Katrina Anniversary

Residents who live in Gulf Coast states continue to voice their frustrations with the BP oil disaster claims process. In Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish, of around 4,000 fisher folk who applied for the funds, half were denied. Community workers also report that people with the same documentation will obtain different results.  Zoe Sullivan’s full interview with Claims Administrator Ken Feinberg, can be heard on our website at FSRN.org.

Five years after the levees broke in New Orleans, speeches, commemorations and even celebrations took place throughout the region. President Obama visited the area on Sunday and pledged that the federal government would stick with New Orleans through its recovery "until the job is done."

In the Lower 9th Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by Katrina, residents gathered to commemorate. They also called for federal accountability and community renewal. Zoe Sullivan was there for FSRN.

And as local residents and officials commemorate the fifth anniversary of Katrina, federal investigators are looking into police conduct in those first few days after the levees broke. Investigators are now responding to allegations that New Orleans police commanders gave orders to shoot looters. The latest action is spurred by new details that came to light last week from an investigation by the Times-Picayune, ProPublica and PBS Frontline. The report draws on current and past police officers in New Orleans who describe a confusing atmosphere. During that period 11 civilians were shot by police.

For more on the investigation, we're joined by AC Thompson, staff reporter with ProPublica and PBS Frontline correspondent.

For ProPublica’s series, Law and Disorder: http://www.propublica.org/nola/

To watch the PBS Frontline video: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/law-disorder/

It was five years ago this week, that Hurricane Katrina approached the Gulf Coast. As news of the devastation emerged - it was often the images from the region that shocked the world and ultimately prompted action. Portraits of residents stranded on roof tops and corpses in the streets spurred condemnation of the Bush administration's handling of the disaster from inside the US and abroad. Now, many of those photographs are part of an exhibit in New Orleans and five years after the disaster the images are still prompting strong emotions. FSRN's Zoe Sullivan has more.

To view photos from the exhibit: http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2010/08/chapter_ixchapter_xxvkatrina_b.h...

Five years after Hurricane Katirina, New Orleans is expected to receive a $1.8 billion FEMA grant to build and renovate about 85 schools. Senator Mary Landreu said in a statement Wednesday that she had been told by an Obama Administration official that the announcement would come later this week.  Schools were devastated after Hurricane Katrina, and many children continue to go to school in temporary or inadequate schools.

Meanwhile, another program seen as key to the recovery efforts in the city is facing cut backs.
When the 2005 flooding destroyed several New Orleans hospitals, School Based Health Centers, along with other neighborhood clinics, stepped in to provide primary and mental health care for New Orleans’ residents - including kids - who needed service.  But as Federal funding for the School Based Health Centers expires, the Centers are forced to close their doors or dramatically reduce services. FSRN's Eve Abrams reports.

Five years after the flood caused by the failure of the levees in New Orleans, tens of thousands of homeowners remain displaced. The Louisiana Recovery Authority says that as of August, its Road Home program had spent over $9 billion to help homeowners rebuild. It was the largest disaster recovery operation in US history. Zoe Sullivan has more about the problems with the program and lessons that could be learned for the future.