Good news is starting to appear at, I hope, an accelerating pace. Here's a NY Times article about how New Orleans refugees from the Astrodome are finding alternative housing in apartments and with family, and in some cases jobs, at a faster-than-expected rate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/national/08houston.html
I'll paste in some excerpts:
"HOUSTON, Sept. 7 - In a stunning turnaround for some of the most besieged victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Astrodome population dwindled to about 3,000 on Wednesday from an estimated 15,000 over the weekend, with many people seizing on local job opportunities and inexpensive housing.
[snip]
Including the Astrodome, about 8,000 evacuees were in Houston's largest shelters on Wednesday, down from a high of 24,000, city officials said. At least 1,300 people have moved into homes and apartments since Friday, and others have left with friends and relatives or on their own.
[snip] "