By Fred Kasten

New Orleans – Levees.org's dedication this morning of an historic plaque at the site of the 17th Street Canal breach following Katrina is the most recent manifestation of founder Sandy Rosenthal's on-going intentions for the organization - to tell the real story of the Katrina levee failures - and what needs to be done to prevent a repeat of them - as WWNO's Fred Kasten discovered in this profile of Sandy Rosenthal from August 2009...

By Fred Kasten

New Orleans – The failure of the federal levees that put 80 percent of New Orleans under water after Katrina blew over the city - was followed in rapid succession by the government's disastrous response to the flood - and a parade of elected officials - including then Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - questioning the value of New Orleans - and the wisdom of rebuilding it. Those were the circumstances in which writer Tom Piazza felt called to action in early September, 2005...

New Orleans, LA –

By Ian McNulty

New Orleans, LA – In much the same way that their red flavor burns your lips, their wet grease stains your fingers and their bomb-drop weight rests on your belly, the memories of New Orleans hot tamales have a way of sticking around too.

New Orleans, LA – Humorist Harry Shearer is best known for his work on "The Simpsons" as the voice of Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, and others. He can be heard Sunday evenings at 8pm on WWNO, hosting his radio program "Le Show."

New Orleans, LA – Jack Hopke hosts WWNO's weekly news magazine.

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – National Incident Commander Thad Allen says he wants the blow-out preventer installed by the Deepwater Horizon replaced before mud and cement is pumped into the bottom of the blown-out well.

" We are very, very close to the end. This gets to be a very, very complex evolution. And there are no black-and-white choices here, and this has required a significant amount of discussion."

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – National Incident Commander Thad Allen says he is still ordering mud and cement be pumped into the bottom of the well, as it has from the top. But he says extensive testing and analysis are still needed to make sure the bottom kill doesn't blast open the material that's keeping oil inside the reservoir.

Ronald Avila, 27, and his sister, Belinda, 29, honor their cultural ties with their family's ancestry in Honduras. Belinda was born in the United States, while her father studied agronomy at the University of Florida in Gainsville. Ronald was born two years later in Honduras. Their mother later brought them to the U.S., where she encouraged their higher education.

By Eileen Fleming