Vegas, baby!
No one can doubt the long hours the New Orleans Police Departement has put in under impossible conditions. They have seen devastation and been put under stresses that most cops don't experience in an entire career.
They deserve a break -- a day or two off to recharge and regroup. But free trips to Vegas?
According to the New York Times, Mayor Nagin is planning to send 1,500 cops, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel on five-day vacations to Atlanta and Las Vegas. The tab will be picked up by the City of New Orleans.
Officials explain that Vegas was chosen as a site because of the available hotel rooms. That may be true (yet, there are no available rooms in, say, Phoenix, Philly, or Chicago?), but the optics and politics on this are horrendous. Has Nagin ever heard of Nero?
Perhaps the Vegas choice has something to do with the politics of the casinos that were destroyed. Maybe their parent corporations, like Harrahs, are helping with the tab.
As to the need, I can tell you from my exchanges with the wife of the NO Fire Chief, they MUST get some of these volunteers off their feet, if not out of the area. The suicide rate for those folks is beginning to climb. It is directly connected to both the rising death toll, discovery of bodies and the shoot-to-kill order on top of the curfew.
ds
September 5, 2005 9:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
After what they went through I don't care if the city of New Orleans sent them for month long vacations on the French Riviera, they would deserve it.
The police and fire personnel in NOLA are in for a long and arduous time. Countless thousands of corpses will be found, disease will be rampant and they will be constantly surrounded by misery and death for the forseeable future. To be perfectly honest I can't imagine how they are going to psychologicly deal with what the reality of what lay ahead for them in the next year plus. I think week long trips to Vegas might be in order every other month, on the city's tab.
September 5, 2005 10:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
From The Baton Rouge Advocate. Wednesday, August 31, 2005
"NEW ORLEANS -- At 4:30 a.m., New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass shouted into hotel ballrooms and meeting rooms where stranded guests are camped out, 'We need all the men to get downstairs to protect the food.'
"About 150 Hyatt Regency New Orleans guests, marooned by Hurricane Katrina, went down to a loading dock where they met five rental trucks bringing in gas grills, pallets of water, duct tape, boxes of food and gas cans.
"Guests and hotel security formed a human chain on both sides of each truck and began passing the supplies down the line to forklifts waiting to move the goods into the hotel.
"About 1,000 people are staying in the hotel, including National Guard troops and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin."
I wonder if the Mayor's going to go along to the party in Las Vegas, too.
September 5, 2005 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's more to connect Las Vegas to New Orleans than "sin." A large portion of the African-American community in Las Vegas has family ties to the southeast, esp LA and MI.
I'm guessing that a goodly portion of the NOPD is African - American and may have family and.or friends in Las Vegas, making it a logical place for R&R.
And if nothing else, its a cheap flight and the hotels are good at arranging amenities for group trips.
Though if you're interested in the political effect of the trip, Mr. Baer, you're right that it might be interesting to see what happens if the city were to send them on an all-expenses trip to Washington DC?
September 5, 2005 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
The right thing for Nagin to do was clear: arrange for them to take brief sabbaticals at the religious monastery of their choice, then go on national TV talking about it. I'm sure the NOLA workers would just be soooo grateful and appreciative. And think of the "optics."
September 5, 2005 6:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
While I know I cannot even imagine the hell of hurricane relief, I do wonder what relief we should provide the troops in Iraq after x weeks/months of hellish duty? Since we do nothing of the kind for the military, perhaps the military knows something about how to help people get through hell.
Lastly if I am a citizen of NO and just spent 5 days in the hell and deprivation of an attic, the convention center , the dome or an underpass this decision marginalizes me even further.
I hope the mayor reconsiders and finds a solution that will genuinely help the workers and does not disrespect citizens.
September 6, 2005 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Guests and hotel security formed a human chain on both sides of each truck and began passing the supplies down the line to forklifts waiting to move the goods into the hotel.
About 1,000 people are staying in the hotel, including National Guard troops and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
The site has become the command center for the New Orleans Police.
Seems you left out an important fact. This is the kind of Trick I would expect from Turd Blossom and the Bushies!
Shame on you!
September 9, 2005 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink