prytaniawaterline.com Blog

Flood warnings continue for the Mississippi River:

The corps is already talking about closing the spillway.

Some photographs of Lafayette Cemetery # 1

There seems to be a problem with the young’uns in New Orleans, They must not be getting allowances or something. Around the 17th of April a fourteen year old was arrested for a string of French Quarter robberies. In todays T.P. there is a story about a thirteen and fourteen year old being arrested for armed robbery.

Officers believe two boys from the 1100 block of Columbus Street, ages 13 and 14, took to the streets at 10 a.m. that day, one of them toting a .410-gauge sawed-off shotgun.

Haven’t these kids ever heard of going to a movies for entertainment. Maybe that’s why they are robbing people, so they can get money to go to the movies.
Add to that eighth killing in a week, and you might think we have a crime problem here.

The Nagin administration needs to put crime on the front burner. All of his junkets to promote New Orleans as a good place to do business won’t help if 13 and 14 year old kids are terrorizing the streets.

The trade summit taking place in New Orleans seems to be getting under some peoples’ skin. The closed roads and traffic jams have been quite the incovienience to those who live and work here.. I have managed to avoid downtown and everywhere else that has been disrupted by the visit of the president. Which is good since my mood today would probably have me MF’n all over town.

I found this quote by Bush on the recovery to be uninformed.

“You can see hope in the fact that people are absolutely determined to make it better than it was before,” Bush said. “For all of you who contributed to the resurgence of New Orleans, I want to thank you on behalf of a grateful nation.”

Number one I don’t see the city being rebuilt better than it was before, we have managed to maintain most of the bad qualities that the city had before the storm. The other thing I don’t believe is that the nation is grateful to those of us who have returned. If you read or listen to the opinions of many around the country when they speak of New Orelans they are resentful.

With all of the federal aid that has come to New Orleans, it hasn’t been enough to fix police, or firestations, The roads continue to disentegrate, every federal dollar that the city has received has been a torturous process that is a kin to pulling teeth with a pair of pliers. While parts of the city have recovered fairly well, mainly the parts that weren’t hit that hard. The hardest hit areas are still a disaster area.

From the Nola Boloshpere Adrastos has a good post on the President’s summit of Mooks

Gris-Grits on the still ongoing Katrina Fatigue.

I have to say that I am looking forward to the Fest this year. I won’t be able to get there opening day, I have to work that Friday. I will however be there on Sat. the 26th. I have an invitation to have pre-fest mimosas with some friends who live in the neighborhood, then it is off to the fairgrounds for sun, music, and fun. Dr. John is definitely on my schedule I can’t remember the last time I saw him perform.

What can you say, the killings continue at an uacceptable rate. As if we have a choice to accept it or not. With the dog days of summer ahead of us it will probably continue. I have gotten to the point where the news about murders in New Orleans go in one ear and out the other. If you try to wonder why it is happening or what you can do about it will drive you crazy. Unfortunately street violence is one of our cultural aspects that survived Katrina.

I have been riding my bike in the evenings lately. I guess it started when I began keeping track of the water levels of the river at Audubon Park. I had been walking a lot for exercise, the bike is more fun and provides a better workout than walking. So there I am minding my own business when something tears through the leaves of an oak tree and goes flying by a few feet in front of me. Damn golfers, he almost got me, the course looks great, I think they need some better golfers out there.

The old entrance to the Meditation Walk Caught my eye, it now leads to the golf course.

It used to lead to the Heymann Memorial Conservatory.

As we so often say here these days “aint der no mo”

So now to the meat of the mission, how high is the river, I bike across magazine street, not an easy task at 6 in the evening. Almost there, what? a train. Mission delayed for a couple of minutes.

The river is pretty high and fast notice the white caps, in the first photo. I must say I was impressed.

I love this town!

Latest Flood Warnings

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT NEW ORLEANS.
* FROM TUESDAY MORNING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS
CANCELLED.
* AT 7:00 PM THURSDAY THE STAGE WAS 16.8 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 17.0 FEET.
* FORECAST…THE RIVER IS EXPECTED TO CREST NEAR FLOOD STAGE EARLY
TUESDAY MORNING APRIL 22ND.
* IMPACT…AT 17.0 FEET…THE RIVER WILL RISE ON THE LEVEE MAKING
NAVIGATION AND DOCKING DIFFICULT. THE CITY IS PROTECTED TO A
PROJECT HEIGHT OF 20 FEET.

PhFred has a great post on pot holes at Humid City. I laughed my ass off when I read it, then sighed because I knew it was all true.

Some asides

On the price of gas: I was talking with a friend last night who told me a story about the fuel warning light in his van coming on. He decided he would put $10 worth of gas in the van so that he could get home. After pumping the ten dollars worth into the van he started for home. Of course ten dollars worth wasn’t enough to make the warning light go out.

Blame it on Katrina: I have been getting some long overdue dental work done lately. Of course I have been avoiding the dentist for a while, long before Katrina hit. Talking to the dental assistant she said lots of people have neglected their teeth since Katrina. I nodded as if to say yes thats it, all this overdue work is because of Katrina.

Forgotten Lunch: For the fifth day in a row I packed a lunch to bring to work and left it at home in the refrigerator.

Still Smoking: I haven’t been able to get rid of the cigarettes, still not smoking like a forest fire but I can’t seem to quit those two or three a day. (cough cough).

Can’t wait for the Jazz Fest: There are a couple of days that have lineups that I want to see. Already have the hat sunglasses and shorts ready.