Unfettered Letters

Wetlands and levees

In your Sept. 1 editorial “Two years after Katrina, disgrace lingers,” you pointed out that “insufficient attention is being paid to restoring wetland areas that are nature’s barrier against hurricanes.”

I agree, but many are missing the point. It is sheer folly to suggest that coastal restoration alone can prevent the type of disaster that befell New Orleans or any other coastal community in Louisiana. It is also folly to suggest that levees alone can do the job.

Instead, the full integration of levees and coastal restoration ultimately will overcome the mistakes of Louisiana’s past. Balancing these objectives is at the heart of Louisiana’s comprehensive coastal restoration and protection plan.

Preserving the national assets within Louisiana’s coastal landscape requires a significant investment by Congress. We must address the entire system, levees and wetlands working together. Passing the Water Resource Development Act now is a great first step.

Sidney Coffee
Chairwoman, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana
Baton Rouge, La.

New Orleans

We, the citizens of greater New Orleans, are always glad when attention is focused on our plight as we rebuild our homes and lives (9/2 editorial, “Two years after Katrina, disgrace lingers”). But we wish to point out that the performance of “the failed levees (that) caused the near-ruin of a unique American city” were the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a branch of the federal government.

The citizens of New Orleans are guilty — guilty of having faith in the Corps of Engineers, which was charged by congressional mandate in the Flood Control Act of 1965 to design and build the flood protection in New Orleans.

As President Bush said himself (as reported in USA Today on Aug. 29), “There are federal responsibilities. …The levee is a federal responsibility.”

Too few Americans understand that had the Corps of Engineers properly completed the flood control work authorized 40 years ago, the people of New Orleans would be well on their way to recovery by now. New Orleanians would have had some lost shingles and soggy carpets, and Mike Brown might still be head of FEMA.

Sandy Rosenthal
Executive director, Levees.Org
New Orleans

Coming to the Gulf’s aid

Kudos to Barbara Shelly for bringing to light the continued struggle for the communities in Mississippi affected by Katrina (3/9, Opinion, “Volunteers toil, but the Gulf is still a mess”).

All we hear about is the destruction in New Orleans. These smaller communities were hit harder than anywhere. Many are not even on the map any more, figuratively speaking.

I remain leery of federal assistance, which, months after the storm, had $850 million worth of FEMA trailers sitting idle in Arkansas.

It seems the grateful people in that area are dependent upon the many volunteers Shelly mentioned, from churches such as mine, to Scout troops, clubs and “mom and pop”-sized organizations.

I saw firsthand how these volunteers are doing more than the federal government could ever do, through physical and emotional presence, not to mention the selfless giving of money, time and supplies.

Check out http://members.tripod.com/4christe/4christe, or www.campcoastcare.com and see what these volunteers have been doing for the community.

I disagree that “only the federal government is big enough to step in and get the job done,” and I’d bet the wonderful citizens of these small communities would also disagree.

The need continues to be huge and will be for years to come.

Kathy Kline
St. Thomas Episcopal Church member
Overland Park

Two cities in crisis

We read daily about the disintegration of Baghdad. We hear the president talk about the surge. When is the last time we heard the president talk about New Orleans? There was nothing about it in the State of the Union.

The disintegration of both cities is due to failed policies of this administration.

Congress is beginning to assert itself on foreign policy. When will it on domestic policy? We ought to be paying as much attention to what is happening in New Orleans as we are to Baghdad.

We are told we are the most powerful nation — economically and militarily — on Earth. Are we proud about what we are doing in these two great cities and for the people who are trying to live in them on a daily basis?

And shouldn’t we be concerned about leaving our most precious resource — our young men and women — in a foreign civil war when they could be rebuilding our own devastated city?

When things fall apart, as they have in both cities, it requires courage, skill and leadership to put things back together. Where is our leadership?

David Oliver
Kansas City

Misplaced Katrina blame

Liberals have two methods of dealing with situations they don’t like: 1) whine and 2) blame the Bush administration.

I see in last week’s Star that the Congressional Black Caucus is blaming the Bush administration for not doing more for New Orleans after Katrina (1/31, A-2, “Slow going in Louisiana”). Why look at the real problem when you can blame someone else?

When it comes to dealing with a city’s problems, the primary responsibility is in the hands of (gasp!) the city itself. Of course, it’s not their fault for not being prepared. Nor is it the state’s fault for not being prepared. No, it’s the Bush administration’s fault that a bunch of reality-impaired people choose to live in a swamp, below sea level, in an area that gets whacked by big hurricanes on a regular basis.

Joe Henderson
Raytown

Government waste

It was disheartening to learn that the U.S. government squandered $1 billion last year for Hurricane Katrina (12/26, A-2, “Investigation looks into Katrina contracts”) when it could have just easily squandered that same $1 billion for a week in Iraq.

Rick Gould
Overland Park

Radio to the rescue

Again it seems that the best source of information in a disaster is the lowly AM radio.

Before and during Hurricane Katrina, WWL in New Orleans, stranded in floodwater, was a lifeline for thousands of people.

Now in the Denver blizzard, KOA in Denver came to the rescue. It was a calming and informing friend.

AM radios are not complicated or costly, but in crises they can be valuable sources of information.

C.C. Jackson
Kansas City

FEMA problems

Why did FEMA purchase modular homes as emergency housing for Katrina victims and then have to place them in storage in Hope, Ark., and Texarkana, Texas, because they weren’t appropriate for flood zones and areas prone to hurricanes?

If FEMA was a private company, people would be fired for incompetence.

FEMA also failed to utilize the Social Security database to correctly identify applicants for aid.

FEMA is not a new agency. It encountered massive fraud in the wake of the Florida hurricanes of 2004.

When will the FEMA officials take responsibility for their actions, and when will Congress and the White House fire those who were incompetent? They owe it to the American taxpayer.

Robert M. Keyserling
Odessa

Superdome and Saints

I am sure there are many people who feel the way that Sherry Lunceford does about the money spent to rebuild the Superdome in New Orleans (10/3, Letters). I am a native of New Orleans who has several family members who lost everything they owned to Katrina. Every New Orleanian I know is excited to have the dome and the Saints back.

Unlike most outsiders, we understand firsthand the importance of the Superdome and the Saints to New Orleans. New Orleans lives and breathes by virtue of tourists and the money they spend. The resurrection of the Superdome is a giant step toward the reopening of New Orleans for business.

New Orleans needs the Saints, too, and not only for the business and tax dollars home games will bring to the city. New Orleanians love (or love to hate) their only major-league sports team, and having the Saints back home is a huge boost for the morale of the people. For a few hours a week, folks can feel like life is back to normal.

So don’t begrudge the Superdome the money that was spent to rebuild it. Native New Orleanians don’t.

Deborah C. Tracy
Leawood

Superdome renovation

A year after Katrina, most of New Orleans and parts of Louisiana and Mississippi still need to be rebuilt with homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure.

Last Monday, New Orleans hosted its first football game in the newly rebuilt Superdome. The renovations cost $185 million.

I wonder how far that much money would have gone to help rebuild the homes of those families in the Ninth Ward or in other parts of the area?

Sherry Lunceford
Independence