Finished? It's Just Starting

Twice in one sentence may be a record for "Katrina-ing" the story of what happened to the Crescent City. But wait, there's more.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

EDINBURGH--The wave of Katrina anniversary stories is upon us, and with it the latest flurry of conflations of "Katrina"--the hurricane that whacked the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast--with the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans caused by the design and construction flaws of the supposed hurricane protection supposed system inflicted on the city by the Army Corps of Engineers. I'll be merciful to both you and myself, and not inflict every instance of this persistent sloppy journalism during the next week or so, but an early harbinger is this piece from McClatchy (formerly Knight-Ridder) Newspapers, which starts off badly enough....

A year ago, Hurricane Katrina wiped away Clement Richardson's apartment in New Orleans East. Today, he lives 11 miles away in a gleaming white government trailer in his parents' front yard. He's in a different neighborhood, but one equally devastated by the hurricane.

Twice in one sentence may be a record for "Katrina-ing" the story of what happened to the Crescent City. But wait, there's more.

Residents suffer aggravations small and large. They drive miles out of their way for a cup of coffee or a bite from McDonald's.

Yes, that's what really bugs true New Orleanians, the long drive for a Big Mac. Too bad there's no other food around.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot