Times-Picayune: Bush aide critical of New Orleans recovery chief NEW ORLEANS (AP) (wrkf) - New Orleans' daily newspaper reports that the federal official in charge of Gulf Coast recovery from Hurricane Katrina is highly critical of the city's recovery efforts.

The Times-Picayune reports in Monday's editions that Douglas O'Dell during a recent visit to the city praised the work of some in city government. However, the paper said that O'Dell complained that Mayor Ray Nagin's recovery director, Ed Blakely is often unavailable and has "ethereal visions" of recovery that cannot be financed with federal money.

Blakely's response is that O'Dell has only been on the job since May and has made incorrect judgments about how the city works. Blakely points to the successful return of the criminal courts system and police department to their headquarters as signs of success and he says there are hundreds of recovery projects moving through the system. © Copyright 2009, wrkf