Sandy Rosenthal's Blog, page 14
September 5, 2020
Louisiana State Museum’s Second Thursday Lecture Series to feature founder Rosenthal
The Louisiana State Museum in partnership with the Friends of the Cabildo will feature Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal in its Second Thursday Lecture series.
Rosenthal will discuss her new book, Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina (Mango Publishing, August 2020).
The online event is hosted on Zoom on September 10th starting at 6 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public. To register, click here.
September 3, 2020
Tulane University to feature Sandy Rosenthal in Fall Book Festival Virtual Discussion
Tulane University has invited Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal to be a featured book author in its ongoing and very popular New Orleans Book Festival Virtual Series which presents discussions on a variety of relevant topics.
In a signed letter from Walter Isaacson and Cheryl Landrieu––co-chairs of the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University––they wrote to Rosenthal:
“…Your new book, Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina, has particular relevancy to the current state of national affairs we are facing. We would be thrilled to have you participate in this series to speak on this topic, especially noting the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We can make every effort to accommodate your format preference, schedule and recommendation of moderator for the conversation…”
This past spring the Book Festival featured John Barry on The Great Influenza; Sarah Broom on The Yellow House; Eddie Glaude, Jr., Kiese Leymon and Cleo Wade in a powerful discussion with Michelle Miller on Race in America and finally a Home and Away conversation between Michael Lewis and Walter Isaacson. These sessions were very popular and well-attended.
On Monday September 14, the series will host an important conversation with Tulane historian Andy Horowitz, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jarvis DeBerry and Book Festival co-chair and Walter Isaacson.
Founder Rosenthal’s book has been a #1 New Release on Amazon for 8 straight months.
August 28, 2020
Melba’s and Levees.org to partner for literacy on August 29, 2020
Melba’s Poboys at 1525 Elysian Fields Avenue
Everyone in New Orleans knows where Melba’s Po’boy shop is.
The iconic eatery / washerteria is a landmark located at the junction of Elysian Fields and North Claiborne Avenues.
But did you know that the owners, Jane and Scott Wolfe have a literacy program?
On the 15th Anniversary of the Worst Civil Engineering Disaster in US History, founder Sandy Rosenthal, in partnership with Jane Wolfe, will host a Book Give-away in support of literacy.
On August 29, 2005, Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal will sign and give away 100 books at Melbas’s Po’boys from 12-1:30p.
Rosenthal will sign 100 of her books, “Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina.
Many thanks to Jane Wolfe whose book “From GED to Harvard Then Inc. 500” (ForbesBooks, 2020) also went on sale this past April.
August 21, 2020
Levees.org to host Virtual Panel to Observe 15th Anniversary of Levee Breaches
Part time New Orleans resident Harry Shearer (producer of The Big Uneasy) will moderate the one-hour expert panel discussion.
Guest panelists:
Gary Rivlin, author of Katrina: After the Flood
Rudy Vorkapic, creator of satirical newspaper The Levee: “We Hold Nothing Back”
LT General Russel Honore (Ret)
Flozell Daniels, CEO & President of Foundation for Louisiana
Mark your calendar for Tuesday August 25th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central. More details coming soon.
Arts Council to partner with Levees.org to install sculpture at Levee Exhibit Hall
The structure is designed by youth artistsThe Arts Council of New Orleans, in partnership with the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and the residents of the Filmore Gardens neighborhood, will install a new sculpture at Levees.org’s Levee Exhibit Hall & Garden.
The art commission arose out of a much broader project––the Gentilly Resilience District made possible through a $141 million grant received by the City of New Orleans from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) National Disaster Resilience Competition.
The goal is to reduce flood risk, slow land subsidence, improve energy reliability, and encourage neighborhood revitalization.
The art commission of one of several public art works that the Arts Council is coordinating for the St. Anthony neighborhood in Gentilly which saw catastrophic flooding when levees and floodwalls breached during Hurricane Katrina. The purpose of public art is to illuminate, educate, and catalyze action about the environmental challenges facing the city.
The commission at 5000 Warrington Drive near the London Avenue Canal breach site is designed by a group of fourteen youth artists from the Arts Council’s Young Artist Movement program at The NET Charter High School in Gentilly. They worked alongside Carl Joe Williams to create the substantial piece of art that speaks to neighborhood history, the community’s resilience, and its relationship with water.
Levees.org is working with the lead artist and providing the engineering expertise for the structure’s foundation. Levees.org is also covering the cost of the materials and construction.
August 18, 2020
Founder Rosenthal’s debut book is now #1 Best Seller on Amazon
Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal’s debut book is #1 Best Seller on Amazon.
The book it titled Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina.
Rosenthal’s book describes her role as a citizen investigator and how––against all odds––she exposed the culprit in the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans and compelled the news media, and the government, to tell the truth.
It’s a horror, mystery and David and Goliath story all in one. It is her story.
The publisher is the Miami-based Mango Publishing Group, the fastest growing publisher according to Publishers Weekly.
Order from a local bookstore near you,
Paperback and eBook from Barnes & Noble or
Paperback, kindle and audiobook from Amazon.
August 12, 2020
Levees.org obtains new data showing nearly two-thirds of Americans live by levees
Levees.org just obtained new data showing that the number of Americans protected by levees has increased compared to a decade ago.
Sixty-two percent of the American population lives in counties protected by levees. A decade ago, the percentage was 55%.
Levees.org filed a request under FOIA for the data on May 12, 2019 and just received it on July 29, 2020, over fourteen months later.
According to FEMA, the increase is likely due to several factors, including expansion of existing levees and construction of new levees; more people moving to locations protected by levees; and a better accounting of where flood-risk-reduction levees are located.
Levees.org offered this data and its statistic results to the The Advocate. Reporters Mark Schleifstein and Jeff Adelson have done a good story. See it here.
August 10, 2020
Founder Rosenthal’s debut book goes on sale August 11
Jacket cover designed by M Styborski of New Orleans
On Tuesday, August 11, Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal will do an outdoor Sidewalk Book Signing for her debut book at Octavia Books (513 Octavia Street) in New Orleans from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina (Mango Publishing) documents how the Army Corps of Engineers spent millions––in cooperation with the engineering establishment––to fool the American public on why New Orleans flooded in 2005.
A video of Rosenthal unboxing her books for the first time is trending and has been viewed over 50,000 times on Facebook and Twitter.
The book is selected by Publishers Weekly in Politics and Current Events for Fall of 2020. It has been a #1 New Release on Amazon.com for 33 weeks.
The book arrives on time for the 15th anniversary of the flooding disaster which took 1,577 lives according to the National Hurricane Center.
Order book on Amazon.com or support the indie Octavia Books in New Orleans by ordering here.
August 8, 2020
Levees.org Founder’s Unboxing Video Making Splash on Social
It’s standard for authors to create a short film of themselves seeing their new book for the first time.
Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal created such a video for her debut book Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina (Mango Publishing, August 2020).
Words Whispered in Water – Unexpected Unboxing
My new book is here! Couldn't wait to unbox my first author copies, but I didn't expect this! To order, go to: www.WordsWhisperedinWater.com
Posted by Sandy Rosenthal on Wednesday, July 29, 2020
She enlisted help from her cousin Max Cusimano of Nola Vid who refused to accept compensation for his work. And Mr. Cusimano wanted to try a departure from the standard “first look.”
The result is a surprising video packed into 75 seconds of action. The video is now trending and has been viewed over 30,000 times on Facebook and Twitter.
The book is selected by Publishers Weekly in Politics and Current Events for Fall of 2020. It has been a #1 New Release on Amazon.com for 32 weeks.
The book arrives on time for the 15th anniversary of the flooding disaster which took 1,577 lives according to the National Hurricane Center.
July 23, 2020
The day the Hurricane Katrina forecast model surprised everyone
With Tropical Depression Eight swirling in the Gulf and getting better organized, I cannot stop thinking about the day the Hurricane Katrina model surprised everyone.
By mid day Friday August 26th, many New Orleanians, including me believed that Hurricane Katrina was heading toward the middle of the Florida Panhandle. Then came the big shock.
Below is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Words Whispered in Water; Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina. It’s from Chapter 1 “Goodbye New Orleans.’
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During the day on Friday August 26th, some of the computer models shifted the storm’s track, now a hurricane, west. Then, late in the afternoon, all models shifted in unison, and New Orleans was moved to the center of the cone of certainty. Governor Blanco declared a state of emergency at 4:00 p.m.
By 7:00 a.m. on Saturday (August 27), the hurricane was over the center of the Gulf of Mexico. At first, the eye started to disintegrate, normally a sign of weakening, but, in this case, it was redistributing. Wind speed picked up around the central vortex, and pressure fell again. Later, the eye contracted, and masses of thunderstorms sprang to life. Within a few hours, the storm doubled in size, eclipsing most of the gulf.
Throughout the day on Saturday, radio and television reports urged residents to evacuate. Officials for Plaquemines and St. Charles Parishes (low-lying coastal areas south of New Orleans) ordered mandatory evacuations. The governor ordered the contraflow and, by 4:00 p.m., the state police had reversed all inbound lanes. By this time, the hurricane watch had been widened to include everything from western Louisiana to the Alabama–Florida border.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a bulletin that warned of a powerful hurricane with unprecedented strength: “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks. Perhaps longer. At least one half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail. … Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.”
Then, on Saturday night, Max Mayfield, director of the NHC, did something he rarely does. He called all the governors in the cone of certainty to warn them. Upon urging from Governor Blanco, he also called Mayor Nagin, telling him that some levees in the greater New Orleans area could be overtopped.”
