By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Is the city’s new recycling program putting the cart before the trash man’s horse? With 50,000 carts for recycled trash already on order, City Council members on Thursday debated whether the 64-gallon size soon to be delivered is too big. Also still up in the air: whether […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Inmate's lawyer: Sheriff emptied women's jail after complaint to feds about conditions
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman moved his women prisoners from their separate facility at Orleans Parish Prison into a temporary tent next door after a complaint about conditions, the attorney who filed the complaint said Tuesday. Attorney Billy Sothern wrote to the U.S. Marshals Office on Feb. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Recycling carts, service and costs top agenda for City Council committee meeting
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Anyone excited, frustrated or just plain interested in the city’s latest effort to reinstate curbside recycling by May will have plenty to listen to at tomorrow’s meeting of the City Council’s Sanitation Committee. Most of the agenda is dedicated to the matter, from next week’s expected bid […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Land Use, Schools
Animal House where pledges were scalded is targeted by Tulane for cop substation
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Tulane wants to build a police substation in place of a frat house that was closed after pledges were scalded with boiling water and crab boil in an ugly 2009 hazing incident. The case for demolishing the former Pi Kappa Alpha residence, at 1036 Broadway, will be […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
City Council zaps 'aggressive' panhandlers in New Orleans business district
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | It’s no longer legal to borrow a paraplegic’s wheelchair and fake infirmity yourself – not if your intent is to soften the hearts of people you’re panhandling in the Central Business District. Downtown ATM machines? Do your begging elsewhere, as long as it’s not a bus or […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Limbaugh’s clownish guess at Katrina costs no laughing matter
Here’s a lovely quote from Tuesday’s Rush Limbaugh radio show: LIMBAUGH: “Does anybody know how much it cost to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina? Anybody have the number? Snerdley, they have started it. I have been to New Orleans. They have started rebuilding. It’s got to be several hundred billion, right? Has to be. I have […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Louisiana pols fiddle with facts while Japan’s reactors burn
The onslaught of disasters in Japan right now stuns the imagination: a huge earthquake, a devastating tsunami, overheating nuclear power plants, and even an active volcano. Thousands have perished, hundreds of thousands are homeless, and millions are enduring winter nights without reliable power. The human suffering is appalling. While I understand that U.S. TV news […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Politicians side with parents asking review of plans to put KIPP charter at Colton site
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | After weeks of heated debate over the future of Charles J. Colton Middle School on St. Claude Avenue, city and state elected officials are asking that Louisiana Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek put a six-month hold on the discussion and conduct a fresh “community process” moderated by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Criminal Court judges' attendance, time on bench vary widely, according to DA stats
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | Some of the city’s Criminal District Court judges are spending a lot more time on the bench than others, records compiled by the District Attorney’s Office show. At opposite ends of the scale for the 12 judges, Judge Robin Pittman spent 1,175 hours on the bench last […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
It's an oldie but a goodie: Sunshine is the best disinfectant, and we need a good dose
By Steve Beatty, The Lens staff writer | Happy Sunshine Week. Unlike other recent “weeks” and “days” invented by the greeting-card industry, this particular week is meant to help the general public, not honor a specific group. We’re here to remind people of their rights to observe and participate in government. The collection of laws […]