Levees.org Annual Event will be Aug 26 at 6:30p

Jarwanda Harris, Sandy Rosenthal and Kalpana Saxena at Press Conference Lower Ninth Ward August 4, 2010

On Thursday, August 26, 2010, Levees.org will hold its 5th Annual Event to Observe the Worst Civil Engineering Disaster in US History.

The event begins at 6:30p at Touro Synagogue at 4238 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans.  After a pre-show party while listening to the tunes of Some Like it Hot, guests will see a short presentation.

More details about the Annual Event, and on how to rsvp coming soon.

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Press Conference: Levees.org nominates Levee Breach Sites to National Register

This photo was taken on October 10, 2005 in the Lower Ninth Ward by Francis James using a Sony FDMAVICA.

On Wed August 4, 2010 at 9:30a, Levees.org will announce its nomination of several Levee Breach sites in metro New Orleans to the prestigious National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

“Although it is very difficult to list sites associated with events as recent as the 2005 Katrina flood,” says Nicole Hobson-Morris, Director of Historic Preservation, “the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation believes the sites to meet the Register’s eligibility requirements for exceptional significance.”

It’s a tremendous honor for a site to be listed on the National Register, and will help assure that the properties are held in high esteem.

In a Multi-Property format, Levees.org has initially nominated two breach sites, the 17th Street Canal Breach and the Industrial Canal Breach (eastern side), but have signaled to the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation that four other breach sites will also be nominated to the National Register.

The amount of documentation required to meet federal guidelines is voluminous, and Levees.org was compelled, in the initial stages, to choose two breach sites which – by themselves – seemed to best represent the terrible devastation on August 29, 2005.

But this is just the beginning. Levees.org has alerted the Louisiana State Office of its intent to nominate four more breach sites which affected other New Orleans neighborhoods and also St. Bernard Parish.

What: Press conference
Where: Lower Ninth Ward, Industrial Canal Levee, East side,
2600 Surekote Drive, New Orleans, water side of floodwall
When: August 4, 2010
Time: 9:30am rain or shine

Click here for letter confirming acceptance of Levees.org’s First Draft Nomination.
https://levees.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/NRHP-Notice-of-Receipt-of-Nomination-First-Draft.pdf

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The Big Uneasy to debut August 30 at Prytania Theater

Sandy Rosenthal and Harry Shearer at the Industrial Canal North Breach site July 2008. Photo by Zack Smith

On Monday August 30, “The Big Uneasy” will debut at the Prytania Theatre in New Orleans at 7:30p.  The 90-minute film will be followed by a Q&A with Director Harry Shearer.

Harry Shearer (voice of The Simpsons) created the documentary to show the flawed preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina.  The film focuses on how the levee failure catastrophe could have been prevented and casts doubt on rebuilding efforts.

Shearer, also an advisor to Levees.org, casts a highly critical eye on the US Army Corps of Engineers and its role in the 2005 flooding.

Tickets are $8.50.  The venue is 5339 Prytania Street in Uptown.

Click here for more information.
http://neworleansfilmsociety.org/events/detail/21/The-Big-Uneasy

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