Blanco calls for a "better" Louisiana.

The 26-member Louisiana Recovery Authority appointed by Gov. Kathleen Blanco after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is set to focus on issues like jobs, housing, education, health care, the environment, family services and transportation.

"We can't replace the hopes and dreams of our people, but we can help them to build new ones," Blanco said.

Much of the storm-ravaged area "will never be the same, but that does not mean our people and institutions can't emerge stronger and better," Blanco said. "We cannot simply re-create what the storms destroyed. We must make the new Louisiana smarter, safer and stronger."

The two hurricanes wiped out roughly one-third of the state's economy and forced more than one million people from their homes. A few thousand have been able to return to their homes in New Orleans, but many more still are in shelters, hotels, Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers or in private homes.