Prison monitor raps Sheriff Gusman for slow pace of hiring key aides ~Jim Mustian

La. ranked No. 47 for overall well-being of children ~BR Business Report

'Fix My Streets' holding meeting to voice concerns ~Carolyn Scofield

Graffiti in New Orleans ~Della Hasselle 

New Orleans-Based Planet Beach Opens in Cairo, Egypt

Gulf Captains See Red Snapper Recreational Sector Separation in Positive Light ~GSI

ICYMI: Good stuff from Jimmy Graham ~Mike Triplett, ESPN

From Shul to Shrimp: Who Dat Jew Dat in New Orleans ~Anne Cohen and Sigal Samuel

Boats get no safe harbor when hurricanes approach ~Chad Caulder The Advocate

Painted utility boxes transform Lakeview streets into an art gallery ~Jaclyn Kelly, WWL 

WWNO Sweeps Press Club Of New Orleans Radio Awards

1934 Louisiana Lomax Recordings Now Available Online ~WWOZ

Saints 2014 training camp preview ~Ramon Antonio Vargas

St. Tammany parish flood control board nominees scarce ~Faimon A. Roberts

Political Horizons: Congressional candidates not regular voters ~Mark Ballard

New Orleans RTA firm unveils $3.5 billion, 30-year transit expansion vision ~Richard Rainey

Portland cargo bike disaster drill: When Cascadia earthquake hits, city's bicyclists will deliver relief ~Oregonian

White sugarcane aphids, making a mess in milo ~Elton Robinson, Delta Farm Press

Lagunitas Coming to Louisiana ~The Beer Buddha

Compassion and the Damage Done: Maximizing The Hurt of A Very Tragic Death ~Varg Vargus, The Chicory

Victim in Marigny fatal bicycle crash with 18-wheeler identified ~Andrew Canulette, New Orleans Advocate

Sheriff Gusman continues to hand out extra pay to deputies who may not qualify ~Charles Maldonado, The Lens

Questions arise to Sheriff Gusman's response to video of OPP inmates ~WWL 

From Urban Farms To Oyster Reefs: How The LSU AgCenter Improves Lives In Louisiana ~Poppy Tooker

The last residential home on upper Bourbon St. likely to go commercial ~WVUE

Lionel Ferbos, Centennrian Jazz Trumpeter, Passes ~NOLA DEFENDER

Value of N.O. firefighters’ pension fund assets fell 41 percent last year ~Andrew Vanacore, New Orleans Advocate

Short-Term Rental Stakeholders All Agree On One Thing: Current Law Inadequate ~WWNO

Students, Teachers and Citizens Deserve Better on Common Core Stalemate ~CABL

Boeing signs $2.8 billion contract to build rocket at Michoud ~WWL

Fishermen and Retailers Go High-Tech For Authentic Gulf Seafood ~Janaya Williams

Several more states to offer duck stamps online ~AP via Bradenton Herald

Kermit Ruffins with Jam in the Van ~WWOZ

Coastal Louisiana land loss worth price to fix, study will attempt to show ~Amy Wold, The Advocate

Future of coastal loss lawsuit could rest in hands of board’s nominating committee ~Bob Marshall, The Lens

State Representative Concerned For Eroding Wetlands In New Orleans East ~Jesse Hardman

New Orleans Transit System Disproportionately Serves Whiter and Wealthier Neighborhoods ~Ariela Cohen, Next City

NOPD gearing up for anti-abortion protest expected to draw hundreds ~WWL

Heart of Louisiana: History of Cajun culture ~Dave McNamara

The New Thing In Jazz, Revisited ~WWNO

Graham, Saints deal a win for both ~Scott Rabalais, New Orleans Advocate

Jimmy Graham's new contract breakdown ~Lyons Yellin

Road Home repayment demands to be addressed at meeting ~WVUE

Orleans deputy sues sheriff over alleged toxic mold exposure at jail, courthouse ~Jim Mustian

New Orleans lawyer charged with cyberstalking in French Quarter noise ordinance feud ~Helen Freund

The State of Transit in New Orleans ~Ride New Orleans

New images captured of WWII Nazi U-boat in Gulf of Mexico ~WWL

Tainted Legacy: Heirs to ill-gotten fortune back in court seeking more ~WWLTV

Lawyer for levee authority says battle over coastal loss lawsuit is just beginning ~Bob Marshall, The Lens

City blasts Gusman plan for housing mentally ill inmates ~Jim Mustian, N.O Advocate

New video captured inside OPP sparks controversy ~Bill Capo, WWL 

State Police Retirement System to discuss ‘Edmonson Retirement Bill’ during its Wednesday staff meeting ~Louisiana Voice

Music Vault on YouTube features a slew of New Orleans musicians ~Gambit

In court hearing, city and sheriff dig in their heels on cost of mental health care at OPP ~Charles Maldonado, The Lens

Basinkeeper, St. Martin gov’t unite against oil field waste disposal expansion plan ~Walter Peirce, Acadiana Business
~F.A.S. Environmental Services applied in April for a rezoning of land near the community of Belle River where it wants to expand a waste transfer station; the station would handle hundreds of thousands of barrels of waste from conventional drilling as well as fracking. The St. Martin Parish Planning and Zoning Board, however, denied the rezoning request. What did F.A.S. do? An end run around the zoning board. The company now claims the rezoning request was unnecessary and instead submitted a permit request directly to the state Department of Natural Resources, widely considered to be an institutional “yes man” for the oil and gas industry in Louisiana.

Corps selects three restoration projects to mitigate east bank post-Katrina levee construction environmental damage ~Mark Schleifstein

French Quarter businesses considering paying for extra details, crime cameras ~Scott Satchfield, WVUE

Fair housing center files suit over discrimination against deaf homeseekers 

Acadian history owes thanks to historian Carl Brasseaux ~The Advertiser

PBS focusing NOVA’s lens on Bayou Corne sinkhole ~David J. Mitchell, The Advocate

Gusman wants $4 million from city of New Orleans in next year to house mentally ill inmates ~Charles Maldonado, The Lens

Legal battle pits law against church ~Heidi R. Kinchen, The Advocate

Business owner loses everything in Bywater fire ~Jaclyn Kelly, WWL

Hattiesburg woman is Saintsational ~Emily Ham Price, Hattiesburg American

2014 Saints roster maybe the strongest one ever on paper, Archie Manning says ~Ramon Antonio Vargus

Family points finger at OPP after released bipolar woman struck in crash ~N.O. Advocate

Post-Katrina Politics in New Orleans ~Charlie Cook, National Journal

Homeless camp concerns grow over aggressive panhandling ~WWLTV

Rental demand in metro area soars to new heights ~WVUE

Generous retirement benefit boost slipped into bill for State Police Col. Mike Edmonson on last day of legislative session ~Louisiana Voice

Hurricane Katrina defies comparisons ~Jarvis DeBerry

Flood Authority gives 17th Street Canal levee an 'all clear' ~WVUE

AG: 'Big Oil' lawsuit supporter's term is over ~WWL

For New Orleans coroner Jeffrey Rouse, a battle to restore trust and win new funds ~Richard A. Webster

A look back at the roots of The Lens’ Squandered Heritage ~Karen Gadbois

Southeast Louisiana NWS officials learn lessons from Hurricane Arthur ~WDSU

Shrimp prices up as season closes ~Xerxes Wilson, Daily Comet

Tainted Legacy: Wealthy and powerful vs. big oil ~WWLTV 

Land grab in Rapides: lawyer buys 2200 acres surrounding black family and then fences them out of their own property ~Louisiana Voice

Plaquemines Parish moves forward to restore pelican nesting site damaged by BP oil spill~Bob Marshall, The Lens

Unsuitable materials in 17th Street Canal levee not a danger, board is told ~Jeff Adelson, New Orleans Advocate

La. ranks 2nd for homes at risk from hurricane storm surge ~The Advocate

Frustrated parents wait hours to enroll children in schools, only to be turned away ~Matt Higgins, The Lens

Cadiz Street fire threatens future of century-old New Orleans metalwork business ~Robert Morris, Uptown Messenger

Mary Landrieu Measure Seeks to Address Red Snapper Row ~Stephen Babcock, NOLA DEFENDER

Concerns build over law enforcement's use of drones ~Scott Satchfield, WVUE

New Orleans is famous the world over for its property values ~Library Chronicles

Why New Orleans’ Katrina Evacuation Debacle Will Never Happen Again ~Katy Reckdahl, Next City

David Waggonner: Pensacola’s flood solutions will be tough ~Rob Johnson 

Overnight Reputation Announces Reputation Management Service Expansion to Include New Orleans ~Digital Journal

The New New Orleans, Part 2 ~Gambit

Gas-Charged Earthquakes Linked to Mysterious Louisiana Sinkhole ~Charles Q. Choi, Live Science

Louisiana Oil Train Details Kept Secret ~WWNO

Property owners to discuss short-term rentals at Tuesday meeting ~WVUE

Esplanade bar, neighbor Sidney Torres IV spar over volume of music ~Jeff Adelson, New Orleans Advocate

Bricks, rebar, huge rocks inside the 17th Street canal levees (which is no surprise) ~Fix The Pumps

Levee officials to question corps about debris, lack of rip-rap stone in parts of 17th St. Canal levees ~Mark Schleifstein

New Orleans Saints move training camp to The Greenbrier ~Lyons Yellin

Vargas: Burden of proof tackles Jimmy Graham, but payday could still be coming

GoNOLA Find: Popp’s Fountain in City Park ~Mallory Whitfield

After years of making Spirit Pole, New Mexico artist tries hand at hieroglyphics ~Leslie Renken, Journal Star

City Dismisses Taxicab Bureau Director Malachi Hull ~Stephen Babcock, NOLA DEFENDER

New Orleans home and garden events, July 5-Aug. 4 ~Stephanie Bruno, New Orleans Advocate

Jimmy Graham ruled a tight end by arbitrator ~WWLTV

Plaquemines argues for state court jurisdiction of suit against oil companies ~Mark Schleifstein

Jaw-Dropping What Brad Pitt Is Doing To Native American Reservations

Arthur upgraded to hurricane, expected to soak Myrtle Beach today

Officials: Coralville Lake could top spillway next week~Josh O'Leary, Iowa City Press-Citizen 

Which Intensity Model Should You Trust for Tropical Storm Arthur? ~Dr. Jeff Masters, Weather Underground

This Crash-Proof Drone Can Fly Through Forests and Disaster Wreckage ~Motherboard

The Day Before the Day After
~Buggin'out with Editilla the Pun...Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The day before Katrina made landfall, almost 12 hrs exactly, the Math Shopper and I were walking dog Flora on the neutral ground (what we in New Orleans call the grassy median) between Elysian Fields, smoking a nice joint beneath the trees and kicking logic theorems around like they'z jail-house punks, when I spied a dozen fat trademark New Orleans Nightcrawler cock roaches lined up on a tree end to end, nose to tail, completely still but for their long antennae that wriggled about either side like fishing poles off a parade of longboats.
These legendary beasts usually stand about 3 1/2 inches long
by 2 inches wide. Though rarely seen in broad daylight, you can actually hear them walk across a street. When you do see them (and you will see them) at night, crawlin' across the banquette in the Quarters you must stop, look & listen. More often than not the roach will stop too, as if...considering you.
If you somehow find the need, gonads or ova to mount one when it charges, or even manage to Pop It under both feet, every person within a block will duck as from the sound of gunfire.
{Perhaps I embellish juuuust a bit:)
But there they were, lined up and down the side of a Live Oak tree. "What the fuck?!?", we wondered. What if they notice us? Should we run now or just back away slowly, no sudden movements? Can they even see in broad sunlight? Aren't they blind, like so many in this city who find themselves somehow awake in the middle of the day? And hey! Why that particular side of the tree anyway and why nearly six feet off the ground? Duuuuherah...it turned out.
In the aftermath, we realized from the various & sundry debris nailed into the tree's windward side that the roaches had aligned themselves aerodynamically on the tree's leeward side to ride out the storm's approach, exactly. Bugs know...or at least next time we see nature going so oddly with her own grain perchance we should, errra, pay more attention? Ya' t'ink?
~Editilla Sew'tellas~
For me there was freak-out in the 2 weeks leading up to this year's Anniversary. It is so every year. Bad weirdness.
But then I come home to the City for the Commemorations and Commiserations, and now everyt'ing is way'mo'betta. I did miss some hanging out da'Ladda, which makes Editilla a bit dinked.
But the weather was sublime and the locals lapped it up.
I really want everyone to know, there is no stopping Nola.
Hence, I may try to "post" some of the "other" "memories" of each day from the 29th until I excaped the city in a pick-up truck with dog Flora, guitar, backpack and bicycle. No lie, like in a long line of fleeing refugees in a frickin'damn Apocalypse NO movie, over the bridge with civilization burning to the ground behind.
Everyone will Note the Day Our Heart Stood Still.
But then the Levees Failed, and Life took on several new meanings in the valley of the shadow of Death.

And me, I think about this stuff every morning, all day, into the night, still in my dreams on the long road home the back hand path... just the way it is and will be until it ain't I suppose.
I'm in no hurry never was, as such, so thus began to realize harsh differences in Marking such an unending scenario as the flood of New Orleans, as if it has merely happened and is past, after the Deluge so to speak, since for me it will remain 2 separate stories, to wit: The Storm and The Flood. The Storm, Katrina, was a truly bad-ass extravaganza to be sure. It lifted me, literally and physically, to a new appreciation of my own place within the bosom of our Earth Mother. Suffice to say, had She taken me that day in August, I would have at least understood the passing.

However, what came after our levees failed is The Never Ending Story, to which I have devoted the past 4 years (and every day of Your New Orleans Ladder) to figuring out, with and without therapy and no proper endings. Frankly, what I saw then sorta freaked out my therapists. What I see now in New Orleans leaves me sufficiently breathless and never alone.

91L Growing More Organized; Will Bring Heavy Rains to Florida and the Bahamas ~Dr. Jeff Masters, Weather Underground

Mayors of Atlanta and New Orleans: Uber Will Beat the Taxi Industry ~Coner Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

Coastal Restoration Drives An Industry Boom ~Jesse Hardman, WWNO

Lake Ponchartrain Basin Foundation helps teach kids to fish ~Andrew Canulette, The Advocate

Hidden in plain sight ~Fix the Pumps

Climate Scientist: Manhattan Will Need “Venice-Like Canals” to Stop Flooding ~Claus Jacob, Next City
~Editilla Cotellas~1NONewsladder2 • 6 minutes ago

Mr. Jacobs, 80% of New Orleans flooded from 3 catastrophic engineering failures: 17th Street Canal flood wall, London Ave Canal flood wall and the Industrial Canal flood wall --NOT from hurricane Katrina storm surge. These flood walls breached at below design spec, due to a number of bad calls by the US Army Corps of Engineers, to wit: bad soil (in the case of the London Ave Canal: SAND), Inadequately driven sheet piles, Incorrect design of I-walls instead of T-walls. These are the facts, not the innuendo of media Katrina Shorthand. http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/pro...
I find it disingenuous at best for you to proffer that the devastation of New Orleans 8-29-05 was anything but a man-made disaster. To quote engineering professor Dr. Raymond Seed: "This was a man-made disaster 2nd only to Chernobyl." Hurricane Katrina devastated the MS Gulf Coast. The Corps of Engineers struck New Orleans.
Please educate yourself and adjust your view on this tragic case of criminal product liability.

Oil boom produces jobs bonanza for archaeologists ~Josh Wood

Protesters walk 150 miles carrying 'troubled waters' to Governor's Mansion ~Xerxes Wilson

Coastal lawsuit won't move back to state court ~Mark Schleifstein


Student: My New Orleans school district hires too many white teachers ~Glen Sullivan

A Salute to the James Beard Awards ~Poppy Tooker, It's New Orleans

A Salute To The James Beard Awards June 28, 2014

A Salute To The James Beard Awards June 28, 2014

Louisianans Trek 100 Miles To The Governor's Mansion to protest signing SB-469 ~WKNO

Protests follow school plans at Booker T. Washington site ~Dan Lawton, New Orleans Advocate

Social media mystery: Who’s behind social media campaigns promoting Sheriff Marlin Gusman? ~Charles Maldonado, The Lens

Steve Gleason seeks $500 million to find ALS cure ~WWLTV 

Woman with service dog runs into resistance at local restaurant ~WVUE

Worst Hotel in New Orleans Award Goes To ~Cajun Mama

Somebody End My Miserable Existence – Tony the Tiger, Gas Station Mascot ~Red Schtick

UNDP and IFRC warn of legal gaps in disaster risk management

Sheriff, city still miles apart on plans for jail ~Jim Mustian, New Orleans Advocate

Mayor Mitchmo: ‘New Orleans Robbed Of Its Fair Share’ ~The Hayride

Frenchmen St. businesses upset at lack of rules enforcement ~Eric Paulsen, WWLTV 

New hotels not likely in New Orleans near future

Premium Parking for Web ~Chris Boudy

The Spirit of City Park Photo Contest Winners

Trustees to approve $627 million of BP Phase III early restoration projects over Texas objections ~Mark Schleifstein

Couple suing to have same-sex marriage performed in Iowa recognized in Louisiana ~Katy Reckdahl, The Advocate

Live blog: Mayor Landrieu discusses how he plans to pay looming city expenses ~Charles Maldonado, The Lens

Future bright for sunglasses business launched by local ~Mike Hoss, WWLTV 

Grow Dat’s City Park farm yields an unexpected crop: good jobs for youth ~Johanna Gilligan

Hurricane recovery gave New Orleans reason to band together to offer more healthful food ~Della Hasselle, Washington Post

I think we’ll head on down to KFC today for lunch ~Slabbed 

50-Foot-Tall New Orleans Art Tree House Dismantled ~Sarah Cascone, Artnet News

Jindal the Koch Sucker signs bills to ban AG contracts, restricts states ability to sue corporations ~Mark Ballard, The Advocate

Popular fishing spot off Terrebonne gets a reprieve ~WWLTV

New La. law mandates life-support for pregnant women ~WVUE

Baby Boomers fall for New Orleans ~New Orleans Advocate

BP shuts down internal oil spill claims program ~David Hammer, WWLTV

Flood Into Baton Rouge!

Issues hover over Holy Cross condo towers despite rezoning ~Jaquetta White, New Orleans Advocate

Scientists Unearth Decade-Old Federal Levee Failures Damage Beneath New Orleans’ Streets ~Katy Reckdahl, Next City

ITF, International Food Technology, Expo kicks off in New Orleans ~WDSU

A Louisiana first: Poverty Point named World Heritage Site ~WVUE

Activists use pedal power to oppose fracking ~WDSU

Report: Louisiana ranks high in toxic releases into waterways ~Amy Wold, The Advocate

St. Bernard Sheriff: Three men arrested for stealing $1500 in crab traps ~WWLTV

Causeway Police practice water rescue training ~WVUE

Five years after Corps of Engineers rated Trinity River levees unacceptable, an inspection and an update ~Dallas Morning News

Playing the waiting game in flooded northwest Iowa ~Des Moines Register

St. Rose Stench Traced to Crude ~NOLA DEFENDER

Our Views: The decider is upstairs ~The Advocate

2014 IFT Annual Meeting

New Orleans Based Franchise Expands into Poland ~Digital Journal

Forgotten Bayou, life on the edge of the Bayou Corne Sinkhole

Bobby 'Big Oil' Jindal's political levee board appointees held at bay on their attempt to kill SLFPA-E Lawsuit --for now ~The Advocate

Ironton, LA residents fight to stop proposed 'borrow pit' in backyard ~WWLTV

Officials identify cause of mysterious odor, residents seek medical help in St. Charles Parish ~WVUE

2015 Capital Budget Requests Map ~Nola Report

Cellphone providers ready lines of communication for hurricane season ~WDSU

New architecture in an old city: Is resurgent New Orleans losing its soul? ~Nathan Robinson, The Lens

Landrieu, Cassidy on fracking, St. Tammany ~Stephanie Grace

Sediment diversion project on right path, scientists tell state officials ~Amy Wold, The Advocate

Frustrations mount as St. Rose plant struggles to identify odor ~WWLTV

Mississippi Phosphates ranks high in toxic releases, gets special CEO ~Karen Nelson, Sun Herald

N.O. Sewerage and Water Board makes investment in "green" projects ~WVUE

Judge OKs keeping jail drawings, blueprints secret after sheriff Gusman cites security worries ~AP, via The Republic

GRN Cheers to 20 Years with a Solstice Party in the Park

Gambit's FestivALES 2014

Levees.org fighting for flood protection and to hold industry accountable for erosion: Sandy Rosenthal

Suit filed to block fracking as drillers seek permit in St. Tammany ~Faimon A Roberts III

Jindal Kochsucker on East bank levee authority pushes to consider dismissing its environmental lawsuit against energy companies ~Mark Schleifstein

What Will Come Of New Orleans' Empty, Damaged School Buildings? ~Eve Troeh, WWNO

Bayou Boogaloo goes on the road to spread N.O. culture ~WWLTV 

Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s Ben Jaffe talks about the musical traditions of New Orleans ~Angelle Barbazon, The Elkhart Truth

Helis seeks approval today for north shore fracking site ~WVUE

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell should intervene in coastal damages lawsuit ~Oliver Houck

Judge Sets May 2015 Date for BP Investors’ Suit Over Oil Spill ~Nate Raymond, Insurance Journal ~Hat Tweet @stuartsmithlaw

Arbitrator to decide Jimmy Graham’s grievance with Saints ~Ramon Antonio Vargas, New Orleans Advocate 

Report ranks La. second to last in compensating crime victims ~WWLTV

The sign painters of New Orleans ~Alex Woodward, Gambit 

NOLA History: Voodoo and St. John’s Eve ~Edward Branley, GONOLA

Good Eggs Summer Solstice Celebration!

Analysis: 'Big oil' lawsuit issues linger ~Kevin McGill, AP via SFGate

Despite low coal use, La. must reduce CO2 by 40% ~Amy Wold, The Advocate

Felon alleges legal retribution after gold business shakedown with St. Tammany DA ends ~WWLTV

Placenta…it’s what’s for dinner ~New Orleans Moms Blog!

Tango dancers take hold of New Orleans with return of festival ~Jaclyn Kelly

Analysis: In minicamp, Saints were clicking on offense and defense ~Ramon Antonio Vargas, New Orleans Advocate

I began to broach the issue with my father of my last wishes etc.
It took a second, since Pop was still under the impression that "this can't be happening in America".. that people wearing a uniform meant something and I just needed to go find them and get out of there.. that our country, his country.. well whateva...
About that moment a NOPD car drove by full of BlackWater Mercenaries, all the windows gone with their little rifles sticking out, ball caps on jar heads... I really remember the tiny sunglasses when they looked Directly At Me.
"No, Pop. America doesn't DO uniforms any longer," I said.

BEATnik Streams Into NOLA's Consciousness ~Anna Caca, NOLA DEFENDER

Mayor Landrieu passes buck: Up to Jindal to hold energy companies accountable for wetlands damage ~Jeff Adelson, The Advocate

How Bobby Jindal’s Con-Profit and David Vitter’s Super PAC Undermine Democracy ~CenLamar

Jindal budget relies on nearly $1B in piecemeal funding

WWNO Announces New Coastal Reporting Team

Feds renew tariff on frozen Chinese crawfish ~WDSU

New Orleans Convention Center proposes ambitious 47-acre development ~WWLTV 

New Orleans Bounce Battle Heats Up On Social Media ~Darian Trotter, WGNO

What's next for the Charity Hospital building? ~WVUE

March from Grand Ilse to Baton Rouge June 21st, rally at Governor's Mansion June 28th

Cityscapes: Richard Campanella on New Orleans' Second-Largest Flood

Business And Political Leaders Gather For Flood Insurance Meeting ~WWNO

Canal Street ferry to operate for longer hours ~Jeff Adelson, New Orleans Advocate

Business leaders, railroad industry hope to reroute train traffic on west bank ~WDSU

LA- US bishops hear controversial speaker in New Orleans ~SNAP

New GSI Executive Director Margaret Henderson, An Influential Voice For The Gulf ~Ed Lallo

Video of guide feeding gators sparks crackdown ~WWLTV 

Six Sultry Burlesque Beauties of New Orleans ~GoNOLA

Check Out Deep South Studios' $63.5M Plan For Algiers Site ~Curbed

America’s Fracking Boom Spreads ~Tom Ashbrook, On Point NPR 

 Fracking to be topic of North Shore forum Friday

Braithwaite levee sits unfinished with hurricane season underway ~Mike Perlstein, WWLTV

Legislative resolution tells Corps to find mitigation land elsewhere ~Jacob Batte, Houma Courier~State legislators unanimously passed a NIMPY (Not In My Parish Y'all) resolution last month that urges the Corps of Engineers to find property outside of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes to compensate for hurricane protection in Orleans Parish. 

Man making good time in historic Lake Pontchartrain swim ~WVUE

Check Out Deep South Studios' $63.5M Plan For Algiers Site ~Curbed

For Buckwheat Zydeco, it’s all about respecting the roots ~John Wirt, New Orleans Advocate

NO WAY!!! Louisiana ranks # 2 among states with history of political corruption; South dominates ~Forbes~Hat Tweet @TheLensNOLA

Cadet's waiting game may be coming to end with New Orleans Saints ~Glenn Guilbeau, The Town Talk

Gulf state, not Louisiana, blocking approval of $627 million in BP oil spill restoration work ~Mark Schleifstein

Inaction feeds crisis over Mississippi River, environmentalists say ~Greg Gordon

Obama signs $12.3 billion water projects bill ~Gregory Roberts, The Advocate

University of New Orleans gets grant to enhance turtle excluder devices ~AP, via Daily Journal

New Orleans area banks move to more automation ~Don Ames, WWL

Bruno: Charter School Critics Get Part of Their Wish in New Orleans ~Scholastic

Culture as a Form of Control: All Hail New Orleans’ Go-Cup ~Lisa Wade, Pacific Standard

Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs, "Typical Rock Star" ~WWOZ

Mississippi reporter fired for remarks about Lafayette ~Megan Wyatt via WWLTV

Defensive line colleagues praise Brodrick Bunkley for unselfishly taking pay cut this offseason ~Ramon Antonio Vargas

Board hits reset button on N.O. airport contract ~Jeff Adelson, New Orleans Advocate

Supreme Court: BP must pay claims during appeal~Janet McConnauhey, AP via Fresno Bee

Chevron goes big in deepwater Gulf of Mexico ~Brian O'Keefe, Forbes

This week in New Orleans music: Free beer and a zydeco weekend ~Leah D. Nelson, AXS

The Single Question That Could Destroy Bobby Jindal’s Political Future ~CenLamar
~With the stroke of the pen, Governor Bobby Jindal likely saved the oil and gas industry billions of dollars in damages for which they otherwise would have been legally responsible, damages that are legitimately owed to hundreds, if not thousands, of hardworking families, businesses, and coastal communities who were devastated by and continue to suffer from the lingering effects of the worst environmental disaster in American history. Governor Jindal may claim this was about ending “frivolous lawsuits” and creating a “more fair and predictable legal environment,” but unfortunately for him, the geniuses on his communications team allowed Don Briggs, the President of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, to tell it like it is, “a huge victory for the oil and gas industry.” To be sure, that may actually be an understatement.
This wasn’t about ending frivolous lawsuits or better ensuring a fair and predictable legal environment; it was about rigging the law in favor of the biggest, wealthiest, and most powerful industry in Louisiana (and arguably, the world).

Who will lead the New Orleans Saints in receptions this season?~H/T Black and Gold

New airport terminal discussion continues after protest ~Casey Ferrand, WDSU

Design, Construction of $615M PCCP Canal Closures Project Moves Forward ~Brenda Roggiero, Construction Engineering Guide

Rush Masonry Delivers High-Performance Exterior for Loyola University New Orleans Renovation of Monroe Hall ~Digital Journal

New Orleans librarian wins $3,000 prize ~AP via WVUE

New Orleans restaurant boom creates lack of skilled staffers ~Don Ames, WWL

Tab Benoit, "Medicine" ~WWOZ

Saints' Vaccaro doesn't plan to tone down his style of play ~Bret Martel, WWLTV

James Gill: Time has come for settlement on coast damage ~New Orleans Advocate

Quin Hillyer: On new terminal, questions must be aired

Lawyers: BP claims at risk if Jindal signs levee lawsuit bill ~Richard Thompson

St. Tammany leaders approve court fight against fracking ~Ashley Rodrigue, WWLTV

Sheriff Gusman eyes plan to move mentally ill inmates to St. Gabriel, nearly 50 miles away ~Jim Mustian, New Orleans Advocate

2014 hurricane season message: Despite upgraded levees, don't let your guard down ~Mark Schleifstein

DEQ sends hurricane resource manual to parishes ~AP

AG recommends veto for levee board lawsuits bill ~New Orleans Advocate
~ Caldwell wrote Jindal that the bill’s wording carries “the potential for an unintended effect on the state’s, or a local governmental entity’s, claims against BP related to the Deepwater Horizon incident.” But Jindal’s top legal adviser disagreed, saying the views expressed during a Wednesday morning meeting were “the same as those offered by the opponents of the bill.” Thomas L. Enright Jr., the governor’s executive counsel, wrote Caldwell on Wednesday, “I must respectfully disagree that the proper course of action is to veto the bill.”

~Letter contradicting Thomas Enright, Governorcist Jindal’s executive counsel, from Robert R.M. Verchick Gauthier-St. Martin Eminent Scholar Chair in Environmental Law, Loyola College of Law

Dear Mr. Enright,

I have obtained a copy of your letter of June 4, 2014, addressed to Attorney General James D. Caldwell, which you furnished to the media. While I understand your position, I find your reasoning unpersuasive and, in some cases, based on inaccurate facts.

First, you write that the reasons set forth by the Attorney General for vetoing SB469 lack “specificity” as to the bill’s “unintended consequences.” To that end, I direct your attention to the legal analysis provided by my colleagues and me and encourage you to review our memorandum. That document —seven pages long and signed by more than 20 legal professors and scholars from the most prestigious law schools across the country, including our very own Loyola, Tulane and LSU law schools—reports in stark and detailed language the many ways that SB469 threatens billions of dollars worth of claims related to the BP oil spill. I’m frankly baffled at how such consequences could go ignored in the Governor’s rush to sign this bill into law. For that reason, I include a copy of our full analysis for you to review. In addition to the reasons outlined in that document, we are now also concerned, as you no doubt know, that NOAA has expressed serious questions about SB469, which could result in the loss of federal funding to protect our coast. Federal approval of the bill was never obtained as is required by federal law or even sought as of yesterday, June 3, 2014. In addition, the weakening of parish authority to protect their coastlines could lead NOAA to rescind the state’s coastal management program, depriving the state of needed federal revenue.

Second, you say, “this piece of legislation was fully debated, was the subject of intense mediacoverage throughout the session and now represents the Louisiana Legislature’s intent.” But SB469 was not fully debated. As you know, in the legislative process, discussion by the public can only take place in committee hearings. The bill was first assigned to Senate Committee Judiciary A, where it was clear the bill would have failed. When the author of the bill learned of its obvious fate, the bill was hastily moved, rewritten, and then heard in Senate Natural Resources Committee less than 18 hours later. There was next to no public notice, and debate on the bill was thus cut short. Furthermore, when the bill moved to the House of Representatives, it was assigned to the House Natural Resources Committee, instead of the Civil Law Committee where legislators skilled and experienced in the issues presented by SB469 could have addressed same. Worse, Representative Gordon Dove, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee cut off debate.

Regardless, and contrary to the suggestion, neither legislative debate – nor media coverage – can substitute for thorough legal analysis by experts in the field. SB469 has been subject to just such an analysis, and under that analysis SB469 fails. As our analysis shows, SB469 fails to protect the local governments whose concerns your letter concedes are at issue and puts at risk billions of dollars of local government claims against BP. And, here, it should be noted that BP heavily lobbied for the passage of SB469 – a fact strongly suggesting that the now known consequences of SB469 were not unintended at all. The bill may even fail to achieve its original goal— termination of the SLFPAE’s lawsuit. The bill says it applies only to "local government entities," a term with a specific legal meaning that does not include regional flood protection authorities or the levee districts that make up SLFPAE. And, in the one place SB469 does mention regional flood protection authorities, the bill fails to include levee districts. The
SLFPAE lawsuit is filed on behalf of the East Jefferson Levee District, the Orleans Levee District, and the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District as entities distinct from SLFPAE itself. So those levee districts' claims in the SLFPAE lawsuit could well remain untouched. In sum, SB469 fails in every regard.

Sincerely,

Robert R.M. Verchick
Gauthier-St. Martin Eminent Scholar Chair in Environmental Law
Loyola College of Law 
 
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