Transcript Reveals Judge Sympathetic to Concerns of Residents along 17th Street Canal

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

Sad mementos under Historic Plaque at ground zero of 17th Street Canal levee breach

Short history: On January 14, 2011, a group of residents along the 17th Street Canal in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans got their day in court. Calling themselves the 17th Street Canal Coalition, they were heard in Civil Court presided over by Judge Kern Reese.

The group requests compensation for their backyards which have been commandeered by the Orleans Levee District. With no other recourse, the group sued to stop the Army Corps of Engineers’ remediation of the canal walls until their demands were properly heard. As stated in their press release issued January 6, this was not their favored course of action:

“…The homeowners are simply attempting to have the Board adhere to the law regarding the taking of private property. The homeowners are very disappointed that they have had to resort to this action in order to have their requests heard and to have their rights respected by the Board….”

After hearing Tommy Anzelmo (for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and the Orleans Levee District) and Randy Smith (for the 17th Street Canal Coalition), the judge issued his ruling.

Judge Reese denied the petition enjoining the Army Corps of Engineers from proceeding with remediation work for the 17th Street Canal. He didn’t feel that stopping the Corps’ work would accomplish anything good for either party.

However, the Judge told the plaintiffs that he believed the homeowners had been wronged. He said he would void his past judgement and allow the Coalition to re-write their petition and seek relief from the Corps of Engineers in federal court.

The most interesting part was the Judge’s last statement. Judge Reese turned his attention and gaze toward the ten homeowners in the courtroom and praised them for their strength to keep fighting and to not allow their rights to be violated.

The official transcript has been released and you can see for yourself what the Judge said.
https://levees.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Lonatro-ET-AL-VERSUS-Orleans-Levee-District-1.14.2011.pdf

Just before posting this, I called the group’s spokesperson, Roy Arrigo, to inquire if there had been any new developments in the case.

“The group is continuing to press forward with the lawsuit,” said Mr. Arrigo.

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EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Dr. Ivor van Heerden’s attorney on recent ruling on lawsuit

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

Dr. Ivor van Heerden

This morning, I spoke to Dr. Ivor van Heerden’s lawyer, Jill Craft regarding U.S. District Judge James Brady’s ruling that Dr. van Heerden is not entitled to tenure at Louisiana State University (LSU).

Van Heerden asserts he was entitled to tenure and that LSU deprived him of due process. Van Heerden also claims, in his lawsuit, LSU harassed and retaliated against him for criticizing the Army Corps of Engineers and therefore jeopardizing future grant money.

LSU receives large federal grants from the Army Corps.

CRAFT: This ruling was not unexpected. It’s very difficult to successfully achieve tenure because the process is driven by the school’s rules not the law. However, this ruling is not really significant.

ROSENTHAL: What does this ruling mean for Dr. van Heerden?

CRAFT: The rest of the case is intact. We have depositions scheduled with LSU administrators during the week beginning February 14. I am looking forward to having the administrators testify under oath about what they know. I am looking forward to getting to the truth.

——-

I spoke earlier this week with Dr. van Heerden. He felt this ruling was a less important part of a much larger process. He also added that he was currently working “out in the field” making sure the oil from the BP disaster got cleaned up.

Please follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or check the News section of Levees.org for updates.

Sandy Rosenthal
Founder, Levees.org
http://twitter.com/LeveesOrg
http://www.facebook.com/leveesorg

Click here for AP story on the recent ruling.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20110202/NEWS01/102020345

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The New York Times Respondeth to our Petition

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

The New York Times Office at 620 Eighth Avenue

Earlier this month (Jan 6), we hand-delivered 1,566 petition signatures and their accompanying comments to the New York Times office in New York City.

These signatures – from residents all across the United States – made it clear that informed citizens understand that “Katrina” did not flood New Orleans. Blatant civil engineering mistakes did.

Blaming Katrina for flooding New Orleans would be like blaming the atmosphere in Florida for the Challenger explosion

The signers urged the New York Times to resist fast and easy Katrina shorthand.

We requested the Times to provide a response that we could share with the signers and also with our nearly 25,000 supporters nationwide.

Three weeks later, we have finally received the New York Times ‘ response via snail mail. You can see it here.

http://huff.to/fQXhJO

We have posted the letter and a story about it on the Huffington Post. Please click the link above and read it.

Reading the article, commenting on it, giving it a “thumbs up,” all these things will help keep this important issue alive and directly in front of the American people.

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