HumidCity

[Many thanks to Loki for the invitation to do some posting on what's happening in Texas in the aftermath of Ike. Truly, I am a pinch hitter.  While I'm more than familiar with hurricanes and the coast of Texas, I do not presently live there and I was nowhere near the area before, during, or (thus far) after the storm.  There is a vital group of progressive bloggers in the Houston area.  Many of them have been knocked offline and/or remain outside the area. I look forward to their return and what they can tell us firsthand.

Right now, there are definitely more questions about the events below than there are answers, but I'm electing to start out  with this piece rather than something more general about the already widely-reported and  obvious dilemma of those who survived the storm and are now facing massive shortages of resources and the challenge of broken infrastructure in Houston,  Galveston and the surrounding area. That piece does, however, remain true.  It's a bad situation and those in the area can use any help you can spare.]

The truth is almost always in the middle, between the extremes on other ends.  That’s why the people whose job it is to hide the truth often have an easy time doing so. There are always plenty of credible details on all sides to conceal the edges.

That should probably be kept in mind as we attempt to learn more about the media crackdown on news and information from the Bolivar Peninsula, an area 3 miles north of Galveston, reachable from the west only by ferry, a beachfront community literally scraped away by Ike.   Simply take the words media blackout, FEMA, Rick Perry and throw in a Blackhawk helicopter or two and many in the blogosphere (justifiably so) will be gone all the way out in one direction.  Others, possibly more familiar with the logistics of getting in and out of that area, or with the work of search and rescue, or more trusting of their local authorities and media, could make a believable case about logistics and air safety, and even in the worst case scenario, respect for the victims and their families.

But Rick Perry knows one thing… or not. Wayne Dolcefino of Houston channel  KTRK-TV confronted the governor about the situation. Goodhair tries to be a smartass but  doesn’t come off with his usual aplomb. Read the rest of this entry »

HumidCity found its footing as a resource in the dark weeks following Hurrcane Katrina and the Great Levee Failure of ‘05. One of the main reasons was a distrust of conventional media to get the story straight.

Right now our near neighbors in Galveston and Houston are suffering many of the same trials that we have undergone and I must confess I doubt we can “get it right,” from our place here in New Orleans. With that in mind I have created a temporary login for Virgotex, an excellent Texas blogger and regular contributor to First Draft. Who is this Virgotex anyway?  In her own words:

A sentient carbon-based dyke geek nerd naturalist writer poet blogger photographer bureaucrat knowledge worker democrat mac user fat tv watcher music lover person living with five animals in Texas, pondering the nature of the time-space continuum, negotiating with the persistent illusion of reality.

Former proprietor here. Creator of, co-writer at, Got That New Package.  Also, due to clerical mixup or grave error in judgment, the fine people at First Draft let her guest blog there on Wednesdays.

In the next few weeks she will be bringing us the skinny from our neighboring state. Pease welcome her as a special guest blogger, we need her inside view as much as those outside of New Orleans need ours.

-Loki, Founder HumidCity

I want to call out two blogger initiated relief campaigns for people suffering from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. First, the blogger Patrap who writes on a blog hosted at Weather Underground and frequently contributes in the comments on Dr. Jeff Master’s tropical weather blog, is organizing a truck of relief for Texas.

He is co-ordinating with a 501c3 so donations will be tax deductible, and working with a local blogger in the Galveston area to make sure the supplies are what is needed and get to people on the ground who need them most.

Since this is an effort coordinated by a fellow New Orleans blogger, I want to encourage the NOLA social media (bloggers and readers alike) to step up to assist Patrick in his effort.

The details are below:

Updated 4:27 pm with a new mailing address. Be sure to mark checks for Texas Hurricane Relief to ensure they are routed to Patrick’s effort.

We are coordinating a Relief Push for the Galveston area by Thursday.
We are renting a 16ft Budget truck to fill with relief supplies.
If you want to help you can contact Patrap via the Weather Underground site mail (if you have a Wunderground.com login), or you can donate cash support: Read the rest of this entry »

Please be advised that many parishes in low lying areas in LA have begun or expect to receive storm surges from Hurricane Ike. Below is an update that was received from Heather Hilliard, positioned at the NO Emergency Operations Center, at 12:00pm today. Please contact local media and news sources for more up to date information regarding information for your civil parish. Please advise employees regarding this situation. You may also seek parish information on www.emergncy.louisiana.gov for information on evacuation orders.

• Orleans - NO East, Venetian Isle, closed and evacuating, already have storm surge flooding (Hwy 90 closed).
• Jefferson – Considering a voluntary evacuation from Lafitte. Planning to shut down operation of Food Stamp facility at 4:00 pm today.

Read the rest of this entry »