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10 posts from August 2012
Remembering Katrina, 7 Years Later (VIDEO)
On this day after the 7th Anniversary of Katrina - and now that Isaac is past - we thought it would be worth reposting this trailer from the folks at the Land of Opportunity Project who did a lot of filming in and around the Lower 9th Ward.
Land of Opportunity - Trailer from Land of Opportunity on Vimeo.
Lower 9th Ward Hurricane Isaac Crowd Map: Keep Informed About the Storm
CSED has launched a special map for Lower 9th Ward residents to keep everyone informed about flooding, power outages, and any other problems associated with Hurricane Isaac as it moves through New Orleans. Go to https://neworleanshurricaneisaac.crowdmap.com/ for more information!
USA Today: With Isaac, change is in the air
By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
But how much safer is the Gulf Coast from a catastrophic storm like Hurricane Katrina, which slammed the region in 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and drowning 80% of New Orleans?
That question is being asked repeatedly across Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana as Tropical Storm Isaac gathers strength and continues its slow, plodding northwest march through the Gulf of Mexico toward the coast.
Forecasters predict the storm will make landfall somewhere between southern Louisiana and eastern Mississippi as early as this evening -- almost seven years to the day of Katrina -- as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of up to 95 mph.
...
In New Orleans
Meanwhile, residents across New Orleans on Monday tracked weather reports and weighed decisions to stay or go.
In the Lower 9th Ward -- epicenter of Katrina's destruction and the scene of survivors pleading for their lives from rooftops -- residents mostly fled, not waiting to see whether improved levees would work this time, said Linda Jackson, president of the Lower 9th Ward Homeownership Association.
"I think we're OK," Jackson said, referring to bigger levees and flood walls ringing her neighborhood. "But we're not that OK that we want to stay."
The improved flood walls around the Lower 9th are a tiny segment of a massive expansion of the city's hurricane protection system: a series of levees, flood walls and gates designed to protect from a "100-year storm," or a storm that has a 1% chance of making landfall in any given year, said Ricky Boyett, a spokesman with the Army Corps' New Orleans district. Katrina was considered a 395-year storm. Isaac is closer to a 100-year storm, he said.
Unlike the protection system in place when Katrina hit, the current system is designed to handle overtopping of flood walls, Boyett says. Overtopping led to many of the breaches that caused the city to flood during Katrina. The centerpiece of the new protection system is a mammoth surge barrier stretching 1.8 miles across a waterway in eastern New Orleans that cost $1billion to build, he said. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>
via www.usatoday.com
Don't Guess: Soil Test!
Are you sodding a new lawn, planting trees, flowers, shrubs, or a vegetable garden? Soil has everything to do with the vitality of your lawn and garden. If you like Azaleas for example, a high pH (basic soil) will never permit that stunning spring foliage. A soil with insufficient nutrients will not support a robust garden. The time to test and amend your soil is before problems arise so your plants will flourish. Be sure and test for heavy metals if you are planning to eat what you grow.
Soil testing is offered by LSU Ag Center for an affordable fee. Find out more online at www.lsuagcenter.com/stpal or contact the local ag center office at (504) 658-2900.
Volunteers Making a Difference: American Baptist Home Mission Societies
The Lower 9 CSED welcomed a large group of 183 volunteers this past week from American Baptist Home Mission Societies. Individuals came to New Orleans representing churches and colleges across the U.S.: from Massachusetts, South Carolina, South Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Iowa, Maine, Puerto Rico, Kansas and Illinois. They raked and weeded, built rain gardens, rehabbed homes - and so much more.
Thank you so much for making a difference in our Lower 9 community!
LSU AgCenter's Master Gardener Program
I am delighted to report that I have been
accepted into LSU AgCenter's Louisiana
Master Gardener Program. "This program is a
volunteer training program designed for
individuals who have an interest in gardening,
want to learn more about it, and then give
back to their community." For more
information about this & other LSU AgCenter
programs or for research-based, up-to-date
regional gardening advice, visit
www.lsuagcenter.com
I look forward to sharing this experience with the Lower 9th Ward Community!
