Locust Fork Radio will be live on the air again today for our eleventh week on WJSR FM 91.1 Birmingham, The Edge, with the Professor and the Doc show. The primary focus of the discussion today will be on the death penalty and our special guest will be the Rev. Jack Zylman, one of the participants in tonight’s vigil in Kelly Ingram Park (see the post below for more details).

Check the Locust Fork News page to read some of the headlines and stories we will be talking about today, along with some of the stories posted below on the blog.

Tune in from 3 to 5 p.m. and call in to get in on the discussion between 3:15 and 4:45 p.m. Call (205) 856-7702 and contribute to the discussion.

For more information about Locust Fork Radio and to listen to some segments of the show, you can keep up with updates on the blog under the category Locust Fork Radio or go to the Locust Fork Radio Web page where many segments of the show are now available as mp3 files for your listening pleasure.

We will be shopping a CD to radio stations over the next few days to take the show to commercial radio next year - where we can make a real difference and raise the level of dialogue in this state and nation. If you know of anyone who might like to sponsor the show, get in touch.

Three months since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and coastal Louisiana, community leaders gathered at one of the city’s significant levee breaches to call for an immediate federal commitment to effective storm protection for New Orleans and Southern Louisiana.

“At the heart of the revitalization effort and at the heart of the federal responsibility is a commitment to two things,” said Mark Davis of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. “Honest and effective storm protection for New Orleans and other population centers, and coastal restoration and conservation. These two pieces are inextricably tied together, and are key responsibilities of the federal government.”

The groups agreed that the time for federal action and commitment is now and have launched a grassroots effort to send that message.

“Once our immediate human suffering abated, so too did the national media attention to our plight, as well as Washington’s sense of urgency to address it,” said Aaron Viles with the Gulf Restoration Network. “That’s why we’ve launched an effort to encourage 300,000 comments to Washington and the White House - we need to remind them through one comment for every displaced Louisianan.”

“Through task forces, commissions, and community meetings, Louisiana is developing rebuilding plans and ideas. All of this relies on people feeling safe,” said Casey Roberts, a Sierra Club local leader and national Gulf Coast Rebuilding Committee member. “Local communities can’t rebuild the levees or restore the coast on their own. We need a federal commitment.”

Each day that passes without a commitment to the survival and prosperity of New Orleans, South Louisiana and America’s Wetland compounds and prolongs this tragedy. This is not just about a storm or Louisiana. It is about whether America answers the call of stewardship and responsibility.

For more information, visit the Gulf Restoration Network Web site.