Sandy Rosenthal's Blog, page 17
May 11, 2020
Words Whispered in Water is #1 New Release for 35 straight days
Founder Sandy Rosenthal’s debut book has maintained the status of #1 New Release for 35 straight days or five straight weeks.
The book is 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 Florida-based Mango Publishing. The book is due out in August 2020.
Preorder from a local bookstore near you,
Paperback from Barnes & Noble or
Paperback and audiobook from Amazon.
April 15, 2020
The ten most poorly-reported stories in American journalism
One of the most poorly covered stories in American journalism history is Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaches.
This is according to W. Joseph Campbell in his book Getting it Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism.
Says Campbell, the news coverage of the storm, the levee breaches and the aftermath was flawed and exaggerated.
“The coverage made it seem as though the city were a haven for lurking criminals waiting for the opportune moment to inflict violence on others.”
As Campbell described in his book, the consequences of the poor unverified reporting caused distinct harm to “an already wounded population.”
In addition to the levee breach event, Campbell also discusses nine other fascinating examples in recent history of where unverified reporting became national vetted fact.
For Levees.org’s book review of this fine work by Campbell published in 2010, click here.
April 8, 2020
Levees.org logs its one millionth view
CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE
On Monday, April 6, 2020, the Levees.org website attained the magic number – one million views!
Created on December 3, 2005, the site was originally intended as an educational tool to help the national population understand that the flooding of New Orleans in August 2005 is due to federal levee building mistakes on the part of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The website is the go-to for all kinds of information about levee safety and flooding.
For example, after Hurricane Harvey, a levee board member from Fort Bend County Texas requested a high-resolution copy of Levees.org’s levee county map.
“It was a great presentation of the levee system in the US”, he explained.
Levees.org is the only website that hosts every major levee study including the Army Corps of Engineers’ IPET study. (The Army Corps quietly removed the IPET from its website last year.)
Stanford Rosenthal, founder Sandy Rosenthal’s son, the original website designer at just 15 years old, said this about the milestone.
“It’s rewarding to see the site continue to attract steady traffic nearly fifteen years later.”
March 14, 2020
Founder Rosenthal featured in Floodlines created by The Atlantic Magazine
Founder Sandy Rosenthal is featured in a massive new project Floodlines: The story of an unnatural disaster, created by The Atlantic Magazine.
It’s the story of the aftermath of the day the levees broke.
The segment featuring Rosenthal is titled: How could the levees have failed?
In addition to Rosenthal, the project features Gen Russel Honore, Tegan Wendland, Travis Lux, Mark Scheifstein, Eve Abrams and others.
Here’s a description of the ambitious project released by The Atlantic Magazine:
Some call it Hurricane Katrina. Some call it the Federal Flood. Others call it the day the levees broke. On August 29, 2005, the city of New Orleans was submerged. That story of hubris, incompetence, and nature’s wrath is now etched into the national consciousness. But the people who lived through the flood and its aftermath have a different story to tell. A story of rumors, betrayal, and one of the most misunderstood events in American history. Launching March 12. Hosted by Vann R. Newkirk II.
FOR THE PODCAST, CLICK HERE.
March 8, 2020
Founder Sandy Rosenthal’s book is #1 New Release on Amazon.com
Founder Sandy Rosenthal’s debut book is now #1 New Release on Amazon.com in Groundwater & Flood Control.
The book is titled Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina.
Told in the first person, 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.
The publisher is Florida-based Mango Publishing. The book is due out in August 2020.
To preorder the book, click here.
February 6, 2020
Levees.org’s project listed #4 in Must-See List of Hidden Museums
A Levees.org project is the featured story in this week’s Gambit.
The Flooded House Museum, which opened in March 2019, is the 4th featured story–– one of 13 Hidden Museums in New Orleans..
When Levees.org purchased the house in 2016, the group worked in partnership with the neighborhood residents and developed a special plan.
Volunteer contractors installed walls, a doorway and a foyer to give dimension to the flooded remains. After that, volunteer artists staged the room using donated furniture and items from dozens of Levees.org supporters.
The artists then “distressed” the staged exhibit to create a flooded replica effect using theater art and scenic design techniques.
The final exhibit replicates what homes in the neighborhood may have looked like after the Army Corps of Engineers’ floodwall failed and homeowners returned from their flood-imposed exile.
The Flooded House Museum is at 5000 Warrington Drive in the Filmore Gardens neighborhood of Gentilly. The house is 400 feet from the London Avenue Canal east breach.
February 3, 2020
Founder Rosenthal meets with ten high schoolers from The NET
The Arts Council of New Orleans’ is working to create public art to bring awareness and attention to urban water issues.
The Arts Council is also working with 14 youth from The NET: Gentilly high school who will work alongside Carl Joe Williams to create one of the public artworks to speak to neighborhood history, community resilience, and our relationship with water.
On January 30, 2020, Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal met with 10 of the high schoolers at the Flooded House Museum and the Levee Exhibit Hall & Rain Garden.
The two exhibits are located side by side next to the London Avenue Canal breach site in Gentilly.
January 24, 2020
Remembering Jim Lehrer with PBS Newshour
We are saddened to hear about the passing of PBS News Anchor Jim Lehrer. Mr. Lehrer was a visionary who provided substantial and valuable coverage for Levees.org in its earliest years.
One example is on June 1, 2006, when corps commander Lt Gen Carl Strock apologized for a major failure in the levee system protecting New Orleans, but was quick to lay blame on local New Orleans officials.
In 2006, the powerful Army Corps of Engineers controlled the narrative about why the levees broke, and Levees.org was but a fledgling grassroots group. But that did not deter Jim Lehrer.
Below is an excerpt about Mr. Lehrer from Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal’s upcoming book, Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina (Mango Publishing) due out in August 2020 as a lead title:
June 1, 2006
“I felt someone touch my arm. It was Betty Ann Bowser with Jim Lehrer’s PBS Newshour. She wanted to hear my commentary on today’s events, but she wanted to interview me at the site of one of the levee breaches. So we agreed to meet at the 17th Street Canal floodwall breach site at 12:00 sharp.
I arrived on time and it was hot! Betty Ann Bowser’s heavy makeup glistened in the noon sun, but she bravely withstood the searing heat, held the microphone to my face and asked, “Are you happy? The Army Corps has just said they are sorry for the flooding, and that they had a major failure. Isn’t that what you wanted?” “Actually no, we are not pleased,” I replied. “The Army Corps has taken responsibility ‘at the end of the day’ supposedly, but they have shifted responsibility away from themselves and, in effect blamed the local citizenry by blaming local officials for blocking the Army Corps’ original plans.” “But the Army Corps has said they had a major failure!” exclaimed Ms. Bowser, clearly exasperated, probably by both me and the heat. “Isn’t that enough?”
“No, it’s not,” I replied. “Until Congress recognizes that the failure of the levees and floodwalls were a federal responsibility, the people of this region will not get the relief they deserve.””
For the New York Times story about Jim Lehrer, click here.
January 22, 2020
Flooded House Museum is featured in unique new museum guide
Levees.org’s Flooded House Museum is featured in a unique new museum guide published by Gambit. This list includes 13 New Orleans museums with “intimate, hyper-focused and sometimes off-the-wall approaches.”
