New Orleans Resident: “At This Point We're Just Looking For Basic Services”...

Associated Press Michelle Roberts August 25, 2006 at 10:00 PM
READ MORE: Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane

First came the floodwaters, then the paperwork. Billions of promised federal dollars to fix New Orleans' crumbling infrastructure have gone largely untapped a year after Hurricane Katrina. City officials complain that a snarl of red tape, restrictions and unexpectedly high costs have kept hundreds of public buildings in disrepair, streets pocked with potholes and most parks too dirty for children to play.

"It's an incredible bureaucracy. It's unbelievable," Mayor Ray Nagin said in an interview with The Associated Press this week.

READ WHOLE STORY Newt Gingrich: "It Was Katrina That Broke The Sense That The Republicans Could Govern Well''...

Hurricane Katrina's flood waters have long since receded. The human toll and political wreckage wrought by the killer storm continue to haunt George W. Bush almost a year later.

As the president and still-reeling Gulf Coast residents prepared to mark Katrina's anniversary, political experts say that dismay over Bush's response to the disaster continues to undermine public confidence in his managerial abilities.

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