Wednesday morning Katrina mix

- The Christian Science Monitor writes this week on undocumented immigrant contractors in the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort. The article appears to be a perhaps debatable take on a Sep. 6 announcement by the Department of Homeland Security that it "...will not sanction employers that hire individuals evacuated or displaced by Hurricane Katrina otherwise eligible for employment but who currently lack documentation establishing employment eligibility and identity."

- GSA issues a travel expense cap waiver for federal officials doing hurricane relief work.

- The city of New Orleans plans to lay off 3,000 city staff. Most of the city has been reopened to returning residents. Whether it's livable is of course another question.