Tag: Hurricane Katrina

Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2019 Legislative Session The Last 24 Good Thursday evening. Legislators wound down another committee week in advance of the 2019 Legislative Session, but the executive branch again dominated the headlines. Quote of the Day “There’s nothing I can say.” — Former Secretary of State Mike Ertel, who resigned Thursday after 14-year-old photos surfaced of him in blackface portraying a Hurricane Katrina victim. Rob Bradley and Rep. Travis Cummings fielded questions from media Thursday, offering an early glimpse of how they’ll work through potential budget problems during the 2019 Legislative Session. There are some areas of DOC that I think we can clear. We’re interested to see what Sen. [Jeff] Brandes does and I know I spoke to Chair Renner the other day on some things he’s pursuing. And I think some of the efforts that the Triumph funds were looking to address dovetail very nicely to some of the concerns that were raised for economic development and infrastructure issues that were hurt by virtue of Hurricane Michael. Bradley: I’m interested what the details of the bill are. I think it probably depends on the community whether it’s a good idea for that community or not. If the Florida Off-Road Foundation gets its way, drivers will have a 125th option next time they snag a plate.

David Baria is a Democrat running in Mississippi for the state's Senate seat, and he joins Morning Joe to discuss how Hurricane Katrina inspired him to get into politics and why the state is ready for a politician like him.…

Today marks the 13th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a storm once known as the most devastating the U.S. has ever experienced. Hurricane Maria turned out to be even more deadly – with thousands more Americans killed than previously reported. Ali…

A new Tulane University report finds that women are both running for office more frequently and winning more elections in New Orleans in the years since Hurricane Katrina. In "Assessing Equity in Political Representation in New Orleans," authors Mirya R. Holman and Chloe Schwanz found that women made up the majority of the New Orleans City Council in every council cycle since Katrina, whereas other city councils nationally are typically 25 to 30 percent female. New Orleans also has elected an average of two women per election since 2005, up from 1.17 women in the pre-Katrina years. "With the election of our first woman mayor, along with a majority women and people of color city council, New Orleans moves into a new era of representation." The report contrasts New Orleans with both state and national trends in representation for both women and people of color. The increasing presence of women in city politics also goes against national trends, where less than 20 percent of Congress and 25 percent of state legislatures are female. According to the authors' research, this matters because elected officials who represent the characteristics of a population — such as sharing a race or gender — tend to advocate for the interests of that group. For example, both women mayors and black mayors tend to increase those groups' municipal employment. The report also touches on the success of Mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell as indicative of both New Orleans political traditions (such as a person who identifies as black holding the mayor's office in New Orleans in recent decades) and changes to the political landscape, including the ascendance of women. Though black women's numbers in city politics have increased, making up 34 percent of black candidates in local elections — up from 25 percent since 2005 — black representation overall is slightly down.

On Saturday night, all five living former U.S. presidents appeared together at a hurricane relief benefit concert Deep From the Heart: The One America Appeal, held at Texas A&M University’s Reed Arena in College Station. Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter all stood onstage together and took turns speaking at the podium, complimenting each other and calling for donations. “It’s important that those affected by these devastating storms know that even if the path to recovery feels like a road that goes on forever, we’re with them for the long haul,” George H.W. Bush said, while Obama said the elder Bush’s relief effort “sets an example for all of us.” Carter told the crowd that Habitat for Humanity, a charity with which he’s worked for years, has raised $20 million of its $100 million goal to build 6,000 homes in areas devastated by recent natural disasters. Clinton mentioned that volunteering to help people in need is a tradition as old as this country. “We’ve been volunteering since before the Constitution,” he said, “when Benjamin Franklin organized the first volunteer fire department in Philadelphia.” Country music stars like Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Sam Moore, and Yolanda Adams also performed at the event, with country singer Lee Greenwood acting as the emcee. Lady Gaga made an un-billed appearance and sang her songs “Million Reasons,” “You and I,” and “Edge of Glory.” Donald Trump, whose relief efforts in Puerto Rico have been criticized for being sluggish, sent in a pre-taped message in which he called the former presidents’ relief efforts “tremendous.” “This wonderful effort reminds us that we truly are one nation under God, all unified by our values and our devotion to one another,” he said.

San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz told President Donald Trump Tuesday that hurricane relief efforts on the island were "not about politics," days after Trump sparred with Cruz via Twitter over her criticism of the federal government's response. "It’s all about saving lives, it’s not about politics," said Cruz to Trump as they shook hands following a briefing earlier in the day. Trump touted the response to Hurricane Maria as he attended the briefing on relief efforts, noting that the territory's officials "can be proud" of the relatively low death toll on the island compared to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "Sixteen people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together. She later told the network that she felt the most productive part of the meeting came after Trump spoke when she was among a group that met with White House staffers. "They were so thankful for what we’ve done,” he said. Trump specifically commented during the briefing on the high cost of rebuilding the island and restoring its infrastructure following the storm. We saved a lot of lives." The president’s trip came amid some criticism over the federal government’s response to the island twice hit by a hurricane in the past month.