[StBernard] Governor Blanco creates Louisiana Recovery Authority

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana Recovery Authority 
The Board of Directors


Dr. Norman Francis, 
Chairman

Walter Isaacson, 
Vice-Chairman

Dale Atkins 
Donna Brazile
Philip Burguières
Rene Cross
James Davison
Donna Fraiche
Tom Henning
Sibal Holt
Linda Johnson
John Landry
Laura Leach
Walter Leger, Jr.
Dr. Calvin Mackie
Mary Matalin
Sean Reilly
Virgil Robinson, Jr.
Dr. Mary Ella Sanders
Matt Stuller
Susan Taylor
David Voelker
Rod West

	

FACTS ABOUT LOUISIANA 
AFTER HURRICANES 
KATRINA AND RITA

*	1.5 million people displaced 
*	81,000 businesses disrupted and at risk 
*	At least 200,000 homes to be replaced 
*	Schools, universities, hospitals and transportation infrastructure
damaged, destroyed or overwhelmed 
*	Severe financial fallout throughout the state 
*	Massive environmental damage

Governor Blanco creates 
Louisiana Recovery Authority	
Appoints Board of Directors to oversee recovery 

BATON ROUGE-Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced the creation
of the Louisiana Recovery Authority as the guiding agency to lead the
state's rebuilding efforts. The authority will focus on key state issues
such as housing, jobs, transportation, healthcare and education. 

"The effort to restore our state requires a daring, yet realistic plan. A
plan based on input from people in all walks of life. A plan created from
the ground up. A plan driven by local needs. A plan inspired by innovation,"
said Governor Blanco. "We cannot simply re-create what the storms destroyed.
We must make the new Louisiana smarter, safer and stronger." 

Governor Blanco tapped her point-person on recovery, Chief of Staff, Andy
Kopplin to head the agency. 

Governor Blanco also appointed a distinguished 24-member Board of Directors
to oversee the authority and to direct short and long term recovery plans.
As advisors to the Governor, the board will seek public input and will set
benchmarks to gauge progress. 

Governor Blanco appointed long-time president of Xavier University and
respected New Orleans leader Dr. Norman Francis to chair the board. For
vice-chairman, Governor Blanco selected renowned journalist and author
Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute and former
chairman of CNN. 

"I have charged these two distinguished leaders to harness the energy of the
entire board and put forth strong, aggressive initiatives," says Governor
Blanco. "The Louisiana Recovery Authority will help me bring the entire
state together in the effort to rebuild Louisiana. It will be a unified
voice with the single focus on rebuilding. It will show the nation that we
can work across all of the old boundaries that once kept us apart."

	
The authority will also focus on issues such as infrastructure, economic and
workforce development, family services and the environment.  

	
It will be largely staffed by state employees on loan from cabinet agencies.
Operating with unprecedented financial accountability, the authority will
coordinate the rebuilding across all levels of government, and will support
community recovery and resurgence. 

The Governor today charged the board and the authority with specific tasks.

IN 7 DAYS:

*	Complete placement of staff in key senior positions, drawing
primarily from existing state agencies; 
*	Set dates for preliminary planning meetings with parishes and/or
regions; 
*	Initiate daily meetings with cabinet; 
*	Create preliminary list of short-term priorities; 
*	Identify a nationally recognized planning firm for the planning
process; 
*	Schedule American Institute of Architects conference on the
Louisiana recovery and rebuilding; 
*	Schedule U.S. Chamber of Commerce Redevelopment Summit; 
*	Set benchmarks for contracting performance and local hiring by FEMA,
GSA, and Corps of Engineers.

IN 30 DAYS:

*	Refine and present a comprehensive, unified State agenda for
Congressional and State legislative actions to assist in the following
areas: 

	*	Financial solvency of our most impacted parishes and local
governments; 
	*	Prioritize federal appropriations to meet Louisiana's most
critical recovery and redevelopment needs, including: levee reconstruction
and improvement; transportation infrastructure; business assistance; job
creation; permanent housing assistance; and Medicaid relief.

	*	Work with the Attorney General's office to enact a
contractor and real estate fraud task force to educate and protect our
citizens from predatory practices and prosecute offenders to the maximum
extent of the law; 
	*	Establish and implement a means of providing our citizens
and communities with direct input into how their communities are rebuilt; 
	*	Implement a communication plan to reach evacuees dispersed
throughout the nation, to keep them informed of our progress and to bring
them home; 
	*	Propose a strategy for increasing in-state capacity for
housing redevelopment; 
	*	Construct a planning framework to reopen schools to serve
returning populations; 
	*	Initiate business recovery, retention, and attraction
efforts; 
	*	Provide the means to train and link displaced Louisiana
residents with available recovery and redevelopment jobs.

IN 100 Days:

*	Work with our federal partners to ensure that Congress and the Corps
of Engineers deliver a plan for levee reconstruction and improvement so
crucial investments and rebuilding decisions can be made; 
*	Create and roll out a locally-driven, state-wide recovery plan to
serve as the basis for prioritizing resources in the recovery period; 
*	Craft a plan to relocate into permanent housing all residents
currently in temporary lodging; 
*	Restore critical governmental functions in affected parishes as
needed to serve returning populations, to include judicial systems, public
safety, sanitation, healthcare, and education for our children; 
*	Create a strategy for the establishment of permanent public
institutions - such as schools, hospitals, and healthcare clinic - that,
beyond restoration, achieve the highest standards of performance; 
*	Complete an environmental evaluation of damages caused by the
hurricanes, and develop preliminary recommendations on how to proceed; 
*	Design neighborhoods that meet the comprehensive needs of our
citizens while restoring and enhancing the cultural and historic fabric of
our communities.


### 

The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Louisiana's fund for
Louisiana's people, has been established by Governor Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco in order to support long-term family restoration and recovery and
help provide assistance to our citizens in need through a network of
Louisiana charities and non-profit agencies. 

1-877-HELPLA1 (877-435-7521) www.louisianahelp.org