Eve Troeh

Disasters are causing more and more damage, and the federal government is spending more and more money to rebuild afterwards.

But before the construction crew can begin repairs, homeowners face months-long delays and poor customer service in the preliminary stages of the application process. Some homeowners even complain that the rebuilding process has become as traumatic as the storm itself.

This week, hundreds of Louisiana shrimpers say they’re leaving their boats parked, and their shrimp nets dry.

The Louisiana Shrimp Association announced a voluntary five-day work stoppage. The goal? To get shrimp processors to pay a higher price.

WWNO continues its series “Behind the Test” with a look at test security. The paper booklets, and students’ answers inside, can determine things like teacher pay or the very existence of a school. It takes a lot of effort — and people — to keep the testing materials secure through delivery, administering the test, turning them in and then scoring.

The booklets and answer sheets for Louisiana’s LEAP tests come from a company called Data Recognition Corporation in Minnesota. When the Recovery School District's tests arrive they go straight to a warehouse.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Over the weekend New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu celebrated a big reelection victory. In triumph, the mayor reflected on the city's recovery from Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

President Barack Obama visited the Port of New Orleans on Friday, Nov. 8, delivering a speech on the state of the economy and the vitality of the nation's ports, and touching on future infrastructure spending and the Affordable Care Act.

The full text of the President's remarks, as provided by the White House Press Office:

BP is fighting the settlement it agreed to last summer that let the oil company avoid thousands of potential lawsuits over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Just after the spill, when oil was still gushing into the Gulf, BP touted the $20 billion it set aside for claims. But now it says the claim process is corrupt and is hoping a court will overturn the settlement that established the claims fund.

Ending the claims would mean stopping a well-oiled machine.

Almost any kind of comeback gets New Orleans excited, since the city lost so much in the flood after Hurricane Katrina. That goes especially for food.

One year ago Saturday, New Orleans lost a beloved brand when Hubig's pie bakery burned to the ground. The hand-held, fruit-filled crescents, fried golden-brown, had been delivered fresh to more than 1,000 local stores each morning.

Pie fans have come out in droves to support the company. But it takes more than T-shirts and fond memories to restart a business from scratch.

Last year when New Orleans' main paper, The Times-Picayune, laid off dozens of newspaper employees and cut its circulation to three times a week, residents were shocked.

Sharron Morrow and her friends had bonded over the morning paper at a local coffee shop for the past 20 years.

"I've stopped my subscription, and I mourn the paper almost every day," she says.

Shifting Media Players

A year ago today, news leaked that The Times-Picayune would cease daily publication, cut staff and focus on its website, NOLA.com. The paper and ink edition now hits doorsteps and newsstands just three days a week: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.