By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | A rookie New Orleans cop who resigned in April after allegedly brandishing two guns during an off-duty altercation at a gas station will not face criminal charges in the incident, prosecutors have decided. “After reviewing all of the evidence, the District Attorney’s office determined that it could […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Homeowner or homeless? St. Louis Street resident fights to hang on to what he has
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | The stretch of St. Louis Street near Claiborne Avenue more closely resembles an industrial brown field than a residential neighborhood. And even in that context, the ramshackle house in the 1900 block has eccentricities of its own: the plastic flowers and ribbons that hang from the front […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Time to kiss gay ‘Kiss Cam’ bigotry goodbye
The first “interracial” kiss in television history took place in the fall of 1968, during the famous Star Trek episode titled “Plato’s Stepchildren.” The episode’s storyline has Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura trapped on a planet ruled by sadistic philosopher kings. As an amusement, these “Platonians” use their powers of telekinesis to force Kirk and […]
Posted inOpinion
Good, not great: City deserves better plan for Mid-City Market
By Alan Williams, The Lens contributing opinion writer | The proposed Mid-City Market is a bit like the 2006 Saints: a big improvement over prior efforts, but ultimately just not good enough. To be sure, a new grocery store on this site – in the 400 block of North Carrollton Avenue — is good. Winn-Dixie […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Frustrated City Council members complain about continued lack of judicial openness
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | City Councilwoman Susan Guidry scolded elected criminal-justice officials for providing little to no advanced information Wednesday as they appeared before a council committee to provide mid-year updates on how they’re spending their money. She complained that Traffic Court Chief Judge Robert Jones III was only then handing […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City forced to tweak spending as $38B federal budget cut ripples downstream
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | Two months after President Barack Obama and Congress averted a government shutdown by eliminating $38 billion in federal spending for 2011, New Orleans is feeling the pinch. The $2.8 billion cut to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development budget has crimped the city’s Office of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Many courts making financial decisions in private, despite state law that demands openness and public hearings
A continuing tradition of financial secrecy by some elected judges defies a decades-old state transparency law and creates a virtual black robe around judicial budgets in New Orleans.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Tea Partyers lick chops as GOP moderate enters presidential fray
Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman announced for president this morning, which may well mean it’s downhill from here. That’s right, national Huntsmania may never get more intense than it is right now, so let’s all savor this political apex. I suspect it will be fleeting. Huntsman is a Republican who served as U.S. ambassador to […]
Posted inOpinion
Arts funding cuts carry a hidden economic risk
By Nathan C. Martin, The Lens contributing opinion writer | Culture is to Louisianans what water is to fish. Our public spaces and private lives are utterly infused with forms of expression that make the state unique—our food, architecture, music, costumes, art, and public celebrations, to name a few. They create a cultural environment that […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Elephants and clowns can be found at both ends of Poydras
Before the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference opening event Thursday, a delegate began chatting with me about the conference. She explained that she was a “Mitt Romney girl.” She pointed to the photo of the former Massachusetts governor on the cover of the Liberty Today newspaper. Presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., also graced the […]