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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2005)
Jîortlanô ©hseruer Page A 2 September 7, 2005 New Orleans Sees Slow Progress Broken levee plugged, high death toll feared John Roberts and President Bush Lined Up for Chief Justice Bush nominee opposed by NAACP (AP) - Appeals court judge John Roberts may be next in line for Chief of the Supreme Court, if his latest nomination by President Bush Monday goes through. Roberts had been named to succeed retir ing Justice Sandra Day O ’Conner, but Bush pro moted him to the chief justice nominee after Chief Justice William Rehnquist died Saturday after a battle with cancer. Roberts, 50, served the court as a clerk for the conservative Rehnquist in 1980-81. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund opposes Roberts, citing “consistent and ac tive advocacy” for weakening federal enforcement of voting rights, affirmative action, school desegre gation and fair housing. The NAACP found that Roberts has a strong record of regressive positions on civil rights in the past, and stated that they’ve found no evidence of change in the nominee. Robert’s history includes being special assis tant to the late William French Smith, attorney general in the Reagan administration; associate counsel under Fred Fielding, White House counsel to Reagan; and principal deputy to former Solicitor General Kenneth Starr. Although Roberts has had extensive experience in preparing cases for the Supreme Court, he has limited experience as a judge - serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since May 2003. (AP) - With a major levee break finally plugged, engi neers struggled to pump out the flooded city Tuesday as Russell Knox Jr., authorities braced for the hor 4, looks up at his rors the receding water is cer father, Russell tain to reveal. "It’s going to be Knox Sr., while awful and it’s going to wake being transported the nation up again," the mayor aboard a U.S. warned. Coast Guard Mayor Ray Nagin said after helicopter from an aerial tour that about 60 the civic center percent of the city was under the airport Satur water, down from 80 percent during the darkest hours last day in New week. Orleans, La. “We are starting to see (AP Photo) some significant progress. I’m starting to see rays of light,” he said. Nagin said it would take three weeks to remove the water and another few weeks to clear the debris. It could also take up to eight weeks to get the electric ity back on. Still, he warned that what awaits authorities below the toxic muck would be gruesome. A day earlier, he said the death toll in New Orleanscould reach 10,000. The Pentagon, meanwhile, began sending paratroopers from the Army’s storied 82nd Airborne Division to New Or leans to use small boats, in cluding inflatable Zodiac craft, to launch a new search-and- rescue effort in flooded sec tions of the city. M aj. G en. W illiam B. Caldw ell IV, division com Two victim s o f Hurricane Katrina trudge through neighborhood mander, said about 5,000 para floodwaters. (AP Photo) troopers would be in place this week. sea-level city. Nagin warned: “We have to con The Army Corps of Engineers began Efforts to evacuate holdouts were vince them to leave. It’s not safe here. pumping the water out after closing a stepped up, with boat rescue crews and There is toxic waste in the water and major gap in a key levee that burst a caravan of law enforcement vehicles dead bodies and mosquitoes and gas. during Hurricane Katrina and swamped from around the country searching for We are pumping about a million dol 80 percent of the bowl-shaped, below- people to rescue. lars’ worth a gas a day in the air. Fires have been started and we don’t have running water.” Effort to get the evacuees back on their feet continued on several fronts. P atrick R hode, dep u ty d ire c to r o f the F ederal E m ergency M a n ag e m ent A gency, said e v acu ees w ould rec e iv e d e b it card s so that they could begin buying necessary p e r sonal item s. He said the agency w as going from sh e lte r to sh e lte r to m ake sure th at ev a c u e es receiv ed card s q u ick ly and th at the p a p e r w ork usually req u ired w ould be re duced o r elim in ated . The A ir Force late M onday con cluded its huge airlift o f elderly and serious ill patients from New O rleans’ major airport. A total o f 9,788 patients and other evacuees w ere evacuated by air from the New O rleans area. Local officials bitterly expressed frus tration with the federal government’s sluggish response as the tragedy un folded. In addition to help from other Loui siana and Alabama departments, a Ca nadian task force of firefighters and pol ice arri ved four day s after the storm, St. Bernard Fire Chief Thomas Stone said. “If you can get a Canadian team here in four days, U.S. teams should be here faster than that,” Stone said. Pointing to two large oil refineries, “When they ’ re paying $5 to $6 a gallon for gas, they’re going to realize what this place means to America.” The frustrations were also felt along the Mississippi coast, where people who have chosen to stay or are stuck in demolished neighborhoods scavenge for necessities. Some say they will stay to rebuild their communities. Others say they wou Id leave i f they cou Id get a ride or a few gallons o f gasoline. But all agree that - with no water or power available, probably for months - they need more help from the government just to sur vive. photo by I saiah You heard us right, so come see us. As soon as you come to. For a limited time, get our EquiLine Home Equity Line of Credit and yo u ’ll get m ore than a great ra te — you'll get a rebate. W e’ll give you back 10% of the interest you pay, for 3 years. Plus no closing costs, points or fees, and our Five Star Service Guarantee. Best of all, if rates increase, w e’ll increase your reward. So hurry. Before we change our minds. 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The interest rebate w ill be 10% of the interest paid up to a maximum of $300 and on loan -luimtq T ht rebate wiH be paid automatically mto a U • i.r c .i-u i yeer • »terest No rebate w ill be paid if the hw m I |S 2 | 30 days or more occurs Interest Rebate H available only on new relationships or increases of $10.000. Offer is effective for new applications taken until October 7, 2005. Jjfjj® O fftr subject -z mrmai credit approval. Pronerty Insurance is required. Rale subject to change. Some restrictions may apply ••Interest rebate example based on $45,00( i r w o m loan and 6 50% APR Rebate dependent on loan amount and current APR. Offered through U S Bank National Association ND Member FOIC. Donating Through Dining His brother is among the many w ho’ve lost everything in New O rleans. M adison Ragland, owner of Lagniappe Restaurant on Northeast 19lh and Alberta Streets, wants to help ease the pain of the G ulf C oast’s hurricane and flood victim s like his brother and many others. R agland’s brother, a chef in New Orleans, was stuck in the city ’s Convention Center with thousands o f other refu gees Friday waiting for relief of some kind, whether it be through transportation, food and water or financial contri bution. F o r th e n e x t m o n th , R agland's restaurant, along with other select local estab lishm ents, will donate $1 to the Red Cross for every per son who dines there. Ragland’s been able to raise $150 in the first couple o f days alone. To donate to Red Cross, call I-800-H E L P -N O W or visit w w w .redcross.org.