P o rtlan d (Dbseruer
Page A2
February 22, 2006
BLACK HISTORY M ONTH and the American Experience
Louisiana Rebuilding Plan Proposed, Uncertainties Remain
(A P)-LouisianaG ov. Kathleen
Blanco outlined a$7.5 billion plan
to help Louisiana residents re
build, repair or sell their hurri
cane-dam aged homes, although
u n c e r ta in tie s re m a in a b o u t
whether Congress will provide
the money and w hich state agency
will distribute it.
It is Louisiana’s first com pre
hensive housing proposal since
Hurricane Katrina devastated the
G ulf Coast in A ugust, follow ed a
month later by Hurricane Rita.
“ In the not too distant future,
I predict the sounds of hammers
and saws will be ringing through
all o f our com m unities as our
homes are rebuilt,” Blanco said
Monday.
A ssistance would be capped
at a maximum $150,000 per ho
m eow ner under the proposal. But
A Dorothy and Toto figure from The Wizard o f Oz, used for a Mardi Gras float, sits outside a
direct relief is still months away,
damaged warehouse Monday in New Orleans's Ninth Ward. (AP photo)
and hom eow ners receiving the
aid could be taking on more debt
to rebuild.
The draft faces scrutiny from
local officials, state lawmakers
and the affected residents; and it
depends in large part on federal
dollars aw aiting congressional
approval.
The plan would provide money
to repair or rebuild dam aged
hom es and to relocate people
who want to build elsew here in
Louisiana. For those who d o n 't
want to relocate or rebuild in
Louisiana, the plan would buy
them out at 60 percent o f the pre
storm home value.
W hile the program would not
d ic ta te w h a t n e ig h b o rh o o d s
could be rebuilt, it would require
that people who receive housing
assistance rebuild to new federal
standards that haven't been fi
nalized.
Som e resid en ts o f H ooded
neighborhoods like the Low er
Ninth W ard have worried that
the new federal standards would
require the elevation o f homes
and other storm -protective m ea
sures would price them ou, of
rebuilding.
Also, under B lanco's proposal,
anyone rebuilding in the flood
plain would have to carry flood
insurance - another measure that
could price out som e low -in
com e hom eowners.
An estim ated 128,000 owner-
occupied homes had major dam
age by the storms and 2 lO.tXM)
more received m inor dam age,
according to B lanco's Louisiana
Recovery Authority.
The program would use a mix
o f direct grants and home loans,
in some cases with no interest
and no paym ents due until the
hom es are sold or transferred to
new owners.
T\
Oregon
D e p a rtm e n t
o f Transportation
ODOT WORKS
TO BUILD DIVERSE,
TRAINED WORKFORCE
Oregon will soon reach record levels of
highway construction. Without an
immediate effort to identify, recruit and
train a new, more diverse workforce, there
simply won’t be enough workers to get the
job done.
The Portland area alliance formed in
September 2005. The second alliance
launches this month in eastern
Oregon. A third alliance comes online
this spring in southern Oregon.
Through the Oregon Deparment of
Transportation’s Workforce Development
Plan, five regional alliances consisting of
state and local partners will build on
existing programs and resources to create
a qualified labor pool for the growing
number of highway construction jobs.
http://egov.oregon.gov/ODOT/
HWY/OTIA/brldge_dellvery.shtml.
To learn more, visit ODOT's web site at
ODOT IS INVESTING
IN OREGON’S FUTURE
OTTA
Sen. Barack Oboma, D-lll., campaigns for Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., Monday on the University o f
Tennessee campus. Ford is running for the senate seat held by Republican Sen. Bill Frist. (AP photo)
Obama Impressive in First Year
Lawmaker has Midas touch
The City of Portland, "
mah County and Metro
¡story Month
most
accurately measured by the compassionate
actions of its members, a heart oi yrace and a
soul generated by lo re," coretta Scott King
o f <i
i/ iM
The City of Portland, Multnomah County and Metro dedicate
Black History Month 2006 to the memory of Coretta Scott King.
Please contact the following agencies about contracting and consulting opportunities:
M ultnom ah County Lisa Williams • 503-988-5511 ext. 22596 • www.multcopurch.org
M etro- Cinna'Mon Williams • 503-797-1816 • www.metro-region.org
City of Portland:
Bureau of Purchases- Greg Wolley • 503-823-6860 • www.portlandonline.com/omf/purchases
Portland W ater Bureau- Corbett White • 503-823-7490 • www.portlandonline.com /water
Office of Transportation- Richard Gray • 503-823-5250 • www.portlandonline.com /transportation
I
(A P)— Barack Obama is show
ing a Midas touch in his first year in
Congress. He’s already a best-sell
ing author, a Grammy Award win
ner and an important fundraiser for
fellow Democrats.
Altogether, the freshman sena
tor from Illinois has helped raise
$6.5 million for his political action
committee and other Democratic
candidates, party committees and
state parties from New Jersey to
Virginia to Florida.
He brought in about $800,000
with an e-mail message sent out on
MoveOn.org on behalf of Sen.
Robert C. Byrd. D-W.Va,, who at
age 88 is seeking a ninth term in
office.
"He said some nice things about
me," Byrd recalled. “Anywhere he
comes in West Virginia we will give
the man a great reception. H e's a
wonderful man."
Some of Obama’s fundraising
activities are part of his job as a vice
chairman of the Democratic Sena
torial Campaign Committee.
"These are trips not initiated by
me; these are trips that other people
think will be helpful," Obama said,
noting he has family and political
obligations in Illinois. “For every
invitation I've accepted. I’ve turned
down 100."
“I've been incredibly blessed,”
he said in an interview with The
Associated Press. “My attitude is
as long as I work hard, as long as I
operate honestly, with integrity, the
worst that can happen to me is that
I can lose an election."
Being the Senate’s lone black
member and only the fifth black
senator in history. Obama has
prompted many fellow Democrats
and others to wonder if he will be
come the nation's first black presi
dent, or vice president.
"The party needs him and, for all
I know, the nation needs him," said
George W ashington University
political analyst Stephen Hess.
"There hasn’t been an African-
American Democrat who has had
an appeal broadly beyond his eth
nic group."
Senate Democrats and Repub
lic a n s a lik e , w ho o fte n use
“gentlem an," and “hum ble," and
“ hard w o rk in g " to d e sc rib e
O bama, the 44-year-old married
father of two daughters, say he is
destined for bigger roles in the
years ahead.
“ I think people look at him and
think he's clearly, clearly going to
continue to grow in influence in the
Senate and in national politics,”
said Sen. Mike DeWine. R-Ohio.
“I’ve been here 31 years and
seen a small handful of people that
have made as much an impression
as he has and he has done it by
working hard," said Sen. Patrick
Leahy. D-Vt.
Mobs in Nigeria Kill 24
(AP) — Christian and Muslim mosques there.
Tuesday's violence brought to
mobs rampaged through two Nige
49
the total number of people killed
rian cities Tuesday, killing at least
in
sectarian
violence in Nigeria since
24 people in violence that followed
deadly protests against caricatures Saturday, when protests over con
of the Prophet Muhammad overthe troversial cartoons published in
Europe of the Prophet Muhammad
weekend.
In the mainly Muslim northern turned violent in the northern Mus
city of Bauchi. violent protests by lim city of Maiduguri for the first
M uslim s targ etin g C h ristian s time, killing at least 18 people, po
claimed the lives of 18 people, the lice said.
Similar protests broke out in
Nigerian Red Cross said. In the
predominantly southern Christian Bauchi city soon afterward, leav
city of Onitsha, residents and wit ing seven dead Monday and an
nesses said at least six Muslims other 18 dead Tuesday, Adamu
were beaten to death by Christian Abubakar, secretary of the Red
mobs w hich also burned tw o Cross in Bauchi. told reporters.
I