HumidCity

Violence. It surrounds us these days more than ever. From the vicious slayings of the city streets to the consistent array of rapes and hazings at Tulane University we are suffering a deluge of it. Both the city and the University desperately need enforcement. This is an issue with pre storm roots.

Along with the violence comes the pungent aroma of fear. I know I am subject to it.

City streets seem darker and more threatening than ever and small movements caught in the eye’s corner make you jump almost out of your skin. Everyone has those moments whether they admit it out loud or not. Its part of life in the city, especially these days.

So how far do we allow fear to propel us? Where do we find the line between making ourselves safe from extraordinary circumstances and sacrificing our liberty for perceived safety? Ben Franklin once said that those who abandon liberty for safety deserve neither. But how to stay firm in that resolve when you have a family?

Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans and the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association want us to sign their petition to keep the National Guard in NOLA. With my office located in the Bywater and a lovely wife at home Uptown I find myself supporting that aim. At the same time I cringe at the thought of endorsing the concept of armed troops on American soil, especially ours.

In the French Quarter a new initiative has begun - cameras in every window. QuarterSafe is something I only just discovered when they sent me an email about an hour ago. Its a movement to have people hook up cameras to their computers watching the streets of the Vieux Carre. “Orwellian,” was my first thought. “Could it work?” was my second. After reading in the Times-Picayune that violent crime is up 20% and rape is up 85% I find I am not not as secure in my ideals as I would like to be. Perhaps the 20+ funerals I have been party to since the levee failure has something to do with it as well.

I am merely ruminating here. I have no magic solution, no wave of a Harry Potter wand to dispel the complexity of what faces us. I just know this:

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

We must face our fears and determine our proper course. In the final analysis it is a dialectic between each individual and their own conscience.

So, how do YOU feel about the New Orleans Brand ™?

Loki, HumidCity Founder

[EDIT: And then Karen G. points me at this as a coda.]

Lets start with a recap:

A former janitor for the city of New Orleans was first arrested Oct. 9, 2006, just three days after a small fortune in cocaine, cash and ammunition — all evidence collected for criminal cases pending trial — was found missing from Orleans Parish Civil District Court.

The burglary victim was the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office, which houses its juvenile division at the Loyola Avenue courthouse.

Craig Alton “Poncho” Thompson, 43, confessed to everything: the burglary, the rifling through evidence packets and the theft of cash, weapons, drugs and critical documents related to pending cases.

Of course this was during the reign of that racist incompetent Eddie Jordan. That never bodes well in a story about crime. So here we are, 18 months later, and Jordan’s successor is finally doing something. A handoff.

Eighteen months after Thompson owned up to the burglary and led police to his FEMA trailer Uptown — where evidence, including drugs, was recovered — the DA’s office moved on the case by punting it to the attorney general on April 8. Within 16 days, assistant attorney general’s office secured an indictment from a grand jury and ensured that an arrest warrant was issued, once again, for Thompson, who had been at large since October 2006.

Oh goody! So he has been out wandering the streets along with all the 701 releases. At least he’s not a killer (I hope).

There are two major concerns that are tearing away at the fabric of our society right now: lack of enforcement and lack of justice. When the police are doing their jobs (instead of breaking up Second Lines) the DA’s office drops the ball. Who the hell are these people, The Saints? All too often the arrests and “enforcement” seem to be limited. Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, Second Line Funerals, and Mardi Gras Indians on Super Sunday getting harassed while the janitor helps himself to some complimentary cocaine?

-Loki, Founder HumidCity

Citing trademark infringement, Mayor Ray Nagin filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago for attempting to make use of New Orleans’ Murder Capitol USA (NOMCUSA) trademark. In front of a loosely assembled group of reporters in Central City, Nagin gave a speech this morning:

“After the Bears gaves the Saints an azz whopping in the playoffs, Chicago thinks they can walk all other us. But let me tell you something, Chicago. Just because you got some high number shooting and killing going on, don’t think for a minute about taking on our logo or identity as one of America’s most dangerous places to live. And another thing, while you had 32 shootings in 26 separate incidents last weekend, a simple look at the statistics shows we still got you beat.

Murders over the weekend (April 17th - 21st)
Chicago: 6
New Orleans: 7

We will continue to maintain our violent status and my office will continue to live by its motto “City of New Orleans, where mediocrity is overachievment.”

George Ingmire

miabuelo.com
neworleansnarratives.com

Click the Image to see more pics from Howieluvsus

Why do all you lefty radical types hate President Bush so much? Follow the links for documentation.

Well, first of all because he spent the day talking immigration with Chertohoff (White House) and eating birthday cake with McCain (White House again)after the National Hurricane Center’s Director told him of the magnitude of the disaster in New Orleans (AP).

Who needs to even bring up the obscenity that is the Iraq situation when we have the devastated remnants of our homes as illustration. Governor Blanco requested aid, Bush didn’t bother (Newsweek). He was too busy talking Medicaire (White House).

It goes on and on. I guess to many people it does not matter becase it did not happen to anyone but those “deadbeats from New Orleans.” To others it has just faded from memory along with all the other soundbites. Well let me tell you, it does not fade out for us. We live with it every day, trying to put lives together in the face of the three worst impediments known to modern man: the local, state, and federal governments. The unholy trinity of Bush, Blanco and Nagin have done their best to finish us off with their dual pronged plan of incompetence and corruption, but we are still here.

Why do I say that he should never be allowed within our city limits again? Go read a nice, well documented timeline of the times around the Federal Flood, some excellent work by ThinkProgress. This isn’t imagination, its Politicians Gone Wild. How dare anyone tell me not be angry at the total abandonment of the social contract by those in power.

Lets just put it simply: the man is a criminal and I do NOT welcome him in my city. I am far from alone in this. Take your stink of corruption (Enron anyone?) and dereliction of duty (Gitmo, perhaps?) and leave us alone. You have done enough. FYYFF!

HumidHaney (No relation to HumidCity, although we did work in a design studio together years ago) has done what he does best: take a meme and boil it down to a great Sticker/Tee Shirt. In this case it is something that fans of the late Ashley Morris will get instantly: FYFF stickers.

Show your support of the family Morris as well as your opinion of those who think New Orleans is dead. Purchasing info can be found on Humid Haney’s site.

You know, disaster capitalism is a foul and fetid thing. It has the morals of a politician and the honor of Richard III. That said, these scum take it to a whole new level. Here is an example of frat boy mentality at its worst, crossing the line from sophomoric humor into the realm of true douchebaggery. They go around various cities and interview the homeless, then they use those interviews as fuel for “belittling humor.” Bad taste is right.

Now they are not only in New Orleans to pull what humor they can out of the many homeless camped under the Claiborne Overpass, but they have even tried to embrace the Web 2.0 world by sending out a press release to the local bloggers. Click “more” t read it. Then I encourage you to contact them and share your opinion of their efforts. (I have deactivated the hyperlinks as I do not wish to aid their search engine ranking in anyway.)

I thought carpetbaggers were bad enough, now we have the fratbaggers to?

-Loki, HumidCity Founder (more…)

So I get home after a week on assignment in Vegas and about an hour after I walk in the door I hear these bursts of gunfire, automatic or semi automatic not sure which. Despite living in New Orleans I then second guessed myself, “could it have been several strings of firecrackers?” Even as I thought that I was pulling out the cell phone and calling the neighborhood patrol.

WWL TV settled the gunshots or firecrackers question, sadly my initial impulse was correct:

A man shot to death in a hail of bullets near the Irish Channel Thursday had recently testified in the trial of a man accused of killing Hot 8 Brass Band member Dinerral Shavers and was in the car when Shavers was killed, according to sources.

Sources said Thursday’s victim, 20-year-old Guy McEwan, was a friend of Shavers’ stepson. He testified in last week’s trial of David Bonds, who was accused of killing Shavers. Bonds was acquitted by a jury. The victim did not identify Bonds in testimony.

The shooting occurred near the corner of Peniston and Laurel around 5 p.m.

At least 22 shell casing markers littered the street, while witnesses said they heard at least 40 shots. Spent shell casings sat on the porch of a house nearby.

Ken Foster has been following the trial and offers sobering commentary as he reports the details that would be shocking if living in the Nagin/Blanco/Bush years had not left us cynical and jaded.

Guy was in the car when Dinerral Shavers was killed. He was a friend of Dinerral’s step son. He testified at the trial, but couldn’t identify the shooter, because the shots came from behind his head. But he did testify to the location and other details that built the case. When he was called as a witness, William Boggs, the Public Defender, made a big noisy announcement that Guy had recently been picked up on a drug charge. He also announced that if Guy testified, the Public Defender’s Office would not represent him on his drug charge. It was one of many bizarre moments in the trial. The idea, on one level, was that if the PD was representing a witness in the trial, it might be a conflict of interest. But the way in which Boggs voiced this, it sounded more like an offer or a threat, ie. “If you don’t testify, we WILL defend you.”

Charming. Another example of the justice system in New Orleans operating at peak efficiency. Not to mention the sheer joy of actually hearing a gangland hit from the middle of my living room. Despite the efforts of the citizen uprising called Silence Is Violence, the mass of people converging upon city hall that (just like our mayor) accomplished nothing in the long run.

Murder in my neighborhood. Murderers walking out of court scott free. Just another day in New Orleans, don’t get lead poisoning.

Bang.

So even on a business trip to Vegas I cannot escape the stench of FEMA incompetence. It seems they have a great new plan for disaster housing since their prior efforts were both inadequate and toxic: modular housing. From the comments in this article in the NY Times it seems they are still doing a heckuva job!

“FEMA seems like a babe in the woods on this stuff,” said John Henneberger, co-director of the Texas Low-Income Housing Information Service, which is working on trailer alternatives. “They seem to be clueless.” The view in Washington is not much different. “It just sounds like they still don’t know what they’re talking about, to be frank,” said Ronald D. Utt, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “To say, O.K., we didn’t get it right with trailers so we’ll move on to something more exotic like prefab housing is a bizarre suggestion.”

FEMA clueless? What a shock!

-Loki

In the morning I will be doing once again that which has become all too familiar in the past two years, laying a friend to his final rest. It seems like everyone has written about how Ashley Morris touched their lives, even those who only knew him from his blogging. From John Pope at the Times-Picayune to the Big Easy Rollergirls (of whom his wife was one) the tributes and goodbyes show how far his reach extended.

Huge of heart as well as frame, “The Perfesser” was a man of unbridled passion for New Orleans. He refused to allow injustice and inhumanity to go unchallenged, speaking up with conviction where others remained silent. He spoke from the heart, shot from the hip, and burned through many a cigar in the process.

In the morning people from around the country will be donning suits, Rollergirl gear, and Saints jerseys as they gather to honor the good Doctor. He would want a huge sendoff and I doubt he will be disappointed. Info on the funeral can be located here, and for those of you who wish to help his wife and children you can donate here.

What passes for eloquence on my part is out of the question now. I just know I miss my friend and want to see his children secure the way he would have wished.


You rascal, how dare you ease out the back door when we have yet to follow through on all those threats of playing guitar together over Guiness and steaks. I miss you brother.

Once the funeral is out of the way it will be time for some vicious dissection of the inadequacies of our political class. We must all pick up the torch and prevent the fuckmooks from resting easy. He is no longer here to contain his fire so we must all blaze on his behalf.
-Loki, founder HumidCity

In a surprise move this evening Soviet Block, our own Hana Morris, announced that she will be keeping Ashley’s blog open!

The fundraising efforts are going well on the internet end, something for which I would like to offer my personal thanks. There is still a long way to go, but I have faith in our community. Stop by Remember Ashley Morris and help lift them up.

More soon, I am completely exhausted and must sleep.  

A major voice in the New Orleans blogosphere has gone silent, widowing a Rollergirl and orphaning three tiny children. As
various local groups prepare a benefit we see major obstacles looming for the family including five figure expenses for the funeral. Please give what you can, even a few dollar here and there can mount up. There are needs that cannot wait on the fund raising events.

Please join the efforts of HumidCity, Defend New Orleans, NOLA Rising, WTUL, Tales of the Cocktail, The Big Easy Rollergirls, The Skull Club, L’Art Noir, and many more as we show the Morris Family what community really means!

Online Donations can be made at Remember Ashley Morris

If you wish to mail a donation make the check out to Hana Morris and send it to:

HumidCity c/o
George Williams
5500 Prytania St.
PMB #417
New Orleans, LA 70115

If you wish to become involved in the benefit events, donate art for auction, or assist in some other way please contact me directly by emailing me humidcity at gmail dot com

Ashley wants you to laugh, you fuckers!

by New Orleans City Council Member Shelly Midura syndicated, from an open email
I wanted to honor the life and passing of one of my district’s neighborhood activists, Professor Ashley Morris, who we lost to an early passing yesterday morning. He was a friend to my office and a champion of his neighborhood. More than almost anything though, he was a fierce lover of New Orleans. He spent much of his time during the week teaching at an out-of-town university, yet he had no desire to move there. He preferred to commute.

To Chicago. From New Orleans.

Why would he do that? Why do so many others in our city do such things? I believe it was because Professor Morris wanted to be able to tell people, “I’m from New Orleans.” He wanted people to know that New Orleans was his home and that this truth was not only conscious and deliberate, but perhaps also something fated. He seemed to believe that New Orleans chose him as much as he chose us, as if it were some quantum entanglement that could not be logically explained or rationalized. It was a matter of the heart and knowing in the bottom of your soul exactly where you belong. It was a deep yearning for a city he loved, cherished, and felt gratitude and appreciation towards every day, despite the challenges and the ups and downs of post-Katrina life.

On his blog only a couple months ago, he wrote about going out to lunch with his friend Ray to Willie Mae’s and grabbing take-out there and how “There on the stoop, we tore into a whole fried chicken, macaroni and cheese casserole, mixed greens, and candied yams that tasted more like bread pudding. An excellent meal, as you can see… anywhere else, we’d be having lunch. Here in New Orleans, we were having a world class meal. For lunch.” Ashley knew that any moment in New Orleans was unlike any moment anywhere else in the world, that typical days here are not typical days anywhere else on this planet, and that being a New Orleanian, especially now, comes with a special badge of honor.

And so I honor my fellow New Orleanian, Professor Ashley Morris. He will be so dearly missed by so many, of whom I am only one. New Orleans aches for him today and wishes his wife, young children, family, and loved ones its heartfelt condolences.

This content is syndicated from the email by Matt McBride, formerly at the helm of Fix The Pumps. -Loki

Dear New Orleanians,

The Corps has released the preliminary version of their category 5 study:

http://lacpr.usace.army.mil/default.aspx

or the direct link:

http://lacpr.usace.army.mil/default.aspx?p=LACPR_Draft_Technical_Report

They had promised this to the public (after missing their 12/31/07 deadline) on February 8th, as seen here:

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/Video/WLAE_Col_Lee_080115.wmv

I went and checked on March 7th, and it hadn’t yet appeared on the LaCPR site. But it’s there now.

By the way, the study doesn’t actually make any recommendations. In fact, here’s an excerpt from the end of the report:

“Efforts to date do not point to a single effective risk reduction strategy. No single strategy for comprehensive hurricane damage risk reduction, other than entirely abandoning communities in South Louisiana, will guarantee safety for the population along the coast.”

Basically, what this study has done is just collect all the alternatives, so that more meetings can be held. The Corps has placed a paragraph in the report meant to blunt criticism that the public was expecting recommendations from this report, and there are none (and, yes, I am aware that was reported earlier, but that doesn’t mean that every member of the public in South Louisiana will remember or care about it):

“Congress also directed a technical report rather than a reconnaissance or feasibility report as described by normal USACE policy. The technical report will contain many of the same components as a reconnaissance or feasibility report, such as presenting the results of the formulation and evaluation of alternatives. As outlined by the Congressional direction, the technical report will contain a ‘comprehensive hurricane protection analysis and design…to develop and present a full range of flood control, coastal restoration, and hurricane protection measures…for comprehensive Category 5 protection.’”

Expect to see that argument when people start asking, “why are there no recommendations other than, ‘have more meetings?’”

Matt

Once again our local buffoon is “keeping the New Orleans brand out there,” for all of the residents of “Chocolate City.” Just what we needed. It really is quite pathetic to watch him continue to screw up in front of the media. That car crash fascination were you cannot look away even though it makes you sick to your stomach.

For those of you who have been enjoying an existence underneath a very large stone somewhere I am referring to Clarence R. Nagin’s latest flash of paranoia and incompetence as evinced in a TV interview with Eric Paulson and Sallie Anne Roberts. Go ahead, watch the video, it is only a few minutes long, I’ll wait. (Transcript and video here)

Aryan websites and hate blogs, eh Sugar Ray? I’m a pretty solid data miner when I need to be and my good buddy Google and I are having some trouble unearthing them. Even after over an hour. Seems I’m not alone there, I have the undead for company:

Nagin claims that the picture the TP published of him pointing a gun at Cheif Riley has been picked up by racist blogs and websites. Where are they? Which sites is he talking about? I’ve been looking for about 2 hours on Google and I haven’t found a single one. Can anybody point one out?

A message to Nagin:

Here’s an idea…shut the fuck up and answer the multitude of FOIA requests which have been submitted to your office over the past 3 years from activists like Matt McBride and Karen Gadbois. Or better yet, from reporters like Gordon Russell and Lee Zurik. Or even better yet, how about providing the PUBLIC INFORMATION Inspector General Cerasoli has requested and not received from your office. He’s been forced to file subpoenas to obtain the information and you are legally challenging his right to do that….what are you hiding? -American Zombie 2/21/08

Hardly surprising that the Raylien has little taste for bloggers. In a city where the main newspaper seems obsessed with a kneel and pucker stance where he is concerned we have been actively scrutinizing his actions as well as his words. Unfortunately many of our number are weary of it due to the fish-in-a-barrel easiness of the endeavour.

Mayor C Ray Nagin aka the walking id lost it on WWL-TV’s morning news today. LINK. The Mayor whined about the Picayune picture story and painted a dark picture of powerful people conspiring against him. Of course, the TP has essentially fellated him for 6 years and is now very reluctantly taking a slightly closer look at his record. How dare they? Nagin ranted about the video of the gun picture as showing how careful he was being when it’s ambiguous at best. The video can be seen at WDSU.com and I’ve watched it several times and it’s subject to multiple interpretations. Nagin claims that “aryan hate groups” are targeting him without, of course, providing any support for his fulminations. His weirdest claim is that an upcoming story on WWL about his SCHEDULE is a violation of his privacy and his family’s safety. This is, of course, nutty: he’s a PUBLIC OFFICIAL and the people have a right to know what tomfoolery their Mayor is up to. If Nagin is truly “busting his butt,” he should be thrilled to have people know how busy he is. This reeks of a desperate pre-emptive strike to make it look like THE MAN is out to get poor Clarence Ray. -Adrastos 02/21/08

What part of the phrase “public servant” is it that these clowns never seem to grok? Frank Zappa called the political class “jumed up used car salesmen in bad suits,” and abjured people to remind these idiots who they work for. Ray’s behavour makes him come off more like the homeless wino who used to be a jumped up used car salesman in a bad suit. Lucky for us, huh? Helps keep the brand out there, cher.

You’’ve got to see this interview with Ray Nagin on WWL. He is so full of shit. He believes that when the media publishes stories and photos of his idiotic behavior, it puts him and his family in danger. Ray, as far as I know, no one wants to harm you. You are the one who is talking about “cold cocking” people. We are all just impatiently waiting until you leave office. We know that we are stuck with you for the duration, and you don’t give a damn what we think. -Dangerblond 02/21/08

Threats of violence, “cold cocking” people, and old fashioned one on ones? The whole city would be way better off if you’d try that on some of the punk kids with guns who make life so cheap in our city?

The mayor has stated on television his intent of taking it outside with a member of the press and hitting someone if approached. Who should feel threatened now? -Maitri 02/21/08

Ray, I cannot wait to be rid of you. May you become lost in the bowels of the bureaucracy, doomed to an eternity of red tape and fruitless insurance paperwork, just as you have helped doom your fellow New Orleanians during your idiotic tenure.

Loki

Founder, HumidCity

Dear New Orleanians,

The city’s notification process for demolitions has been notoriously ineffective. Lists of Imminent Health Threat and Imminent Danger of Collapse properties are posted to the city’s website, and then disappear within days. The city has been hauled into federal court in two separate cases since Katrina because of its poor notification procedures for demolitions.

However, one should realize that the city’s failure to notify homeowners about pending demolitions is not due to a lack of information. In fact, the city has a bunch of information about demolitions, but they are - for whatever reason - wildly reluctant to release it.

I have obtained two lists of properties cleared by FEMA in December 2007 for demolition. I believe they have been compiled by a company called Beck Disaster Recovery (BDR), which has a contract with the city for property management of demolition properties. BDR has offices in 1515 Poydras, across from City Hall.

These lists are different than any other lists previously published, because it is a near certainty that these houses are targeted for demolition. They have already been cleared by FEMA as “eligible” for federal funding. Also, the raw numbers of properties (about 1400) matches closely with what has previously been announced as a total still to be taken down (about 1800, according to a FEMA press release from November).

We have seen these lists validated over the past few weeks, as Safety & Permits has assembled HCDRC agendas from them, and permits have been granted based on them.

Here’s what I have done - I have taken the simple raw lists of addresses and have bulked them up with all the information I could glean about a given property. I have added whether the property is HCDRC- or HDLC-eligible, and if it is HCDRC-eligible, whether or not it has yet come before the Committee. I’ve added previous demolition permit dates, a comparison of IHT status between the information on the original list (shown in column B) and what has been released publicly by the city over the last year. I’ve added damage estimates. Basically, if there’s any public information I could get about a property, I’ve added it to these lists (which I combined into one spreadsheet) [I have converted the spreadsheet into a Google document you may view here. -Loki].

So here’s a key of the information on the spreadsheet:
Date of release: date of the list on which the property appears. The lists were released on 12-13-07 and 12-19-07

File/WO#: I’m not sure what this is - I assume there are work orders for each property. This was on the original lists as received.

Type of demo: this is information that came with the lists. The types are IHT (Imminent Health Threat), IMA (Imminent Danger of Collapse), VOL (voluntary, i.e. homeowner-initiated), and there are a few noted as COMM (commercial, though this is not really a type of demo so much as a type of building). Imminent Health Threat demos are quite controversial, since there is no objective standard for what constitutes an Imminent Health Threat, and the notification process is poor.

Street number, street direction, street name, street suffix, ZIP code: these make up the address for the property

Demo permit? Demo permit date?: Whether or not there is a demo permit on the property, and the date it appeared in Safety & Permits’ system

12-31-06 damage assessment, 11-1-07 damage assessment, Dam assess incr above 70%?: City damage assessments, obtained from the city’s website. Also, whether the damage assessments were increased above 70% (presumably to avoid review by the Housing Conservation District Review Committee).

Review type: The demolition can be reviewed for its impact on the historic fabric of the city. The review can be either HCDRC (just the Housing Conservation District Review Committee), HCDRC & NatReg (property is within a National Register District, which could entitle it to review by the Historic District Landmarks Commission if its damage assessment is greater than 70%, under Section 26-10 of the City Code), HDLC (review by Historic District Landmarks Commission), or “No review” (outside all historic areas). I’ve done my best to determine this based on city-produced maps.

HCDRC review date: if the property has come before the HCDRC, this is the date it happened.

Extra review under City Code Section 26-10: if the property has a damage estimate over 70% and is within a National Register Historic District, it is entitled to extra review by the HDLC before demolition.

Imminent Health Threat (according to publicly released lists): The city has released various IHT lists since the beginning of the year. There was a partial list in March, a list with IHT and voluntary demos mixed together in July, and at least four different IHT lists since late September (only two of which are available on the city’s website). I checked the addresses on this latest list against those IHT lists.

Match col B & col Q: I then checked the IHT status from those publicly released lists against the status that was on this list when it arrived. They don’t always match, as indicated by “NO MATCH.“

GPS coordinates: these came with the original list

Owner: these were on the original lists.

Due to some of the methods I’ve used to compile information, occasionally I’ve had to split addresses into two rows. So sometimes a property which is a fourplex with an address like “932-34-36-38 Smith Street” will appear across two rows. I didn’t have to do that very much, but it did happen a few times. I apologize for any confusion.

I am not going to claim that this list is 100% correct. I’ve had to correct typos and clean up information as best as I can, but there are almost undoubtedly errors. Plus, I can’t necessarily vouch for some of the raw information, like ZIP codes and GPS coordinates. However, I feel it’s best to get the information out so that people can have something in hand, as well as understand the scope and breadth of the entire demolition effort.

I hope you find this useful.

Best regards,

Matt McBride

[Syndicated from the email -Loki] 

So this did not seem to make the news in the splashy way it should have. More lies and incompetence from the people who hold our lives in their hands. Maria Garzino is a hero, and should be treated as such. I encourage you to read on and see what the latest from the Corpse of Engineers holds:

WASHINGTON, DC, October 9, 2007 (ENS) -  The main pumps protecting New Orleans in the event of a major hurricane or flood are “inherently flawed” due to poor design and still have not been properly tested, according to whistleblower disclosure documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER.

The top U.S. Army Corps of Engineers specialist assigned to oversee the city’s new pumping system says that key safeguards were circumvented and “there is an erroneous assumption that…hydraulic pumps are fully operational, and hence, the risk to the public remains high,” in the words of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Maria Garzino, a veteran Corps civil engineer, who was the team leader of pumping systems installation for New Orleans, has filed for federal whistleblower status with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, OSC.

In a September 21 letter, the OSC notified Defense Secretary Robert Gates that it found Garzino’s charges credible.

Writing from the OSC’s office, Scott Bloch informed the defense secretary, “I have concluded that there is a substantial likelihood that the information she provided to the Office of Special Counsel discloses violations of law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, and a substantial and specific danger to public health.”

By law, Secretary Gates must respond within 60 days.

Bloch’s letter states, “My office has received serious allegations which cast doubt on the integrity of costly pumping equipment installed in three main structures by the USACE and its ability to protect New Orleans from further flooding.”

The three structures are located at 17th Street, Orleans Avenue, and London Avenue.

Read the rest at the original Environment News Service Article!

If my lunch hour were not dwindling so rapidly I would write more. Watch for future posts!

Shortly after arising this morning I was struck by the sounds of thunder. Lots of thunder. I counted 12 times in the span of forty minutes. Hurricane Humberto seems to have scooted east after hitting Texas and is now crossing Louisiana somewhat north of us. Everyone keep an eye on the pumps! Looks like we have an unscheduled test on our hands.

Then the joyous news comes in that killer bees are once more a threat to New Orleans. How seventies….

While I am no fan of Mr. “Chocolate City,” Nagin he is certainly given a run for his money by our C Student in Chief.

Austrian Troops? OPEC? Other exit?

I say we get them a one way ticket somewhere and let them practice their communication skills on each other where none of us have to put up with the fallout.

Let us see now….

First Dean pounded the lovely island where my wife and I honeymooned a few short months ago:

In Dominica, a woman and her 7-year-old son were killed when a rain-soaked hillside gave way and crushed the home where they were sleeping, said Cecil Shillingford, the national disaster response coordinator. Dominica’s government reported at least 150 homes were damaged.

But at least this time if it heads this way we can take solace in the fact that someone will be watching….

Hurricane Dean’s every little ripple will be reported by the oil industry flacks and their willing mouthpieces in the media. The crescendo of ominous events will be forecast and analyzed, all with a unanimity of purpose leading to higher and higher oil prices. Whether the storm actually hits or not, one thing is sure. The mere specter of the event will have the oil industry and the oil trading community cheering, “Go Big Dean, Go”.

So what are the latest specs on our unwelcome guest in the Gulf? (No, not Dubya this time)

With sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km per hour), Dean was a Category 4 storm, the second-highest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. It was expected to smash into Jamaica on Sunday.

It could become a Category 5 storm after roaring by the Caymans in two days, with winds of over 155 mph (250 kph).

At 8 p.m. EDT (1 a.m. British time), Dean was located 405 miles (650 km) east-southeast of Kingston and about 165 miles (265 km) south-southwest of Santo Domingo. It was moving west at 17 mph (28 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Almost in time for the two year anniversary of the Federal Flood. Gee……

The second annual Rising Tide conference will be held August 24-26, 2007, at the New Orleans Yacht Club. This is a NOLA blogger-organized and supported conference featuring speakers, panels, breakout sessions, and other dialogs on the future of the city of New Orleans.

This year’s emphasis is on ground-level, grass-roots efforts. It has become clear to those of us in south Louisiana that we will have to watch the watchmen, as well as take the upper hand is setting the city back on track. To that end, there will be presentations on local politics and how to influence them, making civics sexy, sustainability, levee engineering, and media outreach.

The keynote speaker is Dave Zirin, author of Welcome to the Terrordome, published by Haymarket Press, a columnist for SLAM Magazine, a regular contributor to the Nation Magazine, and a regular op-ed writer for the Los Angeles Times. Timothy Ruppert, president of the Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, will give a comprehensive report on the status of our levee protection two years after the failure of the federal levees brought catastrophe to New Orleans. Matt McBride of Fix the Pumps will present via video conference. Panelists will include community activists Karen Gadbois of Squandered Heritage, Bart Everson of b.rox, and Peter Athas of Adrastos, muckraking blogger Mark Moseley of Your Right Hand Thief, New Orleans political sage Michael Duplantier and author Joshua Clark Heart Like Water

On Friday, August 24, there will be a party at Buffa’s Lounge featuring the work of New Orleans videographers, and Sunday is reserved for a hands-on service project in aid of the NOLA school system. At the Buffa’s party, we are serving cocktail party-type food, but there will be a cash bar.The weekend’s events costs $20 per person. This includes admission to the Friday night party at Buffa’s, Saturday’s events at the New Orleans Yacht Club (including morning coffee and croissants and lunch from Dunbar’s), and participation in the Sunday service project. Please register to attend using the PayPal link on the website. If you don’t use PayPal, feel free to call or e-mail me to reserve your space at the conference and, more importantly, your lunch from Dunbar’s. We have no problem with people paying at the door, we just need to know that you are coming.

There will, f  course, be liveblogging of the event, and materials available online. If you can’t come, there is also a paypal link if you'd care to donate (this is a non-profit endeavor). Feel free to contact us through the website, or ask questions by replying to this e-mail. Rising Tide’s toll-free phone number is: 866-910-2055.

Although I am sending this e-mail to over 200 people, I’m sure I’m missing some. Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested. Unless they have a blog or have expressed interest in the past, they are probably not on my e-mail list. Also, bloggers, please spread the word on your blogs!