By the way, don't forget the green dots...

"What's this?"
"After Katrina, the mayor released a map to the newspaper showing how some neighborhoods would not be allowed to rebuild."
"Really? That seems quite polarizing. Why would a mayor that wanted to encourage all of the city's citizens to return do that?"
"Why indeed?"

Old Canals and rivers await

Restoring and harmonizing the natural features within a city is a worthwhile endeavor and Richard Register and Kirstin Miller of Eco City Builders have been doing that for many years.

The chance for explorers and activists to examine and reclaim pieces of the city is a necessary first step of the Eco City process. The story below shows how this trip can begin the reclamation the Los Angeles River and its surroundings. Nearly 300 people will have a chance to experience one of the few stretches of the waterway that actually looks like a river during a six week pilot program sponsored by the LA Conservation Corps. Here in New Orleans, we could do the same with removing the landfill over the turn of the Old Basin Canal at the intersection of Lafitte and Jeff Davis which would also allow migratory bird habitats to flourish.

Kayaking in lA

Raw Video: Time Lapse Of Smoke Filling CBD - Video - WDSU New Orleans

While our land-locked neighbors in Vermont deal with water everywhere, we have a marsh fire burning in an inaccessible area of the swamp in New Orleans East. This shows the smoke filling up the business district yesterday morning.


Raw Video: Time Lapse Of Smoke Filling CBD - Video - WDSU New Orleans

Story on Acorn International's Wade Rathke, new owner of Fair Grinds Coffeehouse

Fair Grinds

how to keep a parking space for 10 years

Safest Bike Lights so far...

Revolights are basically blinking LED bulbs mounted to the front and rear wheel-rims. Like a car, the lights are white in the front and red in the back. What makes them special is a small magnet also installed into the bicycle’s fork, which communicates with the LED system—mostly indicating the bicycle’s speed. As the cyclist accelerates, the lights are programmed to blink in clusters as they reach either the front or back (white and red, respectively). At cruising speed, Revolights’ timing makes an approximately 2-foot-long, solid band of light. (Watch the video below.)

revolights. join the revolution. from revolights on Vimeo.

Prospect Park West Bike Lane Lawsuit Dismissed In Court

An important victory for bike lane activists. There is no question that properly executed designs help calm out-of-control vehicular traffic areas and reduces the environmental damage done to cities by cars.
Prospect Park West Bike Lane Lawsuit Dismissed In Court

Ass-essment system

I assume people in other cities can see what is wrong with this?

NEW ORLEANS — WDSU .com

Hundreds of people are waiting in long lines at City Hall to discuss their property tax reassessments after Assessor Erroll Williams raised the property value on more than 34,000 homes.

Williams' office is not taking appointments, and with only two days left, the lines and frustrations are growing.

"There should be a better process, where, maybe, they could put up neighborhood, do it in different communities, like New Orleans East. People shouldn't be coming downtown. (We have) to pay to park, and everything is all congested down here," said resident Frank Laurent.

Homeowners will have only until 4 p.m. Monday to contest to contest their assessments, and city officials said the line will close at 2:30 p.m. Friday because of the Saints game.

Jazzland is for sale

The city is interested in selling the defunct amusement park to buyers, but not for residential property. Why not use it as a large composting site for the city?

The Lens story

Cool off

This should be done every city that has over 90 degrees for more than 3 days at a time:
How to open fire hydrants