A recent article in the Baton Rogue Advocate indicates that "Gov. Kathleen Blanco wants to use $2.8 million of an expected windfall of sales tax and gambling revenue to improve emergency communications in areas affected by Hurricane Rita." The plan: upgrade all emergency communications equipment in southwest Louisiana to a 700-megahertz radio system.

Unfortunately, the start of the 2006 hurricane season is June 1- a mere two months away- which doesn't leave nearly enough time to implement the proposed improvements.

As if a lack of time didn't already complicate things enough, the situation is exacerbated by the well-documented fact that in Louisiana (and most other states) the equipment of local emergency response agencies is often incompatible with that used by state agencies.

The $2.8 million will cover only a portion of the cost of improving the communications system. Local agencies will be required to purchase the radios and other equipment necessary to actually operate on the system - an expense that many localities simply can't afford.

The result: emergency communications in Louisiana will remain a patchwork quilt of non-compatible emergency communications. Meanwhile, hurricane experts are predicting 17 named storms for the upcoming hurricane season - more than they did last year at this time.