Samedi

Corps Hurricane protection plan a "Fool's Errand", scientists and engineers say~Mark Schleifstein
~The final draft of a long-delayed Army Corps of Engineers study on how to protect New Orleans and other populous areas of Louisiana's coastline from catastrophic hurricanes remains deeply flawed, experts who reviewed the study for the corps said.
"The Corps of Engineers prides itself as being the nation's coastal engineers, so who better to choose the correct options, to tell Congress which is the best option, and they didn't do that,"
said Robert Dahlrymple, a civil engineering professor at Johns Hopkins. Dahlrymple chaired the National Research Council panel that conducted a peer review of the corps study nine months ago.
~Editilla say Welcome to Thunderdome!~
Dealing with the Exquisite Corps of Engineers is like Ripping the Mask off of the Master Blaster! Here they Fork Us Way Over, after so much wasted TIME and so much wasted MONEY and so much BULLSHIT. But what will you do with the Master Blaster when we discover it is just a Big Drooling Simpleton?
This is our Battle with the Corps.
Let's face it: the Corps of Engineers cannot fulfill it's Mission.
The Corps of Engineers Cannot Do The Job America Needs.
The Corps of Engineers is Only In This for The Exquisite Corps.
The Corps of Engineers Is Banking On Flooding Us Again!
More Flooding - More Work for the Corps of Engineers!
Sounds Crazy right? Yeah, because it is Crazy.
But Oh Snap There's More! There is Always More wit'da Corps....

SLABBED follows “Levees.org’s EXCLUSIVE Interview with Ivor van Heerden on recent federal judge’s decision” with case documents telling the whole story – Shame on you LSU!
~Editilla Notellas~ We had to RePost this from our friends at the slabbernation due to the Comments and how such things tend to Prevolve (new Editilla word!:) by sussing through the details like the Reaper wit'a chainsaw.

Bid protests delay hurricane protection in Kenner, Metairie, St. Bernard Parish
~Sheila Grissett

Federal flood insurance wins another renewal~Nikki Buskey

Elmwood to host meeting next week on Donaldsonville-to-the- Gulf levee project~A panel of engineering and environmental experts from across the country will hold a two-day meeting in Elmwood next week to continue evaluating five alignments for the planned Donaldsonville-to-the-Gulf levee to block storm surge from the Barataria Basin.

River issues numerous
~Any Wold

Dallas unveils $150 million plan to repair Trinity levees
~Rudolph Bush

City is $8 million behind in payments to contractor MWH
~Ariella Cohen, The Lens

Children's Hospital looking to acquire New Orleans Adolescent Hospital property~Bill Barrow

April 19 session asks: What will Central Louisiana become?
~Jeff Mathews

What is lowernine.org?

Treme's Khandi Alexander:
New Orleans Is Her Character's Blood and Bones~Adam Bryant
~"I felt their particular take from the musicians' point of view was very unique and something I understood well because of my past as a choreographer and dancer," Alexander says. "This was something I really thought to be special. This is a take on New Orleans that I've yet to see."

WWOZ GM Responds to Treme, the First Episode

“Something Called ‘Volcano Monitoring’ ”~Levees Not War
~“[The Democrats’ stimulus] legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes . . . $140 million for something called ‘volcano monitoring.’ Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.” —Bobby Jindal, Governorcist of Louisiana.
~Also~check out the comments in their Daily Kos post!

Globe has 1st or 2nd warmest March on record; El Niño fades to weak category~Jeff Masters
~It now appears very likely that El Niño will be gone by hurricane season. None of the sixteen El Niño models (updated as of April 15) are predicting El Niño will be around during the height of hurricane season (August-September-October); six are predicting La Niña conditions for hurricane season.
The expected demise of El Niño, coupled with sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic that are currently at record levels, have prompted two major hurricane forecasting groups (tropicalstormrisk.com and Colorado State University) to predict a well-above average 2010 Atlantic hurricane season.

EARTH DAY on the Bayou in the Lower 9th Ward
~Louisiana Earth Day Sunday, April 18th Downtown Baton Rouge
~Hat Tweet~EDF Louisiana

ONE LOVE~ONE HEART~ONE VISION
~Special Hat T'n'Ts to Janet D. Wolfe

The Color of Loss
~In the series The Color of Loss, Dan Burkholder presents a powerful new way of seeing the ravaged homes, churches, schools, and businesses of New Orleans. Using an innovative digital photographic technology called high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, in which multiple exposures are artistically blended to bring out details in the shadows and highlights that would be hidden in conventional photographs, he creates images that are almost like paintings in their richness of color and profusion of detail.~Big Hat Tip to Citizen K!

Grass~Polly Jackson

Algiers RiverFest
~Old Algiers RiverFest is presented annually to celebrate the cultural contributions of Old Algiers. This growing festival, now in its sixth year, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the traditional jazz and other indigenous sounds that came of age along the banks of the Mississippi River. A FREE authentic New Orleans cultural experience that features performances by some of the top names in traditional jazz, Gospel choirs, brass bands and Mardi Gras Indians, RiverFest also offers local cuisine, local and regional arts and crafts and children's activities along the levee near the Canal Street/Algiers Ferry Landing.

Alternative Media Expo is this weekend!~Defend New Orleans

Vendredi

As the academic freedom levee breaks...
~"Academic freedom and intellectual integrity are, at LSU, like two distant cousins who haven't spoken to each other in many, many years." ~James A. Cobb Jr.
Blessed are they who expect nothing,
for they shall never be disappointed

Dear Flood Protection and Coastal Restoration Task Force Co-Chairs and Members,
Transition New Orleans invites you to present your Task Force's work at a public event called, “One Voice. One Mission. Presenting a Vision for the Future”. Each of the 17 Task Forces, formed to gather information and public input on a variety of issues that affect the quality of life for the residents of New Orleans, will have this opportunity to present key recommendations to Mayor-elect Landrieu and the public.

Date: Thursday, April 22nd Time: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Program will start at 1:30 p.m. Task force members are asked to arrive at 1:00 p.m.) Location: Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts 801 N Rampart St. (parking accessible at 1419 Basin Street)

The Co-chairs are asked to present on behalf of each Task Force.
Each Task Force will have 5 minutes to present the following:
-Brief description of issue addressed and mission
-Brief summary of process
-Top 3-5 recommendations from Task Force

The Mayor-elect wishes to acknowledge all Task Force members at this event, and a summary of Task Force findings will be shared with the public and media. We will communicate more details regarding the order in which Task Forces will present and additional logistics in the next days. We thank you for your dedication and look forward to hearing your great ideas.
~Editilla Crow'tellas~ Special thanks to Sandy Rosenthal, founder of Levees.org and a Task Force member, for sliding this news our way.
But we have to axe, 5 minutes? It takes longer than that to order a $5 Foot Long at Subway! Sure sounds like a Bit of Pomp given the Circumstance. If the words Option 2 or Option 2a are not in this brief brief then what's the point?
The evening will be dominated by press for the Mayor's Police Chief TF and his Economic Dev TF... and of course much much discussion on Episode 2 of Treme.

“What should City Hall do to increase the City’s resilience and protections against storm and flood hazards?”

Why do an 8/29 Review, really?
~The National Levee Safety Program Act of 2007, introduced in March by Representative Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), would establish a levee safety program modeled on the National Dam Safety Program, which is led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "asce strongly supports the enactment of federal and state legislation to protect the health and welfare of citizens from the catastrophic effects of levee failures," Roth said.
"The act should require the federal and state governments to conduct mandatory safety inspections for all levees and establish a national inventory of levees. The inventory database should include the levee's location, date of construction, local sponsor, and current physical condition based on the most recent inspection. Every levee that has been wholly or partly constructed with federal funds should be inspected at least once every five years."~Again, can somebody tell me why an Independent Review now?

2010 Hurricane Season: Accuweather calls for active year and major landfalls

Katrina babies not forgotten
~Jennifer Hale~12 of these are babies who were either stillborn or died at the Baton Rouge hospital in that chaotic time after the Federal Flood and Hurricane Katrina. Five years later, no one has ever come forward to claim them.
Davis gave her favorite names to the 13 babies along with the common last name that sums up the congregations feelings.
Mary Elizabeth Love
Ester Joy Love
Twins Abigail Grace and Gabriel Edom Love
John Mark Love
James Matthew Love
Daniel Luke Love
Samuel Joseph Love
Michael Joshua Love
Simon Peter Love
Jacob Bartholomew Love
Timothy Abram Love
Moses Daniel Love
A donated headstone will stand at the grave, bearing those names so no one ever forgets.
~Editilla mourns these lost souls~ We thank this Coroner for Holding On To Our Loved Ones for NEARLY FIVE YEARS SO THEY WOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN!
I am haunted by the image of a little girl drowned face down and alone near the Industrial Canal. I look for her, and anyone else looking for her... nothing. Am I the only person to have seen her?
This has been called Disaster Myth by some "for the most part", and yet we are in the midst of "Treme", the Lemon Ice and Hubig Jazz Partay without the Refrigerators, the Sky-high piles of Garbage, the Cough, the Guard, the Curfew and Bodies, yet with the coming Hurricane Season and the Same Bad Flood Walls.
No 8/29 Review. No dealing with the Old Still Bad Flood Walls, as we seem to be getting Option 1 on our outfall canals and it appears --if his bend-over-sellout of Charity Hospital is any indication-- that Mitch Landrieu may just Know How to Bow to the Corps on that one, despite his vaunted Flood Protection Task Force.
So yeah, let's get Happy Treme Yay, play Jazzboys and Indians and keep the same failed infrastructure in place.

Introducing Guest Columnist Sam Jasper
~Back of Town blogging Treme

Corps awards $174M contract to protect East Jeff pump stations
~Sheila Grissett

City Council suprised to learn of revolver money used for proposed medical district
~Ariella Cohen, The Lens

HB 1205: Open Letter to Walker Hines~The Huck Upchuck

Is New Orleans one of the world's most dangerous cities?

Magazine Street among state roads to be repaired with $81.5 million in new federal aid for Flood-damaged streets

Lakeview prepares for another round of Road Home lot auctions

AP Stylebook "the journalist's bible" online

Editilla de Word'fella!

Festival attracts bird lovers, families to Grand Isle this weekend~Nikki Buskey
~Editilla Notellas~ If y'all want some great Bird Shots check out Ron Hay's Photostream. I also like to drop in on Steve Buser at New Orleans Daily Photo.

Earth Day Activities in Louisiana, April 17-22 ~EDF Louisiana

Troy Andrews, aka Trombone Shorty, grows into his sound
~Edna Gundersen
~Hat Tweet~Gambit

Jeudi

Shame on you LSU! -SLABBED follows Levees.org’s Ivor van Heerden interview with case documents telling the story
~~When asked about LSU’s portrayal of van Heerden as ‘temporary labor,’ van Heerden said that was ‘non-sense.’
“I had a permanent hard-money academic position,” said van Heerden. “It was funded by the state for the last 15 years.”
~Editilla wants to know where the Hell is Van Heerden's legal team here? LSU makes a Blatant Misstatement and what?
They have nothing to contradict? Are we this forked?
~Hat Tweet to Levees.org~"The best way to support Ivor van Heerden is to send a written letter of support to Michael Martin, Chancellor LSU, B.R., LA 70803"

After The Flood, every day was a statement~Stephanie Grace~Shortly before the new HBO series "Treme" debuted last week, Times-Picayune TV writer Dave Walker asked actor and local resident John Goodman whether he'd met guys like the angry, excitable and utterly fierce New Orleans champion he plays in the series.

How would Ash say that

No Reservations, part 4
~Ashley Morris: the blog

Time To Grieve, The Music
~Back of Town blogging "Treme"

"Treme" and Danziger Bridge --the Two Faces of New Orleans
~Harry Shearer~"Treme", friends say, seems to have come at the right moment. The city, nearly five years into a recovery many folks argued against or doubted would ever happen, has felt for much of this year as if it were almost levitating. The Saints' victory in the Super Bowl, coming on the same weekend as the primary election that marked the decisive end to the pathetic mayoralty of C. Ray Nagin, seemed to punctuate the sense of--and a friend last night remarked over her willingness to use this word--renaissance that is blowing through New Orleans like the spring breeze off the Mississippi.
Except...and there's always an exception in New Orleans...when "Treme's" renewal wasn't on the front page, a spike in gun-related violence was. Just as the city feels as if the bad old days are over comes a reminder that young men are still shooting each other, and, as policemen plead guilty in the Danziger Bridge case, a reminder that police are still shooting unarmed civilians and covering it up. The news has been full of controversy over incoming mayor Mitch Landrieu's selection process for the new police chief. However the process plays out, the new chief has a big job ahead: saving the renaissance.

For New Orleans (In Response to HBO’s Treme)~Wendy Rodrigue

Corps of Engineers' 1984-speak "Correcting old Data" said to Err on Flooding Risk ~NYT~An attempt by the Army Corps of Engineers to correct old data on water flows in the Mississippi may have led to underestimates of the current risk of flooding along the river, scientists argue in a new study.
Donald C. Sweeney II, associate director of the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, said it was important to get the numbers right, “because the more accurately you can portray the risks of flooding to people, the more rational and well-based decisions they can make.” Historical data should not be altered, Mr. Sweeney said, “unless there’s a darn good reason for adjusting it that you can show beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
~Editilla Gotta Axe~ What is This Shit?

Corps of Engineers to award pump stations contract for East Jefferson

FEMA looks for flood map resolution in Livingston Parish

Senate could vote to extend federal flood insurance program as early as Thursday
~Republicans, including Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, said that Democrats were at fault for not agreeing on a plan to pay for the costs of the legislation. He accused Democrats of trying to get him to agree to a bill that extended the flood insurance program with provisions that he wants only if they are paid for. It was reminiscent, he said, of the "Louisiana purchase," which is how some Republicans have described Sen. Mary Landrieu's amendment to the health-care overhaul package to address a financing glitch in Louisiana's Medicaid share.
Landrieu, who has strongly defended the amendment, confronted Vitter about his remarks on the Senate floor and later issued a harsh critique of her Louisiana colleague. "Getting lectured by David Vitter on personal integrity and fiscal discipline is insulting and about as laughable as getting lectured by him on family values," said Landrieu, alluding to the fact that Vitter's phone number was found in a Washington call-girl operation's records in 2007.

Melancon slams Vitter on flood insurance~Gerard Sheilds

How Senator Vitter Battled the EPA Over Formaldehyde’s Link to Cancer ~ProPublica
~Hat Tweet~John McQuaid

RI's US senators say GOP impeding flood relief funds~More on What to Do During the Flood Insurance Suspension

Bird’s Foot Delta, part two ~LaCoastPost

Oyster grounds re-opening across state, but officials still haven't pinpointed source of illnesses~Chris Kirkham

Lakeshore Drive closure sparks anger ~WWL

Corps of Engineers N.O. District: Clay Source List

Built Above Wildly Erratic River Levels, Cable-Stayed Giant Rises Over the Flood
~Angelle Bergeron

What’s Mitch Landrieu’s view of federal invovlement in NOPD?
~Eli Ackerman, The Lens
~Editilla Notellas~ Y'all be sure to hit the HOME button at The Lens when we lede an article, since we can't keep hanging them all day when they poppin'em out hot like this:
City Council suprised to learn of revolver money used for proposed medical district

State must cut $319 million from budgeted spending for the next 10 weeks

New Orleans NASA workers wait for Obama speech

Orleans Parish average home price down 17.45 percent in March

Aid arrives after cyclone kills 121 in India~Rescuers cleared hundreds of uprooted trees and electricity poles blocking roads to the devastated areas in Bihar state, said Sharwan Kumar, a state administrator. Telephone services also were restored in most of the region after a 30-hour interruption. Police and rescue teams recovered another 39 bodies in the worst-hit villages in West Bengal - Hematabad, Raiganj and Kiran Dighi - since Wednesday, said Ramanuj Chakraborty, a senior local official.

Making It Right?~Cite Magazine

IEEE PES Conference & Exhibition, April 19-22

Cottonmouth - Barataria Reserve - New Orleans~Ray Hayes

Meltdown Popsicles and Goings-On~Robert Peyton

The Oxford American comes to New Orleans~Brett Anderson

Odd Words
~Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans

First International Story Swap to Connect Students in New Orleans and Port-au-Prince

LIVE In New Orleans
Jeff Chaz
~Louisiana Music Factory

Fidelity for record stores still runs high

New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts gets OK to pursue offering full-day program

Mercredi

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Ivor van Heerden on recent federal judge’s decision ~Levees.org
~When asked about LSU’s portrayal of van Heerden as ‘temporary labor,’ van Heerden said that was ‘non-sense.’
“I had a permanent hard-money academic position,” said van Heerden. “It was funded by the state for the last 15 years.”
~Editilla wants to know where the Hell is Van Heerden's legal team here? LSU makes a Blatant Misstatement and what?
They have nothing to contradict? Are we this forked?

Judge rules LSU doesn’t have to immediately rehire Ivor van Heerden but will hold related hearing before then – go figure! ~slabbed
~Editilla say Go Fish~ Yesterday, I spoke on the phone to one of the lead investigators of the Association of University Professors, the group now convening an official inquiry into the Wrongful Dismissal of Dr. Ivor van Heerden. At this point they are still assembling the Committee, which has to be vetted from across the country. The biggest news is the Utter Refusal by LSU to Respond to the AAUP's formal letter of notice, or any other questions put to them. Nothing. Nada, as if the University is not composed of University Professors.
But yet, they would take this stance that Ivor van Heerden was simply Temp Labor on Contract. Right.
They were fine with such a tenuous arrangement as he built the Hurricane Center into a World Class Operation, thus garnering considerable funding which is still in place to pay for Van Heerden to continue his Vital Work for our state.
Ivor van Heerden wasn't just their "golden boy" but he was their "Rain Maker" as well. Van Heerden delivered the goods.
Real Science gets Real Money. Pseudo (Bend Over) Science gets Corps Contractor Money.

Portrait of the Bird’s foot delta, part one ~LaCoastPost
Levee boards' liability to be limited ~Mike Hasten

Introducing: Katrina Longhand
~O’Brien drew comparisons between the 1849 government’s emergency response and the Bush Administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina.
“Human actions could control nature and directly affect natural disasters,” he said, noting that Katrina demonstrates New Orleans’ enduring “environmental vulnerability.”
~Editilla sayz~ Yeah, environmental vulnerability my ASCE!

$3M federal grant to help center for river power~Alan Sayer

Hazard Mitigation Plan Update - Community Meeting Tuesday April 20, 2010 at 6:00 pm
~Watershed NOLA

Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS)

Gulf Coast recovery efforts are a human rights disaster ~McClatchy

Palm Beach County to Army Corps: Speed up $1 billion Lake Okeechobee dike repair

Swiss Re places $120 M of natural catastrophe protection through Successor X Cat Bond programme

Vitter protesters demand:
‘Give money back!’~Amy Wold

New Orleans Political Comedy Punch Has 8th Anniversary Tonight!
~Jennifer Hale, Fox-8 TV News Reporter
~Ian Hoch, Comedian, La Nuit Comedy Theater
~Rob Nelson, WWL TV Morning Show Host
~Chuck Perkins, Poet and Author
~Chris Rose, Gambit Columnist & Fox-8 TV Commentator
~John Slade, WBOK Radio Talk Show Host and Comedian
~Sidney Torres, TLC Reality Star,SDT Waste and Debris

Slave trade in New Orleans was a thriving business~John Pope

Cyclone kills 85 people in eastern India

Quake in western China kills 400, buries more
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100 regional photographers head to New Orleans

Symposium on Southern Food with Oxford American Writers
~Ian McNulty, Gambit

Does Houston Cry Alligator Tears for Treme?

Au Contraire, Mon Frère
~Back of Town Treme Blog

With Treme Season Two a Lock, New Orleans Musicians in Their Own Words
~Karen Dalton-Beninato

Who's your favorite 'Treme' character?

Benefit Tipitina's - Benefit yourself!~Travis Leeper
~On Baton Rouge's Government Street, nestled inside a tiny blue building decorated eloquently with bananas, there's a secret nest of musical experience you've probably never heard of. Looking more like a place where you go to get your car's stereo fixed than a proper Haus of Music, Baton Rouge's branch of the Tipitina's Co-Op isn't your everyday music centre - it's much, much more.

Helping Here, Helping There
~All About Jazz

Richard Thompson's Meltdown 2010 Line Up
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Mardi

Breaking News On Ivor van Heerden: LSU doesn't have to immediately rehire coastal researcher, federal judge says
~A federal judge in Baton Rouge has denied a request by research geologist and marine scientist Ivor van Heerden for a temporary restraining order to require Louisiana State University to rehire him when his one-year contract with the university expires on May 21. But U.S. District Judge James Brady also agreed to hear a related motion on a preliminary injunction requiring LSU to rehire van Heerden on May 19, following a telephone conference this morning with attorneys representing van Heerden and LSU.

From the bowels of academia comes this s#!% – LSU officials say van Heerden not fired but contract won’t be renewed ~slabbed

Researcher Ivor van Heerden's firing should stand, LSU argues in federal court
~Mark Schleifstein
~Further chatty T-P commentary:~Professors probing LSU's firing of hurricane scientist Ivan van Heerden. Uuummer that's Ivor van Heerden you stupid fauxing editorists!

Our view: Accusations against University are serious, require response~Daily Reveille
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Mooks on parade
~Your Right Hand Thief

That ain't right
~Library Chronicles
~Editilla Notellas~ I am enjoying this review or "Treme" most of all so far --and that is on the 3rd reading.
~And this one from Cliff's Crib.

Creighton Bernette is Not Alone
~Sandy Rosenthal
~At Right: Sandy Rosenthal and Scott Fujita at press conference in New Orleans - Photo by Jeffrey Dubinski

New Orleans Not Alone in Hurricane Risks
~Brian Jackson
~Editilla sayz Hell Nola To'Dat!~
We Are also Not Alone in Levee Risks
Louisiana youth celebrate wetlands April 19-23

Levee supervisor says much at stake in restoration
~"I think this is one of those hidden issues," said Sterman, the chief supervisor of construction and the works for the Southwestern Illinois Flood Protection District Council.
"It's not sexy like an airport or like biotech or like China. But there's far more at stake in this particular issue than all those other things combined." "There are 60,000 or 70,000 jobs here. There are 150,000 people living behind these levees," Sterman said. "Billions of dollars' worth of industry. The seventh- or eighth-biggest refinery in the United States.

Aveda Walks For Water
Sunday, Apr 18 10:30a to 12:00p

A picture of how water continually cycles through the physical environment

Mayor Ray Nagin, Part I
~Chris Rose, Gambit

Amid gunfire, Landrieu throws the weakest brick of all
~Eli Ackerman, The Lens

Chemical spill in Norco closes schools, forces residents out

American Planning Association honors City Park, preservation lawyer

Five years after Katrina, volunteers rebuild Bay St. Louis
~Rick Jervis

Road Racing, NOLA-style ~NOLAFemmes

HBO picks up 'Treme' for second season

High Definition: Tremé Hits the Right Notes~Josh Jackson

NYT Article on Treme
~Thanks Katrina

2010 Pulitzer winners
~The New York Times won three — for national reporting, for explanatory reporting, and for investigative reporting for collaborating with the fledgling nonprofit news service ProPublica for a story on the life-and-death decisions made by New Orleans doctors during Hurricane Katrina.

Louisiana Music Factory Concert Series

French Quarter Fest brings a goosebump moment each day
~Martha Alguera

All the hype secondlining you can stand~Big Red Cotton

Dimanche

New levee inspection standards could cost residents
~Tom Charlier

Palin agrees with Obama:
It Was Katrina!

Recovery oversight reimbursement suspended by state

Hurricane season facts and figures

Sunday Slabbed

In the Middle of the Big Easy
~Caroline's Pond

If "Treme" is true to life, it won't be boring~Jarvis DeBerry

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews is Naturally Funky
~All About Jazz

French Quarter Fest Schedule