20 Quotes by Stephen Perry

What he did today was to make a very prudent business decision, ... With the tax base decimated for the next six to seven months ...(the city) has lost its basic revenue streams and customer base. You've got to pare down to a basic core and rebuild incrementally.

Only the next few weeks will determine whether tourism will begin rebounding in late October or early November, or whether it is pushed into early next year.

From a multibillion-dollar tourism perspective here in the city, this is one of the most powerful national signals that we can have, because it is the first major sporting commitment since Katrina. It is an event that attracts thousands of people, it has exposure all over the world, and it puts a highlight that weekend on New Orleans as a destination.

Mardi Gras will set us back on the path to economic revitalization. Millions of tax dollars will flow back and help pave the way to providing the opportunity for every one of our citizens to come home from all over the United States.

We just want to make sure that everything is right as people come back, ... You want them to have the full New Orleans experience.

We are delighted that Tom Benson decided to return to New Orleans and play the 2006 season in the Superdome. This was a very positive step in our rebuilding efforts and has already provided an enormous boost to the spirits of our community. Our group will work closely with the Saints to provide support at all levels -- selling suites and season tickets, identifying creative sponsorship arrangements, and generally working as hard as we can to help them succeed here.

When you spend $27,000 to send your child to Kingswood-Oxford, you are sending them for one reason only - to prepare them for the next level of education. That's it. So, our expectation is that our children have to compete for the same spots at the same schools.

When you see estimates of New Orleans not getting power back or water flowing for six or eight months, that is not the part of the city where tourists go.

Tourism doesn't just happen. We have a damaged brand.