An article from our local paper

This is an article posted today by our Baton Rouge newspaper:

Holden: B.R. expected to grow to 1 million

Baton Rouge’s population is expected to swell up to 1 million people when all is said and done, said Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden on Monday.

Holden accompanied President George W. Bush during the president’s tour of shelters Monday morning. Holden said they discussed how best to expand infrastructure needs, like roads and the airport, to handle the dramatic increase in population here.

Holden could not estimate how many people were living in Baton Rouge now but said that once events settled down, the city would have between 800,000 and 1 million residents.

The federal government will pay for an urban planner to help plan for the coming expansion, Holden said.

Bush told Holden to work directly with the White House, rather than go through regular channels, when requesting help, support and money, Holden said.

Bush promised unlimited federal resources.

Holden also asked the president to bring more National Guardsmen to supplement Baton Rouge Police Department for law enforcement needs. The police have worked double shifts since Sunday and need some rest.

Meanwhile the city-parish government has been finding room for evacuated parish governments, including the New Orleans City Council, the Jefferson Parish School Board and the Plaquemines Parish Council.

Hurricane Katrina knocked down 690 trees across roadways, said Skip Breeden, a spokesman for the city-parish Department of Public Works. Department officials estimate a month of work to remove about 300,000 cubic yards of debris.