October 15, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
As President Obama visits New Orleans today, federal support is needed for the community-development efforts that emerged since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city, write two grant makers in an opinion article in The Times Picayune.
The new work is “grounded in citizen leadership and philanthropic collaboration,” say James Joseph, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, and Phyllis Taylor, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Greater New Orleans Foundation.
They say the disaster has given the city an opportunity to solve often intractable social problems, like failing public schools, poor housing, and blighted neighborhoods. However, for real progress, the two write, more government aid is needed.
“President Obama’s administration has made great strides in removing the bureaucratic barriers slowing recovery,” the write. “Now we hope to hear a commitment to revitalization that paves the way for New Orleans to be a model of transformation for the rest of the country.”
What do you think? What is needed to make New Orleans a “model of transformation”?
