Phil G here; On August 29th, 2005, the levees surrounding New Orleans failed from the heavy storm surge from Hurricane Katrina.
80% of the city was flooded. Over 1800 people perished (more that 100 remain missing). The mishandling of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response by Michael D. Brown (aka "Brownie) remains one of the greatest catastrophes of this century. Before heading up FEMA, Brown was the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association from 1989 to 2001. After numerous lawsuits were filed against the organization over disciplinary actions that Brown took against members violating the association's code of ethics,Brown resigned and negotiated a buy-out of his contract. (Seems about par for the course for GOP administrations in this century, in my opinion). Brown resigned from FEMA in September 2005 after his bungling of the recovery efforts.
KBOO's sister-station WWOZ-FM Community Radio (also at 90.7!) was blown off the air by the storm. KBOO was one of the first stations to raise money to help them get back on the air.
So this Friday, August 29th, I will be playing music about New Orleans and, most definitely, about the struggles and resiliency of the people of that city. Honestly, friends, I'm still heartbroken and enraged, 20 years out, so I found music that both expresses my anger and also offers some hope for all of us. I will be playing a lot of live cuts from the 2006 and 2007 Jazz and Heritage Festival(s) as well as some fairly pointed commentary.
That said, I remind you that KBOO has a platform that allows for hosts to air what's on their hearts and minds and,if that's important to you, PLEASE support us . We need you more than ever.