NEW ORLEANS - More than six years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a federal rebuilding program is being called a failure by many after a report showed that the nearly $8 billion available went to areas that sustained minimal damage in the storms.
The "Go Zone Program" was supposed to spur rebuilding by offering developers a cheap way to borrow money.
Companies in East Baton Rouge Parish received $1.2 billion or 15.7 percent of the bonds.
In New Orleans, developers only received a little more than three percent or $257 million.
State officials say a lack of requests for the money and the economic downturn contibuted to the low number of loans that were granted.
