Consider this a coda to the BNO symphony, but I couldn't let this bit of promising news escape the last day of Blogging New Orleans. Today, the Louisiana 3rd Circuit of Appeals vacated the conviction of Mychal Bell, the young black man who stood facing 20 plus years in prison for a school-yard beatdown. This is great news for the friends and families of the Jena 6, the group of young blacks arrested for knocking around a racist white kid at school.

You've probably seen the story on this site before or read about in the in the papers. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that there are six young men -- and dozens of family members -- in Jena breathing a little easier now.

Ironically, this might be the best news to hit Jena, Louisiana ever. Now, the glaring light and international focus on Jena as the home of southern American racism will ease up. Now, unless the foolish and racist District Attorney Reed Walters (who famously told black students at a school assembly -- at a school assembly -- "I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen" when they organized to protest Jena High School students' racist actions) wants to refile the cases against the six in juvenile court, the young men will hopefully be able to return to their regular lives. Wiser, perhaps, from having faced the gates of a racist hell by lashing out at one sorry jerk who probably inherited race hatred from his prejudiced parents; hopefully the Jena 6 will find a better way to attack racism in their midst than by beating some dumb cracker unconscious.

So Walters will have to decide whether his famous pen is going to stroke against these young men further. He'd better choose wisely. Look what happened to Mike Nifong in Durham, NC, whose prejudices in the famous Duke Lacrosse rape case have cost him his job, and sent him to prison (admittedly for only 24 hours).

Look before you leap, Mr. Walters. The judgement of history is a real bitch when you're on the wrong side.

And you are on the wrong side.

At least they waited until after the second anniversary of Katrina. The powers-that-be behind this website have decided to pull the plug on it this month (the preferred term is "retired") for business reasons. The market giveth, the market taketh away. I regret that the site will be retired, but that's the way the praline crumbles.

I've had a great time writing for bloggingneworleans.com. There have been times when writing for this blog has helped keep me sane. I've blown off a lot of steam about the various impediments and potholes in the road of post-Katrina New Orleans. Documenting what's been going on around town has been a blast, and despite the 'early retirement' of a great site dedicated to a great city, I'll still be writing.

I've been impressed by the quality of comments on our posts. To be sure, there are a few wingnuts out there on every side of the political spectrum, but for the most part our commenters have been thoughtful and civil. I have always enjoyed hearing from folks, especially those who take issue with my opinions or disagree with my points. To all you commenters, I have appreciated your words, and the time you took to comment. Your comments have helped me rethink some of my arguments, and similarly I hope you have found my words to be informative, too.

We gain the most insight into our own opinions when they are challenged by the opinions of others, and despite the fact that our greater political structure is criminally dysfunctional in this regard, we, the people of this great city (and country) understand that it's not always about winning or losing, it's about creating a better world for ourselves and for those yet to come. The kind of scorched-earth, winner-take-all politics that we have seen for years in DC and throughout the land is what has hurt New Orleans since Katrina and long before. This type of politics is filled with hot air, trite slogans, and vapid ideologies. Having seen many examples of blogs and discussion boards that begin on point, but devolve into puerile mud-slinging, I have been most appreciative of the quality of comments (and posts, my fellow bloggingneworleans writers). I will miss this forum.

We've amassed quite a record in our coverage of the happenings in this city-in-recovery. There has never been a shortage of subjects to write about, only a shortage of time in which to write about them. But of course, there's never enough time for doing everything you want.

As for me, I've made inquiries for freelance work at the local alternative newsweekly, and I'll be writing some on the new DIY Life website. I'm making a series of "how to build a bike" entries, which may not be as compelling journalistically as I have tried to make my BNO posts, but should still be pretty entertaining.

In the meantime, you'll find me cruising around the city on my newly rebuilt bike, doing research at the libraries or the courthouse, sipping an iced coffee at Flora's, or having a beer and shooting pool at Markey's.

I guess that's it. Stay well, good people. And thanks for checking out Blogging New Orleans. Peace...

I found this plaque embedded in the bricks outside the Oil & Gas Building, on the corner of Common and Rampart in the CBD. It reads "One hundred years after Col. Drake [?] completed the nation's first successful oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the New Orleans Oil Centennial Committee deposited historical documents here to commemorate the occasion."

A celebration of oil's first century, eh? Hope they enjoyed the party, 'cos according to some geologists, we are approaching the end of the "peak oil" era. Some estimate that global oil supplies will begin to decline in mid-century, and that by 2050 the decline in production rates -- from having used up this limited resource -- will be precipitous.

In a hundred years, if that plaque is still there, it might seem like more of a tombstone than a time-capsule.

[Apologies for the off-set photo cropping ... it couldn't be avoided.]

Recently spotted on the West Bank, this fixer-upper mere blocks from the Mississippi River. Priced to sell; act fast before the termites get in.

Well, it's probably too late for that. Nice holes in the wall, eh?

Well, we're just about at the end of the road for Blogging New Orleans. As you may know, Friday the 14th is our last day as a live website. Into every life a little rain must fall, or so it's said, and this is just another example of that truism.

Speaking of rain, it's also said that it never rains unless it pours. This week, New Orleans is being drenched by wandering downpours that soak parts of the city while other parts stay dry. The photo was taken on Tuesday from the railroad tracks at Burgundy and Press Street in the Bywater, those dark columns are sheets of rain falling over the remoter reaches of the Upper 9th Ward, and as you can see, the rest of the area had sunny skies.

Weather here is pretty chaotic sometimes. Rain can fall on you from a seemingly clear blue sky. It can hit like a fist in some neighborhoods while others nearby don't get so much as a sprinkle. I think it's incredible; the idiosyncratic weather is one of the charms of New Orleans, in my opinion. Hyper-localized micro-cloudbursts, my term for these wandering small scale showers, keep things interesting around here.

Sudden, unexpected, and violent, they offer a handy metaphor for life these days. Lately, things for me personally have been substantially rainy (metaphorically), like some kind of existential storm has taken up a position over my head, sending watery sheets of questionable luck down upon me. I won't dwell overmuch on any of this, but since mid-July, I have dealt with a string of misfortunes that make me rethink my skepticism towards voodoo, particularly hexes.

Just a brief rundown: My computer (upon which I rely to write) had a fatal motherboard crash in late July. (It has since been repaired with a new motherboard, and a big THANK YOU goes to Ted C. at Common Ground tech support for his invaluable assistance in this matter.)

Then my bicycle was stolen in the middle of the day from the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library while I was inside. The "security" dude told me there are bike thefts every day there. My question to him should have been, "So then why the hell are you in here instead of out there?"

My housemates were roughhousing one night in late August and hit a table where my digital camera was. It fell and broke, and only the persistence born of my desperation brought it back to life.

Just when I was recovering from my computer and camera woes, my favorite outlet for my writing -- this very site -- was selected for retirement. I'll keep writing, of course, but will lament the loss of this space for community dialogue.

My car's brakes then started going bad, and now the car sits in a shop with an estimated $440 worth of repairs due.

And last night, my cell phone died with finality, taking the phone numbers of hundreds of friends with it. [Note: if you are a friend of mine and you are reading this, give me a call. Same number for me, but brand new phone-MR]

I begin to wonder if someone put a curse on me. New Orleans is, after all, the birthplace of American Voudoun.

I must note that these misfortunes are only manifesting themselves in the material plane; my relationships with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors are generally wonderful, and it's a rare day that I don't randomly run into a friend or acquaintance whom I might not have seen in a while. Not to mention meeting new people just about every day, too. I am very lucky in ways that the misfortunes of the material world can not dim.

Speaking of dim, the light bulb in my bedroom just popped. I hope there's still a step ladder in the house, 'cos that bulb is 14 feet off the ground.

Last Saturday, the Common Ground Health Clinic in Algiers Point celebrated its second year of providing free health services to thousands of New Orleanians since its formation in the week after Katrina struck. Clinic supporters organized a block party at the corner of Teche and Socrates where the Clinic is located, serving up a barbecue and music and offering tours of the recently refurbished clinic (see photo below).

In a city with an international reputation for low-quality health care post-Katrina, the two Common Ground-sponsorerd free clinics -- the first in Algiers, the second on St. Claude St. in the Lower 9th Ward -- are much-needed community institutions that have served thousands of people since opening. Ancillary programs like the Latino Health Outreach Program, a spinoff project that serves the needs of non-English speaking residents and workers, also spread the tattered net of social services in New Orleans a little wider.

A staff member at the Algiers Clinic informed me that the Algiers Clinic sees between 20 and 50 people per day of operation; due to limited resources and red tape, the clinic is open on a limited schedule four days out of the week (Monday through Wednesday at various hours, and Saturday 12 - 3 pm). Despite ongoing shortages of medical services in the area, and despite the tremendous need for basic health care in the city, the Common Ground Clinics have had to fight for everything they have.

Judging by the state of medical services here two years after the traumatic events of 2005, it looks like their struggle to provide free, basic health care to neglected or impoverished populations will remain an uphill battle. But the anniversary party demonstrated that the community still needs and supports the services they offer.

This may not look like much, but it's scenes like this that make me adore this town. Here's a humble shotgun, could be almost anywhere in town, reasonably well-kept on the outside, with a sweet motorcycle out front. Homes like this may or may not survive the waves of rebuilding and gentrification that are beginning to sweep our area, but I for one would be happy as a clam in a house like this one.

Put a bicycle out front for me, though.

Last Saturday night, local supporters of the internationally-known Jena 6 -- six young black men facing dozens of years in prison for a school yard beat-down of a white antagonist in the hamlet of Jena -- held a fundraiser and rally for the young men, whose initial court-appointed defense lawyers have been replaced with higher-caliber legal representation.

Their case is becoming a focus for activists concerned about racial justice in Louisiana. It's now a lightning rod for global criticism of the racial situation in the United States, attracting bogeyman-to-whites Al Sharpton (do any of the whites who believe that Sharpton is only exploiting the situation for personal gain understand that history is on his side?) and perrenial photo-op visitor to New Orleans Jesse Jackson (whose calls for racial unity are falling on the deaf ears of Jena whites in denial, who claim, of course, that they are not racist, therefore there are no racial problems in Jena; a white bus driver who spoke to one reporter said, "No, no no. It's not [racism]" ).

Perceptions, informed by history, are one of the foundations of racism in America. When a white person, particularly a white person in a position of power, does something to offend a black person, whites can't be surprised when that black person questions the white's motives. Racism does exist here, and denying this only makes racial prejudice harder to disembed.

Prosecutors in Jena postponed the sentencing of the convicted Mychal Bell, the first of the 6 to go to trial, in order to avoid publicity. This half-baked strategy has guaranteed that the sentencing, now scheduled for September 20, will be heavily attended. Postponement has only allowed activists to spread the word on the perceived injustice in Jena, and the more the word spreads, the more attention will be paid to the good people of Jena, and their tolerance of injustice in their midst.

At last week's "International Tribunal on Katrina and Rita," one of the more striking parts of the event was the presentation of the second witness on the subject of Women's Rights. Ms. Stephanie Mingo, a resident of New Orleans for 40 years, lived in St. Bernard Housing project prior to Katrina. After the storm, she evacuated with four children and one grandchild in tow. Her mother died on the Gentilly bridge, unable to survive the physical and mental anguish of the storm's aftermath. Ms. Mingo's testimony was powerful and informative.

Ms. Mingo and her family evacuated, returned, and are now staying in the Iberville project. She doesn't like it there and wants to move back into her St. Bernard home. She has worked for the Orleans School Board for ten years -- "not that long" Ms. Mingo says -- and is determined to stay in her home town.

Her stubbornness in staying in a project known as much for trouble as for housing might seem odd to those of us who have never stayed in government housing, but it's the home that she wants to come back to. She loves her job as a food services technician at a local school, and isn't afraid of hard work. As Ms. Mingo said from the witness seat while testifying to the court, "When I tie these shoes, I'm not too proud to do anything." Her home and community were humble, but she managed to raise and put through college three of her kids, and the fourth is college-bound.

Public housing may be the upscale-white developer's nightmare, but a lot of hard-working, disciplined people lived there before Katrina, and want to return to their homes and communities which they are trying against all odds to preserve.

The second editorial in the Times-Pic today ("Share the excitement") gently took the Mayor and City Council to task for the secrecy surrounding the recently-approved plan for the first stages of redevelopment of 17 targeted zones throughout the city. The editors should have gone much further in their criticism. The secrecy of the elected leaders could be characterized as disingenuous at best, at worst, it is rife with the opportunity for corruption, influence-pedaling, and back-door politics. The kind of things that people living here are pretty sick of already.

If the plans to redevelop New Orleans are agreed upon by elected officials, then the democratic population who voted for these officials are entitled to see these plans, comment upon them, and above all, take hope from these plans.

Citizens like you and me won't be able to do this, though, until next month. This month is reserved for the New Orleans power structure to assure itself a profitable central role in the rebuilding effort. There are properties to be acquired, and little old ladies and blind old men to be unscrupulously evicted or bought out of their homes for a pittance by scheming developers.

There are dummy corporations to set up, in order to apply or bid for contracts (presuming, that is, that there are any contracts left to be claimed on the first $117 million in development funds; it's even money that big time disaster profiteers Halliburton and Bechtel had a seat at the table when these plans were shown to "other stakeholders" by Tsar Blakely. After all, there's federal money being poured around, and while many still suffer, there's no reason that good, highly-connected corporations like Kellogg, Brown, & Root or Fluor can't earn a buck or two million while shutting out local contractors until the cream has been skimmed from federal largesse.).

Admittedly, the bulk of planning was likely done long ago, and the REAL players didn't have to wait for the council's approval. They already have their schemes in order, you can believe that. Incidentally, this may be the reason why Nagin's office has been so insular lately; he and his cronies have probably been busy making calls and setting up deals with friends, family, and high-powered interests. There's a lot of loot on the way.

Which reminds me of the spray painted warnings after Katrina: You loot, we shoot. Only now, the shooting should be metaphoric.

But don't be surprised to find an awful lot of looting when the development money comes to town.

I managed to get by the International Tribunal for Katrina and Rita a couple of times last week, and sat in on the proceedings. The five-day event was meant to draw accountability for federal and local failures and abuses of power in the immediate aftermath of the storms, and was hardly an impartial hearing. Tears shed on the witness stand were many, as those testifying before the panel of judges found that, even two years after the tragedy, the emotions from those days of grief, confusion, and all too often death, are still very fresh.

The witness's testimonies related to a range of issues that affected people during and after the storms of 2005. Organized by the People's Hurricane Relief Fund and sponsored by dozens of local and international activist organizations, the Tribunal was kind of a political dog-and-pony show insofar as it had no pretense of being an impartial assessment of the facts. On the panel were respected leftist activists, including the notorious Ward Churchill (whose remarks about 9/11 led to his July dismissal from a professorship at the University of Colorado) and others from Europe, Africa, and South America.

The tribunal was predicated on the assumption that the government was culpable for much of the chaos and loss that happened after the storms, and the testimonials from each witness -- with no oppositional questioning -- were very personal and direct. Each was angry about something that has affected her or his life since Katrina, whether it's a lack of public housing, a crushed teachers' union, armed vigilantism in Algiers, police brutality, or de facto voting disfranchismement of New Orleanians. To hear the witnesses was to be reminded anew of the anguish that people endured after the storm, and the hardships that many citizens bear every day in the effort to rebuild.

In truth, the government at all levels is responsible for many of the tragedies of fall 2005. Poorly built levees, relief supplies tied down with red tape, lethargic federal financial assistance, opportunistic seizures of schools and rebuilding contracts; for these and many more, the federal, state, and city governments need to be held accountable and procedures put in place to avoid the recurrence of any such tragedy.

The Tribunal didn't claim to have answers for the questions the testimonies raised. Many of the "justices" on the judges' panel sympathized -- lengthily -- with many of the witnesses whose testimony had been particularly harrowing. Some related, through translation, their own experiences in addressing the problems revealed in the testimonies.

I don't mean to sound as if I thought the Tribunal a waste of time, or too politically skewed to have any value. It was very slanted, but it gave people a chance to relate their experiences to an international audience (make that an international left audience) and it offered something more than simply commemorating the anniversary of Katrina and getting back to work. I learned a good bit about how voting rights have become something of a joke in the area, as the displaced tens of thousands of evacuees still can't cast their ballot, for a number of reasons from the practical to the ridiculous.

In other places, such tribunals often look into delicate times in the past, such as the South African commissions regarding apartheid. In Greensboro, North Carolina, a recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission was empaneled to collect witness testimony regarding the 1979 killing of five labor organizers by the Ku Klux Klan (caught on tape, and for which no Klansman ever went to prison). The effect these commissions have on larger patterns of justice may remain an open question, but I personally support each of them. It's quite easy for those in positions of power to want to forget the past, but for the victims of yesterday, there can be no forgetting.

The men and women trapped for days on the I-10 overpass, denied entry to Gretna across the bridge and kept under conditions of martial law, won't be able to forget their ordeals anytime soon. It behooves us all to remember their stories, though, and to learn from their experiences.

Whether or not the International Tribunal will contribute to a restored sense of justice in New Orleans has yet to be seen. We can always hope, right?

Browsing through some photos on my computer for a few parting shots for NOLApics, I came across this one from Mardi Gras 2007. The character in the quilted suit is a bit too creepy for me, but the dude with the painted eyes seemed to think it was pretty funny. The child seemed to have some freaked-out fascination with him...or her...or it...

Business as usual at the Orleans Parish Courthouse today, with hundreds of cases moving through the system, ranging from first-offense marijuana possession to attempted second degree murder. Lots of crack-related charges, and a couple "felon with firearm" cases also in the mix.

This morning, before going to the courthouse, I listened to Karen Herman, a representative from Courtwatch NOLA on the radio, discussing the court-watch program. Ms. Herman said that the program trains volunteers to sit in on courtroom actions and document what goes on in the course of certain trials.

One cause for concern, according to Ms. Herman, is the issue of continuances; that is, putting off the resolution of a stage in any given case, for any number of reasons. The fear is that too many continuances delay, hence deny, justice. Delays in legal processes can also hinder justice when evidence is damaged or destroyed, when witnesses die or can't be found, or when administrative foul-ups "disappear" people from the justice system for weeks, months, or even longer.

On the other hand, granting continuances also benefits justice from time to time, or else it wouldn't be done. Today, in courtroom Section L, the judge granted two continuances, one for a man out on bond, the other for an inmate of OPP.

So you may not have heard, but our beloved bloggingneworleans.com website has been selected for cancellation ("retired" is the preferred term) in less than two weeks. I know I'm not alone in saying that I will miss writing for the site, and will miss the chance to engage so directly with readers.

But the end has not yet arrived, it remains only nigh. Therefore, I avail myself of the opportunity to try generating a little more discussion on certain topics of interest. Here, I want to talk about ending the prohibition of marijuana, a step I believe can assist in the recovery and healing of New Orleans.

There are many reasons why not to take such a step, and I want readers who disagree to chime in. But arguments favoring such action seem stronger than those I've heard opposed. Such action can help rein in crime, reduce courthouse workloads, alleviate burdens on families with loved ones incarcerated for non-violent possession or distribution offenses, keep young people out of the criminal justice system, and create a profitable local industry, not to mention the relief that the medicinal use of Cannabis offers to patients suffering from a long list of ailments, none of them strangers to New Orleans.

I propose rethinking drug policy out of the legal morass it is in and into the realm of the social and the medical. I would propose decriminalization of recreational and medical use of marijuana in the French Quarter, depenalize growing it as a taxable crop for local use in New Orleans, allow the establishment of coffee shops and medical dispensaries, make simple possession of unlicensed weed outside the French Quarter a ticketable offense (if that)and declare an amnesty for those incarcerated under non-violent simple possession or distribution charges.

It would be major big business, bigger maybe than novelty t-shirts. Did I say "would be?" I meant, of course, that it is big business. According to sources, marijuana is the sixth-largest cash crop grown in Louisiana, despite years of withering prohibition enforcement. As an illegal revenue stream, it's just about unbeatable. As a legal one, I askk you, what do you think might happen?

Marijuana is a powerful drug, there's no argument there. Local hospitals would have to be ready to deal with an upswing in emergency admissions for mixing drugs by foolish tourists (weed and booze are often a very bad combination). Driving under the influence of weed, selling it to minors, these should remain outlawed acts. But arresting a group of fellas sitting on a front porch smoking a blount is a waste of time; their time, the cop's time, and the court's time. If those fellas get up off that porch and commit a robbery, arrest them for the robbery; chances are, though, that they're gonna sit right there for a while.

Some say marijuana is more healthy for you than tobacco. I don't know if that's true or not; it's just as apparent that smoking neither is probably the healthiest strategy. It may not be the healthiest habit, but much more clearly harmful substances are freely available in every corner store and gas station in town.

Some say that marijuana helps maintain mental health. Others have long claimed it causes "reefer madness," luring perfectly good white men and women into dens of sin (you must see the propaganda to believe it) or insanity.

At the end of the day, would decriminalization create more madness than it would resolve? Would it alleviate more people's stress, or simply add to their anxieties? Would it calm people down, or agitate them? Would it be good for business, this new iteration of Storyville, or would it wind up draining the city's resources?

Readers, let me hear from you. You too, Mr. Courreges, if you're around. Our time on this site is growing short.

Brad Pitt may have broken ground on his visionary green development in Holy Cross, but residents and others looking to restore homes that survived the flooding of 2005 might do well to look at how previous examples of building production values fared after catastrophe. It seems apparent that some modes of construction in New Orleans should be abandoned, and new designs created, to provide for the future housing needs of New Orleanians.

There are environmentally friendly ways to redevelop, like what Mr. Pitt and his Global Green group has in mind. Using energy-efficient materials and design strategies, and aiming for "net zero energy and carbon neutral building," the Holy Cross development promises solar energy emergency power, rainwater recycling, and community conveniences. The plan includes middle-income affordable housing, and through energy-saving design, it estimates residents will save up to $2,400 per year in electricity. It calls for five single-family houses, with preference given to displaced Lower 9th/Holy Cross residents. The 18-unit apartment project is also said to be targeted at displaced Lower 9th Ward residents, offering very reasonable rents ($550 for a one-bedroom unit, $650 for two bedrooms).

A brief survey of rents on Craigslist indicates that, no matter how poorly the housing market is faring, the rental market is booming. One bedroom apartments go from $500 (rare) to $1000 or more per month. Vacancies seem high, judging by the number of "For Rent" signs that keep popping up in my neighborhood. Maybe by the time the Global Green project is completed the housing market will have overcome its slump; even if it doesn't, though, I'd bet Mr. Pitt and his cohort won't have too much difficulty filling the conscientiously-built units with returned New Orleanians.

By contrast, other parts of Holy Cross are going to need a lot more than a little sprucing up to make them as desirable as new houses. The house in the photo survived the flooding, but hasn't quite gotten along as well as others. It had plastic siding, which I'm sure added to the value of the home and protected it from the elements ... until fire struck, and burned the place all but to the ground. The plastic siding melted into absurd shapes and flowed like toxic liquid onto the concrete and fencing around it. As it burned, it released who-knows-what into the air, and the place still reeks of charred furniture.

Nearby many brick-on-slab buildings still stand, deserted by their owners and, in many cases, unable to be raised to FEMA-determined safe elevations. An article in this week's Times-Picayune decried the encroaching loss of historically significant housing in New Orleans, and brick-on-slab construction was singled out as one of the losers in the new architectural game.

Slab houses are sturdy and solid, as far as that goes. Personally, I think these homes should be preserved, so long as the owners realize that the next "Big one" will flood their home again, and that they will have to rebuild again in such a case. But there should be no question but that slab-homes in New Orleans belong to a different time, and shouldn't be kept in the housing-design portfolio for Post-Katrina rebuilding.

A friend recently pressed home to me the fact that most people make economic decisions based on emotion more than on logic or reason, and sometimes it seems that's the only thing that successfully explains how so many residents could work so hard every day to rebuild their homes. It might be easy for others to dismiss the faith that New Orleanians have in our future, especially in light of global concerns and climatic extremes.

But faith has gotten a lot of us a very long way over the past two years. How well we couple that faith with sound decisions on how to rebuilt will very likely determine how well the city survives the next catastrophe.