GALVESTON, Texas -- The top elected official in Galveston County says
the 250 holdouts on Bolivar Peninsula will be required to leave so crews
can begin the recovery effort in the next few days.
Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough says officials are prepared to
impose martial law if needed to empty the barrier island scraped clean
by Ike.
He says the Texas attorney general's office is trying to figure out how
legally to force the holdouts to leave.
Officials say the coastal sliver of land is too damaged for residents to
stay, and with no gas, no power and no running water, there is also
concern about spread of disease.
Hours after deciding people can briefly return to their
hurricane-stricken homes in Galveston, the city's mayor said they can't
come back after all.
Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas on Tuesday afternoon announced a "look and leave"
re-entry advisory on the island between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Then, Tuesday night, she announced the program was suspended indefinitely.
[Homestead] What We Learned From NOLA,
Lynda, 09/17/2008