David Hammer
Thousands of Katrina Survivors Were Freed From Debt to the State. Those Who Already Paid Are Out of Luck.
The state said it was no longer suing residents who had improperly used hurricane recovery money. That doesn’t change anything for the 425 who already paid.
by Richard A. Webster, Verite News, and David Hammer, WWL-TV,
Local Reporting Network
Louisiana to Drop Lawsuits Against Katrina Survivors Over Recovery Grants
Louisiana sued thousands of homeowners for not following the rules in how they spent recovery grants. After a joint news investigation, the governor announced Thursday that the state won’t try to collect the money.
by David Hammer, WWL-TV, and Richard A. Webster, Verite News,
Local Reporting Network
Behind the Key Decision That Left Many Poor Homeowners Without Enough Money to Rebuild After Katrina
National politics spawned a Hurricane Katrina rebuilding program based on pre-storm home values, leading to disparities between rich and poor.
by David Hammer, WWL-TV,
Local Reporting Network
The Federal Program to Rebuild After Hurricane Katrina Shortchanged the Poor. New Data Proves It.
For years, low-income residents of New Orleans have said the state’s Road Home program paid them less to rebuild their homes compared to wealthier residents. They were right.
by Richard A. Webster and Jeff Adelson, The Times-Picayune | The Advocate, David Hammer, WWL-TV, and Sophie Chou, ProPublica,
Local Reporting Network
Louisiana Sued Hurricane Katrina Survivors for Misusing Recovery Grants. Now It Has Halted Collection Efforts.
Louisiana sued thousands of homeowners for not following the rules in spending grants after Katrina. After a joint news investigation, the state says it hopes a federal agency will approve a settlement that will allow it to drop the lawsuits.
by Richard A. Webster, The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, and David Hammer, WWL-TV,
Local Reporting Network
Katrina Survivors Were Told They Could Use Grant Money to Rebuild. Now They’re Being Sued for It.
After Hurricane Katrina, struggling homeowners said, they were told not to worry about the fine print when they received grants to elevate their homes. Now the state is going after them because they did exactly that.
by Richard A. Webster, The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, and David Hammer, WWL-TV,
Local Reporting Network