By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | The long road city contracts travel before being signed is, at least temporarily, even twistier and more dimly lit than it was when Ray Nagin was mayor. For the two years before Mayor Mitch Landrieu took office, city officials and the Inspector General could monitor the progress […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Traffic camera bill could shoot a $12 million hole in New Orleans budget
Last year Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-Algiers, said, “It is no longer if we get rid of these cameras, it is a matter of when.” He was talking about traffic cameras, and he was right. While his proposal to unplug the cameras stalled in the Legislature in 2010, this year the passage of his bill looks downright […]
Posted inOpinion
Refinery accident pollution estimates badly need refining
By Benjamin Leger, The Lens contributing opinion writer | Talk to anyone who lives near an oil refinery or chemical plant in Louisiana, and they’ll tell you they worry every night about what might happen. “We go to sleep always ready to roll,” says Sonyja Thomas, a resident of north Baton Rouge near ExxonMobil, the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
A year after Nagin, frustration mounts over continuing delays in post-Katrina projects
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | As Mayor Landrieu marks a first year in office, his capital projects team is still troubleshooting design problems on more than half of the 113 federally funded recovery projects it selected from the much longer list passed on by his predecessor at City Hall. This leaves many […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City Hall jacks luxury car to settle tax debt owed by French Quarter bar owner
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | [Update, 20:30:] According to petition documents obtained by The Lens, these are the names of the bars, business, and owners that were named in the suit for alleged non-payment of taxes, that led to the seizure of The Bentley: Newport Corporation of Louisiana, Millionaire Boy’s Club, Inc., […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Better late than never: Wishing bin Laden a speedy trip to hell
For the past seven years at my old blog, I regularly wondered why Osama bin Laden wasn’t already dead and in hell. I’d always believed bin Laden’s liquidation should’ve been a top priority for the United States, if for no other reason than justified vengeance. He deserved to die for the 9/11 attacks and for […]
Posted inEnvironment
The glass is half empty for recycling: New city program will not take bottles or jars
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | As you clean up from the first weekend of Jazz Fest, you may be tempted to toss the empty glass bottles into the recycling bin, along with the newspapers and plastics. You need to fight that temptation. Glass is not accepted in the city’s recycling program that […]
Posted inLand Use
Rock 'n' Bowl owner gets permission to demolish pair of houses for parking lots
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Rock ‘n’ Bowl owner John Blancher won city approval this week to tear down two apartment duplexes adjacent to the New Orleans bowling alley and night club, with plans to use the space for parking. Six New Orleans City Council members voted unanimously to overrule the Neighborhood […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Iberville developer eyes Lafitte Greenway linear park for obligatory off-site housing
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | The Landrieu administration is considering a request to build affordable housing on a parcel of fallow city-owned land long expected to be part of the Lafitte Greenway in Mid-City. The land in question is the largest contiguous piece of land within the footprint of the linear park, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Berm blather distracts us from the real issue: slapdash drilling
The Gulf Coast Leadership Summit was convened last week at the Hilton to remember and discuss the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and the oil gusher that followed. The first day of the Summit included a forum with former Oil Spill Commission members as well as forums with political leaders from affected coastal regions. Much of […]