New Orleans to Deploy Free Wi-Fi City Wide 363
Lawrence_Bird writes "The Washington Post is reporting that New Orleans will deploy a city wide wi-fi network with free public access. Much of the equipment has been donated, but New Orleans will own and operate the network. Interestingly, they are only able to do this while a state of emergency remains in place as technically their planned 512Kbps service violates state law prohibiting municipalities from offering access at speeds in excess of 144Kbps, a restriction the city plans on fighting even though they will eventually outsource the whole operation."
WOW...I live here and this is the first I've heard (Score:3, Informative)
I did find it useful the other day, to go to Cooter Brown's [cooterbrowns.com] and use their wireless while watching some football, and drinking some good beer...
Re:Hmmmm...... (Score:4, Informative)
According to TFA, this will provide a huge time savings for inspectors and police. The WiFi is directly improving rebuilding efforts in a number of ways. It's likely much easier and cheaper to provide free wireless for it all than it is to set up a security mechanism to give access only to government officials.
Perhaps their priorities are thought out well?
The disaster isn't over... (Score:2, Informative)
"Safe levee system" (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Free wi-fi is important (Score:3, Informative)
Apparently you haven't been paying that much attention. Most of Cali's problems came from partial deregulation. Wholesale prices were deregulated, but not consumer prices. That's a disaster waiting to happen.
Now, PA has had a much more deregulated power economy. How many rolling blackouts have you seen there? Or in the UK? Just wondering.
Re:Hmmmm...... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I don't think so (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Hmmmm...... (Score:2, Informative)
Well, is this the United States?
That's hardly an argument New Orleans gets to use. If New Orleans was interested in being a part of the United States, it would have stopped using Napoleonic code, stopped calling counties Parishes, and raised the drinking age to 21 much sooner than it did (and it would have done so of its own accord, instead of being pressured into it because of lack of Highway funds.) Among other things.
Not that I agree with any or all of those things; just saying that NOLA has had a long history of flipping off the USA in its past, and claiming solidarity now is more than a little hypocritical.
"And, while I can sympathize with your sentiments regarding say....someone right now, building a new home right on the beach somewhere along the coast."
Then how can you not sympathize with those same sentiments regarding, say, someone who is planning on moving back to The Parish (St. Bernard), New Orleans East, Lakeview, or Gentilly? Most if not all of those folks have to bulldoze and start from scratch if they choose to rebuild where they are. Effectively, that IS "someone right now, building a new home right on the beach somewhere along the coast" - or, at the very least, someone building in an area proven to be prone to total annihilation.
I have to wonder if seeing Katrina's damage as a lesson ("It is not physically safe to build a traditional a house here. Now we know.") is too much to ask.
"New Orleans is where it is for reasons"
Much of which can be attributed to rapid urban sprawl and genuine mistakes. Notice how the oldest areas of the city Proper (Uptown, French Quarter) made out considerably better. This is not a random thing - rather, New Orleans, when it was established and further on into its formative years, was built on the highest portions of the basin. Much of the rest of it (Lakeview and Gentilly are good examples) were some of the last additions, and rose fast enough to create an illusion of safety.
It was never intended to be a huge city - for much of its life it was little more than a very large port. The offshore oil industry more or less changed that.
"The US gets a lot from us down here...economically and culturally. (Jazz, blues, food)."
That's another smallish nit I'd like to pick. At least musically, New Orleans has been land of the cover band for the entire 31 years of my life. Nothing new - especially nothing new in the realms of Jazz and Blues - has happened here in a while.
I can't argue with the food, except to say that any uniquely New Orleans food offerings can't usually be found by outside visitors. A lot of places in, say, the French Quarter are nothing but burger joints with Cajun decorations on the walls.
"We ask for help now...and you turn your back on us? Why are we less important than other parts of the US?"
Ah. The meat of the discussion.
I don't think the US is turning its back on New Orleans because it is less important - I think the collective back is being turned because no one wants to spend capitol rebuilding in an area that is a sure target for destruction. It was a sure target before - surrounded by water and almost 20' below sea level in some areas - and everyone knew it, but the remarkable luck New Orleans had before led to a false sense of complacency. The meager levee protections NOLA had before Katrina did not hold to their reported specifications, Katrina was far stronger than those specifications, and the levee system is considerably weaker now. I think these facts, above everything else, have many people wondering exactly how smart an idea it would be to put things back to where they were before, because they are realizing that pre-Katrina New Orleans was an obviously vulnerable place.
Despite how much I miss my home, I wonder the same things. If I'm angry at the federal government, I am angry at it because I consider it to be a party to endanger
Re:I also live in Hurricane country. (Score:2, Informative)
Suggestion: Perhaps you shouldn't assume so much. [domeofahome.com] That way, I won't have to paste links to buildings that can withstand the winds from very strong tornadoes.
"A levee that can take a 35 foot surge + 275MPH winds? Never have been done and would cost way to much. "
I was under the impression that a much larger one already existed [nola.com].
"The only correct action in the face of a Category 5 storm is to evacuate."
Which is why I no longer live there - I essentially agree with this.
Re:Hmmmm...... (Score:3, Informative)
We can re route all of the fuel refining/delivery to Texas (which has most of it already) where they are WELL above the sea level.
There is no reason why New Orleans cannot be moved further inland (higher elevation) and be the exactly the same port city (and the their relative size of trade through their port has been going down for last several decades).
It is ABSOLUTELY NUTS to rebuild a port city under the sea level. Netherlands HAS NO CHOICE. Their country is about as big as a small NE state. They have no other place to expand to. Only way they can sustain themselves is to reclaim land from sea.
US has no such problem. The land is plentiful. There are plenty of nearby port cities that can EASILY take the flow when properly planned (without any seawalls). Why go with the most expensive route when there are cheaper ways to go?
Finally, if California was a nation, it would have the 5th largest economy in the world. If LA was a nation, its economy would be barely above third world. And no, I do not live in California...