My grandparents lived on Avenue C in Westwego until their deaths a few years ago. As a child each of us 3 grandchildren would take turns spending a week with my grandparents and the highlight of EVERY day was walking down the street to the Sno-ball stand. We literally watched the clock waiting for them to open. I dont' think I've ever had a Hansen's but nothing beats a New Orleans style sno ball!

Dewey, I am sure from Reno it is easy to judge. I suggest that you come down here and live this disaster to get the full extent of what has happened.
Insurance money-what a joke! It took me six months to settle up with my insurance carrier and I AM AN ATTORNEY. I was one of the lucky ones. I was just able to start work on my home three weeks ago and, believe me, I have pushed to the limit to even have that done. Have you ever tried to call to have a leak in your roof fixed and been frustrated by how long it might take for a roofer to show up? Try calling to have your entire roof replaced when 50,000 other people are trying to have the same thing done!
You mention billions of dollars in aid that has come to this area. Very little federal dollars have actually been put in to the hands of homeowners to be used for reconstruction of their homes. I know of no one that has received any federal aide for this purpose yet.
Put on top of this the mental toll that this disaster has taken on people. You need to realize that many of the individuals that lost everything were elderly. Imagine the difficulty these individuals have in addressing their homes.
Don't get me wrong. Some individuals have yet to address their homes. But, to criticize the pace of this recovery shows that your clearly have no clue.

To Dewey Quong from Reno:

From reading your blog, I can see that either you've never been to NOLA or you went and did not appreciate the complexity and beauty of the culture there. "What's with all the stories???" Are you kidding?

If you've been reading the updates on MSNBC and other venues about the insurance money, many of these companies are fighting the people who desperately need these funds in order to rebuild. they're citing technicalities in contracts, etc., and it's a travesty that they have to be victimized a second time - first by the hurricane, and second by the insurance companies they trusted would help them through a tragedy.

And, if you've been reading these stories about the rebuilding on MSNBC, then you would know that slowly but surely there is a lot of rebuilding going on there and that the wonderful people who make up New Orleans are fighting to get their lives back.

I live in New York, and although it's been close to five years since the World Trade Center was hit, the rebuilding only began last year. I know many people here who still can't go back into the city because of post-traumatic stress.

Things take time, and stories such as this one only energize the desire to pull through and see that even for those who had nothing, that there is a light at the end of this long tunnel.

So stop talking about things you have no idea about.

Dewey wants to know why we aren't rebuilding. Here's one example:

A friend's house is in Uptown New Orleans. It took at least six feet of water. Searchers chopped a hole in the roof to look for survivors (the family had already evacuated), so the upper story was affected as well.

First, flood insurance is separate from other policies, so everyone affected has to file two claims for a single property, and deal with at least two adjusters, each of which want to show that the damage was caused by something other than what they're liable for.

Second, while some policies pay directly to the claimant, others (like my friend's) pay settlements to whatever entity holds the mortgage, which then reimburses my friend after varying amounts of repairs are made. So my friend, who has had to find and pay for alternate housing as well as rebuild his business (he's one of those local business owners), also has to finance his own repairs.

That's why it's taking longer than expected. Believe me, it's no one's choice.

I've lived away from New Orleans for 19 years now...and, you know, it's not so much the spicy food I miss...it's the Sno-Balls! and a Hansen's Sno Blizz was the treat that made living in the sweltering heat worth it!

My favorite comes in Tulane colors -- half bubble gum, half spearmint.

Thanks for the memory of the New Orleans Sno-Ball experience. I lived on Plum St. in Uptown as a child in the 1950's and went to Lusher Elementary School. The Plum Street Sno-Ball stand was just one block away. Eggnog, Sperament, Cream of Coconut and Cream of Necter were just some of my favorits. The shaved ice and unusual flavors could not be found anywhere else. After moving away I came back to New Orleans in later years to visit relatives and brought my own children to the Plum Street Sno-Ball stand. This was usually one of our first stops. This Sno-Ball stand was near Tulane University and Sophie Newcomb College, and there was always activity around this area. New Orleans is a city of unique neighborhoods unlike any other in the South and the Sno-Ball stand in each neighborhood was one of the real landmarks.

What's with the continuing stories of NOLA? If the local government in NO wanted to fix the city they would. The city council should go out and post notices on all closed homes and businesses and say they have x days to start repairs and continue those repairs on their property or the city will tear down the building and send the owner the bill.

Billions of dollars have poured into NO by the government, Red Cross, volunteers and others. Granted that lot of the money went to house, feed and clothes the victims and lots more was wasted, but what happened to the insurance money?

Insurance is bought to rebuild after a disaster, why aren't the people who have collected using the money to rebuild? Instead we see video of block upon block of empty damaged homes.

Brian, Steve, NBC - where is all the money being spent? Why are there still so many closed building and businesses? Who is rebuilding and where?

It's been almost a year since the first drop of water hit NO; where's the progress in reconstruction? What are the people waiting for?

It's great that one business is back and running and I'm sure you'll have another story next month about another business but in the meantime what about the rest of the city?