New Orleans residents are enraged over recovery plan

New Orleans residents are enraged over recovery plan
They insist that forced buyouts and a freeze on construction are no way to rebuild
By KIM COBB | Houston Chronicle
"NEW ORLEANS - Frustration and anger boiled over for hundreds of New Orleans residents and evacuees Wednesday after hearing officials propose a four-month moratorium on building permits in the neighborhoods with the worst flooding from Hurricane Katrina."

Public information on contracts full of holes

Public information on contracts full of holes
By CHRIS GOSIER
"Publicly released information on billions of dollars worth of Federal Emergency Management Agency contracts awarded since Hurricane Katrina hit is riddled with significant gaps."
"Information is lacking, for example, on whether 385 contracts — with a combined value of nearly $450 million — were awarded competitively. That constitutes about 16 percent of the nearly 25,000 contracts awarded by FEMA from when Katrina hit in late August to Dec. 19."