News

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Secretary Salazar is visiting various emergency response stations throughout the Gulf Coast, from wildlife rescue centers to the Coast Guard headquarters outside New Orleans. Salazar will be consulting with Energy Secretary Steven Chu and others Sunday afternoon.

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry says officials will make information available that shows how closely the underwater oil is monitored.

"We have a pretty good handle on the oil we're dealing with. We have a very good handle on the oil we're dealing with. Both at the source, through the water column and on the surface. And as it hits the shoreline, and we're tracking it constantly."

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – BP will try again to insert a pipe inside the leaking one on the seabed. Company Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles says the first attempt failed to connect the mile-long pipe to the surface ship that could take the oil diverted from the spill.
Secretary Salazar says the government is doing all it can to help BP.

By Eileen Fleming

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says floating barriers are on hand in case oil makes its way north to the salt-water lake. It's actually an oval estuary connected to the Gulf 70 miles to the south. Landrieu says the region needs the nation's help in making sure off-shore drilling is safe.

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Landry says attacks on the millions of barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf are successfully keeping it offshore.

"The vast majority of the Gulf Coast has seen no landfall from this spill. BP teams continue to respond to very sporadic reports of tar balls, ribbons of emulsified oil."

But Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says those globs of oil could be a sign of much more on the way.

By Eileen Fleming

New Orleans, La. – Some scientists reviewing underwater footage of oil flowing from the BP well says it's coming out at a much higher rate than BP and federal officials are saying. After the rig exploded three weeks ago, Rear Admiral Mary Landry said the well appeared to be capped. She said later that about 1,000 barrels a day were leaking, then 5,000. Experts looking at BP's underwater images say it's more like 70,000 barrels a day

New Orleans, LA – Oil spill report from Zoe Sullivan regarding the use of hair in booms, Opera at Madewood Plantation, Story Corps New Orleans - Peter Mayer

Peter Mayer emigrated with his family from Germany as World War Two approached. He was six years old at the time and spoke no English. He and his family settled in Uptown and he has remained in New Orleans to the present day. He's 80 years old now, and is being interviewed by his son, Josh, who's 49. This conversation was recorded March 21, 2010.

Peter recalls New Orleans during his early years, and is asked about the days after the war, the historic time when Israel became a state, his college days, military service and his return to New Orleans.