Blueprint for Rebuilding New Orleans Unveiled

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President Bush said yesterday that New Orleans is making progress, but ignored angry protests over the city's latest plans for renewal. Mayor Ray Nagin's Commission to Bring New Orleans Back would give residents four months to prove they can rebuild devastated neighborhoods--or lose their property. The New Orleans Times Picayune says "the most controversial question [is] whether the city's footprint should be made smaller to reflect a population expected to reach only half its pre-Katrina number" in the next two years. Does that mean that the 9th Ward and other poor, black areas will never be reconstructed? Will New Orleans and victims of Hurricane Katrina have to make concessions to nature regardless of the social and political consequences? We hear both sides and ask if the demands of nature will trump those of politics. Making News: Bush and German Chancellor Merkel Meet at the White HouseAngela Merkel visited the White House today for the first time as Chancellor of Germany. Both she and President Bush want to repair the relationship that went sour with former Chancellor Gerhard Schr--der's opposition to the war in Iraq. But Merkel and Bush made no secret of their disagreement over the detention facility at Guant--namo Bay. Would the President shut it down? Richard Wolffe is Senior White House Correspondent for Newsweek magazine.Reporter's Notebook: Medicare Drug Program Criticized by Governors, Members of CongressYesterday, California ordered emergency action to cover drug costs for a million elderly people shortchanged by the new Medicare prescription drug program. Illinois and seven other states have done the same thing. President Bush lauded the program as the biggest expansion in Medicare history, but in the past few weeks it's come in for heavy criticism from both Democrats and Republicans all over the country. James Firman is President of the National Council on the Aging, which is helping to sign up seniors.
President Bush said yesterday that New Orleans is making progress, but ignored angry protests over the city's latest plans for renewal. Mayor Ray Nagin's Commission to Bring New Orleans Back would give residents four months to prove they can rebuild devastated neighborhoods--or lose their property. The New Orleans Times Picayune says "the most controversial question [is] whether the city's footprint should be made smaller to reflect a population expected to reach only half its pre-Katrina number" in the next two years. Does that mean that the 9th Ward and other poor, black areas will never be reconstructed? Will New Orleans and victims of Hurricane Katrina have to make concessions to nature regardless of the social and political consequences? We hear both sides and ask if the demands of nature will trump those of politics.
  • Making News: Bush and German Chancellor Merkel Meet at the White House
    Angela Merkel visited the White House today for the first time as Chancellor of Germany. Both she and President Bush want to repair the relationship that went sour with former Chancellor Gerhard Schr--der's opposition to the war in Iraq. But Merkel and Bush made no secret of their disagreement over the detention facility at Guant--namo Bay. Would the President shut it down? Richard Wolffe is Senior White House Correspondent for Newsweek magazine.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Medicare Drug Program Criticized by Governors, Members of Congress
    Yesterday, California ordered emergency action to cover drug costs for a million elderly people shortchanged by the new Medicare prescription drug program. Illinois and seven other states have done the same thing. President Bush lauded the program as the biggest expansion in Medicare history, but in the past few weeks it's come in for heavy criticism from both Democrats and Republicans all over the country. James Firman is President of the National Council on the Aging, which is helping to sign up seniors.

President Bush welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House

New Orleans Master Plan

Action Plan for New Orleans

Katrina Environmental Research and Restoration Network (KERRN)

Reconstruct New Orleans

Urban Land Institute on 'Bring Back New Orleans'

Medicare Prescription Drug Program

My Medicare Matters

Los Angeles Times article on California's emergency assistance for seniors, Medicare glitches

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Warren Olney