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http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May31/0,4670,NaginStateofCity,00.html
Nagin: New Orleans Is a City on the Mend
Thursday, May 31, 2007
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin, in his first State of the City address since
Hurricane Katrina, said Wednesday that New Orleans is a city on the mend,
despite broken promises from the state and federal governments.
"New Orleans is coming back, whether you like it or not," Nagin said to
applause from the crowd of city workers and community members gathered at
the National World War II Museum. "And you might as well deal with it."
Nagin called on President Bush and Gov. Kathleen Blanco to do more to help
speed the city's recovery from the August 2005 storm. He said Bush has
failed to move federal aid to "the people who need it the most," and said he
should forgive millions of dollars in disaster loans that the city took out
after the storm to help it to continue operating.
He also called on Blanco to use a budget surplus to help the city.
"Use the $3 billion budget surplus to ensure a strong future for our state
and for all our citizens," Nagin said. "Because as New Orleans recovers, and
as south Louisiana recovers, so does Louisiana."
A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for Blanco. A White
House spokeswoman said the city, not the federal government, must be the
force behind the recovery effort.
"The federal government has committed more than $110 billion to help the
Gulf Coast recover, and we will continue to provide assistance. But the
people of the Gulf Coast and their elected leaders must drive the effort to
rebuild their lives and their communities," said Jeanie Mamo, a spokeswoman
for the White House.
Nagin referred to the city's challenges, including a storm-depleted police
force dealing with a rise in violent crime and a health care system in
"crisis," but he also touted what he deemed successes, from the cleanup of
the French Quarter to the return of more than half the city's pre-Katrina
population of 455,000.
He compared his city to a patient written off as dying who eventually
recovered.
"We have stabilized. We are implementing plans for our future, and we are
strong enough for the next phase of recovery _the transformation to the new
New Orleans," Nagin said.
The speech comes just two days before the start of a new hurricane season,
and against the backdrop of a city still fighting to recover from a storm 21
months ago.
Swaths of some neighborhoods remain in shambles, with houses empty and many
small businesses ailing or shuttered. Police still work out of trailers.
As of mid-month, the city said it had received just $163 million in federal
rebuilding aid, a fraction of the $1 billion or more it says it will need
just to restore what Katrina damaged and with little earmarked for permanent
infrastructure work.
Nagin asked residents _ those in the city and still displaced _ to not lose
heart. He said he, too, has dealt with feelings of frustration and despair
and with rebuilding challenges such as a new roof leaking that very morning.
"Don't give up. Don't give up on us," he said against cheers and applause.
"We will be back. The city of New Orleans will be back."
Nagin: New Orleans Is a City on the Mend
Thursday, May 31, 2007
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin, in his first State of the City address since
Hurricane Katrina, said Wednesday that New Orleans is a city on the mend,
despite broken promises from the state and federal governments.
"New Orleans is coming back, whether you like it or not," Nagin said to
applause from the crowd of city workers and community members gathered at
the National World War II Museum. "And you might as well deal with it."
Nagin called on President Bush and Gov. Kathleen Blanco to do more to help
speed the city's recovery from the August 2005 storm. He said Bush has
failed to move federal aid to "the people who need it the most," and said he
should forgive millions of dollars in disaster loans that the city took out
after the storm to help it to continue operating.
He also called on Blanco to use a budget surplus to help the city.
"Use the $3 billion budget surplus to ensure a strong future for our state
and for all our citizens," Nagin said. "Because as New Orleans recovers, and
as south Louisiana recovers, so does Louisiana."
A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for Blanco. A White
House spokeswoman said the city, not the federal government, must be the
force behind the recovery effort.
"The federal government has committed more than $110 billion to help the
Gulf Coast recover, and we will continue to provide assistance. But the
people of the Gulf Coast and their elected leaders must drive the effort to
rebuild their lives and their communities," said Jeanie Mamo, a spokeswoman
for the White House.
Nagin referred to the city's challenges, including a storm-depleted police
force dealing with a rise in violent crime and a health care system in
"crisis," but he also touted what he deemed successes, from the cleanup of
the French Quarter to the return of more than half the city's pre-Katrina
population of 455,000.
He compared his city to a patient written off as dying who eventually
recovered.
"We have stabilized. We are implementing plans for our future, and we are
strong enough for the next phase of recovery _the transformation to the new
New Orleans," Nagin said.
The speech comes just two days before the start of a new hurricane season,
and against the backdrop of a city still fighting to recover from a storm 21
months ago.
Swaths of some neighborhoods remain in shambles, with houses empty and many
small businesses ailing or shuttered. Police still work out of trailers.
As of mid-month, the city said it had received just $163 million in federal
rebuilding aid, a fraction of the $1 billion or more it says it will need
just to restore what Katrina damaged and with little earmarked for permanent
infrastructure work.
Nagin asked residents _ those in the city and still displaced _ to not lose
heart. He said he, too, has dealt with feelings of frustration and despair
and with rebuilding challenges such as a new roof leaking that very morning.
"Don't give up. Don't give up on us," he said against cheers and applause.
"We will be back. The city of New Orleans will be back."