Tag: rebuilding

Ray Reggie Gives Props to Brad Pitt Again…

We have talked before about the way Brad Pitt has jumped in and helped with rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina but this is worth another mention.  This house he has had built now is very cool.  Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation showed off the first “permitted” floating house in the United States on Tuesday.  Known as the  FLOAT House , the structure is built to float as much as 12 feet.  It has two masts embedded into the foundation and so the chaise is able to float or rise up and down on those two masts in the event of a flood.  The idea is not to make people stay in the threat of another hurricane but to protect their home and belongings so they have something to come back to when it is over.

–Ray Reggie–

Ray Reggie Recommends “A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge”…

This long form graphic novel tells the story of seven different Hurricane Katrina survivors and how they survived and lived with the aftermath of the storm.  Writer and illustrator Josh Neufeld has had a fairly long career as a cartoonist and had a very strong relationship to Katrina and what happened in New Orleans.

In the structure of this book, we see pictures of New Orleans as it was, and then we see the storm come to New Orleans and Biloxi, and then it begins to tell the story from the points of view of all of the characters. And then it goes back after the storm and checks in with wherever they are, and then at a later point, it goes back again.

It seems that the people in the book gradually seem to recover their balance, but the book really brings home how very pervasive the sense of loss was and still is in New Orleans.  Read more…

–Enjoy, Ray Reggie–

Ray Reggie Sees Hope…

Just reading this article about a small group of entrepreneurs that have trying to attract small businesses to New Orleans is something to smile about.  It makes people hopeful again and our city certainly needs all of that it can get.  Since Hurricane Katrina, at least four formal entrepreneurial hubs have been established in New Orleans: Entrepreneur’s Row, the Icehouse, the I.P., (an acronym for Intellectual Property) and the Entergy Innovation Center. While they all hope to help nurture individual businesses, they house start-ups and established companies while focusing on “clustering like-minded entrepreneurs to build their businesses together currently.  That is called progress…

–Ray Reggie–

Ray Reggie Recommends the New Old Roosevelt

If you have never stayed at the famous Roosevelt Hotel with its massive lobby, ornate trim, glittering Italian crystal chandeliers and mosaic floors, now would be a good time.  Katrina left 10 feet of water in the Roosevelt’s basement, destroying mechanical equipment, while wind-driven rain inundated most guest floors. As other hotels returned, the Roosevelt, owned by the Fairmont hotel chain, remained boarded up.  Bought in August 2007, the Roosevelt was bought by the Hilton Hotel Corp.  The Roosevelt’s renaissance is also a milestone in the city’s recovery from the August 2005 storm. Now only one major hotel, the Hyatt, remains shuttered, along with an adjacent shopping center attached to the Louisiana Superdome. The hurricane flooded 80% of New Orleans, crippling its vital tourist industry.  Read more here…

–Ray Reggie–

New Orleans Making A Comeback

Well, according to CNN Money New Orleans is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.  Considering the fact that we lost more than half of our residents when Hurricane Katrina hit, that is pretty impressive.  Not many cities have had to deal with the devastation that New Orleans did.  I know because I was there and I have been there since and although we still have a very long way to go to even come close to the city that I call home, it is refreshing to see some good finally starting to come to the people of this city that stayed.  To see some of our own coming home and the city regaining some of its luster from before the devastation is wonderful.

–Ray Reggie–

2009 Predicted to be Mild

Hopefully, the predictions are correct.  This country could use a break.  People are tired right now.  Between crime, the economy and various other factors, it has been a rough few years.  We are still regrouping and a mild hurricane season gives people all over the country just a little more time to make some more progress.  This article questions if FEMA and the Powers That Be are ready for another hurricane season.  I think the real question is if anybody is ready for it.  Can anybody or any organization be ready for the unknown?  You can prepare as much as possible but you can’t be ready.

–Ray Reggie–

Here is One to Follow!

This is exciting.  The outcome of the trial that has began against the Army Corps of Engineers will be very interesting to watch unravel.  Some people feel that the U.S. government might have had some involvement in not keeping up with both the maintenance and construction of the levees.  Some even suggest that funds were diverted from protecting the city with responsible construction and maintenance of the levees in favor of the War in Iraq.  Things may be coming to light soon and changes may be happening.  This could bring an estimated $100 billion of awards to citizens impacted by the flooding of the City of New Orleans. Read more here…

–Ray Reggie–

Finally, New Orleans Has Some Good News

In a devasted city that has had very little to find joy in recently, it is nice to see that there is good that comes with every bad.  The spirit of the city lives on in its people and as more and more people return to their homes or at least the city they call home, New Orleans is still plugging away on a fairly even track while the rest of the country is getting hard hit by the depressed economy.  In addition, the federal government has allocated $34.5 billion in rebuilding aid for the state, with $19 billion of that amount still to be spent, according to the Louisiana Recovery Authority. And that doesn’t include the $3.8 billion headed to Louisiana under the federal stimulus package hammered out in February.  More good news for New Orleans.  Maybe things are really looking up for this incredible city.  Read more details here…

–Ray Reggie–

Cruise Line Brings Good News to New Orleans

The Norwegian Cruise Line has brought some good news to the city of New Orleans.  They have committed to a three year agreement with a three year option to homeport one of its cruise ships in New Orleans through 2014.  This is a serious committment from Norwegian Cruise Lines and shows their true support of the New Orleans area and their regrowth.  this will benefit the entire city by boosting the tourism market and bringing more people to the area to see not only the devastation that still covers the city but the spirit of New Orleans and its people to continue pushing forward and rebuilidng and growing.  Read more about it here…

–Ray Reggie–