A city is struggling to get back on its feet again. A hurricane-ravaged metropolis fraught with having to raise funds to recover has just been delivered some good news. The American Trucking association has confirmed that the National Truck Driving Championships for 2006 will be held in New Orleans as planned, in the month of August.

This comes as a blessing in the wake of a desperate attempt to rebuild broken parts of the city, as it will usher in some much-needed funds. This is one example of New Orleans in the news. Many things are happening with regard to hurricane repair: trivia and acts of significance, pompous acts and genuine philanthropy. This is the stuff that news of New Orleans is now made of. Take this for instance: an effective flood prevention system is being discussed in the United States. They will construct dikes, colossal sea walls and floodgates that ensure low-lying areas are dry as a bone. They will learn the technology from the Netherlands, which faced a similar situation in the 1950s where a flood killed several hundred people.

Many call rebuilding New Orleans a mission with no parallel in America's past. However, an agency has been appointed by the Mayor to uncover a set of ideas that could well become a part of the master plan to re-erect this city. Moreover, stringent standards, like never before, have been set for rebuilding the coastal parishes of Louisiana. Had this code been enforced before the floods, it would have saved the government an enormous amount of money - $8 billion to be precise, in terms of cleanup and revival.

Amidst all the clamor of recovery and rebuilding, hurricane-relief fund raising and government bashing, a big little piece of news may have well gone unnoticed.

The kitchen fires are getting rekindled in New Orleans. Inhabitants are making plans to replace behind-the-times cookware and recipes. This is the Black Iron Skillet Project, which will collect and give away seasoned frying pans and skillets. 'Seasoning' is a time-consuming process whereby the pans are oil-coated and baked in an oven before distribution.

For a city beleaguered by so much turmoil, comfort can come in many little forms. And this it seems is a fitting service being rendered, an undeniably laudable effort by its people to bring back the promise of plenty. It's no surprise then that a peoples' initiative to bring a ravaged city back to life should start within the metaphoric security of the most important space in the house - the kitchen.