Katrina

It’s been a year since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the coast of New Orleans, devastating everything in her wake. The recovery was plagued by incompetance, fraud and negligence. A year after the disaster, the area is struggling to its feet, but there is still a long way to go. And judging from recent stories, the government may not have learned from many of its mistakes. Here’s your Big Issue Toolkit: The Anniversary of Katrina. The Big Issue »

Celebration Excuse

1907

Brown — it’s the new black. UPS is founded in Seattle, Washington.

1954

Got funding? The School Milk Program Act provides funds for purchase of milk for school lunch programs.

1963

During a 200,000-person civil rights rally in at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his famous I have a dream speech.

1996

Unhappily ever after. Prince Charles and Princess Diana are divorced

2005

A mandatory evacuation is ordered by New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco as Hurricane Katrina moved nearer to Louisiana.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

And here’s come champagne wishes and caviar dreams to singers LeAnn Rimes and Shania Twain, Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans, actor/comedian/MTV VMA host Jack Black, and 90210 star Jason Priestley (Brandon). They’ll all be celebrating their birthdays today.

Daybook

Ah, August...

ALL DAY

U.S. Open Tennis tournament begins.

President Bush travels to Gulfport and Biloxi, MS to mark the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) travels to Montana for a fundraising event with Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT).

Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) conducts his final gubernatorial walk across Iowa.