Will the Real Reformers Please Stand Up?

Monday, October 7th, 2013

A few weeks ago, we queried a lot of people in town. We wanted to know who–or what group of people–was the brainchild behind the famous One Levee Board campaign. We knew that “Citizens for 1” led the campaign to get statewide support for the new levee board legislation, but who was the creator or creators? No one could answer our question.

We had a hunch, but today Clancy Dubos confirmed it in his blog post.

According to Clancy, the Greater New Orleans Business Council was the driver, and perhaps the brainchild, of the One Levee Board campaign. We checked the Business Council’s website. It says it “played a key role in the reorganization of levee board governance by championing the creation of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority“

Read More » 1 Comment

Will the Flood Authority’s Nominating Committee Stand Up to Governor Jindal?

Saturday, September 28th, 2013

File photo dated Aug 22, 2006 of then-Congressman Bobby Jindal attending a press conference hosted by Levees.org. Photo/Stanford Rosenthal

Last week, Garret Graves, speaking for Governor Bobby Jindal, told the nominating committee for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East that the Governor would refuse to approve the reappointment of John Barry and Tim Doody should the committee recommend the two currently serving commissioners.

The surprisingly candid announcement came from Graves in a public meeting in response to a lawsuit that the SLFPA-E filed against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies demanding that the industry repair the damage it did to Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. Doody is president of the SLFPA-E and Barry is vice president and the chief spokesperson for the suit filed in July.

According to the suit, the wetlands loss has increased the intensity of the storm surge and raised the cost of maintaining levees and floodwalls which are responsibility of the Authority East.

Read More » Leave a comment

Levees.org to Speak to Visitors from South Africa in State Dept Program

Thursday, September 12th, 2013

Updated 2:20 p.m.

Today, the founder of Levees.org will speak to a representatives of South Africa who have requested a meeting to discuss the impact of Levees.org’s efforts to hold the local and federal governments accountable for the failure of the levee system during Hurricane Katrina.

These visitors are invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Their program is arranged by Mississippi Consortium for International Development.

Read More » 1 Comment