USA TODAY Collegiate Case Study: Hurricane Katrina

Collegiate

Case

Study

THE NATION’S NEWSPAPER

New Orleans symbolizes U.S.war on povertyBy Richard Wolf

...........................................................................10-11

How I saved my businessBy Anne Konigsmark

............................................................................12-13

Hope, skepticism markKatrina anniversaryBy Rick Jervis

....................................................................................6

Katrina ‘voluntourists’ makelabor a vacationBy Larry Copeland

................................................................................7-9

Critical inquiryDiscussion and future implications

..................................................................................14-15

www.usatodaycollege.com

© Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, shattering lives andcommunities. The recovery effort still continues, and the response to the disas-ter has run the gamut from the volunteer efforts of individuals to the continuedpush for anti-poverty legislation in the federal government. The articles in thiscase study explore the actions of individuals, businesses and the government inthe wake of Katrina. In highlighting post-Katrina actions, the articles also revealthe passions, values and character of the men and women involved.

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Public vs. Private

By Rick JervisUSA TODAY

NEW ORLEANS — It's hard to imaginethe 7-foot wall of muddy water thatmuscled into Denise Thornton's housetwo years ago, swallowing half her homeand belongings.

Today, the two-storybrick home in theLakewood neighborhoodof New Orleans appearsgood as new. There's newfurniture in the living room,art hanging from freshlypainted walls and a grandpiano in the living room.

Nearly 80% of the homes in affluentLakewood have been rebuilt orreoccupied, a remarkable return rate foran area just down the road from one ofthe biggest levee breaches.

"This neighborhood is back," saysThornton, who used her personalsavings to jump-start reconstruction ofher home.

Less than 2 miles east on HarrisonAvenue, the firehouse of Engine 18 isshuttered and dark. A sign in front of the

two-story building reads:"Help rebuild HarrisonAvenue Firehouse —Donations: Gulf Coast Bank— T-shirts: $20." Threefirefighters work and sleepin a cramped aluminumtrailer behind the closedfirehouse.

Two years after the devastating floodsthat followed Hurricane Katrina, therebuilding of New Orleans, and much ofthe Gulf Coast, has largely taken twopaths: communities that have rebuiltthemselves using private funds,

The pace of rebuilding depends on who'spaying. As government work plods along, New Orleans residents are getting things done.

USA TODAY Snapshots®

Federal commitments to Hurricane Katrina recovery in Louisiana (in billions):

Source: Louisiana Recovery Authority

By David Stuckey and Robert W. Ahrens, USA TODAY

Money toward reconstruction

Rebuilding

Disaster relief

National Flood Insurance Program

$26.4

$18.0

$14.7

Tracking recoveryin New Orleans

MARK

Two years after Katrina

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION, AUGUST 29, 2007

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

insurance money and sheer will — andpublicly funded efforts that have movedmuch more slowly.

Federal, state and local governmentshave struggled to speed up the release offunds and restore infrastructure. None ofthe 115 "critical priority projects"identified by city officials has beencompleted: For example, New Orleans'police superintendent still works out of atrailer, as do most of the city'sfirefighters. And analysts at the city'scrime lab don't have a laboratory tomatch DNA samples.

The delays have affected the poor themost — those dependent on governmentassistance to rebuild their lives. Whilemiddle- and upper-class neighborhoodshave rebuilt using private insurance andcontacts, residents of low-income areassuch as the Lower 9th Ward and HolyCross — roughly 20,000 of them — for themost part remain scattered throughoutthe region, their return uncertain.

The flooding that began after Katrinahit on Aug. 29, 2005, delivered anestimated $150 billion worth of damageto the Gulf Coast, making it the worstdisaster in U.S. history. Of the $116 billionappropriated by Congress to Gulf Coastrecovery, $34 billion has been earmarked

for long-term rebuilding. But less thanhalf of that has made its way throughfederal checks and balances to reachmunicipal projects.

Throughout the Gulf Coast, residentsare asking why their government — atevery level — hasn't done more tostreamline the process and bring morerebuilding dollars to the region.

"We're working ourselves close todeath," says Scott Darrah, a New Orleanscivic activist. "But we can't move it pastfurther than what we have today. Thegovernment needs to step up."

There are signs of progress. About 111million cubic yards of debris — enough tofill the Louisiana Superdome more than20 times — has been cleared from GulfCoast communities. Electricity and waterhas been restored to virtually every cityin the coastal region. And New Orleans'population, at about 300,000, is back tomore than 67% of what it was beforeKatrina.

The Army Corps of Engineers hasreceived $7 billion since Katrina to fortifyNew Orleans' flood-protection system,including installing new floodgates at themouth of the Lake Pontchartrain andrebuilding broken levees.

Last week, the corps unveiled a long-term plan to protect New Orleans from a100-year storm — a relatively strongstorm with a 1% chance of hittingLouisiana each year — that will cost anadditional $7.6 billion and be completedby 2011.

Katrina was a 396-year storm, meaningthat statistically, another storm of itsmagnitude should not hit for nearly 400years.

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Stringent rules attached to federalfunds distributed by the FederalEmergency Management Agency(FEMA), coupled with the magnitude ofthe damage, have slowed manymunicipal projects.

"There was a tendency in the earlydays to think we could run this as wemight run a garden-variety disaster," saysGil Jamieson, FEMA's deputyadministrator for Gulf Coast Recovery."But you just can't push that big of a pigthrough the pipe."

Soon after the storm, Thornton sensedthe government response would be slow.As workers rebuilt her home, she opened

Photos by H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

TTwwoo vviieewwss:: Denise Thornton, above, jump-startedwork on her home with her own money andhelped organize rebuilding in her area. At Engine18, right, fire Capt. Paul Hellmers is still waiting forpublic funds.



her door to neighbors. She persuaded the local cable companyto run a single Internet line down the oak tree in her front yardand into her house. Neighbors gathered at her home to accessfree wireless Internet.

She kept a three-ring binder in her living room filled withtips on navigating the complex maze of contractors andinsurance claims. She brewed coffee.

"I realized very early on that people needed help," saysThornton, 49, who owns a room-fragrance business. "And Ineeded them. I wanted my neighborhood back."

Thornton's efforts soon became a registered non-profitcalled Beacon of Hope. It drew on volunteers and cashdonations by groups such as the United Way and dispatchedteams to cut the lawns of abandoned homes, rebuild areaparks and keep streets clear of debris. The activity drewresidents back.

Today, 11 Beacon of Hope offices are spread across northernNew Orleans, performing services usually done by the city.

"If disaster strikes another city, the best thing they could dois realize that the government will not do anything for you,"Thornton says.

"We are in this for ourselves."

In the third-floor offices of a University of New Orleans

campus building, thigh-high piles of folders and papers arestacked next to a wall in the DNA department of the NewOrleans Police crime lab. Backlog cases, senior analyst JenniferSchroeder says.

The crime lab's original building was destroyed under 4 1/2feet of water during Katrina. The floods also destroyed the"wet labs" used by DNA analysts to match samples of suspects,mostly in rape cases.

If police need an urgent match, the case is outsourced tostate or private labs, says Anna Duggar, the crime lab's director.But without wet labs, in-house analysis has ceased. "DNAreally can't function without their lab spaces," she says.

The city estimates it'll need $3million to replace the crimelab. So far, FEMA has obligated $673,000 for the building, saysCynthia Sylvain-Lear, the city's deputy chief administrativeofficer.

The crime lab moved out of temporary trailers and into itscurrent location in April, in offices leased with FEMA funds,Duggar says. Architectural drawings were done so the spacecould be retrofitted with wet labs. But it's not clear when thecrime lab will move into permanent facilities.

Part of the delay in municipal projects stems from FEMA'srequirement that the city pay for projects up front, then getreimbursed by the federal government. That's money the citydoesn't have, Sylvain-Lear says. There was an estimated $1billion in damage to city buildings and infrastructure, such asroads and bridges, but only $45million in federal funds hasreached city hands, she says. This does not include funds forpublic schools or the city's Sewerage and Water Board.

"I can't sign the contract without money, and the state can'tgive us the federal money without a contract," Sylvain-Learsays. "I have what some would call a cash-flow nightmare."

FEMA officials say the strict rules guard against the misuseof federal money. Projects costing more than $1 million needcongressional review, further delaying the process, FEMA'sJamieson says.

"There's a lot that can be done to streamline the process," hesays. "The issue is: How much do you want to sacrifice interms of accountability and control over the funds?"

Emergency federal funding is governed by the Stafford Act,whose rules require cities and states to match a certainpercentage of federal disaster funds. The U.S. governmentquickly waived the match requirement after previousdisasters, such as Hurricane Andrew in South Florida in 1992and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to the U.S.Government Accountability Office.

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

BBeeaaccoonn ooff HHooppee:: Denise Thornton checks out a mower to Suresh Sikka.Thornton created a non-profit neighborhood resource center to help herneighbors. "I realized very early on that people needed help," she says.

For more educational resources, visit http://education.usatoday.com Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.


But the match requirement — 10% inthe case of the 2005 storms — wasn'twaived for post-Katrina recovery andrebuilding until May, when Congresspassed a bill abolishing it, delaying manyprojects.

The 10% match requirement nearlywiped out Pass Christian, a Mississippitown of 4,000 residents on the GulfCoast, says its mayor, Leo "Chipper"McDermott. Katrina slammed into thecoastline, sending a wall of waterthrough the town and destroying 70% of

it. The town lost most of its property taxbase and all of its sales tax revenue,McDermott says.

Pass Christian was flat broke.

"You take a town that has absolutely noincome and say they have to pay 10%,"McDermott says. "It was a burden wejust could not have done."

Today, City Hall employees and thepolice still work out of trailers.McDermott has received some federalgrants to rebuild downtown. He says thereal rebuilding will start when residentsand businesses return. The town'svaluable beachfront property could pullthem out of the red, he says during adrive through town.

"That's what got us into trouble,"McDermott says, pointing to theshimmering Gulf of Mexico. "And that'swhat's going to get us out."

Other countries have taken a moredirect role in rebuilding disaster-struckareas.

When an earthquake near Kobe, Japan,in 1995 killed 4,500 people and causedbillions of dollars in damage, theJapanese government poured theequivalent of $113 billion in today'sdollars into rebuilding the impactedareas, says Haruo Hayashi, a professor atthe Disaster Prevention ResearchInstitute at Kyoto University.

Within 18 months, all city buildingsand infrastructure, such as highways andthe Kobe port, had been rebuilt, he says.

However, the flood of federal moneyhad an unexpected downside: Afterbeing bolstered temporarily by thegovernment cash, the area slumped intoan economic depression for the next fiveyears, Hayashi says.

"Government spending is a verypowerful tool for recovery," Hayashi says.

New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner

Gulfport-Biloxi Pascagoula, Miss.

Numbers show region recovering slowlySome statistics show the Gulf Coast is recovering from the hit it took afterHurricane Katrina in 2005:

Sources: Brookings Institution, Mississippi Department of Education, Federal Emergency ManagementAgency, Census Bureau and Greater New Orleans Community Data Center

By Adrienne Lewis, USA TODAY

Funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agencyset aside for Katrina recovery

Percent paid out of funds setaside for permanent work

Percent paid out of funds set aside fortemporary, emergency work

Population

Public school enrollment

Louisiana Mississippi27%73% 85%

22%

Mississippi Gulf Coast

January 2005October 2005January 2007

370,396330,062349,547

New Orleans Metropolitan Statistical Area(in millions)

(Note: More recent figures not available)

July 2005July 2006

1.311.02

Seven parishes in New Orleans area (Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines,St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John, St. Tammany)October 2004January 2006

February 2007Gulf Coast public schools

2004-052005-062006-07

185,387104,223

129,841

78,48170,31773,327

Unemployment ratesMetropolitan Statistical Area July 2005 September 2005 June 2007

5.3% 6.1% 6.9%14.8%

22.8% 22.5%

5.1% 6.3% 6.6%

For more educational resources, visit http://education.usatoday.com Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.


"Too fast is not so good. Too slow is alsonot good. Wise pacing is key torecovery."

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The firefighters of Engine 18 wishgovernment relief came a little faster inNew Orleans. Since the floods batteredtheir 2,200-square-foot firehouse, threefirefighters have lived in a two-roomtrailer behind the station. One naps on acot in the kitchen while two others sharea front dorm room.

The close quarters is adding to stresscaused by a lack of manpower, says Capt.Paul Hellmers, the firehouse chief.

The city estimates it'll take $609,000 torepair Engine 18's firehouse. Last fall,FEMA assessed the damage at $118,000,District Chief Tim McConnell says, addingthat FEMA and the city still haven'tagreed on the rebuilding cost.

Meanwhile, a local neighborhoodgroup is helping firefighters raise money,and unions have donated services suchas roofing and plumbing to help rebuildthe firehouse, McConnell says. "Forwhatever reasons, the (government)money's not flowing."

The slow pace of government reliefpushed those in New Orleans' Gentillyneighborhood into action.

When the city didn't seem to becoming up with a plan to bring back theirneighborhood, they raised money andpaid architects at the University of NewOrleans to draw up plans. When no cityor federal official could answer questionsabout federal aid, they studied the rulesand held workshops.

"If you ask the city, it's the state. If youask the state, it's the feds. If you ask thefeds, it's the city and the state," saysAngele Givens, president of the GentillyCivic Improvement Association.

Givens emptied her 401(k) savings topay for rent as weeks bled into monthsbefore she saw any federal aid, she says.She eventually received $168,000 innational flood insurance money andanother $40,000 in federal assistance torebuild her home. But the slow progresswas exasperating, she says.

Today, construction crews are busyrehabbing homes in her neighborhood,and some residents are building bigger,nicer homes.

Still missing are schools, libraries andpolice stations. Their absence is areminder of government struggles torebuild, and of how far Gentilly still hasto go. "If it weren't for volunteers, if itweren't for the private sector," Givenssays, "nothing would have been done."


LLiivviinngg iinn FFEEMMAA ttrraaiilleerr:: Jeannie Marie Smith, 62, ofNew Orleans.

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION AUGUST 30, 2007


By Rick JervisUSA TODAY

NEW ORLEANS — Joe Givens spentmost of Wednesday with mixed feelings:Happy to have the spotlight shining againon his city but dreading that theattention on New Orleans will soon fade.

"We're on the front pages today, maybetomorrow," said Givens, a civic activistwho works with clergy in the city's poorneighborhoods to resurrectcommunities. "But then people willmove on to something else."

Like Givens, New Orleanians andpeople across the Gulf Coast observedthe two-year anniversary of HurricaneKatrina and the devastating floods itunleashed with mixed feelings of hopeand despair, speeches, rallies, apresidential visit and — of course — brassbands.

President Bush on Wednesday visitedthe Martin Luther King Jr. Charter Schoolfor Science and Technology, the firstpublic school to reopen in New Orleans'ravaged 9th Ward neighborhood.

"I come telling the folks in this part ofthe world that we still understandthere's problems, and we're stillengaged," Bush said in a statement frominside the school's library. Laura Bushand 23 students from the school stoodbehind him.

Some local leaders cast doubt onBush's words. City and state officials havecomplained that federal funds are notreaching municipal projects fast enoughand that the White House is not doingenough to rebuild the region. The WhiteHouse said $114 billion has been setaside for the Gulf Coast, and $96billion ofthat has been made available to localgovernments.

"A feel-good visit is great," NewOrleans Councilwoman Shelley Midurasaid. "But he should be here a lot morethan what he is. And not just a meetingat a restaurant or a photo opportunity ata school, but doing the hard work withpeople on the front lines."

Bells rang out across the city at 9:38a.m., marking the moment on Aug. 29,2005, when levees protecting the citybreached, sending walls of water intoNew Orleans and quickly immersing 80%of the city. Throughout the Gulf Coast,1,800 people died and 450,000 weredisplaced.

While some residents have rebuiltneighborhoods, long-term infrastructureprojects have been slower to materialize.New Orleans' population has returned to67% of its pre-Katrina level of 300,000,but thousands remain scatteredthroughout the region.

As Bush read his statement, anestimated 1,000 people marched inprotest from the Lower 9th Ward toCongo Square on the outskirts of theFrench Quarter. Marchers, some carryingsigns denouncing Bush's policies, wereled by dancers and two brass bands.

Another rally, held in front of theconvention center, mixed politicalspeeches with gospel singers.

"This day is part celebration, partmemorial, part indictment," said ErnestStephens, 62, attending the conventioncenter rally with his wife, Jacqueline, 65."With all the resources, all thebrainpower in this country, we're still notback in our homes. It's crushing."

Givens, the New Orleans activist, spenthis morning at a breakfast at adowntown hotel attended by clergyfrom across the nation. One of the goalsof the meeting was to find a way to keepthe national focus on the devastationwrought by Katrina and the slowrebuilding progress, even as each passingyear fades it into memory.

"The shelf life for this catastrophe isclosing," he said.

In Mississippi, about 100 people prayedand sang in the shadow of a Katrinamonument on the neatly manicuredtown green of Biloxi.

"God has been good to Biloxi and itspeople of the Mississippi Gulf Coast,"Mayor A.J. Holloway said. "We have anew outlook on life and a newappreciation for what's really importantin life. It's not your car or your clothes oryour possessions. It's being alive andknowing the importance of family andfriends."

Contributing: The Associated Press

Hope, skepticism mark Katrina anniversarySome afraid Gulf Coastwill be forgotten

By Larry CopelandUSA TODAY

BILOXI, Miss. — Scott Shattuck, apharmacy manager from Vancouver,Wash., is in Mississippi on vacation. Butby day, he's more likely to be found"mucking out" a house damaged byHurricane Katrina or painting a children'sclinic than hitting the casinos or walkingthe beach.

"This is not a vacation in the sense ofdoing all the touristy stuff," saysShattuck, 33, here with a group of 30volunteers from Kaiser Permanente."You're here to do work for thecommunity, and when you're done, youcan have your free time."

Shattuck and his group, who alsohelped out in the New Orleans area, areamong the massive wave of volunteers— half a million, by one estimate — whohave come here from across the nation inthe nearly 18 months since Katrinastruck.

In storm-ravaged Mississippi, theirimpact has been immeasurable. FromPascagoula in the east to Bay St. Louis inthe west, these volunteers have been theone positive constant for residents whohave battled through lengthy poweroutages, mosquito infestations, stuffyFEMA trailers, recalcitrant insurers andan often molasses-slow governmentbureaucracy.

"They built our community back,"D'Iberville Mayor Rusty Quave says."Without those volunteer groups, wewould be just starting. Our houses wouldbe like some of the parishes in Louisianawhere there are 10,000 houses that havenot been mucked out."

That might seem strong praise in astate where the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency had spent $857million through Feb. 5 — just over $50.4million a month since Katrina — andwhere the Small Business Administrationhad issued $2.06 billion in low-interestloans for people to rebuild their homes.But about 80,000 people still live inFEMA trailers.

Almost to a person, Mississippiansagree that the volunteers, many of themfrom religious organizations, have beenthe spur for their recovery. "We wouldn'teven have a coast if it wasn't for them,"Pass Christian Mayor ChipperMcDermott says.

With their purchases of food and T-shirts, sneakers and blue jeans atrestaurants and stores throughout theGulf Coast region, the volunteers helpedkeep the local economy afloat in theweeks and months after the storm. Theyhelped revive the region's vital tourismindustry by blowing off steam at night inthe bars, casinos and restaurants.

Volunteers have been so critical to theMagnolia State's ongoing recovery that aterm has been coined to capture theirduality. "Voluntourists," they're callingthem here.

"They've had a tremendous impact,"says Stephen Richer, executive director ofthe Mississippi Gulf Coast Conventionand Visitors Bureau, who estimates that500,000 volunteers have come here sinceKatrina flattened the coast on Aug. 29,2005. "When I look at the people all of us

have been dealing with on a day-to-daybasis, they are the one group that hasbrought nothing but hope."

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Shattuck, who also manages apediatric department in Vancouver, isclearly a newcomer to Mississippi: Herhymes the middle syllable of Biloxi with"box" instead of with "lux" as the localsdo.

He was drawn to the Gulf Coast by theneed he sensed here.

"It seemed like after the immediatecoverage, it kind of faded away," he says."Seeing Spike Lee's documentary (onNew Orleans), When the Levees Broke,and media images here and there …made my heart hurt for the people here.There was a tremendous urgency tocome down here to do a job for thepeople that need help."

Shattuck says his wife, Melissa, wasfully supportive when he told her he wastaking a week of vacation to come here.She would have come, too, but stayedbehind to care for their 3-year-old sonand 8-month-old daughter.

His vacation is far from posh. He liveswith about 100 other volunteers in a bigroom at Beauvoir Methodist Church,Mississippi headquarters for Hands OnGulf Coast, an Atlanta-based volunteerorganization that also has a New Orleansbranch.

Short-term volunteers such as Shattucksleep on cramped bunk beds in abarracks-like setting or in big Army tentsout back. They shower outdoors. HandsOn serves them breakfast, usuallyoatmeal, pancakes, eggs, fruit salad andcereal. Dinner might be jambalaya, fajitasor spaghetti: "Something with a lot ofcarbs, real easy to make and can feed alot of people," says Chris deVeer, directorof Hands On Gulf Coast.

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION FEBRUARY 19, 2007


Katrina ‘voluntourists’ make labor a vacation

Tracking recoveryin New Orleans

MARK

Across the USA,people feel a pull tohelp Gulf Coast



He says it's not unusual "for people tocome for a week or two and still be herethree or four months later. It's a life-changing experience. We connect peoplewith people who need help, but itchanges both sets of lives."

Along with religious organizations,college students have been the backboneof the state's volunteer effort, andofficials on the coast expect thousands ofthem during the upcoming spring break.

"We have a surge already booked up,"says Betty Robinson, spokeswoman forthe city of Waveland. "In March, Apriland the first of May, and again in thesummer, we'll see a lot of collegestudents."

''WWhhaatt''ss tthhee vvaalluuee ooff hhooppee??'

The Beau Rivage Resort and Casinohere, which recently completed a $550million, post-Katrina renovation, is aworld removed from the storm-blightedreality outside.

To anyone strolling among the resort's11 restaurants, extensive shopping andbustling casino floor, the storm's

devastation seems far away. It's easy tosee why a volunteer might want toescape here for a few hours after a longday of cleaning muck out of a house.

"We absolutely have people stayingwith us that are here helping," says MaryCracchiolo, a spokeswoman for theresort. "People are coming to help, andtaking time to enjoy the area attractions."

It's probably impossible to measure theeconomic impact of "voluntourism" onMississippi, says Richer, who tracks suchthings.

"What they spend is small," he says."As to what they bring, what's the valueof hope? What's the value of this housethey left behind? The dollar value isprobably a small part of what theybrought. The overall impact is in themultiple millions. Say their labor is worth$10 an hour, and assuming they all workat least 40 hours a week, you're talkingmultiple millions of dollars."

Much of the evidence is anecdotal, saysBeth Carriere, executive director ofMississippi's West Coast-Hancock CountyTourism Development Bureau. "In thebeginning, the volunteers were the only

customers here for whatever businesswas open," she says. "Whatever wasopen, they utilized it. Lord, I don't knowwhat we would have done withoutthem. Now that the hotels are open,they're flying in, staying in hotels anddoing volunteer work."

Bruce Frallic, executive director ofGulfport-Biloxi International Airport,says voluntourists make up 15%-20% ofthe airport's passenger traffic. "Thevoluntourism really took off sometimearound November 2005 and was justintense for the following year," Frallicsays. "They were probably 30% of ourpassenger traffic" then.

Pam Meinzinger, general manager ofPrime Outlets at Gulfport, a 65-storemall, says the voluntourists helped thestores there remain open during theleanest period and are still importantcustomers.

"They're just kind of becoming a partof the community," she says. "They're abig part of our customer base. Thenorthern volunteers usually need somesummer clothes. They really do shop usquite a bit, at night. … They buy a lot ofblue jeans and tennis shoes."

Now Mississippi is saying thanks. InJanuary, during a brief appearance onNBC's Today show, Richer expressed thestate's appreciation to the volunteers —and urged them to keep coming.

The city of D'Iberville will build a 26-acre park, tentatively called GoodSamaritan Park. It will feature the flags ofall 50 states, the state highway patrol, theNational Guard and others. "We'replanning it right now," Mayor Quave says.

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Bruce Beckham is executive director ofTourism Cares for America, a non-profitgroup that brought 330 tourism industryvolunteers to Mississippi last year. He

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Sources: ESRI By Robert W. Ahrens, USA TODAY

Ala.

Biloxi

La. 59

NMiles

0 25

Hancock County

10

Pascagoula

D’IbervilleGulfport

Miss.

12

10

Pass Christian

Waveland

Bay St. LouisNew Orleans

LakePontchartrain

Miss.

Detailarea

Gulf of Mexico

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says that since the Sept. 11 terroristattacks, many Americans have feltcompelled to "go beyond their vacation"by volunteering.

"They're not doing it out of guilt," hesays. "They feel that's what theirresponsibility as a human being is."

John Edmiston, Kaiser Permanente'snational community relations manager,says the company had nearly 300applicants for the 30 slots on the week-long Gulf Coast trip, all of them willing togive up a week's vacation.

Sometimes volunteers come for aweek and find themselves pulled back."They come here and build something,"Frallic says. "They've contributed theirblood, sweat and tears to thiscommunity, and as a result, they want tocome back and see how things aregoing."

Maureen Gatto, 53, a lawyer fromBucks County, Pa., near Philadelphia,came to Hancock County for a week inApril 2006 with about 25 other lawyersand friends.

"It was a typical group," she says. "Wewere gutting houses, helping out. WhenI got back home, I felt a very strong pullback to Mississippi, and I couldn't shakeit. I gave it a month, thinking that do-gooder feeling would wash off. When itdidn't, I said, 'Whatever it takes, I'mgoing to go down.'"

Gatto returned to Bay St. Louis lastAugust for a two-year stay. She is nowthe Mississippi coordinator of the Bucks-Mont Katrina Project, which has built aday care center in Bay St. Louis andbreaks ground next month on an animalshelter. "I don't think I'll be herepermanently," she says. "My wholefamily is in the northeastern UnitedStates."

Sometimes, volunteers come back.Sometimes, they fall in love.

Randy May, 58, says he drove fromAustin to Pass Christian within a fewdays of Katrina. He's been there eversince, working as a coordinator ofvolunteers for a Baptist group fromIndiana and Kentucky.

"I had a good life in Texas," he says."I'm a horse-shoer and golf instructor.But I had to come here."

Two weeks after he got to Mississippi,May met Deborah Yawn, 56, of Jackson.She had been volunteering in LongBeach.

"She came to the Pass looking for(volunteer) work," May says, "and twoweeks later, I married her."

By Larry CopelandUSA TODAY

NEW ORLEANS -- If this is ground zerofor the federal government's war onpoverty, it's hard to find the front lines.

Since Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug.29, 2005, only 94 homeowners — and notenants — have received federal aid torebuild. The poor have been treated atwalk-in health clinics while a federal-state partnership struggles to finance anew medical complex.

"I thought they would do a lot for us,but so far they haven't given usanything," says Albert Walker, 75, who'susing insurance to rebuild a one-storyhome in the devastated Lower 9th Ward,which nearly disappeared under 11 feetof water. "Most of the people down hereare waiting on the road to recovery."

Fifteen months ago, President Bushstood in Jackson Square, in this city'sfashionable French Quarter, and pledgedto confront poverty, racial discriminationand a "legacy of inequality."

Now, as Democrats prepare to takecharge of Congress, advocates for thepoor say New Orleans symbolizes thegovernment's f its and starts inaddressing poverty. They wantlawmakers to increase the minimumwage, cut interest rates on college loansand expand health insurance to morepoor children.

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Democrats say they intend to raise theprofile of anti-poverty issues. Rep.Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who will takeover a key housing subcommittee, planshearings here next month. Rep. CharlesRangel, D-N.Y., incoming chairman of the

House Ways and Means Committee,plans to examine how poverty negativelyaffects economic growth, sprawl, crime,health care, even national security. "Wecan't afford poor folks," he says.

Any broader war on poverty will haveto wait. The annual budget deficit isnearly $300 billion. "It's a reflection ofthe political realities," says Rep. MelWatt, D-N.C., outgoing chairman of theCongressional Black Caucus. "The publicis fed up with these growing deficits."

Politics, too, presents a problem.Conservatives led by Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., don't want to spend heavily onsocial programs. Even liberals such asRangel don't want to raise taxes. SenateRepublicans can block almost anythingfrom passing. "I don't see a concentratedwar on poverty by Democrats," saysJared Bernstein of the liberal EconomicPolicy Institute. "But you are going to seea couple of well-chosen battles."

Like many, Tracie Washingtonremembers the Bush speech.

"I bought it," says Washington, directorof the NAACP's Gulf Coast AdvocacyCenter. Today, she says, "It's like that oldWendy's commercial — 'Where's thebeef?'"

"There's been very little done forhealth care, very little done for mentalhealth services, virtually nothing done toshore up and support the criminal justicesystem," says Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La."For all the president saying 'We'll dowhatever it takes,' it hasn't quitehappened that way."

The majority of New Orleans' poorestresidents remain outside the city, unableto return because of a shortage ofhabitable housing and soaring prices.

More than 200,000 former residents arein the nationwide diaspora that Katrinacreated, about 80% of them black.

Tenants have yet to receive anythingfrom a federally f inanced programintended to help people get back intotheir homes, even though more than50,000 units of rental housing weredestroyed. The federal government plansto replace many of those with private,mixed-income developments.

Making the immediate shortage worseis the Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment's plan to tear down morethan 4,000 units of public housing. HUDsays it would cost $130 million torehabilitate the run-down projects. Low-income-housing advocates have gone tocourt to block the move. HUD now saysit will be phased in.

It has been left to groups such asCatholic Charities USA and ACORN,which represents low-income families, togut flooded houses. "The joke here isthat we need a New Orleans StudyGroup," ACORN founder Wade Rathkesays.

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION DECEMBER 22, 2006


New Orleans symbolizes U.S. war on povertyKatrina survivors find themselves 'waitingon the road to recovery' as aid trickles in


1166 mmoonntthhss aafftteerr hhuurrrriiccaannee:: Albert Walker’s homein the Lower 9th Ward is almost rebuilt, but mostof the neighborhood remains uninhabitable.

The federal government has investedbillions into housing, health care andeducation, but red tape and a fear offraud have slowed the flow of funds. Theadministration wants to change systemsthat were failing before Katrina struck:

u HHoouussiinngg.. It's trying to turn rentersinto homeowners with jobs and rent-to-own programs. The state is readying $1.5billion in rental aid to landlords and $1.7billion in low-income tax credits.

u HHeeaalltthh ccaarree.. It wants to replace theold two-tiered system, in which the poorwere relegated to Charity Hospital, byhaving the Department of VeteransAffairs join Louisiana State University inbuilding a modern medical complex.

u EEdduuccaattiioonn.. It's investing in charterschools, where parents play a direct role,rather than rebuilding the old publicschool system that was one of thenation's worst.

Donald Powell, the federal coordinatorof Gulf Coast rebuilding, is frustratedwith the delays. "We need to be veryresourceful about finding ways to speedup the process," he says.

Andy Kopplin, executive director of theLouisiana Recovery Authority, says aidwas slow to arrive and tied up in redtape. "We asked for significantly morethan we got in lots of categories," hesays.

Despite Bush's speech on poverty Sept.15, 2005, little has been done to addressit nationally.

The need is clear: Census Bureaufigures show that about 37 millionAmericans, or 12.6%, lived in poverty in2005 (annual income of $19,971 or lessfor a family of four). The poverty rate hasbeen rising since 2000. About 8.8 millionfamilies have severe housing-costproblems, up 33% since 2000.

New Orleans had the eighth-lowestmedian income in the nation among bigcities in 2005 — $30,771 — before

Katrina. Orleans Parish had the sixth-highest poverty rate among counties,24.5%.

Some experts say that if disaster struckelsewhere, poor city dwellers would fareworst. "We're underinvesting in oururban core," says John Powell, executivedirector of the Kirwan Institute for theStudy of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio StateUniversity.

Democratic leaders in the House andSenate have pledged to vote early nextyear to raise the federal minimum wage,stagnant since 1997, to $7.25 an hourover two years from $5.15. That wouldhave an immediate impact in states suchas Louisiana that have no minimum wagelaws.

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The leaders also will try to reduceinterest rates on student loans andexpand the Children's Health InsuranceProgram to some of the 9million childrenstill uninsured.

Anti-poverty advocates such as MarkGreenberg of the liberal Center for

American Progress say more money isneeded for programs set to expire incoming years: food stamps, child care,Head Start, job training. They wantchanges in the tax code that wouldbenefit the poor, such as an expansion ofthe earned income tax credit.

Democratic lawmakers caution againsthigh expectations. They point to thebudget deficit, the future insolvency ofMedicare and Social Security and theirown promises to pay for new spending.

"The body politic does not want tomention the word 'poverty.' All you'regoing to hear about is the middle class,"Waters says. "We've got to talk aboutpoverty, not only in Louisiana but inAmerica."

As the 2008 presidential campaignheats up, experts say, the issues ofpoverty and inequality will be givenvoice by Democratic candidates such asformer North Carolina senator JohnEdwards, who plans to announce hisquest in New Orleans next week. "This isgoing to be a reference point for thedebates nationally about equality andpoverty," Rathke says

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S NEWS SECTION DECEMBER 22, 2006



DDeebbrriiss rreemmaaiinnss:: Bruce Collins, left, and Melvin Crowden remove hazardous materials from a curb in NewOrleans’ Gentilly area.

AS SEEN IN A USA TODAY MONEY BONUS SECTION ON NOVEMBER 20, 2006


How I saved my businessBy Anne KonigsmarkUSA TODAY

NEW ORLEANS — It took AaronWolfson five years to open The SavvyGourmet, a cooking school, cateringoutfit and upscale kitchenware shop inNew Orleans.

His timing couldn't have been worse:He opened in mid-August 2005.

As floodwaters washed through thecity following Hurricane Katrina on Aug.29 of that year, Wolfson's business plansuddenly seemed absurd. His shop didnot flood, but that seemed beside thepoint when 80% of the city did. Assuminganyone returned to the devastated city,who was going to take a cooking class?Or buy a lemon squeezer? Or need aparty catered?

"I was thinking, 'I have made thebiggest mistake of my life, and it will takeforever to recover financially,'" saysWolfson, 35. "I'd mortgaged my houseand begged, borrowed and stolen toopen that place."

Unlike thousands of business owners inthe flood-ravaged metro area, Wolfsonand his childhood friend and generalmanager, Peter Menge, also 35, didn't callit quits. In late September 2005, theycame up with a new business plan to suitthe needs of a largely abandoned city.

With no grocery stores open and allbut a handful of restaurants closed,rescue workers, law enforcement, themedia and a few residents weredesperate for places to eat. Savvy beganserving food. The idea saved the businessand offered those toughing it out in thefirst months after the storm a clean, air-conditioned oasis, complete with fresh-

cooked food, cable TV and wirelessInternet access.

"The idea wasn't just clever — it wascrucial," says Tim Williamson of the IdeaVillage, a local non-profit that givesgrants and other support toentrepreneurs. "It was about surviving asa business."

Savvy was not the only businessadapting to a new world after the storm."If you look at the people who aresurviving today, they all had to adapt tosome extent to survive," Williamson says.

Few made such a drastic change, butthere are other examples. Before Katrina,New Line Environmental was a coastalrestoration company. Last fall, thecompany began doing construction anddebris removal, thereby keeping itsworkers employed. Owner DrewHerrington then started a new venture,Hurricane Guy, offering pre- and post-hurricane services such as boarding uphouses and emptying refrigerators."Rather than waiting on a governmentloan, they survived by creating revenue,"Williamson says.

Wolfson and Menge were fortunate:More than a third of the retail businessesin the New Orleans area remain closed.Less than half the restaurants are open,according to the Louisiana RestaurantAssociation.

"We have such a small populationrelative to what we had, so the demandjust isn't there," says James McFarland, abusiness and economics professor atTulane University. There are about187,000 people living in New Orleans,according to the latest U.S. Censusnumbers. That's down from 460,000before Katrina. "It's going to be a very,

very slow turnaround," McFarland says.

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From the start, The Savvy Gourmetwas an odd venture. Wolfson is apsychologist who became interested incooking classes while working on hisPh.D. in Seattle. He took them at night, hesays, as a diversion. When he returned tohis hometown of New Orleans to open aprivate psychology practice in 2000, hefound there were no cooking schools inNew Orleans, other than those fortourists.

"I started doing classes in my home,"he says. He enlisted a neighbor who wasa chef, and began asking friends over tohis tiny apartment kitchen for eveningclasses. "They were just parties — wedidn't charge anything," he says.

The classes became so popular thatWolfson began renting restaurant space.In 2002, with his psychology practiceblossoming, he realized he had to eithermake the classes a business or stophaving them.

He asked Menge to come back fromNew York and work full time to developthe concept. They began with fourclasses a week, leasing space at nightfrom a lunch-only restaurant in theFrench Quarter.

Menge, who has a business degreefrom the University of New Orleans, sayshe made about $4,000 the first year, andthe business barely paid for itself.

"Without a retail component, we knewwe couldn't make money," Menge, whorecently bought into Savvy, says. "Ourbusiness model was to have an activity inthe back of a space to drive people past

Companies beat back hurricanes, bankruptcy and big competitors to survive, thrive

AS SEEN IN A USA TODAY MONEY BONUS SECTION ON NOVEMBER 20, 2006


the merchandise in the front."

In March 2004, Wolfson signed a leaseon a building on Magazine Street, a hipand popular commercial strip in well-to-do Uptown New Orleans. It took 18months to renovate the space into a shopwith a cooking demonstration area in theback.

Menge and Wolfson look back fondlyon one of the first cooking classes held atthe Magazine Street location. It was fivedays before Hurricane Katrina.

"It was a sauce class, and it wasexquisite," Wolfson says.

Says Menge: "We only had 13 plates for13 people, and it was a nine-course meal.So we had to wash the plates betweencourses."

The Saturday before the storm hit,Wolfson and Menge were unpackingboxes when two people walked in andoffered to board up the windows.

"I was like, 'For what?'" Wolfson says.After catching up on news of thestrengthening storm, he hired the men.The following morning, like most NewOrleanians, Menge and Wolfsonevacuated. They closed up the shop,leaving 60 guinea hens in the freezer,bought for an Aug. 29 cooking class.

When they saw the news of leveebreaks and massive flooding, Menge andWolfson met in Memphis. "We weretotally freaking out," Wolfson says. "I waslike, 'We're absolutely done.'"

In the third week of September, Mengeand Wolfson drove back with a journalistinto New Orleans — then still off-limits toresidents.

"We opened the door to thousands offlies," Menge says. "It was like those batsin the beginning of the Scooby-Doocartoon. And then, you smelled it."

"It" was the rotten contents of theirrefrigerators and freezers. The city had

been without power for weeks.

For the next week or so, the twoworked in the stench and heat to cleanout Savvy. For what, they weren't sure."We just knew we had to get it back tonormal," Wolfson says.

Then it came to them.

"People were eating three meals a dayof peanut butter and jelly orcheeseburgers at the same bar," Mengesays. "So we thought, 'Maybe we shouldtry to feed these people.'" After all, hesays, "Who wanted to take classes? Therewas no such thing as leisure and hobbiesanymore. And who is going to buycookware when they don't have a houseto put it in? And who wants catering? Noone was entertaining."

On Oct. 12, finding ingredients wherethey could and borrowing tables andchairs from a still-closed restaurantowned by a friend, they began servinglunch. Corbin Evans, the chef of theclosed restaurant, made roastedvegetable sandwiches, roasted chickensalad and homemade soups.

"Believe us when we tell you that weare making this up as we go along, but …we have re-opened with the addition ofa real, live restaurant," read an e-mailWolfson and Menge sent to a list of about3,600.

The first day, 33 people came, Wolfsonsays. "By the third day, it was amadhouse."

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Peter Bodenheimer, who until recentlyworked in the mayor's Off ice ofTechnology, spent a lot of time at Savvywhen it first reopened. "People neededsocialization in a big way," he says. "Youcould go there and meet people and notobsess about what was going on in thecity."

Savvy began hosting "devacuationparties" on Saturday nights for returning

residents. There were MRE's -- militarymeals — and chips and salsa at the firstparty, but soon, local chefs begancooking up more elaborate snacks.Because Savvy had wireless internet,cable TV and a pot of coffee brewing allday, people used the sleek, sunny spaceas an office. The mayor's Bring NewOrleans Back Commission even held itsmeetings there.

"We were a hub," Wolfson says,"because we were the only game intown."

Financially, Savvy still struggled. To helpkeep the place afloat, the Idea Villageawarded Savvy a $10,000 grant. Wolfson,who had borrowed $312,000 to get theplace going before the storm, took out a$25,000 bridge loan.

But what they needed were retailsales, Wolfson says. In November,Wolfson and Menge rented a U-Haul anddrove to Baton Rouge to pick up theirstock. There was still no mail service inNew Orleans, so thousands of dollarsworth of high-end cookware had beensitting in a warehouse, Wolfson says.

The shelves were stocked in time forThanksgiving. By December, Savvy beganto make money for the first time. "Wewere selling $8,000 to $10,000 a day inretail during the holidays," Wolfson says.

Today, Savvy has a busy daily lunch andSunday brunch crowd, a full roster ofnight classes and wine tastings, shelvesfull of things to buy, and a cateringbusiness. There are six full-timeemployees and 10 part-timers. Thebridge loan was repaid in June. Wolfsonsays Savvy will gross $1 million for 2006.

Savvy is about to branch out again, thistime into kitchen design. And Wolfsonand Menge hope to open more stores."We're committed to New Orleans — ourties are deep here," Wolfson says. "Butthe reality is, the population that existshere now will not support this singlelocation."

For more information, log on to www.usatodaycollege.com

1. How would you evaluate the federal government’s crisismanagement since Katrina? In groups of three, compareand contrast its management of Katrina to recent exam-ples found in USA TODAY of the government’s responses to disasters and critical situations. Create a five-minutepresentation for your peers and share your findings.

2. The articles in this case study illustrate the various roles of the government, business and individuals in response to disaster. What do you believe is the proper role of the individual vs. the government? Write a six-minute quickwrite stating and supporting your opinion. Incorporate evidence from current USA TODAY articles to support your view.

3. What is the current state of “voluntourisim”? Do you believe this trend will last? Research USA TODAY to findinformation on this trend and other ways in which individuals make contributions. Partner with a peer and shareyour opinion and research on the status and future for this new kind of tourism and other volunteer initiatives.

4. Your generation has experienced the Columbine shootings, Katrina, 9-11 and most recently the Virginia Techshootings. How do you see these tragedies impacting the character and values of your generation? Do you think itmakes you more compassionate? More cynical? More fearful? Debate these questions with a friend and write aone-paragraph essay persuading others to your point of view.

1. Those hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina were the poor. Describe the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and how the war on poverty has

been affected. What initiatives are currently underway? Who else is responding and how? Use a current issue of USA TODAY to find examples.

2. List the traits Aaron Wolfson possessed which allowed him to keep the Savvy Gourmet afloat when so many otherentrepreneurs went bankrupt or gave up.

3. What corporate values did Mississippi Power possess which made it able to respond so swiftly and effectively to poweroutages after Katrina? How might such a culture help a large federal agency respond more quickly to disasters?Prepare a presentation for your class with examples from the article and your recommendation.

4. Create a chart with two columns. In the first column, list the actions and general attitudes of Voluntourists. In the sec-ond column, list what these actions and attitudes reveal about their character, values and beliefs.

5. Compare and contrast Mississippi Power’s post-Katrina plan and its implementation with Savvy Gourmet’s post-Katrinaplan and its implementation. Who would you consider most successful and why? Write a brief report, citing specificexamples for each.

6. Katrina has drastically changed local economies in the Gulf Coast region. Find three to five specific examples from thearticles in the case study that illustrate this point. Then find two more examples using current issues of USA TODAY.Share your list with a classmate and discuss what you think needs to be done to ensure the continued recovery tolocal businesses.

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For more information, log on to www.usatodaycollege.com

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USA TODAY Collegiate Case Study: Hurricane Katrina

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