2010 will see unprecedented levee spending~Nikki Buskey

Cleveland Leads to Hell as Austin still doesn't 'Get It' and Time turns to the gods~Of Levee Failures and a Weather Event

Questions continue about construction of Olney Creek levee~Scott Mobley
~Redding, CA~ The Olney Creek dike was never constructed as envisioned. But the earthen berm apparently was built according to plans developed 30 years ago, city documents show. That distinction may not matter much to 648 south Redding households just east of the dike who learned earlier this year that they are losing their flood protection and will have to purchase expensive insurance.

Arkansas Lawmakers say levee data key for plan to avert catastrophe~Rob Moritz
~When excessive rainfall caused a breach in the old Skaggs Ferry levee system along the Black River in late March 2008, hundreds of acres of farmland upstream from Pocahontas flooded.
Randolph County Judge David Jansen initially thought it was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ responsibility to fix the break, but he soon determined that a levee district board was in charge of maintaining the eight-mile stretch of levee along the Lawrence and Randolph county line. Jansen also learned that the board no longer existed. “In the late 1960s or early 70s, the board members, they got tired of getting chewed out, basically, by the Corps of Engineers for not maintaining or operating the levee district, so they just quit,” he said.
Worried that the same scenario could play out across the state, with disastrous results, the Legislature this year adopted legislation requiring an accounting of the status and funding of each levee district in every county.

Tax Advantages Profit Blooming Nonprofits ~NPR
~The number of nonprofits in the U.S. has grown more than 60 percent in just a decade, raising concerns that some are exploiting the tax code's broad definition of charities.

Louisiana doctors working on 'crisis standards' for when medical system is overwhelmed
~Sherry Fink

NY area builders continue to take up tools to help survivors of Federal Flood

Sunday Funnies~Citizen K

5 Lawyer Quotes we loved in '09
~Lawyers and Settlements.com
~Memorable, thought-provoking, grounded in principle—and one that capped off an emotional trial in New Orleans and marked a victory long overdue—the following are some quotes from attorneys we interviewed in 2009…

Fight Back Center Grand Opening & Announcement of New Orleans Take Back the Land Initiative~Communities Rising

Yes, KBR, (and USACE) Congress is Talking About You
~David Isenburg~"Seems to me WWII went okay, ...Corps of Engineers construction in both theaters. No cost analysis that I recall concerning which approach cost more or less, ... at least not from the CBO or other reliable sources. Then again I didn't hear stories of GI's killed taking showers, until these lunkheads took over."

Bring excess equipment home
~US Rep. Gene Taylor

Red snapper rebounding in Gulf, study finds~Cris Kirkham

Support builds up to return Amtrak's Sunset Limited

Public Relations Society of America Draws Spotlight Online
~Jack O’Dwyer

Payvand Iran News...

The (Blues) Christmas Train #5
~Robert Frost's Banjo
~Editilla Notellas~ Sorry we missed this one on The Day.

On This Day In Jazz Age Music

NolaFunk NYC

A Viper Night on Frenchman
~Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans

The Music of New Orleans Funk'n Blues Legend Ernie Vincent and the Top Notes