Obama Vows to Rebuild New Orleans

NPR has this exciting little gem about a recent comment by President Obama during his first trip to The Big Easy that expresses Obama's desire to help rebuild New Orleans.

While Student Hurricane Network does its part to try and ramp up on the ground assistance, it looks like the White House will be a strong ally in top-down action, too.

We hope this help will be strong and swift.

Read the article here.

Galveston Recovering, but Still Faces Problems

GALVESTON, Tex. — There are many signs that this seaside town has revived a year after Hurricane Ike flooded more than 17,000 homes and businesses. The big resorts are humming again, and on hot days people throng the newly restored beaches. The port is open, and the cruise ships are back. Most of the businesses on the Strand, the island’s historic strip of shops and restaurants, have reopened.

Yet the progress has been slow, and officials say it may be several years before the city fully recovers.

With the debris cleared, the main thoroughfares appear now much as they did before the storm, but on the backstreets, thousands of residents — in particular the poor and elderly who lacked insurance — are still struggling with the lingering effects of the hurricane.

Continue reading the article at the New York Times...

First Fundraiser Huge Success!

A big congratulations to the Student Hurricane Network volunteers yesterday for their efforts in raising over $800 in donations for our work this winter in the Gulf!

First Fundraiser Coming Up!

Are you ready to get out there and help U of I students provide legal aid to the Gulf Coast? Help out at our first football fundraiser this Saturday! Those Cards don't stand a chance!

September 12, 2008: University of Illinois v. Illinois State University

For more information, email: mille125@law.illinois.edu

Grand Jury Probing Post-Katrina NOLA Police

Katrina continues to have legal consequences in the Big Easy. It's likely that SHN might not be able to provide assistance on this when we head down for our week of volunteering, however, this is yet another thing to keep in mind when people say to you that New Orleans can't be hurting anymore after all this time.

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

For the past several months, the federal building on Poydras Street has seen a steady stream of New Orleans police officers trudge in and out, all of them testifying before grand jurors gathering evidence of possible civil rights violations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina -- allegations that center on police misbehavior.

Federal agents, meanwhile, have been studying police e-mails and documents obtained by subpoena -- as well as through a surprise search warrant executed on the New Orleans Police Department homicide office -- in an attempt to ferret out exactly what happened in the chaotic days after the storm.

Continue reading this article here.

The State of the Levees

As most of you know, Gustav left New Orleans in relatively good shape, despite some flooding, compared to Katrina. Nevertheless, the 2008 Hurricane Season is not over and a large hurricane could very well be disastrous for New Orleans. To learn more about the state of the levees and their potential to withstand future storms, listen to NPR's story, Can New Orleans Weather Another Storm?

Upcoming Fundraising Events

September 11, 2008: Burrito Bar (with PILF) at the College of Law, during Peer's Pub

September 20, 2008: Car Wash Fundraiser, 10 AM until 3 PM (approximately), at Advance Auto Parts (corner of Main & Vine, Urbana) Advance Auto Parts is in front of the Schnucks in Urbana.