Lundi

Investigation is everyone's business~Sandy Rosenthal
Note-The above article is from June 7th, the very first day the rising water in Iowa began to climb this Ladder. As the week passed we witnessed the coming of the next deluge as it grew and grew. Below is a Press Release from levees.org as well as notice of action today on MRGO MUST GO!
United States Flood Epidemic:
Nature or failing infrastructure?
The flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa over 700 feet above sea level, has been accurately compared to the flooding in New Orleans when levees breached during Katrina. Also mirroring New Orleans is a Wisconsin town 1100 feet above sea level when an embankment of Lake Delton breached last week and emptied the lake into the nearby Wisconsin River. Add this to the January midnight levee breach in Fernley, Nevada, a whopping 4200 feet above sea level that flooded 800 homes, and a scenario is emerging that suggests levee failure and flooding is not a distinctly New Orleans problem.

The group Levees.Org, founded after levee breaches during Hurricane Katrina, has campaigned to educate the nation that what happened in New Orleans is a case of federally directed civil engineering failures, not a simple case of a natural disaster. They contend that the flooding within the City during the August 2005 storm could have been avoided had levees been at the right height, and had they been built to withstand a few hours of water overtopping them. Responsibility for the design and construction of levees in New Orleans like most levees in America belongs to the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Levees.Org claims that what happened in New Orleans could happen anywhere, but this problem is not being addressed.

"There are more people in the state of California in danger of catastrophic levee failure than in the states of Texas, Louisiana and Florida combined," says Sandy Rosenthal, Founder of Levees.Org. "This is not just a New Orleans issue." The group has been clamouring for the 8/29 Investigation, Senate Bill 2826 filed by Senator Mary Landrieu D-LA because the organization responsible for the levees, the US Army Corps of Engineers sponsored the official investigation as to why the levees failed.
That, says Levees.Org is a conflict of interest.
---------
Contact: Sandy Rosenthal, Executive Director 504-722-8172

Today Levees.Org will join with St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro, the MRGO MUST GO Coalition, and the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club in urging the public to take action to make sure the job gets done.
WHEN:
Speakers: 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Distribution of signs: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
WHERE:
8201 West Judge Perez Dr,
Chalmette, LA, 70043
Click here for a map.
WHAT: A broad coalition of groups will launch a new public action campaign on Monday to ensure the controversial MS River Gulf Outlet (MRGO or "Mister Go") is finally and truly plugged, and that formerly protective wetlands it helped destroy are restored as Congress directed. Please click da'pic to enlarge.
Concerned citizens can help in two ways:
1. Come to 8201 W. Judge Perez Drive to pick up FREE yard signs, stickers, and decals saying: MRGO MUST GO.
2. Send a personalized email to the White House to make sure this critical work gets done. Louisianans can call the White House if they prefer at 202-456-1414

For more information contact: Juanita Constible (337-255-2831, constiblej@nwf.org)
or Sharyn Stein (202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org)
www.levees.org

Crests along Miss. River now expected to top '93 levels
~USGS Flood Guage
-Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO

Missouri Governor orders more resources in flood response



<-Click to enlarge.
MS River
MO River
above
St. Louis
(lower right)
WAVICS
Wave-Current-Surge
Information System for Coastal Louisiana
Note~ Gentle'rillas can use these interactive sites together to study the flooding in any state: zoom WAVICS sat'view out and "curser" the Map up the Mississippi River to Indiana and Illinois and then zoom'click back down to follow the smaller rivers like the Ohio and the Iowa. This is active data.
I use the USGS maps to get oriented to the states and their flood gauges due to the lack of boundries of the sat'view. I also look up State Maps.

USGS~Flood Stage Levels current 'real-time' guage readings

Team fills thirst for flooding data
"Man, this is amazing," said Goodrich, 55, a supervisor with the U.S. Geological Survey's data collection team. Staring down at his laptop, Goodrich studied lines showing the speed and direction of currents below.
"The water levels, the flow, everything, it's so much worse than it was back in 1993," he said.

36,000 Iowans homeless as floodwaters reced
Brian Gibson, a member of the urban search and rescue unit Iowa Task Force One, uses his hand to indicate the water level in the basement of an evacuated house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sunday. Emergency and utility crews begun the long process of examining each house in the flood zone to make sure they were safe for residents to return. Photo-Seth Wenig, AP
~USGS Gauge Readings
-Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, IA

Update: Debris, home inspections, water, bridges, animals, buses

Mold a concern in flooded buildings

Firefighter Kurt Woode marks a house with a 'not safe' symbol after noting that the foundation was compromised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sunday, June 15, 2008. Emergency and utility crews begun the process of examining each house in the flood zone to make sure they were safe for residents to return. AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Each home or business was given a red, yellow or green placard. Red homes were off limits, yellow could be entered with some restrictions and green homes could be entered by two adults — no more, no less — on foot.

A frustrating day of heartache and anger

An angry resident that tried to drive around a security checkpoint is stopped by law enforce- ment. Rick Blazek, 54, was arrested a few moments later. Photo~AP

Tempers rising for frustrated Palo residents
"It was condescending," said Bisson, a 39-year-old contracts manager at Rockwell Collins. "The biggest news to come out of there was that we could maybe get in at 2 p.m." But traffic through the checkpoints was a trickle Sunday afternoon, and groups of visibly frustrated residents stood in front of the squad cars — as they have for the last couple of days.
"Last night (Saturday) I got so mad I almost had a heart attack," said Don McCluskey, who lives in a mobile home on Vinton Street. "These people have been stopping us for two days."
Residents must walk into town through one of the checkpoints, and drop off identification so they leave the way they came in. People whose homes have been deemed safe can make unlimited visits, City Council member Paula Gunter said.

Editilla really gotta ax'ya~Who are the property owners here and what rights do they have to be on their property?

Reporter arrested while covering Des Moines flood

The Mississippi River as seen from Burlington, Iowa June 15, 2008. Officials moved paintings, books and documents out of harm's way on Sunday as record flooding in parts of the U.S. Midwest partly submerged the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. Photo-Eric Thayer

Burlington fills sandbags, watches levee~There's flooding in Burlington in southeastern Iowa, and sandbagging is under way to try to keep it from getting worse.

Coralville Reservoir has Crested
~USGS Gauge readings:
-Iowa River below Coralville damn

Iowa Officials Stunned By Aerial View Of Crop Loss

Corn Jumps to Record as Floods in Midwest Threaten U.S. Crops
Stalks of corn rise out of
flooded farmland outside Hills, Iowa. Flood ravaged Iowans were to begin the first stages of recovery under sunny skies Monday but officials warned it could be two weeks before river levels returned to normal and the damage will be in the billions. Photo-AFP/Getty Images/David Greedy

Flooding Pere Marquette River to peak Monday afternoon
Flood waters continued to rise Sunday in parts of western Michigan as the state tried to recover from a second straight weekend of severe weather.

Ludington dam not damaged from flooding~An inspection by the State Department of Environmental Quality found the dam that separates the lake from Lake Michigan was not damaged by lake water that rose 2.7 feet Thursday night during a 12-inch rainstorm, said Mason County Administrator Fabian Knizacky.

IL Governor declares county disaster area as rivers are expected to stay at flood stage

Midwest flooding impacts Amtrak service~BLET

America's Midwest floods are the worst in half a century

CNN: “Biblical Flood 2008″
~Church of God News
Here we come,
Walkin' down the street.
We get the funniest looks from
Ev'ry one we meet.
Hey, hey, we're the Monkees
And people say we monkey around.
But we're too busy singing
To put anybody down.

Floods in China kill 57, 1 million godless communists flee

FEMA director defends giving away hurricane supplies
~Hat T'n'T~Voices of New Orleans

A Bit More on the FEMA Ice Controversy~slabbed
Editilla finds a stigmata point~Not to be confused with the ICE FEMA controversy?

Forum on Gulf Coast insurance issues is being held in New Orleans today

New Orleans pastor returns to Ithaca

N.O. schools set for building boom

Some New Orleans streets flood during thunderstorm

Arts students get intensive training this summer

I do fit in!~Kiss My Gumbo

Student Group Supports Hurricane Katrina Relief
Four times a year, the Aztec student group travels to the New Orleans area to assist with recovery efforts. They rebuild homes, help with cleanup and assist overworked social service providers.
This month, 25 students will be going.
Twenty-one local artists created pieces pertaining to New Orleans or Hurricane Katrina that were auctioned off at the benefit. Proceeds will help fund the work of the SDSU student volunteers, or "Nawleanteers" as they call themselves.

Go Fish New Orleans~Fly Talk

New Orleans Iced Coffee
-A Summer Treat
~A Taste of Carolina

4am New Orleans
~Trailing Xtabay

Ned Sublette Interview~BOMB




Tomato, Seafood, and Zydeco Festivals

“Guitar Yakuza” Matsumura Takashi , awesome Japanese blues guitar player

Music Makes You Feel ____.

The "City That Care Forgot" is put to music by Dr. John ~Louisiana Weekly