Speaking of Jazz Fest...

Well, not really, but a New Orleans story nonetheless:

Families move into homes that Pitt built (AP)

NEW ORLEANS – It was a bittersweet moment for Brad Pitt, walking through the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood where families were preparing to spend their first holidays since Hurricane Katrina. Those families are moving into the first six houses built through Pitt's Make It Right foundation. One home was already strewn with green garland, lights, wreaths and red bows.

Still, Pitt is restless. "I'm really happy for the families that are going to be here, but I can't help but think about the families that aren't," Pitt said Monday. "It's a push-pull for me. The excitement is that it's being proven, that it's working. The frustration is that we have a long way to go." Make It Right was launched by Pitt a year ago. The program calls for construction of 150 energy-efficient homes in a section of New Orleans washed away when Katrina broke levees Aug. 29, 2005.

So far, six homes have been built. Two more are under way, and construction on another 14 begins in early 2009. Pitt smiles, gets a little giddy even, when talking about where the project will be in another year. "You're going to see 100 homes here, mark my words," he said. "It's nice to see a few, but I'm anxious to see 100, 150, 1,000."

Pitt said that by December 2009, the Lower 9th Ward should be one of the nation's largest "green" neighborhoods. "It's amazing," he said. "This place that suffered such injustice and so much death can become one of the primary examples of a high-performance neighborhood. It really is amazing." Inez Converse, 71, isn't concerned about her area setting any records. She's just happy to be back in the neighborhood she lived in for more than 35 years before Katrina. And she said she was glad she had the chance to thank Pitt personally. "He didn't have to do this," she said. "I'm just grateful he is doing it." - complete story


The Pink House painting was commissioned by the Make it Right foundation and painted by New Orleans artist Lionel Milton. The tilted Classic French Pink House in the foreground of the painting with the all too familiar silhouette of the New Orleans skyline illustrates a part of the spirit of the city. - About Lionel Milton