A-8 SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2006 THE TIMES-PICAYUNE 3

CONTINUED

RECOVERY BY THE NUMBERS PRE-KATRINA 6 MONTHS AFTER CURRENT City services

POPULATION
New Orleans
METRO AREA
Jefferson St. Tammany St. Bernard St. Charles St. John
the Baptist
Plaquemines still spotty,
report finds
437,186 448,578 450,000
411,305

235,000 235,000 NUMBERS, from A-1 post-storm conditions. At the

217,999 220,651
................................................................ University of New Orleans, for
158,353 groups have wrestled with local example, 12,000 students are ex-
government officials as they pected for the fall semester, up
have tried to penetrate post- from 11,118 in the spring but
64,576 50,203 52,269 55,000 45,950 48,642 49,000 storm confusion and target their still far short of the 17,250 last
28,282 20,164 22,000
3,361 19,000 money or volunteers. As one ex- fall, just before the storm hit.
ample, Beverly Gianna, a for-
Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from mer convention marketing offi- Plenty of permits
pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina
to current to current to current to current to current to current to current
cial in New Orleans, said she Parish officials offer varying
has repeatedly met with leaders progress reports about repairs
-46% +0.3% +8% -71% +10% +7% -22% of nonprofit groups who say
they cannot get direction from
to critical pieces of infrastruc-
ture, ranging from pumping sta-
local elected officials about how tions to libraries to traffic lights.
to best help arts organizations.
In New Orleans, 90 percent of
HOTELS METRO AREA HOTELS/MOTELS IN OPERATION Change from
pre-Katrina
Rooms available for use: Change from
pre-Katrina
“It’s extremely slow,” Gianna
said of the recovery. “I’ve not
the traffic signals have been re-
paired or replaced, while in St.
had anybody who has said,
274 to current 38,364 to current
‘Wow, I’m impressed at what’s
Bernard, key intersections have
new signals but half of the total
going on in New Orleans.’ ”
176
192
-30% 27,886
28,842
-25% Having tracked recovery indi-
cators in a monthly “Katrina In-
dex,” the Washington-based
number of signals are still out.
Ridership in the public transit
systems of Orleans, Jefferson
and St. Bernard parishes re-
Source: New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau Brookings Institution says in its
mains a fraction of what it was
August report that “to be fair,
prior to Katrina, posing huge lo-
one year is not much time to
gistical problems for workers
turn around a city devastated by
HOSPITALS METRO AREA GENERAL ACUTE CARE Change from
pre-Katrina
Hospital beds available* Change from
pre-Katrina
such a storm.”
without cars. The Regional
Transit Authority, primarily
20 to current 4,083 to current Mixed signals continue serving Orleans, reports it has
about 19,000 riders each day,
Across the metro area, pro-
14
15
-25% 1,833
2,020
-51% gress is as evident as the chal-
lenges ahead.
Encouragement can be found
down from 124,000 before Ka-
trina.
Building and electrical per-
mits, predictably, are being is-
Source: Metropolitan Hospital Council *Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes in a busy home-sales market, sued at a frantic pace, with more
the opening of new charter pub- than 79,000 issued in New Or-
lic schools and in a rebound in leans and more than 10,000 is-
FEMA TRAILERS/MOBILE HOMES METRO AREA, as of Aug. 10
Requests/
occupied rate
the numbers of business and
visitor travelers to New Or-
sued in Jefferson Parish since
Katrina. More than 93,000 own-
leans, the research group said. ers of homes in the metro area,
NO. REQUESTED 70,906
NO. OCCUPIED 61,458 87% Monthly passenger traffic at
Louis Armstrong International
Airport has rebounded to more
meanwhile, have registered for
the Road Home grant program,
although there is widespread
Source: FEMA than 80 percent of its pre-Ka- public frustration over how long
NO. REMOVED 3,427 trina levels. it is taking for the money to
flow.
But Brookings analysts share
Orleans Parish Jefferson St. Tammany St. Bernard St. Charles St. John Plaquemines locals’ impatience with the pace Occupational license figures
the Baptist of recovery. in local parishes point to a move
23,463
20,898 19,295 “The level of basic city serv- of many businesses from flood-
18,357 ices and infrastructure remains devastated Orleans into subur-
thin, does not cover all neigh- ban parishes. But economic de-
11,401 10,681 9,107 7,560 borhoods, and has yet to velopment experts concede they
strengthen overall in the past don’t have a good fix on how
536 4,612 4,237
947 905 97 478 423 38
155 267 six months,” the report says. many businesses remain shut-
1,630 704 “Affordable, rental housing is tered or the pace at which they
Requests/ Requests/ Requests/ Requests/ Requests/ Requests/ Requests/ critical for workers, and the em- are reopening.
occupied rate: occupied rate: occupied rate: occupied rate: occupied rate: occupied rate: occupied rate: ployers who rely on them, and Cargo figures from the Port
yet that seems increasingly out of New Orleans are up more
78% 92% 94% 83% 96% 88% 92% of reach.” than 40 percent from pre-Ka-
But an unemployment rate of trina levels, demonstrating vi-

ELECTRIC SERVICE 4.6 percent for the New Orleans

region, influenced by post-Ka-
brancy in one building block for
the local economy.
Orleans Parish Jefferson St. Tammany St. Bernard St. Charles St. John Plaquemines trina upheaval in the local econ- With overall reductions in the
the Baptist omy, is down from 5.6 percent size of the metro area’s popula-
212,849 210,025 211,101 203,260
just before the storm. And that tion and in visitor traffic and
comes against the backdrop of a with the work force scattered,
local civilian labor force that recovery is slow. But there also
shrank by 30 percent. is strong evidence that compa-
101,447 Sales tax collections have nies are seeing opportunity in
81,678 81,390 76,401 79,603 spiked in most local parishes, as recovery work, said Louisiana’s
residents rushed to make big- secretary of economic develop-
29,145 ticket purchases and building ment, Michael Olivier. He cited
12,301 21,082 21,806 21,583 18,617 18,642 19,444 14,164 6,585 11,616 materials have flown off the as one example Emmedue, an
196 Italian company that builds
shelves.
Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from Even in badly damaged Or- structural panels that can be
pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina used in lieu of drywall and ply-
leans, sales tax income is on the
to current to current to current to current to current to current to current wood.
rebound, topping $10 million in
monthly collections, more than It opened a factory on Airline
-52% -3% -2% -58% +2% +4% -18% 75 percent of prestorm levels. Drive in Kenner in July that will
Data from Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Louisiana and Cleco. Orleans data includes only customers actually receiving power — not reflecting accounts that could receive power but aren’t. Such increases give a dash of employ more than 100 people
new hope to agencies that count when in full operation.
on the income to function. Cindy Fromherz, director of
A reshuffling of city finances research for GNO Inc., a re-
PUBLIC SCHOOLS STUDENT POPULATIONS by parish has made it possible for the tat-
tered New Orleans Public Li-
gional economic development
group, said that while Orleans
Orleans Parish Jefferson St. Tammany St. Bernard St. Charles St. John Plaquemines
the Baptist brary system to restore 45 lost and St. Bernard parishes in par-
64,270 positions, bringing its full-time ticular are still suffering, other
work force to 85, interim Direc- parishes are humming. “The re-
49,380 tor Geraldine Harris said. gion is open for business,” she
45,000
42,000 That’s down from the library’s said. “There are pockets in the
35,832 35,000 35,000 permanent force of 213 before region that are having diffi-
Katrina, but beleaguered staff- culty.”
22,000 ers aren’t complaining. A more somber tone is heard
12,500 “We’re not where we want to among hospital executives, who
8,800 9,584 9,761
6,348 6,815 4,975 2,750 3,447 be, but we’re getting there,” see daily evidence of the strain
2,300 3,000 Harris said. that shuttered hospitals and in-
N.A. N.A.
Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from Change from School enrollment is climbing adequate staffing is having on
pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina pre-Katrina even in the hard-hit parishes of medical care. The number of
to current to current to current to current to current to current to current Orleans, St. Bernard and hospital beds available in Or-
Plaquemines. Orleans Parish leans, Jefferson, St. Bernard
-66% -9% -2% -66% N.A. N.A. -31% will have 56 public schools, in-
cluding new charter schools, in
and Plaquemines parishes has
fallen by 51 percent since Ka-
56 of 117 schools open 84 of 84 schools open 52 of 52 schools open 2 of 14 schools open 19 of 19 schools open 12 of 12 schools open 7 of 9 schools open operation this fall, a far cry from trina, rebounding just 10 per-
117 before Katrina, but a dra- cent since February, according
Change from Change from matic increase from 25 during to figures collected by the Met-
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS SCHOOLS IN OPERATION pre-Katrina
to current
Student population pre-Katrina
to current
the spring.
Archdiocese of New Orleans
ropolitan Hospital Council.
A return of professionals and
107 50,000 schools will total 88 this fall, support workers during the

83 -18% 40,000 -14% compared to 107 before Katrina

and 83 in the spring. The sys-
tem’s 50,000-student count be-
summer was less robust than
expected, said Cynthia Math-
erne, the council’s emergency
88 43,000 Source: Archdiocese fore Katrina fell to 40,000 dur- management coordinator.
of New Orleans ing the spring semester, and Thin staffing means some pa-
should reach 43,000 this fall, of- tients wind up spending their
STAFF GRAPHIC ficials said. entire hospital stay in the emer-
Universities still face an en- gency ward, she said.
rollment shakeout, as many out-
of-state parents worry about See NUMBERS, A-10