December 15th, 2007 Alan Gutierrez
Oh, joy! A high-school student produced web video is once again the talk of every form of New Orleans media. Levees.org has reintroduced their New Orleans Levee Spin 101 video to YouTube.
Anti-SLAPP
They were given a take down notice by the American Society of Civil Engineers in response to this satirical film produced by students of the AP government class at the Isadore Newman School. Sandy Rosenthal announced Wednesday that Levees.org has obtained pro bono legal council from Two prominent law firms, Adams and Reese, LLP and Cooley Godward Kronish LLP. From Levees.org reposts controversial video.
In a letter to ASCE general Counsel Thomas Smith III, one of the attorneys for Levees.org warned that any lawsuit against the organization might trigger Louisiana’s “Anti-SLAPP” statute, which allows courts to weed out lawsuits designed to chill public participation on matters of public significance.
SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.”
“While this may not be a criticism the ASCE enjoys, it is nonetheless a fully protected exercise of free speech on the part of Levees.org,” wrote Samantha Everett, an attorney with Cooley Godward Kronish
Finally, An Organization We Can All Despise
So often it is the case in the affairs of the City of New Orleans that I don’t know what to think. I’m so grateful to the American Society of Civil Engineers for giving me something that is so easy to find despicable.
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July 3rd, 2006 Alan Gutierrez
Dangle 24/7 of the web site, We Are Not OK, also known as “Soul of New Orleans”, has been maintaining the Think New Orleans Television Calendar. This is a thorough list of television programs that are both about New Orleans and worth your time.
Dangle 24/7 has written to say that the Discovery Channel has an episode of Extreme Engineering called Big Easy Rebuild that is must see TV.
I’m flattered that he choose to call his calendar the Think New Orleans Television Calendar, because any calendar you would like to list on the New Orleans Calendar is supposed to have the name that reflects your organization.
It is easy to update the New Orleans Calendar with civic events from your nonprofit or neighborhood organization. If you’d like to know how, leave a message in the comments, or email alan@thinknola.com.
July 3rd, 2006 Alan Gutierrez
Laureen Lentz and I have been batting back and forth and idea of hers. She put it quite simply. Take a laptop to a bus stop. Answer questions using the Internet.
Questions about “Road Home” money. Questions about housing. Basic questions.
The idea is to set up a table at the cross-roads of the digital divide. This shall be the first true digital divide initiative of Think New Orleans.
Here are some questions regarding the logisitcs.
- Which church or neighborhood gathering? Where?
- What is the inventory of necessary equipment?
- How do we ensure connectivity? Wifi for cellular?
- How do we record the lessons learned?
- What strategies can we devise to quickly answer frequently asked questions?
- What strategies can we devise to perform common procedures such as registrations or permits?
- How do we turn this into something replicable?
Laureen and I have discussed this in some detail. This is a conversation starter. I’ll place my notes form the conversation in the comments, along side Laureen’s. Anyone can chime in.
Update: We need a venue. We are looking for some place where connectivity is still an issue. Who wants to volunteer their community meeting? We’ll set up a card table. It will be the Internet help desk.
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