Orleans population estimate: 100,000, twice that after holidays

Orleans population estimate: 100,000, twice that after holidays:

"Nagin says city officials are expecting a population explosion after the holidays when more schools reopen.

The current population estimate is about 25-thousand more than city officials gave six weeks ago.

The city had about 462-thousand0 residents before Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29th, breaking levees on three canals and flooding 80 percent of the city. Even so, Nagin said, significant areas had little or no water.

In addition, he says power lines are back in about three-quarters of the city, and almost all of it has good drinking water.

However, earlier this week a BellSouth manager told the City Council that about 40 percent of the city won't get phone service until January or February."

Bellsouth is just a bundle of laughs. First they take back the building they promised. Then they say that 1-=20 percent of their workforce will not return to New orleans. And now they are vying with some third-world tellephone companies in the amount of time it takes to restore service.