Camping, standing her ground

State Rep. Charmaine Marchand ate, slept and discussed policy on the Capitol lawn for three days in December to protest what she and other New Orleans-area lawmakers called the ineffectiveness of the $7.5 billion Louisiana Road Home program. Hurricane Katrina victims had been complaining about the extremely low offers they were receiving for their damaged homes. Ending the campout, Gov. Blanco met with Marchand and promised that ICF International, the company in charge of the recovery effort, would begin using federal data and local appraisals to offer victims fare market value for their property.