Habitat for Humanity opening 3 houses in Musicians' Village

Displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Fredy Omar -- singer and leader of an award-winning Latin band -- fretted while his New Orleans landlord "went crazy." First, the landlord insisted that Omar, who temporarily relocated to San Francisco, continue to pay rent even though Omar couldn't live in the rental unit. "Then he kicked me out," Omar recalled. Although he was upset at the time, this sort of misery no longer concerns the seasoned musician, who today will celebrate the completion of his house: one of the first three Habitat for Humanity homes built as part of its "Musicians' Village."

from the Times Picayune