Times-Picayune Evacuating - e-mail from my partner

[Modem Butterfly]

"Game over, I think.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005

T-P EVACUATING
Tuesday, 9:40 a.m.

The Times-Picayune is evacuating it's New Orleans building.

Water continues to rise around our building, as it is throughout the region. We want to evaucate our employees and families while we are still able to safely leave our building.

Our plan is to head across the Mississippi River on the Pontchartrain Expressway to the west bank of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. From there, we'll try to head to Houma.

Our plan, obviously, is to resume providing news to our readers ASAP. Please refer back to this site for continuing information as soon as we are able to provide it.


-30-






This was posted less than an hour ago. And I can tell from looking that an old hand wrote it; possibly a senior editor.

That "-30-" at the end is an old, old journalist convention that is rarely seen any more. This is apparently serious. The Central Business District and French Quarter were about the only two areas in the city untouched by floodwater, and now both are getting some.

Say g'bye to N'yawlins.


---/// "

[CitrusLib]

1. Holy Crap! I worked a project at the Times-Picayune in the late 90's.

They had the best employee cafeteria of any newspaper I got assigned to. I know right where their building is. This is so tragic. New Orlenas is such a beautiful city in so many ways. My heart is breaking for all those who grew up there or formed an attachment in other ways.

[Modem Butterfly]

3. My partner was a free-lance photojournalist after the military

He did some work for them in the early and mid-90's. We talked briefly of him going to Tulane for graduate school.

[johnnie]

6. I have a friend that worked there during that time

He won a Pulitzer on a story he worked on back then. I copied this and IM'd him the email because I thought he might be interested.

[CitrusLib]

7. Tulane. Another place for memories.

When I was a freshman at UGA, I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with 5 others in a conversion van. We slept in the van in the parking lot of the Howard Johnson's downtown just off Canal and took showers at Tulane by sneaking into their dorms.

I love New Orleans. I just want to cry right now.

[crispini]

2. OMG!

This is BAD.

[Poll_Blind]

4. What does -30- mean?

Just wondering

PB

[Modem Butterfly]

5. I think it means "end"

[htuttle]

8. The same as "###"

or in DU parlance: "EOM"