[StBernard] Times Picayune Urges La. Citizens to 'Give Thanks'

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana Recovery Authority



>From time to time the Louisiana Recovery Authority shares editorials and articles regarding issues surrounding the recovery. The New Orleans Times-Picayune issued the following editorial today urging Louisiana citizens to take part in the 'Louisiana Gives Thanks' <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/LouisianaGivesThanks/index.html>  campaign. Almost 1,200 Louisianians, so far, have signed a thank you letter to the President, members of Congress and the American people. 

To sign, click here <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/LouisianaGivesThanks/index.html!> .



Times-Picayune Editorial: Thanks a Billion



BATON ROUGE, La (November 15, 2007) - This week the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) launched the "Louisiana Gives Thanks" <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/LouisianaGivesThanks/index.html>  campaign to say "thank you" to members of Congress, President Bush and the American people for their support of the state's recovery from the devastating effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The deadline to sign the letter of thanks is Wednesday, November 21. 

The editorial from the New Orleans Times-Picayune urging Louisianians to participate in the "Louisiana Gives Thanks" campaign is below in its entirety.


November 15, 2007

Louisiana has several billion reasons to thank Congress this week, and state officials are working to make sure the message gets across. 

Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal were in Washington Tuesday to visit with Senate leaders and thank them for their help with a $3 billion bailout of the Road Home program and other recovery aid. 

Tuesday happened to be the day President Bush signed the defense bill that included the Road Home money, so it was an appropriate moment to express thanks. The money is essential for thousands of Louisianians to be able to get the housing grants they need to rebuild their lives.

To emphasize the message delivered by Gov. Blanco and Gov.-elect Jindal, the Louisiana Recovery Authority launched the Louisiana Gives Thanks campaign Tuesday. Anyone can go to the LRA Web site at lra.louisiana.gov and click on a link to send letters of thanks to Congress and the Bush administration for the ! recovery aid coming our way. 

The federal money is only just, given the breadth of the damage in South Louisiana and the fact that a large portion was caused by the failure of federal levees. 

Even so, the approval of another $3 billion in Road Home money and the authorization of more than $7 billion in levee and coastal restoration work is a positive development. More than two years after Katrina and Rita, these actions are a sign that the federal government hasn't forgotten us. These votes are also a demonstration that the current Congress is making good on promises leaders made when they were elected a year ago to help this region continue to recover. 

The vast damage in South Louisiana will take time to repair, and residents here will need the continuing help of the federal government to make a full recovery. For now, we should all take a moment and say thank you for the immense help we've gotten so far.


To participate in the "Louisiana Gives Thanks" campaign visit: http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/LouisianaGivesThanks/index.html <http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/LouisianaGivesThanks/index.html>  

To view the editorial on the Times-Picayune Web site visit: http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/editorials/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1195109529300180.xml&coll=1 <http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/editorials/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1195109529300180.xml&coll=1>  

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. 

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