…because you knew that somehow, I was going to blame some of this on the pinhead:
In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding.
It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans district, Corps officials said.
“I’ve been here over 30 years and I’ve never seen this level of reduction,” said Al Naomi, project manager for the New Orleans district. “I think part of the problem is it’s not so much the reduction, it’s the drastic reduction in one fiscal year. It’s the immediacy of the reduction that I think is the hardest thing to adapt to.
“There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.”
Money is so tight the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people, instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions. The freeze is the first of its kind in about 10 years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps’ Programs Management Branch.
About the only thing missing is a memo entitled “Hurricane Determined To Strike In U.S.”. (“But he gets those kinds of memos all the time! How could he know to take it seriously?”)
(Via Suburban Guerrilla.)
And just imagine how screwed Louisiana and New Orleans would’ve been if the area hadn’t been in the Bush (and Republican) column in the last election.
Of the 16 easternmost parishes in Louisiana (the ones most affected by Katrina), only 5 went in the Kerry/Edwards column with a combined total of 371,724 votes compared to the 443,779 votes from the 11 Bush/Cheney parishes. Of the 6 parishes which seem to have been on the storm’s direct track, only 1 went to Kerry/Edwards–the total vote from the parishes was 270,102 for Kerry/Edwards compared to 274,337 for Bush/Cheney.