Federal officials are winding down some of the search and rescue operations in New Orleans as they shift the focus to recovering bodies. In three towns outside New Orleans, residents are being allowed to return to their homes.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.  I'm Robert Siegel.</s>MELISSA BLOCK, host: And I'm Melissa Block.</s>MELISSA BLOCK, host: On the Gulf Coast today, there are some more signs of communities taking      steps toward normalcy.  There are also investigations under way, and more      details about the disaster are emerging.  Just ahead in this segment of      the program, a conversation with Louisiana's attorney general and a      report on job seekers in Mississippi.  But we begin with New Orleans.      Federal officials on the scene have begun to scale back the military's      presence, saying they'll move two Navy ships from the region.  And three      suburbs officially invited their residents to return home.  NPR's Martin      Kaste has more.</s>MARTIN KASTE reporting: The situation in New Orleans has turned a corner.  As Mayor Ray Nagin put      it yesterday, the city is `out of a nuclear crisis mode and into a normal      day-to-day crisis mode.'  Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, FEMA's      point man in southern Louisiana, says the time has come to start moving      out some of the equipment and manpower that were moved into New Orleans      after the storm.</s>Vice Admiral THAD ALLEN (US Coast Guard): There are some DOD assets that      are employed in the response part of this operation that are no longer      needed, and the Department of Defense is going to redeploy those assets.</s>KASTE: Rescuers are no longer under the same sense of urgency, and      federal authorities are now focused on protecting private property and      the ongoing task of recovering bodies from the receding floodwaters.      Vice Admiral Allen.</s>KASTE: Vice Adm. ALLEN:  We express our deepest sympathy to the families that      have lost loved ones as a result of this storm, and we want to ensure      everybody that we are exercising the strictest protocols in the process      that we use to take the remains that are discovered and how they are      handled.</s>KASTE: In the city's western suburbs, things are moving ahead even      faster. For the past few days, Jefferson Parish has been trying to jump      start its economy, clearing streets and inviting businesses to bring in      their employees. The towns of Gretna, Westwego and Jean Lafitte suffered      minimal or no flooding, though the winds took a severe toll on power      lines and roofs.  Now community leaders say it's time for families to      start moving in.  Ronnie Harris is the mayor of Gretna.</s>Mayor RONNIE HARRIS (Gretna, Louisiana): We are pleased to be the first      to be open in Jefferson Parish.  Sure, it's a happy day, but it's not a      joyful day, not yet.  We have a lot of work to do.</s>KASTE: Authorities in the reopened suburbs say they'll enforce a strict      nighttime curfew, and people will have to bring in their groceries from      the outside.  In Jean Lafitte, food will be distributed from City Hall.      The school district for the western suburbs plans to start classes in      early October, even though only about half the district's schools are      usable right now.</s>KASTE: Downtown New Orleans may also reopen soon.  Mayor Nagin says he'll      consider reopening the central business district and maybe the French      Quarter as soon as next week if environmental tests show that the air and      water are safe enough.  If so, the downtown may end up as a lonely island      of life surrounded by a ghost town.  Most of New Orleans' residential      neighborhoods were flooded, and they'll take much longer to reopen.  The      city certainly won't be very welcoming to families for the foreseeable      future.  The New Orleans school system said today that it's run out of      money and can no longer pay the teachers who've been scattered around the      country, along with the children, most of whom are now enrolling in new      schools far from home.  Martin Kaste, NPR News, Baton Rouge.