In the wake of the most disturbing police coverup conspiracy I’ve ever seen, I questioned whether a local candidate for our next police superintendent, a veteran of this broken NOPD, would be considered a credible leader for the force. Commenter jeffrey responded to the post: Do we want a police department that works in the [...]
Before sunrise on June 17, 2006, five young New Orleanians were gunned down in an SUV at Josephine and Danneel streets in what was dubbed the Central City massacre. News of the killings rocked the community and made headlines around the country. The reaction of local elected officials was swift and extreme. Within days, Mayor [...]
On Monday, Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu unveiled a 21-member committee that will advise him on the selection of the city’s next police superintendent. Landrieu used the opportunity to reiterate that the selection of a new top cop remains his top priority. Landrieu and all of his campaign rivals promised to conduct a national search to find [...]
By Ariella Cohen, staff writer – A year and a half after the city of New Orleans received a half-million-dollar donation to foster citizen involvement in the recovery, none of the programs has been fully implemented and neighborhood activists complain that the main beneficiary so far is City Hall. “This grant was supposed to build [...]
Today, President Barack Obama announced $1.5 billion for the “hardest hit housing markets,” money that will go to state housing-finance agencies to help foreclosure and declining housing price chaos. Though foreclosures are the main focus, the money may also be used for sustainable and affordable homeownership. Louisiana likely won’t benefit much from the plan. The [...]
The Housing Authority of New Orleans is “overly dependent” on private contractors, resulting in higher costs for taxpayers and a loss of efficiency, said a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report on the local housing agency released Thursday. “If the consultants were to cease providing services, activities within [HANO] departments would essentially come [...]
Click here to read the city’s request for applications, which resulted in Mayor Ray Nagin presenting Zulu with a giant check for $800,000 on Lundi Gras.
After the announcement earlier this week that New Orleans won a $45 million federal stimulus program grant to build a new streetcar line on Loyola Avenue, I reminisced about the role of citizen watchdogs in ensuring that the Regional Transit Authority didn’t capitulate to tourism industry interests that wanted only to apply for a route [...]
New Orleans is on a rail! Mardi Gras is over and the Super Bowl celebrations are retracting from their peak but the good news keeps on sliding down the track. On Wednesday, New Orleans was awarded one of 51 grants made eligible for the expansion of public transportation under last year’s stimulus program. The city [...]
A federal judge gave final approval Friday to two agreements for broad reform at the New Orleans juvenile detention center. Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle’s approval of the consent decrees legally obligates the city and Orleans Parish School Board to improve conditions and increase educational resources at the jail-like facility, a holding center for juvenile offenders [...]