[Capt AWACS]

half the population double the slayings, sad.


Big Easy Weighs Curfew After 8 Slayings

Jan 6, 6:18 PM (ET)

By BECKY BOHRER


NEW ORLEANS (AP) - With at least eight slayings in the city in the first week of the new year, officials are considering a curfew to help stem the violence, the police superintendent said Saturday.

"It's something we're just sort of talking about, to see if that will make a difference," police Superintendent Warren Riley said.

Mayor Ray Nagin, meanwhile, urged residents not to leave the city, still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, because of the recent killings. He said the slayings could be a tipping point that "galvanizes our community" to find solutions.

Some residents have called for a march on City Hall on Thursday to demand action to curb the violence.

Nagin and Riley both tried to reassure residents that they were doing all they can to make the city safer. Riley said some covert operations were under way and Nagin said he hoped to have details sometime next week on a "more creative, aggressive" plan developed in talks he has had with local ministers.

Riley said the slayings are a part of a chronic problem that goes back to the city's school system and what he sees as the city's failure, over many years, to adequately educate and provide job opportunities for residents.

He said he's also concerned about making sure "hard-core criminals" are prosecuted and kept in jail.

Problems will continue until there are improvements in the criminal justice system, which has struggled to get court cases moving again since Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Riley said.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, Laissez les bons temps rouler!

[Great_Hizzy]

Is the NOPD still losing officers? I know that last year they were concerned because they were losing officers at a rate of 12 per month for a while. The city's in a difficult situation. With the absence of taxpayers (sales tax and otherwise), it's a bit difficult to maintain city services, especially at a time when many city employees are in the same shape as the people whom they are trying to protect.

I'm sure that the city is receiving state and federal aid, but that might not be enough if your police force is still struggling to maintain personnel. Very tough situation.

[alon504]

As I say...let 'em at it. It doesn't bother me in the least. The media is ignorant to the truth, but, we, locals know it like the back of our hand. It's just a bunch of loser crackheads killing each other in their own "hoods." Why should I (or you) be worried? We don't have any business in their neighborhoods, which are quite small, and they never come into my neighborhood or in tourist areas. They are crackheads and they are killing each other. You know what?...many who have been murdered have murdered themselves. As I say, let 'em at it...they don't come around any areas that I frequent. They're losers...they've made their choices in life...why should we REALLY care if they kill each other? They have access to more than enough social services to take them out of that lifestyle. They love no one and nothing, other than themselves, crack cocaine, and illegal money that isn't earned like the rest of us make money. Let 'em at it.

[BSofA04]

^^I agree. It's harsh to say, but we all made our own "bed" in this life and reguardless, you have to sleep in it.

[austlar]

Was the lady film-maker that was recently shot dead in her home in the Faubourg Marigny a crackhead> Was her physician husband a crackhead? What about their child? Maybe the time has come to abandon all neighborhoods except Uptown and the Quarter to "the crackheads". The problem with that concept is that no part of the city is really immune to the crime and random violence that has plagued New Orleans for years

Having read the two previous posts, I can't help but conclude that many New Orleanians still continue to refuse to see exactly how deranged and dangerous life can be in the City That Forgot To Care. One of the reasons that New Orleans is in such terrible shape today, Katrina notwithstanding, is that it is a city whose informed citizenry has for many decades remained determined to believe in the myth that their pleasure-mad and economically moribund city was somehow an urban paradise. True there are pleasures aplenty for those able to afford them, but what about everybody else? The middle class voted with their feet long before Katrina and now even most of the poor have voted by refusing to try to return to the Big Easy. Most have found life in more dynamic areas such as Atlanta or Austin or Dallas to be more agreeable, in part because these cities have less official corruption and more public safety as well as more economic opportunity and better social services. New Orleans was a frigging mess before Katrina, and now it is almost a basket case.

[alon504]

Was the lady film-maker that was recently shot dead in her home in the Faubourg Marigny a crackhead> Was her physician husband a crackhead? What about their child? Maybe the time has come to abandon all neighborhoods except Uptown and the Quarter to "the crackheads". The problem with that concept is that no part of the city is really immune to the crime and random violence that has plagued New Orleans for years

Having read the two previous posts, I can't help but conclude that many New Orleanians still continue to refuse to see exactly how deranged and dangerous life can be in the City That Forgot To Care. One of the reasons that New Orleans is in such terrible shape today, Katrina notwithstanding, is that it is a city whose informed citizenry has for many decades remained determined to believe in the myth that their pleasure-mad and economically moribund city was somehow an urban paradise. True there are pleasures aplenty for those able to afford them, but what about everybody else? The middle class voted with their feet long before Katrina and now even most of the poor have voted by refusing to try to return to the Big Easy. Most have found life in more dynamic areas such as Atlanta or Austin or Dallas to be more agreeable, in part because these cities have less official corruption and more public safety as well as more economic opportunity and better social services. New Orleans was a frigging mess before Katrina, and now it is almost a basket case.


The biggest bologna post I've ever read. Worry not about it...you don't live here. It's our problem and we will deal with it. See ya.

[Capt AWACS]

Kind of what I expected the bank teller to say, but to not actually deal with the problems in post.LOL All those "po" folks you thanked Houston and Texas for taking and who you said would not move back are ...wait for it...wait for it...moving back to NOLA. Not to mention all those "brown" folks, as Nagin said who are actually doing the building. You are not the only person to deal with business in Lousiana or to read the media or go to the city. You can spin it all you want but the numbers and eyes speak for themselves.

and before you go off on your standard so-and-so hates new orleans non-sense, reread the post. I never said a bad word about New Orleans nor ever wished it ill will (did more to help it than most actually but that is for another thread). We are just looking at the facts and demographics as they are presented for public consumption. Try dealing in the facts not emotion.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, I am not the new Jack Abramoff..yet

[alon504]

Who's a bank teller? What's this all about?

[Capt AWACS]

yeah...nice one LOL

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, Why is being right so wrong sometimes

[Shasta]

Yes, all New Orleans violence is limited to "bad" neighborhoods." Right!

Seriously, how anyone can post a comment about how "bad crackheads" are killing each other off and it really doesn't affect the rest of the world is friggin' beyond me. Even if that totally outlandish claim is true, those "crackheads" are someone's child, or worse, parent. Allowing a culture of violence to persist simply because you think it doesn't affect your own little bubble is beyond STUPID.

[alon504]

Then stay away, Shasta. I've been sick of the way this forum gets some type of "warped," joy in bashing New Orleans. It happens all of the time on this forum. But, I'm not going to turn around and bash Texas or the cities in Texas. I visit often and enjoy myself whenever I'm there. Trust me, I've met enough nice people in Texas to know that this forum offers a poor representation of the general populace of one of my favorite states.

[NIKKI]

Has anyone read the NOLA.COM reader's responses to this latest rash of violence? Many are talking of leaving the city for good.

http://inyourownwords.blogs.nola.com/default.asp?mode=blog&category=52277

[alon504]

Has anyone read the NOLA.COM reader's responses to this latest rash of violence? Many are talking of leaving the city for good.

http://inyourownwords.blogs.nola.com/default.asp?mode=blog&category=52277

You are reading the Nola.com forums?!? LOL...half of those people don't even live in Louisiana, for crying out loud. I don't think I've read those forums in over 5 years!!

[NIKKI]

No, not the forums, the readers blogs. The majority are from New Orleans. Its says where they are from at the top of each comment (about 20 pages worth too). The mayor addressed these very readers on camera.

[alon504]

Stay away from the forums..they are a laugh. I didn't go to the blogs...we'll see what they do...there is a march on City Hall Thursday...some friends of mine will be participating. We'll see what happens.

[Shasta]

Yes, what bad representatives of Texas we are on this forum.

We only took in your city's poorest citizens and did for them what the CITY of NEW ORLEANS, STATE OF LOUISIANA, and ENTIRE COUNTRY couldn't provide them; safety, shelter, medical attention, and basic necessities.

How horrible we are to call you out on your numerous posts that boast of "dumping" the undesireables on Houston.

How shameful of us to point out that making light of any murder or saying that they're just cleansing society for your own benefit is wrong!

If only we could put our best civic faces on and show this forum that we have rather overt issues with race, class, violence, and poverty...

You are a piece of work. By the way, I am not bashing New Orleans as a city. I adore the place and visit my friends that I housed for free for an entire year often. I am bashing you though. Your posts make me sick mostly because you seem totally unaware that what you type is horribly offensive.

[alon504]

Not this time Shasta. You reap what you sow. That's all I've got to say about 95% of the murders in New Orleans. I live here and I walk and drive the streets daily. I love this city and I know this city. I was born here. But, for most murder victims in New Orleans, you have to just shake your head and accept that you reap what you sow.

[Capt AWACS]

As I suspected the bank teller did not answer any of the points I or others posted above. Suspect at best, then the standard "insult" the poster tactic comes out (also as I noted above). But one fact remains.

No one has insulted New Orleans in this thread. Simple Fact. If you disagree please post some quotes alon. I am sure the local Newspaper has no idea as to the goings on in the city. Makes perfect sense. If all else fails attack the source. But beyond some of our own anecdotal evidence there is plenty of open source media both from New Orleans and New Orleans residents to show the case. you even post incorrect population numbers with no source sited then insult whatever LOCAL agency is putting out the lower numbers.

Face reality and try and help the city by first admitting there is a problem.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, Cabesse called me a womaniser, that is so nice

[alon504]

As I suspected the bank teller did not answer any of the points I or others posted above. Suspect at best, then the standard "insult" the poster tactic comes out (also as I noted above). But one fact remains.

No one has insulted New Orleans in this thread. Simple Fact. If you disagree please post some quotes alon. I am sure the local Newspaper has no idea as to the goings on in the city. Makes perfect sense. If all else fails attack the source. But beyond some of our own anecdotal evidence there is plenty of open source media both from New Orleans and New Orleans residents to show the case. you even post incorrect population numbers with no source sited then insult whatever LOCAL agency is putting out the lower numbers.

Face reality and try and help the city by first admitting there is a problem.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, Cabesse called me a womaniser, that is so nice

I find it distateful that you are attempting to belittle bank tellers in your posts to me. I work for a bank, but, am not a teller. However, I regard the bank tellers in my company as equals and wonderful co-workers, whenever I deal with them. Without tellers, my company is nothing. Many are respectable citizens of this community that are homeowners, excellent parents, and responsible humans. I think your tone on this forum regarding bank tellers is irresponsible and I have nothing to say about your posts...lets just move on. It doesn't really matter what you think, Capt-AWACS. You don't live here.

[Capt AWACS]

Again kids he doesn't answer any points in the post. That's right folks no answers to any basic questions.

It is fun to watch you dance around the issues (please note I said that would happen in TWO posts above) and your post was right out of the book.

You don't want to address the serious issues about New Orleans because you can't. Living in Europe has no bearing on the fact I know about NOLA. I posted links to mainstream sources and others (and myself) posted valid questions and talking points. None of which you answered. Why, because you can;t...sad but standard. As to be expected. Gald you are exiting this post though. It gives the rest of us time to discuss the issue.

So we can expect the Crime rate in NOLA to stay high as more "folks of ill repute" as Alon calls them relocate back to NOLA. It look like this curfew will remain in effect.


(oh and who belitted bank tellers? Could you please PM me with the "insults" you note above because reading this thread I see none.Thanks)

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, Is doing a 19 year old girl so wrong?

[austlar]

The biggest bologna post I've ever read. Worry not about it...you don't live here. It's our problem and we will deal with it. See ya.

No, I don't live there anymore. I saw the light and got out years ago. I do, however, have family members still living both in New Orleans and on the Northshore. I also have dear friends trying to hang on in New Orleans, friends that stayed with me here in Austin for a month or so following Katrina. Additionally, I am a graduate of Tulane and lived in New Orleans for seven years. I first became familiar with New Orleans back in the 1950's when it was still one of the most important cities in the South, a vital place that played a vibrant economic role in the region and offered its citizens (well, its White citizens) a lot of opportunities and a very pleasant way of life. I watched in the 60's, 70's, and 80's as the New Orleans economy lost steam and its middle class fled the city for the suburbs or other cities. The middle class abandoned the place and civic life began a downward spiral. The public schools became a joke; the police grew to be corrupt and downright dangerous; crime became the number one topic of conversation and the number one concern. The power elite, the real money people Uptown, did what they do best, which is absolutely nothing except become ever more insular and protective of their perogatives. There kids went to Newman or Sacred Heart or Country Day. Who cares about the public schools? The police are corrupt and scary. Hmmph! Let's just flood our neighborhoods with private securitry forces. They still had their clubs and Carnival organizations (even if they could no longer parade in lily-white splendor), and they could damn well just ignore all the "n------" killing each other in the projects. They could ignore it until maybe one of their own got killed or carjacked or home-invaded. Isn't that what just happened, kinda sorta? Isn't that why at least one of today's protest marches is going to center around the shooting death of the Harvard educated young film-maker and the wounding of her husband.

Alon, I don't know what your role is in the New Orleans scheme of things, but when I read that you were a banker, I suddenly flashed on this bigoted young fool I used to know in New Orleans who had a cozy sinecure at the Whitney Bank. They used to staff the place with stuffshirts like him, and to my way of thinking, the Whitney and the mindset that prevailed in establishment New Orleans places like the Whitney or the Hibernia or in the fine homes and clubs of New Orleans was incredibly small-minded and racist and offensive. It was operative back in the days when New Orleans began its decline and it is still operative today in people like yourself.

[Shasta]

Alon just makes me think of "The Confederacy of Dunces" but your post was right on, Austlar.

[alon504]

The pure hatred and demeaning posts against New Orleans on this thread continue to amaze me. The arrogance of "Everything is Bigger and Better in Texas," shines through....we have our issues in New Orleans and I've never denied them.
I participated in the march, today, on City Hall, with a couple of thousand other citizens of New Orleans. We did it because we love New Orleans and savor the beautiful life we all live here...and we enjoy that life daily. I offer no apologies for my opinions of murderous drug dealers and I offer no apologies for living in the City I have loved since I was born.
Happy Mardi Gras!!! It's only 5 weeks away!!! :D

[Capt AWACS]

Could you please post a quote of the "hate" speech and are you going to answer any direct questions? (they were not hard ones really) Just curiuos...

New Orleans Residents March on City Hall

By STACEY PLAISANCE
Associated Press Writer
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AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Thousands marched on City Hall on Thursday, seeking an end to the violence that has claimed nine lives in this struggling city since New Year's Day.

"A city that could not be drowned in the waters of a storm will not be drowned in the blood of its citizens," said the Rev. John C. Raphael Jr., one of several speakers from participating neighborhood groups.

Police estimated the crowd at 5,000 people. Several marchers held signs reading "Silence is Violence," referring to police complaints that witnesses to some killings are not coming forward.

"Seeing a crime, seeing criminal activity and not saying something is a crime. Tell somebody, even if they tell someone who can speak on your behalf. Get the word out," said Amy Brown, 35, who said she is rebuilding a home in the Central City neighborhood, home to some of the worst violence.

Mayor Ray Nagin, the object of many marchers' jeers and protest signs, watched from behind a podium but did not take part in the rally at the behest of organizers.

"We want to open a dialogue, but this was not the time. It would have been too big a shift from listening to the people to suddenly have a politician talking," said Baty Landis, a Tulane University professor and music club owner who helped organize the march.

At a brief news conference later, Nagin said the event marked "an incredibly powerful day."

"We pledge to you that we will get better and we're going to start today," he said, adding that the city would not recover until residents felt safe. The mayor did not take questions.

Members of the city's popular Hot 8 Brass Band - whose drummer, Dinerral Shavers, was shot and killed in front of his family Dec. 28 - led the march, chanting "We Shall Overcome" as they carried a banner that read "March For Survival, Walk With Us."

Marchers also carried pictures of independent filmmaker Helen Hill, gunned down in her home last week, and other victims.

"This is good. It's about time the people came out in support for putting a stop to this" said police officer J.W. Jones, a patrolman on horseback helping with crowd control.

In a black-majority city where most murder victims have been black, the crowd was predominantly white.

"It's not about white. It's not about black. I think now people are realizing that because everybody's blood is red," said Keqante Brown, 30, a black woman who said five family members have been murdered in the last 12 years.

Also Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it will more readily give police information on residents of trailer sites housing hurricane victims. A written request was required before, but it will now take only a phone call, said Marc Roy, FEMA's chief of staff for recovery efforts in Louisiana.

The agency will also add security guards at sites with known crime problems and set up hot lines for residents to report suspicious activity, Roy said.

On Wednesday, Gov. Kathleen Blanco endorsed a plan announced this week to increase patrols and use checkpoints to crack down on criminals. State police and the National Guard have been supplementing city officers since June.

New Orleans had 161 homicides last year, the lowest total in 60 years. But the population was way down from its pre-Katrina total of 455,000, and is still only about 200,000.

---

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, If you can't hold your bladder for a two hour flight, go home

[alon504]

I was with Stacey, today (the author of the article) you posted, Capt. AWACS. Thanks for posting that article. I'm good friends with Stacey and her husband. They are diehard New Orleanians that live on the Westbank. Sweet article. I'm going to tell her I read it on a skyscraper forum..she'll get a kick out of that...she works for the New Orleans AP Bureau on Poydras St. Downtown!

[BTinSF]

As I say...let 'em at it. It doesn't bother me in the least. The media is ignorant to the truth, but, we, locals know it like the back of our hand. It's just a bunch of loser crackheads killing each other in their own "hoods." Why should I (or you) be worried?

Why, indeed. Later in the thread--after the above quote--you complain of hatred directed toward New Orleans. Let me protest that I love the place and in no way intend anything I'm about to say as hatred toward it or its people.

I just returned home from New Orleans where I spent Jan 3-Jan 8, 2007. I believe most of the recent wave or murders happened while I was there. I had some opportunity, and some motivation by the fact that I care, to discuss the situation with a few locals such as a desk clerk at my hotel and an employee in a bar. Also, I had occasion to be emailed by another forumer who knew I had just been there to ask if he should not make a planned visit because of the crime.

That's, in effect, why you should care. While I was in New Orleans, beyond the hundreds of dollars I spent in places like Bayona and Herbsaint and Irene's and many more, I paid a 15% tax on my substantial hotel bill. Right now, it's people like me and the other forumer who emailed me who are keeping New Orleans alive, both with our selfish support of many New Orleans businesses (and the people they employ) but also of the city itself through that hotel tax. If we become afraid to visit, it could be a mortal blow to New Orleans.

I told the person who asked me that he SHOULD go because I did NOT feel unsafe while I was there. In that sense, you are right that the crime wave does not yet seem to have penetrated the French Quarter and the other areas that attract visitors. But the desk clerk at my hotel told me she was afraid and was thinking of leaving. Same with the bar employee I talked to about it. And a guy selling Lucky Dogs on a Bourbon St. corner, seeing my "SF" cap, volunteered he wanted to move to California. These are the only 3 people with whom the subject came up--100% of the people I talked to about it were thinking of leaving. That suggests a lot of people are and I was told a recent opinion poll had said that 1/3 of current city residents are.

Also, as I have said, I noticed an extraordinary amount of retail and residential property for sale and an equally extraordinary number of "going out of business" signs. None of this can be good for New Orleans and the crime wave only adds to the misery. People should be coming back--to help rebuild--not continuing to leave. Again, THAT's why it matters.

[alon504]

Whatever happens, I along with most of the 1.35 million people that call this place home, will remain. It really is ashamed that transient individuals that are employed as "lucky dog," people, and front desk agents feel unsafe and want to move...I feel bad for them. I really do. But, let there be no doubt, the core of New Orleans, which is one of the strongest and oldest of any city in the nation remains emplanted and we will work hard to bring this city back during this low time in our history as we recover from the hurricane. It's been done before in our history and it will happen again. We will shine again. And thank you for visiting the city and the support you have shown by spending $$$ and recommending others visit. It is truly appreciated by those of us that proudly call New Orleans home. We are hurting and have been hurting for some time, but, we will bounce back just fine. And my real bets are we will be a better city for it, in the end. The stamina in this city is unreal..any citizen of any city would be proud to feel what we feel, together, as we recover from our event and the social issues that have ensued.
I've noticed some going out of business signs...but really not many. Talk amongst locals is that the weakest of businesses aren't going to make it, but, there are businesses to replace them. The media has caused America to abandon New Orleans through negative publicity, but, as said, this is not the first time New Orleans has weathered bad times. The sense of community in New Orleans is unfounded in many cities in America. Many would up and leave in other cities, without a second guess. There is no attachment. You won't find this in New Orleans and this is why New Orleans will be fine. The focus is on the city itself, which sustained a great deal of flood damage...yet we have close to 300,000 back in the city (the latest official census says from 190,000 to 240,000 and that was 9 months ago). It is interesting (yet, not surprising), that the media will put little to no focus on the thriving areas of the metro area. Again, the population of metro New Orleans, today, is around 1.35 milion...around 100,000 less than pre-Katrina. We should be back to pre-Katrina levels in the next 2 years, but, I don't think New Orleans will be back to pre-Katrina levels for, at least 5 years. Many low income areas are being demolished. I will offer one positive about New Orleans...the average household income has risen from $51,000 pre-Katrina, to just over $76,000, which it is now. It's a sign of the times. Maybe this is why, in 2006, New Orleans equaled the sales of Christmas, 2004 sales, which, obviously was our last Christms before Katrina struck.

[BTinSF]

We are hurting and have been hurting for some time, but, we will bounce back just fine. And my real bets are we will be a better city for it, in the end. The stamina in this city is unreal..any citizen of any city would be proud to feel what we feel, together, as we recover from our event and the social issues that have ensued . . . .
The media has caused America to abandon New Orleans through negative publicity, but, as said, this is not the first time New Orleans has weathered bad times. The sense of community in New Orleans is unfounded in many cities in America. Many would up and leave in other cities, without a second guess. There is no attachment. You won't find this in New Orleans and this is why New Orleans will be fine. The focus is on the city itself, which sustained a great deal of flood damage...yet we have close to 300,000 back in the city (the latest official census says from 190,000 to 240,000 and that was 9 months ago). It is interesting (yet, not surprising), that the media will put little to no focus on the thriving areas of the metro area. Again, the population of metro New Orleans, today, is around 1.35 milion...around 100,000 less than pre-Katrina. We should be back to pre-Katrina levels in the next 2 years, but, I don't think New Orleans will be back to pre-Katrina levels for, at least 5 years. Many low income areas are being demolished. I will offer one positive about New Orleans...the average household income has risen from $51,000 pre-Katrina, to just over $76,000, which it is now. It's a sign of the times. Maybe this is why, in 2006, New Orleans equaled the sales of Christmas, 2004 sales, which, obviously was our last Christms before Katrina struck.

Let me respond in a couple of ways. First of all with regard to the media. I assume you are talking about the national media. I can't address the local media--although I do read the Times-Picayune whenever I'm in town, that isn't often enough to get a fair view of what they are saying. But I do NOT think the national media is negative on New Orleans and, if they are, it isn't having a negative effect. People really do care. Everybody I know who knows I've recently been there asks me how it is going there and they really want the best for your city. Most people recognize the importance it plays in America's history and culture, and couldn't really visualize our country without a vibrant New Orleans. I'll just add (at risk of seeing the thread hijacked onto another topic) that many of us would applaud if somebody in Congress stood up and said, "Not one more dollar to rebuild Iraq until we rebuild New Orleans".

Your expectation that it will take 5 years to recover is pretty consistent with my own view. While I was there, in my conversations with the locals I mentioned, I told them I thought it would take 5 years to really get recovery underway in earnest and 10 years for it to be substantially complete. This is based on my personal experience in two disasters in my own community: the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and the 1991 Oakland Hills fire (which destroyed hundreds of homes in Oakland's nicest residential areas). In the case of the earthquake, beyond the damage that was widely reported (freeways collapsed, Bay Bridge knocked out of commission) there was substantial damage to a number of public buildings in San Francisco (including City Hall) that cost a total of nearly $1 billion to repair. This repair work did not really get going until about 5 years after the quake and its completion was celebrated just before the millenium--2000. Rebuilding after the Oakland fire ran a similar time course. Historically, that's also about the time it took to put San Francisco back together after the 1906 quake that flattened and burned the city.

I do have to question your celebration of the dramatic rise in incomes this year, though. Don't you think that rise in the AVERAGE has more to do with fewer low income people than with a general increase in income levels?

And about whether or not people would "up and leave". Yes, I understand that "born and raised" locals like yourself will not leave. But much of the vibrancy of any community depends on young people who were not born there being attracted to the place by its opportunities. On the train I took home from New Orleans was a young man who, pre-Katrina, was a student at Tulane. He's now going to school in Washington State and does not plan to return. Several other young people I talked to while in the city were from places like Baton Rouge and other communities in South Louisiana outside the city itself. They were looking to places like Atlanta. San Francisco too is like New Orleans in that it attracts young people from other places and they add immeasurably to the the city. It wouldn't be at all what it is without them. Niether would New Orleans. You cannot afford to have only the "born and raised" stick with your city. No city like it could.

[BTinSF]

PS: For anybody who wants to put a few bucks into the effort to help New Orleans, please consider doing as I did and send a donation to the Louisiana SPCA. I started doing it when I saw the horrible plight of the non-human critters during the flood, but the SPCA still has a major problem helping the former best friends of former residents: http://www.la-spca.org/

[alon504]

BTinSF...in regards to your thinking that I'm praising the higher household income in New Orleans, I'm not praising. It can be looked at as a sign of the times. Some would view it as good and some as bad. For now, I think it is a good sign, because it reveals that New Orleans is able to sustain itself during this recovery period. As for poor displaced people, I understand. I have, obviously, based on my posts, NO tolerance for poor urban individuals that choose the route of drugs and murder. But, as for the poor, in general, they are New Orleanians. I don't care if they are in Atlanta or Texas, they are still New Orleanians. And I love them all and want them to come back home. I want them home because they are New Orleanians, and color has no bearing on an understanding of this city. New Orleanians know this city, and they love it for the boiled crawfish, drinking beer on the street, the Saints, and the overall, good feeling one gets while being here.
I take exception to those that think that I, personally, have a problem with poor people. I have a problem with thugs and criminals. Last Mardi Gras, I was having a party ( I live on the parade route on St. Charles Ave.), and we decided to buy 100 lbs of boiled crawfish for our get-together. I called the seafood place that I have been frequenting for the last 15 years and made my order. I drove there to pick the crawfish up and I saw the most incredible site....there were over 100 people in line to buy crawfish. All were minorities and all were, obviously, really moved and thrilled to be back in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Most of the people were from Houston and were relocated there after the storm.
Let me tell you, I was so moved, I was brought to tears. It was so good to see poor black people back and enjoying what they consider the norm in their lives. It was awesome. The seafood place is "in the hood." Man, I was so moved to see my New Orleanians back and their race and economic background mattered not.it was just so unreal and incredible seeing them back. I walked up that long line and bought every one of them 2 lbs. of crawfish. And I hugged as many as I could and told them that I was glad to see them back home, for a spell. My point?...We're all New Orleanians.
As far as people leaving...I can tell you that a vast majority are staying. Many may not know, but, after Philadelphia, PA, New Orleans holds the largest population of natives (of the city), still living in that city. People will leave, but, there are people moving in...from Charlotte, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, NYC, Seattle, Denver, Miami...etc. As a banker, I've assisted new citizens from all of these cities and have done my best to help them in their relocation to New Orleans. Many leave, but, there jobs are still here and outsiders, as we call them, are replacing those jobs as fast as they become available.

[Mopacs]

What are the crime rates in Jefferson Parish cities these days? Metairie, where my relatives live, has historically been more immune to the violence in the past that has afflicited its neighbor to the east.

As for New Orleans, I paid my first post-Katrina visit in March of last year, roughly 6th months after the storm. Metarie and Jeff Parish was bustling (traffic seemed much worse than in the past). FEMA Trailers were ubiquitous in this area as well, for homes affected by the non-functioning stormwater pumps. Of course Orleans Parish fared much worse. One issue that worried me driving around was the lack of functioning traffic signals at major intersections. There were 4-way stops at most, but I saw many drivers wholly ingoring them, and we nearly got hit a few times. Hopefully things have improved in that area.

[KevinFromTexas]

I don't see anywhere on this forum where people bash New Orleans. I think if anything this forum is extremely kind and loving towards the city. The architecture, the history, the culture, the music...New Orleans represents the best of America in that respect, and many of us in this section of the forum, and forumwide definitely appreciate New Orleans. I'm a bit baffled as to how anyone could say people on this forum bash it.

The pure hatred and demeaning posts against New Orleans on this thread continue to amaze me.

The only hatred towards New Orleans coming from this thread seems to be from you. You constantly talk poorly of New Orleans' minority population, (which ironically is their majority actually), and the poor. You act like it's some great thing that New Orleans' poor were forced to leave and will likely not come back.

The arrogance of "Everything is Bigger and Better in Texas," shines through....we have our issues in New Orleans and I've never denied them.

That kind of attitude hasn't really shown up here. Drop the inferiorty complex, it's annoying.

[austlar]

BTinSF...in regards to your thinking that I'm praising the higher household income in New Orleans, I'm not praising. It can be looked at as a sign of the times. Some would view it as good and some as bad. For now, I think it is a good sign, because it reveals that New Orleans is able to sustain itself during this recovery period. As for poor displaced people, I understand. I have, obviously, based on my posts, NO tolerance for poor urban individuals that choose the route of drugs and murder. But, as for the poor, in general, they are New Orleanians. I don't care if they are in Atlanta or Texas, they are still New Orleanians. And I love them all and want them to come back home. I want them home because they are New Orleanians, and color has no bearing on an understanding of this city. New Orleanians know this city, and they love it for the boiled crawfish, drinking beer on the street, the Saints, and the overall, good feeling one gets while being here.
I take exception to those that think that I, personally, have a problem with poor people. I have a problem with thugs and criminals. Last Mardi Gras, I was having a party ( I live on the parade route on St. Charles Ave.), and we decided to buy 100 lbs of boiled crawfish for our get-together. I called the seafood place that I have been frequenting for the last 15 years and made my order. I drove there to pick the crawfish up and I saw the most incredible site....there were over 100 people in line to buy crawfish. All were minorities and all were, obviously, really moved and thrilled to be back in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Most of the people were from Houston and were relocated there after the storm.
Let me tell you, I was so moved, I was brought to tears. It was so good to see poor black people back and enjoying what they consider the norm in their lives. It was awesome. The seafood place is "in the hood." Man, I was so moved to see my New Orleanians back and their race and economic background mattered not.it was just so unreal and incredible seeing them back. I walked up that long line and bought every one of them 2 lbs. of crawfish. And I hugged as many as I could and told them that I was glad to see them back home, for a spell. My point?...We're all New Orleanians.
As far as people leaving...I can tell you that a vast majority are staying. Many may not know, but, after Philadelphia, PA, New Orleans holds the largest population of natives (of the city), still living in that city. People will leave, but, there are people moving in...from Charlotte, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, NYC, Seattle, Denver, Miami...etc. As a banker, I've assisted new citizens from all of these cities and have done my best to help them in their relocation to New Orleans. Many leave, but, there jobs are still here and outsiders, as we call them, are replacing those jobs as fast as they become available.

Massa Alon-

Shore 'nuf wuz gen'rus fer you to be buyin' all dem po' folks dat mess of crawfish. Shore 'nuf now, dat's some real "noblesse oblige". Un huh! My goodness! Ain't you somethin' else?

[Capt AWACS]

Jan. 17, 2007, 3:34PM
In post-Katrina era, French Quarter is in a funk

By CAIN BURDEAU
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — The hookers are back on Bourbon Street. So are the drug dealers, the strippers with names like Rose and Desire, the out-of-town businessmen, the college students getting blitzed on candy-colored cocktails and beer in plastic cups.

But a closer look reveals things are not back to the way they were in the French Quarter. Sixteen months after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans' liveliest, most exuberant neighborhood is in a funk.

"The money's not the same. I remember when I made $1,200 a night," said Elizabeth Johnson, a manager and dancer at a Bourbon Street strip club, frowning at another slow night. "I know girls who used to never let people touch them, and now they're resorting to prostitution."

Robert Boudreaux, a beefy hotel bellman in an olive green vest, scanned the street with folded arms and said: "Very boring."

The Quarter still has its characters — palm readers, magicians, street musicians, mimes. But the cheap fun is largely confined to the weekends these days, and seven-day-a-week stores, restaurants and clubs such as Preservation Hall are cutting back on their hours. The nonstop party is no more.

The "cams" — real-time camera footage of Bourbon Street, shown over the Internet — are dull on weekdays. Dixieland bands play to empty barrooms.

"The Quarter rats are drunk and high still, but they're less drunk," said bartender Dawn Kesslering.

In the Lower Quarter, the district's residential half, where people walk poodles and neighbors share clothes lines in galleried courtyards, old-timers do not see as much zest around them.

"It's become far more homogenous, far more middle-class than working-class," said John Dillman, who sells used books. "It will look like Boca Raton. A version of Boca Raton that has risque."

In 2004, the last full year before Katrina struck, about 10 million visitors came to New Orleans, most of them drawn by the French Quarter. In 2006, just over 5 million came.

"Every time they'd see CNN, Fox, they'd show flooded streets. Everybody thought there was nothing to come back to," said Earl Bernhardt, owner of several Bourbon Street nightspots.

In truth, the French Quarter was largely untouched by Katrina's fury. But it suffered financially anyway.

Some nightspots really are gone. O'Flaherty's, an Irish pub known for its soul-warming reels and TVs tuned to World Cup soccer, is gone. So too is the 125-year-old Maison Hospitaliere, a nursing home that began as a home for Confederate widows. Bella Luna, La Madeleine and the Old New Orleans Cookery — some of the popular eateries — fell victim to Katrina. The Little Shop of Fantasy, a Mardi Gras mask shop run by two sisters, cleared out of the Quarter and went online, like so many other Quarter businesses. And after 83 years, Hurwitz Mintz shuttered its flagship furniture shop on Royal Street.

Since Katrina, the real estate market has been in flux, and rents have gone through the roof because of the overall shortage of housing in New Orleans.

In the French Quarter, there are twice as many condos for sale, from 90 before Katrina to about 180 now. Some people are moving out; others are trying to take advantage of the housing shortage by converting attics, parlor rooms, stables and slave quarters into condos.

"I'm paying the most rent I've ever paid, and I've got the smallest place I've ever had," said Bob Clift, a portrait artist who waited in vain one recent day for customers under the live oaks on Jackson Square, outside St. Louis Cathedral.

A familiar face in the Quarter for 37 years, Clift said he is planning to leave the city after paying about $1,000 a month for an 8-by-15-foot room. "Poor people can't live here anymore," he said. "Including me."

After Katrina, waves of hurricane refugees and looters filled the French Quarter's streets. Then, soldiers in red berets and boots took Bourbon Street by storm. Then came the world's journalism corps, construction workers and prostitutes.

But now it is so quiet, many people feel afraid to walk the streets at night.

"I live by myself with my dog, so I really have to be careful," said Mikal Matton, a saleswoman at a jewelry shop. "That really bothers me."

Because of a spate of robberies, some stores and bars are locking up early. Several street shootings, a fatal stabbing and a murder-suicide in which a man murdered and cooked his girlfriend have put residents on edge.

"I'm taking gun classes now," said Mary McGinn, who works for a French Quarter real estate agency. She said a mugger knocked her down Aug. 18 outside the gate to her home, and she hit her head on a concrete step. It took 35 staples to close the gash.

"He got $60. Whoop-de-doo!" she said, gamely smiling in a neck brace.

Police blame the spike in crime on the storm.

"Some of these areas the criminals used to hang out in aren't there anymore, so they're coming down to the French Quarter," said Capt. Kevin Anderson, the Quarter's police commander.

But he insisted the Quarter is safe, largely because there are 45 more officers on patrol than before the storm. And he said crime is down from 2004 in all categories except assault.

"We're dealing primarily with a perception problem," he said. "When someone gets shot in the French Quarter, it's not just national news, it's international news."