Thirsting for Redemption

How Pathetic can FEMA get?


Last Tuesday's news conference looked like another success in the Bush Administration's effort to demonstrate it could respond competently to a catastrophe.
However, on Friday the agency admitted the questions were posed by its own employees, not reporters. On Saturday the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, expressed anger and dismay and vowed disciplinary action.
The White House also expressed its displeasure. "It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House," said the spokeswoman Dana Perino, mentioning three times that it was an "error in judgment".


After witnessing first hand the disaster that is the FEMA, I sadly am not surprised. Ditto for the White House.

The list of failures on the part of FEMA post Katrina is endless. A few examples:

The FEMA Trailer costs


Those displaced by Hurricane Katrina and seeking a temporary trailer don't get to kick the tires or discuss financing plans, but a look at the ultimate sticker price might make them wish they could: $59,800.
That's the cost to taxpayers for the trailer's 18-month "life cycle," according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If FEMA offered the cash instead to hurricane victims, they might be able to spend the $3,322 per month in New Orleans on some housing more enticing than a box on wheels.


Formaldehyde ridden trailers


More waste:

The agency spent $632 million to subsidize hotel rooms for tens of thousands of families at an average cost of $2,400 a month, three times what it later paid families to rent two-bedroom apartments.
· The agency spent $249 million to secure 8,136 cruise-ship cabins for six months, at a cost that Inspector General Richard L. Skinner estimated at $5,100 a month per passenger. That is six times the cost of renting two-bedroom apartments


more screwups
Washington Post says


Among the many superlatives associated with Hurricane Katrina can now be added this one: it produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers up to $2 billion.



The $12.5M waste of ice

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has all this two-year old ice it doesn't know what to do with, ice it bought both pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina as part of its preparations and response effort.
How much ice? Around nearly 225 million pounds. That's a lot of margaritas.
But the problem is you probably wouldn't want to use them that way since there are questions about just how safe two-year old ice would be to drink. A lot of Americans would be willing to take their chances but the Centers for Disease Control is already plenty busy.



Sure this is all old news. But these heartless inept assclowns have no limit to how low they'll go to redeem their "image".
History speaks for itself.

Update:
FEMA Finds a fall guy

Regis' brother Pat fired

Oh, yeah...

Congrats to my "home" team

Reminders

Tim, of The Nameless Blog always manages to hit my emotional nerves. In his latest post, he talks about the constant reminders of the storm that happened over two years ago.

The stop sign at the corner, still tilting at an improper angle, bears the stain of the waterline that drowned this neighborhood two years ago, broke and scattered the people who made their homes here.

The smashed pieces are a constant reminder--as if I need their help. I won't forget what this place used to be and what happened to the houses, the gardens, and of course, the people shattered by what happened here.


To those out there who think that everything's normal here, I'd say we're a good 3 years away from being able to look around and not see something that Katrina destroyed. Maybe longer.

Scuzzbucket Forever

BATON ROUGE --As the California wildfires continued to rage Thursday, so too did the political feud between President Bush and Gov. Kathleen Blanco that has smoldered since the federal government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina.

The latest flare-up came when Bush, while touring the California disaster area, took an apparent swipe at Blanco's post-Katrina leadership as he complimented California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.



"It makes a significant difference when you have somebody in the statehouse willing to take the lead," Bush said, according to the Associated Press.

The president's statement, coming from a White House that seems determined to avoid a repeat in California of the public-relations disaster that followed Katrina, brought a swift response from Blanco.

In a statement forwarded by her press office, Blanco noted that it took federal forces nearly a week to arrive in Louisiana after the storm. "I was the only game in town, leading for nearly a week without the president's help," Blanco said.


"Of all the lessons learned from Katrina now being put into place in California, I would hope the one he would remember is that politics has no place in any disaster," she added, before taking a shot at the slow manner in which promised federal aid has been delivered.

"While the promise of help from Washington is being extended, Gov. Schwarzenegger will have to work hard to make it a reality. In the meantime, Louisiana stands by ready to help with anything they may need," she said.

Asked to compare the two disasters, Bush said it's a job better left to historians.

Rant Off

From the democratic underground dot com read the reactions to Bryan "talking head" Williams' idea to compare what happened in California to what happened in New Orleans.


Bryan Williams decided to compare one group of refugees in Qualcomm with the NOLA refugees in the Superdome. He said something to the effect that "Things are going much more smoothly. There is even clowns here to entertain the children and no fear of crime because of the police patrols."
Sure, the folks in Qualcomm Stadium are suffering, but they

1) have power;
2) have running water;
3) didn't have to boat/swim/wade through polluted water to get there;
4) didn't have the f**king police shooting at them;
5) have a functioning mass transit system.

I'm sure there are many other things I'm missing, but it pisses me off that anyone would compare what is happening in California with what happened with Katrina and then say "We've learned our lessons." Bull-fucking-shit.

Rant off.

Capitalizing on Ineptitude

Former FEMA director Michael "Brownie you're doing a helluva job" Brown is
offering his "expertise" to San Diego.


The agency has learned some hard lessons regarding the handling of mass evacuations especially in regard to the bureaucratic red tape that is involved in such a process," said Mr. Brown. "This is a tragic time for many of the people of California, and Cotton Companies is working to ensure that normalcy is restored and that businesses and organizations are back up and running as soon as possible."

Cotton has already deployed a team to San Diego to prepare recovery efforts and has a Community Assessment Team in full force.

Mr. Brown can speak to the turmoil being caused by the California wild fires as well as to some of the new processes in disaster relief efforts that will help to restore California communities. He can offer advice to residents and businesses on proper relief and recovery efforts and provide suggestions for future disaster preparedness.

Excuse me while I barf.

You Can't Make THIS Up

From the T.P.:


A man New Orleans police believe committed an armed robbery -- and afterward fled to the home of District Attorney Eddie Jordan -- is also a suspect in the home invasion and shooting of a police officer and his wife a day later, several police sources confirmed Wednesday.
The bizarre confluence of events began the evening of Oct. 11, according to those sources and police documents obtained by The Times-Picayune.
The 20-year-old man stopped by Jordan's house minutes after he allegedly fled after an armed robbery outside a nearby Shell gas station. He arrived at Jordan's house on foot, having run away after the robbery victim rammed his sport utility vehicle into the car carrying the suspect, police documents said.
Investigators later also connected the suspect, Elton Phillips, to an eastern New Orleans robbery and shooting by two gunmen, who critically wounded a police officer and shot the officer's wife in the foot after breaking into their home late at night.
On Wednesday, Jordan said he didn't know Phillips, and didn't know Phillips had allegedly committed armed robbery shortly before arriving at his home. The district attorney said his longtime girlfriend Cherylynn Robinson knows Phillips, and she in fact had spent Oct. 11 -- her birthday -- with him and his relatives in Baton Rouge. He said Robinson is not related to Phillips.
After Jordan saw a news report naming Phillips as a robbery suspect, he said, he immediately called New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley.
I called Warren Riley and said I wanted to speak to the police, Jordan said. "I called him immediately after I discovered he had been wanted for an armed robbery," he said, referring to Phillips.
But investigators had difficulty interviewing Jordan, according to documents. Those reports indicate investigators repeatedly called Jordan's cell phone over the course of three days, but he failed to answer and his voice mail was full. At one point, investigators went to Jordan's home and rang the doorbell for 10 minutes, but no one came to the door.
An investigator finally confirmed Jordan had gotten the interview request by sending it through an intermediary, Ralph Brandt, head of Jordan's trials division, according to a police document. The investigator had told Brandt that Jordan's lack of cooperation could result in bad publicity, the document said.
The officers "didn't express concern about any substantial delay," Jordan said. "The question was, 'How do we find this guy?'¤"
Jordan said he could not be reached simply because it was a busy week, not because he sought to avoid investigators.
I don't know if you've been reading the papers lately, but I got some things going on, he said. "I got one or two things going on. I'm getting it from all sides."
Jordan, who is black, has taken heavy criticism this week after a federal judge ruled that the assets of his office could be seized to pay off a $3.7 million judgment against his office for racial discrimination in the firing of white employees.
According to police documents, the investigation into the armed robbery led to a tip that Phillips was at Jordan's home on Lennox Boulevard in Algiers, where Jordan lives with Robinson. Police conducted surveillance of the block, but learned shortly later that the suspect, Phillips, had left.

When interviewed via phone on WWL radio Thursday morning, Jordan stated that the Times Picayune article is untrue and contains "outright lies".
Jordan said he checked with NOPD's Marlon Difillo who said the kid was not a suspect in the home invasion.
Jordan called the article a "smear campaign….it's so obvious".
His girlfriend, Cherylynn Robinson, said she knew Phillips through his grandmother, who lives in Baton Rouge.
Robinson was helping the grandmother pack for a move from back to New Orleans. The grandmother
offered Robinson a ride back to New Orleans later in the day, using a car rented by the grandmother.
During that trip they stopped for gas when Robinson "discovered" she was missing money, although she
never said she confronted Phillips about it.
Updated information is here
Two Legislators are calling for Jordan to be impeached

More here.....

and over here

As well as here
Interesting facts over here.

Some Progress

Possible new Bidness for Slidell


Bayer Properties of Birmingham Alabama has announced......$900 million mixed-use development in Slidell, La., which would include office, retail, residential and medical facilities.

The project is a collaborative effort between the developers, the City of Slidell, St. Tammany Parish and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It will be situated on Interstate 10, minutes from New Orleans, at a major interchange currently being constructed (Fremaux Ave).

The 400-acre project, which Bayer said will have a $1 billion impact on the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged area, is a joint venture between Bayer, Corporate Realty of New Orleans and landowner Robert Levis, which incorporated as Slidell Development Co. LLC.

Kindred Spirits

Wishing a speedy end to mother nature's wrath in California. If y'all need any advice about dealing with insurance companies and FEMA, check the local bloggers
here. You guys are going through an extremely tragic time and you're in my prayers.

Prytania Waterline shares my same feelings for our fellow countrypeople on the fire ravaged west coast. As does Bart and XY.

Varg too

Curious

A lot of "doom and gloom" around the NOLA political blogsphere this week.A lot of folks are extremely upset that Bobby Jindal won. Because he acts like a politician.

Guess what? He IS a politician!!!! Nice clean people do not win elections in the real world.I am not happy with his lack of voting during the last 6 or so months. If he had intended on not showing up for votes, he should've resigned. He should do the right thing and give up is seat now and concentrate on the job ahead.

Some have accepted it, like adults
and realists


The following are politicians, too. And they lost.

Phil Donahue's brother. I come from a long line of hard drinkers and THIS guy looks like he enjoys his booze.


Self made millionaire from the parish. I couldn't vote for someone who did that horrible Tide commercial. It made me puke.


Yuppie weirdo with an ego problem

from Gambit The owner of a cigarette and video poker distribution company as well as several other businesses, Georges, 47, didn't shy away from his ties to the gaming industry. In fact, 'shy" is not a word that should be associated in any way with the name of John Georges. As Gambit contributor Jeremy Alford noted in a recent profile of Georges, the 'enigmatic" millionaire 'ponders aloud, wrapping his mind around his favorite subject: himself."

Yeah, I'd like to look at that self centered puss for four years. NOT!

The way I see it, Jindal's in there for four years. I hope that he adopts some of the good ideas from his opponents and runs with them. I hope that he can work with the lawmakers of this state and work for the good of Louisiana. Just like Nagin's re-election, he's there. Life's too short to get all bent out of shape over it.

Just my opinion. We made it thru Katrina together, we need to get thru this together

A Pair of Scuzzbuckets

Scuzzbuckets of the week
Racist bloggers
Narrowminded, racist bloggers

A reminder

Website Katrinafilm dot com has created an excellent montage of photos that remind us of why we love living here. Go see it!!!

This Saturday's Election

Curious about all the stuff the ballot this Saturday? Here are some resources.

BGR.ORG
The Bureau of Governmental Research is a private, nonprofit, independent research organization dedicated to informed public policy making and the effective use
of public resources for the improvement of government in the New Orleans metropolitan area.
They have created a comprehensive report that details - in everyday English - each of the four constitutional amendments on the October 20th ballot. This is the place to go to make a wise decision on the amendments.

SOS.LOUISIANA DOT GOV

Here you can find sample ballots by Parish

VOTESMART DOT ORG
Enter your zip code to get the ballot relating to your Ward/Precinct
Here's a look at mine in Slidell Note: scroll down to see all the information.

CABL
Council for a Better Louisiana's provides in depth info on candidates here
Information on where to vote here

PARC
The Public Affairs Reasearch Council of Louisiana has done an excellent job of putting each amendment into everyday language and explains what your vote means for each. Click here to read their opinions.

Take some time and write down your positions before you go and vote. You only get three minutes. Hell, I was in and out in last year when we had 13 amendments to vote on only because I wrote down my decisions before hand. Other wise, with my diminished near term memory, I'd be wondering why I was in the voting booth at all!!!

Voice of the Wetlands

Under sunny skies and dry, cool weather we ventured south to Houma to
attend the Voice of the Wetlands Festival.



Held at Southdown Plantation, this somewhat small festival was chock full of information,
displays and handouts discussing the dangerous situation that our wetlands are facing, particularly in Louisiana..

This was the fourth VOW festival and I'm hoping that in the near future that it becomes more well-known around the world.

During Katrina and Rita Louisiana lost over 215 miles of wetlands due to the erosion caused by the storms. This affects not just the people who live near the wetlands,
"but the whole country. From the VOW website The wetlands of Louisiana fade daily due to erosion - at the rate of one football field an hour. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Mississippi with levees, it cut the river's ability to hold back the power of the Gulf. The Gulf has been winning for nearly 100 years - and its spoils are lost land. In the early 1700s, 215 million acres of wetlands existed in the United States. Now in the beginning of this century, 90 million acres are left. That number is decreasing at a staggering rate.

"


Besides the wealth of information provided at the festival, there were opportunities to buy the poster, hat and T-shirts. Additionally, for $35, you can
take a Voice of the Wetlands discovery flight over the wetlands just outside Houma to witness the deterioration first-hand. I believe that the opportunity to take these flights extends past the festival. Call Hammonds Air Service at (985) 876-0584 to schedule a flight. It's eye opening.


The music was entertaining. Early in the evening was a band from Lafouche/Terrebone called Southern Cross. They were very good.


l-r Johnny Sansone, George Porter, Tab Benoit, Johnny Vidacovitch, Anders Osborne
Can someone help me with the sax player?



At 8 the VOW Allstars took the stage. Comprised of Tab Benoit, Anders Osborne, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, George Porter, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Waylon Thibodeaux and Johnny Vidacovitch the VOW Allstars kick ass.
"
NO matter what your taste in music, if you can't appreciate the beauty of Waylon Thibodeaux's playing, you're missing something.

I'm hoping that more aggressive marketing is done for next years fest to get the word out about the dire straights that our wetlands are in.
Right now our useless president is promising to veto the Water Resources Bill
that would put us in just a little more of a precarious situation.

H.R. 1495: Water Resources Development Act of 2007 needs your help. Please send your comments to comments@whitehouse.gov

The Wetlands affect everyone. There are many grass roots efforts taking place to restore our wetlands
Helping restore our wetlands is not a pipe dream. It's a necessary job.

Further reading on the importance of our Wetlands
" Nature's Revenge: Louisiana's Vanishing Wetlands
- September 2002
- From Joshua Clark via the Boston Globe - "Disaster is only One Marsh Away"


From the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank :
We are the Student Hurricane Network, one thousand law students from over 70 of the nation's finest law schools who traveled to New Orleans and other affected areas of the Gulf Coast to provide legal services between semesters and springs breaks. We have been to the source. We have born witness to the incredible effects of the greatest "failure of state" in American history, and we are deeply concerned. Now, we are calling on the legal resources of the nation to build a single, complete case to prove responsibility, force accountability and demand a comprehensive and sustainable solution.

Stuffage

Signs of progress in NOLA


Wishful thinking

If they'd done
this earlier, Nagin wouldn't be a problem




VOW fest starts Friday.
How can you say no to a FREE festival featuring The Voice of the Wetlands Allstars?

Get Gambit this week if you like to eat out The October 9th issue
has a Fall Restaurant Guide

The Brock Project

I stumbled across this website this morning.

Initiated by the Mayor of New Hyde Park, NY and the Principal of The Road School in the same town, the fine folks there are hoping to raise one million dollars to assist in the rebuilding of Brock Elementary School in Slidell, Louisiana.


Wow. How many other projects are under way for this whole area that - unless we search day and night on different news venues - we don't know about.

As the first public school in Slidell, Brock Elementary School was the oldest school in the parish still in use as a school when Hurricane Katrina devastated it.
It's scheduled to reopen in August 2008. A construction contract has been awarded and repairs to the facility have already begun. The school serves 300 students in grades K-5. Students are currently being educated in temporary facilities.

Damages to the school were significant enough to warrant a replacement facility. However, due to the school's historical significance and eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Tammany education officials decided instead to repair the school, which first opened in 1942.

Because South Slidell suffered the greatest devastation from Katrina, many of the same families who attended the school and have children who attended the school lost their homes and belongings as well. With the School System announcement that Brock Elementary School would be restored, a groundswell of gratitude, joy, and hope from the community has surfaced.

To date, FEMA has obligated over $8.3 million toward Brock Elementary School, which includes emergency protective measures and permanent repairs.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dan Petruccio, Mayor of New Hyde Park
and Peggy Marenghi, Principal of The Road School as well as all of the wonderful giving, caring people throughout the world who still continue to give to help this area recover from the storm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More from the Times Picayune


With construction under way, school and FEMA officials say flood-damaged Brock Elementary School is on track to reopen for the 2008-09 school year.

"The project is going well," said Gayle Sloan, superintendent for St. Tammany Parish schools. "We're still very hopeful that it will be ready to return students to in the fall."

Brock has not reopened at its campus on Brakefield Street in Slidell since the school building was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Its 300 students in kindergarten through fifth-grade are attending classes in modular buildings at St. Tammany Junior High School in Slidell's Olde Towne district.

The damage sustained after the storm was significant enough to warrant building a new facility, school officials said, but they chose instead to renovate the school.

Brock, which opened as a grammar school in 1942, was granted historic status by the National Register of Historic Places last year. Because of that listing, officials handling the restoration must follow a strict set of federal guidelines.

"Brock is an important community institution, and local residents are eager to see the reconstruction of this school, which has served several generations," Deputy Superintendent Trey Folse said.

"The school is not only an important landmark but also a positive, effective center of learning. The rebuilding of Brock will be an inspiring example for a revitalized community hard hit by disaster."

FEMA has obligated more than $8.3 million for construction at Brock, which includes emergency protection and repairs.

Independence contractor Frank A. Anzalone was hired in June to do the repairs, which will cost a little more than $8.5 million, Folse said.

Renovation plans include replacing the wooden gymnasium floor with a synthetic floor, replacing the building's wooden doors with water-resistant fiberglass ones and using stainless-steel hardware for the doors, he said.

The site has undergone many changes since the community's first high school occupied the space and graduated its first class in 1909. In 1911, a three-story brick building was constructed at the site, according to the Brock Elementary School Web site.

That building housed the first through 11th grades until 1925, when a new high school was built on Third Street. During this time, a teacher and librarian at the grammar school began the first elementary school library in the state, according to the school's Web site.

Undergoing extensive repairs in 1939 and then destroyed by a fire in 1951, the school was renamed in 1972 in honor of Glynn H. Brock, who served as principal from 1932 to 1951.

Odd Beauty

A photo over at Slimbolala's blog shows the beautiful individuality of a New Orleans neighborhood.

Mr Cerasoli

Prytania Waterline has all I need to say posted
here.

The Chicory dicusses the IG's interview on WWL radio

Schroeder dicusses this issue here

kville

I thought I'd give "Kville" another chance last night, but the episode started out with a voodoo-themed murder .

What a piece of crap. New Orleans has so much to offer, they wouldn't need writers for this program. Ah, Hollywood, your head's up your ass once again.


I'm not alone in my opinion, it seems

Some good stuff

If you're not an animal lover, you may not enjoy reading this, probably thinking that the dollars discussed below could go to "something better". To each his own, I guess.


From the HSUS website, the article
Stronger Than Before: Two Years after Katrina, Gulf Coast Animal Groups Rebound

The metamorphosis of the LA SPCA is perhaps the most spectacular example of revitalization and renewal that has emerged from the wake of Katrina’s ruinous assault. Once housed in a rundown building of mid-twentieth century vintage on Japonica Street in the poverty-plagued Ninth Ward, the organization now occupies the 12-acre Dorothy Dorsett Brown Louisiana SPCA Campus, with an $8 million dollar, 21,000 square foot central building.


In October 2005 Louisiana SPCA director Laura Maloney recalls

an incredible sadness that fills me daily for the animals of New Orleans. The rottweiler, the pit bull, the German shepherd mix that died in flood waters after being left tethered to a fence or a porch or a balcony. The animals whose owners did not have the means to evacuate and who were left behind as their caretakers were rescued from the roofs of homes overcome with waters from breached levees. The dogs whose top coat peeled away as easily as a banana skin after days of swimming in pools of contaminated waters, slick with oil, silt, and salt from Lake Pontchartrain. When I think of the animals, I’m filled with an incredible sense of loss, sadness, and even anger. Katrina brought our pet overpopulation problem national attention and exposed the high level of neglect and lack of care for a large portion of New Orleans’ furred friends.



The Humane Society of the US has sent $8.35 million in reconstruction grants to 45 facilities in the region. And that money has gone a long way.

Some examples include:

The Ascension Parish shelter renovated its puppy and kitten nursery, with the goal of increasing its adoption rate. An animal evacuation facility which exhausted all of its supplies during Katrina is now stocked with the equipment and material necessary to meet the next disaster.

Avoyelles, a cash-strapped parish on the route of escape from storms threatening the Louisiana coast now has a pet-friendly evacuation shelter.

The Clearwater Wildlife Sanctuary in Covington, Louisiana facility has a new barn with housing for domestic and wild animals and a visitors center that gives children access to humane and wildlife conservation education.

The Humane Society of Louisiana in New Orleans, the Ascension Parish shelter in Sorrento, Louisiana, and the Washington Humane Society in Bogalusa, Louisiana have new vehicles for animal transport.

Take Action, New Orleans residents!!!

via email from a coworker who lives in New Orleans East:


Dear Residents of Eastern New Orleans,

I am emailing you to inform you of a zoning docket that will be up
for public comment on October 9 at 1:30PM in the City Council
Chamber, in regards to a zoning change
from RD-2 (Residential Housing) and C-1 (Commercial District)
to LI (Light Industrial)in order to permit a trailer park at
9901 Chef Menteur Highway (Chef and Read).

This zoning change will hinder our efforts to revitalize the
Chef Menteur corridor to be a vibrant gateway into
Eastern New Orleans by placing a trailer park in a vital area
of development. The businesses this proposed site such as
Crystal Palace, Winn Dixie have and will return to better
than what they were before the storm adding to the charm of
Eastern New Orleans.

Chef Menteur Highway also serves as one of the routes to the
Plaza and a trailer park would be nothing but an eyesore.
Furthermore we want to make sure that there is quality safe
housing available for residents of Eastern New Orleans not
temporary housing. This zoning proposal comes at a time when
our communities have returned, rebuilt our homes, have brought
a wealth of businesses back to Eastern New Orleans, and have
committed to rebuilding a stronger, safer, and more economically
vibrant neighborhood.

I am urging each of you and your members to oppose this request
by writing a letter of opposition and attend the City Planning
Commission Public Hearing on October 9 at 1:30pm to
express your concerns.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you for your help.

Mai Thuy Tran Dang
Community Organizer
MQVN CDC, Inc.
504.255.9170 office
504.344.7806 cell
504.255.9001 fax



express your concerns to:

Cynthia Wilaard-Lewis:cwlewis@cityofno.com
The City Council also has oversight in regards to zoning changes.

Ms. Leslie Alley
Assistant Director
City Planning Commission of New Orleans
email : ltalley@cityofno.com
1300 Perdido Street
Room 9W03
New Orleans, LA 70112

or

Ms. Yolanda Rodriguez
Executive Director
City Planning Commission of New Orleans
email : ywrodriguez@cityofno.com
1300 Perdido Street
Room 9W03
New Orleans, LA 70112


click here for a form letter

==

Resurrection

Multi-faceted artist and Slidell native Phil Galatas has created a beautiful poster detailing the area's recovery from Katrina.


From his biography, written by Bernadette Duet, we find his inspiration for this poster

He saw a shadow of a noble, majestic, fleur de lis rising from the calm waters of
Pontchartrain surrounded by the glorious, vibrant hues of a Louisiana sunset. In contrast, he poised another shadow of a fleur de lis in the murky waters below, giving it an ominous edge – a subtle reminder of the ravage of Hurricane Katrina

This painting, sure to touch the hearts of many, shares a little piece of each of us who were affected by the hurricane. It is a prominent symbol of hope in desperate times. It is an affirmation that, amidst the trials and the tears, we will survive and truly resurrect our hearts, our minds, and the spirit of the land we know so well, our beloved Louisiana.

The poster will be used as the label for a merlot that will be available on October 16th at the Wine Market in Slidell.
What the above picture doesn't show is some of the beautiful detail that Mr. Galatas has included in the iris itself. What appears to be an orange top of the flower is actually a live oak tree, representing the oaks that survived Katrina's carnage. Word is that another "Resurrection" poster will soon be available for the label of a white wine and the live oak will be a cypress, representing all of the cypress trees that withstood Katrina's onslaught. I have purchased a poster and can tell you that the picture above doesn't do the real thing justice.
The poster is currently for sale and can be purchased by contacting Donna Penny at pennyiii@bellsouth.net. It's available as a poster, a signed poster or a signed and numbered print.

Scuzzbuckets of the Week

MESA, Arizona Oct. 3 (UPI) -- The sight of an old man being hit by a truck in Arizona touched off a feeding frenzy among witnesses who allegedly stole the dying victim's groceries.
sick sick sick sick sick people.

Thru Childrens' Eyes

Katrina Through the Eyes of Children is a sampling of the cathartic art that has been created in a collaborative effort between the children who live in Renaissance Village, (in Baker, Louisiana)

currently the largest FEMA trailer site in the country, and teams of registered art therapists who have been working with them since October 2005.

An eye opener for us all, this project brings home what the children affected by the storm were/are feeling. It wasn't just what was shown on CNN. Katrina profoundly touched everyone in the Gulf Coast area. And only the future will show us the long term affects of this disastrophe on the kids.

Related link:
Two Years After the Storm

Farewell, Sheriff Lee

Harry Lee has passed.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff was born in New Orleans and passed away October 1, 2007 from leukemia. Say what you want about him, but he never pulled and P.C. bullshit like most politicians do. He called it how he saw it. You'll be missed, Harry.

Voice of the Wetlands Festival

The fourth annual Voice of the Wetlands fest will be held October 12-14 at Southdown Plantation in Houma. Here's a link to the flyer

The Voice of the Wetlands' president is none other than Louisiana native Tab Benoit.

This very talented blues guitarist started the VOW in 2003 to bring attention to the vanishing coastline of Louisiana. Besides the fantastic line up of music, there will be flights over the Louisiana wetlands available for $35 per person in groups of 3.
To take advantage of this special rate, please call Hammond's Air Service (985) 876-0584 or you can click here for more contact information.

Hubby & I will be in attendance on the 13th where we look forward to seeing the VOW Allstars, featuring Tab Benoit, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Anders Osborne, Louisiana's "rockin fiddler" Waylon Thibodeaux and Big Chief of the Mardi Gras Indian tribe, the Golden Eagles Monk Boudreaux

So come on down to Houma and enjoy the music and get educated on the Wetlands.

Walker Website

I checked out a website of someone who left a comment on this blog. She's from Buras, Louisiana.

Her website details what became of Buras and all of Plaquemine Parish during and after Katrina. She also provides links to the different areas of the Parish and how they were affected and how they are recovering, from Industry to Schools to Agriculture and Livestock. This site is definitely worth a visit if you want to know what's going on down south of New Orleans. It's an extremely comprehensive website.

Plaquemines Parish is eroding away thanks to the barrier islands of Louisiana eroding at an extreme rate. In places up to 100 feet of shoreline are disappearing every year..