By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | An eastern New Orleans icon of post-Katrina abandonment is up for the taking. After nearly six years of handwringing over the future of the city-owned former Jazzland/Six Flags theme park, the city put out a call Wednesday for companies to submit proposals for the redevelopment of the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Abramson to argue in court that BESE didn't follow its own rules in revoking charter
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | Did the state make a rash decision when it recently revoked a New Orleans school’s charter? That’s what will be argued in court Thursday as the embattled former managers of Abramson Science and Technology Charter School present their case against the state school board. Representatives from the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu says city's poor financial situation isn't likely to improve anytime soon
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | It’s going to get worse before it gets better. That was the financial message Mayor Mitch Landrieu left with New Orleanians at the first of his public meetings on the 2012 budget held Tuesday night in the heart of Central City. Though he worked the crowd with […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
It was a bad week for Army Corps and NOPD, but a worse week for us
I recommend reading Sandy Rosenthal’s latest column in full. Here are a few excerpts to get you started: It was a very bad week for the Army Corps of Engineers. First, Bunnatine “Bunny” Greenhouse, former chief oversight official of contracts for [Army Corps of Engineers] operations in Iraq received nearly a million dollar settlement after […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Residents asked to lay out budget priorities
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | Mayor Mitch Landrieu tonight will host the first in a series of community meetings to learn what residents’ priorities are for the 2012 budget, which is already being drafted. Billed as a part of the city’s effort to spend taxpayer money more efficiently, the meetings represent a […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Are guns on campus OK? Ask the students and cops on northshore
When not campaigning for other offices or switching parties, state Rep. Ernest Wooton, I-Belle Chasse, has distinguished himself by leading the effort to allow concealed firearms on Louisiana college campuses. In three of the past four years he has sponsored bills to let qualified students and faculty carry permitted weapons at public universities. Though the […]
Posted inOpinion
City Hall hiring freeze more than just a balancing act
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens opinion writer | Ever played Jenga, the Parker Bros. game where you stack up a bunch of wooden blocks and then take turns easing them out of the middle of the stack, one at a time – until the whole thing falls down? With a hiring freeze on at City […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Child porn sickos deaf to Jindal’s tough talk
For the past three years or so, Governor Bobby Jindal has traveled far and wide bragging about how tough his administration is on child predators. He’s told audiences that violent child rapists deserve the death penalty, and that sexual predators should be chemically castrated. They’re “monsters,” he never fails to say. As he tours beyond […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Innovative RSD planning process enters final month: public weighs in on needed changes
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | More transparency, more equity, and greater levels of commitment to non-charter schools were among requests from community members at a public task force meeting Tuesday night with Recovery School District head John White. Members of the task force – comprising representatives from the RSD, the non-profit Orleans […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Blight worsened by housing preservation program, Hoffman Triangle residents say
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Hoffman Triangle residents thought they were getting a handle on the blight problem that has gripped their community since Hurricane Katrina. A small neighborhood wedged between Broadmoor and Central City, the Triangle went deeply under water after the levees failed. As a recovery strategy, residents formed a […]