[StBernard] Governor Blanco attends The Road Home community meetings

[Westley Annis]

Governor Blanco attends The Road Home community meetings 

BATON ROUGE, LA - Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and the Louisiana
Recovery Authority (LRA) will host community meetings in Southeast and
Southwest Louisiana to gain feedback from citizens on The Road Home housing
plan. The meetings will be held from 3-9 pm Wednesday, April 12, 2006 in the
New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and the Lake Charles Civic Center. 

Governor Blanco will arrive at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts
at approximately 4:30 pm to participate in the New Orleans community
meeting. At approximately 7:30 pm the governor will arrive at the Lake
Charles Civic Center to participate in the Lake Charles community meeting. 

Community Meetings on The Road Home housing plan Wednesday, April 12, 2006
3-9 pm

Southeast Louisiana
New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA Riverside) 2800 Chartres
Street New Orleans, LA

Southwest Louisiana
Lake Charles Civic Center
900 Lakeshore Drive
Lake Charles, LA 

These community meetings will provide a key opportunity for Louisianians to
have a voice in the development of The Road Home housing program.
Participants will be asked to share their thoughts and ideas about the
housing plan through feedback forms, notes placed on discussion boards and
one-on-one discussions with staff. 

The meetings are being held in conjunction with the housing plan's 10-day
public comment period, which began Thursday and lasts through April 17.
These events will serve as one of many opportunities citizens will have to
provide comments and feedback on the proposed housing plan. Since the plan
was introduced in February, comments have been collected through the LRA
website and at Housing Task Force meetings. Throughout the official comment
period, copies of the plan will also be distributed at request and made
available online at www.louisianarebuilds.info
<http://keelson.eatel.net/websites/la.gov/action.cfm?md=communication&task=a
ddClick&msg_ID=1410&ID=d%21j9k2mgl%5Dm%3B&redirect=http://www.louisianarebui
lds.info> . 

The information collected at these meetings and throughout the public
comment period will help shape the proposed housing plan before it is
submitted to the Louisiana Legislature and the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) for final approval. 

The Road Home, first introduced by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco in
February, was designed by the LRA in conjunction with the Office of
Community Development and national housing experts. The plan would provide
up to $150,000, minus insurance payments and FEMA assistance, to repair,
rebuild, take a buyout or relocate, or sell homes. The proposal also
includes a plan for repairing and rebuilding affordable housing through
incentives for rental property owners and developers. 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, destroying more than
200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses and inflicting about $25 billion in
insured losse s. The Louisiana Recovery Authority was created in the
aftermath of these storms to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding
efforts in the world. The LRA, a 33-member body appointed by Governor
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to identify and prioritize short- and long-term
needs of the recovery, is the planning and coordinating body that will
assist in implementing the Governor's vision for the recovery of Louisiana.
It will seek out and value local input as it plans and implements the
recovery. 


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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's
People www.louisianahelp.org