It seems wherever you look, there’s an article about New Orleans, one year after Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, they are tales of promises made and not fulfilled, served with a side of government inefficiency or apathy. The New Yorker’s article details the plight of the Lower 9th Ward. September Vogue has a nice piece by Julia Reed, who lives at least part-time in New Orleans. And of course, tonight Spike Lee’s documentary “When the Levees Broke” premieres on HBO (I still don’t have HBO!).
Stepping down from the soapbox:
This is a poor segue, but what is up with celebrities? (oops, I’m back up) I’m speaking of the gift-basket brouhaha, where from now on those who receive gift baskets full of iPods, vacations, spa treatments, and the latest must-have products, will now have to pay taxes on its value. How is this a story? It’s more a story that they haven’t paid taxes on the free goods until now!