Gulf Coast could see better days with GO Zone

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act, signed into law by President Bush on Wednesday, may have help jump-start another post-Katrina building boom on the Coast.

The law extends the deadline for developers to start building rental homes and commercial projects to quality for GO Zone tax benefits. This could mean an additional $1.1 billion in tax relief, estimates John Hairston, president of Hancock Bank.

It also gives first time home buyers a $7,500 tax credit to purchase these homes. More >

There's no place like home: The US Gulf Coast 3 years on

The 29th of August 2008 is an incredibly significant date on the calendar of all those living along the Gulf Coast of America, it marks the 3rd anniversary of the day Hurricane Katrina came ashore and devastated the lives of tens of thousands of Americans.

Remembered today as one of the costliest and deadliest extreme storms to hit America, it is important never to forget the impact that the hurricane had on communities and lives in states as far apart as Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. More >