Of Local Interest

The Advocate reports that an eyesore on East Boulevard is about to go the way of all things:

Demolition of the East Boulevard apartment complex is expected to take 80 days. The demolition of both East Boulevard and Oklahoma Street is set to be completed by July 22, Murray said.

One of the routes I take to work passes right by this complex. It is an example of all that is wrong with public housing--the project was poorly designed, poorly built, and fell apart quite rapidly once completed. For years it teetered between partial occupancy and abandonment, finally being boarded up a couple of years ago.

Something tells me that in spite of being officially condemned, there were likely a few folks sharing space with the roaches, rats, and assorted species common to South Louisiana.

Good riddance to this project, and here's hoping the almost $19 million dollar grant associated with the demolition and reconstruction will produce housing of higher quality. In fact, the entire area, commonly known as "The Bottoms" (so named because it lies on "bottom land" that originally was bordered by a natural levee that defined the outer limit of the Mississippi River during flood stage) could and should be the recipient of reconstruction grants. I've argued before that if Bush wanted to engage in the kind of nation building that he's so keen to do in Iraq, he should have tried it first RIGHT HERE in the USA. There are a lot of places that could use the money, and the folks wouldn't be attacking us with RPG's. It would also accomplish something that George the Second is apparently unable to figure out how to do: strengthen the economy.

I'd even consider letting Halliburton in on some of the gravy under those circumstances.