Laura Maggi

Katrina inspired a $3B wetlands rebuilding project. Louisiana just killed it. A pillar of the state's coastal restoration plan is dead. Its backers say it would have offered the most effective, natural storm protection.

Louisiana launched a $3B wetland restoration project after Hurricane Katrina with support from both parties, in part to "shield the New Orleans area from future storms."

But now Gov. Jeff Landry, a Trump ally, has canceled it,
@mirandawrites.bsky.social writes.

www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

New Orleans, after the levees broke - The Boston Globe Hurricane Katrina and the lessons that have been unlearned.

Gordon Russell, former managing editor of The Times-Picayune, now at Boston Globe, opines on Hurricane Katrina:
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/29/o...

So glad they got rid of the “houses,” which made the twin dynamic even worse. Really like Law Roach and Christian. Very annoyed by contestant judging thing in this last one.

Tom Lehrer, Musical Satirist With a Dark Streak, Dies at 97

RIP Tom Lehrer, truly one of the greatest to ever do it, a satirist beyond compare, a brilliant wordsmith, a cheeky fellow, I loved him and his work beyond reason.

A.P. Bio is on Netflix now. Very funny show, gets weirder and better over seasons.

Unexpectedly really enjoyed Eurovision movie recently.

Noem outlined major restructuring of FEMA in private meeting The Homeland Security secretary expressed support for eliminating long-term disaster recovery efforts under the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Trump officials are preparing for "dramatically shrinking" FEMA, which could threaten disaster response at a time when climate change is worsening extreme storms. It would shift the federal response to states, which may not be prepared to handle the challenge. www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

Trump admin halts NOAA-sponsored studies as DOGE work speeds up The termination orders to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine curtail research on equity in fisheries management and diversity in ocean sciences.

Today's scoop: NASEM has received termination orders for at least two NOAA-sponsored studies, one on equity in fisheries management and another on diversity in ocean sciences. Meanwhile, DOGE activities at the agency continue to ramp up.
www.eenews.net/articles/tru...

Seems like a good time to post my lil starter pack of E&E News reporters, who are gradually getting active over here (if I've missed anyone, lemme know!). These folks have got you covered on the climate/energy/environment angles for everything in the news. go.bsky.app/KxTUCi1

There is currently a civil conversation happening on the neighborhood list serve about a local government housing density plan. It feels miraculous.

I just got an offer of snow pants for my kid from a local Buy Nothing Facebook group and am in the process of giving an outgrown pair away. It’s genuinely useful.

We've lifted the paywall as New Year's Day tragedy unfolds on Bourbon Street in New Orleans Stay with us as we report on all of the news surrounding this tragedy as it unfolds.

New Orleans’ Times-Picayune took down its paywall to give us access to its excellent spot coverage of the Bourbon Street attack.

And if you want to support the site’s mission without committing to a subscription… 1/2

www.nola.com/news/bourbon...

What has Biden wrought? He had just a single term to try to transform the nation's approach to energy, climate change, technology and jobs. What does he leave behind?

At the end of 2024, a look at where things stand with Biden’s bid to remake the American economy. www.eenews.net/articles/bid...

Rising tides are coming for Lee Zeldin’s hometown President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead EPA lives in an area at high risk for flooding that gets federal support for climate mitigation.

From last week: @mirandawrites.bsky.social on the ongoing work to deal with the rising seas swamping the Trump EPA’s Long Island hometown. www.eenews.net/articles/ris...

New Orleans settles suit filed by family of Kim Groves, woman murdered on cop's order in 1994 New Orleans officials have reached a settlement with the children of Kim Groves, the 9th Ward woman who was murdered on the order of a police officer after she filed

The city of New Orleans didn’t agree to pay a settlement to Groves’ children until 2018. www.nola.com/news/courts/...

More about Kim Groves, a 32-year-old mother of three. veritenews.org/2024/10/14/k...

Biden Commutes 37 Death Sentences Ahead of Trump’s Plan to Resume Federal Executions Those affected by the president’s action on Monday are still subject to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Three men will remain on federal death row.

Len Davis is one of the death row prisoners whose sentence was commuted by Biden. A New Orleans police officer, he ordered a hit on Kim Groves in 1994 for filing a complaint about him. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/u...

I sent my dad a fig and chocolate one and he declared it to be "very good."

The Luxury Makeover of the Worst Pastry on Earth How panettone, the once-reviled Italian Christmas treat, became a high-end commodity

As someone who dreaded the collection of panettone my grandmother would patiently eat her way through each winter — and foist on us — I identified with this a lot. www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Feds float ESA protections for ‘threatened’ monarch butterfly Although it has been in decline, the butterfly is found throughout the United States, which made this a particularly challenging case for the Fish and

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing monarch butterflies as threatened. It’s a particularly challenging ESA ruling. www.eenews.net/articles/fed...

‘Bioweapons’ and cover-ups: The untruths behind RFK Jr.’s disease claims Kennedy has spread misinformation about the deadliest and most debilitating diseases of the modern era.

“I do not believe that infectious disease is an enormous threat to human health,” RFK said on his podcast during the campaign. www.eenews.net/articles/bio...

FEMA critic Garret Graves is a contender to lead that agency under Trump The outgoing Louisiana lawmaker is highly regarded for his understanding of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Garret Graves as possible FEMA head? What would the Louisiana congressman do with the agency’s flood insurance rate restructuring, which is so loathed in his state? www.eenews.net/articles/fem...

The 25 Most Influential Cookbooks From the Last 100 Years Chefs, writers, editors and a bookseller gathered to debate — and decide — which titles have most changed the way we cook and eat.

I was outraged — outraged! — to see Marcella at 25 until I reread and saw the list wasn’t ranked. #readingcomprehension Good list.

www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/t...

Read this when you can set aside a few moments to sob in the bathroom (if you’re at work).

Interstate 40 Eastbound near Asheville is…it’s just gone.

A threatened species complicates power line plans The project, which could expand wind power, was supposed to be done by 2018. The holdup? The American burying beetle.

A good weekend read. E&E News’ Mike Doyle looks at the tensions between endangered species protections and a transmission line that could expand renewable energy in Nebraska. www.eenews.net/articles/a-t...

Easy-as-Pie Apple Cake (Published 2015)

Not healthy. Tasty. Easy. cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017...

So 80s!!

I remember having chicken pox in my throat. And these had just come out (at least were available) and I just ate box after box to soothe the throat itching.

Hi Folks: Firing up this account for the first time to note that today marks one year since the Russian government detained my colleague Evan Gershkovic in an act of supreme cynicism and cowardice. WSJ’s response is this stunning front page. #FreeEvan