By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Many, varied – and sometimes imaginative — are the arguments raised on behalf of zoning variances sought from the City Planning Commission. There’s the economic development argument: i.e. Let me put 200 tax-paying self-storage units in my front yard or New Orleans will never again be able […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
500 eastern New Orleans residents seek answers on bringing back their area
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | Since coming into office last year, eastern New Orleans City Councilman Jon Johnson has repeatedly stressed the difficulties he faces trying to explain to his constituents why, nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina, their neighborhoods still lack basic amenities. “What do you tell people when they ask […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Flooding? – who cares! We must stamp out looting before it starts!
Surely we all can agree that the first priority in the aftermath of a devastating mega-disaster is very clear: looting must be severely punished, even if the heavens fall. That’s why we should celebrate the upcoming fifth anniversary of the 15 year prison sentence Judge Hans Liljeberg bestowed upon two looters who lifted warm beer […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Top NORA aide headed back east
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | The young real-estate lawyer who helped to lead an ambitious post-Katrina overhaul of the beleaguered New Orleans Redevelopment Authority will be leaving the city this summer. NORA Director of Real Estate Ommeed Sathe will now direct social investments for the Prudential financial company, and he will return […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Investigations, Land Use
Crackdown on Lower Garden District blight outs cop with dual homestead exemptions
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Taking action against the owner of blighted property is at best a ticklish business – only more so, residents of the Lower Garden District learned, when the owner claims a homestead exemption on the building. The informal citizen’s group learned something else: Persistence pays off. The homestead […]
Posted inOpinion
Neighborhoods are dandy, but no reason to settle for the 'official' 73
By Keith G.C. Twitchell, The Lens contributing opinion writer | A recent Lens article by Richard Campanella argues against the current official city neighborhood map and its 73 “official” neighborhoods. Campanella further goes on to argue both for and against defining neighborhoods, but ultimately describes officially defined neighborhood boundaries as “a necessary evil, an important […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Silence is Violence gets too noisy, too soon
Four years ago I became frustrated with the anti-violence group Silence is Violence because of their excessive patience with Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Chief Warren Riley, two officials who were demonstrably incapable of reducing crime rates in New Orleans. Now, I’m again frustrated with Silence is Violence and their recent call for Mayor Landrieu […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics, Investigations
Organizer who specialized in catastrophe conferences admits to financial disasters
A self-described “philanthropist-entrepreneur” specializes in disaster conferences, drawing high-powered speakers but leaving behind-the-scenes contractors looking for a paycheck.
Posted inEnvironment
OPSB updates plan to rid Audubon Charter soils of sky-high lead contamination
In response to parents’ concerns about lead levels as much as 15 times the legal limit, the Orleans Parish School Board has released an updated plan to remediate a temporary site for Audubon Charter School. Dubbed the Eastbank Swing Space, the tract of land between Richard, Orange, Constance and Annunciation streets in the Lower Garden […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Louisiana charter schools group posts online library of applicable laws and regulations
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | The charter school community – and, no doubt, its critics as well – will benefit from an online compilation of laws regarding the operation of these schools. The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools has posted the law library on its website above all for the use […]