tonight, from New Orleans,
President Obama says
the government will not forget
this city or its people five
years after Katrina devastated
the gulf coast.
>> It was a natural disaster,
but also a man-made catastrophe.
>> I'm Russ Mitchell.
Also tonight, a force for
change,
the new top cop here battles a
history of corruption inside the
New Orleans police force.
Rescue efforts are set to begin
to save those trapped Chilean
miners, as the government seeks
a plan to reach them sooner.
And pitching in: the legendary
music makers of New Orleans and
how they helped rebuild this
city.
This is the "cbs evening news"
with Russ Mitchell.
>> And good evening
from New Orleans.
August 29, 2010: it has been a
cloudy, rainy day here, but no
match at all for what this city
saw on August 29 five years ago
when hurricane Katrina rolled in
with a vengeance.
In the next 30 minutes, we'll
take a look at New Orleans'
past, present and future.
But we begin, the news of the day.
President Obama ended his
vacation this Sunday and came
here to New Orleans to pay his
respects and make some promises.
Here is senior white house
correspondent Bill Plante.
>> Fresh from their
vacation on Martha's vineyard,
the Obama family's first stop
was for lunch.
>> I'm going to try this
alligator sausage.
>> Like most of the
city, this popular restaurant
was underwater after Katrina
roared through.
At historically black Xavier university,
another successful rebound story,
Mr. Obama hailed
the city's renaissance but
admitted New Orleans still has a
long way to go.
>> There's still too many people
unable to find work, and there's
still too many New Orleanian
folks who haven't been able to
come home.
I wanted to come here and tell
the people of this city
directly: my administration is
going to stand with you and
fight alongside you, until the
job is done, until New Orleans
is all the way back.
>> The President also
touched on the latest gulf
disaster, promising to monitor
B.P. until the damage from the
oil spill is reversed.
A CBS news poll shows that a
large majority believes the
government is not prepared to
deal with another hurricane as
powerful as Katrina.
Visiting a public housing
development later, the President
met with Maude Smith.
Rescued from her home in the
projects by boat, Smith went to
the Superdome and to Houston
before returning home.
The President promised today to
finish building a new levee
system for the city by next
year, and also to restore the
wetlands damaged by Katrina in
the oil spill.
Historian Doug Brinkley says the
administration is not moving
quickly enough on the wetlands
and the levee system.
>> We've got to figure out due
to replenishing the wetlands and
improving the levee system.
we have to continue doing this
at a faster rate if we're going
to actually save this city in
the long run.
>> Something that will
take a long time indeed.
For the President, though, this
visit today not just about
the anniversary of Katrina; it
was an opportunity to show what
his administration has done
compared to the spectacular
failure of government five years
ago.
Russ?
>> Now the president
heads back to washington and
back to work.
>> Vacation is over.
>> Okay, Bill Plante,
Thank you very much.
Of course, hurricane Katrina
took a huge toll, taking the
lives of more than 1800 people,
leaving 80% of New Orleans
underwater and costing $135
billion dollars in damage to homes,
businesses and infrastructure.
but today New Orleans celebrated
its survival, as we hear from
Mark strassmann.
>> Just as Katrina
tried to bury New Orleans,
people here tried to bury
Katrina ceremonially.
in dozens of ceremonies this
weekend, Katrina survivors
remember Katrina's dead and
their own true grit.
Katrina was the near death of a
major city.
Americans elsewhere watched
spellbound and outraged.
The desperation...
>> and they will not give us
nothing.
>> they're shooting you for
water.
>> the martial law...
>> hey!
>>the air-sea rescues.
For days, thousands of people
scared an scarred were cut off
from hope itself.
Joyce is the face of this city's
never-say-die spirit.
on Katrina's anniversary
weekend, she finally got her
house back, rebuilt by
volunteers.
>> this is my hallway.
ah, a tub!
a bathtub.
>> She's earned a
good, long soak.
for almost five years, this was
home: a fema trailer on her
front lawn.
>> And I'm forever grateful that
I can get back in my house
today.
>> These my friends forever.
>> That gratitude and
resilience also mark this march
through the city's lower ninth
ward.
But three-fourths of the homes
here were never rebuilt.
100,000 people who fled the city
have never come back, and almost
1,000 families here still live
in fema trailers.
>> These are people who own
homes, they made it.
you know, in America, it’s hard
to own a home.
and if they are not back, what
about folks who will save it.
>> In a changed city,
joyce represents the march of
progress day-by-day.
>> now that i have a house, oh,
my.
>> goodbye to Katrina!
>> Despite this mock
funeral, it will be years before
New Orleans truly buries the
ghost of Katrina.
Then again, by now, some people
here are sick of even talking
about Katrina.
Their attitude: move on.
but for most people here,
getting past Katrina is a lot
easier than getting over it.
Russ?
>> Mark Strassmann,
Thank you very much.
Just last week the u.s.
Justice Department announced
it is investigating charges
that New Orleans police were
ordered to shoot to kill
looters in the aftermath of
Katrina.
It is theatest in a long
line of accusations against
the police force here.
but the city has a new
leader who has pledged to
clean it up.
>> If we follow the rules
and we tell the truth, we
can work through almost
anything.
>> He has been on
the job for just four
months.
In may this 30-year career
officer was sworn in as new
Orleans new police chief.
>> Do you feel the pressure?
>> I feel the pressure to
ensure that we never make
the same mistake.
>>He spent 20
years on the force here.
was the city's deputy chief before leaving
together Washington State
police in 2001 and later,
six years as the top cop in
Nashville.
>>I believe in policing.
I think it's the most noble
profession on the planet.
>> The New Orleans
police department is reeling
from allegations of murder,
conspiracy and civil rights
violations in the cayoltic
days following hurricane
Katrina.
When the storm hit, dozens
of police abandoned their
posts.
CBS news cameras caught
others apparently looting
stores.
More than 500 officers were
fired or disciplined for
their actions.
>> My child is never coming
back, never, ever.
>> Shareel Johnson's son, 17-year-old
james, seen here in the only
photo to survive the storm,
was shot six times by police
while crossing the danzinger
bridge five days after the
storm.
Police claimed self-defense.
Five officers have pleaded
guilty to covering up the
shooting.
Four others have been
indicted and could receive
the death penalty if convicted.
>> Everything it happened
in danzinger that is
admitted in the court is an
insult to the community.
>> But efforts are
being made to clean up the
force.
18 current and former
officers are under federal
indictment.
The Justice Department has
launch at least eight
separate investigations and
has stepped in to overhaul
the entire police force.
Some things are past said
this city needs.
>> I think there
is no question that the New
Orleans experience points
that out.
No question that New Orleans
was a city that needed this
desperately.
>>Even before
Katrina New Orleans was one
of the most violent cities
in America.
Today the city's murder rate
is down from its post
Katrina record.
But New Orleans still ranks
as the nation's murder
capital.
Crimes like theft and
burglary are down 10%.
and police recruitment is
up.
Bringing the its force back to
near preKatrina levels.
>> How realistic it that you
and your crew can turn this
around.
>> I think it is absolutely
a done deal.
He served the pass aggressive.
>>65 point pl
to improve the department.
Opening up meetings to the
public.
Appointing a civilian to
head the public integrity
unit for the first time.
Creating a community
outreach program.
and introducing zero
tolerance code of conduct.
>> If you lie, we are going to fire you.
If you fail to report
misconduct,
we're going to fire you.
>> He says there still a
long way to go, but he's not
second-guessing his decision
to come home.
>>I am convinced that going
home was the right thing for
me.
My family, my children, and
the family's and children of
the city of New Orleans.
I'm here to make a
difference and that's what I
do every day.
>> We want to tell you about
three storms in the Atlantic
that are not as dangerous as
Katrina. Hurricane
Danielle weakened to a
category 1 but Earl grew
into a full-fledged
hurricane.
Fiona is forming behind
them.
The predicted storm track
would bring Earl to the east
coast this week where high
tides and rip currents have
already arrived.
Oversea two more U.S.
servicemens were killed
today in bombs in
Afghanistan.
Raising the u.s. death toll
for the weekend to 7.
30 insurgents wearing
American uniforms were
killed in attacks yesterday
on two bases in coast
province.
It was 1 week ago today that
we learned 33 men trapped in
a gold and copper mine in
chile since august 5th were
alive.
Rescuers are making final
preparations to bring
drilling an escape path.
Seth Doane has more.
>> Tomorrow
workers hope to start
grinding through this part
of the Chile's desert to
begin drilling the rescue
tunnel.
It will be 26 inches wide
and bore nearly 2300 feet
down to where the miners are
trapped.
Engineers are also now
discussing a plan B,
possibly another rescue
tunnel to reach the miners
faster.
Still officials say rescue
could be three months away.
So to fight bore dumb
rescuers are sending down
games and even mp 3 players.
when a camera was lowered 30
to check on the miners, they
seemed in good spirits.
>>This clear euphoric
reaction is really
transient.
It's to the going to last.
>> Psychiatrist
Jeffrey Leiberman says the
worry is what happens if the
rescue drags on.
>> There needs to be a
steady stream of
communication with the
surface to provide them some
anchor in reality.
>> Help coping
below ground may come from
lessons learned high above
it NASA is sending experts
to chile tomorrow.
>> NASA has had a long
experience in dealing with
isolated environments.
>> While spiritual
support came today from the
Pope himself.
Near the drill site, the
vigils have not stopped.
Most feel all they can do is
pray.
Seth Doane, CBS news, New
York.
And still ahead
on tonight's "CBS evening
news", the community at
ground zero for Katrina
still has a long way to go,
but we found seeds of hope.
>> While New
Orleans got most of the
attention for the
destruction cause by
hurricane Katrina, the storm
actually roared to shore
first at Plaquemines Parish
nearly wiping that Louisiana
community off the map.
Tragically the first place
hit has been the last to be
rebuilt.
as Michelle Miller learned.
>> When the surge
stopped and winds waned,
Peggy Martin's home and the
garden she spent a lifetime
cultivating were gone.
>> Inside was chaos.
>> But it was totally
looked like Hiroshima.
>> Katrina made
landfall in lower Plaquemines Parish,
accessible mostly
by ferry, and 65 miles south
of New Orleans.
Three people died.
Two of them, Martin's
80-year-old parents.
>> They found them in the
front yard over here, both
about 50 yard as part.
>> Before Katrina,
about 15,000 people lived on
the Parish's east and south
end.
Today it's about 3500.
Some low-lying communities
look like ghost towns.
Nearly 700 families are
still living in mobile homes
and fema trailers.
Oysterman Gary Bartholomew
lost his home and boat.
He didn't return to the east
bank fishing village for
three years and says little
has been done.
>> This community is still
devastated.
>> The bulk of the
more than 600 million in
Federal recover money is
gone to the more populated
north section of the Parish.
Leaving those in the lower
section feeling neglected.
>> Do they have schools.
>> No.
>> Do they have courthouses?
>> No.
>> Parish president Billy Noneguesser
says he also feels the
frustration. I understand,
you know, they want to see
more things back down here.
It's going to take a long
time.
>>In Plaquemines
rebuilng this fragile
infrastructure is taking
longer than elsewhere.
New Orleans levy-- levee
system is area away from
being ready.
Levees like this one in
south Plaquemines Parish are
five years behind.
And this year the B.P. oil
spill again stalled the
economic lifeline of the
Parish, shutting down once
bustling marinas.
>> Byron Encalade
President of louisiana
oysterman association
believes the community will
survive.
>> This is our home.
when you have nowhere else
to go, you have no other
choice but to buck around
and get it done.
>>There are signs
of progress.
a handful of public
buildings have opened.
Churchs are being rebuilt
And the only restaurant, the
black velvet oyster bar in
the lower Parish which was
completely destroyed is
opened.
For Peggy Martin, the
devastating loss of family
and home came to be
symbolized in the death of
her prized rose bush.
It had survived a month
underwater but was destroyed
by bulldozers cleaning up
debris.
Or so she thought.
>> What is this
here?
>> Those are just weeds.
>> This?
>> It's alive!
>> A smile sign of
life in a place looking for
hope.
Michelle Miller, CBS news,
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
>> Here in the
south there has been a
sweltering summer.
But it's the northeast
that's been setting heat
records.
A new study shows 28 cities
and towns from Caribou,
Maine, to New York city,
Washington D.C. and
Philadelphia set record high
average temperatures for
march through august.
And we'll be back.
Here in
Louisiana Republicans
senator David Bitter easily
won his party's nomination.
and in percent Virginia
Democrats picked governor
Joe Mansion in the race to
fill the senate seat held by
the late senator Robert
Byrd.
Republicans chose
businessman John Racey.
In a controversy move the
Los Angeles times today
published its own list
of 6,000 elementary teachers
ranked according to
effectiveness in raising
institute test scores.
The paper used raw data
obtained from the Los
Angeles school district.
In downtown phoenix a sudden
rainstorm triggered a
massive chain reaction car
crash.
Almost 70 vehicles collided
on slippery interstate 10.
7 people were injured.
none seriously.
>> And just ahead on
tonight's "CBS evening news",
Music.
They call the language of
New Orleans.
How it has helped to survive
the city.
And welcome
back to New Orleans.
Most of the actual
reconstruction of this town
has been a accomplished by
carpenters, plumbers and
masons.
Of course other workers have
pitched in as well.
Musicians have poured their
talent and energy into
revifering the city's spirit.
Five years ago
today new orleans jazz
legend Kermit Ruffins was in
Housto Texas.
It took him four months to
get back home.
What was the time like for
you personally.
>> horrible, couldn't wait
to get home.
>>So on this
fifth anniversary of
hurricane Katrina, he's
doing just that.
?if you've never been to
New orleans ?
?it's the nicest city
you've ever seen ?
>> One good thing that came
out of Katrina is that the
world got a chance to see
and hear New Orleans music.
>> And while some
areas devastated by Katrina
are still suffering.
>> That is where the levees
broke.
>> Like Kermit's
lower ninth ward
neighborhood and most of the
area east of New Orleans,
musicians have helped
revitalize the spirit and
economy of the cit
Last year more than 7
million people visited new
Orleans and spent more than
$4 billion.
That's up from 2006 which
only saw 4 million tourists
spending less than $3
billion.
>>They're from England and
they came to give a hand.
from England over here.
>> And they are
coming to clubs like urban.
This gramy
award-winning musician is a
cultural ambassador for new
Orleans.
>> Is New Orleans back?
>> New Orleans has absorbed
hurricane Katrina.
It's a part of her.
>>Urban lost a
part of himself in the
storm.
His father was killed.
He says he now has a greater
appreciation for the city.
>> I have a tremendous level
of gratitude for a city that
has given me some of.
so if I can give back 1% of
what the city has given me,
I felt like I would have
done something.
>> This is my first one.
>> It is a
legendary neighborhood where
musicians past and
present togather.
It is such a pleasure
running into you here.
>> We ran into
Lloyd Price who in 1950 said
shall did -- wrote Lordy
misclawedy.
>> How would you describe
fternity of musicians
here in New Orleans.
>> I think it's the greatest
ever.
I don't think there's nobody
as musician here's in this
town.
>> Generations of
musicians that are now
ensuring the deep tradition
of New Orleans music won't
fade away.
What made so you confident
that New Orleans would come
back?
>> I didn't have a doubt
that the people were going
to be rushing back down here
to move in and be back home.
>> And that is the
"CBS evening news."
I'm russ mitchell from the
balcony of the Royal Vanessa
hotel in New Orleans.
Harry Smith will anchor the
evening news tomorrow.
good night.
President Obama says
the government will not forget
this city or its people five
years after Katrina devastated
the gulf coast.
>> It was a natural disaster,
but also a man-made catastrophe.
>> I'm Russ Mitchell.
Also tonight, a force for
change,
the new top cop here battles a
history of corruption inside the
New Orleans police force.
Rescue efforts are set to begin
to save those trapped Chilean
miners, as the government seeks
a plan to reach them sooner.
And pitching in: the legendary
music makers of New Orleans and
how they helped rebuild this
city.
This is the "cbs evening news"
with Russ Mitchell.
>> And good evening
from New Orleans.
August 29, 2010: it has been a
cloudy, rainy day here, but no
match at all for what this city
saw on August 29 five years ago
when hurricane Katrina rolled in
with a vengeance.
In the next 30 minutes, we'll
take a look at New Orleans'
past, present and future.
But we begin, the news of the day.
President Obama ended his
vacation this Sunday and came
here to New Orleans to pay his
respects and make some promises.
Here is senior white house
correspondent Bill Plante.
>> Fresh from their
vacation on Martha's vineyard,
the Obama family's first stop
was for lunch.
>> I'm going to try this
alligator sausage.
>> Like most of the
city, this popular restaurant
was underwater after Katrina
roared through.
At historically black Xavier university,
another successful rebound story,
Mr. Obama hailed
the city's renaissance but
admitted New Orleans still has a
long way to go.
>> There's still too many people
unable to find work, and there's
still too many New Orleanian
folks who haven't been able to
come home.
I wanted to come here and tell
the people of this city
directly: my administration is
going to stand with you and
fight alongside you, until the
job is done, until New Orleans
is all the way back.
>> The President also
touched on the latest gulf
disaster, promising to monitor
B.P. until the damage from the
oil spill is reversed.
A CBS news poll shows that a
large majority believes the
government is not prepared to
deal with another hurricane as
powerful as Katrina.
Visiting a public housing
development later, the President
met with Maude Smith.
Rescued from her home in the
projects by boat, Smith went to
the Superdome and to Houston
before returning home.
The President promised today to
finish building a new levee
system for the city by next
year, and also to restore the
wetlands damaged by Katrina in
the oil spill.
Historian Doug Brinkley says the
administration is not moving
quickly enough on the wetlands
and the levee system.
>> We've got to figure out due
to replenishing the wetlands and
improving the levee system.
we have to continue doing this
at a faster rate if we're going
to actually save this city in
the long run.
>> Something that will
take a long time indeed.
For the President, though, this
visit today not just about
the anniversary of Katrina; it
was an opportunity to show what
his administration has done
compared to the spectacular
failure of government five years
ago.
Russ?
>> Now the president
heads back to washington and
back to work.
>> Vacation is over.
>> Okay, Bill Plante,
Thank you very much.
Of course, hurricane Katrina
took a huge toll, taking the
lives of more than 1800 people,
leaving 80% of New Orleans
underwater and costing $135
billion dollars in damage to homes,
businesses and infrastructure.
but today New Orleans celebrated
its survival, as we hear from
Mark strassmann.
>> Just as Katrina
tried to bury New Orleans,
people here tried to bury
Katrina ceremonially.
in dozens of ceremonies this
weekend, Katrina survivors
remember Katrina's dead and
their own true grit.
Katrina was the near death of a
major city.
Americans elsewhere watched
spellbound and outraged.
The desperation...
>> and they will not give us
nothing.
>> they're shooting you for
water.
>> the martial law...
>> hey!
>>the air-sea rescues.
For days, thousands of people
scared an scarred were cut off
from hope itself.
Joyce is the face of this city's
never-say-die spirit.
on Katrina's anniversary
weekend, she finally got her
house back, rebuilt by
volunteers.
>> this is my hallway.
ah, a tub!
a bathtub.
>> She's earned a
good, long soak.
for almost five years, this was
home: a fema trailer on her
front lawn.
>> And I'm forever grateful that
I can get back in my house
today.
>> These my friends forever.
>> That gratitude and
resilience also mark this march
through the city's lower ninth
ward.
But three-fourths of the homes
here were never rebuilt.
100,000 people who fled the city
have never come back, and almost
1,000 families here still live
in fema trailers.
>> These are people who own
homes, they made it.
you know, in America, it’s hard
to own a home.
and if they are not back, what
about folks who will save it.
>> In a changed city,
joyce represents the march of
progress day-by-day.
>> now that i have a house, oh,
my.
>> goodbye to Katrina!
>> Despite this mock
funeral, it will be years before
New Orleans truly buries the
ghost of Katrina.
Then again, by now, some people
here are sick of even talking
about Katrina.
Their attitude: move on.
but for most people here,
getting past Katrina is a lot
easier than getting over it.
Russ?
>> Mark Strassmann,
Thank you very much.
Just last week the u.s.
Justice Department announced
it is investigating charges
that New Orleans police were
ordered to shoot to kill
looters in the aftermath of
Katrina.
It is theatest in a long
line of accusations against
the police force here.
but the city has a new
leader who has pledged to
clean it up.
>> If we follow the rules
and we tell the truth, we
can work through almost
anything.
>> He has been on
the job for just four
months.
In may this 30-year career
officer was sworn in as new
Orleans new police chief.
>> Do you feel the pressure?
>> I feel the pressure to
ensure that we never make
the same mistake.
>>He spent 20
years on the force here.
was the city's deputy chief before leaving
together Washington State
police in 2001 and later,
six years as the top cop in
Nashville.
>>I believe in policing.
I think it's the most noble
profession on the planet.
>> The New Orleans
police department is reeling
from allegations of murder,
conspiracy and civil rights
violations in the cayoltic
days following hurricane
Katrina.
When the storm hit, dozens
of police abandoned their
posts.
CBS news cameras caught
others apparently looting
stores.
More than 500 officers were
fired or disciplined for
their actions.
>> My child is never coming
back, never, ever.
>> Shareel Johnson's son, 17-year-old
james, seen here in the only
photo to survive the storm,
was shot six times by police
while crossing the danzinger
bridge five days after the
storm.
Police claimed self-defense.
Five officers have pleaded
guilty to covering up the
shooting.
Four others have been
indicted and could receive
the death penalty if convicted.
>> Everything it happened
in danzinger that is
admitted in the court is an
insult to the community.
>> But efforts are
being made to clean up the
force.
18 current and former
officers are under federal
indictment.
The Justice Department has
launch at least eight
separate investigations and
has stepped in to overhaul
the entire police force.
Some things are past said
this city needs.
>> I think there
is no question that the New
Orleans experience points
that out.
No question that New Orleans
was a city that needed this
desperately.
>>Even before
Katrina New Orleans was one
of the most violent cities
in America.
Today the city's murder rate
is down from its post
Katrina record.
But New Orleans still ranks
as the nation's murder
capital.
Crimes like theft and
burglary are down 10%.
and police recruitment is
up.
Bringing the its force back to
near preKatrina levels.
>> How realistic it that you
and your crew can turn this
around.
>> I think it is absolutely
a done deal.
He served the pass aggressive.
>>65 point pl
to improve the department.
Opening up meetings to the
public.
Appointing a civilian to
head the public integrity
unit for the first time.
Creating a community
outreach program.
and introducing zero
tolerance code of conduct.
>> If you lie, we are going to fire you.
If you fail to report
misconduct,
we're going to fire you.
>> He says there still a
long way to go, but he's not
second-guessing his decision
to come home.
>>I am convinced that going
home was the right thing for
me.
My family, my children, and
the family's and children of
the city of New Orleans.
I'm here to make a
difference and that's what I
do every day.
>> We want to tell you about
three storms in the Atlantic
that are not as dangerous as
Katrina. Hurricane
Danielle weakened to a
category 1 but Earl grew
into a full-fledged
hurricane.
Fiona is forming behind
them.
The predicted storm track
would bring Earl to the east
coast this week where high
tides and rip currents have
already arrived.
Oversea two more U.S.
servicemens were killed
today in bombs in
Afghanistan.
Raising the u.s. death toll
for the weekend to 7.
30 insurgents wearing
American uniforms were
killed in attacks yesterday
on two bases in coast
province.
It was 1 week ago today that
we learned 33 men trapped in
a gold and copper mine in
chile since august 5th were
alive.
Rescuers are making final
preparations to bring
drilling an escape path.
Seth Doane has more.
>> Tomorrow
workers hope to start
grinding through this part
of the Chile's desert to
begin drilling the rescue
tunnel.
It will be 26 inches wide
and bore nearly 2300 feet
down to where the miners are
trapped.
Engineers are also now
discussing a plan B,
possibly another rescue
tunnel to reach the miners
faster.
Still officials say rescue
could be three months away.
So to fight bore dumb
rescuers are sending down
games and even mp 3 players.
when a camera was lowered 30
to check on the miners, they
seemed in good spirits.
>>This clear euphoric
reaction is really
transient.
It's to the going to last.
>> Psychiatrist
Jeffrey Leiberman says the
worry is what happens if the
rescue drags on.
>> There needs to be a
steady stream of
communication with the
surface to provide them some
anchor in reality.
>> Help coping
below ground may come from
lessons learned high above
it NASA is sending experts
to chile tomorrow.
>> NASA has had a long
experience in dealing with
isolated environments.
>> While spiritual
support came today from the
Pope himself.
Near the drill site, the
vigils have not stopped.
Most feel all they can do is
pray.
Seth Doane, CBS news, New
York.
And still ahead
on tonight's "CBS evening
news", the community at
ground zero for Katrina
still has a long way to go,
but we found seeds of hope.
>> While New
Orleans got most of the
attention for the
destruction cause by
hurricane Katrina, the storm
actually roared to shore
first at Plaquemines Parish
nearly wiping that Louisiana
community off the map.
Tragically the first place
hit has been the last to be
rebuilt.
as Michelle Miller learned.
>> When the surge
stopped and winds waned,
Peggy Martin's home and the
garden she spent a lifetime
cultivating were gone.
>> Inside was chaos.
>> But it was totally
looked like Hiroshima.
>> Katrina made
landfall in lower Plaquemines Parish,
accessible mostly
by ferry, and 65 miles south
of New Orleans.
Three people died.
Two of them, Martin's
80-year-old parents.
>> They found them in the
front yard over here, both
about 50 yard as part.
>> Before Katrina,
about 15,000 people lived on
the Parish's east and south
end.
Today it's about 3500.
Some low-lying communities
look like ghost towns.
Nearly 700 families are
still living in mobile homes
and fema trailers.
Oysterman Gary Bartholomew
lost his home and boat.
He didn't return to the east
bank fishing village for
three years and says little
has been done.
>> This community is still
devastated.
>> The bulk of the
more than 600 million in
Federal recover money is
gone to the more populated
north section of the Parish.
Leaving those in the lower
section feeling neglected.
>> Do they have schools.
>> No.
>> Do they have courthouses?
>> No.
>> Parish president Billy Noneguesser
says he also feels the
frustration. I understand,
you know, they want to see
more things back down here.
It's going to take a long
time.
>>In Plaquemines
rebuilng this fragile
infrastructure is taking
longer than elsewhere.
New Orleans levy-- levee
system is area away from
being ready.
Levees like this one in
south Plaquemines Parish are
five years behind.
And this year the B.P. oil
spill again stalled the
economic lifeline of the
Parish, shutting down once
bustling marinas.
>> Byron Encalade
President of louisiana
oysterman association
believes the community will
survive.
>> This is our home.
when you have nowhere else
to go, you have no other
choice but to buck around
and get it done.
>>There are signs
of progress.
a handful of public
buildings have opened.
Churchs are being rebuilt
And the only restaurant, the
black velvet oyster bar in
the lower Parish which was
completely destroyed is
opened.
For Peggy Martin, the
devastating loss of family
and home came to be
symbolized in the death of
her prized rose bush.
It had survived a month
underwater but was destroyed
by bulldozers cleaning up
debris.
Or so she thought.
>> What is this
here?
>> Those are just weeds.
>> This?
>> It's alive!
>> A smile sign of
life in a place looking for
hope.
Michelle Miller, CBS news,
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
>> Here in the
south there has been a
sweltering summer.
But it's the northeast
that's been setting heat
records.
A new study shows 28 cities
and towns from Caribou,
Maine, to New York city,
Washington D.C. and
Philadelphia set record high
average temperatures for
march through august.
And we'll be back.
Here in
Louisiana Republicans
senator David Bitter easily
won his party's nomination.
and in percent Virginia
Democrats picked governor
Joe Mansion in the race to
fill the senate seat held by
the late senator Robert
Byrd.
Republicans chose
businessman John Racey.
In a controversy move the
Los Angeles times today
published its own list
of 6,000 elementary teachers
ranked according to
effectiveness in raising
institute test scores.
The paper used raw data
obtained from the Los
Angeles school district.
In downtown phoenix a sudden
rainstorm triggered a
massive chain reaction car
crash.
Almost 70 vehicles collided
on slippery interstate 10.
7 people were injured.
none seriously.
>> And just ahead on
tonight's "CBS evening news",
Music.
They call the language of
New Orleans.
How it has helped to survive
the city.
And welcome
back to New Orleans.
Most of the actual
reconstruction of this town
has been a accomplished by
carpenters, plumbers and
masons.
Of course other workers have
pitched in as well.
Musicians have poured their
talent and energy into
revifering the city's spirit.
Five years ago
today new orleans jazz
legend Kermit Ruffins was in
Housto Texas.
It took him four months to
get back home.
What was the time like for
you personally.
>> horrible, couldn't wait
to get home.
>>So on this
fifth anniversary of
hurricane Katrina, he's
doing just that.
?if you've never been to
New orleans ?
?it's the nicest city
you've ever seen ?
>> One good thing that came
out of Katrina is that the
world got a chance to see
and hear New Orleans music.
>> And while some
areas devastated by Katrina
are still suffering.
>> That is where the levees
broke.
>> Like Kermit's
lower ninth ward
neighborhood and most of the
area east of New Orleans,
musicians have helped
revitalize the spirit and
economy of the cit
Last year more than 7
million people visited new
Orleans and spent more than
$4 billion.
That's up from 2006 which
only saw 4 million tourists
spending less than $3
billion.
>>They're from England and
they came to give a hand.
from England over here.
>> And they are
coming to clubs like urban.
This gramy
award-winning musician is a
cultural ambassador for new
Orleans.
>> Is New Orleans back?
>> New Orleans has absorbed
hurricane Katrina.
It's a part of her.
>>Urban lost a
part of himself in the
storm.
His father was killed.
He says he now has a greater
appreciation for the city.
>> I have a tremendous level
of gratitude for a city that
has given me some of.
so if I can give back 1% of
what the city has given me,
I felt like I would have
done something.
>> This is my first one.
>> It is a
legendary neighborhood where
musicians past and
present togather.
It is such a pleasure
running into you here.
>> We ran into
Lloyd Price who in 1950 said
shall did -- wrote Lordy
misclawedy.
>> How would you describe
fternity of musicians
here in New Orleans.
>> I think it's the greatest
ever.
I don't think there's nobody
as musician here's in this
town.
>> Generations of
musicians that are now
ensuring the deep tradition
of New Orleans music won't
fade away.
What made so you confident
that New Orleans would come
back?
>> I didn't have a doubt
that the people were going
to be rushing back down here
to move in and be back home.
>> And that is the
"CBS evening news."
I'm russ mitchell from the
balcony of the Royal Vanessa
hotel in New Orleans.
Harry Smith will anchor the
evening news tomorrow.
good night.
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