UPDATES-CONTACTS- NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans WestBound



New Orleans
Gustave's Eye TIP from people who know New Orleans from the ground: Last Time, the Red Cross got reimbursed by FEMA and pocketed the money they collected. (the reporter from the ground said)...In my own research from years ago, there is plenty if you search to verify this pattern, Blogger...Stay tuned, I am trying to find the right info on the groups who can be trusted with our dollars...and the right way to contact them...IF you know of local groups you'd trust, give to them.

CONTACTS TO SEE HOW TO HELP ON THE GROUND IN & NEAR NEW ORLEANS
Kali Akuno 510.593.3956 (please text if no answer if possible) or kaliakuno@gmail.com
Lydia 314-537-0537 (C) 770-559-1461 land line
Molly 510-847-6101 (C)

How you can help (outside of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast):
1. Serve as a point of contact in your area for evacuees.

2. Help create safe and accessible relief networks and stations in your city/region. This is particularly going to be crucial for allies in Northern Louisiana, Jackson, and Memphis, where it appears most of the evacuees are going to be stationed. We hope to have identified the rest of the specific cities by this evening.

3. Serve as a media liaison for the support network and the forces staying in New Orleans.

If you or your organization can serve in one or more of these capacities please contact one of the following individuals and send your name, cell phone, land line, email address and relevant address information for relief stations.

Also you may email rolandgarret@aol.com who may be able to get you the info you need?

Many of the 30,000 people being rushed out of New Orleans tonight have no idea where they are goingBe wary of American Red Cross collections & help unless there is no choice and especially if there are other alternatives...More on this later...Check in with the folks who serve the poor day in and day out who are not so completely tied into the federal gov...now the International Red Cross is a different story...

Also From news dot infoshop dot org

Sunday, August 31 2008 @ 12:27 PM CDT
Breaking News Wire-Hurricane Gustav Breaking News

Hurricane evacuation in New Orleans seriously lagging, reports I-News collective member. Disabled people who are on the top of the list haven't been evacuated, with 48 hours to go before the hurricane hits.

Mayor Nagin tells people to "get the hell out," yet most poor residents of New Orleans don't have the money to travel, because it is the end of the month. The government didn't send aid checks this week and with stores closing this weekend, New Orleans residents left behind will have no access to food and water.

Homeless are being denied access to evacuation transportation if they don't have ID.

Authorities are guarding the Superdome and the Convention Center and won't let people near those buildings.

Hurricane Gustav projected to hit Louisiana late Monday night as a category 4 or 5 hurricane.

Article below on those without means or desire to leave...

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for THOSE with cars: Contraflow loosening up, moderate congestion on northbound lanes
by Molly Reid Sunday August 31, 2008, 11:40 AM Contraflow, in effect since 4 a.m. this morning, is running slow but smoothly, with moderate congestion on interstates 55 and 59 northbound, as well as Interstate 10 eastbound as it approaches the I-12/I-59 interchange.

I-10 eastbound remains closed past that interchange, with traffic being directed to I-59 northbound. Interstates 55 and 59 have had severe to moderate congestion throughout the morning. State Police have suggsted U.S. 51 northbound, which runs parallel to I-55 starting at the I-12 junction, and U.S. 11, which runs parallel to I-59 starting at the state line, as alternate routes.

Louisiana 22 is also bottlenecked as it approaches Interstate 12--Traffic along I-10 westbound is backed up slightly as it approaches the Bonnet Carre Spillway, but State Police report that it is relatively clear all the way to Baton Rouge. If needed, U.S. 61, also known as Airline Highway, is recommended as an alternate route to I-10 westbound. U.S. 61 runs parallel to the interstate until it reaches Interstate 110 in Baton Rouge. No major accidents or breakdowns reported along any contraflow lanes.
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call to support the evacuation of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav's potential landfall within the next several days. As many of you know, thousands of our people are presently evacuating the area. In the attempt to learn from preparedness shortcomings of Hurricane Katrina, a network of New Orleans activists, some whom have evacuated already and others whom are intent on staying are in the process of creating a support network which is in need of all our help.

See full article at iReport.com
Strapped for cash, some in New Orleans stay and hope (condensed)
By Ashley Fantz CNN

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana "You gotta make as much money as you can, because when we shut down -- and we're gonna shut down -- that's it for a long while," the 26-year-old said, exhaling, a dribble of sweat rolling into his mouth.

"The thing is," he continued, "most people don't have cars to leave, don't have money for gas. Pay for a hotel for that long? I mean, you have to do whatever you have to do, and I guess I'm gonna stay and work."

...Kennedy can't and others just won't leave. They are the few residents who did not make the tortoise crawl down Interstate 10 on Saturday.

"If I left, I'll probably lose my job," said Jeremiah O'Farrell, another dishwasher who is staying put. "I really don't have anywhere to go if I could leave.

"Really, how bad do you think it's gonna get?" he asked. "I've never been through one, and I'm not sure what to believe. You see the national weather people, and they're telling you it's gonna be really bad."

...Across town in the 9th Ward, a neighborhood decimated by Katrina, Sidney William climbs slowly out of his truck. He's 49 but moves like he's 20 years older.

"My legs hurt; my feet hurt a lot," he said. "It's not easy."

William wants desperately to leave his native New Orleans to avoid Gustav. He didn't leave for Katrina because he didn't have the money. He won't talk about what happened to him during that storm.

"I wish I had the money to go." Rejected for disability subsidies, he depends on his 23-year-old daughter, Gloria, to support the family.

"Lot of folks around here are gonna make do with what they have, and you won't hear a terrible amount of complaining," he said. "You can't just come in here and expect to hear people fussing about how they don't have nothing. People just be used to not having much, and so you don't even think too hard about it until someone starts asking you questions."

A neighbor, Victoria, says she has two Rottweilers who she's not willing to leave behind.

"Now, what do you think that would look like, me and my little car sitting there in traffic with two big old Rottweilers," she said, laughing.

Money is tight for her, too.

"Guess I'm just gonna wait. I just don't know. It's all stressful."

A woman who would only give her name as Bette, owner of an antiques store in the French Quarter, says outsiders can't understand. "It's hard to explain to someone who's not from here why anyone would choose to stay."

SEE MUCH MORE ON NEW ORLEANS AT THIS SITE...Keep tuning in!