Now that it has distributed a total of $2,797.71 to each of Gambit Weekly's 48 staffers, AAN has closed the relief fund designed to help the paper's employees overcome the blow delivered by Hurricane Katrina. In the 10 weeks since it was established, the Gambit Relief Fund received donations totaling $135,558 from 33 organizations and more than 240 individuals. A complete list of contributors appears at the bottom of the story.
Two months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the city's alt-weekly is hitting the streets with a new issue and a focus on the city's future. Given that those streets are still dominated by trash, debris and discarded refrigerators, Gambit's speedy return feels like a triumph. The 64-page issue is being distributed wherever people are returning to live and work, and publisher Margo DuBos says that she has been thrilled with the community's response.
When the order to evacuate came, Gambit Weekly staff writer Katy Reckdahl had to decide which would be worse: staying in New Orleans for the storm or delivering her first child in a car on the evacuation route. She stayed. Here is her account of her son's first days at Touro Infirmary and her family's eventual escape from the city.
