Say howdy to 'Reliant City,' population 24,900

[YoungRemy]

unbelievable how organized they are down there in Houston, they are giving the Dome its own Zip Code and they set up a post office, folks are changing their addresses and registering for school. virtually no bureacracy, the mayor of H-town won't let media past a certain point, it is all business over there, I wouldn't be surprised if many survivors stay in Texas for good...

September 05, 2005
Say howdy to 'Reliant City,' population 24,900

Houston's Unified Command today announced that there's a "zoning plan" for what they're calling "Reliant City," which consists of four locations:

. Dome City 17,500 residents
. Center City 3,800 residents
. Arena City 2,300 residents
. George R. Brown City 1,300 residents

They say that with 24,900 total residents, the Reliant Park Complex is now the largest evacuation shelter in U.S. history.

They are planning to set up typical neighborhood amenities such as a Welcome Center, Banking Center, Reliant Town Square Park, Reliant City Medical Center, a Transit Center with Metro Transit Authority and HISD school bus stops.

The Reliant Town Square will include a playground, sports field and laundry facilities. The Salvation Army will construct several refreshment centers east of Dome City.

Construction completion goal is Friday.

According to the Harris County Department of Education, more than 4,000 school-aged children are expected to register this week and will start classes Sept. 12.

The Reliant City Medical Center will take 100,000 square feet of empty warehouse space, with 70 patient treatment spaces open 24 hours a day. The clinic is seeing an average of 1,400 patients per day, and has treated more than 5,100 patients in the past four days.

http://blogs.chron.com/domeblog/

[synch]

Impressive stuff. I'm glad they are finally doing some proper damage control.

[BionicEye]

That's incredible... I hope we hear more good news like that

[infidel]

The Nation -- Finally, we have discovered the roots of George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism."

On the heels of the president's "What, me worry?" response to the death, destruction and dislocation that followed upon Hurricane Katrina comes the news of his mother's Labor Day visit with hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston.

Commenting on the facilities that have been set up for the evacuees -- cots crammed side-by-side in a huge stadium where the lights never go out and the sound of sobbing children never completely ceases -- former First Lady Barbara Bush concluded that the poor people of New Orleans had lucked out.

"Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them," Mrs. Bush told American Public Media's "Marketplace" program, before returning to her multi-million dollar Houston home.

On the tape of the interview, Mrs. Bush chuckles audibly as she observes just how great things are going for families that are separated from loved ones, people who have been forced to abandon their homes and the only community where they have ever lived, and parents who are explaining to children that their pets, their toys and in some cases their friends may be lost forever. Perhaps the former first lady was amusing herself with the notion that evacuees without bread could eat cake.

At the very least, she was expressing a measure of empathy commensurate with that evidenced by her son during his fly-ins for disaster-zone photo opportunities.

On Friday, when even Republican lawmakers were giving the federal government an "F" for its response to the crisis, Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown. As thousands of victims of the hurricane continued to plead for food, water, shelter, medical care and a way out of the nightmare to which federal neglect had consigned them, Brown cheerily announced that "people are getting the help they need."

Barbara Bush's son put his arm around the addled FEMA functionary and declared, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

Like mother, like son.

Even when a hurricane hits, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20050906/cm_thenation/120080

[FunkyHiFi]

I didn't vote for Bush, but all the times I've heard his mother talk I've never personally noticed anything arrogant or elitist about her like the above article is alluding to. IMO whoever wrote that piece is trying to do a major spin job.