Even before the BP disaster, Louisiana was a coast in crisis due to rising sea levels, lost marshes, and the manacled Mississippi. Part 1 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. ON THE SIX-MONTH ANNIVERSARY of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, I flew 500 feet over the Mississippi River Delta in an open-sided Black […]
Losing Louisiana
Originally published in OnEarth. The BP blowout caused months of pain and suffering for the people and environment of the Gulf Coast. But Louisiana was in trouble long before the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Its wetlands are disappearing at the rate of a football field every hour due to rising sea level, storm damage, and the […]
A Human Disaster
Gushing pipes, surface slicks, and oiled pelicans—the visible impact of the BP spill was all too apparent. But the invisible toll on people may be every bit as pernicious. An interview with Steve Picou. Originally published in OnEarth. In June, when oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill washed up on Orange Beach, Alabama, 400 yards from […]
RNC Day 1: Big Bash Despite Big Hurricane
N.C. GOP delegates: Veep nominee Palin an “inspired choice”; Bush’s handling of Katrina: “Thou shalt not judge.” Originally published in Indy Week. WITH HURRICANE GUSTAV POISED TO HIT the Gulf Coast today, Sen. John McCain has announced that this week’s Republican National Convention would be a scaled-back affair without the usual troop-rousing speeches or over-the-top parties. […]
DNC Day 4: Watching Obama and Gustav
In Denver, Democratic leaders aren’t shy about reminding the nation of Bush’s aloof treatment of New Orleans while its residents were literally drowning. Originally published in Indy Week. TOMORROW MARKS THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall. By chilling coincidence, Hurricane Gustav is now barreling toward the Gulf Coast, and New Orleans is preparing for another […]
The Redemption of Chris Rose
Like his city and his newspaper, a survivor. Originally published in Columbia Journalism Review. ON A BREEZY SUNDAY MORNING in October 2006, residents of New Orleans—displaced, exhausted, wondering if they would live to see their city’s resurrection—woke to one of the most audacious acts of mass psychotherapy ever performed by an American newspaper. It took place under […]
Voices of Katrina
Listen to Part 1 Listen to Part 2 From AARP Prime Time Radio: “Two years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, AARP The Magazine sent investigative journalist Barry Yeoman to discover if any progress had been made in restoring the lives of older residents of the region. What he found was decidedly mixed. “Government […]
Katrina: The Untold Story
When the monster hurricane ravaged New Orleans, its older residents were hit hardest. Two years later, they are still fighting despair and searching for hope. Originally published in AARP The Magazine. SHORTLY BEFORE HURRICANE KATRINA tore its terrible path through the Gulf Coast, Shirley Thomas purchased a blue-green duplex where she planned to spend the rest of […]
LA Law
Will this family feud be the last of its kind? Originally published in NewsInc. IF THOMAS SHEARMAN HAD COME AND GONE in any other state in the nation, he could have divided up his publishing fortunes in any manner he saw fit without the certainty of a long legal battle after his death. But he died (in […]
