Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Plaquemines Parish at 6:10 am on this date 20 years ago. She brought widespread flooding and devastation. Saint Bernard Parish had Parish President Louis Pomes (Louie POE-mez) was an employee of the parish at the time. He was amazed at how fast the water rose as a result of breaches in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
Cut 8 (12) “…as it was pushing.”
One of the lasting images of the Katrina aftermath was when Lieutenant General Russel Honoré as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina shouted, “weapons down, weapons down, dammit!” to police officers who he says were acting on orders from Governor Blanco to shoot anyone they found looting. Honoré said he told Blanco to rescind that order.
Governor Kathleen Blanco took a lot of criticism for the state’s response to Katrina. It was a major factor in her decision not to run for re-election. He communications director, Bob Mann says there were failures at all levels of government, but FEMA’s role was to provide federal resources to states dealing with a disaster, and that didn’t happen.
This is the lowest gas prices have been for a Labor Day weekend in five years. Triple-A’s Don Redman says the statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.79, which is 20 cents lower than a year ago. Redman says motorists are enjoying the lowest price at the pump in five years, despite a slight increase over the last week.
Cut 10 (08) “…Labor Day weekend.”
Redman says once we move into September, he expects prices to decline again.