Growing up on Cape Cod, Memorial Day was looked upon with both anticipation and a sense of dread. Anticipation for a busy summer tourist season, and the dread of summer traffic. But the start of the tourist season is not the only thing happening down the Cape.
According to a report in today’s Cape Cod Times, the area is leading the state in foreclosures.
Tomorrow we leave New Orleans and head back to Boston. This will be the last New Orleans entry here. When we arrived in the Big Easy, we started our journey by seeing the breeched levee and the heart-wrenching damage in the surrounding neighborhoods. Since then, we have had a chance to meet with and talk to many City residents from various walks of life who shared their thoughts, their feelings and their hopes for the future. Since then, there has been an election, and on some level a shift in the energy here that would take me years of living here and researching to report it appropriately. And since then, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its predictions for the upcoming hurricane season.
The bankruptcy conference provided a great opportunity to catch up on trends in the law, as well as meet up with colleagues from other states who share our common goal of helping financially distressed people get through the bankruptcy process and get on with their lives. But being in New Orleans provided an exceptional opportunity to meet with many people who have been through the unimaginable. They told us their stories. Now let me try and re-tell them to you.
I’ve been spending the last two days walking in the New Orleans humidity back and forth from my hotel (the Riverside Hilton) to the hotel where the conference is (the Marriott). I did not pack the right shoes and my feet are killing me. Today’s conference ended early so fortunately, I have the afternoon to roam around, rather than focus on dischargeability issues and means test applications.
But I am afraid this evening, I may be shuttling back and forth between the hotels more than I have in the past two days. Today, New Orleans votes for a mayor. Incumbant Ray Nagin’s post election party is at the Marriott. His challenger’s, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu’s is at the Hilton. The media trucks are lining up as if they were following a sensational trial. This election, as it turns out seems to be a trial for the City of New Orleans. Tonight, the City renders its verdict. The drama however, has only just begun.
I am on a lunch break and am passing along this link to a USA Today article that further goes into the economic impact New Orleans is feeling. This article however, takes it from the perspective of one of the areas beloved attractions: the local aquarium.
This morning there was a lovely breeze off the river. We met up with other NACBA comrades at the Café DuMonde. After an iced coffee we spent the afternoon walking through the French Quarter. The Quarter was affected by the flood, but not on the level of devastation in Jefferson. But in the French Quarter there is an energy that is alive, and at the same time folks are working through some hard times.
The 2006 NACBA Conference could not be in a more better – and a more important place than New Orleans. We have arrived, and the journey has begun.
It has been more than 9 months since Katrina and then later Rita unleashed their wrath on the Crescent City and its neighboring communities. The water has receded. In that time, there has been rebuilding. The Superdome is under repair in anticipation for the Saints return in September. Hotels and Casinos are open. Tourists are slowly coming back. But what has lingered is devastation the likes I have never seen in my life.
Fannie Mae announced that it is extending the foreclosure moratorium to homeowners in the Gulf who were hard hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to August 31, 2006.
More good news on a dreary day: Today Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly announced that his office is investigating “several individuals and businesses who allegedly target homeowners by offering to ‘rescue’ them from foreclosures, but instead trick them into deeding over their property.” He urges homeowners who think they have been victims of a foreclosure “rescue” scam to call the Consumer Hotline at 617.727.8400.
His office also issued a consumer advisory warning homeowners not to fall victim to mortgage foreclosure scams.
“Families in Massachusetts are being squeezed on all sides – from soaring gas prices to utility and health care costs.” AG Reilly said. “Now as foreclosure rates are going up, we’re hearing complaints about companies taking advantage of people who are trying to save their homes. Consumers need to be careful. I urge homeowners facing foreclosure to talk with licensed professionals, including lawyers and real estate professionals, before entering into any agreement or arrangement involving their home.”
The Northeast is getting record rainfall, and I think most people are just hoping for a little sunshine…and for some of us, warm, dry socks. While rainy days and Mondays might get folks down, there is good news coming out of Washington:
The Internal Revenue Service has canceled the tax-exempt status for some of the nation’s largest educational credit counseling services after audits revealed they exist mainly to prey on debt-ridden customers, Commissioner Mark Everson said Monday.
…and Speaking of the Gulf
This week I am off to join my colleagues at the annual conference of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. This year the convention is in New Orleans.
This will be my third NACBA convention. While I am looking forward to catching up with people I only see once a year or so (and comparing receding hairlines and expanding waistlines….for some), I sort of know what to expect.
This year, I am heading down a day early (and staying an extra day) in hopes of making my way out of downtown, and into the neighborhoods that have been hit. I know what I read in the media and we all know what happened last fall when the two storms destroyed so many lives. Yet despite that, I am really not sure what I can expect.
But I will report it here.
While the economic issues faced by the survivors are very unique, they are not all that dissimilar from those who find themselves adversely affected by something they had no control of. For the people of New Orleans, it was the hurricane season of 2005. For others across the country, from Boston to Bozeman, it might be a death in the family, an accident, an illness or a plant shut down. All of those events can lead an individual or a family down a road of economic hardship. All of those events can leave one feeling like the universe has just pummeled them. Yet despite that, New Orleans is rebuilding.
So stay tuned. I have every reason to believe the New Orleans conference will be something worth reading about.
Tags: Bankruptcy, Commentary - Legal, Economy
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