Latest news with #post-Katrina
Axios
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Behind-the-scenes of Edward Buckles' Essence magazine covers
When Essence magazine twice wanted to represent New Orleans on its covers over the past two years, it turned to Edward Buckles. Why it matters: The New Orleans native opted to put locals in the spotlight. Catch up quick: In 2024, Essence Fest celebrated its 30th anniversary with a " love letter" to New Orleans for its July/August magazine. And this year, Essence offered an ode to the city's post-Katrina revival. Buckles snapped the photos for both, using local crews and production while working with creative director Chike Ozah. What he's saying: The models, Buckles tells Axios New Orleans, are "the people who I thought were reviving the spirit of New Orleans, who are culture bearers doing their own version of rebuilding the city post-Katrina." Zoom in: Buckles, who grew up in Algiers, Uptown and in the 7th Ward, is a photographer and filmmaker. He made a national name for himself with his " Katrina Babies" documentary on HBO in 2022. The project had Buckles talking with people who, like him, were young New Orleanians at the time the storm hit. Before and since then, he's thought a lot about the cultural weight of rebuilding. "I wanted to highlight children who are currently carrying the torch of New Orleans, which are children not even born during Hurricane Katrina," he says. The end result is a pair of surrealistic cover photos taken at dusk, steeped in golden pinks and purples. In one, a young ballerina leaps uncannily high into the air above an empty lot, and in the other, a young trumpet player levitates just off an empty porch. Read the cover story. "We wanted to have the kids levitating above these places that were once underwater because that's my biggest hope for them: I want them to rise above all this. .. I want them to know their history and understand they are still very much impacted by Hurricane Katrina ... but still very much rise above all that," Buckles says.
The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
OKC Thunder Celebrate First NBA Title with Epic Downtown Parade
Jalen Ross couldn't stop smiling. The 19-year-old lifelong Thunder fan was one of thousands flooding Oklahoma City's streets to celebrate a moment two decades in the making — an NBA championship finally brought home. The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers on Sunday to win their first title. On Tuesday, Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Star Jalen Williams, and the rest of the roster basked in the adoration of fans undeterred by 90-degree heat. 'It's crazy,' Ross said. 'From the days of wearing my KD jersey every day, to crying when he left, having the Russell Westbrook Fathead in the living room during the playoffs... it's crazy to think about. But we did it.' The parade ended at Scissortail Park, where Mayor David Holt declared a city holiday for Clay Bennett, the Thunder's ownership head — then added days for general manager Sam Presti, coach Mark Daigneault, and every player on the roster, drawing thunderous cheers with each name. 'I just feel like they really represent us as Oklahomans and put us — the whole state and the whole city — on their backs,' said Chris Willert, 15, from nearby Norman. Oklahoma City's NBA journey began in 2005-06, when the New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated post-Katrina. The city embraced the league and rookie Chris Paul. In 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics moved, and the Thunder were born. With Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, OKC became a contender, but heartbreak followed. It lost the 2012 Finals, saw Harden leave, and suffered a stunning 2016 collapse against Golden State — followed by Durant's controversial departure. Westbrook's MVP run and triple-doubles couldn't push it past the first round, and the team eventually rebuilt from scratch. Now, with a young core and renewed spirit, Oklahoma City is basking in its long-awaited triumph. 'To see this team rise and win, bringing a title to Oklahoma City — it feels like all of us just won something bigger than a trophy,' said Daniel Sweet, a pastor in Norman. 'It's our story now. This team embodies what every family and community wants to be. Tough, passionate, and together no matter what.' Related Topics Oklahoma City Thunder
Axios
08-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
New Orleans gets 1st splash pad, new West Bank pool
All of New Orleans' public pools will be open for business this summer, the city's recreation department CEO says, though one will take a little bit longer than others. Why it matters: In a year that's already cooking, any way to cool off is going to offer a welcome relief in our hottest months. The latest: Top city officials celebrated the opening of the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission's 18th pool Monday. The George V. Rainey Natatorium at Algiers' Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. Park offers two firsts: the first indoor pool for New Orleans' West Bank, and the city's first public splash pad. What they're saying:"I grew up learning to swim in this pool" when it was still named Behrman Park, said Councilman Freddie King, whose district includes Algiers. "I remember coming to NORD summer camps in the mid-90s and ... I swear there were so many kids in here, the water would overflow." "That's how many children were here, and that's how much of a need for a pool there is." Zoom in: NORDC CEO Larry Barabino tells Axios New Orleans that 17 of the department's now 18 pools will be open by May 31. He's confident that lifeguard staffing, which has been a struggle in the past, won't be an issue this summer with funding in place again for 150 guards. "We have a huge influx of lifeguards coming in," Barabino says. "We're gonna be ready." Yes, but: NORDC's pool at A.L. Davis Park requires a major repair that, while also funded, will take extra time to complete. But "it will open this summer," Barabino says. What we're watching: Complaints have been rising that NORDC facilities aren't being well-maintained, which Barabino says is a result of post-Katrina underfunding. Barabino pointed to Saturday's election as an example, with Jefferson Parish voters approving a millage that'll contribute to a $35 million annual budget for its 70 or so facilities. In Orleans Parish, Barabino says, he has a budget of about $20 million to spend across 160 facilities. More recreation funding will have to come from the next mayoral administration, Barabino said, as well as from voters, who could approve a bond sale to that end in the election this fall. Go deeper
New York Times
22-04-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
Fighting Louisiana Floodwaters With Patches of Green
When Angela Chalk first heard there were ways that ordinary people could offset flooding in New Orleans, she was skeptical. Her neighbors in the Seventh Ward knew all about heavy rains that brought knee-high floodwaters, spilling into porches and marooning cars and homes, and were frustrated that it was something they felt powerless to stop. Then she heard Jeff Supak, head of a nonprofit organization now called Water Wise Gulf South, talk about how simple fixes like rain gardens and vegetated ditches, also known as bioswales, could soak up extra rain. She challenged Mr. Supak to prove it. 'I didn't know if this was some lamebrain, cockamamie excuse post-Katrina, because so many people were telling us they could do so many things post-Katrina to help improve communities,' recalled Ms. Chalk, the executive director of a nonprofit group that focuses on public health and sustainability, referring to the 2005 hurricane that ravaged the city. A bioswale was installed alongside Ms. Chalk's driveway, native species were planted, and clay in her backyard was replaced with absorbent soil. During the next heavy downpour, Ms. Chalk looked outside. Storm water that previously had nowhere to go was seeping into the ground. She took photos and shared them with friends. 'What I saw at her home was a project that I had never witnessed before,' recalled one of the friends, Cheryl Austin, who works with a community organization, the Greater Treme Consortium. 'I was so impressed.' Word spread, and more of Ms. Chalk's neighbors agreed to have rain barrels installed to catch runoff from roofs, and french drains, which are underground perforated pipes topped with gravel that filter and redirect heavy rain. Today, green infrastructure projects on Ms. Chalk's block can capture 8,800 gallons of rain per storm, and Water Wise has installed 150 projects in public and private spaces across low-lying neighborhoods. Altogether, they can retain 190,000 gallons of water per storm, mitigating local flooding. 'There are multiple benefits,' said Mr. Supak, whose group has also planted nearly 800 trees. 'It's about flood risk. It's about water quality. It's about green spaces in your neighborhood. It's about the urban heat island effect, because we have so much concrete and we're such a hot city. And it's about beautification.' Green infrastructure isn't a cure-all for New Orleans' flooding problems, but in a city where much of the land lies below sea level, it certainly helps. Slowing heavy rains gives the city's complex, antiquated system of pumps and drains a chance to catch up, and lessens standing water, which in turn decreases the risk of mold and mosquitoes. Catching rain in planters, french drains and gardens also means that storm water previously contaminated by concrete and asphalt is filtered by the time it's pumped back into nearby Lake Pontchartrain. 'Every drop of water that is stored somewhere that is not in our drainage system counts toward a benefit,' said Meagan Williams, the urban water program manager for the city of New Orleans. 'If we can't take away all the flooding, but we can reduce how much it's flooding, then we're moving the needle in the right direction.' Water Wise Gulf South also turns the idea of top-down fixes on its head. The organization, which is largely funded by private donors and foundations, operates as a collective, working with half a dozen community groups in primarily Black neighborhoods. Residents who know which drains get clogged and which driveways get swamped determine where projects go, and often design and build them, too. 'We let residents know there are things they can do to help mitigate these flooding issues that they are dealing with again and again,' said Trina Warren, who works with one of the neighborhood organizations that is part of the Water Wise collective. One Water Wise project was installed at the behest of Brenda Lomax-Brown, whose neighborhood, Hollygrove-Dixon, is sandwiched between an interstate and a state highway and is often waterlogged. To get to the local community center after heavy rains, people had to wade through standing water, often in rubber boots. Water Wise installed permeable paving stones in the parking lot to speed up drainage and planted a rain garden to catch runoff from the roof. A week later, Ms. Lomax-Brown was at the community center when the skies opened up, unleashing sheets of rain. She ventured outside. 'There was no more puddling. You didn't need boots to get in,' Ms. Lomax-Brown said. 'And I was singing 'Hallelujah' on the porch.' The Water Wise project, she added, 'was just the greatest thing since apple pie.' This year, Water Wise had hoped to implement more than 100 larger scale projects, but that would require government funding, which Mr. Supak said seemed unlikely, given the current political landscape. Still, there were dozens of smaller green infrastructure projects in the works, he said. Ms. Austin, of Treme, said each of the projects offered new ways of showing people in New Orleans how to connect with what was happening with the climate while learning how they could help keep storm waters at bay. 'This was not a subject that we talked about in the Black community,' Ms. Austin, 70, said. 'For the past 50 years, after graduating high school, I very rarely heard anything in Treme about climate change or the environment,' she continued. 'We came into this issue unknowingly, not knowing that it would be one of the most important issues of the world.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Whiting Foundation announces grants of $50,000 each for 10 emerging writers
NEW YORK (AP) — Ten emerging writers, from an author of speculative fiction to a poet rooted in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, have received $50,000 grants from the Whiting Foundation. Since 1985, the foundation has had a mission to nurture 'new creations' by supporting poets, playwrights and authors of fiction and nonfiction. Past winners have included Tony Kushner, André Aciman and Tracy K. Smith. This week, the foundation announced its class of 2025. Elwin Cofman writes speculative fiction that Whiting judges say offers 'illuminating sites of bawdy humor and horror,' while Karisma Price crafts post-Katrina poems that are 'songs, howls, portraits, critiques.' Judges praised the essays of Aisha Sabatini Sloan for their 'startling connections between the personal and the collective.' The other winners were dramatist Liza Birkenmeier, fiction writers Samuel Kọ́láwọlé, Shubha Sunder and Claire Luchette, graphic fiction writer Emil Ferris, poet Annie Wenstrup and nonfiction writer Sofi Thanhauser. 'These writers demonstrate astounding range; each has invented the tools they needed to carve out their narratives and worlds,' Courtney Hodell, Whiting's director of literary programs, said in a statement. 'Taken as a whole, their work shows a sharply honed sensitivity to our history, both individual and collective, and a passionate curiosity as to where a deeper understanding of that history can take us.'
