hears opportunity knocking. it is a pretty aggressive move to go after a convention in the middle of a recession. that doesn t happen you think it sends a signal to businesses? they are saying, charlotte is growing and progressing. charlotte is getting bigger and better than it already is. reporter: they say the convention will draw 35,000 visitors who will spend up to $200 million on restaurants, hotels and attractions, but local leaders believe the real value goes far beyond that. beyond politics. part of what we are going to be able to show is not only how well we do in the hospitality aspect, but also how well we function at a community. reporter: so if the city is out thing improvements to transit, education, the business climate and quality of life, and it is already working. some old-stalled projects have stalled or started up again and new ones are appearing. the energy giant is expanding its huge turbine plant here by 1,000 jobs.
their habitats into residential areas. officials warn that large gators won t think twice about grabbing a human. let s go to the st. landry parish of crop springs. ed, what do you know? reporter: well, don, we are in one of those neighborhoods that got the mandatory evacuation orders a few hours ago. as you look around here, this is a small subdivision right on the edge of the river. and authorities came through here literally going door to door, the national guard and sheriff s deputies are urging people to leave. and in this subdivision made up of 20 homes, almost everyone has heeded that warning. you can see the spot behind me here, just a patch of dirt, a few hours ago there was a trailer home on that spot. a young man by the name of bret ensley literally had the trailer picked up and driven out of the neighborhood taking it to higher ground. we have seen that in a number of places. other than that, people are bringing in trucks and trailers and loading up what they ca
expected to be open in maybe just the next few hours, leaving residents in low-lying areas preparing for the worst. we have a live report coming your way in just a second. also, can i tell you about some surprising discoveries at osama bin laden s compound and the intensifying diplomatic fallout. then a little later, so happy to share with you a candid conversation with baseball legend hank aaron. the home run king. some say still the home run king talking about what it was like breaking babe ruth s record. why it wasn t necessarily the career highlight that it should have been. we do need to start with what s happening to a lot of folks in the south. louisiana, so many cities sitting on the banks of the mississippi river. happening right now, the road over the morganza spillway north of baton rouge is closing in just a few hours from now, the u.s. corps of engineers will open the flood gates, literally open the flood gates. the plan is to divert the flood waters away fro
aspect, but also how well we function as a community. reporter: so the city is touting improvements to transit, education, the business climate and quality of life, and it s already working. some old stalled projects have started up again, and new ones are appearing. the energy giant siemens, for example, is expanding its huge turbine plant here by 1,000 jobs. i would say a vast majority of them. i d say 80% of the people we hire will be from the local community. i jift think there s a ripple effect that will go on for decades. reporter: building up this town long after the conventioneers go home. so many folks here say this is not about democrats and republicans, this is about a big event like the super bowl or final four. they believe that is the real value of hosting one of these conventions and in a difficult time that s the very reason they re betting on it.
tors who will spend up to 200 million on restaurants, hotels and attractions. but local leaders believe the real value goes far beyond that, beyond politics. part of what we re going to be able to show is not only how well we do in the hospitality aspect but also how well we function as a community. reporter: so, the cityportou improvements to quality of life. it s already working. stalled projects started up and new ones are appearing. energy giant siemen expanding his turbine plant by a thousand jobs. 0% of the people we hire will be from the local community. i think there s a ripple effect that s going on for decades. reporter: building up this town long after the conventi conventioneers go home. tom foreman joins us live from high point, north carolina. tom, how hard has that area been