Saturated

Today's news from the Gulf Coast:

By SHELIA BYRD, Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. - The federal government on Friday approved Mississippi's plan to divert $600 million in hurricane housing funds to a port improvement project, angering critics who say tens of thousands of people made homeless by Hurricane Katrina still need help.

So the Republican governor in his wisdom has decided to divert hundreds of millions of dollars that were intended for victims of Katrina to improve the port at Gulfport. An his Republican counterpart in the Bush administration has written one of the most wimpy bureaucratic approvals of all time:

In his letter to Gov. Haley Barbour, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said that although he's concerned about using the housing money for the port project, congressional language associated with the use of block grant funds "allows me little discretion."

"I'm sure that you share my concern that there may still be significant unmet needs for affordable housing, and I strongly encourage you to prioritize Gulf Coast housing as you move forward," Jackson wrote.

Then, the two men, no doubt shared a guffaw off-stage.

You may recall that I've recently posted the contact info for 12 grassroots groups working to get help for the tens of thousands of low-income residents who still do not have adequate housing. (I am reposting this list at the end of today's post.) From these groups, working on the scene, one gets a strong impression that the state government is acting virtually as a criminal gang, diverting FEMA money to their buddies who build casinos and run the port.

Gulfport-Biloxi used to be a rare example of prime coastal land occupied by a mixture of races on lower incomes, wit a strong sense of the history of their community. What we are witnessing is the systematic dismantling of that community by a corrupt gang of politicians.

Yet there appears to be no counter-force in the state or national government willing to stop them.


(Note: By clicking on the headline of this post, you can read the entire AP story quoted above.)



This saddening, maddening news emerges on a dark, cold day when the rains, which have been falling for days, continue with a new intensity.



There's no wind gusts, so the damage to trees this time seems marginal, unlike the monster storm earlier this month. But driving is terrible, eespecially out alone Highway 101, which connects San Francisco north and south with the rest of the West Coast.



Around 2 pm this afternoon, I heard a crash out back. Soon, a fire truck was out front, with a tall ladder stretched three floors up into the wet sky. It was too stormy for me to go out and see what had happened, but apparently part of the roof on the next building south of mine may have collapsed, or gotten damaged, perhaps by a broken limb or an accumulation of rainwater, or both.

The only words I could hear the fire captain say as they left were, "You should be okay for now. You know, mold is an issue you'll have to deal with."

***


Nov. '05 East Biloxi I only got to mention these worthy grassroots groups on the Mississippi Gulf Coast briefly before the holiday. Now, we are into the new year, please consider helping one or more of them if you can. In such a poor area, gifts as small as $20 go a long way! Although there has been some progress toward rebuilding casinos and homes for the rich post-Katrina, these groups represent the many people left out -- the working poor, disabled, ill, and those virtually without hope. Claywork by Julia 1. Mercy Housing and Human Development Utilizing integrated strategies to provide housing, community and economic development for low-income families of Mississippi. 2. North Gulfport Community Land Trust Dedicated to providing permanently affordable homeownership to residents in North Gulfport. 3. The Steps Coalition The mission of the Steps Coalition is to promote an equitable recovery and healthy, just, and sustainable communities in South Mississippi. 4. Back Bay Mission Founded in 1922, the mission has always kept the impoverished and marginalized at the center of its concern. 5. Mississippi Center for Justice An organization dedicated to advancing racial and economic justice. 6. NAACP Biloxi Branch 7. Living Independence for Everyone (LIFE) The Southeast's Regional disability resource center offers a wide range of resources, education, and advocacy to the community to help level the playing field for people with disabilities. 8. Moore Community House MCH works with the east Biloxi community assisting low-income neighbors with quality child care, family services & local economic development. 9. Sierra Club Mississippi My informant tells me: "All environmental orgs are really struggling down here, kind of hung out to dry. With oil and chemical companies making the people down here die of cancer, confused by intractable poverty/need for "job creation" and the good ol' boys' billfolds, local George Bush-style denial, it's a hard case to make. 10. St. Rose Outreach and Recovery Operates under the premise that no family can recover from Katrina until it has a safe and secure home in which to live. 11. Gulf Restoration Network Works on a variety of issues in keeping with its mission of protecting and restoring the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico. 12. Visions of Hope This traveling exhibit is an interactive and educational display that travels around the country to provide visitors, including breast cancer survivors and their families, with the most up-to-date information on breast cancer, detection, and treatment options.