For the second time in five years, an incredulous nation watches the New Orleans region deal with an out-of-control, man-made disaster. And, once again, an incredulous nation watches the government mount an ineffective response. Five years ago, Americans watched water gush through breached floodwalls and drown 80 percent of New Orleans. Helicopters dropped huge sandbags […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council increases transparency with subcontractor ordinance
With little to no fanfare, the New Orleans City Council passed an ordinance today requiring all city contractors to disclose their subcontractors. Transparency proponents have long advocated for this kind of reform to the contracting system, saying that abuse or waste can hide in undisclosed relationships. As an example of what can happen without such […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Defend Plaquemines
Diane Sawyer’s person of the week wants to show the world just how hospitable Plaquemines Parish can be. At a town hall meeting this week Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, who is to be anointed by Sawyer during a Friday night appearance on the ABC newscaster’s show, implored residents in attendance to be “hospitable.” “The […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Theft from school may cost school its independence
The embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars from an independent New Orleans public school could jeopardize its lone-wolf status. Acknowledging that it needs tighter financial controls, the nonprofit board that runs Langston Hughes Academy will vote in coming weeks on whether to hire a charter management organization, FirstLine Schools, to take over operations at […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Blame it on the porn
As we remain cautiously optimistic about the progress of the top kill operation to stop the Macondo oil gusher, I want to focus on porn. The Times-Picayune’s Mark Schleifstein reports that An investigation of Minerals Management Service employees in Lake Charles found a widespread culture of accepting gifts from oil companies, including hunting and fishing […]
Posted inSchools
School embezzler senteneced to five years in federal pen
The former business manager of a New Orleans charter school was sentenced today to five years in jail for embezzling $660,000 from the school, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office. In February, former business manager Kelly Thompson pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to making more than 150 cash withdrawals from Langston Hughes Academy […]
Posted inEnvironment
Shaking a fist at Monkeyfister
The end is near, or at least that’s what the blogger Monkeyfister would have you believe, based on his marathon live blogging of the oil spill as seen through the video feed from the ocean floor. Witness these updates from Sunday: UPDATE 1:20pm CDT: While watching, ANOTHER major “explosion” occurred. ROV Cam now covered in […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Baby you can drive my campaign (beep beep, yeah)
I’m Mark Moseley, and for past six years I’ve used the pen name “oyster” at my blog, Your Right Hand Thief. It’s a real pleasure to be the new opinion columnist at The Lens. For me, blogging serves as a therapeutic alternative to yelling at the TV. So my challenge here is to vent in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Scenes of frustration
Though St. Bernard Parish officials organized a community meeting Monday night, parish President Craig Taffaro quickly stepped out of the way and told the 100 or so audience members “this is your meeting.” They went head-to-head with representatives of BP, the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, covering an array of topics. […]