Saturday, January 9, 2010

Samedi

Charity Hospital compensation hearing to pit state, FEMA in private arbitration
~Jonathan Tilove

~Editilla Axs~What is Private Public Arbitration?
And, please see SaveCharityHospital.com!

Who is Troy Henry? Really.... who is he?~American Zombie

Another Unique Election
~ClancyDuBos


Storm-related problems haunt dedicated cops~Our father, along with the other heroic NOPD cops, was abandoned by the same government that is now pointing fingers at them. They stayed and were loyal to their city and citizens. In fact, our dad still lives in his New Orleans house. May God bless the NOPD cops who are still dealing with storm-related issues.

Not to belabor a Point~slabbed

Will another flood wipe out New Orleans?~Helium
~Editilla gozintas~ We're still trying to figure this one out, so we hung it on the Ladder in hopes that someone else might understand what is going on here amongst these savvy people?

Lessons from Katrina: Response Recovery and the Public Health Infrastructure
~Elisabeth A. Weeks


Drew Brees: American Needle

~Mardi Gras Parade Schedules.com

Local wetlands ‘in a rapid state of collapse’~Nikki Buskey

Cold weather pinches crawfish

New scientific fishing lure is breakthrough, researcher says
~Jeremy Alford


After the freeze, help your garden recover~Dan Gill

Trees offered in Gulfport giveaway: 14 varieties available Jan. 16~Donna Melton

Google Energy - Surprised?
~Jon Arnold


Cleanup of TVA ash spill is big payday for some


Invitation to Disaster
~Bob Herbert


Habituated to the Vast
~Citizen K


Savannah Book Festival: Escape From a Cold Virtual World
~Georgianne Nienaber


Green Goddess~Ian McNulty
~Editilla Sssnowtellas~ Since we got onto Gambit a little late this week we be'hangin on wit'it. I like to try and swing them out as they crawl on out of the weekend to publish.
This goes way back for me, remembering waiting on the week's Gambit, before the advent of this online fishionado thingy'world. It used to last nearly the whole week too! You'd wait and wait, order another Dixie, maybe some oysters too, finally give up and go to the bathroom... and there'd you'd find it, sitting on the back of the turlet. Jus'sayin... Gambit is still everywhere you gatta go.

'Green Lantern' likely to be joined in New Orleans by D.C. Comics' 'Red'~Mike Scott

Jewtopia~Gambit

Under The Toussaint Covers
~Home of the Groove


NPR's Felix Contreras does a very nice piece on Willie Mitchel

Friday, January 8, 2010

Vendredi

The Dark Prison Gets a Little Spotlight~Harry Shearer

Predominantly black New Orleans could elect first white mayor in 30 years
~Kevin McGill


2-alarm fire on Frenchmen Street destroys mask maker's residence, threatens Spotted Cat Music Club~Ramone Vargas
Further Evidence that Mitch Landrieu is Satan and Hell has Frozen Over
~Editilla excapes da'Punitarium.
Until now, the only Democrat allowed to cozy up with GOP superstar strategist, and Haint of Satan Mary Matalin was her husband, political consultant Jim Carville,
and Satan. But it looks like another candidate for HellBoy has won a bite of Jezebelzebub's heart. According to an invitation circulating this week, Madame Shewolf (above) is slated to co-ho'st an upcoming $1,000-a-person fundraiser in Washington, DC for Lt. Gov Mitch Landrieu.
Thank'ya Cheezus and the Republican Party for buying off another Democrat Mayor of New Orleans AGAIN...
--Yea'N'Verily, Praise-GOP! Saveth Us from Ourselves! Asseth...
--the Succubus cometh! Watch yer'Bucks! Yaaass!

"Since the Federal Flood, the Army Corps of Engineers has kept us safe"
~Da'Mystickle Oyacle


Ozone changes loom for NOLA region~Mark Schleifstein

Suburbs making New Orleans look bad~Jarvis DeBerry

New Orleans: A City That Still Needs You~Kevin Daniels

State Farm demands 19 percent rate car'jack in premiums for Louisiana, 30 % eye'gouge in New Orleans and Houma- Thibodaux, 35% bet on Lafayette
~Editilla Scrotellas~This
is your testicle/ovum.
This is your Testicle- Ovum on State Farm.
Any Questions?

Brrrr – MID throws Allstate’s requested rate increase out in the cold ~slabbed

Strawberry farmers cover fields
~Debra Lemoine
~The strawberry plants can survive the cold weather, said Regina Bracy, professor and research coordinator at the LSU Agriculture Center’s Hammond Research Station. The issue is the survival of the blooms on the plants, which turn into the ruby berries approximately 21 days after the white and yellow flowers appear on the plants, Bracy said. When covered and protected from frost, the blooms can handle freezing temperature as low as 25 degrees.

Plaquemines Parish citrus growers prepare for costly cold snap~C.J. Lin

Peaches, apples may benefit from Deep South freeze
~Janet McConnaughey


FERC Rejects Army Corps’ Challenges on Complying with Reliability Standards
~Troutman Sanders LLP


USACE Surveying and Mapping Community of Practice

County wrestles with federal officials over Orick flood maps
~John Driscoll
~Humboldt County is pushing federal emergency officials to take another look at draft flood maps that project the little town of Orick will be under water during big floods, which threatens to force property owners to buy insurance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency in August aired the new maps to Orick, dramatically changing earlier predictions that a 100-year flood -- or one that occurs statistically once every 100 years -- on Redwood Creek would be contained by its 1960s-era levees. Landowners are now scrambling to buy flood insurance before the maps become final, for the lower rates.

Panama awards $268 million canal digging contract

Get in nutria gear
~Mary Tutwiler


Susan Cowsill covers the Byrds and more music from Keith Spera's Trick Bag

The Dead Kenny G’s Tonight at D.B.A.~Jay Massa

New Orleans Bingo! Show Announces New Lineup, Australian Tour Dates

Granny Rock~Alex Woodward

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Jeudi

Newsweek calls Babar the Anti-Obama ~WLOX
~Could a wealthy, white, well- connected southerner really grow up to be president?
That's the question Newsweek magazine is asking about
MS Governor Haley Babar.
In a four page article, Newsweek calls Governor Babar "The Anti-Obama" and offers a less than flattering account of Babar's weight,
his office adorned with Confederate artifacts,
and his habit of riding in an SUV to cross the street from his office to the state capitol.
Babar's name has been on the GOP's presidential radar for some time, even leading up to the 2008 race. But the former party chair and Washington lobbyist always seems to brush off any presidential push. And if you don't believe us, then read this deep-background report from Wikipedia:
After Babar witnessed the slaughter of his beloved mother by a hunter, he fled from the backwoods of Mississippi to find his way to Washington, DC, where he was befriended by an old lady, who bought him clothes and enrolled him in school.
Babar's cousins Celeste and Arthur found him in the big city and then helped him return to the Elephant realm following the death of the King of the Elephants, who had eaten a poisonous mushroom. A council of elephants approached Babar, saying that as he has been educated in the Beltway, he would be suitable to become the new King. Babar is crowned King of the Elephants, marries his cousin Celeste, and founds the city of Celesteville in a suburban Iowa strip mall. With a Babar Presidential Bib...
which fawned southern GOPper Vishnu'Excorcist can we expect to play the role of Babar's monkey friend Zephir on the VP Reality Show?

'Tis the season for GOP elves in their talking-point workshops
~Your Right Hand Thief


Henry attempts to cheat Perry out of a card in game of Racial 3 Card Monte: calls out media, saying some “want to diminish this election to race”
~Kevin Allman
~Editilla Jim Crowtellas~
...We likes a lil'mustert on our titles ahem'm.

What Does It Mean When The Leading Black Candidate Drops Out~Cliff's Crib

Vitter blocks BR U.S. district judge nominee~Gerard Shields

New Orleans' population estimate was low by 25,000, Census says

Some won’t accept rental help, Katrina home residents slow to take vouchers~Anita Lee

SmartSynch Conference 2010: “Enabling Communication for the Smart Grid”

Gulf observation system has a full year of data~Jeremy Alford

Resource Environmental Solutions Announces 514 Restored Wetland Acres in Cameron Parish

2009 rice bounty grows
~Jeff Moore


Peacefully Adrift as the Mississippi River Just Rolls Along~Paul Schleider

Apocalypse Man? Apocalypse
N.O.?
~Maneuvering in an abandoned-looking city and toting a backpack, Reyes showed us how to gain access into hospitals (where independent generators can be jump-started in areas in which electricity has been knocked out, the host asserted) and libraries (Reyes said that after Hurricane Katrina, libraries were some of the few places that weren’t broken into,(???) and yet which contained valuable information such as city maps.)

Cold adds historic touch to Battle of New Orleans commemoration
~Bab Warren


The Front Man opens in NOLA
~Life After Rhodes

~The Front Man, a dark comedy so true it can only be told as fiction, captures the excitement, danger, and scandal of early Rock & Roll with eighteen original songs by New Orleans composer Todd Souvignier, and an energetic, talented cast.

Citizen K finally does Zeitoun

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, the Audioplay- (1996) ~Constantinople
~Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an audio play, with backing music, based on Hunter S. Thompson's classic book. It was recorded to celebrate the book's 25th anniversary.

Trumpeter Roy Hargove starts first of two residencies at Yoshi's-San Francisco
~Andrew Gilbert

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Mercredi

The Billion-Dollar Levee Question ~Adam Lynch
"The Heralds of Carnival" ~Happy 12th Night!
Celebrate the start of the 2010 Carnival Season!
~The Phellows are an historic Mardi Gras organization that first took to the streets 1878 through 1898. They were known for their satirical parades and today's krewe members’ costumes often reflect topical themes. The group was revived in 1981.
"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the best of men."

Lassezes Le Bon Temp Roule'

The Mardi Gras season officially begins on January 6th or the "Twelfth Night," also known to Christians as the Epiphany. Epiphany comes from a Greek word that means "to show." Jesus first showed himself to the three wisemen and to the world on this day. As a symbol of this Holy Day, a tiny plastic baby is placed inside each King Cake.
Normally whoever gets the baby usually buys the next cake. In offices and schools and homes all over New Orleans the King Cake is a weekly tradition from January 6th until the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday. And, of course, whoever gets the baby in the cake on Mardi Gras day has to buy the first King Cake next year.
Editilla likes to have My Own King Cake, sooo we always find the little baby soooo we always get buy ourselves the next cake!
Ingredients:~2 Pounds of the Best Flour~12 Eggs
~A Cupful of Sugar~A Pound of the Best Butter
~1/2 Ounce of Yeast~1/2 Ounce of Salt
~Candies to Decorate~Preparation Here

Happy Birthday, Maid of Orleans ~NOLAFemmes
~Viva La Pucelle d'Orléans!


Sen. Ed Murray leaves the NO mayor's race with a whimper ~James Gill

The Black And White of New Orleans Mayor Election: Race Matter?~Christopher Tidmore

Is James Perry Playing the Racial 3 Card Monte?

Which candidates understand this central lesson of Katrina recovery?~NolaStat
~Editilla Crowtellas~ We Lika'dis Place, so we gonna'hang them NolaStat Who'dats on our list of Stitch'hikas!

Federal Election Commission regional conference set for NO, Feb. 9-10~Political Activity Law

Strawberry Farmers Prepare for Frigid Cold Blast~WGNO

Slabbed updates the Washington front: $enator Chri$ Dodd to expected to retire, NFIP Extended Again

LSU, colleges tackle cuts
~Jordan Blum


N.O. teachers call many other cities home, concerning some
~Chad Bower


Motor City's Dropout Factories
~RiShawn Biddle
~Granholm may be better off adopting the tactic of former Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco, whose one sterling success may have been enacting a series of moves that has made New Orleans the leading hotbed for school reform even amid its sluggish recovery from Hurricane Katrina's man-made and natural disasters.
~Editilla Cherry Os!~ Yesssaah! There it is Right There... a Blatant Attempt to Stop Katrina Shorthand from The Spectator thank you very much! Yes!
We know levees.org gonna give these Journalists one'o'der Gold Stars, but Editilla gonna paste'n peck'dem...
~~Double Cherry Os! OO Yeah!
'~Course "Bloody Corps' Negligent Homicide" would be nice but we'll settle for Man Made Disaster. Call'em as we see'em ya'know.

Minn.'s Pawlenty Makes His Way To New Orleans

New Study: Children Affected by Hurricane Katrina Suffer From Serious Emotional Disturbances

Emergency preparedness suit has nationwide implications for hospitals ~Dan Bowman

Levee statistics show their importance to U.S. economy
~Homeland Security Newswire

~New Orleans region and its levees is not alone
~When Gerry Galloway revealed in a briefing to Congress last year that 43% of the American population lives in counties protected by levees, we wanted to know exactly where those counties were. So I called Galloway on his cell phone and asked him for it. Galloway told me he didn’t have it, that it was “probably in a file cabinet somewhere at FEMA” and that Levees.org should go ask FEMA for it. So we filled out a FOIA request, and six months later, we finally got our data. For the record, Levees.org is not pleased that it took this much time and effort to get data that Galloway had very recently quoted in a congressional hearing.

Corps awards $17.3M West Bank pump station contract
~NO City Business


HydroGreen Energy
~Rebecca Mowbray


Durbin wants feds to release data on metro-east levees
~Mike Fitzgerald


$13.2 million overhaul planned for Bay Wave Model
~Mark Prado
~H/T~Aquafornia
~ The hydraulic model, the largest of its kind, was used as a scientific research tool from 1958 through 2000 to evaluate circulation and flow characteristics of the water within the estuary system associated with the shape of San Francisco Bay and related waterways. The research department of the model was closed in 2000, but the model continues to operate as an education feature.

New Orleans Net Impact
~Sloane Berrent


Aw Damn! Say it Ain't So!
No'mo Portable People Eaters?
Yaaaaaahahahaha!


TSA Confiscates Boy’s Play-Doh at New Orleans Airport
~“You know all you have to worry about is it getting in the carpet – a small problem to have as opposed to a child who is entertained for half an hour,” said the child’s mother Christy Pitney. “I had the kids and my husband was there with all our bags, she continued. “Josh and I were sitting, getting our shoes on and, my husband kind of motioned to us and said – they took our Play -Doh.
Pitney continued, “And the man from TSA was taking every can out at a time and putting it on a table, and Josh saw and he started fussing. I tried to explain that those were the rules, but it turns out it’s not prohibited on the TSA’s website – so apparently those are not the rules.” --Christy was right.
Play-Doh is not a prohibited item and it is allowed on board.
~Child Triple Agent working Terrorist Play-Doh factory

Christmas trees from River Parishes can help wetlands
~Paula Devlin


Solomons tsunami churned by earthquakes leaves 1,000 people homeless

Whaling protesters' Bat'boat struck in Antarctica
~The clash was the most serious in the past several years, during which the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has sent vessels into far-southern waters to try to harass the Japanese fleet into ceasing its annual whale hunt.
The society said its vessel Ady Gil --a trimaran speedboat that resembles a stealth bomber-- was hit by the Japanese ship the Shonan Maru near Commonwealth Bay and had about three metres of its bow knocked off.

*
Looking for Bridge plans....
~Trainboard.com


Cold Day Hot Soup~Ian McNulty

Auto Tomii Instrumental Night
~Prytania Music & Spirits


Shamarr Allen tonight
at Café Negril


New Orleans Music for New Orleans Marching Bands ~YatPundit

2nd Annual Export NOLA: Experience New Orleans Music Presented by Backbeat Foundation ~NewOrleans.com

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Mardi

A good day to go fishing
~American Zombie
Corps of Engineers rushes to build pump stations
~David Winkler-Schmit

~The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says time is of the essence when it comes to building the permanent pump stations at the three outfall canals: London Avenue, Orleans Avenue and 17th Street. Col. Robert Sinkler, commander of the Hurricane Protection Office, says the Interim Closure Structures (ICS) at the mouths of the canals have a lifespan of five to seven years and must be replaced in order to avoid a gap in hurricane risk reduction. (BWAHAHAHAHAHA!)
~John Hummel, a mechanical engineer who retired after 37 years working for Shell Oil and is currently a board member of the advocacy group Pump-to-the-River Jefferson/Orleans (Option 2A), disagrees. Hummel says that according to a report funded by the Corps, the structures have a longer service life of 20 to 40 years. Hummel says beginning work on the new stations now will hinder the possibility of Option 2 or 2A. At a New Orleans City Council meeting on Dec. 9 with Corps representatives, Hummel questioned the urgency to start work on the new pump stations: "What is the hurry with getting on with Option 1?" he asked.
~Editilla Umberagellas~
We remember Gambit hotly covered this bad road here too.
And Speaking of the lifespan of Bad Inoperable Pumps...
We also remember at that very Council Meeting cited above, how Levees.org questioned the Good Colonel Sinkler on the Law as it has been settled and written. (Where do they get these Names?)(Col. Sinkler? Corps of Engineers?)(This is like a game of Clue: Colonel Sinkler? With a Levee? On Leake Street?)(anywayz) Sandy Rosenthal asked Sinkler point blank had the Law changed regarding the consideration of the Outfall Canals as part of the Hurricane Protections System (HPS)? Obviously used to getting relentlessly picked on as a child with a name like that, For the Record Sinkler Sucked! No, was his Answer!
He shuffled the deck of his papers, looked down at the floor, toed his boot, cried to the heavens "Eli Eli Lama sabachthani", leaned over to an aid for more cool-aid then said lemme'get back to'yaz --just like his boss did before a Senate Hearing!
Talk about pulling your Rank Wit'a File! HAHAHA!
The Exquisite Corps really gives Not A Flying Go Fish about Reducing Risk. The Corps is in the business of Marketing Risk.
Next thing you know the Corps will have some Corporate Mouf'head like Gerald Galloway come down here to our local newspaper and tell us levees don't matter that much,
pee down our leg and tell us it was Katrina, Muskrats or Nutria!

The gates are too short
~Fix the Pumps
~You are reading that right.
The gates are too short. I'm referring to the three outfall canal gate structures that the Corps built in 2006 and 2007. When the gates drop, their tops are 16 feet above the lake. That matches the top of the adjacent protection in Orleans Parish. However, that does not meet the Corps' own design guidelines, which have been in effect since October 2007.


~And~Y'all please get on over to Huff Post and give our Local Herolero Sandy Rosenthal a Hand Handlin'It!

*
US forecasters to send hurricane warnings earlier~Matt Sedensky

City, county back river-turbine test project~Danny Barrett Jr.
~Free Flow Power Corp. is vying for $750,000 from the Mississippi Development Authority for a pilot project to sink energy-generating turbines in the river near Vicksburg, retired Army Brig. Gen. Robert Crear said Monday. The former commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division is a member of Free Flow’s board of directors.

Murray bought out by Georges?
~Your Right Hand Thief


Mayor skips out on budget meeting, Council Axs WTF?

Even a zealous advocate might perceive that such an argument hints at hypocrisy ~slabbed

Panel of Interest in New Orleans: "Civil Pleading Standards After Iqbal" (Friday, Jan. 8)

“Kings of Tort”: A Royal Hit Job?
~Adam Lynch
~In the book industry, "Kings of Tort" would be considered a "clip job"—it draws on an exhaustive body of research from court documents and media "clips" on the Paul Minor and Dickie Scruggs saga. Having the sources referenced in one volume isn't uncommon and can be handy, but Eastland isn't the only voice crying foul on the heaping helping of political bias that prevents the book from reading like an authoritative account. Critics, in fact, abound for "Kings of Tort," a book co-authored by Jackson right-wing blogger Alan Lange and federal prosecutor Tom Dawson, who prosecuted the Scruggs cases and just retired last January 2009.

Global What? Below Freezing at GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA???
~It is officially below freezing in NOLA. Therefore, Hell has frozen over, so now the #Saints can win the Super Bowl! ~fofalex

Louisiana Matters ~US Energy Information Association
~Louisiana ranks fourth among the States in crude oil production, behind Texas, Alaska, and California (excluding Federal offshore areas, which produce more than any single State).
~The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) is the only port in the United States capable of accommodating deepdraft tankers.
~Two of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s four storage facilities are located in Louisiana.
~The Henry Hub is the largest centralized point for natural gas spot and futures trading in the United States, providing access to major markets throughout the country.
~The liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Sabine is the largest of nine existing LNG import sites in the United States.
~Click pic to enlarge~Also~A Pipeline GIS for Shreveport and Bossier City, La.

Corps authorized to repair West Monroe bank failure, but needs money for job~Greg Hilburn

Are Illinois levees bad? Prove it
~It's beginning to look as if their plan to decertify the levees is based on little more than a guess and a hunch. That would explain the wildly different cost estimates. The Corps at first said $120 million, then later upped the estimate to $425 million.

Panama Canal expansion plan has Gulf ports racing for potential new business
~Alan Sayer


New Flood Maps Causing Water on The Brain for some Homeowners and Realtors

EPA Makes Announcement on Two Proposed West Virginia Mountaintop Coal Mines


After the Aftermath
~Joshua Zaffos


Christian Soldiers~Citizen K

Amanda Simpson, Transgender Candidate, Appointed To Commerce Post~Nick Wing
~Editilla Cherry Os~ Now THIS is Rocks and Rolls!

A Message From New Orleans
~Irwin Nesoff


Greyhound adoption need rises as dog racing drops

Poppy Z. Brite
~New Orleans Voices


Support Local Writers - Charlotte's Poetry! ~YatPundit

Anthony Bourdain launches first New Orleans' Speakers Series
~Brett Anderson


The Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund Brass Band Blowout~Kevin Allman

Cajun music the focus for radio deejay~Daniel McBride

New Year's Eve marks a musical season change for New Orleans
~Martha Alguera, NewOrleans.com


Upcoming: Export NOLA "Experience New Orleans Music!" @ Sullivan Hall & Bitter End - This Friday
~NolaFunk NYC


Famed musician, record producer Willie Mitchell dies

Monday, January 4, 2010

Lundi

New Study: Sound levees pay for themselves~Levees.org, Huff Post
~Editilla Notellas~ we swing this article for another say due to the Rollicking Commentary in da'Commentary Section! Plus, this incredible geography data levees.org is Doing is hot rocks!
~Thanks Advocate Sunday Print and Ivor! Hahahaha!

Homeowners forced to buy flood insurance after FEMA redraws maps~Catherine Saillant
Levees.org Sharpens Campaign for 8/29 Review~The New Orleans region and its levees is not alone

A suggestion for the NYT...
~Of Levee Failures and a Weather Event


Getting developers in step on wetlands efforts?~Kyle Swenson

Cape's billion dollar wastewater problem ~Patrick Cassidy

Who Launched the USS Fannie Mac?~Bruce Krasting
~“Would the United States be immune for all damages if a Navy vessel lost control and broke through a levee where the sole cause of the failure of that levee was the Navy vessel’s negligence?”

This Watershed Election
~Clancy Dubos


Fielkow Seeks Second Term on New Orleans Council
~Christopher Tidmore
~Arnie Fielkow was propelled into political prominence in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The longtime Saints executive who lobbyed for his team before the City Council and the Legislature found himself at the center of calls to run for office, and despite the fact that he could have earned far more in professional sports management positions elsewhere, did.

It’s tragic for him, tragic for his family and tragic for our state... ~slabbed

AALS Annual Meeting this week in New Orleans

Oh, Brother...~Dakinikat

Thus Spake Shockathustra
~The Mythtickle Oyacle


Fans celebrating undefeated record~The New Orleans Levee

SUNO apartment complex ready for about a third of eventual occupants~John Pope

Blight, an Empty Lot, and New Construction Near LaSalle and Fifth~What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today

Gas storage concerns salt mine operator ~Richard Burgess

Bad year for biofuel ends on a dour note~Sean Murphy

Group heads to MS to fix homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina
~Jomes Goodman


Emergency Preparedness Products & Information

Codifying Civilian Recon- struction and Stabilization Assistance and State Dept Capabilities

Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe
~Postado por Marcelo Cunha Ă s


Local writer takes detective story into the future and onto Mars
~Greg Langley

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Dimanche

Audubon Society sanctuary considers Failure, throwing in the towell allowing oil and gas drilling ~Jen DeGregorio

Sunday Funnies~Citizen K

Mitch & The 7 Dwarfs~Adrastos

Are our levees really that bad? Regional panel wants FEMA to show evidence of flaws
~Mike Fitzgerald

~ More than two years after the Federal Emergency Management Agency started pushing the idea of new flood insurance maps for the region, the agency still has not revealed any evidence to show which metro-east levees are deficient, and if so, to what degree.
FEMA's failure to show its cards on what it knows about local levees is fueling legal efforts of metro-east towns and levee districts to prevent or delay the flood maps' implementation planned for August. "Again, I want to see the record and we will be stepping up the legal pressure on FEMA to respond to our request," said Les Sterman, chief engineer for the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention Council, in Collinsville. "Let's take a look at that record and see if they were justified in coming to that decision."

USACE Levee Flood Plan....
Part Two~Jackson Now


Bear deaths complicate management ~Amy Wold
~A fifth Louisiana black bear was found shot dead,
a development that wildlife and fisheries staff view as potential backsliding in the state’s attempt to get the bear off the Endangered Species List.
“It is a bit unusual. We’ve had more this year than we normally have,” said Lt. Col. Keith LaCaze, assistant chief of law enforcement with the Louisiana Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries. Click pic to enlarge.

Bayou Terrebonne dredging under way ~Loyd J. Nelson III

Explore business with Army Corps

— The Army Corps of Engineers will host an upcoming seminar about potential projects for New Orleans businesses.
The corps' Louisiana Industry Day is set for Jan. 13 at New Orleans Marriott at Lakeway, 3838 N. Causeway Blvd, Metairie.
Two sessions detail storm-protection projects expected to begin within the next two years. Sessions will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. and from 1 to 4 p.m., with an hour-long networking session to follow each. Registration starts at 7 a.m.
To sign up, e-mail pao@usace.army.mil. Please include your company's name, address, contact info, names of those who would like to attend and the size of the business.
For information, call Michael Bloom at 504-862-2627.

La. homeowners insurance is nation's third-most-expensive, study says~Rebecca Mowbray

Prepare yourself: Insurance bills on the rise~Jeremy Alford

The new 'Katrina' flood:
Hospital liability~ProPublica

~Three years before Hurricane Katrina inundated New Orleans, a senior executive at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital assessed its vulnerability to the sort of flooding that had been long feared there.
~Editilla Rotellas~ Once again ProPublic employs their astounding gift for gabbing up the wrong tree in reporting on New Orleans, in this case the Federal Flood. With unmitigated gall and journalistic hubris they could not rest with trying to frame our Flood Violence as a Cop Race War on da'Black Peoples, and hence we move on to MisFraming the Flood Writ Large as a Natural Disaster in regards our Medical Industry Recovery.
It could be an otherwise informative article, but for the burning bag of gorilla'doo poo'rah they have left at the front door.

Righteous referrals~Ian McNulty

"Olde Tired Shoe", Dinner with the Outlaw ~PWALLY
Acrylic/canvas 16 x 9" Editilla loves this Heart and Sole!

BET travels to Africa to audition contestants for Season 3 of “Sunday Best” ~Affrodite