8/05/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (8/02/06)

• Fidel Castro Temporarily Cedes Power While Undergoing Surgery
• Exclusive From Havana: Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon Says Castro is "Very Alive and Very Alert"; Condemns US Plans for Post-Castro Cuba and Bush’s Meeting With Exiles Advocating Cuba’s Violent Overthrow
• Cuban 5 Remain Imprisoned Despite Orders For Their Release
• Israel Launches Massive Ground Invasion of Lebanon

The Unified New Orleans Plan

After a couple of false starts, the process of creating one unified plan to rebuild New Orleans neighborhoods destroyed by flooding finally started to gel with a process called the Unified New Orleans Plan. Residents citywide were invited to participate in two meetings to evaluate how the diverse neighborhoods of the city would combine their rebuilding plans with the assistance of various private planning firms.

In order to receive federal Community Development Block Grants to rebuild their neighborhoods, federal guidelines require the City of New Orleans to present a single unified plan.

Residents are now evaluating and voting on their preferred planning assistance teams. Monday, August 7th, is the last day to vote. Video of the planning team presentations can be viewed at UNIFIEDNEWORLEANSPLAN.COM.

Related:

The Unified New Orleans Plan (Web site)

The New Orleans Community Support Foundation

Planning District map (pdf)

New Orleans Indymedia (Darwin BondGraham) -- New Orleans Plan kicks off

Adrastos - fubar

Michael Homan -- Red Dots for the UNOP

Metroblogging New Orleans (Maitri) -- What Is UNOP?: Sunday's Unified New Orleans Plan(ning) Meeting

Becky Houtman -- Unified New Orleans Plan -- My Take So Far on 11 Months of Development

Mid-City Neighborhood Organization -- Sunday's UNOP Meeting

People Get Ready -- res ipsa loquitur

People Get Ready -- The veneer of public input

People Get Ready -- The night out against the Night Out Against Crime

People Get Ready -- Lambert criticizes calendar for "dreamscape of the future"

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

A reading by Dale Hrebik, an English professor at Loyola University. On the side, Hrebik writes for the blog Flood and Loathing, and plays in a band named Smuteye. He's also busy rebuilding a double shotgun in Mid City which had three to four feet of water inside what is a raised house. He hopes to move back into his house by the end of the year.