Louisiana has spoken: now for some ACTION

Read the BIG story on Louisiana Speaks - Page 8E

A public outreach campaign to get input on the state's hurricane recovery effort generated a lot of response and a surprising degree of agreement, says an official who has been working on a rebuilding plan.

"There were some regional differences, but generally speaking, there were similar planning concepts," Robin Rather of Collective Strength, the company that has been analyzing data from the Louisiana Speaks survey, told Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.

The survey found broad support for coastal recovery, with almost 90% of every group supporting billions of dollars for restoration.

Attracting and retaining companies, along with better education and job training were also popular, Rather says.

Rather says the survey seems to indicate that people want to "stop the bleeding" before attracting new industry.

"There's a sense of wanting real change," she says. "People don't want to put the state back together the way it was before.”