Louisiana is moving slowly on Katrina cottage building. Will it lose FEMA money because of it? CNN’s Sean Callebs reports.

A volunteer project in NOLA is a needed stress reliever during tough economic times. Anderson Cooper reports.

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more about the project and the situation in the region as Anderson reports live from New Orleans on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

The St. Bernard Project is a nonprofit organization in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, that helps people return to their homes that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

One house that is being rebuilt by the St. Bernard Project.

Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer

Is the economy hurting volunteerism? Not in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. I spent yesterday afternoon touring the business offices of the St. Bernard Project and was amazed at how much co-founders Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg have going on. Right now, they have 35 houses in some phase of rebuilding. By Wednesday, they will have completed their 200th home in this parish that was so devastated by Katrina.

When I talked to them about donations to the organization, they said while they can always use more, they haven’t seen any significant drop off in donations so far, and that is helping more and more families move back to the homes they love.

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John Pope
The Times-Picayune

Restoring New Orleans and the fragile Gulf Coast coastline are priorities of the Obama administration, Kenner-born political strategist Donna Brazile said today, adding that she’ll keep pressing President Barack Obama and his staff to ensure they don’t forget.

Obama is coming to inspect the damage and recovery, Brazile said at Tulane University, but she doesn’t know when yet.

“I know that this is a priority for him and the first lady,” she said. “I’m going to keep on pressing. . . . I will fight.”

Speaking to a Newcomb College Institute forum, Brazile said she hopes Obama will discuss storm and coastal relief in his first speech to a joint session of Congress. That address is scheduled for Feb. 24, which happens to be Mardi Gras.

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The roof of the Lousiana Superdome, pictured on August 30, 2005, shows the scars of Hurricane Katrina.

The Times-Picayune Editorial Staff

Metro New Orleans residents will never forget the despair of those dark days after Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures flooded much of the region.

The wound of those memories is still raw just below the surface. Thus, President George W. Bush’s defense Monday of the federal response immediately after the storm stirs deep emotions.

In his last scheduled press conference, the president vigorously dismissed criticism of the government’s performance.

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CNN's Drew Griffin talks to man who says he witnessed New Orleans Police shoot an unarmed person.

Drew Griffin | BIO
CNN Investigative Correspondent

The press release form the New Orleans Police Department described him as an unidentified gunmen who was “confronted by a New Orleans Police officers” then “reached into his waist and turned toward the officer.” The New Orleans Police Department told us the officer on that day, Sept. 4, 2005, fired one shot killing the suspect.

I’m guessing the New Orleans Police thought we would just take their word for it. We didn’t.

It took us more than a year, but what we found out about Ronald Madison proved justice in New Orleans is only for those who wear a badge.

Ronald Madison was a 40-year old mentally disabled man who had survived Katrina flooding with his brother Lance. On a Sunday morning they swam out of their mother’s home and headed for the Danziger Bridge. You can read more about their ordeal, and Ronald’s tragic death, in the stories below.

What you need to know now, is three years after he was killed by police, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the

U.S. Attorney’s office in New Orleans finally announced they will investigate.

Well it’s about time.

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Watch the footage of large debris slamming into the glass roof of the Sheraton hotel in Baton Rouge.

Ashley Fantz
CNN.com

Eighty-six year old Maxine Richardson sat in the lobby of a Baton Rouge Sheraton and watched Gustav whip its fury on bent street signs.

A large piece of metal from a neighboring building flew off and crashed into the Sheraton’s glass roof, startling and entertaining evacuees. The glass cracked but didn’t break. People applauded.

Richardson was startled at first, but then rolled her eyes. She isn’t going to put up with running from hurricanes any longer.

Though there are three generations of family who live with her in New Orleans, she is over the place.

“People were like, ‘Oh, aren’t you excited to be back home?’” She said, recalling how she moved back in to her home that was destroyed by Katrina.

“I was not happy. I didn’t like that place anymore. It made me uncomfortable.

“I want to leave New Orleans and if I go back this time to the same thing Katrina left me, I will find another place to live. Lord Jesus, I hope you hear me because I mean it!”

New Orleans residents affected by Katrina may have to pay back the money they were given in grants.

Every time I go to do a story in New Orleans I hold onto a little piece of hope that things are going to be better this time.

That the community is going to be more healed, that the town is going to look more alive, and that the programs put in place to help homeowners are actually doing so.

Well, I should have known better.

Imagine this: Louisiana residents – after all they’ve been through and all they’ve lost – are now being billed by the state for nearly $200 million!

Yes – you read that right, $200 million.

Why? Well – it turns out the contractor hired by the state to dole out federal dollars designed to help homeowners rebuild… uh… well… how do I say this… OVERESTIMATED!!

The contractor, ICF International, may have overpaid as many as 5000 residents. In other words, the state gave these people too much grant money after state inspectors estimated home damages.

In all, homeowners could be asked to pay up $175 million. Some families could be on the hook for $150,000 each!

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