St. Bernard Parish receives land for hospital

Resolving a major question about the future of St. Bernard Parish's first post-Hurricane Katrina hospital, a nonprofit has formally pledged to donate a 10-acre tract across from the parish government complex. A letter to parish officials from Rita Gue, chairwoman of the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation, said the group "is pleased to provide the land for the hospital with no cost to the residents of St. Bernard Parish." The formal pledge on the land comes less than a month after the Parish Council steered an additional $10 million in federal recovery money toward the hospital project.