onceinalifetime-I'll keep my eyes pealed.I doubt it was stripped.The thief is riding it, or he sold it to a buddy.It is almost certainly being ridden around NO somewhere.
Make sure you file a Police Report.If they pick it up for some other reason it will just be sold off as unclaimed after 12 months.
There aren't that many Voodoo framed bikes on the streets of NO.
The most of ninth ward really was not too bad/dangerous; it was mainly single family houses-some doubles-most were owner occupied.I worked on St Claude Ave for years-not quite down as far as the ninth ward, but same sort of area.The ninth is largely depopulated now-not very dangerous-there isn't anyone there.
dbolden-not wanting to pick a fight, but the Army Corp admitted that their floodwalls(in general it wasn't the earthen levees failed in NO, it was floodwalls) failed despite the load not being anywhere near design limits.This is pretty much as close as it gets to admitting fault. Of course, the Corp of Engineers (the USA taxpayers really) aren't legally liable for any failures.When the law was passed that ordered them-(The Corp) to build flood control structures(after the 1927 Mississippi floods,I think) it legally exempted them from any liability should they fail.This is a good law-it would cost $200,000,000,000 to undue all the damage from Katrina-lawyers would get very,very rich.Buy flood insurance(S-happens).
The basic failure was in the sheet pilings.They were waaaaay too short-only 11 feet below seal level-and they were unsupported-they just drove them down, and capped them with concrete(the canal bottoms were lower than the bottom of the sheet piles by a foot or two). The new sheetpiles are driven 55 feet below sea level,and they are supported by beams on the backside. What happened-according to the Corp-was the water(only 10 ft above seal level and 2-4 feet from the top of the floodwall-) bent the wall back, and opened a space between the water side earth and the sheetpile.At the same time it was opening the space on the water side wider,the water was pushing at the top of the wall, while digging away at the bottom of the wall.It was just as you might remove a post by digging out one side of it.Dig out one side-push on the top of the post in the direction opposite your hole and it will push over.
The new piles are much deeper-and they are anchored on the landside by close to right angle steel piles welded on.
Nagin actually isn't too bad a mayor.He is pro business-a good thing.He isn't corrupt either.Not great, but not bad either.
I'll keep an eye out for the Voodoo.Luck,Charlie
PS-the storm surge was only about 10-11 feet at 17th street canal-I think that is no more than Cat 2.Katrina weakened considerably before it got to NO,and in the hours before landfall.