BP has reached a settlement with hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals along the Gulf Coast who had sued the company after the massive oil spill in 2010. According to the Times, the settlement will replace all the animals and organic matter laid to waste from the spill and will restore the ocean to the condition it was in prior to the spill will pay up to $7.8 billion in claims. This represents the "upper limit" of the cost of the settlement, because the company contends that it has already paid $8 billion to claimants and another $14 billion on cleanup. BP made over $15 billion in nine months last year. more ›

Due to the economic troubles following the oil spill in the Gulf Coast, many families have found themselves unable to afford to care for their dogs anymore. But what is their lost could be our gain, because there are now 107 dogs in New Jersey waiting to find new homes. The dogs were brought to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ, and should be ready for adoptions after baths and chip implants by next week. more ›

At 1 p.m. today, BP pulled the trigger on the "top kill," pumping thousands of pounds of heavy fluids into a five-story stack of pipes in an attempt to clog the well and stop the Gulf oil spill. They might not know if it worked for a couple of days, but you can watch via the spill cam. Meanwhile, hearings into what caused the April 20th explosion proceeded today, and we are getting closer to knowing the name of one of the guys on the rig most responsible for the catastrophe. The Times reports that a chief mechanic for the Deepwater Horizon rig "testified that he witnessed a 'skirmish' between an official of BP, which leased the rig, and Transocean, the owner and operator, on the morning of the explosion." more ›

In the hours before the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20th, BP received and ignored warning signs that something was seriously wrong. In a memo [pdf] released last night, the House committee investigating the disaster confirmed that BP made a "fundamental mistake" in continuing operations after the problems were detected. The memo doesn't say who specifically made the call to keep drilling after the problem was found, but we can just about picture the guy. BP's investigation has "also raised concerns about the maintenance history, modification, inspection, and testing of the [rig]." more ›

One day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar threatened to push BP out of the way if the company does not stop the Gulf oil spill soon, the Obama administration has walked back that threat. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Salazar said, "There are areas where BP and the private sector are the ones who must continue to lead the efforts with government oversight, such as the deployment of private sector technology 5,000 feet below the ocean’s surface to kill the well." Or as Coast Guard commandant Thad Allen put it, "To push BP out of the way, it would raise a question: Replace them with what?" more ›

In case you haven't seen it and you still need to fill your daily quota for helpless outrage, here is the first video of the source of those 4 million gallons of toxic crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's broken oil well. There is no sound, so don't worry about your screams of rage drowning out any edifying commentary. (SPOILER ALERT: At the end, it just keeps gushing.) more ›

Almost 2 million residents along the Lousiana coast have evacuated the region as Hurricane Gustav is expected to hit today. After his mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin revealed he would be staying in the city, sleeping in City Hall. Nagin also warned, "Looters will go directly to jail. You will not get a pass this time. You will not have a temporary stay in the city. You will go directly to the Big House." more ›

A number of NYC ambulance companies are sending trucks and crews to New Orleans as Tropical Storm Gustav continues to move towards the Gulf Coast. Citywide Mobile Response Corp. spokesman Isaac Newman says FEMA contacted them at 10 p.m. last night to deploy ambulances; Citywide sent five ambulances and 15 crew members on the road this morning. Right now, Gustav is expected to be a major Category 3 hurricane when it reaches Louisiana on Tuesday at 1 a.m., with winds at 115mph. The GOP may consider delaying their convention next week--or making it more low-key--because of Gustav. The White House is also debating whether President Bush should cancel his appearance at the convention, given previous criticism of his handling of Hurricane Katrina. more ›

Last week Gothamist was in San Francisco for the third time this year. It was sunny and warm and we took an odd pleasure in watching the natives hustle about wearing wool hats and gloves. In our three trips to the west coast we managed to avoid the Valentine's Day snow storm, the April nor'easter and resultant flooding, and last week's snowy/icy/rainy pair of storms. We will leave it to our readers to decide if our timing was mere coincidence or meteorological perspicacity on our part. more ›

Reading about the The Yes Men's activist exploits is kind of like reading about live action forum trolling. Their acts of identity correction, where they make outrageous, hilarious, and satirical claims while posing as spokespeople for companies such as ExxonMobil and Haliburton, have been covered by news agencies around the world and have helped expose the ludicrous behavior of corporations to the general public. Gothamist talked with Andy Bichlbaum, one of the leading members of The Yes Men to discuss one of their latest pranks- Vivoleum, which involved candles made of human flesh, a dead janitor, and a possible solution to the world's oil crisis. more ›

This week New York Magazine chose Eric Harvey Brown as their look book subject. We decided to ask him a few questions ourselves, and dig a little deeper - beyond the beard (just a little though). more ›

Warm weather continues for the ninth straight day today as air gets pumped up from the south ahead of an approaching storm. It's quite a storm, too! Currently centered over Memphis, the storm is likely to kick off high winds, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes over much of the southeast later today. Say "hi" to a mild El Niño, as fall-winter severe storms along the Gulf Coast are more common when El Niño is around. more ›

Nice late summer day, don't you think? Enjoy the warm, sunny goodness while you can because tomorrow is going to be decidedly less sunny, and a bit cooler. A cold front that currently stretches from Lake Superior, down to the Gulf Coast, and west to Arizona, is going to sweep through town tomorrow night. Ahead of that front we can expect showers and perhaps a thunderstorm, starting around daybreak tomorrow. The front is moving fast and the showers should be gone by the time we wake up on Wednesday. Once the front passes by, the sun will return but the warmth will not. Highs on Wednesday and Thursday will struggle to make 70. The first weekend of fall looks to be slightly warmer. more ›

Curse you stationary front! Because of your unpredictable behavior, which makes your name a misnomer, Gothamist has had to revise our last two weather posts to catch up with changing conditions. You are a vacillating front not a stationary front! You moved south through town on Friday, took a weekend in Rehoboth Beach, headed north through the city last night before reversing direction late this morning. Staying to our south means the rainy weather will continue, but we won't get the unpleasantly warm and sticky weather. more ›

Grouse? Yes, grouse. It's grouse season, which is quite brief, running from August 12 through the end of the month. To celebrate, Orsay will present Scottish grouse dinners as the first in a series of special dinners focusing on game and specialty products from Scotland (menus dedicated to partridge, pheasant and wood pigeon are in the works). The five-course grouse dinners include wine pairings with each savory course for $150 per person; call 212-517-6400 for reservations. 1057 Lexington Avenue at 75th Street. more ›

Tuesday's grey, and Wednesday too. Thursday it will rain upon you. Friday, I'm in love. Saturday wait. Sunday is looking great. more ›

February 22: From Disaster to Dessert – the Fate of New Orleans Food more ›

Gothamist has our guacamole and Tostitos with a Hint of LIme (best tortilla chip ever!) and we're ready to see if anything crazy happens during the game. more ›

Gothamist is a proud sponsor of the upcoming foodie, a sixty person, six-course Gulf Coast inspired tasting event created by our own Joe DeSalazar. This special foodie, which is being held on October 16th from 6-9:30 pm, is designed to raise funds for the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with the goal of donating 70% or more of the proceeds to Habitat for Humanity in hopes of assisting the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast region. The winner will receive two tickets to the October 16th foodie; all entries must be in by 6pm on Wednesday, October 12th. Entry form after the jump. more ›

through October 9: Shacktoberfest at the Shake Shack more ›

Fashionistas and music snobs descend upon the city over the next week with both CMJ and Fashion Week starting. We'll most likely only be attending the former. Before it begins though, we'll ease into the hectic schedule with a few of the following events...even if we should be resting up for the week ahead. more ›

Now is a good time to remember that while the poor and displaced of the Gulf Coast need our help and sympathy - and will for quite some time - poverty is not something that only occurs after a natural disaster. We still encourage you to donate to hurricane relief effort, but many of New York's own citizens have to struggle just to keep up with basic needs every day. Your donation of clothing is one good way to help. more ›

Witnessing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi, many Gothamist readers have asked what they can do to help. The most important thing for many of the Gulf Coast's residents right now is basic services: clean water, food, and medicine, all of which costs money. more ›

Hurricane Katrina is bearing down on the Gulf Coast region right now, and with residents trying to leave the area and news crews trying to report from the area (it's all about soaking reporters). Since Katrina became such a beast so quickly, words like "toxic gumbo" (get it - it's hitting New Orleans!) and phrases like "this could be our tsunami" have been tossed around with images of people taking shelter in the Superdome to hammer home how crazy the storm is. And why should New Yorkers, as well as other non-Mississippi Delta residents, care, aside from having rains later this week? Well, as the news anchors have been excitedly telling us, gas prices will go up and the country might go into a recession. more ›

We are getting a sneak peek at summer today as warm air streams up from the Gulf Coast ahead of a cold front. Gothamist wanted to wear shorts to work today but we were not awake enough to actually find them. Anyway, the Weather Service and weather.com both think we'll get up into the mid-80s or warmer today. AccuWeather is being uncharacteristically conservative, only calling for a maximum temperature of 80. more ›

This morning Gothamist was reading an AccuWeather story on Hurricane Jeanne's likely path. We were saddened by the non-literate nature of the story more than its content. Jeanne's path is described as "somewhat uncertain," that a high pressure system will block a northward "escape path," and that Jeanne may "impact" Florida. Gothamist wonders, somewhat uncertainly, from what Jeanne is escaping when she impacts Florida. Maybe we are being curmudgeonly, but this sort of writing makes us cringe. More importantly, it makes us focus on the writing instead of the forecast. more ›

Oh, sure, Ivan has caused death and destruction along the Gulf Coast, but, as a self-centered New Yorker, Gothamist wants to know how Ivan will affect us. Depending on how much damage was done to Avery Island, our McIlhenny Co. Tabasco brand pepper sauce price may rise. We may also get drenched late tomorrow night into Saturday. Drenched as in 2-5 inches of drenchiness. Until then expect warm weather, sunny today, cloudy tomorrow. more ›

As Gothamist Leslita mentioned, New Orleans is especially at risk from tropical storms because it is surrounded by water and is below sea level. As the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer image of New Orleans (whitish area to the left) and the Mississippi Delta above graphically shows, there's not much difference between land and water along the Gulf Coast (story and high res image covering a larger area on NASA's Earth Observatory). Mobile is particularly vulnerable because it sits at the head of a small bay where the storm surge may get concentrated. more ›

Ivan is one bad mother______. The National Hurricane Center's forecast discussion this past weekend had an admission that caught Gothamist's eye. The forecaster said something to the effect that "we don't have enough information from storms this size to have confidence in our forecasts." That statement may have also caught the Times attention, as they have a story in this morning's paper on why the hurricane prediction maps look like inverted teardrops and how five-day forecasts are as accurate as three-day forecasts were 15 years ago. The image above is the current visible satellite image overlain with NASA TRMM satellite data mentioned in the Times article. more ›

Florida is getting an unprecedented double bashing by Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley this week. During the day today Charley has strengthened to a seriously dangerous Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds. A hurricane's potential for damage is assessed using the Saffir-Simpson scale. A category 4 storm is described as "extreme" with widespread damage resulting. Charley is expected to hit the Gulf Coast of Florida near Sarasota later this afternoon. People near Sarasota can expect roof collapses, major damage to lower floors of buildings, widespread power outages, and major beach erosion. Ground less than ten feet above sea level may be flooded. The State of Florida has called for the evacuation of up to two million people and the storm damage may exceed 10 billion dollars. more ›