Sheriff Marlin Gusman has no hard evidence to back his recent claim that New Orleans needs a jail that would hold 3,200 people, even after an expert hired by the city said a 1,500-bed jail would be sufficient.
Posted inSchools
School officials struggle with locations, attendance zones
Uncertainties about the relationship between charter schools and the neighborhoods in which they are located continues to dog New Orleans school officials as they work out the final details of a master plan for rebuilding and assigning public school facilities.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Gusman wants more jail beds; ACLU wants to know why
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana wants Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman to justify his recent claim that a new city jail needs 3,200 beds, after a consultant hired by the city said city could easily make do with a 1,500-bed jail.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Woldenberg disaster spending frustrates neighborhoods
A plan to spend $4.2 million in federal disaster-recovery grants on Woldenberg Park in the French Quarter has provoked the ire of community activists who say the money should be spent in areas still suffering from Hurricane Katrina.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Judges, clerk apologize for Civil District Court computer system crash
The City Council this morning called for changes in the management of the computer system at Civil District Court, following the disastrous computer crash that has crippled the city’s real-estate market since late October.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Trash fee increase among highlights on council agenda
The City Council plans to vote tomorrow on an ordinance to double residential garbage pick-up fees to $24, even though Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration still has not even started drafting new contracts with two companies to actually haul the city’s trash.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Ohio State gets a Boehner; Arkansas gets the bird
I love to handicap college football games by carefully analyzing the merits of each team’s mascots, and factoring in ominous current events that might foretoken disaster for a particular football squad.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Hookah bar loses liquor permit
Six nightclubs came under scrutiny at this month’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board meeting Tuesday.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Recommendation for new jail came from non-member
A resolution supporting a new jail was proposed by someone who was not even a member of Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s advisory group on the matter.
Posted inLand Use
Empty since Katrina, 233 HANO units to be torn down
The Housing Authority of New Orleans approved a deal today to demolish 233 empty scattered public housing units moldering since Hurricane Katrina. But while neighbors applauded progress in the battle against blight, questions remain about what HANO will do with its properties once the 99 doomed buildings are cleared.