A 'Lack'-of-Progress Report on New Orleans

Subscribe to this Podcast:

Listen to/Watch entire show:

Legacy Player:

With New Orleans less than half as big as it was before Katrina, FEMA is trying to cut rent subsidies that could help more people return. The Army Corps of Engineers is dragging its feet on projects that could guarantee a safer city. Is the federal government abandoning a major American city? Are black people the big losers? Plus,John Bolton, US Ambassador to the UN, resigns as President Bush meets with a powerful Shiite leader who urges the US to remain in Iraq, and the US Supreme Court and public school integration.

Making News

President Bush Meets Key Shiite Leader ()

Unable to get enough votes for Senate confirmation, John Bolton today announced his resignation as US Ambassador to the UN. Secretary General Kofi Annan, meantime, said that Iraqis are worse off than they were under Saddam Hussein. At the White House, the President met with a powerful Shiite leader who told reporters he wants US troops to stay in his country.

Guests:

Holly Bailey: White House Reporter for Newsweek magazine

Reporter's Notebook

Will Supreme Court Shoot Down School Integration? ()

The US Supreme Court today heard arguments from parents who don't like school integration programs in Louisville and Seattle. The case will produce latest reworking of Brown v. the Board of Education, the case that declared segregation unconstitutional in 1954. Although Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the unanimous decision that segregated schools are "inherently unequal," he didn't specify how the ruling should be implemented.

Guests:

Dahlia Lithwick: Senior Editor and Legal Correspondent for Slate

Main Topic

Public Housing and FEMA Vouchers in the 'New' New Orleans ()

After Katrina, President Bush said, "We will do what it takes" to make "this great city... rise again." The Army Corps of Engineers promised to rebuild a safer New Orleans. Today, New Orleans is less than half as big as it was before Katrina and the Federal Emergency Management Agency may or may not restore rent subsidies that could help more residents to return. Meantime, rents are rising and what little public housing remains may be converted to mixed-income townhouses poor people can't afford. Today's New York Times reports that the Army Corps of Engineers has lost its sense of urgency to rebuild a city safe for enough business and jobs. Is the federal government abandoning a major American city? Are blacks the biggest losers?

Guests:

Robert Doggett: Staff attorney with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
Malcolm Suber: Founding member of the People's Hurricane Relief Fund
Gwen Filosa: Staff writer with the Times Picayune
Terry O'Connor: Editor-in-Chief of New Orleans CityBusiness magazine
Harry Shearer: Host, Le Show

Search KCRW