Take it to the Big Easy

The Big Easy's coming back around just a year after the devastation that was Hurricane Katrina. According to USAToday, business is about 60% of what it was last year.  In a good year over ten million tourists march into New Orleans and dump roughly five and a half billion dollars into the city's coffers.  These days, 103 of the 140 hotels are open again, but in the Orleans Parish only about a third of the restaurants have re-opened.  All of the major museums and attractions are open again and two cruise liners are slated to re-enter the port next month.  A "Streetcar Named Desire" on the St. Charles Avenue run still isn't operational, but several other lines are back on the move.  For now locals are just waiting for the tourists to return: "We have the jazz, we're just waiting for the people to hear it."