President Barack Obama has released details of the plans for his visit to New Orleans Thursday. It includes a town hall meeting at the University of New Orleans at 1:15pm.
"Demonstrating his strong commitment to Gulf Coast rebuilding and recovery, President Barack Obama will travel to New Orleans on Thursday, October 15 to get a firsthand look at progress on the ground and hear directly from the people of Louisiana," The White House Press Office said in a news release. "President Obama's trip will include a visit to a local charter school and a town hall event."
Anyone wanting to attend the town hall meeting needs to pre-register.
"Members of the general public wishing to attend this event should visit the following website to register for the opportunity to attend the town hall: www.whitehouse.gov/advance/NewOrleansTownHall10-15-09/. The site will be available to access from 10:00 a.m. local time on Monday October 12 until 10:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, October 13," The White House said.
Not everyone who applies will get tickets.
"Due to limited space at the event the White House will only be able to fulfill a limited number of requests for tickets. Names will be randomly chosen from submissions to the above website," the release said. "The randomly chosen individuals will be called with further details to attend. Tickets are not for sale or re-sale."
If you do get selected to take part, you will be subject to screening.
"All attendees will go through airport-like security and should bring as few personal items as possible. No bags, no sharp objects, no umbrellas, no liquids, no strollers, and no signs will be allowed into the venue. Cameras are permitted," according to the release.
The news release also briefly responded to concerns from much of the Louisiana congressional delegation about the brief amount of time the president will be in the region. Both Republicans and Democrats have indicated President Obama can't get a full picture of the recovery without spending more time in the area.
"Having toured the city five times since Katrina before becoming President, this will be the President's first event that is open to the public. This will enable the people of New Orleans to convey their thoughts, challenges, and feedback directly to him," the Obama administration said.
Click here for more on the controversy surrounding the amount of time the president will be in New Orleans...
In addition to the town hall, the trip will include a stop at Dr. King Charter School in New Orleans' 9th Ward.
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