New Orleans Mardi Gras plan offensive to some

Mardi Gras will kick off next year with a raucous party in New Orleans' Ernest M. Morial Convention Center.

But plans to have tens of thousands of high-end revelers dancing where the city's poorest were herded and abandoned during the flood spawned by Hurricane Katrina strikes some as callous.

"It's offensive," said Lorenzo Johnson, 44, a cook who spent time inside the center during Katrina's flooding.

Johnson, rebuilding his life in Atlanta, said, "It was a place they were sending us as a last resort. I don't think it needs to have a party in there."

The debate over holding the world-famous celebration — it will be New Orleans' 150th Mardi Gras — has driven a wedge through the city's heart.

Supporters rejoiced when the city gave the go-ahead to a shortened eight-day carnival ending Feb. 28, heralding the move as a crucial kick-start to the city's economy and a sign of the city's fierce spirit. More importantly, they want the tourist dollars the city desperately needs to get back on its feet.

But opponents decry a 2006 carnival as a shameful distraction that will siphon away money and national attention from the need to rebuild and help evacuees return home.

Even the carnival's organizers are struggling. Bobby Reichert, captain and founder of the Krewe of Tucks, initially rejected the idea as "an insult."

But the businessman had a change of heart after calculating the party's positive benefits.

"When we put these parades on the street, it's not going to cost the city a nickel. But the hotels, the restaurants, they make a fortune. We're talking a million plus," Reichert said,