Tagged: recovery

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages about how much oil was leaking from the company's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico is claiming that evidence federal investigators did not possess will prove him innocent. Kurt Mix has pleaded not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice.

With little fanfare, a cluster of tidy new houses recently went on the market in the Lower 9th Ward, bringing a poorly executed experiment in post-disaster housing to inglorious resolution long delayed.

The 22 one- and two- bedroom houses are the last of the now-notorious  “Katrina Cottages” that, almost seven years ago, were conceived as salvation for New Orleanians displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and desperate to come home.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has pushed back the start of a civil trial for claims against BP PLC and other companies involved in the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The judge on Thursday set a date of Jan. 14, 2013. The litigation centers on the oil spill that began in April 2010 from BP's Macondo well.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge in New Orleans has preliminarily approved a proposed class-action settlement that would resolve billions of dollars in claims against BP over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier's ruling Wednesday allows the settlement process to proceed, but he will hold a "fairness hearing" later this year before deciding whether to give his final approval.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans hopes to have every streetlight in the city back on by the end of the year.

The city says there are about 10,900 streetlights not working and 4,793 of those are in need of repairs.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu said "lighting up the city" will make the city safer.

Jon Johnson, city councilman for eastern New Orleans, says many residents are afraid to leave their homes at night because of broken lighting.

The mayor says workers have fixed about 16,000 streetlights since he took office. The city owns about 54,400 streetlights.