HumidCity

Jazz Fest 2008 by Often Absurd in the Humid City, on Flickr

The Following is the text of an email I received today. I was carbon copied along with the TP at my request. Since this very subject was the topic of much conversation during the afternoon torrents I felt it deserved to be shared. What are your thoughts? -Loki, HumidCity, Founder

It is 4:30 and I am writing this letter from the WWOZ hospitality tent (because I happily plunked down $380 to go to jazz fest and support WWOZ). For me to stop listening to the music to write the TP is phenomenal, but this time it has gone too far. I have been going to jazz fest for 40 years (1969 Congo Square before it was jazz fest). I worked there seven years for free and another eight for minimum wage. The last years I was the day fair book keeper and I know better than most how expensive jazz fest is to produce. So I have defended jazz fest when they added corporate sponsorships, when they sold areas for private parties, and when they increased their daily cost.

But today at 4:00 pm on my way to Bobby Lounge, I looked up at the grandstand and it was empty. Maybe 20 people inside away from the rain and another dozen on the balconies. In the pouring rain????

Well this year, the jazz fest closed the Grandstand to everyone but the Foundation and the Big Chief Experience People. So if you came thinking that you could run to the Grandstand if it rains, next year you will have to pay $500 or so to get in. Or you will have to have a friend on the Foundation willing to share the perks and highly expensive catering they enjoy. Shame on the Foundation, shame on AIG, and shame on FPI who was forced to sell their soul to the Foundation and AIG.

How many seats does jazz fest have to sell at $500 to make up for the $50 tickets that were locked out of the Grandstand today? Think about it.

Pat Williamson

Taken during last weeks deluge.

Mayor Approves Parking on Neutral Ground

NEW ORLEANS, LA (October 22, 2007) - Due to severe flooding conditions that are expected to persist throughout the remainder of the day and later in the evening, New Orleans City Hall and all city government offices will close at 3 p.m., today. Essential offices will remain open.

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has granted permission for the citizens to park on the neutral ground this evening. Citizens will not be ticketed for parking on the neutral ground and the city will not be liable for any damages to private property due to expected flooding or storm related hazards. Normal parking enforcement will resume at 9 a.m., Tuesday, October 23.

The National Weather Service reports that the city can expect a lull in the weather until approximately 5 to 6 p.m. This will provide the time for the Sewage and Water Board pumps to clear the streets. The pumps dispense one inch of water in the first hour and an half an inch every hour after. The city can expect another round of bad weather from approximately 5 to 10 p.m. During that time we can expect one to two inches of rain per hour. So far, the city have experienced anywhere between 3-6 inches of rain with the chance of 10 inches of total rain before tomorrow morning. The EOC is at a level one activation (OEP Staff Only).

As of 1 p.m. this afternoon, the Sewage and Water Board reported that all pumping systems are fully operational and working properly.

The Mayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness recommends the following:

* You should monitor forecasts and be alert for other warnings.
* Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
* Ensure ditches and catch basins are cleared of debris.
* If you have to drive in a flooded area take care. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THROUGH WATER IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THE DEPTH.
* Don’t drive through fast-moving water, such as at a flooded bridge approach - your car could be swept away
* Drive slowly and steadily to avoid creating a bow wave, and allow on-coming traffic to pass first.
* Keep the engine revving by slipping the clutch otherwise water in the exhaust could stall the engine.
* Modern vehicles are fitted with catalytic converters in the exhaust system. The catalyst normally works at high temperatures and may crack if it is submerged in water. Replacement catalysts are expensive.
* The air intake on many modern cars is located low down at the front of the engine bay and it only takes a small quantity of water sucked into the engine to cause serious damage. All engines are affected but turbo-charged and diesel engines are most vulnerable.
* Be considerate - driving through water at speeds above a slow crawl can result in water being thrown onto pavements, soaking pedestrians or cyclists.
* If your car stalls, immediately abandon it and climb to higher ground. Watch your footing. Just six inches of fast-moving flood water can sweep a person off his or her feet.
* Test your brakes as soon as you can after driving through water.

A bit wet today in the uptown area.

Could be that some of the drains aren’t up to the rains.

At least it makes driving fun!

Well today was quite something. I guess its a good thing I was feeling ill and took a cab down to the Jazz Fest because all the bus drivers decided today was a good day to “be sick.” I am filled with unexpressable joy at the idea of having to not only cab it the next day or two (an uneeded expense) but also to have to compete for cabs with the teeming masses of people who would otherwise take the RTA shuttle. Lets hope that it was a one day thing.

So I knew there was rain scheduled for the day, no big deal. I was not expecting a torrential downpour. In the span of ten minutes the WWOZ VIP tent was ankle deep in water, and from what I heard it was deeper in many other places. After the mad scramble to breakdown and waterproof all the laptops and wireless set up in there it was off to the trailer. At its height I wold say there was a foot of water behind the Gospel Tent. The outdoor stages shut down, but the tents kept rocking. WWL had this to say.

The above is a view from behind the Gospel Tent.

While we lost power for awhile, the broadcast got back up in short order and we reloacted the DJ’s to a dry space. As they say, the show must go on.

More pics can be found here, or in the WWOZ Flickr Community

All in all it was quite the day. I’m glad tomorrow’s forecast seems sunnier. More after the Festival.

Rains Flood New Orleans Streets - washingtonpost.com
“Unbelievable,” said Pamela Borne, who waded in knee-high water with her daughter on her back to get to her house. “It’s very disappointing, that just with an overnight rain of this magnitude, that the city is so ill-prepared.”

Joy of water. Lex got trapped at Tulane and I was at home surrounded by a 3-4 foot moat. Good thing this data floats, isn’t it?