Samedi

Ivor van Heerden, who pointed fingers in Hurricane Katrina levee failures, fired by LSU
~Mark Schleifstein
~Also, engineering professor Marc Levitan has stepped down as the center's director.
Although he does not have an engineering degree, van Heerden was granted a doctorate in marine sciences by LSU in 1983, and the research he had overseen at his health center was aimed at determining the potential for hurricane storm surge to over-top the New Orleans levee system.
"I brought a copy of Ivor's resume, showed them his background and degrees and a copy of the summary of the Team Louisiana contract that Ivor was appointed to head, " Levitan said.
He also pointed out that van Heerden had issued his critiques of the corps as the director of the forensic investigation, which included a team of scientists and civil engineers.
~Editilla stirs da'pot~ This is a Bad News Corps Victory.
This bad scene probably has as much to do with Dr. van Heerden's Storm Surge Modeling running afoul of Gerald Galloway's, the Storm Surge Modeling Business, FEMA Flood Zone Mapping and undue ASCECORPS influence in National Flood Control Policy.
~Video Interview with Dr. van Heerden, WBRZ

Government simulation predicted 61,290 deaths
~Hypothetical Hurricane Pam
~Actual Hurricane Katrina Hindcasts
~Rumor has it that there will be public protests this week in opposition to Dr van Heerden's firing.

Army Corps to ShamWOW area
~Damian Tatum

~The New Orleans Levee

Church memorializes murder victims during Easter
~Scott Satchfield~Father Bill Terry says it’s important to keep a spotlight on the city’s problems with violence. Terry says three years ago, members began writing names of murder victims on a board in front of the church. At year's end, organizers then turn what was a running tally into a permanent memorial.

Archaeologists glean treasures from plantation site dating to 1700s~Bruce Eggler

St. Bernard residents contest home razings~Chris Kirkham

The 31st Crescent City Classic

A book of verse, a jug of wine and thou. Or wine, then verse?
~This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of "Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam".
In January, the Guardian wrote, "It is said that its effect on Victorian England was no less considerable than that of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published in the same year, 1859."
In the U.S., its popularity was so broad that it was the theme of the New Orleans Mardis Gras in 1905.

New Orleans, Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass
~Nordette Adams

Revisiting Katrina: A Flood of DVDs ~Library Journal

Dirty Coast Fashion Show

Dr. John backs Shell-scolding plane that will fly over Jazz Fest ~Keith Spera

2 Nights Celebrating the New Orleans / New York Connection


Live Review- JOHN SCOFIELD & THE PIETY STREET BAND~NolaFunk NYC

Ornette Coleman - Twins (1959)
~Jupiter Variation

Festivals Going Strong, Despite Recession~ArtistForce

Ivor van Heerden, who pointed fingers in Hurricane Katrina levee failures, fired by LSU
~Mark Schleifstein
~Also, engineering professor Marc Levitan has stepped down as the center's director.
Although he does not have an engineering degree, van Heerden was granted a doctorate in marine sciences by LSU in 1983, and the research he had overseen at his health center was aimed at determining the potential for hurricane storm surge to over-top the New Orleans levee system.
"I brought a copy of Ivor's resume, showed them his background and degrees and a copy of the summary of the Team Louisiana contract that Ivor was appointed to head, " Levitan said.
He also pointed out that van Heerden had issued his critiques of the corps as the director of the forensic investigation, which included a team of scientists and civil engineers.
~Editilla stirs da'pot~ This is a Bad News Corps Victory.
This bad scene probably has as much to do with Dr. van Heerden's Storm Surge Modeling running afoul of Gerald Galloway's, the Storm Surge Modeling Business, FEMA Flood Zone Mapping and undue ASCECORPS influence in National Flood Control Policy.

~Video Interview with Dr. van Heerden, WBRZ

Stupid is as stupid does: Scientific Integrity at LSU gets a black eye ~slabbed
~Although van Heerden did not become an expert for hire in Katrina litigation, other members of the L.S.U. engineering department and geology/meteorology/climatology departments did for State Farm. This was a “too cute” move by State Farm to try and lend LSU credibilty to its bs defenses.

Whistle-blowers say disasters from storms can be avoided
(Part 6)~Carol Forsloff

Chinese Drywall and the Cost of Truth-Telling~Harry Shearer

Holbrook, AZ, Seeks Help To Overcome Its Levee Recertification Problems
~Tammy Gray-Searles
Holbrook has been working its way through the process, but has met with several significant roadblocks, including being unable to produce documents proving that the levee was constructed to 100-year flood standards. Although the Corps of Engineers designed and constructed the levee, corps officials have been unable to locate documents relating to construction. Without the documents, the city needs to have significant work done to recertify the levee, such as core sampling, a geotechnical survey and other hydrology studies.

Artists want to turn floodwall into mirror of local homes
~Sheila Grissett
~A New Orleans public art group asked regional levee commissioners Thursday to let 65 local artists paint shotgun houses on an Industrial Canal flood wall to help rejuvenate the Lower 9th Ward.
The nonprofit community group NOLA RISING told a committee meeting of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East that it wants to paint 3,900 feet of flood wall visible from the neighborhood.
Graffiti eradicator Fred Radtke opposes the proposal.

Who say I say I say? Let ‘em have it …with noooo problem
~Kevin Allman

New Orleans Easter parade schedule~The Gambit

Deacon John lived New Orleans history~John Wirt

Fifth Annual "Midnight Preserves" Series in New Orleans

Lil Wayne saved by alert off-duty cop~Ramon Antonio Vargas

Jeudi

Levees.org Calls ASCE Ethics Report 'A Whitewash'~WDSU TV
~"Drowning in controversy."~WWWL TV
~Editilla calls it: ASCE'Buff!

Mississippi River to hit 11 feet Friday in New Orleans, restricting work near levees
~Sheila Grissett

EPA: Floodwall would have "minimal'' impact on West Bank's Bayou aux Carpes Swamp~Paul Rioux

Child-Governor Jindal tells
New Orleans City Council he still
backs hospital~Bill Barrow

New Orleans to receive $30 million grant to protect port
~Sofia Voulgarakis

State raises cap on home elevation grants to $100,000
~Daily Comet

FEMA Dissolves Gulf Coast Recovery Office, Melting... Melllltiiiiiiiiinnng!

Letter from Oakville, Iowa: Scrappy, isolated town struggles to recover from last year's deluge
~Comeback is hard to come by as many residents have given up and moved on. Real-life comebacks, though, can be arduous, heartbreaking ordeals, burdened by self-doubt, impatience and the realization that whatever you're coming back to probably will fall short of what it once was.

National Outcry to Save Wolves

How to Spend $14 Billion to Improve U.S. Rail
~S.E. Kramer

City of Nets~Citizen K

The Birds
~Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans

Crawfish Berl Burrito
~The Chicory

Seafood City, very pretty
~Alison Fensterstock

New Orleans fans second-line to resurrected Pancho's Mexican Buffet ~Angus Lind

Inside Art New Orleans Website~NOPA

United Artist Front - New Orleans Mural Arts Program (Amy Martin) ~Nola Rising

Ani DiFranco Readies New Songs For Tour, Album
~John Benson

Katamari Pharmacy
every Thursday @ R-Bar

Benjy Davis Project

2009 French Quarter Festival 'World's Largest FREE Music Festival'

Mercredi

Louisiana rice fields salted by 2008 hurricanes~Becky Bohrer
~Please click Map courtesy of Wikimapia

Spring on the Cajun Prairie: Where Flat is Beautiful!
~David Pulling

Levees.org Press Conference today, 11:30am

Louisiana oysters spared a threat from an Asian cousin ~lacoastpost

Gulf Coast recovery chief discusses plans for office
~Jonathan Tilove

La. short on shelter space for hurricane evacuees
~Melinda Deslatte

Robo-Call Child-Governor Jindal ~Stephen Sabludowsky

Tax aid proposed to boost La. ports~Allan M. Johnson Jr.

Alligator Bayou floodgate meeting likely ~John McMillan

Weary ND residents prepare for 2nd river crest~Dave Kolpack

City of Moorhead, MN Requests Volunteers to Supplement Sandbag Reserves

Texas district unveils 'Fryer Flyer' bio- fuel school bus ~School Bus Fleet

Canal Street Chronicles' Reaches One Year Anniversary
~Editilla Krewellas~
Happy Blogger'day to Youz!
Happy Blogger'day to YOUZ!
Happy Blogger'day dear Canal Street Chronicles!
HAPPY BLOGGER'DAY TOOOOOO YOUZ!
--and many mooooore!

New Orleans Murder Blog

PWNED!~Suspect Device

Hump Day Slabbed

I'm not gonna be happy w/o air conditioning this summer! ~Hrrmph!

Post-Katrina rebuilding efforts fueling Jewish service movement
~Jacob Berkman

“Jewish-friendly” racists meet in US ~Harry's Place




Hail to'da Chia'f!
~Citing Racism, Walgreens Pulls 'Chia Obama'

Tim Gautreaux’s ‘The Missing’
~On Point with Tim Ashbrook

'The Water' to be presented in Los Angeles~Georgia Stitt

The Cocktail Film Festival

Sustainable practices give way to economy at Nola restaurants?
~Jaime Guillet

Pizzeria to Build 'Junk Food Pyramid' in New Orleans in May
~Serious Eats

Asparagus with Tabasco Mayo

Ivan Neville’s DUMPSTAPHUNK + Shades of Praise
~Wednesday at the Square

Mardi

“Below Sea Level” (???) is open at Mass MoCA
~The Villamil Organization
~One of the defining attributes of a cyclorama, of a panoramic theater, is that it does not guide the attention of the viewer.
The viewer has to explore the cyclorama, looking in all directions, discovering for themselves meaningful images and events within the scene. To some extent, this is why this format worked for this subject: the piece is more about New Orleans as a living, breathing place, able to recover and survive from disaster, and not as the city as the tragic victim of a hurricane.
From the very beginning, Pawel believed it was important that the piece not be strictly didactic, that it not point the finger, but rather immerse the viewer and let them discover New Orleans in all its richness, by actively exploring.

Review: Isaac's Storm
~Dave Wells
~Editilla Rotellas da'Sorcerer Apprentice~
Tuesday is Myth Sweeping day and we need some brooms for the above two ledes, cobwebs we hung atop your trusty Ladder. Why? Because they have comments sections. For some reason, perhaps an expanded Monday, today begins with Myth and Misnomer batting poor Editilla in the eye like music at a Dead show:
A#1- Katrina flooded New Orleans and not the Exquisite Corps,
B#2- New Orleans is below sea level.
It is the same as when I hear the words "Niagra Falls":
Slooowly I toin! Step by Step, Inch by Inch, Mile after MILE!
Another story circulating is that "New Orleans dodged the reccession." Oh? And all this time I have been seeing herolero New Orleanians dodge: bullets, the Exquisite Corps' Krewe of Leake, housing bulldozers, LSU, carpet baggars, money launderers, and the exorcist child-governor, megalomaniacal asshole mayor and insidious, racist corrupt city council.
Silly Editilla... so blinded by the red dust.

Game of Chicken
~David Winkler-Schmit
~A proposed cold-storage facility adjacent to the French Market pits the Port of New Orleans against WORRIED French Quarter and Marigny residents.
~Editilla Notellas~ This threatens all of us.
Please also see: Building a Time Bomb.


Louisiana Responds To Stolen Cessna Threat~BBuzz

High-tech hero rode in on a Trojan horse~Jarvis DeBerry

New Orleans Master Plan District Meetings: Let your opinion and input be heard ~Nolabrarian

Hurricane Katrina did not raise awareness of poverty, study finds
~Louisiana Weekly

The first bail-out: NFIP accessed by manipulation of construction price data following Hurricane Katrina~slabbed

Winds of Change:
The Rebirth of New Orleans
~Mark Newberg

Census Bureau seeks help from New Orleans ethnic media
~Anthony Advincula

Parishes ask Vatican for mediation over closings, fail to notice misdirection from Child Molestation Lawsuits or Tons of tax-free Church profits from Real Estate Sales

New Bill Would Restore Clean Water Act Protections

America's 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009~American Rivers

Flood control dictates gate use ~Molly Wold~With the opening of the flood gate Sunday at Alligator Bayou, officials in Iberville and Ascension parishes will now use water levels in Bayou Manchac to determine when to close the structure.

Bayou dredging aims to ease local flooding~Naomi King
~Shrimping to open April 13 off Terrebonne

Hurricane Forecast 2009: 6 Expected in "Average" Season
~Willie Drye
~Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

A powerful aftershock has hit central Italy, nearly two days after a major earthquake caused severe damage.

Offshore drilling, wind power hearing planned in New Orleans
~Gary Perilloux~The battle over how best to use offshore U.S. waters for energy will come to New Orleans on Wednesday when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar holds one of four national hearings at Tulane University.
~Contentious New Jersey Hearing Shows Challenge of Crafting Offshore Energy Policy

Residents and volunteers
reclaiming a natural resource
hidden in the 9th Ward
~Molly Reid~Wards of New Orleans

Aeromexico adding service to New Orleans

The worst street in the world- in New Orleans
~Emerging Past Katrina

Easter in New Orleans~Sharon Keating

Law & Order: Special Bloggers Unit~Canal Street Chronicles

Chris Rose on enjoying a New Orleans evening at Bistro Daisy

Spring Restaurant Guide
~The Gambit

Runners take to the streets, Easter parades roll and Tiki Drinks are served this week in New Orleans
~Keith I. Marszalek

Lundi

Ready for Another Paradigm Shift? ~Clancy DuBos
~Editilla philosofecates, finds a paradigm a dozen...
sh*t in one hand half a dozen in da'utter!

New Orleans jobs have moved away from downtown, Brookings Institution finds

Polls shows low approval ratings for Nagin
~Editilla say~BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

DDD wins $750,000 grant to lure creative industries
~New Orleans City Business

Contractors stretched with $3.2B in corps projects
~Angelle Bergeron

Squatters hidden in New Orleans' abandoned houses often need more help than other homeless people ~Katy Reckdahl

ASCE Committee on Professional Conduct Completes ASCECORPS Ethics Investigation of Itself ~Mark Schleifstein
and Sheila Grissett
~Advises Engineering Society of two technical errors in their use of press releases to mislead public on Corps Responsibility for levee failures,
as well as ASCECORPS assessment of the performance of the New Orleans Hurricane Protection System In Name Only.
NO CHARGES however of any of the individuals named were filed as a result of this...
ASCE'Buff Report. Whatta'souprize!
Go figure... Go Fish! Or...Eat Crowella!

Dear Editilla,
Over 5,000 of you signed a petition urging the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to do a speedy and thorough investigation of charges that the ASCE administration colluded with staffers at the Corps of Engineers to hide the Corps' mistakes in the New Orleans flooding and intimidate anyone who tried to intervene.

Over 5,000 of you were both outraged and engaged.

Today, the ASCE announced that no ethics misconduct charges would be filed against any of its executives after a 13-month self-investigation.

In response Levees.org is hosting a press conference on Wed Apr 8, 2009 at 11:30am at Lakeview Harbor Restaurant, 911 Harrison Ave, New Orleans.
Please join us at this important news conference.

Background: 18 months ago, Dr. Ray Seed, co-chair of the Independent Levee Investigation Team (ILIT) filed a 42-page ethics complaint against members of his own society as well as staffers at the Corps of Engineers. In response, the ASCE formed a Committee on Professional Conduct to look into Dr. Seed's allegations. Those results were released today.

At our Wednesday press conference, Levees.org will also present never before disclosed information. We will explain at the press event why we have not released this information sooner.
Please join me and HJ Bosworth Jr. at the short press conference.

Thank you,
Sandy Rosenthal
Founder, Levees.org

Creativity gone wrong
~Carolyn Jack

FEMA levee certification
~FEMA has been in the process of certifying flood protection levees nationwide. A recent study ordered by FEMA has determined that the Live Oak Acres Levee along the Ventura River, originally constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, cannot be certified as meeting FEMA’s new standards. This means that FEMA will likely include more than 100 properties behind the levee in the mapped floodplain.
Besides 106 properties expected to be re-designated into a floodplain, 127 others may be affected by the remapping.

Federal law hampers hurricane recovery~Gerald Shields
~Stafford Act slows flow of funds to thousands of projects

Water wars leave farmers high and dry

Asian Oysters Banned From Chesapeake
~David A. Fahrenthold

Defying The Rain~Liz Moucka
~The story behind the new K-8 elementary school in Pass Christian, MS, is quite a tale of teamwork to create a multifunctional facility for the entire community. Even with their children attending school in trailers since Hurricane Katrina, Pass Christian students had the highest test scores in Mississippi. It is no wonder that the community rallied around the school district to rebuild their infrastructure.

Push on for high-speed rail
~Deborah Barfield Berry

Canine castaway on island for five months ~Marissa Calligeros

The why of those we do not understand
~Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans

Brazilian Health Fair in Kenner / New Orleans~A Minha Vida
Feira de Saúde Especialmente para a Comunidade Brasileira
no dia 19 de abril, 2009
de 10:30 às 15:00
Em frente ao Brazilian Market
2424 Williams Blvd.
Kenner, LA 70062
Serviços Médicos Oferecidos:
Teste de Glicose
Teste de Pressão sangüínea
Teste de HIV
Informação Médica em Português
Intérpretes Português- Inglês
Uma Demonstração de Capoeira pelo Grupo Maculelê

The Wild Magnolias' Bo Dollis and Monk Boudreaux reunite, however briefly~Keith Spera

There and Back Again:
An Interview with the subdudes' John Magnie~John Metzger

Scofield Does New Orleans in
New York ~ Mike Levine

Paris' Quai Branly Museum celebrates 'Jazz Century'
~Sebastian Rotella

Now It's Really Music Monday:
Midnight Train to Georgia
~Roxiticus
~Editilla Confessas~ We considered the blogger handle: "Edicus Myazmus" or some sorta slide therein, but settled for the more Pun'ished Editilla.

Dimanche

New Orleans’ First Ever Earth Day Festival
~"Residents of New Orleans understand more than anyone the need for environmental protection," said Anne Rolfes of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, the group organizing the event. "We will celebrate the good work of New Orleans' environmental groups, learn about alternative energy and make the case for a strong green economy and reduced pollution here in Louisiana."
~Earthday~April 22nd~



Barataria Preserve–The Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve~Quinta Scott

Culmination of the 2009 high water trip by the Miss. River Commission~lacoastpost

BTL:Volunteers Work to Rebuild New Orleans' Wetlands

RIP Jaran 'Julio' Green
~Big Red Cotton

B.R. Senate Race a Setback for Child-Governor Jindal
~Clancy DuBos

Jindal puts Ideology before Facts (Yet Again)~dakinikat

Northern Louisiana faces water supply woes ~Doug Simpson
~"It's a predictable situation: we're going to run out of water at this rate in this part of the world."
~Ruston Mayor Dan Hollingsworth.

Residents to bring drainage woes
to Terrebonne council
~Naomi King

Choupique may be a trash fish for some, treasure to others
~David A. Bourgeois

AIG - a Starr in the crown
~slabbed

Small towns debate value of ethanol plants

River pilots get raise as cargo at
Port of New Orleans slumps
~Jen DeGregorio

Ghosts in the Machine
~Social Gumbo

Is David Baum Yet Another Carpetbagger? Yeah, looks that way...

Local writer Barb Johnson wins $50,000 prize~Susan Larson

Culinary Professionals to Assist with Gulf Coast Recovery
~Judy Walker

Jazz photography legend hits the right notes~Dana Batholomew
~After losing many of his acclaimed jazz photos in Hurricane Katrina, Herman Leonard moved to Studio City and is reprinting his life s work. Now, 150 of his photographs are part of the Smithsonian s National Museum of American History. In the midst of compiling a fourth anthology of his work, he's also been laboriously reprinting many of the 8,000 prints lost to Hurricane Katrina at his former New Orleans home.

Review: Gulf Coast Highway
~Crossroads Blues Society

Wynton Marsalis Remembering the Duke~all about Jazz

Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra
~Indie Music Shop

Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection~Soup Greens