Rising Tide Conference Blog

Rising Tide Supports RTA's TIGER III Grant Application

2011-10-19T17:35:00.000-05:00

Sent today to Veolia.

Dear Madams and Sirs:

Rising Tide, Inc. is a Louisiana non-profit group of community members who strive to be a mechanism through which citizens concerned about their community inform themselves and each other about issues that affect their lives. As such, our membership and board are made up of individuals who remain informed of infrastructure developments in New Orleans. Because of this, we strongly support the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (“RTA”) TIGER 3 application for the expansion of the streetcar service in New Orleans along the St. Claude Avenue corridor from Elysian Fields Ave to Poland Ave.

The TIGER 1 investment in New Orleans made by the Loyola Streetcar line has resulted economic development in our downtown business and entertainment district. The RTA has committed $75 million in its own bond funds to an extension of this line along the historic French Quarter. The St. Claude Streetcar line proposed in this application for TIGER 3 funds will extend that prosperous streetcar line further into the growing neighborhoods on both sides of St. Claude Avenue downriver. As engaged citizens, we believe the extension of the streetcar will benefit New Orleanians of all economic backgrounds in many of the diverse communities the proposed St. Claude line will serve.

We thank you for listening to the priorities of businesses, residents, and public agencies and supporting this streetcar's development.

Sincerely,

Rising Tide, Inc.

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Thank you

2011-08-28T08:40:00.000-05:00

We hope you thoroughly enjoyed Rising Tide 6. Please tell us about your RT experience in the comments. What did you like most (or least)? What should we keep (or change) for next year?

The organizers want to thank everyone who helped make the conference possible: the attendees and online viewers, the moderators and panelists, the vendors and sponsors, the volunteers and donors, the food and beverage providers, the videographers and musicians... Special thanks to keynote speakers Richard Campanella and David Simon, and to our wonderful hosts at Xavier University.

Brass.

2011-08-27T17:26:00.001-05:00

The Brass Bands panel is closing out Rising Tide 6. Tune into the webcast for a performance from TBC Brass Band.

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Ashley Morris Award Presentation

2011-08-27T16:45:00.000-05:00

Congratulations, G-Bitch!

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Tech School Afternoon

2011-08-27T15:07:00.002-05:00

Right now at tech school, Katy Monnot of the The Louisiana Bloggers Network will be discussing improving the photography on your blog to showcase premium content.

After that at 3:40pm, local attorney Ben Varadi will host a presentation regarding Property Rights and Online Content.

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New Orleans Food Writing

2011-08-27T15:05:00.001-05:00

David Simon wraps up and the New Orleans food panel is now up on the main stage.

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David Simon Keynote

2011-08-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

Right now at Rising Tide 6. Check the live webcast if you can't be here.

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Kickstarter @ Tech School

2011-08-27T12:20:00.003-05:00

Tech School rocks on at Rising Tide 6.

Right now, Justin Sheils is discussing raising money through Kickstarter funding platforms for creative projects.

"Recapping the Well" is still on the main stage and is available on the webcast.

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Define Your Neighborhood

2011-08-27T12:17:00.003-05:00

In a synergy that happens at conferences like Rising Tide, Alan Williams at Neighborland was inspired by Rich Campanella's morning keynote and asks: how you define your New Orleans neighborhood.

Click on over and let them know.

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Recapping the Well

2011-08-27T11:45:00.002-05:00

Now on the Main Stage. Follow along with the webcast, on Twitter (and here), and with folks liveblogging (First Draft, Levees Not War, Sky Dancing).

Noladishu liveblogged the panel.

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Neighborland @ Tech School

2011-08-27T11:21:00.002-05:00

The applause from the next room is audible every time a Tech School panel wraps up. Next on the agenda is Alan Williams presenting Neighborland (& on Twitter), a new tool helping connect people concerning what they want out of their neighborhoods.

You can follow Rising Tide Tech School from LA Blogger's Network.

Main stage is taking a break. Next up is Recapping the Well Panel.

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Hurricane Irene Updates

2011-08-27T10:56:00.004-05:00

Even as we talk about New Orleans and Gulf Coast recovery 6 years later, our hearts go out to our family, friends, and fellow Americans in the Carolinas. Looks like they got hit by a massive surge, and loss of life and massive property damage is already being reported. A lot of people are going to be hurting from this.

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FSC Interactive @ Rising Tide Tech School

2011-08-27T10:45:00.003-05:00

McKenzie Coco from FCS Interactive now discussing "Using Google+ and Facebook Places. Follow Tech School tweets along with Louisiana Blogger's Network.

Tech School is not being livecast, so you actually have to show up! But you can still catch the live webcast of the Social Media, Social Justice panel from the main stage.

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Tech School & Social Justice, Social Media

2011-08-27T10:09:00.004-05:00

Rising Tide's first ever Tech School will begin with Chris Boudy talking about Advanced Wordpress Techniques. You can follow Tech School tweets from Louisiana Blogger's Network

Main room will be Social Media, Social Justice panel. Follow what people are saying about Rising Tide at hashtag #RT6.

Also found out that Mark La Flur is liveblogging at Levees Not War.

Big thanks for Uptown Messenger and Gambit for posting the webcast.

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Richard Campanella Right Now

2011-08-27T09:43:00.002-05:00

Dakinikat at Skydancer is liveblogging. So is Athenae at First Draft.

If anyone else is liveblogging, let us know in the comments or on Twitter.

.

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Live Webcast Tomorrow

2011-08-26T15:47:00.003-05:00

You can still register for Rising Tide 6 until midnight tonight. After that, you'll still be able to pay at the door, but it'll be $5 more. Don't forget to bring a canned good for a good cause.

If you can't make it to town, though, and would still like to plug in, the webcast will be conveniently located, and will inlcude a handy donations button.

See y'all tomorrow!

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Accepting Food Donations

2011-08-18T12:49:00.000-05:00

Once again, at the Rising Tide Conference, we will be collecting non-perishable foods for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana.

For one in eight Louisianans, hunger is a reality. Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are confined to small pockets in a community, certain areas of our state, or even certain neighborhoods, but the reality is much different.
Right now, thousands of men, women and children in south Louisiana are struggling with hunger. We all know and are in contact with people affected by hunger, even though we might not be aware of it.
These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days. Most of us simply have no idea. It’s time to educate ourselves about hunger in south Louisiana and beyond.

In these difficult economic times, more people than ever are relying on the food bank, which has been stretched to beyond its limits. Give to Second Harvest when you attend Rising Tide VI on August 27th.

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Rising Tide 6 Poster and Ts

2011-08-14T19:24:00.014-05:00

Once again our own Greg Peters has raised the high bar of his own creation and delivered another brilliant poster for Rising Tide. In the process, he independently authored a theme for this year's conference, Dark Horse Rising, and he's added words to his art this time, a poem on the poster that's also the back of this year's T-shirt.

The posters are signed and numbered and, along with the T-shirts, can be pre-ordered on our EventBrite registration page and picked up at RT6. Shipping is also available for those who can't make it to the conference (just purchase a shipping ticket). If you have questions, please either use the contact the host link in the right gutter or email us at registration@risingtidenola.com.

This year, we've completely restructured our ordering, production and fulfillment procedures so are expecting merchandise delivery to be glitch-free.

We are Horse,
mount and
rider one,
Cheval Noir.
Together our
hooves will
shatter this
long night
into
diamonds
bone
and ash.

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RT6: Ashley Morris Award Nominations

2011-08-03T12:28:00.003-05:00

Mominem handled this post last year, so I'll just copy most of what he wrote:

One of the now traditional events at the Annual Rising Tide Conference is the recognition of the winner of the annual Ashley Morris Award. In 2011, we are again pleased to open up the nominations to the entire New Orleans Internet Community. We are asking everyone to submit their nominations for this award by commenting on this post.

Photo by Emily Ardoin

The Ashley Morris Award

The Ashley Morris award was established in 2008 to honor and remember one of the founding members of Rising Tide, Dr. Ashley Morris. It is presented in cooperation with Hana Morris. The award is given annually to someone who embodies Ashley's fierce passionate defense of New Orleans, its people and its culture.

Past recipients are:

2006 Dr. Ashley Morris (retroactively and posthumously). Ashley was a major figure in the New Orleans Internet community and beyond. He carried his love for New Orleans literally on sleeve, or rather under it in the form of a very large fleur-de-lis tattoo. His famously fierce and profane reactions to any attack on New Orleans became legendary in the months and years after the Federal Flood. His larger than life personality still resonates as one of the inspirations for the Treme character Creighton Bernette, played by John Goodman. Bernette has been known to speak words originally written by Ashley. Ashley's blog is still available, check out the greatest hits.

2007 Matt McBride (retroactively). Matt chronicled the construction of the temporary pumps and other features of the flood protection system of New Orleans. Matt's detailed research and on site observations showed that a committed person with the right knowledge can make a difference. Matt continues to cover the work on New Orleans Flood Protection at Fix the Pumps.

2008 Karen Gadbois quoting from Gambit's January 2009 recognition of Karen as A New Orleanian of the year for 2008;

... armed with little more than a laptop and a digital camera, singlehandedly blew the whistle on the New Orleans Affordable Housing scandal, which she documented on her blog, www.squanderedheritage.com. The result? An FBI investigation, admiring writeups of her efforts in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and new respect for the power of the citizen blogger.

Karen later won a Dupont Award for her work with Lee Zurik on a 50 part series exposing problems with NOAH. She also has since founded The Lens, a non-profit investigative news site that works with WDSU Fox8 on joint investigations.

2009 Ashe Dambala a.k.a. The American Zombie. Writing anonymously about the shenanigans in the City Hall IT department publishing rumors and reports from insiders Dambala had the whole Meffert/Nagin scam long before it surfaced in the main stream media. He had the goods and Meffert is now under indictment. Jason Berry has revealed he is Dambala.

2010 Clifton Harris who writes at Cliff's Crib. Cliff consistently offered a personal, poigniant, and self-evaluating insight to culture in New Orleans. His posts are ardent defenses of New Orleans even as they drive stinging criticisms into the very things that strangle this city.

While he may not display the in-your-face emotion of the late Dr. Morris, Cliff has consistently written with equal parts humor, heartbreak, and defiant resiliency on a host of topics that include, but are not limited to, sports, politics, education, popular culture, and the African-American community. His writing has also been featured A Howling in the Wires.

2011 - ? That's where you come in, gentle reader, as the nominations are open. Robust explanations of why your nominee should recieve this award are helpful, but, like a lot of things connected with Rising Tide the qualifications are flexible and subject to subjective interpretation. Non-eligible individuals include Rising Tide organizers and previous Award recipients. Nominations will close at 5pm Central on Wednesday, August 17th, and the Rising Tide organizers will meet to decide which of the nominees will recieve the glass block.

The Award will be announced at Rising Tide 6, August 27.

Rising Tide NOLA INC, reserves final responsibility for all decisions.

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RT6: Brass Bands Panel

2011-08-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

“Have you ever been called home by the clear ringing of silver trumpets?” - Boromir

Brass. New Orleans. Music.

You don’t need to hear me say a lot more than that, because anyone on planet Earth who’s ever heard of New Orleans has probably heard a wailing of horns to accompany those words. Your auditory memory is probably calling up some clarion introduction right now. Half of you reading this are likely tapping your feet right now to keep time.

I don’t need to say a whole lot else, but there is a lot left to be said. Where does this culture come from? How does it regenerate and reinvent itself with every generation of New Orleans youth? Who are these people who dare to raise a sound like that?

Rising Tide is happy to introduce you to a few of them. Come hear their stories.

The Brass Bands Panel will feature Lawrence Rawlins, band director of Roots of Music; Alejandro de los Rios, producer of the Brass Roots documentary; members of the TBC Brass Band Edward “Juicy” Jackson, Joe Maize and Sean Michael Roberts; moderated by writer Deborah Cotton and followed by a performance by the TBC Brass Band.

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RT6: Social Media, Social Justice Panel

2011-08-01T17:18:00.000-05:00

More and more people around the world use blogs and social network services. Their power to connect people and publish diverse voices raises questions about the possibility of using new media as organizing tools for social change. For example, blogs played a crucial role in organizing protests in Jena, Louisiana, in 2007. This panel will examine the intersection and interaction of social media with the struggle for a more just and humane society. Can tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, blogs, YouTube, et cetera, facilitate such work, and if so how? We’ve all heard about how social media fueled the revolution in Egypt, but what’s going on locally? Conversely, might social media actually impede the struggle for justice? Are we just “amusing ourselves to death”? Does new media present new opportunities, or do we face the same issues as ever?

Moderator: Bart Everson from Xavier University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Jordan Flaherty - Flaherty was the first journalist with a national audience to write about the case of the Jena Six, and his award-winning reporting from the Gulf Coast has been featured in a range of outlets from the New York Times to Al Jazeera to Argentina's Clarin newspaper. He has reported on protest movements in the Middle East and met with Egyptian bloggers after the revolution there. He is the author of Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six and has blogged at justiceroars.org.

Cherri Foytlin - Foytlin is an oil worker's wife, mother of six, Louisiana resident and journalist whose family has been deeply impacted by the BP Oil Disaster and consequential moratorium on deep water drilling. She co-founded Gulf Change, blogs forwww.BridgeTheGulfProject.org, and walked to Washington D.C. from New Orleans (1,243 miles) to call for action to stop the BP oil disaster. She has been a constant voice, speaking out to the Obama Administration's Gulf Oil Spill Commission, and in countless forms of media. Cherri will continue her fight for the industries, people, culture and wildlife of south Louisiana and the Gulf Coast "until we are made whole again."

Jimmy Huck, Jr. - Huck is a professor at Tulane University in the Stone Center for Latin American Studies and functions as the Center’s Graduate Advisor. He sits on the Executive Committee of Tulane University’s Center for Public Service and is currently a Board member of Puentes New Orleans. His blog is “The Huck Upchuck” and he has been blogging since August of 2002. He has been involved in monitoring anti-illegal immigrant legislation in the Louisiana Legislature over the past three years and has traveled up to Baton Rouge on occasion to testify against such legislation. He has used his blog as well as other social media such as Facebook to mobilize grass-roots action regarding such legislation, and in the general promotion of social justice. His professional and intellectual interests include re-invigorating the idea of the academy as a proper vehicle for cultivating civic identity, educating for democracy, and transforming knowledge into social action.

Stephen Ostertag - Ostertag is a sociologist at Tulane University. His research and teaching are in the areas of news media, democracy and citizenship; and crime, incarceration and inequalities. He is currently researching the growing social organization of bloggers and its implications for the production, dissemination, and consumption of news and information. He also recently started a blog named PublicSphereNOLA. Stephen is originally from Connecticut, where he was a volunteer with the Hartford Independent Media Center.

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RT6: Louisiana Coastal Health Panel

2011-08-01T12:16:00.002-05:00

Re-capping the well. The aftermath of the Macondo oil disaster and the future of the Gulf Coast. A discussion about how what's just happened over the past year will affect the land and the people for years to come. Moderated by Alex Woodward.

Alex Woodward is a staff writer with New Orleans alt-media Gambit, covering the environment, arts and culture of south Louisiana. With Gambit since 2008 he has covered everything from marching bands and cold cases to the effects of the BP disaster on the Gulf Coast.

Anne Rolfes is the founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade. Anne began her organizing career in West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo. It was there that she first witnessed the destruction of oil production. After six years of working on Nigerian issues, Anne returned to Louisiana in 1999 to protect her home state from petrochemical pollution. Anne was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana where many people made their fortunes from the oil industry. She has seen the wealth and the poverty created by oil production and seeks to make the industry more equitable. In October 2007 Anne was recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Community Health Leader.

David Hammer is an award-winning reporter for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He led the paper's investigation of what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon rig and broke several stories about key engineering decisions that contributed to the BP well blowout. His beats since the oil spill also include the drilling moratorium and Kenneth Feinberg's administration of spill claims. He was part of a team of journalists that won the Naonal Journalism Awards’ 2010 Edward J. Meeman Prize for environmental reporting and The Associated Press Managing Editors’ Frank Allen Award for the year’s best overall news writing in Louisiana and Mississippi. Hammer is a seventh-generation New Orleanian and a graduate of Harvard University. He worked five years for newspapers in New England and four years with The Associated Press. In 2005, he won the Dallas Press Club's Katie Award for best wire feature story of the year. After Hurricane Katrina, Hammer returned to his hometown paper to cover Louisiana's multi-billion-dollar recovery programs and won the 2007 Louisiana Press Association award for best coverage of government. As hurricane recovery money flowed to the local level, Hammer shifted to covering New Orleans City Hall. His investigation of bribery in the city's technology office earned him the 2009 Frank Allen Award.

Bob Marshall is The Times-Picayune's Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has spent much of his career chronicling the people, stories and issues of Louisiana's wetlands culture. Although best known as outdoors editor of the newspaper, Marshall's 35-year career includes extensive work as a reporter and columnist covering professional, college and Olympics sports, feature writing, op-ed columns, and special projects specializing in environmental issues.

In 1997 Marshall was a member of the T-P's three-man team that won a Pulitzer Prize for the series "Oceans of Trouble" which examined the plight of the world's fisheries.

In 2005 Marshall's investigations into Corps of Engineers missteps in building the New Orleans levees and floodwalls was part of the T-P reporting package that won the Pulitzer for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, Marshall was a finalist for the Investigative Editors and Reporters award and the Polk Award for his on-going coverage into the causes of the disaster.

In 2007 Marshall was co-author of the series entitled "Last Chance: The Fight to Save a Disappearing Coast," about Louisiana's coastal erosion problems, which won the 2007 John H. Oakes Prize for Distinguished Environmental Reporting from Columbia University.

Marshall's other national and regional awards for journalism include top honors from the Associated Press, United Press International, Scripps-Howard Foundation National Journalism Awards, Society of Professional Journalists, National Association of Sportswriters and Sportscasters and the Pro Football Writers of America, Outdoor Writers Association of America, Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association, and Southeastern Outdoors Press Association. His environmental reporting and essays have also earned recognition form a wide range of conservation and environmental groups, and including Conservationist of the Year awards from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. And in 2004 Marshall was elected to the Circle of Chiefs by the OWAA, that group's highest award for contributions to conservation.

In addition to his newspaper work, Marshall's professional credits include his current assignment as conservation editor for Field&Stream Magazine, and terms as South region editor of Field&Stream; South columnist of Outdoor Life Magazine; host of the F&S Radio Network; co-host of ESPN's The Outdoors Writers and feature assignments for a wide range of national publications from Men's Journal and Reader's Digest to National Geographic Adventure.

Marshall lives in New Orleans with his wife, Marie.

Dr. Len Bahr is the former director of the Governor's Applied Coastal Science Program who currently publishes the La Coast Post website.

Drake Toulouse is a BP and Gulf Coast Claims Facility critic who writes at Disenfranchised Citizen.

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RT6: New Orleans Food Continuity and Change

2011-08-01T07:07:00.006-05:00

Cooking in all its branches should be studied as a science, and not be looked upon as a haphazard mode of getting through life
-- Lafcadio Hearn

These are fascinating times for food culture in New Orleans. The years following the Katrina flood have seen much upheaval and loss but also innovation and rebirth. Boosters frequently boast that there are now more restaurants open in the city than there were before the storm, but the food scene in New Orleans encompasses much more than just a number of operational businesses. While the industry is certainly a key component of the city's economic health, New Orleanians consider their cuisine a core component of their familial and civic identity. Meanwhile, spurred by trends in popular culture, more American cities can lay legitimate claim to first-class dining scenes. How do such trends affect the way we think about food in New Orleans? During a time of rapid change, are the elements that make New Orleans unique being preserved? And what innovations are occuring here that continue to set us apart as a world class culinary destination? Our panel of New Orleans food writers and professionals will address these issues as well as other challenges and rewards of cooking and eating in a city long defined by its love of both tradition and creativity.

With:

Todd Price: Freelance writer, featured contributor to the Times-Picayune, former food editor at Offbeat Magazine, columnist at New Orleans Living Magazine, contributor to Zagat Survey New Orleans, blogger at A Frolic of My Own, author of several local dining guides including Night and Day New Orleans and a New Orleans' Best Bars iphone app.

Peter Thriffley and Rene Louapre: Food columnists at Offbeat Magazine, authors of popular New Orleans food blog Blackened Out.

Chris Debarr: Chef at Green Goddess, formerly of The Delachaise, long time New Orleans "excitable chef" blogger

Adolfo Garcia: Chef & Owner: RioMar, La Boca, a Mano, Gusto, High Hat Cafe, Ancora Pizzaria. From Chef Garcia's bio:

Growing up in New Orleans, Adolfo Garcia was keenly aware of both the city’s culinary reputation as well as dishes his ancestors enjoyed. His family is Panamanian and they loved to travel and explore other cultures.

Garcia studied history at the University of Texas, and chose to pursue his passion for gastronomy. Garcia graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. After stages in high-end London, Madrid, and NYC restaurants, he returned to New Orleans eight years later inspired to cook from an historical perspective. He was ready to introduce traditional dishes, albeit ones wholly new to the city.

Chefs Garcia and Debarr were named "Best Chef" and "Best New Chef" respectively by New Orleans Magazine in 2006

Alex del Castillo: Chef and owner of Taceaux Loceaux Alex and Maribeth Del Castillo are among the pioneers in bringing the gourmet food truck trend to New Orleans and leveraging social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to promote it. They've recently added a permanent location taking over the kitchen at Chickie Wah Wah music club.

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Rising Tide 6 Lineup

2011-07-31T16:53:00.005-05:00

Rising Tide 6 brings you two halls of programming at the University Center at Xavier University of Louisiana on Saturday, August 27, 2011, including:

David Simon, creator and executive producer of HBO's New Orleans drama Treme. He is a former journalist for the Baltimore Sun and writer and producer of acclaimed programs such as The Corner, The Wire and Generation Kill.

Richard Campanella, professor at Tulane University, geographer, and author of six critically acclaimed books on the physical and human geography of New Orleans: Bienville’s Dilemma, Geographies of New Orleans, Lincoln in New Orleans, New Orleans Then and Now, Delta Urbanism, and Time and Place in New Orleans.

Social Media, Social Justice Panel – Cherri Foytlin, contributor to the Bridge the Gulf project; Jimmy Huck, Jr., Executive Committee member of Tulane University’s Center for Public Service; Jordan Flaherty, author of Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six; Stephen Ostertag, creator of PublicSphereNOLA; and moderated by Bart Everson from Xavier's Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Louisiana’s Coastal Health Panel –Moderated by Alex Woodward, writer for Gambit, panelists include Len Bahr, founding editor of LACoastPost; David Hammer, staff writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune; Ann Rolfes, founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade; and Drake Toulouse, blogger at Disenfranchised Citizen.

New Orleans Food Writing Panel - Guests Peter Thriffley and Rene Louapre of Blackened Out and Offbeat Magazine will join Todd Price, author of A Frolic of My Own to discuss the eating out in New Orleans and writing about it, and the new generation of great online New Orleans food writers.

Brass Bands Panel featuring Lawrence Rawlins, band director of Roots of Music; Alejandro de los Rios, producer of the Brass Roots documentary; members of the TBC Brass Band Edward “Juicy” Jackson, Joe Maize and Sean Michael Roberts; moderated by writer Deborah Cotton; followed by a performance by the TBC Brass Band.

Rising Tide is also proud to announce the addition of Tech School to this year’s lineup. Tech School will offer a second stage of panels devoted to hands-on, how-to style social media and blogging topics ranging from improving your photography, advanced Wordpress techniques, the latest in web strategies and online tools. Presenters for Tech School include FSC Inter@ctive, the Louisiana Bloggers Network, Neighborland, Invade NOLA, Ben Varadi and more.

You can register for Rising Tide 6 at Eventbrite. Lunch catered by J’anita’s. Books and published materials by Rising Tide panelists and speakers, as well as New Orleans literature, will be available at the conference courtesy of Octavia Books.

Rising Tide 6 attendees from out of town can get guest rates of $69.00 per night at the Marriot Courtyard in the Warehouse District.

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Reserve your hotel accommodations for Rising Tide by August 4th

2011-07-31T11:45:00.001-05:00

Remember, the preferred hotel Rising Tide 6 is the Marriott Courtyard at 300 Julia Street in the Warehouse District. Rooms are $69.00 per night, but only through August 4, so reserve today by calling 504-598-9898 or 1-888-236-2427 and ask for the Rising Tide Group Rate.

Rooms should include air-conditioning, so it won't get too hot!

Mark LaFlaur: Make Levees, Not War

2011-07-26T16:44:00.002-05:00

Mark LaFlaur is a freelance writer and editor living in New York City with his wife, Janet Cameron, who also works in book publishing. A two-time graduate of LSU, Mark moved from New Orleans in 2001 to get married, well before Hurricane Katrina, but just in time for September 11. (He was living in Berkeley at the time of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.)

He has worked in book publishing in New York and San Francisco and as an encyclopedia and dictionary editor for Charles Scribner’s Sons, Oxford University Press, and Wiley-Blackwell. His work has been published in the Village Voice and Los Angeles Times Book Review, and about 100 articles have been published in reference and trade books by Macmillan, Oxford, etc. (His unpublished novels are another story.)

Mark founded the blog Levees Not War in late 2005 after hurricanes Katrina and Rita as a way of trying to keep national attention on New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast’s struggle to recover from disaster. “We do not want to live in a world without New Orleans,” he says, “and we do want to live.” Levees Not War focuses on infrastructure, war and peace, the environment, and progressive politics.

On Sept. 24, 2005, the weekend of Hurricane Rita and a month after Katrina, Mark and Janet attended a 300,000-strong antiwar mobilization in Washington, D.C. There they and several dozen other individuals and groups, including Code Pink, carried homemade signs saying MAKE LEVEES, NOT WAR. “We probably all thought we were being clever and original,” Mark says, “until we saw everyone else’s signs, all saying the same thing.” Thus the name.

Mark and Janet visit New Orleans as often as possible (several times a year when lucky) and hope to someday be able to buy a place in New Orleans so they can split their year between there and New York, “livin’ the dream” of “Share Our Wealth.” Rising Tide 6 will be Mark’s fourth conference, and Janet’s second.

Meet Sophmom

2011-07-20T16:55:00.004-05:00

A long-time marketing and communications professional, Atlanta-based Sharon Allison Barnhart was part of the team that deployed the first offline promotion (it was direct mail) used to drive an online interaction in 1997. During the years that followed, her family's business, a boutique agency pioneering interactive marketing, deployed dozens of creative offline national promotions customized to drive targeted online traffic and were among the first marketers to use the internet to create and measure direct communication between brands and consumers.

In early 2005 she joined a friend's construction industry start-up, which has since grown to perform complicated environmental and asset recovery deconstruction projects all over the country. As Communications Manager she writes or oversees the company's qualifications documentation, bids and proposals. She also manages the company's project reporting compliance as well as maintaining its entity status, registrations and industry licensing in multiple states and the federal Central Contractor Registry.

In 2002 she began posting online as Sophmom when the oldest of her three sons was a college sophomore in North Carolina, and in June of 2004 she began blogging under that name. By August 29, 2005 when her middle son was scheduled to start his sophomore year at Loyola University New Orleans, she had been writing about parenting a college student in New Orleans for over a year and very quickly began interacting online in what was the beginning of the post-flood NOLA Blogosphere. She attended the first Geek Dinner in July of 2006 and the first Rising Tide the following month. Since Rising Tide 3, she's served on the organizing committee, setting up and monitoring registration and managing the sign-in table at the conference.

She is part of the team that blogs, tweets and posts to Facebook for and as Rising Tide. In between conferences, she spends as much time as possible among New Orleanians, in fact as well as virtually.

Her various social media profiles are aggregated on her about.me page although she's most easily found posting as Sophmom on Twitter.

For five weeks every summer, she manages a men's baseball team.

Meet Val McGinley

2011-07-15T16:43:00.003-05:00

Val McGinley was raised Yankee and decided to go to college as far away from home as possible. When Tulane sent an acceptance letter all those years ago, she decided to move to New Orleans, sight unseen, as an 18-year-old freshman. She married a fellow Tulanian (from the borderlands of Cincinnati, OH) and despite having some aspirations to moveto other parts of the U.S. or world, they could never quite leave New Orleans, even when New Orleans didn’t want them to stay.

Val has worked at Tulane since 1995, traveling around the western hemisphere making grand plans and running programs in the hope that the general populace will learn that there are more countries than the U.S., Canada and Mexico (all the land south of the U.S. border, right?) and that more languages than English are spoken in North and South America.

She’s a die hard, naturalized New Orleanian since both of her children were born in New Orleans, including her youngest on Halloween, 2005, eleven days after returning from exile (there was no way in hell this Yankee/New Orleanian was going to give birth in Texas). She actively follows local politics and school reform issues and is a regular tweeter, which is all she seems to be able to fit into her rather overcrowded schedule. Val serves on the boards of the Partnership for Youth Development and the World Affairs Council of New Orleans. Having organized too many academic conferences to count, she was crazy enough to volunteer to help with Rising Tide. Val has been a huge help with programming and was invaluable last year at the registration table.

Timothy M. Ruppert, P.E., M.ASCE

2011-07-15T16:33:00.002-05:00

Tim Ruppert has been active in the planning and presentation of the Rising Tide Conference since 2008. He presented twice at the conference: "In Levees We Trust" in 2007 and "Why Can't We Get Some Dam Protection for New Orleans" in 2010.

Tim is a registered Professional Engineer in Civil Engineering in the state of Louisiana. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Economics from the University of New Orleans. Tim is currently a Supervisory Civil Engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, leading a team of project engineers and technicians engaged in the planning, design and construction of billions of dollars of flood risk reduction work in the New Orleans area.

Tim is member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He is a past president of the ASCE New Orleans Branch and ASCE Louisiana Section. Tim was chair of the 2006 Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference and Show, an annual seminar and trade show attended by more than 500 engineering and construction professionals from throughout the state.

Prior to joining the Corps, Tim was a partner at Morphy, Makofsky Consulting Engineers, a local civil and structural engineering firm. His work there earned the company an Award of Merit from the American Concrete Institute, Louisiana Chapter in 1998.

Tim served as a photo journalist and intelligence specialist for six years in the Louisiana Army National Guard. He is a graduate of the Defense Information School, and his writing has appeared in Stars and Stripes Europe. Tim was honorably discharged in 1986. His awards include the Army Service Ribbon and Cold War Recognition Certificate.

Tim served on the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association (NOSHA) for several years. Prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Tim was a regular contributor of letters to The Times-Picayune on the topic of separation of church and state.

Tim and his wife of 24 years live in New Orleans with their daughter. Although he has blogged infrequently since 2010, Tim chronicled his family's return to New Orleans and his experiences in the Post-K city at Tim's Nameless Blog (www.timsnamelessblog.blogspot.com). Samples of his blog appeared in the anthology, "A Howling in the Wires," published in 2010.

Meet Kelly Leahy

2011-07-15T16:26:00.004-05:00

Kelly Leahy has been oversharing on the internet since 2000, when she registered her first domain. Though originally from Vermont, she moved to New Orleans eleven years ago and in that time bought a house, got married, and gave birth to two towheaded girls. Her compulsive need to put everything in writing led her to paid positions with Weblogs Inc., Blogging New Orleans and other online blogging companies. Her writing can currently be seen in print in NOLA Baby & Family Magazine as well as on her current blog, Good Children. When not shouting commands at her daughters and navigating the ways of the New Orleans public school system, Kelly enjoys her work with a New Orleans clinical child psychologist and volunteering for the NOPD Crisis Unit. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in Social Work at Tulane University.

This is Kelly's first year on the planning committee for Rising Tide though she has been a long time admirer and attendee. She is working on vendors and sponsorship for the conference.

Rising Tide 6 Official Hotel

2011-07-15T16:10:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Mark LaFlaur of Levees Not War, we have an official hotel! We're shacking up at the Marriott Courtyard at 300 Julia Street in the Warehouse District. Rooms are $69.00 per night.

Here is the link to the hotel.

To make reservations, call 504-598-9898 or 1-888-236-2427.

Tell them you want the Rising Tide Group Rate.

Alli deJong: Came to Volunteer and Fell in Love with New Orleans

2011-07-09T19:54:00.005-05:00

Alli deJong is originally from Michigan, via Chicago, and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Alli is one of those wonderful young people who came to New Orleans to volunteer after Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Flood and never wanted to leave. She likes hockey, riding a bicycle for transportation, the National Park System, eggplant fries, and college football. She dislikes airport security, pollution, microwave popcorn, and truck nuts. Alli is a member of the Krewe of Mama Roux and lives in Bayou St. John.

Alli serves as stage manager for the conference and organizes our food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana. Here is a picture of Alli in front of Mount Rainier. Enjoy.

Lance Vargas: Keepin' It Real

2011-07-07T12:25:00.003-05:00

Lance "Varg" Vargas is a found object folk artist, graphic designer and blogger in New Orleans. He started his blog The Chicory in 2004 as an arts and culture Web site before altering the design and format into a blog in October 2006.

Before moving back to New Orleans in 2004, he was an Entertainment Editor (and infrequent Executive Editor) at La Jolla Light, a 90 year old weekly newspaper in La Jolla, California for six years covering the Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla Playhouse and D.G. Wills Bookstore. He also began a San Diego literature and social commentary site called Asunder Press in 1999. In San Diego he also wrote for: Revolt in Style, The San Diego Troubadour, and three cover stories for the Gay and Lesbian Times.

Varg began making and selling found object folk art in 2008 while renovating his Algiers Point home. His inspirations are humanism, soulful and spirited living and a disdain for waste or anything uppity. He is a member of the Jackson Square Artists Association committee.

He has been a graphic designer since 1999 and currently has a Web design business called Varg Visuals with more than a dozen clients in greater New Orleans.

His wife is Romy Kaye, a jazz and blues vocalist and a Standardized Patient Coordinator at Tulane School of Medicine.

He is the son of Ken and Caral, a sailor and a social worker.

He loves folk tales, astronomy, amber spirits, minor chords, pulled pork and the months of October through April.

He has been an organizer and the Web master for the Rising Tide Conference since 2008, and is the over-worked chair and sole member of the Keepin' It Real committee.

Meet Miss Malaprop

2011-07-06T12:18:00.005-05:00

Mallory Whitfield is a proud resident of New Orleans. She grew up in nearby Gulfport, Mississippi, and witnessed the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures firsthand. Mallory is dedicated to helping New Orleans and the Gulf Coast rebuild and become better than ever. She created her blog Miss Malaprop in August 2006 as a place to showcase unique, hand crafted and independently made products and small businesses, document her personal mission to live a more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible lifestyle, to talk about what’s going on in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast and to showcase NOLA and Gulf South-based artists and businesses. In March 2010, she launched the Miss Malaprop online store to offer even more unique handmade & eco-friendly goods.

Mallory designs recycled clothing and accessories, including everything from reconstructed denim skirts and cozy neckwarmers to outfits made from recycled FEMA blue tarp. One of her blue tarp creations won 3rd place in Etsy’s Upcycling Contest in 2007 and was featured on Boing Boing. She also won honorable mentions in the Worn Again Recycled Fashion Shows in 2008 and 2009 and was asked to be a judge for the 2010 event.

In addition to writing for her own blog, Mallory has also written for a variety of publications and websites, including Antigravity Magazine, Etsy Momentum, StyleList.com, Blogging New Orleans, and Southern Flourish Magazine. She is a proud founding member of the New Orleans Craft Mafia.

Mallory joined the Rising Tide conference krewe this year. She is the programming chair for Stage 2 and is also working with our vendors.

Xavier University of Louisiana

2011-07-03T15:44:00.002-05:00

Did you know that Xavier University is the only historically black Catholic university in the United States? Well, I didn't know that. Xavier has a rich and impressive history, and Rising Tide 6 will feature a short presentation about it.

We are honored to have Xavier as our host for Rising Tide 6. We are going to try our best not to do anything that will result in the conference not being invited back.

Bart Everson, multimedia artist at Xavier's Center for the Advancement of Teaching and famed "Editor B" at B.Rox, is a welcome addition to our planning committee this year. Bart has brought a fresh perspective to the planning of the conference and has been a helpful liaison between us and the folks at Xavier. All you students can thank Bart for being the one who came up with the idea of a student registration for the ridiculously low price of $18.00.

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We Couldn't Do It Without...

2011-07-03T11:08:00.002-05:00

...the people who pay the bills. Rising Tide 6 is lucky enough to have some very generous corporate and academic sponsors. So far, we have Xavier University's Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Dirty Coast, Gambit Communications, Abita Beer, Old New Orleans Louisiana Rum, and Artist, Inc., with negotiations still going on with a bunch of others.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the conference, a panel, a speaker or any aspect of our efforts, please contact Kelly Leahy, our sponsorship chair. Kelly can be reached at kleahy @ gmail.com.

More information about sponsorship levels can be found on our website. We can also work out a custom-designed sponsorship package for your company.

While we appreciate our corporate sponsors, the majority of our operating fund is provided by registrations from our wonderful audience participants. Registration is by far our largest source of income. We try hard to keep the price low enough for the conference to be accessible to almost anyone. This year, we are offering a student registration for $18.00, which is less than what it costs per each individual participant. I think the $30.00 regular registration, which includes lunch, is one of the best deals around.

Rising Tide NOLA, Inc. is a non-profit Louisiana corporation. No one makes any money from the conference. We are all volunteers and there is no paid staff. Any money left over after the conference expenses are paid is used to put on the next year's conference. One of our goals is to put on more than one event during the year, so some funds may be used for a future Rising Tide event.

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It's not too late to get involved

2011-06-30T22:34:00.002-05:00

Planning for Rising Tide 6 is going on now, but it ain't over till it's over. We still need your help. Our program is nearly set for the Main Stage, but Stage 2 is being brainstormed right now.
Mallory Whitfield is coordinating Stage 2, and she is putting together a fun, informative and hands-on program of events. We are having a meeting on July 13 to discuss proposals and scheduling. Interested people are invited to attend. Send an e-mail to me at stelladubois @ gmail for directions to the meeting.
Additionally, we need volunteers more than ever. We are expecting our largest audience ever this year and we need help with everything from morning pastries to evening clean up. Please contact me if you would like to volunteer.

That Amazing Rate, or 48 Hours

2011-06-29T09:30:00.000-05:00

The one thing that can be counted on about time is that, one way or another, it will pass, and it's been doing it pretty fast as far as Rising Tide VI registrations are concerned.

Yes, it's true - we do have two featured speakers this year, but everybody still wants to coast a little on the registrations...after all, the conference itself isn't until August 27th. Time enough to kick back in an air-conditioned spot with the beverage of your choice 'til then. No biggie.

Well, pardon me...this might hurt a bit...

You have 48 HOURS to sign up to see featured speakers Richard Campanella and David Simon and to take in the panel discussions we have planned, the local exhibitors, and the in-depth workshops, with a midday break for enjoying a tasty lunch from J'anita's (yes, we feed you, too!) for only $25. Come July 1st, it goes up to $30.

So you'll have to stir from your comfortable spot to get in on this, I know. But it will be worth it. I promise. Plus, it's a painless process, really it is. Head over here to register and give it a try. We'd love to see you there.

And then you can go back to your lolling about, 'cause there'll be nothing to worry about. Honest.

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Keynotes For Rising Tide 6

2011-06-16T10:02:00.003-05:00

We are very excited to announce two keynote speakers for this year's Rising Tide, Treme creator David Simon and geographer Richard Campanella.

David Simon is creator and executive producer of HBO's New Orleans drama Treme. He is a Baltimore-based former journalist for the Baltimore Sun and television producer of acclaimed programs such as The Corner, The Wire and Generation Kill.

Richard Campanella, a research assistant professor at Tulane University, is a geographer and author of six critically acclaimed books on the physical and human geography of New Orleans: Bienville's Dilemma, Geographies of New Orleans, Lincoln in New Orleans, New Orleans Then and Now , Delta Urbanism, Time and Place in New Orleans.

Desperately Seeking...

2011-04-17T19:05:00.000-05:00

...your presence at the following:
Rising Tide VI is coming very soon - August 27 - and we must pick your brains for ideas on programming, panel discussions, panelists, moderators, and all other subjects pertaining to the present and future of New Orleans. You do not need to be a blogger to come, either, so please join us on Tuesday, April 26 at 7:00 PM over at 21 Maryland Drive, aka, Casa Dangerblond.

Your presence is also requested at the same address for Geek Dinner V (yes, I know it's not VI, but. hey, we're catching up), also to be held at Casa Dangerblond. Her news blast concerning the details follows:

Geek Dinner time! We haven't had a Geek Dinner in a long time and we need to fix that situation.
For those who were not around the last time, the Geek Dinner is a potluck for anyone and everyone in the New Orleans online community. Many of us met at the first Geek Dinner. We started out with just bloggers, but now we have tweeters, facebookers and even those who write on paper with ink!
I am "hosting" at my house and everyone is invited to come.

It's Saturday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m..
21 Maryland Drive
New Orleans, LA
(Faux Metairie)

Let me know if you are coming so I will know how many paper plates to purchase. I hope all will attend, it's fun and the food is usually great.

Please let us know, in the comments below, if you will be coming to the programming meeting for Rising Tide VI. If not, give us your ideas in the comments. Let us know, also, if you will be coming to Geek Dinner V and what you will be bringing.

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Organizational & Planning "Meeting"

2011-03-11T12:34:00.002-06:00

Want to get involved with Rising Tide VI?

The ad hoc conference committee is getting together informally on Tuesday, March 15 at the Rendon Inn from 6:30 to 8pm for a brainstorming, organizational, and planning meeting as we get in gear to put together this year's conference.

I'm doubt we'll be difficult to miss.

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For Betts

2010-12-30T07:31:00.000-06:00

Morwen Madrigal, a founder of Rising Tide, needs our help.

From Ray in Exile, December 20, 2010:

Betty Ann Davis, RIP.

Betts, who was my friend and who was Morwen Madrigal's long-time partner, passed away suddenly last night after a long illness.

This is so very sad.

From Maitri, also on December 20:

Betty Ann Davis, friend and partner of Morwen Madrigal, passed away last night after a long illness. Sweet, quiet Betts, until she got behind a pool cue or shot glass, and then you’d best watch out. Morwen herself has been very ill lately and I worry about the effects Betts’s passing will have on her.

At this time, friend and blogger Morwen needs our help to defray the costs of the funeral and the second line, which will begin at Mimi's in the Marigny on January 5 of the new year, 6 PM. All donations are in the care of NOLA Slate. Please head to PayPal and direct your donations for the band at the second line to river.dharma@gmail.com.

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Razzy Tide Awards

2010-09-01T21:52:00.004-05:00

Someone asked me to post the full text on the RT Blog:

The Charlie Brown’s Teacher Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer you’re most likely to ignore while they’re talking. Tim

The Clint Eastwood Get Off My Lawn Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer most likely to call other organizers out for childish behavior. Adrastos

The Scrooge McDuck Empty Money Bin Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer most likely to overestimate costs, present outrageous break-even figures, lament the creation of any more t-shirts, and posters (and he ends up being able to say "I told you so all along."). Mominem

The Kimberly Marshall It’s All About Me Award – Presented to anyone not named Kimberly Marshall, because it ain’t all about her, its about YOU. Varg.

The Wyatt Earp Best Guns Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer with the most outrageous biceps. Because sitting at your computer typing is one hell of a workout. Jeffrey.

The Davis McAlary Authentic Authenticity Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer who keeps it the most real. Jeffrey.

The Han Solo You Came In That Thing, You’re Braver Than I Thought Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer who carpooled other Rising Tide organizers to the meetings in a workhorse vehicle that may not actually make the trip. Jeffrey.

The Millennium Falcon We’ll Be Safe Enough Once We Make the Jump to Hyperspace Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer most likely to get stopped by the Empire while speeding away from meetings. Alli.

The Vuvuzela Award – Because you’d rather face a stadium full of plastic horn blowing soccer fans than listen to this Rising Tide organizer imitate Yoda’s voice one more time. Cousin Pat

(And a big Thank-You to Leigh C, who actually gave me a vuvuzela. All future complaints about my behavior at Rising Tide events may be directed to her.)

The Statler and Waldorf Heckle From the Peanut Gallery Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer most likely to heckle other Rising Tide organizers, organizers of other conferences, or the general population. Oyster.

The Oh, Didn’t They Ramble Awards – Presented to the Rising Tide organizers who traveled far away from New Orleans, but you wouldn’t be able to tell online:

Sackcloth & Ashes Award to Loki from Ohio

Paddle Faster, I Hear Banjos Award to Sophmom from Georgia

Sarah You Betcha Palin Award to Leigh C. who went all the way to Alaska and back from her house.

The Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer who was actually working on something completely different the whole time, but it was so fing awesome we’re giving you an award anyway. Mark Folse and Lisa.

The Queen Bee Attention Deficit Award – Presented to the Rising Tide organizer who organized most meetings without an agenda or talking points, and who in fact spent the majority of the time discussing matters completely unrelated to conference organization (but who cobbled it all together in the end anyway). Dangerblond.

Hopefully, many more of you will agree to participate in organizing Rising Tide events for next year, so we can expand our list of Razzy Tide awards to be handed out on the Friday before the main event. I know you'll all wait in breathless anticipation.

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Tell Us What You Thought 2, or We Can Haz Feedback?

2010-08-30T14:21:00.004-05:00

I liveblogged like crazy from my perch over at the registration table, which, to my mind, is the best seat in the house at Rising Tide, but, then again, I'm biased, having worked said table with the super-capable Sophmom for the past three years. We were pleased this year to welcome the volunteer assistance of the just-as-super-capable Val McG and hope we haven't scared her off from the task. She seemed to hang in there just fine without panicking each time the wifi dropped us or registrants started to get a tad loud just outside the conference room door. She is a steely-eyed on-point lady and we were happy to have her.

Of course, with all the drama going on at the table by the entrance, my liveblogging wasn't as on point as it could have been...

...which is why I must also give props to our social media go-to guy and Tweeter Tube wrangler Loki for posting the RT V Twitter feed, which is still giving us some feedback from attendees and participants. It also filled in some mighty holes in my liveblogging from all y'all, so don't hesitate to scroll down at the link and read up.

Other bits of feedback were compiled at Sophmom's recap post on Rising Tide, but I'll re-list and list some more of those here:

Greg Peters' liveblogging is here, here, here, and here. Of the many money quotes from him is this one concerning a realization of his during the environmental panel:

I am reminded of one of the key differences between liberals and conservatives, Repubs and Dems — RIghties think that the right answer to anything is clear and easy, based on belief. Libs see complexity and are often immobilized by it. Trying to convince faith-based believers about something complex and far-reaching and hidden is oddly harder than convincing them that a ghost in the sky wants them to vote a certain way.

Other liveblogging comes from Dakinikat at The Confluence and from Machelle of Watching Treme, whose liveblog was also cross-posted at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's website.

Impressions from Cyganka are here.
Veracity Stew's look at Tim Ruppert's "Dam Safety" talk is here.
Alex Rawls' impressions are up on the OffBeat magazine's blog.
Mark LaFlaur of Levees Not War was an intrepid assistant to Rising Tide's efforts, as he has been from back in some of its earliest days. His liveblogging is here.
UPDATE: I missed a whole lot of liveblogging excellence from Robin Kemp. Her posts on RT are here, here, here, here, and here. It is like she was there...and she was.
Also, a post from James Reeves of Big American Night on Rising Tide.

Believe me, I know I'm missing some recaps. Fill me in in the comments below, complete with links, please, and add your feedback as an attendee to Varg's post.

Next year in New Orleans, y'all.

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Tell us what you thought of RT5

2010-08-30T13:39:00.002-05:00

RT5 has come and gone. Many, many thanks to all who attended and helped out. There has been a lot of praise coming our way and some constructive criticism also. But the most important comments / questions / critiques come from living breathing attendees of this year's conference and years past.

We also want to get more people on board for next year's planning committee. So contact the committee if you want to help plan next year's Conference.

Open comments thread below for attendees to tell us what you thought of this Rising Tide 5. Don't be bashful yall.

2010-08-29T08:38:00.002-05:00

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Rising Tide V: Mac McClelland's Keynote Speech (Audio)

2010-08-28T16:14:00.001-05:00

Update by Leigh C., 8/30/2010: Varg's list of references accompanying Mac's speech at RT is a must-read. Go. Now.

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Down in the Treme

2010-08-28T16:05:00.006-05:00

Maitri introduces the panelists.

The show Treme was in the works before the storm hit. How different is it since the storm has come and gone?

Overmyer: Can't imagine the show without it. David Simon and Overmyer were planning a show that had nothing to do with cops.

Who's born in New Orleans? (Lolis and Davis raise their hands) For those of you who aren't, what attracted you to New Orleans?

Virgo: Immersed in the music as a young girl growing up in coastal Texas.
Walker: turned on by the Wild Tchoupitoulas music.
Overmyer: Also brought in by the music. played "Marie Laveau" over and over and over again.

Davis - You can't picture the lives of NOLA musicians without pot smoking and cursing, so its being on HBO works.

Lolis: One's experience of Carnival depends on who you're with. The show presented that very well.

Which New Orleans shows have you really hated?

Lolis: Orleans, with Larry Hagman
What's good? Frank's Place
Davis: Panic in the Streets was good.
Walker: Frank's Place, along with the Wild Tchoupitoulas, brought him into the New Orleans orbit. As for the bad ones, I wrote 1001 columns about K-Ville. Its sins are ultimately forgivable.
to Lolis and Davis: How does the process work, writing for Treme?

Lolis: we add the experience of having lived the facts that the creators and other writers have in their heads. How do you get the scene to reflect what really happened?

Eric: Part-time residency in NOLA puts him somewhere in-between the facts and the experiences. "In a way, it's a historical drama."

Walker: how do you get all the information together for your blog on Treme?
He came up with the idea to try to explain all the cultural references in the show.

Virgotex: Got That New Package! to Back of Town: Blogging Treme - what are the commonalities?

The political sensibilities were very similar. Even though The Wirehad nothing to do with Katrina, the same sorts of major issues were being dealt with

Fauborg Treme - its origins and how much has it informed Treme?

Started out as a poetry project, then Dawn Logsdon & Lolis got involved in the history. He brings his knowledge of that history to the show.

Treme - will the characters be developing?

Eric: 2nd season - Fall 2006 to spring 2007.
The Wire was a blessing and a curse - good success-wise, as it enabled them to make Treme. But the tone wasn't what most audiences all over the country were expecting.
Virgotex: Loves the "meditative" pace of the show. Touts the creativity of the work and the passage of time it deals with. Most removed from the events in the show and tends to appreciate the craft of the show more.

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Politics! Politics!

2010-08-28T14:06:00.008-05:00

Panelists introduced...all present except for Jeff Crouere. He's missing out.

Jason Berry of the American Zombie discusses his current postings on Cedric Richmond's slush funds shenanigans.

Clancy Dubos talking about the history of the slush funds. Related to the hotel-motel tax that more than covered the cost of the Superdome in the '70's - extra money had to go somewhere, so the legislature set up a system to allow individual legislators to get that extra money. Why didn't the LSED call bullshit? Because the lege set up the system and it has the potential to be abused.

Stephanie Grace goes further into the slush funds. MSM question, according to Grace: Is this a breakage of the rules or is it well within the (badly drawn up) rules?

Jacques Morial - There are always two sides to every story.

Jeff Crouere arrives in the middle of Morial's discussion.

Clancy: Smoking gun on the Richmond slush funds is the Rolex - where's the receipt for it? The rest is simply bad policy. Berrry: correction - the diamond bezel is one smoking gun, and the other is some $60,000 for renovations, and two 501(c)3s operating out of the same building, which is clearly against the rules.

Jeff Crouere: quick introduction. Congratulates Jason on his work. Hopes that the story will get more traction than it has in the MSM.

Primary elections takes -
Crouere: Joseph Cao will win reelection. He might face a damaged Cedric Richmond in the general election.
Clancy: Thinks Cao also has a good chance due to his uniqueness among Republicans - "one of the more sincere politicians on the political landscape today." But he's in a district built to elect black candidates. Once there is an increased black turnout, how will Cao fare?
Berry: A Democratic runoff would be good. Would have liked to see Karen Carter-Peterson run. Berry is a registered Democrat, and the GOP is using his information, which wasn't necessarily his intention - but he thinks Cao will pull it out.
Morial: Cao will pay for voting against health care. Do you want the congressman to take his cue from the voters or from the GOP and the archbishop?
Grace: Cao was in favor of many of the more controversial parts of the health care bill, and stood up for it initially. He voted against it for personal reasons and feels the need to explain that, and people may understand, but they don't care. Embraces earmarks in a good way. People like him, but they don't necessarily want to vote for him. Could be a heavily partisan election in terms of changing balance of power in House.
Morial: The rumors concerning abortion in health care are bullshit.
Crouere: Stood up to BP, which could play well in the election. Can conserve his energies for the general election because no one challenged him from the GOP.

Melancon: Does he have a chance?

Grace: Vitter - chosen to run against Obama, not Melancon directly.
Morial: Vitter wouldn't have a chance if the Zombie were on the story. Vitter aide who held his girlfriend hostage was supported by Vitter, and the man himself is a whoremonger and a criminal.
Clancy on the trial that never happened - Vitter could have been charged under RICO as part of the ongoing criminal investigation against the D.C. madam. The hanging of the D.C. madam, statistically speaking, is suspicious.
Berry: History of car bombings against people who oppose Vitter. He'll win the election, however, because melancon is running a shitty campaign.
Clancy: People who have voted for Vitter don't care about the facts behind his philanderings and his criminal acts. We live in a Republican state and the timing is good for Vitter.
Crouere: Melancon hasn't a prayer. Vitter'll have a funding advantage over Melancon, and he'll "tie Obama around Melancon's neck", as well as Nancy Pelosi. Got the advantage of running against people who are not strong politically.
Clancy: Never underestimate the power of luck in Vitter's campaigns.
Grace: The GOP here has rallied around Vitter as well.

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Keynote Speaker

2010-08-28T11:17:00.007-05:00

Jeffrey Bostick: introducing Mac McClelland.

References to this article.

Mac discusses instances of irresponsible reporting concerning the BP oil disaster, and of having to "look for the traces of Katrina's destruction".

The former research editor of Mother Jones was taken on a tour of New Orleans and was surprised at how badly most of the flooded areas still worked.

Discussion of the dismantling of public education on all levels is also being swept under the rug.

All of these things run through the reporting of the BP oil disaster.

Mac was told by Mother Jones to get on Twitter, which she initially resisted. But now Twitter has been the source of so many of her news tips and of where she stayed while in Grand Isle, enabled her to get her stories.

She was here to get an article about the New Orleans public defenders' office, but she looked at a map when the oil spill first happened and followed a hunch.

Discussion of how ineffective the government has been during the crisis, and of how little the Coast Guard was of help. There was no oversight of the numbers; they all came from BP.

It's easier to smuggle Burmese refugees over the border than it is to get a boat off Grand Isle, LA, to investigate the oil spill. And what is appalling is how complicit the mainstream media has been in the information blackout on the oil spill.

Recent pictures of the spill are here. Where's the oil? It's still out there on the beaches and in the water.

Bloggers are the best bulwark against such ignorance. She could not have written her stories without the aid of locals, of tweeters and local blogs.

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Rising Tide V: The Twitter Stream

2010-08-28T10:11:00.000-05:00

Here is a streaming view of all the Tweets using the #RT5 hashtag for the convenience of those following at home or in the audience. Enjoy!

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Conference Beginnings

2010-08-28T09:32:00.011-05:00

Loki kicks it off with a Bloggers' Prayer after opening remarks by Kim Marshall and Alli deJong.

If you are using Twitter, use the #RT5 hashtag to mark your tweets as being from the Rising Tide Conference.

Public Safety panelists are introducing themselves.

Allen James: founded Safe Streets in 2006 to bring about public funding for indigent defense. Safe Streets tries to organize the community and inform them about public policies and the criminal justice system.

Jon Wool: discusses the Vera Institute

Ronal Serpas: discusses his background, what brought him into law enforcement, the challenges
of directing Gen X and Gen Y officers, and he emphasizes that good policing involves the entire community.

Susan Hutson: "My job is to be totally up in Ron's business." She is New Orleans' second police monitor. There's an "unprecedented wave of cooperation now" between the NOPD and the independent police monitor's office.

Scharf to panelists: What is your plan to deal with police misconduct?

Hutson: Hopes that Danziger was an anomaly, but if it does happen again, they want to be prepared for it.

Serpas: Concerning Danziger - The behavior of the Danziger officers was incomprehensible and an insult to the community - the other insult has been to those officers who did serve during Katrina and served well. Speaks of Hosli and Burrell's bravery and rescues. Less than 1 1/2 % of calls have anything to do with murder, robbery, rape, assault, burglary. Nearly ten times that number is spent on false alarms. And yet, the murder rate here is high. We must redirect how we do the policing.

Wool: Discusses intervention of the Department of Justice. Development of a pretrail incarceration system must be built. A "continuum of rational, just services" is key to maintaining public safety.

Both Wool and James comment on feeling as though Serpas has just taken a lot from their notes on law enforcement.

James: "We shouldn't expect radical change" despite the presence of the DOJ and the improvements of the police force. Each of the elements of the criminal justice system affects the other.

Serpas: Our disagreements (between the panelists) won't be major. Difference between 1994 and today: there were individual officers doing individual things then - today, there is a system-wide failure. "Our system has completely come off the tracks."

Scharf: How do you change a police culture?

Hutson: What will happen here will echo what happened in L.A.: there will be greater scrutiny on how the officers report crimes.

Serpas on police misconduct:
"You lie, you die" - People will be questioned in public hearings
A false report will result in termination.
Aiding in a false report will result in dire consequences.
If you fail to cooperate in an internal investigation, there will be consequences.

Look at how hiring practices can be changed to aid police culture.
Also look at how you promote officers.

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Last Minute Updates

2010-08-26T11:02:00.007-05:00

Rather than write new posts, we'll update this as needed, so check back for new information.

Don't forget to join us Friday at 7:30 at The Howlin' Wolf. There will be a cash bar and a menu from which to order if you come hungry or thirsty. We won't be offering conference check-in Friday night, so you won't be picking up name badges or swag, but we'll be happy to assist you in registering for Saturday's conference at Friday's meet and greet.

The price for Rising Tide, which includes morning breakfast beverages and pastries as well as lunch, is $25 but will be $30 Saturday morning at the door, space available.

Check out the complete program here. Register now here.

We'll see y'all there.

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

RT panelists are everywhere...

2010-08-24T13:43:00.001-05:00

Rising Tide 5 Aug. 28 at the Howlin' Wolf ...

Keynote speaker Mac Mclleland ...
"The goal is not to let it blow up": A tour of BP's relief rig

Treme panelist Eric Overmyer...
Treme News: Eric Overmyer Looks Back on Season One

Treme panelist Dave Walker ...
'Witness: Katrina' tells storm's story through the lenses of home-video cameras

Public safety panelist Susan Hutson ...
In New Orleans, an unprecedented push for police reform

Public safety panelist Chief Ronal Serpas...
Superintendent Ronal Serpas presents 65-point plan for reforming the NOPD

Environmental panel moderator Steve Picou...
Seafood is safe, scientists say, but oil spill will impact physical and mental health for years ...

Politics panelist Jason Berry...
Children don't mean a thing, if you aint' got that bling...

Politics panelist Stephanie Grace...
Five years later, a recovery mayor?

Politics panelist Clancy Dubos...
The Storm That Changed Everything

Politics panelist Jeff Crouere...
Political Correctness Doesn’t Quit, Dr. Laura Does Over N-Word Storm

Environmental panelist Robert Verchick ...
Loyola law professor to sign new book this weekend

Rising Tide 5 Press Release: Program and Schedule

2010-08-23T10:24:00.002-05:00

Rising Tide NOLA, Inc. will present its 5th annual Rising Tide Media Conference centered on the recovery and future of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on Saturday, August 28, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., at The Howlin’ Wolf, 907 South Peters St., in New Orleans.

RISING TIDE 5: SCHEDULE / AGENDA

8/28/2010 - The Howlin’ Wolf

8:30am – Doors open: Conference check-in with coffee, pastries & juice sponsored by Levees.org

9:30 – Opening Remarks: Kim Marshall, Chair & Alli deJong

9:45 – Crime and Justice Panel: Tulane Criminologist Peter Scharf to serve as moderator. We are also pleased to announce that New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas has agreed to sit on the panel.

Panelists include:

Ronal Serpas was recently named Chief of the New Orleans Police Department. The native New Orleanian was most recently Chief of Police in Nashville, TN. The Times Picayune described his Nashville tenure like this: “The hallmarks of his tenure have been a reliance on statistical data in policing, a crackdown on gangs, an exponential boost in neighborhood watch groups, and wide-scale traffic enforcement.”

Jon Wool directs the Vera Institute of Justice’s New Orleans office, which is working in partnership with local criminal justice leaders and civic and community groups to improve the effectiveness and fairness of the system. Previously at Vera, Jon worked to improve indigent defense systems and on sentencing reform, was the Senior Counsel to the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, and was a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Division in Manhattan, after clerking for Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He received a JD from Yale Law School and a BA from New York University.

Allen James is Executive Director of Safe Streets.

Susan Hutson is the independent police monitor for the City of New Orleans.

11:00 – Keynote Address: Mac McClelland

McClelland is Mother Jones’ human rights reporter, writer of The Rights Stuff, and the author of For Us Surrender is Out of the Question: A Story From Burma’s Never-Ending War. She has “been on the gulf Coast since the early days of the Gulf oil disaster and... documented every last drop of it.”

Mac has reported from locations that include Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Micronesia, Burma, New Orleans, and Bhutan on subjects such as the hot young Bhutanese king, post-Katrina recovery efforts, South Pacific conservation initiatives, and the decline of American manufacturing. She has posed as a high-class freelance call girl and has embedded herself into dumpster-diving culture. More importantly, she is, according to The American Prospect, “a total bad-ass”.

11:45 – Break

12:00 – Environmental Panel: “Paradise Lost” moderated by Steve Picou, a lifelong environmental activist, musician and futurist with a systems-oriented perspective. He is an outreach agent with the LSU AgCenter in the New Orleans area where he helps people and organizations reduce their impact, save energy and find ways to develop sustainable lifestyles and businesses. A blogger since 1997, Steve currently expresses his thoughts on the environment, politics, music and social justice primarily via nolamotion.com and highlights eco-abuse at dyingoaks.posterous.com.

Panelists include:

Robert Verchick is the Gauthier – St. Martin Chair in Environmental Law at Loyola University New Orleans. Currently on leave, serving in a government position in Washington D.C., he is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. An expert in environmental law and the developing field of disaster law, he has taught at several American law schools as well as at universities in China and Denmark. His newest book Facing Catastrophe: Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World, has just been released by Harvard University Press.

Len Bahr, founding editor, frequent writer for LACoastPost and former director of the Governor’s Applied Coastal Science Program, Bahr has advised several Louisiana Governors’ administrations as well as the LA Dept. of Environmental Quality, Hazardous Waste Division. He has also served in various capacities as a researcher and professor at Louisiana State University and at the University of Maryland Chesapeake Biology Laboratory.Lunch – Provided by The Howlin’ Wolf

2:00 – Politics Panel: Moderated by Peter Athas, longtime New Orleanian and recovering lawyer who currently owns a small business in the French Quarter. He has been blogging as Adrastos at his eponymous blog since 2005 and is also a contributor to First Draft and Back Of Town. He is one of the founders of the Rising Tide Conference and is currently its Poohbah of programming. He lives Uptown with his beautiful and brilliant wife, Grace and their two cats, Oscar and Della Street.

Panelists include:

Jason Berry, a documentary filmmaker and IP media consultant from New Orleans. His first full length documentary was completed in 2006 with fellow filmmaker, Vince Morelli, titled, Left Behind: The Story of the the New Orleans Public Schools. Berry began his blog, American Zombie, in 2006 as anonymous source reporting on corruption issues within New Orleans City Hall. After breaking numerous corruption issues within New Orleans city government, Jason went public with his identity in 2009 after being threatened with a libel suit by a New Orleans' city official. He was the 2009 Rising Tide Ashley Award winner.

Clancy DuBos, the chairman and co-owner of Gambit Communications, Inc., and the political editor/columnist for Gambit weekly newspaper in New Orleans. He also is the on-air political commentator for WWL-TV (Eyewitness News Channel 4) in New Orleans, and a licensed attorney. Clancy and his wife Margo have owned Gambit since 1991, and he has been an attorney since 1993.

Jeff Crouere, a native of New Orleans, LA is the host of a Louisiana based program, Ringside Politics, which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m.weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore.

Stephanie Grace, a political columnist with the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, focusing on local, state and national politics, and since Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Before moving to the op-ed page in 2003, she spent eight years as a political reporter for the paper.

Jacques Morial, “...a native of New Orleans with over a quarter century of inter-disciplinary professional experience in the areas of community organization, public policy analysis and development, capital finance, dispute resolution and strategic communications.” - Louisiana Justice Institute. Jacques is also occasionally seen playing himself on HBO’s Treme.

3:00 – Break

3:15 – Presentation: Why Can’t We Get Some Dam Safety in New Orleans?

Tim Ruppert , engineer and NOLA Blogger, exposes inequities between the Federal government’s design methods for dams and levees. For his Rising Tide 2 presentation, “In Levees We Trust” Tim explained why the so-called “100-year level of protection” is completely inadequate for a highly developed and populated area such as New Orleans. This year Tim expands upon that topic and asks why dams and levees alike are not designed as life safety systems.

3:45 - Presentation of 2010 Ashley Morris Memorial Award

4:00 – Down in the Treme: Maitri Erwin, Moderator, founder of Back of Town: Blogging Treme, author of Maitri’s VatulBlog & reporter for VizWorld.com, she is also Indian Languages advisor to Project Gutenberg, the first producer of free electronic books.

Panelists include:

Eric Overmyer is a playwright, television writer and producer. He is the the co-creator and Executive Producer of HBO’s hit series, Treme, and has written and produced numerous TV shows, including Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire and New Amsterdam.

Becky Northcutt, one of two non-NOLA ringers blogging Treme at Back of Town, she sometimes writes about pop culture, the environment, and politics at First-Draft.com. She created the short-lived Got that New Package! blog about The Wire, and was lucky enough to share that obsession with Ashley Morris and Ray Shea, among others. She is a queer, a naturalist, a music lover, and a Texan, none of which she had any choice about.

Dave Walker has bee a TV columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune since September 2000. Before that, he worked as TV columnist and pop culture writer for the Arizona Republic, and before that he was a feature writer and columnist for the Phoenix alternative weekly New Times. Born in Kansas City, raised in Chicago. His American Rock 'n' Roll Tour, the first guide to pop music landmarks, was published by Thunder's Mouth Press in 1992.

Davis Rogan is a New Orleans musician who began his broadcast career on WTUL at the age of 10, and was a DJ at WWOZ for 13 years. He first came to prominence in the New Orleans music scene with his eight piece funk group All That, for which he was lead singer, band leader, principal songwriter, arranger and producer. Davis is also script consultant for Treme and makes periodic appearances on the show.

Lolis Eric Elie, a staff writer for HBO’s Treme, his television work includes include Faubourg Treme, the PBS documentary directed by Dawn Logsdon. He was also a columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune for 14 years. --Rising Tide 5

The one-day conference features speakers and panel discussions on the status and future of the culture, politics, criminal justice system, environment, and flood protection of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Past speakers have included actor and outspoken champion of New Orleans Harry Shearer, and authors Dave Zirin, John Barry, Christopher Cooper and Robert Block.

Rising Tide NOLA, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed by New Orleans bloggers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the federally-built levees. After the disaster, the internet became a vital connection among dispersed New Orleanians, former New Orleanians, and friends of the city and of the Gulf Coast region. A surge of new blogs erupted and, combined with those that were already online, a community of bloggers with a shared interest in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast developed. In the summer of 2006, to mark the anniversary of the flood, the bloggers of New Orleans organized the first Rising Tide Conference, taking their shared interest in technology, the arts, the internet and social media and turning advocacy for the city into action.

Conference registration is open at http://www.risingtidenola.com/. Registration is only $25 until Friday and includes lunch. Day of registration is $30. Please bring non-perishable food to contribute to Rising Tide's food drive benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank.

There will be pre-conference party hosted by the New Orleans bloggers on Friday evening August 27 from 7:30pm to 10:30pm, also at the Howlin’ Wolf. More information is available at the Rising Tide 5 Website: http://www.risingtidenola.com/ and at the Rising Tide blog: http://www.risingtideblog.blogspot.com/

The New Orleans bloggers will present the annual Ashley Award named for Ashley Morris—blogger and passionate advocate for New Orleans—who passed away in April, 2008. The Ashley Morris Award is given each year to an outstanding blogger writing about New Orleans and the challenges it faces.

Rising Tide’s featured artwork, available as a poster and t-shirt, is once again produced by the award-wining editorial cartoonist and artist Greg Peters of Suspect Device.

Tables for booksellers and vendors are available at the Rising Tide 5 Conference by calling Tim Ruppert at 504-975-3591 or by e-mailing tmruppert@yahoo.com. Rising Tide 5 is sponsored by The Canary Collective, Gambit Weekly, Levees.org and Cox Communications.

Those interested in sponsorship should e-mail info@risingtidenola.com. Information about registration is available by emailing registration@risingtidenola.com. The telephone number to call for information about Rising Tide 5 is 866-910-2055.Connect with Rising Tide on your preferred platform:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RisingTideNOLA
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RisingTide

###

Schedule for This Year's Conference

2010-08-23T09:33:00.001-05:00

8:30 AM Conference opens. Light breakfast is served
9:30 AM Opening Remarks by Kim Marshall and Alli deJong
9:45 AM Public Safety Panel, moderated by Peter Scharf
11:00 AM Keynote address by Mother Jones human rights reporter Mac McClelland
11:45 AM Short break
12:00 PM “Paradise Lost” environmental panel moderated by Steve Picou
1:00 PM Lunch
2:00 PM Politics Panel hosted by Peter Athas
3:00 PM Short break
3:15 PM “Why Can’t We Get Some Dam Safety in New Orleans?” presentation by Tim Ruppert
3:45 PM Presentation of the 2010 Ashley Morris Memorial Award
4:00 PM “Down In the Treme”, moderated by Maitri Erwin

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Where Are They Now?

2010-08-16T13:11:00.004-05:00

As we come upon the fifth anniversary of the storm and the Federal Flood, all of us getting Rising Tide a-rising off the ground each year have done some looking back from time to time. It seems to be almost imperative to do some revisitation of the things that have gone wrong and right since the conference's earliest days, and we do that by doing our best to improve upon the programming and the general organization of the conference - with much assistance from you, the attendees in person and in spirit.

However, it's also a good thing to check out where past participants are in recent times and what they're up to...so I'll be kicking it off with the past keynote speakers' doings.

Far as I can tell, RT I keynoter Chris Cooper is now a vice-president of a PR firm in the DC area and his fellow keynoter and co-author of the book Disaster Robert Block is currently the space editor and NASA correspondent for the Orlando Sentinel.

RT II's main man Dave Zirin of edgeofsports.com is always up to something, which is a good thing. His most recent activities consist of hosting his Sirius XM radio talk show, on which players such as former Saint Scott Fujita are featured, and, in-between appearances on MSNBC's (Whoops, that's been corrected from CNBC. Thanks, Adrastos!) Morning Joe program and the Rachel Maddow Show, promoting his latest book, Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love. Anybody still grumbling over Tom Benson's gift to the Superdome faithful of ripping over 1000 seats out to accommodate a larger press area can certainly relate.

The author of the inspiration for the name of the conference, John Barry came along for Rising Tide III and shared his current assessments of flood protection in southeast Louisiana. He's still an active member of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana and the vice-president of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East, and is also a Distinguished Scholar at Tulane and Xavier Universities' Center for Bioenvironmental Research. Good to see he's still working for major improvements to southeast Louisiana's environment.

Harry Shearer rocked Rising Tide IV with his assessment of how well the word has gotten out about the failures on all levels surrounding the eventsof8/29/2005 and in the years after, and he's rocking again with his new documentary The Big Uneasy, to be shown locally at the Prytania Theater and at Canal Place on August 30th, Check here for show locations and times by you.

And keynoter-to-be Mac McClelland, judging by her Twitter stream, just paid a visit to one of the relief wells out in the Gulf. Reportedly:

My attempts to instigate exhibition fisticuffs btwn my BP & Transocean PR handlers were unsuccessful.

Well, we're glad she hasn't gotten the memo about the oil disaster being over. We're expecting great things from you, Mac. *wagging of finger* Only because she keeps delivering.

Any other dish on what past panelists are up to these days? Share those stories in the comments below, and be sure to join us on August 28th for more.

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Mac McClelland: Links, Links, Links ...

2010-08-03T12:29:00.008-05:00

Below is a large collection of links to RT5 keynote speaker Mac McClelland's many blog posts and articles about South Louisiana at Mother Jones. Hold down the control key, open up some tabs and devote some time to her peerless reporting of the BP oil disaster...

Also see her Burma reporting: Complete archive of Mac McClelland articles.

Articles:

University of New Orleans: Broke but Unbroken

Heart Like Water: Surviving Katrina and Life in Its Disaster Zone

'It’s BP’s Oil'

Blog posts:

"All I Wanted Was to See Happy Faces"

Mainstream Media Helps BP Pretend There's No Oil

BP Cleanup Workers Gone Wild

Robbing New Orleans to Pay for BP's Spill

How Many Oil-Spill Victims Is BP Cutting Compensation To?

Did You Know Tar Balls Glow Orange Under UV Light?

Uniformed Cops on BP Payroll? Enter the ACLU

Depression, Abuse, Suicide: Fishermen's Wives Face Post-Spill Trauma

La. Police Doing BP's Dirty Work [Video]

Louisiana Tea Partiers Rally for More Drilling

More Dirty Details From My BP Mole

Inside Oil-Spill Pelican Rehab [Photos]

"We Don't Need This on Camera": BP's Crappy Cleanup Job

Official Government Stats = BP Spin

ICE Running Immigration Raids on Oil-Spill Workers

MoJo on PBS's Need to Know

My BP Mole Spills the Secrets of BP's Cleanup Ops

"Ignore Her": The BP Press Lockdown Continues

New Orleans Notebook: Disaster Tourism

New Orleans Notebook: Bug Blight

What Will Happen to Louisiana's Wetlands?

A Strike Against Oil Spill Lawsuits

New Orleans Notebook: Freezing Budgets, Overheating Pants

Can You Eat Oil-Slick Oysters?

Who's Trying to Kill New Orleans?

Take Me Back to New Orleans

Happy Anniversary, Katrina Victims! You Could Celebrate With Cash if You Weren't So Unscrupulous

Last Chance...

2010-07-31T11:09:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry, folks, but every time I've been seeing the Rising Tide tweets warning everybody that the cost of the conference goes up on August 1st, I've had this song in my head:

So, if you don't want the biggest earworm in your life plaguing your brain, do two things:

Don't click on the YouTube above
Register now before the price goes up by $5.

You'll thank me later. Last chaaaaaance....last daaaaance....

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29

Keynote speaker announced

2010-07-22T11:31:00.002-05:00

Mac McClelland, human rights journalist for Mother Jones, has agreed to be keynote speaker for Rising Tide 5. We're thrilled to have McClelland at our conference, as she has written many of the most compelling stories about the oil gusher's effect on coastal communities.

Register for RT5 today and see Mac McClelland on August 28th.

Come to Rising Tide 5 Cheap

2010-07-14T09:55:00.005-05:00

I received an announcement that Air tran Airlines is having a fare sale until July 27, 2010. The fares are pretty good, here are one way fares to New Orleans.

Akron/Canton $64 - $209
Allentown $69 - $184
Aruba $124 - $234
Asheville $59 - $69
Atlanta $49 - $159
Atlantic City $69 - $146
Baltimore $49 - $184
Bloomington/Normal $69 - $184
Boston $49 - $204
Branson $64 - $189
Buffalo/Niagara $69 - $184
Cancun $99 - $154
Charleston, WV $79 - $79
Charlotte $49 - $174
Chicago (Midway) $69 - $184
Columbus $54 - $174
Dallas/Ft. Worth $77 - $194
Dayton $49 - $174
Denver $84 - $190
Des Moines $79 - $194
Detroit $69 - $184
Flint $69 - $184
Ft. Lauderdale $69 - $184
Ft. Myers $69 - $209
Grand Rapids $59 - $174
Gulfport/Biloxi $59 - $173
Harrisburg $69 - $184
Houston (Hobby) $79 - $184
Huntsville $69 - $169
Indianapolis $59 - $184
Jacksonville $49 - $209
Kansas City $74 - $194
Key West $69 - $214
Knoxville $64 - $64
Las Vegas $109 - $214
Lexington $74 - $94
Los Angeles (LAX) $114 - $234
Memphis $49 - $184
Miami $69 - $144
Milwaukee $49 - $194
Minneapolis/St. Paul $49 - $204
Moline/Quad Cities $69 - $189
Montego Bay $69 - $224
Nassau $44 - $214
New Orleans $59 - $185
New York (LaGuardia) $74 - $204
Newport News/Williamsburg $54 - $209
Omaha $74 - $154
Orlando $44 - $139
Pensacola/Gulf Coast $49 - $209
Philadelphia $69 - $184
Phoenix $119 - $214
Pittsburgh $64 - $184
Portland $69 - $149
Raleigh/Durham $49 - $164
Richmond $54 - $184
Rochester $49 - $194
San Antonio $79 - $204
San Diego $109 - $234
San Francisco $114 - $224
San Juan $74 - $214
Sarasota/Bradenton $69 - $209
Seattle $114 - $224
St. Louis $59 - $184
Tampa $59 - $184
Tunica $69 - $159
Washington, D.C. (Dulles) $74 - $184
Washington, D.C. (Reagan National) $74 - $184
West Palm Beach $69 - $209
White Plains $79 - $144
Wichita $69 - $194

Not all fares are available on all flights and seats are limited, but if you want to come to Rising Tide 5 this opportunity together with our great hotel rate make Rising Tide 5 an affordable and unique opportunity to support New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Remember Registration is just $20 until August 1.

Airtran Airlines is not an official sponsor of Rising Tide and other airlines may have equal or better fares.

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Volunteer with Rising Tide 5 and Second Harvest Food Bank

2010-07-13T06:53:00.003-05:00

Rising Tide 5 is proud to assist the efforts of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana. We are conducting a food drive in conjunction with the conference, and we also have a volunteer opportunity on Friday, August 27, the day before the conference.

We will be packing food boxes from 9:00 a.m. until noon, on Friday, August 27, at Second Harvest's Elmwood warehouse. Rising Tide 5 committee member Alli de Jong is coordinating the food drive and the volunteer meet-up in Elmwood. She can be reached at service@risingtidenola.com.

Please join us for this year's Rising Tide public service opportunity. We'll be packing food boxes for distribution to hundreds of families who've seen their jobs and livelihoods evaporate. If you are coming from out of town, we can hook you up with a ride to Elmwood.

In the meantime, you don't have to wait until late August to support the efforts of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana. You can donate a Healthy Bag any time. For more information about the food bank's mission, go to www.no-hunger.org.

Rising Tide on the Radio

2010-07-12T15:58:00.002-05:00

Rising Tide 5 was the subject of Crystal Kile's Community Gumbo Friday morning on WTUL in New Orleans. Check out the Podcast.

Hotel for Rising Tide 5

2010-07-09T16:35:00.004-05:00

We have a Rising Tide 5 group rate at the Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel, across the street from The Howlin' Wolf.'

Thurs night, 8/26 - Sun night, 8/29 = $79.00 per night

All rooms are "suites" with sitting room/office area

Rate applies to rooms with 1 king bed or 2 double beds

Double rooms sleep 6, King rooms sleep 4

Telephone 1.888.364.1200 to make reservations.

The cutoff date for reservations is August 9th.

Single Reservation:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/MSYSH?groupCode=rtnrtna&app=resvlink&fromDate=8/26/10&toDate=8/30/10

Double Reservation:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/MSYSH?groupCode=rtnrtnb&app=resvlink&fromDate=8/26/10&toDate=8/30/10

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Rising Tide 5, August 28, 2010

2010-07-07T07:54:00.004-05:00

Rising Tide 5
Saturday, August 28, 2010
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
The Howlin’ Wolf
907 South Peters Street
New Orleans, Louisiana

www.risingtidenola.com

Rising Tide NOLA, Inc. will present its 5th annual new media conference, centered on the recovery and future of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, on Saturday, August 28, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., at The Howlin’ Wolf, 907 South Peters St., in New Orleans.

The one-day conference features speakers and panel discussions on the status and future of the culture, politics, criminal justice system, environment, and flood protection of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Past speakers have included actor and outspoken champion of New Orleans Harry Shearer, and authors Dave Zirin, John Barry, Christopher Cooper and Robert Block.

Rising Tide NOLA, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed by New Orleans bloggers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the federally-built levees. After the disaster, the internet became a vital connection among dispersed New Orleanians, former New Orleanians, and friends of the city and of the Gulf Coast region. A surge of new blogs erupted and, combined with those that were already online, a community of bloggers with a shared interest in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast developed. In the summer of 2006, to mark the anniversary of the flood, the bloggers of New Orleans organized the first Rising Tide Conference, taking their shared interest in technology, the arts, the internet and social media and turning advocacy for the city into action.

Rising Tide 5 is proud to support the efforts of Second Harvest Food Bank as they lead the fight against hunger in south Louisiana. Our conference this year will include a food drive and volunteering for Second Harvest Food Bank. Please bring at least one, but preferably several, non-perishable food items to Rising Tide this year, to support Second Harvest Food Bank's response to the increasing need for emergency food assistance in Louisiana's coastal parishes. For more on what to donate, contact Alli deJong at allidejong@gmail.com or visit www.no-hunger.org.

Conference registration is open at http://www.risingtidenola.com and at the Rising Tide blog: http://www.risingtideblog.blogspot.com

2010 Rising Tide sponsors include The Canary Collective, a media publishing agency, and Levees.org.

Rising Tide’s featured artwork, available as a poster and t-shirt, is once again produced by the award-wining editorial cartoonist and artist Greg Peters of Suspect Device.

The New Orleans bloggers will present the annual Ashley Award named for Ashley Morris—blogger and passionate advocate for New Orleans who passed away in April, 2008. The Ashley Morris Award is given each year to an outstanding blogger writing about New Orleans and the challenges it faces.

Tables for booksellers and vendors are available at the Rising Tide 5 Conference by calling Tim Ruppert at 504-975-3591 or by e-mailing tmruppert@yahoo.com

Those interested in sponsorship should e-mail info@risingtidenola.com.

registration@risingtidenola.com. The telephone number to call for information about Rising Tide 5 is 866-910-2055.

Connect with Rising Tide on your preferred platform:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RisingTideNOLA

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RisingTide

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And the Nominees are ....

2010-06-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

One of the now traditional events at the Annual Rising Tide Conference is the recognition of the winner of the annual Ashley Morris Award. This year we are pleased to open up the nominations to the entire New Orleans Internet Community. We are asking everyone to submit their nominations for this award by commenting on this post.

Photo by Emily Ardoin

The Ashley Morris Award

... armed with little more than a laptop and a digital camera, singlehandedly blew the whistle on the New Orleans Affordable Housing scandal, which she documented on her blog, www.squanderedheritage.com. The result? An FBI investigation, admiring writeups of her efforts in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and new respect for the power of the citizen blogger.

Register Now For Rising Tide V

2010-06-20T09:19:00.017-05:00

This year's Rising Tide Conference is coming Friday, August 27th and Saturday, August 28th, the days immediately before the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the flood that followed the failure of the Federal levees in New Orleans. This year we'll gather at The Howlin' Wolf, 907 South Peters, New Orleans. Here's a little more information about The Howlin' Wolf, a venue known for showcasing local music and musicians, from their website:

The Howlin' Wolf has a long history as one of New Orleans' finest locally owned and operated venues. Named after the legendary bluesman Chester Burnett, New Orleans was introduced to the Howlin' Wolf in 1988, when it opened up in Fat City. After outgrowing its' space in a cotton warehouse, the venue relocated to what was previously the New Orleans Music Hall, in the Warehouse District.

With the recent broadcast of the first season of Treme on HBO and the disastrous ongoing catastrophic engineering failure poisoning the Gulf of Mexico, the future of New Orleans has become a national topic again, and although there are no easy answers, Rising Tide strives to encourage dialog about the important questions that need to be asked. Expect panel discussions on Crime, Environment and Politics, with a special presentation on The Levees and a Keynote speaker to be announced. Sign up now and stay tuned.

There will again be a Friday night meet and greet social, and this year we'll offer an expanded local vendor marketplace. More details will be coming soon.

For now, head over to the Rising Tide EventBrite page and register. The cost for pre-registration is just $20 and includes breakfast pastries with beverages, a great lunch and Friday night (cash bar). You can let us know as much or as little as you like when you register. On August 1st, registration fees are $25 and, space available, it will be $30 at the door. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at registration@risingtidenola.com. We can't wait to see y'all there.

Rising Tide Nola Katrina NOLA New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Think New Orleans Louisiana FEMA levees flooding Corps of Engineers We Are Not OK wetlands news rebirth Debrisville Federal Flood 8-29