Meanwhile, in a proactive bid to help battered communities rebuild, Cameron Man, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture at MSU, has announced that his staff is freeing up office space for practicing landscape architects displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The facility will provide working space, Internet access, design tools and equipment and even low-cost housing.

For more information, contact Man at (662) 325-3012 or e-mail cman@lalc.msstate.edu.

Man told Rushing that his staff is already at work coordinating efforts with peers from other states toward identifying needs and helping rebuild ravaged public spaces (including playgrounds).