http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/monte ... 868294.htm

Posted on Mon, Oct. 10, 2005

Let evacuees rebuild New Orleans, Jackson says

By Phillip O'Connor

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

(KRT) - ST. LOUIS - The Rev. Jesse Jackson called on Monday for Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina to receive priority when it comes to jobs, job training and contracts in the region's reconstruction.

He criticized the administration of President George W. Bush for failing to have a plan to help evacuees quickly return and participate in the economic opportunities now available there. Instead, that work is being awarded under no-bid contracts, he said.

"Just as there was no mass plan for rescue and there was a botched plan of radical dislocation, there's no plan to return those who have been dispersed around the country," Jackson said.

Jackson spoke after his bus caravan arrived downtown Monday morning to pick up Hurricane Katrina survivors in the area who wanted to return home to work. The trip started early Monday in Chicago with stops planned in Memphis, Jackson and Mobile before arriving in New Orleans. Jackson said he had housing and jobs lined up for 600 people.

Organizers said three people boarded the bus in St. Louis. Two spoke Spanish only.

Barry Lambert, 60, said he was eager to get back to his New Orleans home on St. Andrews Street in the Garden District. He has been living for three weeks at the Alton Mental Health Center. He knows his home is probably ruined by mold.

"I'm afraid to open the refrigerator," he said. "I had just bought five pounds of shrimp. I think I'll just wheel it straight out to the street."

As he talked in the parking lot of the Old Cathedral, Lambert held his companion of 11 years, a small black dog he called Spare Rib.

Lambert lived in New Orleans 26 years and delivered pizzas by bicycle in the French Quarter before the storm. He doesn't know what his new job will be.

He thanked Jackson for the ride home and the opportunity to work again.

"It's one way to get back and get started rebuilding," he said.

Jackson said he spoke Monday morning to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Nagin's main concern was housing. Jackson said returning residents should be given priority to live on nearby military bases and in hotels and trailers.

Jackson said there are a surplus of jobs in the Gulf Coast region. Some companies are offering bonuses to people who agree to stay a year. But in too many cases, because of the massive dispersal plan, Gulf Coast residents are stuck in evacuation centers in places such as Utah, Michigan or Illinois.

"You cannot really get from Utah to a construction job or a fast food job or a hotel job in New Orleans," Jackson said.

Bush, who was in New Orleans Monday, has acknowledged some shortcomings in the federal government's response to Katrina. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced last week it would reopen $1.5 billion in no-bid contracts to competitive bidding. The president also called for the government to do a better job of arranging temporary housing for those displaced by the hurricane.