowing rebuilding efforts.

Meanwhile, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson remains under investigation over whether he lied about his involvement in agency contracting decisions. Jackson helped to arrange high-paying contract work for friends and associates at HUD-controlled housing authorities in New Orleans and the Virgin Islands.

UPDATE: Those protesting the public housing teardown in New Orleans now have a presidential candidate on their side: Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) this week called on HUD to reverse its demolition plan.

"Knocking down historic and livable housing today that withstood the winds of Katrina with the bulldozers of Bush is counterproductive to the goal of giving residents a home to which to return," Edwards said in a statement. "Decentralizing poverty by encouraging new mixed-income [development] makes a lot of sense -- I've proposed creating 1 million new housing vouchers to do exactly that. But eliminating housing where people could live in a city where a desperate shortage of shelter exists makes no sense at all."

(Photo of B.W. Cooper demolition courtesy of New Orleans Indymedia)

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Most of Alabama and Georgia, the Tennessee Valley, and now North Carolina are experiencing "exceptional" drought conditions in the record-breaking drought that has plagued the South throughout the second half of 2007.

Rainfall in Alabama is more than 30 inches below normal for the year. Here in East Tennessee, we are about 18 inches below normal. (Although we are getting some welcome relief from a severe storm system blowing through as I type this.)

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, "Many locations in the Southeast are on pace to have the all-time driest year on record, with many stations having histories back to the 1880 time period." Also, "Of the 628 water systems being tracked, 173 have mandatory water conservation measures in place, while 162 have voluntary restrictions in place." You can read their full report and review the latest map here.

More "water wars" controversy erupted earlier this week, when the chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission suggested running a pipeline from the Tennessee River to Atlanta, where water supplies are running dangerously low. According to the Huntsville Times, there was even talk of a deal involving cooperation on a light rail line between Chattanooga and Atlanta in exchange for a water pipeline.

TVA says there are no such plans in the works, but even if there were it would violate all kinds of current federal regulations. TVA is expected to review their water transfer policy sometime in 2008, but it is unlikely they will get in the middle of the ongoing Alabama/Georgia/Florida water war. The Decatur Daily has more on the controversy.

Ironically, the Tennessee River would flow through a corner of Georgia if not for a stingy governor who, in 1818, provided only "a sextant 'of English construction' and astronomical tables that 'were not such as I could have wished them to be'" instead of proper surveying tools for teams sent to survey the border between Tennessee and Georgia. It was supposed to be at the 35th Parallel, but they missed by about a mile. You can read the fascinating story here.

Labels: climate, drought