WHY THE LEVEE FAILURES WERE SO CATASTROPHIC

On a recent work-related trip to New Orleans to attend the National Cartoonists Society convention, I joined with more than 100 other attendees to help with Habitat for Humanity efforts to rebuild affordable housing.

Before taking us back to the hotel, Habitat's driver took us through the still-devastated 9th Ward and we saw just how much still needs to be done to get this area back to something even remotely resembling a state of normalcy. Many communities are still without supermarkets or grocery stores.

The continuing impact of Hurricane Katrina was especially obvious as we crossed the Judge Seeber Bridge. Not only did the vantage point show exactly how high the water had been, but just a day or so earlier, malfunctioning gates allowed a New Orleans police officer to drive his car off the bridge and into the Industrial Canal below. His death sparked a wave of outrage over dilapidated infrastructure that had been in desperate need of repair even before Katrina hit the city.

Read a story about the death of Detective Tommie Felix in The Times-Pacayune.

View video "New Orleans Rebuilds."

ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to [e-mail].