Samedi

Sediment-laden water pours into the northern Gulf of Mexico from the Atchafalaya River in this photo-like image, taken 4/7 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

Divide & Conquer ~"We just want someone to keep the legislators off of us so we can do our jobs."~Tim Doody, president of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East.


LSU SHAME ON YOU!

Citizens argue against LSU's FEMA appeal on Charity Hospital
~Bill Barrow~The coalition, which in a separate case has asked an Orleans Parish court to order the reopening of Charity, does not say how much the state should get. But they accuse state officials, including the Louisiana State University System, of lying about the circumstances surrounding the hospital in an effort to secure "unwarranted FEMA dollars" as the financial anchor for constructing a new hospital that LSU wanted before Katrina. Public affairs officer Earl Armstrong said FEMA's Houston office does not believe the 27-page filing will have any bearing on its June 20 deadline to answer the state's latest appeal.
"I'm not sure we'll even respond," Armstrong said.
BREAKING NEWS ~SaveCharityHospital.com has obtained never before seen photographs demonstrating the condition of Charity Hospital just weeks after the storm in late September, 2005.
It looks ready to take patients. Editilla T'n'T~WCBF




Court Filings say LSU squeezing FEMA for hospital money
~Allen M. Johnson Jr.

Partisan squabble erupts over Child-Governor Jindal's faux- presidential campaign travel
~Mellinda Deslatte

Daily Slabbed

Federal report blasts conditions
at Orleans Parish Prison
~Bruce Nolan

Closer to the Greenway~Editor B

Plan could yield local hurricane, coastal projects~Nikki Buskey

Spy plane shows worth as
flood-fighting tool
In this photo released March 31, 2009, by Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection Agency is an unmanned aircraft used to monitor Red River flooding as it lands at Grand Forks, North Dakota, Air Force Base on Feb. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/ Juan Munoz-Torres, courtesy Customs and Border Protection)

Toledo Mud Hens
~Kosher Computing

Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back
~Chicago Stage Review

Affrodite's Adventures in Nappy Hair

Live French Quarter Festival coverage coming your way ~Nola.com~Webcams, Live-Blogging, Twit'ing

Roast beef po' boy at Majoria's Commerce Restaurant
~Eating In Translation

Jacob's Andouille ~Nola Cuisine

Sync Up: The Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange
~Sync Up is a series of morning conference sessions held the Friday and Saturday of both festival weekends (April 24-25 and May 1-2), from 9 a.m. to noon. Topics to be discussed include the economic climate for international music festivals, distributing music through such digital media as video games, artist development in the Internet age, new funding mechanisms like nonprofit record labels, copyright protection and more.

N.O. institution closes, only to move down the street
~Michael Luke, WWL
~John Blancher is closing the old Mid City Lanes Rock n’ Bowl Wednesday with a performance by Joe Krown, though he has already opened a newer, shinier version of his bowling alley/night club at 3000 S. Carrollton Ave.

CD Review: Allen Toussaint, “The Bright Mississippi”

Wild Magnolias Big Chief Bo Dollis is battling back from serious illness and a bitter dispute ~Keith Spera

Making It Hard To Forget the Big Easy~WNYC

Lil Wayne, Hip Hop, and How Life Informs Art
~Nordette Adams
~Having read yesterday that rapper Lil Wayne was sexually assaulted as a child and recalling that he is from New Orleans, I've been mulling him over. Whether we approve of rap or not, think it's art or don't, rap lyrics still fall within poetic literature.
So, how has Lil Wayne's life informed his art?

Vendredi

Louisiana’s flagship university runs aground on public opinion. Does the state care?
~Len Bahr, lacoastpost.com

Hurricane expert’s firing criticized
~Jordan Blum and Allan M. Johnson Jr.
~Clapping and chanting “L-S-U — Shame on you!” dozens of sign-waving demonstrators in New Orleans on Thursday protested the university’s firing of hurricane expert Ivor van Heerden.
Marcia Cooke, a high school math teacher, takes part in a demonstration against the firing of LSU professor Ivor van Heerden in front of LSU’s Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.

<~Pat Hebert takes part in a demon- stration against the firing of LSU professor Ivor van Heerden in front of LSU's Health Sciences Center in New Orleans on Thursday. An effort is growing to get LSU to rescind a decision to fire the coastal scientist who has been a vocal critic of the Corps of Engineers. Sandy Rosenthal, founder of levees.org and an organizer of the protest rally, called van Heerden a “hero.” “People who live here have lost an expert voice on hurricane and flood protection issues,” said Rosenthal, whose group has been dogging the Army Corps over the failure of the levees. “What will we do the next time a storm comes? There will be no independent voice representing us, the citizens.”
Photos~Bill Harber/AP ~~Video coverage here
~More Rally Photos at levees.org

MR-GO gets ready to go - Part 4: The Defense ~slabbed

Louisiana has much at stake in debate~Bruce Alpert
~For environmentalists, such as Aaron Viles of the Gulf Coast Restoration Network, Louisiana is "ground zero" in the fight to combat global warming because failure to address it aggressively will lead to more destructive tropical storms and higher sea levels threatening the coast. Any job losses from global-warming legislation, he said, could be more than offset with new "green energy" jobs.

U.S. Army North Completes Annual Hurricane Drill

Repairing New Orleans, one piece at a time~Don Eriksson

Get the scoop on who French Quarter Festival musicians plan to see~Allison Fensterstock
~French Quarter Fest webcast: Watch the Pavillion Stage live

Dog lover Ana Zorilla asks public to support 'Bark in the Park' this spring ~Chris Rose

High-Speed Rail Routes That Could Get Upgrades
HopeOver, HopeLash, HopeBreak: A Lexicon of Disappointment ~Naomi Klein

James Gill: Rapper C-Murder not the most credible anti-violence advocate

Wolfgang’s Vault
~Vikram Swaran Singh Chadha

Jeudi

MR-GO gets ready to go - Part 3 - the Plaintiffs’ case~slabbed

Rally to support and defend
Academic Freedom, Our Safety from Flooding
and
Dr. Ivor van Heerden!

In response to public outrage over LSU's decision to fire hurricane expert Ivor van Heerden, Levees.org held a rally at LSU's Health Sciences Center in downtown New Orleans, this morning.
~~~~~~~~~
Sign a letter to the LSU Chancellor
~~~~~~~~~
Ask the Governor to urge LSU Chancellor Martin to reconsider his decision on LSU Hurricane Center
UPDATE on the Child-Governor:
Governor Jindal, who is again touring out of state fund-raising for his presidential campaign, has not returned levees.org phone calls requesting a meeting --or at least a statement-- about this issue.
The Governorcist has received over 3oo letters from constituents in just the past 24 hours.
~~~~~~~~~~
Rumor has it that, since Dr. van Heerden could not be present at the Rally, levees.org sequestered and gagged a real live mannequin to stand in the good doctor's place against muzzling academic freedom.
....hehehe, New Orleans y'all! hahahahahaha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levee officials decry legislative bills as draining money from New Orleans flood protection
~Land loss on 17th Street Canal alarms levee officials
~Sheila Grissett

GOP to New Orleans:
Liberals Did It ~Betsy Reed

Exquisite Corps may pay students to clean up after flood

Crescent City Hack,
an inside account of driving a New Orleans cab

Mercredi

Leak returns near Metairie levee, triggering more tests
~Sheila Grissett

17th Street Canal erosion prompts investigation
~Sheila Grissett

Corps' coastal report faulted for lack of specifics
~Mark Schleifstein

Corps plan to protect state criticized~Amy Wold

Update: Judge Duval rules - and says so in an Order
and Be a First Responder to the disaster LSU created!

Bob Marshall: LSU ouster of
Ivor van Heerden removes most
honest appraiser of levee failures
~Editilla Notella~ Repost Composted fo'da comments

All progress depends on the unreasonable man - Ivor van Heerden, Welcome to SLABBED

LSU firing of scientist raises questions and commentary ~Deon Roberts

Putting a dollar value on our coastal largesse - and the energy cost of keeping it ~lacoastpost

Mississippi River mud to help build up marsh~Chris Kirkham

United Artist Front - New Orleans Mural Arts Program (Melissa Levine) ~NOLA RISING

Human Rights and Water
~Aguanomics

The National Disaster Reconstruction Expo

SAVE CHARITY HOSPITAL.COM
~casa de Charlotte della luna

In word and deed
~Squandered Heritage

Uptown, Lakeview meetings tonight on proposed master plan

LSU unveils realignment plan
~Jordan Blum~University officials describe changes at packed faculty forum

Survey: New Orleans in top 25 cities for walking

Iran in the 1970s before the Islamic Revolution

Dr. John clarifies his position on Shell, Jazz Fest and Louisiana's wetlands~Keith Spera

Mardi~ Hey everyone, let's MRGO!

Too True~Bob Marshal
~Ivor van Heerden pointed fingers at the feds after Katrina, and LSU decided its funding was at risk.
In the days immediately after Katrina, the world thought New Orleans had been ravaged by a huge storm simply too large for the high-tech flood protection system built at great cost by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And according to some members of Congress and many media commentators, that's just what we deserved for living here, below sea level.
In fact, that was the official story being put out by the corps.
But about a week after the storm, as van Heerden and engineers on his staff began inspecting the deadly breaches in that system, the story began to change. They were expecting to see evidence of over-topping, signs Katrina was just too big for the system, the very scenario the center had predicted the day before the storm came ashore. What they found was something else:
Signs of catastrophic engineering failures.

Dr. Jeff Masters offers esteemed support for Ivor van Heerden
~Wunder Blog

The People's Court!~Gavel to gavel, blog to blog coverage of the historic MRGO Lawsuit! ~slabbed

Child Governor Bobby Jindal Faces Louisiana Bataan Or Baton March? ~Stephen Sabludowsky

"Mixed use community" set for 100 acres on Northshore~
Don Ames, WWL~St. Andrew's Village, a planned $30-million, 100-acre mixed-use community east of Abita Springs for adults with developmental disabilities, will officially launch the project with the dedication of its sign today.

John Glenn Photo Journalist Exhibits to Benefit the New Orleans Musician’s Clinic

French Quarter Festival just one of 28 Louisiana festivals this weekend~Keith I. Marszalek

After a lifetime of wagering, co-owner of 45 Tchoup struck it rich in the 2006 Kentucky Derby ~Angus Lind

High Heels Poker Tour to host satellite event in New Orleans

Mardi Gras Indians
Super Sunday | NOLA
~Jeffrey Dupuis

Scott Miller Steps onto Amtrak
for East Coast Tour Dates
New CD out Today
~all about Jazz

Lundi

Ivor van Heerden and Levees.org on WWL Radio today 3pm! --says Hurricane Center Closed



LSU:
Shame on you!
Levees.org requests face-to-face meeting with Governor Jindal during the coming week to discuss this issue.
~Email the Governor
~Request a Meeting with the Governor

LSU shoots messenger, fires
Ivor van Heerden ~lacoastpost
~"Hurricane Katrina created a number of local and even national heroes, some of whom I am proud to know and Dr. van Heerden is high on that list.
If having the cajones to blow the whistle on the most catastrophic and expensive coastal disaster in recent US history is grounds for firing, what can possibly be grounds for advancement?"

"My own University (U.C. Berkeley) was also approached in an inappropriate manner during that same Winter of 2005-06, but such untoward pressures were simply rebuffed. That, in the end, probably goes right to the heart of what really separates a top-flight university with one of the top Colleges of Engineering in the nation (and the top-rated Department of Civil Engineering in the nation) from a university like LSU." ~Prof. Raymond B. Seed, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

~Dr. van Heerden said he was fired because LSU officials sought to silence him. He said his firing also may be related to a pending trial of the Army Corps of Engineers about flooding caused by the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet.
Dr. van Heerden may testify at the trial.

13 Slabbed

Let the good times boil...Thank you, NODP

Local union stevedores are struggling as cargo volumes at the Port hit the lowest levels since 1985~Jen DeGregorio

Agencies speed hiring for stimulus onslaught
~ Stephen Losey~To help with its task of hiring at least 930 engineers, architects, contract specialists and other employees over the next several months, the Army Corps of Engineers will use direct hire authority, which allows agencies with special needs to bypass the normal hiring process and bring new employees on board more quickly.

Tax season is high note for
New Orleans musician Joe Blakk's
second career~Alison Fensterstock

Betty Harris: Soul Perfection Plus (1963-69)~Soulful Divas


Sometimes, Monday ain't nothin'ta play wit. Thanks Jared.

Nicholas Payton~Trumpet World

Wynton Marsalis: He and She
~Graham Reid, Elsewhere

New Levon Helm: Electric Dirt
~JamBase

Dimanche~Happy Elevator Day!

Harry Shearer interview with Dr. Ivor van Heerden on Le Show!
~Editilla Notellas~ This excellent and detailed interview really opens up the story as Dr. van Heerden lays out clearly what has now happened to our Coastal Storm Protection, ASCECORPS roll in its current demise and how this miscarriage of justice was definitely planned well in advance of the MRGO lawsuit against the Corps, due for trial April 20th --and for which our hero had already received notice of a subpoena. LSU never notified the good Dr. van Heerden that he had been fired, never said a word, but instead left our hero to find out from the Press, the bastads.
(Gentle'rillas may download the podcast.) We will carry these posts forward due to the ongoing Heavy Discussion in the Comments Section of Mark Schleifstein's initial article. The more comments the more prominently this issue remains on the page.
Editilla believes that this injustice at least rates a Bat Signal!

Wine Island added to $125M Corps study~Nikki Buskey

Jarvis DeBerry: Mayor Ray Nagin, it's not about you
~Specifically, it's about whether it is possible for the average, non-connected person to get a fair deal at City Hall.

Subcontractors at the center of N.O. ethics issues
~Michele Krupa ~DIXCLAIMER!

Coming up this week in Gambit



Eostre Sunday Funnies & Arts
~Citizen K

Our New Sexy 1st Family gets a Water Dog named Beaux!
~Editilla K-Ninaaa~ We thought to correct the spelling!

New Orleans - Day Seven
- lower 9th, farmers market,
Blair Grocery School
~Painting With Fire

Coffee firm shifts forward
~Gary Perilloux

I Left My Heart in N'awlins...
~Sounding Forth

Dear Seattle, Please Support
New Orleans by Eating at
Macrella’s Cookery~Sarah Ford
~The First Test – Love for the Native:
I walked in and declared my place of birth.
Mais Oui, je suis nee a Nouvelle Orleans. Within 2 minutes, the entire staff and I know each other on a first name bases. Within 5 minutes, we can visualize where we all grew up and know exactly from which parishes (what we call counties in LA) we’re from based on our n’awlins accents. Within 10 minutes, they are offering me samples of food. Free food = major love = major win.

A different take on New Orleans in the Civil War~Judith Chettle
~Nowadays, we tend to think of New Orleans as a city of easy living and beguiling charm. We do not associate it with industry and commerce, but the New Orleans of 1861 enjoyed a different reputation. Now historian Michael Pierson, in "Mutiny at Fort Jackson," vividly describes the conditions that led to the fall of New Orleans.

Poetry and the Creative Mind
~Beatrice.com

Author, musician shares love of Louisiana~Cheré Coen