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The Baltimore Afro-American, September 2, 2006 - September 8, 2006

September 2, 2006 - September 8, 2006, The Baltimore Afro-American

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New Orleans economy staggers back

By Zenitha Prince AFRO Assistant Editor NEW ORLEANS In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a confluence of factors depleted housing stock, a scattered workforce, destroyed businesses and infrastructure left New Orleans economy reeling from the can start over. And those that are attempting to rebuild are finding it hard to secure the financing to do so. From day one we were told we would receive money to rebuild and to this day none of that has flowed down, Baker said. Loans, through the Small Business Administration and other private entities, seem to be the Jobs, jobs, jobs Take a stroll through the quaint but pungent streets of New Orleans French Quarter and signs of the citys staggered economic recovery can be seenrestaurants with long lines snaking out onto the sidewalk, open jazz and daiquiri bars on the renown Bourbon Street, men in hard hats hauling lumber and other building equipment and more. But there are other signs, like the one in the window of a shadowy bar/restaurant that read: Call [this number] for day work. No immigration papers required. That sign highlights two major issues plaguing the post-Katrina job market in New Orleans. The first is that in some cases the availability of jobs and the workforce have been severely depleted. Unemployment is at 7.2 percent in the city right now. Small businesses accounted for 40 percent of the New Orleans job market. That Black evacuees join immigrant workers in industry has been largely protest, though guest worker programs debilitated. have deprived many evacuees of job Prior to Katrina, the bioopportunities. medical industry employed an opportunity. Irving spoke with the AFRO at a recent Army Corps of Engineers small business forum in New Orleans, where the Corps announced that such opportunities would become available to small businesses as part of its nearly $5 billion in continuing levee construction projects. In addition, FEMA tracts with just small businesses. Marchiafava added, however, that in most cases, contracts were open to any small business in the nation, with no precedence given to local firms. and economic dynamics, which became obvious at a rally on Aug. 16, when a mixed group of Black and white New Orleanians and immigrant workers assembled before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where the Southern Poverty Law Center had just filed a suit against Decatur Hotels LLC owner F. Patrick Quinn on behalf of several workers. The hotel had reneged on its promises to provide jobs and pay fair wages, the immigrants said. One fellow held up a blown up check for $18.08. I came here with the promise that I would find opportunities but I found that I had been lied to [and] Im going back to my country in worse condition than I came, said Julia, a worker from Bolivia, through a translator. I feel frustrated that I cant give my children what I promised them or pay back the money I invested to come here. Guest worker applicants like Decatur also have to certify that they made good faith efforts to employ evacuees, but many said that was not the case and the situation has created some tension between the Black and Brown communities. Guest worker programs are wedge policies that divide African Americans and immigrants, said Saket Soni of the New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition. At a time when the unemployment rate in the New Orleans metro area is 7.2 percent these guest workers are lured here and locked into exploitation. Meanwhile, AfricanAmerican survivors are locked out of [these industries] even as they struggle to return home and regain their lives a year after Katrina. There are other impediments to employment lack of day care services for single mothers and a lack of affordable housing. All in all, while there are hopeful signs, a fully restored New Orleans economy will take a long time coming.

Engineering a safe future for New Orleans

Mississippi River Gulf Outlet and in all, reinforced more than 200 miles of the citys 360 miles of levees, raising the walls to about 17.5 feet in areas facing the Gulf and to more than 12 feet in areas facing Lake NEW ORLEANS Its been a year since the New Orleans levee sysPontchartrain. But that only brings the system back to tem fell under the rampaging waves of Hurricane Katrina, unleashing a pre-Katrina levels, Hitchings said. tsunami of up to 20 feet that left more than 1,500 dead and more than 80 A strong Category 2 storm coming with the worse percent of the Crescent City covered for almost two months. conditions would be equal to the storm protection level As the bedraggled city limps toward recovery, city officials have been begging citizens to come on home and aid in the rebuilding. But many resi- we have, he said. I always make sure people understand the residual risk because no system you build dents say the Big Easy will never feel safe again, surrounded as it is by the will provide ultimate protection. So if theres a strong Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico, and they storm coming larger than a category 2 storm, they need will not return. to be prepared to leave the area ... its a very dangerous If they wanted us in New Orleans, they wouldnt try to drown us and situation. Im not coming back for them to finish me off, said resident Audrey Even some of the improvements pose their own Mason in a recent documentary. Others say while they will return, they will feel truly safe only when the problems. For example, while floodgates along the London Street and 17th Street drainage canals will levees are rebuilt with an eye toward protecting the city, which sits about 6 The Army Corps of Engineers is racing against time to complete second block a storm surge, it would also prevent water from feet below sea level, against future storms of Katrinas magnitude. phase of repairs and reinforcements on floodgates and pumping systems draining out of the city. Its very hard for me to return until I see that the levees are heightened like the one seen here along the 17th Street Canal. Its a danger Congress acknowledged when it alloand strengthened, said Wanda Rouzan of Gentilly, which was flooded cated $5.7 billion to certify the levees up to the 100when a levee along the London Street Canal failed. Citizens fears have been tested as tropical storm Ernesto turned its head year floodplain plan by 2010. About $1 billion of that sum was given to the take 50 years, not when there are hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives at stake. Corps about seven months ago to expedite the work on weakened pump toward the Gulf Coast late last week. Kemp and other scientists also questioned just how safe the protection systems, flood gates sinking levees and unfinished storm protection projects Don Powell, President Bushs point man for Gulf Coast rebuilding, on system would be even after improvements are completed in 2010, as the along the West Bank, Lake Pontchartrain and other areas, which has to be Aug. 27 told Fox News Sundays Chris Wallace that the levees were Corps promises. The current design, they said, is built around 1965 stancompleted by September 2007. ready for hurricane season. dards, which accommodates up to a Category 3 storm. But the work has yet to begin, impeded by a tangle of bureaucratic and But Army Corps of Engineers chief, Lt. Gen. Carl Strock said Saturday They are improving on a flawed system, said Calvin Mackie, profeslegal red tape involving the feds Cooperative Project Agreements with he feared the levee system could not withstand a substantial storm. sor of mechanical engineering at Tulane University and a member of the The confidence in what they are doing and in our safety is very sketchy local government bodies. Federal law prohibits contracts from being issued until those agreements Louisiana Recovery Authority. They cant fix in six months what they and iffy at this point, said Earnest Stephens, 61, resident of Broadmoor couldnt build in 40 years ... they are legally amended, although, in this case the which is between London Street Canal and 17th Street Canal. They tried put band-aids on the system but feds are taking up the entire tab. Meanwhile, out pumps a couple of days ago and most of the motors did not work and we need a comprehensive levee with the approach of Ernesto it made me wonder if we would ever be safe. thousands of residents in New Orleans, St. protection plan. Dan Hitchings, director of the Corps Task Force Hope, said at this point Bernard parish and along the West Bank remain In 2000, Congress authorized a vulnerable. the city is only as safe as it was before Katrina. study to assess the upgrading of When we added all this additional work we In the past year, the Army Corps of Engineers repaired several breaches the levees to withstand a Category had to make sure [local authorities] were willing along the London Street, 17th Street and Industrial Canals and the 4 or 5 storm but Mackie said the to continue working with us in time for studies is over and that terms of covering construction and America should follow the examoperation and maintenance costs ple of countries like the and to do that we needed new legally binding agreements, Netherlands, which made constructing a world-class levee system a priority said Task Force Hope Deputy Director John Meador and later given its location below sea level. added, We understand the urgency; were not satisfied with If the Dutch can protect their people, this government, which is supthe pace with which were moving but were doing all we can posed to be the greatest, mightiest country in the world, should be able to to expedite this project. G. Paul Kemp, member of a forensic team assembled by the protect its people, he said. And its not a question of might but of willCongress has not shown the will to protect its assets or its people. state to investigate the levee failures and a scientist with the Kemp also agreed that Congress has to invest much more than the $5.7 Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, wonders at the it allocated towards levee reconstruction to fund a building plan that would federal governments sudden haste, given the Corps failure to accommodate the replenishing of wetlands and other coastal barriers and complete levee construction that began after Hurricane Betsy other top-of-the-art improvements. Only then would people begin to feel swooped down on the city in 1965. He said he fears their safe again. enthusiasm and generosity will soon begin to flag. We cant expect instantaneously to get a levee system that will pass all Im concerned that at some point everyone will go to Twelve months ago this floodwall had a gaping hole that allowed FEMA standards, he said, but I think people will come back if they see a sleep, Kemp said. Referring to the previous levee project he storm surge from the nearby Industrial Canal to flood the Lower commitment to building that at the national level. added, There was certain complacency ... no project should Ninth Ward beyond. By Zenitha Prince AFRO Staff Writer

They cant fix in six months what they couldnt build in 40 years ... they put band-aids on the system but we need a comprehensive levee protection plan.

blow. Now, it is moving toward recovery with more of a hobble than a stride. The three pillars of the citys economy have been energy, tourism and the port of New Orleans and when they were damaged to the tune of billions of dollars, New Orleans entire economy and to some degree, Americas economy was crippled (note skyrocketing gas prices). Twelve months later, all three industries are showing marked recovery. [There is] lots of strong economic activity, said head of Gulf Coast Rebuilding Don Powell in an Aug. 22 White House press conference. The port, which creates about 350,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, is back, Powell said, seeing more port calls than pre-Katrina and moving more tonnage. Gas and oil production are back to pre-Katrina levels as well. As for the tourism industry, things are looking up in the Big Easy. Tourism accounted for 15 percent of total employees and wielded an $8 billion impact per year. Eighty percent of hotels are now reopened and 62 percent of restaurants, according to Powell. And the Louis Armstrong Airport is 20 percent shy of preKatrina capacity. Still, the convention center is not completely restored, the streetcar fleet is significantly decimated and there is much more to be done. In the small business sector, the situation is less perky. In the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, 62,000 of 81,000 businesses have reopened, according to state statistics. But of the 18,000 estimated small businesses in the city, 60 percent were driven out of business by the storm, a Bring New Orleans Back Commission report stated. Black businesses have been especially devastated by the storm. Although it wasnt our fault, we didnt design bad levees after all, Black businesses are the ones whove been struggling, said Arnold Baker, chairman of the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce. Before Katrina, the more than 10,000 Black-owned businesses, including small Mom and Pop operations, in New Orleans were coming of age and thriving, Baker said, but now a majority of them have not been able to rebuild. Many of them were situated in Black communities like the Lower Ninth Ward that were completely debilitated by the storm and the lack of electricity, water and sewerage and other utilities means it will take months, if not years before they

All photos by Travis Barnes

only solution to rebuilding, but in most cases, businesses cannot secure loans and if they do get the loans, it would only make their situation worse, Baker said. The tools that are being made available to us dont suit our situation-you cant keep piling debt on top of debt, he said. And when we do go to banks asking for loans they say well you havent had any business for months, youre no longer bankable. Small and minority businesses were largely cut out of the rebuilding opportunities due to policy decisions by the Bush administration that waived requirements normally attached to government contracting. By October last year, only 1.5 percent of the $1.6 billion in FEMA contracts went to minority firms, less than one-third of the 5 percent usually required. Instead, no-bid contracts were divvied up between four firms with existing connections to the government including Bechtel Corp., whose CEO was named to Bushs export council and Halliburton-subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root. I had to rely on relationships with previous contractors to get jobs but couldnt get nothing concerning rebuilding New Orleans, everything went to outside contractors, said local Black contractor Tony Irvin. Ive been to every back-to-business meeting with the mayor, meeting people, calling people but nothing ever came through ... Im not asking people to give me anything, Im just asking for Hurricane Protection To Do List Levees, floodwalls and armoring Repair existing pump stations Storm proof existent pumps Design/build permanent pumps Navigable floodgates SELA projects

Residents see hope in New Orleans schools despite ruin

By Zenitha Prince AFRO Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS The shrill pealing of the bell rang out in the relative morning quiet signaling the beginning of school. Shantell Mackey, 6, sat with fewer than 200 other students on the steps of the Mary McCleod Bethune Elementary School on the morning of Aug. 15 with her hair neatly groomed and plaited, uniform ironed to a crisp, her freshly scrubbed face ranging in emotion from excited to sleepy to scared. Shes excited but shes kind of scared because she says shes a big girl now and this is her first day at school, said Mackeys mother Cynthia. In Shantells innocent face and the faces of the pupils around her, school officials say, lies the future of New Orleans and the muse for its rebuilding after one of the most devastating natural disasters in Americas history. Boys and girls, thank you for coming home, said Principal Mary Haynes-Smith in the opening ceremony. We need you to rebuild New Orleans. Many say the reopening of schools is an important marker for displaced and returned residents looking to start over in the Crescent City. The city cannot come back if people dont have trust in the public education system and know what schools will be reopened, partly, because working parents need to know there is a place where their child can be kept safe while they are at work and partly, because all parents want their child to succeed, said Aesha Rasheed, former education reporter and co-director of the New Orleans Network. But trust in a public school system left tangled, fractured and maimed by Hurricane Katrina will be hard to earn. New Orleans will see only 56 of its former 128 codes and more. Many see the influx of charter schools as the first step toward privatizing education in New Orleans. The kids who are here are being used as guinea pigs, said Councilwoman Cynthia HedgeMorrell, who chafed at what she deemed a tasteless state takeover of city schools. I dont like the idea of experimenting with kids especially those who have been traumatized. Community leader Malcolm Suber said charter schools for five years and will return those schools to city oversight if they show significant improvement. But while the division of oversight may be the best option, the system has left many parents, and perhaps, officials, very confused, La France said. Its a sort of complex landscape for schools here in New Orleans now, she said. Its very confusing for parents. At the registration center we have a list of all the schools color-coded [to show] whos running what. Its confusing to have two Our motto this year is success is the only But projects have been impeded by unforeseen option so we have no choice, Kilbert said. problems, La France said. Moving forward we have to be responsible, Were dealing with Katrina damage but were accountable and make sure our activities are in the also dealing with aging problems, so when the best interests of the children. contractors go in theyre finding other problems, Both school systems say they are introducing like we have a couple of schools where they disinnovations to the school like extensive teacher covered termite infestation, she said. training and classroom observation, a teacher-stuThe school systems have had to halt registradent ratio of 20:1 where before it stood at about tions at certain schools because of such discoveries, like faulty wiring, low water pressure, rampant 30:1, computer labs and the like. Kilbert said Parish-run schools will also be mold and unforeseen water damage. For example, the Recovery School District said installing full-time counselors in recognition of the emotional burden Katrina has left on many stufive of the schools that students began registering for on July 10 Reed, Williams, Drew, Douglass dents. and Booker T. Washington likely will not be One of the things that has never happened in opening Sept. 7. this district is we now have a full time social It took a miracle, Haynes-Smith said of the worker at all of our schools, Kilbert said. We effort it took to reopen Bethune, which is now had a young lady who, every time it rained, had housed at the former site of the Agnes Leonie some difficulty. Some have lost their homes, Bauduit Elementary School. theyve lost family members and certainly that is Teacher hiring has also been a problem, La going to be a challenge. France said. At last check, only 200 of the estimatPrincipals and teachers are thrilled with the changes. ed 400 teachers needed have been hired, partly Its like a cocoon and the butterfly is emergbecause officials have no clear calculation of the ing, said Haynes-Smith of the new furniture, number of students that will return. The 56 schools should be able to accommodate computers, fully stocked library and the other improved circumstances of her school. up to 34,000 students but closer to 20,000 are Parents see hope in the changes as well. expected to return this fall. The system taught This first time coming here, Mackey said of 60,000 students before Katrina. Bethune, but Ive heard its a good school and I Were coming off this natural disaster where believe [Shantell] will learn here. all the school children in New Orleans were scattered to the wind, but people are returning, so the question is how many children will return, where they will be so we are starting from scratch with teacher hiring, which has been a concern, she said. Rebuilding the school system and the communitys trust will also mean escaping a history of poorly performing schools. Anyone who has been paying attention to education in the last 20 years knows the school system here has always been challenged and troubled and hampered by corruption and incompetence, and challenges of poverty and urban plight, Rasheed said. Still, officials and residents are largely optimistic and see Debra Brown starts off her 2nd grade class at Mary this as a chance to birth a new McCleod Bethune Elementary School with a game of and improved school system. Simon Says.

Julia, an H-2B guest worker, said the comany that brought her here had reneged on its promises of sound wages and ample work opportunities.

announced in April that in lieu of contracting with only the four firms, it would award 36 five-year contracts to small and small disadvantaged businesses that have registered with the Small Business Administration. There are tremendous opportunities for small and small minority businesses with the Army Corps of Engineers and with other federal agencies working here in New Orleans [but] the key is for small businesses to get involved, said Randy Marchiafava, the Corps deputy for Small Business. Pre-Katrina, our entire contracting budget in New Orleans was a little over $2 million but so far in the last eight months, weve done over $634 million in con-

Contracting Number of Contracts Dollars Small Businesses Unrestricted $3.8 b $70 m 15 0 0 6 105 3 1 2 4 94

$250 m $530 m $350 m NA

NA

NA

73,000 people, the second largest source of jobs in greater New Orleans. That is now operating at a mere 40 percent of its capacity and facing severe staffing shortages of doctors, technicians, nurses and other critical personnel. The music industry had been virtually silenced in the home of jazz, with musicians scattered and recording and production projects halted. New Orleans is one of the lowestwage cities in the country, it ranked fourth in 2004 before the storm in terms of having the lowest wages of any metropolitan area and now in the wake of the storm, whats coming back are jobs that are very vulnerable and low-paying, said Chris Kromm, executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies, which recently issued a comprehensive report on post-hurricane recovery in the Gulf. And thats where the other issue arises. With evacuees leaving a 30 percent hole in the citys workforce, New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf, has seen an influx, and deliberate courting of legal and illegal immigrants to fill low-paying construction and tourism-related jobs. The federal H-2B guest worker programs, which has issued visas to temporary workers from all over Latin America, has instigated several social

Many first-time students face their first day with excitement and anxiety, much like their parents who have to entrust their children to a broken education system. schools are not the best fit for New Orleans. We know that charter schools are no answer to educating our kids in an urban environment, he said. Research has already shown they have no better track record than public schools. According to a 2005 U.S. Department of different school systems. Cynthia Mackey said she went through hell trying to get her daughter Shantell in a school. It was a headache, she said. We live way out in the east and they have only one school open. They were doing lotteries to decide which students would get in and it was hard because I had to go to three or four schools to try and register my child and this was the only one that called me back. Twenty-five campuses, serving 12,500 students, have managed to open since Novembers state takeover. But other school reopenings have been pushed back to Sept. 7 due to the magnitude of damage, which FEMA estimates at about $800 million. More than $56 million has been spent on repairs to schools opening this year, funded by $32 million in insurance settlements and another $55 million of a $354 FEMA endowment for school refurbishing.

Its a sort of complex landscape for schools here in New Orleans now.
schools open by this fall. And after a November decision by the state legislature gave over 107 schools to the Louisiana Recovery District, the schools have been divvied up between the state, which will directly operate 17 schools; Orleans Parish, which will directly operate five schools and the rest has been given over to what appears to be a lab experiment in charter education. Charter schools operate independently of municipal boards, doing their own hiring and firing, setting their own curriculum, rules, dress Education study, charter schools in five states were less likely than traditional public schools to meet performance standards even after controlling for several school characteristics. The study found that traditional public schools led charter schools in meeting state standards in student testing, 94 percent to 79 percent. But given the destruction of the system, some officials say, state control and the use of charter schools seemed like the best option. By law, the Recovery District will have control of the failing