Articles by Cain Burdeau

New Orleans Residents: Police Shortage a Mardi Gras Security Risk

Throughout the quieter parts of the French Quarter, residents and businesses have posted signs that read “Caution: Walk in Large Groups. We (heart) N.O.P.D. We Just Need More.” It’s an unsettling message about violent crime in the Big Easy for …

Louisiana Auditor: Work Needed Still on Tracking Hurricane Aid

Louisiana has a long way to go to make sure that more than a billion dollars in housing aid has been used properly by the thousands of people who got federal help from the catastrophic 2005 hurricane season, according to …

Big Bill for Levee Upkeep Comes to New Orleans

In the busy and under-staffed offices of New Orleans’ flood-control leaders, there’s an uneasy feeling about what lies ahead. By the time the next hurricane season starts in June of 2013, the city will take control of much of a …

Louisiana Senator Blasts BP, Coast Guard Over Spill Cleanup

Louisiana’s Republican U.S. senator recently blasted oil giant BP PLC for what he called its attempt to run from its full cleanup responsibilities for the nation’s worst offshore spill, the 2010 disaster that left the Gulf Coast heavily oiled. U.S. …

Another Disaster Brings Candidates to Gulf Coast

Mitt Romney wasted no time after accepting the GOP presidential nomination in heading to Louisiana to see the damage from Hurricane Isaac, changing his schedule on the fly to get there the very next day. President Barack Obama also tweaked …

Days After Isaac, Flooding and Outages Remain

Much of a finger-shaped parish southeast of New Orleans was still covered with floodwater on Sept. 2 and more than 200,000 people across Louisiana still didn’t have any power, five days after Isaac ravaged the state. Thousands of evacuees remained …

Thousands Evacuated as Isaac Floods Outside New Orleans

Isaac continued to pour unrelenting rain on Aug. 30, flooding areas north and south of New Orleans even as the city’s fortified defenses held and forcing officials to launch speedy evacuation and rescue efforts in the face of fast-rising waters. …

Millions Spent on Upkeep of Empty Katrina Lots

More than 3,000 lots flooded by Hurricane Katrina and bought with federal money in an emergency bailout sit idle across this city — a multimillion-dollar drain on federal, state and city coffers that lends itself to no easy solution. An …

Officials: New Orleans Ready for Hurricanes

The Army Corps of Engineers — responsible for the massive rebuilding of hurricane protection after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — and leaders from around the metropolitan area say they’re working closely on emergency planning as the new …

Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles

Gloom infects the hard-working shrimp and crab docks of this gritty fishing town as the second full year of fishing since BP’s catastrophic oil spill kicks into high gear. Usually folks are upbeat and busy in May, when shrimpers get …