I just heard from a friend who has been missing in New Orleans!

[BuelahWitch]

We used to be coworkers in Salt Lake City and I was very worried about her and her 16 year old doggie, Hooligan. Apparently she, ber boyfriend and Hoolie got out two or three days after the storm hit. Her part of town apparently wasn't that damaged by the storm but they got out before the worse flooding started.
I was so worried because her name wasn't on any of the survivor lists, but since she's young and has transportation I felt she was probably ok. When I told her that she said she had no idea that there *were* survivor lists!

Apparently right after she left her building was one of those who were forced to evacuate. The manager said he wasn't leaving without his dogs.
The people who forced him to leave *at gunpoint* put him in one truck and his dogs in another and supposedly tagged them so he could find them later. He still hasn't been able to locate them to this day.

PJ also said that she's thinking of leaving LA when her lease is up because a. she doesn't' think she can afford to live there if her landlord raises the rent and b. even if her job would help her with rent, she doesn't want to live in a Disneyfied New Orleans. She said the working class and the poor give the city it's culture and it doesn't appear that those people are going to be able to come back. She said if she wanted Disney's New Orleans Square she would have moved to Orlando...

In any case, I'm glad that all of them are ok...

[MountainLaurel]

1. Thank you for posting that

Out of curiosity, were the folks who forced her manager to leave federal or local law enforcement?

[BuelahWitch]

2. My friend believes it was the Feds, but not sure

She was gone by then but from the description he gave her she feels it was the Feds. He is an older Cajun man who had also just lost his wife (she was run down by some people joyriding in stolen cars. He also has not been able to find her remains either, btw).

My friend's employer has rented her a house in Baton Rouge because it's closer to their new offices than New Orleans is (they can no longer operate out of their NO offices), and she only comes "home" for the weekend. She lives in the French Quarter.

Another sad thing is that she says NO is the only place except for New York City that has ever felt like "home" to her. She's lived in several areas of the country and hates to think she will have to leave this place where she feels so comfortable.