State lawmakers quickly decided that gambling on solid land wouldn’t corrupt this state’s conservative folk any worse than floating casinos. Hurricane Katrina tossed Mississippi’s dockside casinos around like beach toys when it struck Aug. Progress is most obvious in the glitzy hotels and their busy casinos – beeping, flashing and teeming with gamblers. The communities of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast have spent nearly four years learning how difficult, demanding and slow disaster recovery can be. The sign informs the locals that new flood insurance maps are ready. But one billboard targets local residents, hundreds of whom still live in FEMA trailers. Most signs invite visitors to the casino shows of yesteryear’s stars ( Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight, Engelbert Humperdinck). – Billboards along Interstate 10 tell the mixed story of a resort town fighting its way back. For more on the recovery on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, check the coverage in the Sun Herald. Here is a draft of a story I wrote for this Sunday’s Gazette, based on some reporting I did when I was in Biloxi last month and some follow-up reporting by telephone after returning to Cedar Rapids.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |