Sandy Rosenthal's Blog
November 27, 2025
Thanksgiving Day Post
On this Thanksgiving day, we at Levees.org are grateful that @NolaTreeProject donated an oak tree to the Flooded House Museum! And thank you Connie Uddo and your nephews for planting the tree!
November 5, 2025
New Orleans benefitted from Dr. J. David Rogers’ courage
Dr. J. David Rogers, Missouri University of Science and Technology (1954-2025)
You may not know that Dr. J. David Rogers was an important person to you personally.
If not for him, the nation would still be stuck on the wrong-headed idea that the pre-Katrina Orleans Levee Board (OLB) had a causal role in the Hurricane Katrina flooding.
Dr. Rogers passed away a few days before the 20th anniversary of the levee breaches.(#1)
He was a great man who did something that few people, especially someone of his national stature, do. He admitted a mistake, and corrected it publicly. Here’s what happened.
In 2005, Dr. Rogers led an academic team in the very first levee investigation post Katrina (ILIT funded by the NSF). Their report concluded that the OLB pressured the Army Corps of Engineers to build the system that failed.
Years later, Dr. Rogers learned that he had relied on wrong information and that new information had become available.(#2)
In response, Dr. Rogers lead a team to write a whole new report and set the record straight.(#3)
The New York Times ran an above-the-fold news story about it in the Sunday paper on May 24, 2015. It was titled: Decade After Katrina, Pointing Finger More Firmly at Army Corps. (#4)
With that article’s publication, all suggestion that the OLB had a causal role in the flooding was now debunked for good, by the experts.
But the stubborn myths won’t go away.
A recent OpEd by environmental journalist Bob Marshall stated the reforms of the OLB after Katrina were created “to end the corruption and malpractice of politically appointed levee boards that oversaw the levee system that failed during Hurricane Katrina.” (#5)
Mr. Marshall won a Pulitzer prize for his journalism in 2005 that wrongly blamed the OLB. And it looks like he intends to stand by his prize-winning, albeit erroneous reporting.
Here’s the facts.
After Katrina, US Attorney Jim Letten, State Attorney Charles Foti and Orleans Parish Attorney Eddie Jordan all announced investigations of the OLB. No evidence of the “corruption and malpractice” that Mr. Marshall speaks of, was ever found.
Neither did any of the six major investigations completed post Katrina.(#6)
The failure of the hurricane levee protection in August 2005 was due to the Army Corps of Engineers’ engineering mistakes which they admit in the levee study that they convened and managed.(#7)
The survivors of the flooding deserve for everyone, everywhere to know the truth.
Eleven years ago, Dr. J. David Rogers did one of the hardest and greatest things a man can do. He admitted his mistake and corrected it publicly. May he rest in peace. With all our love.
This new video helps explain who does what with our levee maintenance.
FOOTNOTES:
#1. Obituary for Dr. J. David Rogers.
#2. News article by Mark Schleifstein in the Times-Picayune about Dr. Rogers’ report.
#3. Peer-reviewed article in Water Policy, official journal of the World Water Council
#4. Sunday news story in the New York Times by Campbell Robertson and John Schwartz.
#5. Recent Opinion Piece by Bob Marshall.
#6. Listing of the major post-Katrina investigations.
#7. Volume 1, USACE IPET, I-119. Referenced in this recent OpEd in The N.O. Lens.
October 16, 2025
Justin Chopin features Sandy Rosenthal on Above the Legal Limit
This week, I had a great conversation with Justin Chopin on his show: Above the Legal Limit podcast! Check it on your favorite platform! Or watch it here on YouTube.
The post Justin Chopin features Sandy Rosenthal on Above the Legal Limit first appeared on Levees.Org.October 13, 2025
New film, featuring founder Rosenthal on Fox8 TV’s morning show
Today, local film maker Royd Anderson was interviewed by Olivia Vidal on Fox8 TV’s morning show along with Jeannie Tidy to discuss the new film, Leading Ladies of Hurricane Katrina.
The New Orleans premier of the multi-award winning documentary will be at The Broad Theater on October 19th at 3:00p. Click here to reserve your seat.
The post New film, featuring founder Rosenthal on Fox8 TV’s morning show first appeared on Levees.Org.October 9, 2025
Award-winning documentary features Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal
Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal is featured in a new film by local New Orleans historian and documentarian Royd Anderson.
The film has already won two awards – Best Documentary award and also, the Best Home Grown Film award at the Lake Charles Film Festival.
The 29-minute documentary explores the contributions of four women in the post-Katrina recovery: former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, Sandy Rosenthal (founder of Levees.org), Jeannie Tidy (founder of Community Visions Unlimited) and LiLi Stahler-Murphy (creator of the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum).
A free screening of the film will take place at The Broad Theater at 636 N Broad New Orleans on October 19th at 3p.
After the film, Anderson, Rosenthal and Tidy will be on hand for a 30-minute Q&A, and also will stick around in the theater lobby for further discussion! Seating is limited at this free screening. Reserve your tickets now!
The post Award-winning documentary features Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal first appeared on Levees.Org.October 4, 2025
Founder Rosenthal featured in new documentary
Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal is featured in a new film by local New Orleans historian and documentarian Royd Anderson.
The 29-minute documentary explores the contributions of four women in the post-Katrina recovery: former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, Sandy Rosenthal (founder of Levees.org), Jeannie Tidy (founder of Community Visions Unlimited) and LiLi Stahler-Murphy (creator of the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum).
A free screening of the film will take place at The Broad Theater at 636 N Broad New Orleans on October 19th at 3p.
After the film, Anderson, Rosenthal and Tidy will be on hand for a 30-minute Q&A, and also will stick around in the theater lobby for further discussion! Seating is limited at this free screening. Reserve your tickets now!
The post Founder Rosenthal featured in new documentary first appeared on Levees.Org.September 22, 2025
LeveesOrg founders’ book, reviewed by Publishers Weekly, now a #1 New Release
It was Autumn when founder Sandy Rosenthal learned that Publishers Weekly (PW) had reviewed her book––a significant milestone in the book industry. Now, we’re delighted that Turner Publishing has re-issued a special Anniversary Edition of Words Whispered in Water, now #1 New Release on Amazon.
August 31, 2025
The Slingshot From Levees.org presents a special episode
The Slingshot from Levees.org is proud to present an hour-long special episode in observance of the 20th anniversary of the flooding catastrophe in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
The podcast can be downloaded from here.
The post The Slingshot From Levees.org presents a special episode first appeared on Levees.Org.August 29, 2025
Levees.org is featured on AccuWeather
Pleased to be featured on AccuWeather here at the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures.
The post Levees.org is featured on AccuWeather first appeared on Levees.Org.August 28, 2025
Levees.org poses a question to the Army Corps of Engineers
Today Levees.org called out the Army Corps of Engineers. On Kelsey Davis’s WVUE FOX 8 morning show, we posed this question for the second time: Do we have currently 100-year protection in New Orleans?
The post Levees.org poses a question to the Army Corps of Engineers first appeared on Levees.Org.
