Bad Week

It's been a tragic week for law enforcement officers in the New Orleans area.

Four deaths occurred in the post Katrina landscape. Two in St. Tammany and two in New Orleans.


A St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputy was killed Saturday morning and another deputy was injured when their car ran off the road while they were responding to a false report of a body on another parish highway

During the funeral for the officer killed, a strong thunderstorm rolled thru the area, knocking over a huge pine tree, probably
weakened by Katrina's winds, killing another deputy.


As a miles-long funeral processional snaked through Covington en route to pay respects for fallen Deputy Hilery Mayo on Wednesday, tragedy delivered yet another cruel blow to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.
A deputy was killed and another was badly injured when a sudden, violent thunderstorm deluged the funeral procession around 4 p.m. and toppled a large pine tree that crushed the deputies' patrol car.

Here's a letter to the editor from a local law enforcement person regarding this tragic matter.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In New Orleans, one officer took his own life.

A former New Orleans police officer, facing trial in connection with the videotaped 2005 beating of a retired teacher in the French Quarter, died over the weekend in an apparent suicide, authorities said.
Lance Schilling, 30, was indicted along with another officer last year on charges of second-degree battery regarding their actions in a confrontation with a 64-year-old man. Schilling and Robert Evangelist were fired from the New Orleans Police Department following the Oct. 8, 2005, incident. Before his dismissal from the department, Schilling, an eight-year NOPD veteran, worked in the 8th District.
Schilling died Sunday around 9:45 p.m. from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Jefferson Parish coroner's office. The shooting, which took place at his Metairie home, was ruled a suicide.

Another officer died on his day off in New Orleans East

An off-duty New Orleans police officer died Sunday afternoon in an apparent one-vehicle traffic accident in eastern New Orleans.
The officer was Sidney Trepagnier Jr., 50, of New Orleans, a 26-year veteran who worked in the Traffic Division, said Garry Flot, a New Orleans Police Department spokesman.
Trepagnier apparently was traveling west on Terminal Road about a mile south of Interstate 10 and just east of the Industrial Canal, police said. When he reached a point about a quarter-mile east of Jourdan Road South, the sport utility vehicle he was driving veered left and entered a ditch just north of the Intracoastal Waterway

Clayton Cubitt

Clayton Cubitt has posted a new entry Here

FQ Fests

We ventured into the French Quarter yesterday to attend the Creole Tomato and Seafood Fests. What a great idea!!! We walked thru Waldenberg Park to the French Market and it was sunny and breezy.

But...when we hit the Market, the lack of moving air, the number of people and all of the vendors cooking in a small area kind of took the enjoyability away for me.
Now, I'm not an old fart by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't like the combination of 90+ degree heat, 100% humidity and a whole bunch of people crowded into one space;it's not my idea of a great time. But we persevered and ventured down to the old US Mint at Esplanade Ave.

The grounds were covered with food booths, beverage booths, a craft booth, a food demo stage and two music stages. We grabbed cold beers and got to work checking out the food.

The BBQ shrimp was absolutley delectable. The crab balls by Deanies were the best crab cake-type eat I ever had: crunchy on the outside and moist and crab claw meat-filled on the inside. Daughter wanted the seafood pasta, but the lines were getting very long. Next we had boiled crawfish by Pigeon Caterers...very tasty.

By this time Tab Benoit was playing, so we headed over to the stage. It was 2 pm and the sun was high in the sky and brutal. My daughter couldn't take the heat, so we found some comfort under the shade of the crepe myrtles while Hubby enjoyed the cajun BB King Entertainer of the year . She and I caught a little of Prudehomme cooking andouille.

Back at the Creole Tomato Fest we watched a demo by a young Commanders Palace chef as he demo'd a mouthwatering, cool creole tomato and mozarrella dish and a creole tomato bloody mary. Delicious! We purchased five pounds of the tomatoes and made our way back to the car and were home by 6. A fun day.

here's Chris Rose's take
And you have to admit, it is a little strange: The fewer people live here, the more festivals we have.

Japan Fest?

I suggested -- in total seriousness -- to a friend in the hospitality business that what we needed this summer, every summer, to liven up the two weeks between the Essence Festival and the Satchmo Festival is the Louisiana Humidity Festival.



Note to Lt. Gov-Tourish Czar Mitch: Next year think about combining the two fests and having them in Woldenberg park along the river where it's cooler. And less hot food and more things like boiled shrimp and grilled catfish with creole tomatoes. Hmmm...my love of cooking makes me want to take part in something like that!!!

Grammys add Cajun/zydeco category

Grammys add Cajun/zydeco category


The Recording Academy announced Thursday the creation of a Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album category in its folk music field.

The first winner will be chosen Feb. 10 at the 50th Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. CBS will broadcast the ceremonies live.

The announcement caps a six-year campaign by Lafayette's Cynthia Simien and her husband, zydeco veteran Terrance Simien, to establish the category. The Simiens actively petitioned the Academy and rallied local musicians to become members and submit their records for Grammy consideration.

Although zydeco and Cajun musicians often are nominated in the Grammy's folk category, victories are rare. They often have been paired against Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and other legendary figures.
Ten years have passed since Lafayette Cajun band BeauSoleil won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album. The last zydeco winner came in 1985 when Rockin' Sidney won Best Ethnic recording for My Toot Toot.

NOLAready

Here is the website to get alerts on your cell phone, etc. in case of an emergency in New Orleans.
Here are examples of when NOLAReady may be used:

Life-threatening weather
Amber Alerts
Highly disruptive road shutdowns
Evacuation or Shelter in Place information
Boil water notices
Information about emergency shelters
Other emergency information

When an emergency occurs, authorized senders will instantly notify you using NOLAReady. NOLAReady is your personal connection to real-time updates, instructions on where to go, what to do, or what not to do, who to contact and other important information.

It's run by the city of New Orleans and powered by Roam Secure Alert Network.

Pirogue Races

This past Sunday (June 3rd) was the Bayou Liberty Pirogue Races.
The Times Pic featured a short video with interviews of race participants.

Here is the link

In the background you can hear the squealing of the Bayou Liberty Bridge as cars cross the bayou.
Click on picture for larger view

This is one of my favorite sounds of this area.

The sights, sounds and smells of the bayou is what has kept me living in this area for 20+ years.

Welcome Back, Cap

WGSO AM-990 has changed owners and formats. Out is William Metcalf Jr.'s MC Media. In is Northshore Radio LLC, a consortium of investors who primarily reside and do business on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

The new owners have installed a news-talk format targeted at north shore listeners who've largely been overlooked by New Orleans broadcast media, said Michael Starr, a local broadcasting veteran who is the new station's general manager.

The station's studios are in Slidell. Its tower and transmitter are atop an office building on Canal Street in New Orleans. Though targeting St. Tammany, its programming may appeal to Jefferson and Orleans listeners as well.

Ed Clancy has joined the roster of north shore talk radio hosts on WGSO AM-990.
"Some of the topics we're talking about are topics without borders," Starr said. "We might be having a problem in St. Tammany Parish that's universal. The Road Home is a common problem for everybody. In addition to that, (north shore) residents work in other parts of the metro area.

"Whether people are driving to work or play or whatever, they can keep in touch with what's going on (at home)."

In the station's new talk-host lineup is Hugh Dillard, who many local listeners will remember as rock-radio's Captain Humble.

Dillard, a marquee jock at album-rock WRNO FM-99.5 in its air-guitar-windmilling prime, has recently been running a po-boy shop in Slidell, and intends to do his noon-2 p.m. show from there most days.

Other hosts include Jeff Crouere, Ed Clancy, Bernie Cyrus, Ken Trahan and John Marie.

"You know how you kind of say your prayers and at the end of them say something you know is pretty spectacular? 'I want to win the Powerball' or something?" Dillard said. "I always used to say, 'I'd sure like to be back on the radio.' "

He gets it....

Dan Baum has been blogging from New Orleans for the New Yorker since August 30, 2005 and has just left the city. In his final journal post, he yearns for the city....

“Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?” an old song asks; another reminds us, “You don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.” Since Katrina, I’ve often been asked (though never by someone in New Orleans) why the country should bother rebuilding it. Is it really worth the billions it would take to protect this small, poor, economically inessential city, which is sinking into the delta muck as global warming raises the sea around it? But the question of “whether” has been settled—New Orleans is rebuilding itself, albeit slowly, fitfully, and imperfectly. Now it’s only a matter of how and how long. That is better news than perhaps the rest of America fully understands.


It’s the American way to focus on the future—we are dreamers and schemers, always chasing the horizon. Looking forward has made us great, but it comes at a price. .... New Orleanians, on the other hand, are excellent at the lost art of living in the moment. Étienne stopped at our house one afternoon to drop off some papers he wanted me to see. No, he said, he couldn’t stay; someone was waiting for him downtown. But we got to talking, and gradually moved to the chairs on the porch. We had a beer. The shadows lengthened as the day cooled, the jasmine across the street smelled sweet, and a few houses away someone was practicing the saxophone. Margaret brought out a dish of almonds. We all had another beer. It was dark by the time Étienne left. And here’s the true miracle of New Orleans: the person waiting for him downtown no doubt had an equally pleasant couple of hours, and Étienne surely paid no social penalty for being late.
.....
Right before Katrina, a Gallup poll found more than half of New Orleanians “extremely satisfied” with their lives, despite the city’s wretched state, a higher percentage than in any other city surveyed. New Orleanians have more time than money, and they like it that way...... I can tell you that, wherever we live, I’m comforted knowing that New Orleans is there. It’s no exaggeration to say that, without New Orleans, the United States would be lost.

Thanks, Dan. Godspeed.

Weekend Plans

This weekend (June 8-10) offers a few interesting options

WEEKEND PLANS

There's the Creole Tomato Fest as well as

New Orleans first annual Seafood Festival located at the old US Mint
During the New Orleans Seafood Festival, locals and tourists will be able to view live “Chefs' Secrets” cooking demonstrations from some of the best chefs in the country and purchase mouth-watering dishes from local restaurants serving up their seafood specialty at the special food and beverage booths. The sound of musical beats and French Quarter mayhem are definitely on the menu of events at this French Quarter fun-loving “Foodie” festival with live music on Saturday and Sunday, beginning noon at the historic U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade Avenue. Some scheduled events include a cookbook autograph session and Behind-the Scenes Kitchen Tours with private cooking demonstrations.

People Powered Rebirth

New Orleans' people- powered rebirth
an article by Jonathan Capehart

…….People are now trying to say, 'Been through the stages. How do I move forward? What can I do?' "….
What they are doing is driving the recovery. "Recovery is being done by the people, not by government,"

Honoring Gate

A stretch of U.S. 11 from the southern boundary of Slidell to Lake Pontchartrain will be designated the Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Memorial Highway if state Rep. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, gets his way.

Gate lived on this stretch of road that includes camps and apartment buildings, all of them just about flattened in Katrina's wake.
He was evacuated August 28, 2005 to Orange Texas where he died from emphysema, lung cancer and heart disease two weeks later.

I had the opportunity to see Gatemouth Brown up close and personal several times in Slidell. He would show up at Palmetto's in Slidell and
play a few sets. His guitar playing was excellent despite all his health problems. He loved his music and enjoyed entertaining.
He played the 2005 Jazz Fest despite the need to carry around oxygen wherever he went.
At this website is a shot of him at the end of his last Jazz Fest set.

Miscellanea

Three websites to check out:


The Psychogeographic Guide to the City of New Orleans
The photographs posted to this site were taken during the winter of 2006, roughly from early December through Mardi Gras (late February). At the beginning of that time, homes in flooded areas were mostly not reoccupied. The city streets had been cleared of debris, but flooded cars were everywhere, and by the side of the street, houses were littered with broken branches, overturned cars, swamp grass, and stranded boats.



Recent aerial photographs of Louisiana's wetlands are evidence of the damage done by oil and gas companies throughout the decades.
taken by Clay over at noladishu


Clancy DuBos talks about the New Orleans Culture front in the May 29th Gambit.

Hurricane Season

June first ...... the calendar moved from May to June. In Pre-K times, the change in months only signaled the beginning of the long, lazy days of summer. Katrina changed that. I avoided a majority of the madness about the beginning of the hurricane season
There's just no reason for this feeding frenzy by the news and weather people.

I stand by my post of last year
as far as the local meteorologists are concerned.

Our evacuation plans are gelling. We have MRE's left over from Katrina, the box with all of the important papers in it is
ready to go at anytime; there's a big old box in the attic filled with the necessities for leaving home for some time as well as
five carriers: one for each of our cats.
I've also checked out Pets Welcome dot com , a website devoted to finding pet friendly establishments.
The boards to cover up the windows are in the shed. (Note to self: buy AA batteries!).
We were handed our contraflow map, as
well as hurricane "tips" as we entered Wally World over the weekend. Where we go depends upon the track of the offending
storm, but it will be somewhere in the middle of the state.
So, we're ready, but not doing the "hurricane boogie", like all of those crazy news folks!!
Here are some good links to make sure you're ready:

Hurricane Evacuation Tips
some more from Gambit Weekly

Got a complaint?

before you complain…..even about the state of New Orleans........
think of what the soldiers fighting the wars have to put up with.

Grenouille des Bois

click on pictures to view full size
The creation of Slidell's newest piece of public art started about three years ago when Slidell artist and master carver Phil Galatas went for a stroll on the north side of Heritage Park in Slidell and noticed a huge stump. As soon as he he saw the stump, he started thinking of a frog and imagining using his artistic skills -- and his chainsaw -- to carve a huge frog that looked like it was ready to jump right across the sidewalk and into the canal.


In carving what Galatas calls "one hard piece of live oak wood" he has dedicated some 40-plus hours working on the amphibian, which requires several more hours of work before being completed. The stump frog has a rotten spot in its head which he hopes to salvage by mixing cement colored to match the wood and then oiling the piece down to keep moisture in and water off the wood.

Heritage Park's newest resident, "Grenouille des Bois (Wood Frog)," is Galatas' gift to the city. He hopes it will bring joy and a friendly greeting to passers-by who enter the park, he said.


Thanks, Phil!

The Katrina Index

Published monthly by the Greater New Orleans Data Center , this report is a wealth of information regarding repopulation of New Orleans, home sales in surrounding parishes, the Road Home Program, the status of public schools and medical facility openings to name a few. This site also contains
Reference Maps of New Orleans:
Planning districts
Neighborhood boundaries
Zip codes
Extent of Katrina flooding
Elevation by neighborhood

Here's a summary of the May 2007 "Katrina Index"

Months Since Katrina Made Landfall: 20
This month’s Jazz Fest was a welcome reminder of what New Orleanians love about their home city. And with estimated attendance hitting its highest mark since 2003, the reason for optimism shared by residents and visitors is clear.
Similar positive strides can be seen in the recovery of New Orleans and her larger metro area.
First, the state recently hired Paul Vallas, a nationally-recognized public school-turnaround chief, to run the Recovery School District starting in July. Like with city recovery chief Ed Blakely, Vallas will bring quality experience and leadership to a central component of the recovery effort. Second, the pace of application closings for the Road Home program is finally picking up speed, with over 8,000 new closings this month. But the future of the Road Home remains tenuous. At its current rate, another year will elapse before ICF has processed all of the Road Home applications. Further, state officials announced that the $7.5 billion program will likely face a shortfall of up to $4 billion due to higher-than-anticipated applicants, skyrocketing construction costs, and less insurance than assumed.

And finally, as this month’s index points out, new U.S. postal delivery data suggest the continued gradual repopulation of the city and region.
Overall, this month’s index shows improvement in the economic recovery of the New Orleans area. While many of the city’s basic services and infrastructure remain unchanged, the housing market is stronger, with increased home sales and home
values, housing rehab activity and demolitions have accelerated, and jobs are still being added to the region.
Housing
.. The average sales price for single family homes in the New Orleans region continues to climb above pre-Katrina values in the outer parishes while generally remaining stable in the core. Specifically, home values in Jefferson Parish,
Plaquemines Parish, and St. Tammany Parish are now at or above the values in August 2005. The exceptions are on the east bank of New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish where average home values remain lower than those prior to Katrina.
.. The total number of single family homes sold in the metro area has climbed steadily since last December 2006 reaching 941. This growth reflects the resurgence of the spring and summer homebuying season and signals continued
consumer confidence in the New Orleans area.
.. Demolitions increased this month to 285, a big jump from 150 demolitions per month for the last two months. This may indicate that property owners are taking advantage of free demolitions before FEMA’s August 2007 deadline.
.. Residential building permits issued by the City of New Orleans increased by 1,426 this month, the highest one-month volume since last October 2006.
.. Fully 8,286 Road Home applications were closed in the last four weeks indicating that ICF International has almost reached its targeted goal of closing 500 applications per day. But given rising numbers of applications, these closings
represent only 11.4 percent of the demand.

Updated monthly at www.gnocdc.org The KATRINA INDEX



Thanks to Harry Shearer for the link

Plaquemine Parish Coastal Restoration Wins Award

click on pictures for larger size

The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) has named the Chaland Headland coastal restoration project as one of America's Top Restored Beaches.
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) -- with NOAA's Fisheries Service as the federal sponsor performed the restoration work with funds from the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act.

The Chaland project was completed this year and is located some eight miles from where Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005.

Three other similar restoration projects -- Pelican Island, East Grand Terre and Chaland Pass to Grand Bayou Pass -- will create beaches and marshes that will help protect Plaquemines, Orleans, and Jefferson parishes.
The project involved pumping 1.79 million cubic yards of sand and 950,000 cubic yards of marsh fill to create a three-mile-long beach -- and backing marsh --- designed to protect wetlands against storms and storm surge. The project has restored over 400 acres of habitat but a second phase of the work is expected to benefit another 400 acres. The second phase of the project will go out for construction award later this year.

2007 Hurricane Prediction

Varg over at the chicory offers his opininon on the latest hurricane predictions .

Here's my take based on the first predictions a month ago

Great Webcomic

After the Deluge

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge is about surviving Hurricane Katrina—and its aftermath told through the eyes of fictional characters. It's addictive.

Just the Beginning

John McQuaid: Brace Yourself -- New Orleans Was Just the Beginning

An opinion piece, penned by former Times Picayune journalist John McQuaid
discusses human complacency. An excerpt:
In reality, we are all New Orleans. Environmental change is accelerated there, yes. But similar -- and equally dangerous -- changes are coming down the pike for the rest of us; it's just going to happen a bit more slowly. And we haven't collectively recognized that yet.
…... people don't believe the data because it points to a very strange and different future, one profoundly different than our previous experience.

Culture Returns to NOLA

Culture returns to New Orleans by Jason Berry (Boston Globe 5/19/07)
In a city starved for leadership, a civic ethos is emerging from a cultural community that envisions at-risk schools and youngsters as human resources to salvage. If politicians joined that ticket, New Orleans would find itself a better, smarter, economically stronger place

Payback is now

Our Coast, to Fix or Lose

This is John Barry's article in May 12th WaPo where he argues that fixing the Louisiana coast benefits the WHOLE NATION.

Hey, all you nay sayers, all you NIMBYs, all your people out there who think Louisianians are idiots for living here: WAKE UP!!! All these years you have benefitted from the raping of the Louisiana coast. Payback is now. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself by reading Mr. Barry's article.

Here's an excerpt:


.... Eastern New Orleans (including the lower Ninth Ward) and St. Bernard Parish -- nearly all of which, incidentally, is at or above sea level -- exemplify this allocation of costs and benefits. Three man-made shipping canals pass through them, creating almost no jobs there but benefiting commerce throughout the country. Yet nearly all the 175,000 people living there saw their homes flooded not because of any natural vulnerability but because of levee breaks.....Despite all this and President Bush's pledge from New Orleans in September 2005 that "we will do what it takes" to help people rebuild, a draft White House cuts its own recommendation of $2 billion for coastal restoration to $1 billion while calling for an increase in the state's contribution from the usual 35 percent to 50 percent. Generating benefits to the nation is what created the problem, and the nation needs to solve it. Put simply: Why should a cab driver in Pittsburgh or Tulsa pay to fix Louisiana's coast? Because he gets a stronger economy and lower energy costs from it, and because his benefits created the problem. The failure of Congress and the president to act aggressively to repair the coastline at the mouth of the Mississippi River could threaten the economic vitality of the nation. Louisiana, one of the poorest states, can no longer afford to underwrite benefits for the rest of the nation.

Forgotton Buras, Louisiana

from reelrelief dot com comes the story of Buras, Louisiana"

In more than 20 months, little has been repaired. The parish (county) library is empty. The U.S. Post Office still lies in ruins. Only a few businesses have rebuilt; many people are still waiting for insurance money, grant money or to save up enough resources to rebuild.

But the desire to repopulate this town, that means so much to its residents, is still strong. EC runs a cafe, laundromat, supply distribution center, library and internet station and provides long distance service for the people in Lower Plaquemines Parish. The accommodations for volunteers are basic in Tent City: tents and army cots are available, or there is slab space to pitch your own tent. There are no walls in Tent city, just steel beams, most of a roof and inspirational quotes on the support posts. Live music is provided by musical volunteers. People work together to try to brighten up the lives of people whose options are severely limited. Individuals and groups are welcomed. It is an experience that will transform your life, as it transforms the lives of others.


thanks to Ellathebella

New Orleans' State of MInd

a snapshot of the state of mind in new orleans.

Here's another....

They are not okay.

Slideshow

Here's a slideshow put together by an eleven year old who, for his 11th birthday, asked for $11 donations to the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund instead of replacing the train he lost to Katrina .
In his free time, Jake collects toys for New Orleans children in the hospital because he's thankful for the hospital's care when he was younger. In the slideshow he made to commemorate New Orleans, Jake uses a song by Liverpool musician Joe Topping who walked from Chicago to New Orleans in support of NOMRF's efforts for displaced musicians.

It's worth the watch.

Bay Bridge ReOpens

The Bay Bridge

which connects Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and Waveland to beautiful Pass Christian will be open on May 17th, 2007, almost 21 months after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

To celebrate this occasion, there will be a "Bridge Fest" . This will be a mostly local event by the looks of things, but the opening of the bridge represents a big step toward recovery.

Congratulations to you all!

One less Scuzzbucket

The world lost a prime-time
scuzzbucket yesterday

In my opinion, Mr. Falwell gave religion a bad name.
and I'm not alone in that feeling

Good riddance, sir

My 15 minutes...

One of my Jazzfest pix was chosen in the TP Editors top ten user submitted photos!

Emergency Planning

It's that time of year again and Seawitch has put together a great post on what we should be planning for the upcoming hurricane season.

Requesting Help

Thanks, Mr. Colbert! If only our esteemed governess knew!

hat tip Mr. Clio

Levees: Not just in NOLA

Recent news stories
about flooding in Missouri brings to light that levees are all over the country. And there are a LOT of substandard ones out there.
This shatters the belief by some tiny minded people that places like New Orleans shouldn't be rebuilt due to the geography.

From Levees dot org comes a new PSA with John Goodman.

New Orleans resident and award-winning actor John Goodman added his voice to a series of celebrity Public Service Announcements by non-profit flood-control advocacy group Levees.Org, asking "Don't we all deserve levees that work?"
The campaign aims to explain to communities nationwide that they are protected by levees built by the US Army Corps of Engineers and could experience a catastrophic flood like New Orleans experienced during Hurricane Katrina.
The 30-second version of the advertisement can be viewed at the organization's Web site, www.levees.org. For broadcasters, both a 15 and 30 second version can be downloaded.
Too many people don't understand that what happened here was a case of federal engineering failures and poor decision-making. Too many people don't understand that what happened here could happen anywhere. said Sandy Rosenthal, the organization's executive director.
The group is behind legislation to create an 8/29 Commission, an unbiased investigation of the failure of the federally built levees. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-LA will file the 8/29 Commission as an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The WRDA bill likely will go to the Senate floor this week, said Ms. Rosenthal.
Rosenthal started Levees.Org while in Lafayette, LA after evacuating from New Orleans during the flooding in 2005.

Round Houses

Story about a Gulfport home that made it thru Katrina.

" The Kisers' home suffered no structural damage from 145-miles-per-hour
winds and a 24-foot storm surge. All of the walls and windows remained
intact, having survived the force of Katrina and the tornados spawned by
the hurricane."


Here's one of two that are being built on Lakeshore Drive in Slidell.

Bayou Liberty Pirogue Races

Despite the fact that Katrina forced the razing and rebuilding of St. Genevieve Church in Bayou Liberty, the Pirogue races will take place on June 3rd. It was speculated that they may have been interrupted due to the construction schedule of the new church, but that's not the case

click on picture for full-sized view

The 57th annual Pirogue Races will run from 1 pm till dark. A very low-key event compared to most fests in this area, the Pirogue Races offer a relaxing day of live music, home cooked gumbo, beer and people watching.

Faded Hopes in New Orleans

Here's a link to an editorial written by Geri Denterlein of Boston regarding her experiences and feelings from a recent volunteer visit to NOLA. Thanks to Ashley.

When does the evil end?

A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by families of three people who died in the immediate, desperate days after Hurricane Katrina when the New Orleans region was stranded without proper emergency services. U.S. District Court Judge Jay Zainey recently ...agreed with federal officials who said they cannot be sued for such Katrina deaths because they have immunity, granted by the Stafford Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act. ..."One might contend that the federal decisions made in conjunction with Hurricane Katrina demonstrated nonchalance and/or incompetence on the part of those involved," Zainey wrote in a 23-page decision issued Saturday and filed in court Tuesday. "The government has publicly admitted that it made many mistakes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One can only speculate at this point whether these mistakes caused the tragic deaths of the decedents." Zainey continued, "This court is very sympathetic to the plaintiffs for the loss of their loved ones, however, this court is prohibited from changing the laws that Congress has enacted. As such, the court lacks the authority to award money damages for the claims in which the plaintiffs are not legally entitled." The elderly woman's body, which contained a pacemaker and a feeding tube, gave out Sept. 1 as she and tens of thousands of others languished in the New Orleans heat with little or nothing in their hands. The courts combined the following lawsuits against the government with the Freeman claim: -- John J. DeLuca, 77, who rode out Katrina at an eastern New Orleans assisted-living home, died Sept. 3 after a helicopter rescue team took him from his home to Interstate 10 and Causeway Boulevard. DeLuca languished for three days before dying, court records said. -- Clementine Eleby, 79, paralyzed and bedridden in eastern New Orleans when the storm struck, died outside the Convention Center on Sept. 1 while waiting for help.

I'm so angry I am speechless.

The Katrina Treatment

Greg Palast, author of Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans - Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild released this week by Penguin. writes about what the federal government knew but did not share in "18 Missing Inches in New Orleans"

Not every flood victim in America gets the Katrina treatment. In 1992, storms wiped out 190 houses on the beach at West Hampton Dunes, home to film stars and celebrity speculators. The federal government paid to completely rebuild the houses, which, hauled in four million cubic feet of sand to restore the tony beaches, and guaranteed the home's safety into the coming decades - after which the "victim's" homes rose in value to an average $2 million each.

But in New Orleans, instead of compensation, 73,000 have been sentenced to life in FEMA's trailer-parks in Louisiana. Even more are displaced to other states. I asked van Heeerden about the consequences of the White House's failures, the information about the levee being just one of a list.

"Well, fifteen hundred people drowned. That's the bottom line."

But why did the levees fail at all if the hurricane missed the city? The professor showed me a computer model indicating the levees were a foot and a half too short - the result of a technical error in the Army Corp of Engineer's calculation of sea level when the levees were built beginning in the 1930s.

And the Bush crew knew it. Long before Katrina struck, the White House staff had sought van Heerden's advice on coastal safety. So when the professor learned of the 18-inch error, he informed the White House directly. But this was advice they didn't want to hear. The President had already sent the levee repair crew, the Army Corp of Engineers, to Afghanistan and Iraq.

How NOT to lead

From
Bayou Buzz dot com.
This is beyond disgusting.
This is way past ineptitude
an excerpt

It seems that the wounds from the U.S. Government’s miserable handling of Hurricane Katrina will never go away. This weekend, a shocking report shows that our federal government turned down millions of dollars in aid from foreign countries in the aftermath of Katrina. A staggering $846 million in aid was offered from countries across the globe, yet only $40 million was eventually accepted. Some went to private charities, but other assistance, such as medical supplies from Italy, was unused, exposed to the elements and eventually discarded.

The reasons the aid was rejected often dealt with a strict adherence to government regulations. For example, the Greek government offered two cruise ships to be used to house or care for Katrina victims. The ships were rejected due to concerns about the sprinkler systems on the boats. Other aid was turned down because of concerns about bottlenecks at a U.S. airbase in Little Rock, Arkansas caused by too many relief planes arriving. How infuriating that our government was worried about sprinkler systems and airport congestion when people were dying throughout the Gulf Coast!

More at the American Zombie

20 Months Later

At ground zero - Bay St. Louis and Waveland - there is still so much work to be done.

From "Rising from Ruin see what this area looks like in April 2007

Jazz Fest 07

I hadn't been to Jazz Fest in almost 10 years, so it was a pleasure to go this year.


We headed for the Blues Tent first thing. After looking at the schedule of performers, we decided we'd stay there all day

It was a good day. The tent was cool and there were Jazz Fest Staff there who kept the aisles clear and did their best to keep the rowdies tamed.



We watched

Mem Shannon and the Membership


Burnside Exploration


Richie Havens


The incredible Tab Benoit


and Sonny Landreth

While listening to all this talent we ate!


A very huge and very tasty steak pita


The Crawfish Bisque & Trout Baquet from Lil Dizzy's. mmm-mmm-mmmm
and the meaty ribs with white beans.

Katrina keeps on "giving"

Tim posted a story about a neighbor of his who lost more than his home to the storm.
Read about it at his nameless blog

New Orleans-ABOVE Sea Level

E.J. over at "NOITSJUSTME blogspot has some interesting info for all of you NOLA dissers.

N.O. - It's Just Me: City ABOVE the sea

Local Idea for Cat 5 Levees

From a NOLA-dishu post last week:

Local Idea for Cat 5 Levees

This brings you to Jim Boudreaux's home page with a very interesting and entertaining powerpoint presentation.

Thanks, Clay!

NOLA Katrina Memorial

Orleans Parish Coronor Dr. Frank Minyard is responsible for the interment of the unclaimed and unidentified New Orleans victims from Hurricane Katrina.
According to the state Department of Health and Hospitals, Katrina left 1,464 victims. Of those vicitims, 100 still remain
unidentified or unclaimed. The unclaimed remain at that classification because either the families cannot be located or, in some cases,
the families "don't want to pick them up". How sad. Minyard feels all Katrina victims deserve a better fate.
Organized in late 2006, the idea for the charitable, non-profit establishment of a memorial in New Orleans in honor of the Katrina victims,
including a mausoleum to house the unidentified and identified but unclaimed remains.
From the New Orleans Katrina Memorial Webpage

…..we are soliciting tax-deductible donations toward the construction costs of the memorial, estimated to exceed $1.5 million, including funds for the perpetual care of
this memorial. Matthews International has been selected to design and build the New Orleans Katrina Memorial.
The New Orleans Katrina Memorial will house these victims as well as provide remembrance plaques for all Katrina victims recovered in the city of New Orleans. Family members of the deceased are asked to contact the New Orleans Katrina Memorial Corporation.
The memorial incorporates both the curves of the hurricane and the meditative quality of a labyrinth, an initial idea conceived by Dr. Jeffrey
Rouse (the deputy New Orleans coroner dealing with psychiatric cases). The concept was then presented to Dave DeCarlo, Vice Chairman of
Matthews International Corporation, and a design team under the direction of Chris Kroll developed the rendering.

Update, September 2017: I found a webpage that hasn't expires that describes the Katrina Memorial Cemetary here.

Weekend of Festing

This past weekend we attended two Slidell festivals: the Antique Street Fair and the Crawfish Cookoff.
click on pictures for full size versions
The sky was clear, the temps were cool and the food was plentiful.




We hit the street fair early, so the crowds were thin. It made for a much more enjoyable time.



We could smell the italian sausage grilling from blocks away and decided that that's what our breakfast would be.


A very good choice.



It's a small fair, but there were some gorgeous pieces of furniture there.



Check out that chair. Wish I had the $350 they were asking.




There were smaller items as well. This 1930's era handmixer was really neat.





After an hour of so of strolling around, we were hungry, so we headed for the Crawfish Cookoff across town.
The proceeds of this event benefits Hospice Foundation of the South.

For $20 each, we ate all of the mudbugs we could consume. I never ate so much crawfish in my life.
















I award the gentleman in the red hat the outfit of the day.




Bag of Donuts entertained the crowd





Now it's time to rest up for this Saturday and Jazz Fest We'll be spending a majority of the day in the Southern Comfort Blues Tent

New Orleans East

Want to see what some parts of New Orleans East looks like 20 months post-Katrina?

Click here

Yet, in another part of "the east", there is a the opposite.


The Vietnamese in the East making a strong comeback

Like many other small-business owners in the area, Mai Nguyen didn't wait for money from the Road Home or any other government program to reopen her restaurant after Katrina. She dug deep into her own pockets.

Nationwide Relooking

Nationwide Insurance will voluntarily review all claims in the state where the customer's home or building was reduced to nothing more than a slab by the 2005 storm.

Thanks ever-so-much for all your help, Nationwide!


Here's another link

Who will be next?

Business Recovery Grants

from Bayou Buzz dot com

More than 2,000 checks have been distributed so far to recipients of the Business Recovery Grant & Loan Program created by the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) in partnership with and administered by Louisiana Economic Development (LED). Award letters were mailed to more than 3,400 grant recipients in early April. Many have already returned their signed Terms & Conditions documents and are receiving the first 50 percent of their grants. The program will grant more than $63 million in this first round, with an average award amount of $18,100.

Of businesses receiving grants in this first round,
- More than 85 percent have 10 or fewer employees
- 85 percent were located in the most devastated parishes: Cameron, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard
- 53 percent were woman- or minority-owned firms

Community-based financial institutions played a major role in helping to spread the word and walk participants through program requirements. LED staff and these local partners hosted more than 25 workshops across South Louisiana to educate business owners about eligibility rules and the application process.

Once the business owner has submitted original receipts, invoices marked "paid," or other evidence of payment for usage of the first 50 percent of the grant, the second half will be released. Recipients can download the reimbursement form to request the second haf of funding. Grant recipients may use the funds for operating expenses and inventory from the date of their award letter forward. Current debt incurred for past business expenses may also be paid down with the grant.

LED and its community-based partners will begin distribution of the first round of loans in the coming weeks.

Those applicants who were not eligible for grants in this round (e.g. because they did not meet revenue decline requirements) will be automatically considered in the next round. LED expects to begin the second round of funding this summer following a series of meetings with business groups, elected officials and other stakeholders to help design the program.

Applicants who wish to appeal the grant decision can submit the electronic appeal form available on LED's website, LouisianaForward.com.

For Round 2 of the Business Recovery Grant & Loan Program, the State is in the process of reallocating $68 million, plus funds remaining from Round 1. The allocation between grants and loans will be determined during the program design phase following meetings with small business representatives across the state.

New Orleans Neighborhoods

The Times Picayune Video essays exploring the regrowth of neighborhoods in NOLA


So far they only have four neighborhoods: MidCity, Broadmoor, 9th Ward & St. Bernard Parish.

I think they're done well. Hope they add more to this series.

We are owed

In answer to all those who believe people affected by Katrina are whiners and aren't deserving of help, this is from Maitri

Thanks, Maitri.

take that, Allstate

From the Times Picayune, April 17, 2007:

Jury awards Slidell couple $2 million in case against Allstate

NEW ORLEANS -- Allstate Insurance Co. must pay a Louisiana man who lost his home to Hurricane Katrina more than $2.8 million in damages and penalties, a federal jury decided Monday in a case that hinged largely on whether it was wind or storm surge that wiped out his house.

Allstate spokeswoman said the company will appeal.
Allstate is shocked with the jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff. I guess they thought that they
could get away with screwing people forever.
Allstate believes it acted in good faith throughout the entire claims process said the Allstate spokesperson.
The verdict included a $1.5 million penalty for the company's failure to pay the claim quickly enough.
In good faith. Pffft. Yes, there is justice.
The Allstate lawyer......said in closing arguments that Katrina's winds were not strong enough to do the damage.
Excuse me? According to the City of Slidell website

The Weather Service reports that Slidell had sustained winds of 176 mph and gusts of 190+ mph during Hurricane Katrina. In addition, Slidell was hit by a 23' - 26' storm surge that devastated much of the city.

I stupidly stayed for the storm and listened to those winds. I saw the damage immediately after the storm. Lawyers. Pffft.
A surveyor/engineer who inspected the house for Allstate...states that wind may have destroyed the home before the surge of water washed away its remnants. He later backed off that conclusion, and deferred to the engineering consultant
The consultant, who wrote the final report on the home for Allstate, convinced the surveyor that storm surge demolished the house. The consultant didn't personally inspect the property until after he wrote the report. He said he based his conclusions in part on evidence gathered by other Rimkus engineers -- a practice he described as common.
Thanks for the info, Mr. Consultant. Perhaps it's time to rethink your processes.