Evacuees may stay in South

[preciousdove]

http://startribune.com/stories/125/5602059.html (subscription)

Conrad Defiebre, Star Tribune
September 8, 2005

...Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told governors in a conference call Wednesday that plans to ship masses of evacuees in Texas to most states is being postponed in favor of moving them to other states in the Gulf region, officials said. Pawlenty was not part of the conference call because he was chairing a meeting of the State Board of Investment at the time, his spokesman said...

...According to a news release from Wisconsin Emergency Management, a notice Wednesday from FEMA indicated that many evacuees are resisting being transferred far from their locations in Texas. "Many evacuees prefer to remain in the region as they resolve issues concerning the status of property, employment and the safety of loved ones," the release quoted the notice as saying....

[NYC]

1. They should be somewhere in Louisiana.

They should be kept as close to home as possible.

[BrightKnight]

2. Texas has no safety net. Most will not land on their feet here.

They should be given that option to remain in the region if possible. It might even make sense to build temporary housing for them.

They should be offered tax exempt or subsidized jobs cleaning, repairing, and rebuilding the region.

Direct government aid dollars would be best spent in the gulf coast area.