Just as a tiny update to yesterday’s post:

Jefferson authorities probing ammonia leak on West Bank.

So I guess containment of noxious chemical fumes really isn’t a concern in these situations. Well, not for the Port, anyway.

Dear Port of New Orleans:

As much as we love you, we feel obligated to point out that articles like this one from the Times-Picayune probably aren’t the best way to inspire confidence in the public–especially when that public is already skeptical of your plan to sandwich an ammonia-filled industrial wonderland between two of Louisiana’s most important historic neighborhoods, the French Quarter and the Faubourg Marigny. Skim the first couple of paragraphs, and let us know if you can see the problem here:

Faubourg Marigny and French Quarter residents are concerned that the ammonia used to refrigerate a proposed cold-storage warehouse on the Gov. Nicholls Street Wharf will pose a public health risk, but experts say the chance of a chemical leak is slim if proper safety measures are in place.

“You can stop most of these incidents before they have a chance to be a major challenge if you have the right equipment and personnel,” said Gary Smith, president and founder of the Ammonia Safety Training Institute in Washington, D.C. “If it’s just cold storage, the ammonia stays in the refrigeration if good prevention habits are in place.” [Emphasis totally mine]

–plenty more ifs, ands, and buts in the full article at NOLA.com

Statements like that are kinda like saying, “No, hurricanes aren’t a problem for New Orleans, if the levees hold, and if federal, state, and city governments are prepared, and if the city’s evacuation strategy works like a charm. You know, if all that’s good, then we should be fine. Probably.” Do you see what I’m doing there? Right.

And a quick reminder: those of us who live here aren’t opposed to your project, just its location. Heck, your puppet minion buddy Jindal just shaved bejillions of bucks from higher ed, mental hospitals, and the like–surely he can throw a few at the Cold Storage project so it can move downriver just a tad? That would be the right thing to do, karmically speaking. (NB: Confused by karma? Ask Bobby.)

Anyway, thanks for listening. You were listening, weren’t you? …Hello?

I suppose we all knew this was coming. We’ll see if they can improve McCarthy’s ending. It can’t get any worse.

[via Jennie]

As millions of Americans take to the road for the holiday weekend, a humble highway fixture is under attack.

Later this month, cash-strapped Virginia plans to barricade entrances and switch off the plumbing and electricity at nearly half its highway rest areas. Other states also are lowering budgetary axes on the public pit stops that have lined the interstate highway system since its creation in 1956.

But rest stops aren’t going quietly.

Truckers, blind merchants and a dogged historian are fighting to preserve them. If the battle is lost, every long-distance motorist will need “a strong rear end and a strong bladder” to hit the road, warns John Townsend, an official with the American Automobile Association in Washington….

–more at the Wall Street Journal
[via MP]

[via the Boyfriend]

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin today hurled criticism at technology experts who claim that City Hall’s missing e-mail was intentionally removed by someone with top-drawer access to the computer system.

Assigning blame “is not their charge,” Nagin said Thursday, a day after two computer experts hired by the city said that an unknown tech-savvy person apparently removed the mayor’s e-mail inbox from the server.

In a WWL-TV interview, Nagin dismissively described the unknown individual as “some phantom employee.”

Nagin also implied that the Louisiana Technology Council, the company hired to find the data, not only was eager for “15 minutes of fame” but also was in over its head.

“I just hope that this is not a case where . . . we did not get the company with the expertise that we needed,” he said.

—NOLA.com

In case you hadn’t heard–and why would you, since no one but NPR seems to be covering it?–the US launched a major offensive against the Taliban and their poppy fields in Afghanistan today. Which brought to mind the opening scene from Cleopatra Jones:

FYI, you only need to watch the first three minutes, but ZZOOOOOMGGG DO NOT MISS THE SHELLEY WINTERS FREAKOUT.

Weirdest email I’ve received all week (and I’ve already gotten some doozies):

Greetings and salutations!

I would like to let everyone know of our upcoming Permaculture Courses.

RiverSolar in cooperation with the Heritage Foundation is offering weekly courses in Permaculature and Design concepts. Core concepts will be provided in block format on Fridays from 12 – 2 PM beginning July 10, 2009 at the ArtEgg Building.

Students can choose to take one class or all leading to a Permaculture Design Certificate. Please contact Doris for enrollment information.

RiverSolar
riversolar@gmail.com
1001 So. Broad St. New Orleans, LA
504-729-8226

Which sounds great except for the part about the HERITAGE FOUNDATION.

Seriously: THE Heritage Foundation? The same ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation that worshiped at the feet of Ronald Reagan? The same war-mongering Heritage Foundation that pushed heavily for the invasion of Iraq (and, less successfully, Iran)? The same Heritage Foundation that looked at the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and found it a perfect example of the need for relaxed environmental regulations? That Heritage Foundation?

UPDATE: Of course it’s not that Heritage Foundation. As commenter Alex just pointed out:

It’s actually the Heritage Foundation for Arts and Cultural Sustainability, which shares a space in the ArtEgg building, along with RiverSolar.

Which is great, but also a really unfortunate choice of names. Oh well: at least the world makes sense again.

Speaking of Judy Garland: I just realized that I’d forgotten to post anything really gay for Pride weekend. This ought to fix things: