…to opinion writing with “Fact and Fiction in Treme,” the debut post in HBO’s new Inside Treme blog. For those of us who’ve been covering Treme since the start, the fact/fiction line is one we’ve all spent some time on already, but (Lolis) Elie—part of the writing team for the show—adds some gravity to the discussion by centering the conversation not on personalities but on the Daymo storyline, and the truth/fiction of prisoners’ care after Katrina:

Treme contributing writer, Lolis Elie.

In those turbulent days and weeks, thousands of prisoners, many charged with minor offenses, shared similar experiences of being “lost” while families searched frantically to locate their loved ones.

Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Marlin Gusman contends that no Orleans Parish prisoner died under his care as a result of Katrina. Since Katrina, there have been 28 deaths of persons in custody at the Orleans Parish jail, a number that is felt by many to be troubling.

… and in other Treme news, Phil Gallo at Billboard.com took a slightly different take from my own on the impact of Treme on local musicians.

—Alex Rawls