[StBernard] Stream of politicians to visit to commemorate Katrina anniversary

[Westley Annis]

Stream of politicians to visit to commemorate Katrina anniversary
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS - Separate tours Thursday by the Senate's top Democrat and the
U.S. education secretary to commemorate the one-year anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina will begin a string of similar visits, including a
scheduled stop by President Bush next week.


U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid,
D-Nev., were scheduled Thursday to tour two Chalmette, La., schools and meet
with a St. Bernard Parish couple restoring their home destroyed by the storm
and subsequent flooding.

Katrina struck Aug. 29, 2005.

Only about 20,000 of 70,000 people have returned to the parish southeast of
New Orleans, where 129 people died and all but three of 27,000 buildings
flooded.

Also Thursday, White House Katrina recovery czar Donald Powell and Education
Secretary Margaret Spellings were scheduled to take part in a round-table
discussion with higher education officials in New Orleans.

Bush will spend two days on the Mississippi Gulf coast and in New Orleans
next week.

The president will be in Mississippi on Monday to have lunch with community
leaders, walk through a storm-affected neighborhood and deliver a speech on
the rebuilding effort before traveling to New Orleans, where he's scheduled
to have dinner with state and local officials and spend the night.

On Tuesday, Bush is scheduled to attend a prayer service in New Orleans and
conduct a round-table discussion of an effort headed by first lady Laura
Bush to restock Gulf Coast libraries.