Agency to build on lots

Kicking off what amounts to a scrimmage before a long, tough season, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority has drafted four developers to build single- and two-family homes on 27 of the thousands of abandoned and flood-damaged lots that blanket the city's post-Katrina landscape.

NORA officials say the chief goal of their modest pilot program is to give hope to a frustrated, recovery-weary citizenry by demonstrating that the agency is up to the task of moving blighted homes and vacant lots back into commerce. |Read on|