Where's the love?

Houston and many other Gulf Coast cities aren't exactly eager to be the next FEMA disaster, a la New Orleans and Katrina. With these thoughts in mind, Texas officials have formed a plan pairing coastal cities with more inland locations to house "special needs" evacuees — those without the means or ability to escape on their own. Naturally, Houston was paired with Dallas, which was asked to potentially house 40,000 special needs evacuees from Harris County. If you're breathing a sigh of relief now thinking Grandma is in the clear, don't do it just yet: Dallas balked at the plan and claims it can't host that many special needs evacuees. That's Dallas for ya — always there to lend a helping hand.

The state can't force any city to take evacuees, so now they'll have to be driven farther inland to wait out the storm if one comes. We're just hoping they don't end up with the same bus driver as those 23 poor Rita evacuees.

Here's more about the other (smoother) city pairings, the nightmare of logistics and Mayor Bill White's muted reaction to the snub from the Big D.

Photo from flickr user BlondieKate