October 17th: In the week after New Orleans’ police brutality and arbitrary arrests became a national story, those practices appear to have continued unabated. On Oct. 15, two cousins were arrested for “trespassing” while walking on a sidewalk. Although they were non-violent -- they were not charged with any violence -- one cousin was beaten and shot with bags of small pellets. An officer also opened fire into their makeshift jail cell for no apparent reason, hitting several inmates with the pellet bags, including the other cousin. The full Associated Press videotape of police viciously beating 64-year-old Robert Davis and assaulting two witnesses is now available. CNN has released its own footage, showing Davis dripping blood.

October 13: The People's Relief Fund is a coalition of New Orleanian activist groups that are demanding popular control over the rebuilding process in the city. They recently held a conference in South Carolina to plan their long-term activities and coordinate with national groups. The fund's website has a wealth of information on their activities, news updates, and links to member organizations. Also see previous NOLA IMC coverage on the People's Fund: (1) (2)

The residents of Lewisburg Square apartments in Gretna, like many many tenants in the New Orleans area, are facing imminent eviction as the 'temporary freeze' made by governor kathleen blanco is lifted on oct. 25th. read the latest info

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Residents of Forest Park Apartments, as a result of a fightback to defend access to affordable housing in hurricane ravaged New Orleans, have secured a series of concessions from the management of the Algiers housing complex. These concessions include pushing the request that residents vacate the complex from October 14, as originally demanded, to October 31. Management has also agreed to sign a written agreement that guarantees displaced residents will be allowed to return to the complex, when renovation work is completed, with no increase in rent. This position by the management of Forest Park marks a retreat from their previous position not to enter into any negotiations with the Forest Park Tenants Association. Up to this point, the management of the complex refused to guarantee that residents would be allowed to return with rent fees unchanged.

Until today (October 17), the New Orleans jail and courthouse were situated in a Greyhound bus station, the DA office was in a gift shop in the station lobby, and the cells were cages set up outside where the buses were once parked. According to police documents, over 1000 people were booked there following hurricane Katrina.