Driving onto the island:

There are still 2 boats in a field next to the newspaper office. Someone took the mast off the sailboat.

The car dealership is still empty, broken windows, etc.

Most of the houses have been cleaned up.

There is still the hulk of a metal building.

The oleanders and palms have been replanted and are doing well.

There are no working lights at the top of the causeway, noone knows why.

As you drive around town you notice a lot of empty lots and lots of empty houses, some are gutted, some being worked on. The old VA clinic and that strip shopping center has not been repaired. The Diner reopened on 61st with new name & new owners. Whataburger has finally opened. UTMB looks horrible, no work has been done, there are dead trees, tree stumps on campus, mold in the stairwells and standing water in the basements.

The wharehouses on the dock by UTMB are being torn down.

Houses are still being elevated. HEB and Arlans grocery stores will not return. There are no video rental stores or pet stores on the island. Most of the dead trees have been cut down. Some people refuse to believe their trees are dead, they are starting to drop branches and lose bark.

The streets flood when it rains because the sewers are clogged, work should start THIS month to clear them out.

The houses on the westend were bought out, for more than their value! Applications are just now being taken to help the residents repair their houses, the city claims they can't find people that need help, they went door to door and did mailings. Noone I know had anyone come to their door or get anything in the mail. The money won't be available for 4-6 months, almost 2 years after the storm. Good to know the city has priorities, rich west end out-of-town owners have had the streets, sewers, etc. repaired and received huge buyouts, yet in the city we still wait.

The hangers and other buildings at the airport are still trashed and debris is piled around.

The city passed the strictest no-smoking ban in Texas. Police announce that enforcement is low on their list and the bar owners say they will let people smoke.

The population is down 20-40% and more leaving every day. We may lose federal funding as our population will be below the cut-off level for feds.

Most businesses on the island have cut hours secondary to the decreased population and the fact business is down so much. We have no 24 hour pharmacies and last year had 2.

Walmart is not open 24 hours.

The Seawall has been rebuilt on the far west end with more parking, it's very nice.

Work is almost done on the rock groins.

Tillman announced plans for the Flagship but no work has started, vagrants continue to break in.

The feds announced millions to go to several well-known slum lords for low-income housing.

The city is now requiring people to put a $5,000 bond to have their power turned back on. There was no announcement of this and noone knows why. Also almost noone can get the bond!! My dad is a master electrician and was very surprised by this, the week before he didn't need one, then he did. The homeowners were out of town so he can't finish the job.

The good:

2,000 trees were given away and most have been planted by homeowners.

A lot of people had their tree stumps carved, there are egrets, columns, dogs, fire hydrants, etc. Very cool.

Murdochs rebuilt and reopened.

The Strand has more shops and restaurants open now, LaKings is back and they made caramel apples at Dickens.

Stingarees is open in Bolivar and serving oysters again!! Yeah!!

DiBellas has recovered from both the flood and fire and the steaks are as good as ever.

All the McDonalds have been rebuilt and are open.

Sand is being dregged from off the east end, stockpiled and will be used for beach nourishment ( a stupid waste of money!!)

The fishing pier at Pelican island is open, it's the only one.

Plans are to rebuild the 91st street pier.

The opera house has been restored and is open.

You can launch your boat from the yacht club again.

Our garden looks great.

NO hurricanes this year!

We don't have trim yet, after tax refund which should be very nice since get to take a big deduction for the fire but we get to sleep in our new bed! With our new pillows, new sheets, new quilt-my sister made it!, new heated mattress pad, new electric blanket, new curtains, new bedstands, everything in this room is new but the cabinet we brought up to put my clothes in. Which isn't in this pic, we just brought it up.