Louisiana Recovery News 09.26.06 To navigate this document, please open your bookmarks to the left. NATIONAL NEWS 1. The New York Times, An Emotional Recovery, Lee Jenkins, September 26, 2006 2. The New York Times, With All Due Respect, ESPN Shows Its Softer Side, Richard Sandomir, September 26, 2006 3. The New York Times, New Orleans Hopes to Make Superdome A Home Again, Lee Jenkins, September 25, 2006 4. Washington Post, In New Orleans, a Reassuring Voice; Longtime Saints Announcer Will Be in Place for NFL's Return to Superdome, Les Carpenter, September 25, 2006 5. Houston Chronicle, The Superdome Reopens: A home game like no other; 13 months after Katrina, Saints and their fans settle in at restored dome with a win, David Barron, September 26, 2006 6. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Back home in the dome; Special homecoming symbolizes rebirth of New Orleans, Charean Williams, September 26, 2006 7. The Wall Street Journal, Murphy Oil to Pay $330 Million In Katrina Class- Action Suit, Betsy McKay, September 26, 2006 8. CongressDailyAM, House Likely To Pass Surplus Insurance Lines Bill Today, Bill Swindell, September 26, 2006 9. Chicago Tribune, New Orleans comes home to Chicago; Crescent City's wandering jazz artists reunite to let good times roll at Symphony Center, Howard Reich, September 25, 2006 LOCAL NEWS 1. New Orleans CityBusiness, Tsunami recovery outpaces Katrina rebuild, N.O. delegates say, Richard A. Webster, September 26, 2006 2. New Orleans Times-Picayune, WHAT A SHOW! Electrifying Saints Rout Falcons; Now 3-0, Jeff Duncan, September 26, 2006 3. New Orleans Times-Picayune, Network on top of Saints' return to Dome in the aftermath of Katrina, and city's recovery, undying spirit, Pierce W. Huff, September 26, 2006 4. The Shreveport Times, Reopening of Dome marks major turning point for New Orleans, John Hill, September 26, 2006 5. The Shreveport Times, Superdome reopening honors first-responders, John Hill, September 25, 2006 6. Associated Press Newswires, Fans Celebrate Superdome Reopening, Mary Foster, September 26, 2006 7. Associated Press Newswires, Louisiana down 175,100 jobs in year after Katrina, Alan Sayre, September 25, 2006 8. New Orleans Times-Picayune, Architects asked for riverfront inspiration; N.O. to 'reinvent' 4.5-mile section, Bruce Eggler, September 25, 2006 9. The Shreveport Times, Average teacher salary tops $42,000, Mike Hasten, September 26, 2006 OP-EDS/EDITORIALS 1. The Baton Rouge Advocate, Editorial: No quick fix for housing, September 26, 2006 2. New Orleans CityBusiness, Editorial: Saints fans savor historic rally, September 25, 2006 3. Bayou Buzz, Op-Ed: New Orleans Saints Superdome Win: An American Dream, Steve Sabludowsky, September 25, 2006 NATIONAL NEWS An Emotional Recovery The New York Times September 26, 2006 By Lee Jenkins NEW ORLEANS -- When Jimmy and Marilyn Felder walked into the Superdome at 5 p.m. on Monday, they were like anyone else trying to find their seats. But the Felders were not simply looking for the seats where they would watch the football game. They were also looking for the seats where they lived last August. On the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, as Hurricane Katrina peeled back the Superdome's 9.7- acre roof, the Felders were curled up in the field level, trying to sleep with little success. They could not block out the stench or the noise in the stadium. They could not stay dry with the rainwater dripping through the roof. They returned Monday, as new Saints season-ticket holders. The Felders, who fled the Superdome one day after the hurricane, wading through knee-high water to escape, were among the first fans rushing into the stadium when it reopened. ''A lot of people who were here are going to be afraid to come back,'' Jimmy Felder said. ''But we wanted to be here.'' Ninety seconds into Monday's game, the Saints rediscovered the meaning of home-field advantage. A reserve cornerback named Curtis Deloatch picked up a blocked punt in the end zone, and a year's worth of pent-up noise came pouring out. The Saints' victory over the Atlanta Falcons, 23-3, set off a Mardi Gras in September. Tom Benson, the owner who threatened to move the team to San Antonio last fall, danced under a parasol with the cheerleaders. The game ball was initially given to Avery Johnson, the Dallas Mavericks' coach, who grew up six blocks from the Superdome. But Johnson, who instructed the Saints before the game to ''seize the second,'' thought Benson deserved it more. The crowd of 70,003 was perhaps louder than U2 and Green Day combined. The two bands, which performed together before the game, tested the strength of the Superdome's new roof when they belted out a remake of the song ''The Saints Are Coming.'' As if on cue, the Saints came charging out of their tunnel, and the rock concert gave way to pure heavy metal. The crowd quieted only for a brief video presentation that included footage from Hurricane Katrina. The Felders were hoping to see the Saints beat the Falcons, but they also hoped to replace the image of the Superdome they had been carrying for more than a year. Back then, the stadium was a shelter that smelled of sewage. Now, it smells like a new car. Back then, two out of every three lights were out. Now, every bulb is new. Back then, chaos ruled. Now, chaos is limited mostly to the football field. On Atlanta's first possession, the Superdome sounded the way it did in the days of Pat Swilling and Rickey Jackson, when the Saints were famous for their defense. The Falcons ran three plays, then failed to get off a punt. ''It was like an explosion,'' said Deloatch, who recovered the blocked punt. ''It was like I just gave New Orleans a brand-new city.'' Each New Orleans touchdown was jammed with significance. The Saints scored on a double reverse in which the most devastating block was thrown by Drew Brees, a quarterback who is coming off shoulder surgery. Devery Henderson, who scored the touchdown, was knocked to the ground in the celebration. That block by Brees, surprising and defiant, may come to symbolize this season in New Orleans. With a 3-0 record, the Saints have already won as many games as they did all of last season, staking an early claim to first place in the National Football Conference South. Standing on the Saints' sideline Monday evening was Will Howland, an Army medic who was among 150 first-responders to be honored. Howland still has nightmares about the six days he spent in the Superdome. He said that some of his colleagues were still ''unable to function in real life.'' Then Howland pointed to the plaza section behind one end zone. That is where he treated a man who jumped 50 feet to his death. ''I dreaded this at first when they asked me to come back,'' Howland said. ''But I realized, having seen so much negative here, I had to see some positive.'' When the stadium doors opened, fans charged into the concourses, hollering as if their team had already won. Some wore construction helmets with Saints logos. Others carried parasols. One dressed as a nun. The most common sign: ''No Place Like Dome.'' Locals lined up Poydras Street on Monday afternoon, waiting to get into the Superdome, just as they had before the hurricane. They stood outside Gate A, just as they had before the hurricane. In the distance, the Hyatt Hotel was still missing windows. This time, no one was seeking refuge. They were heading to see the Goo Goo Dolls. The concert was held on a stadium ramp where evacuees stood last August, watching helicopters take off and land, transporting the sick and the elderly. ''The word homecoming will be redefined tonight,'' said Paul Tagliabue, a former National Football League commissioner. But only six miles from the Superdome, the Lower Ninth Ward was quiet. Besides a few construction workers, a couple of homeowners and a group from the Red Cross, no one seemed to be outside. The juxtaposition between the gleaming Superdome and the ravaged Lower Ninth Ward is evidence of two different New Orleans. Asked about the evacuees who had been in the Superdome during the hurricane and decided to come back to the stadium, receiver Joe Horn said: ''I was feeling their emotion. That's where my tears came from.'' The Felders are from New Orleans East, and when they could not bear the conditions at the Superdome, they walked through a parking lot, found dry land on Loyola Street, and were picked up by friends who drove them down to Baton Rouge. It took a football game Monday night for them to find their way back. With All Due Respect, ESPN Shows Its Softer Side The New York Times September 26, 2006 By Richard Sandomir One test of ESPN's many hours of pre-''Monday Night Football'' coverage of the Saints' return to New Orleans last night had to do with its level of sensitivity. Would the hype-driven ESPN show up at the Superdome or would it demonstrate a grasp of the dichotomy between the signs of French Quarter revival seen by tourists and what remains devastated as if Hurricane Katrina had struck a week ago? The need to show respect was stressed by Chris Rose, a columnist for The Times- Picayune, in an open letter on Sunday to the ESPN analyst Joe Theismann. ''We've got bigger issues than the Falcons to deal with,'' he wrote. ''We've got life.