The owner of the site of the former Methodist Hospital complex in eastern New Orleans has granted Mayor Mitch Landrieu a two-month extension on a $40 million deal to purchase the property, Methodist Health System Foundation CEO Fred Young Jr., said Monday. “The mayor asked for 60 days so he could look over the deal,” […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Charter school conversion leaves some parents anxious, some hopeful
An infant rattled his mother’s car keys in blissful ignorance as she wondered aloud where his brothers would go to school in the fall. Two students in matching school uniforms whispered and appeared confused by the worked-up parents standing around them. And a toddler covered her ears with her hands as a stranger yelled. The […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Farewell Lens and, soon, farewell New Orleans
I recently finalized plans to leave New Orleans to continue my education. I will be attending the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University to pursue a master’s degree in public administration. Classes will begin in August, and I will be leaving New Orleans sometime in June to spend some quality time with […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Police brutality activists protest mayor's selection for chief
Police-brutality activists rallied on the steps of City Hall today calling for the removal of New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Ronal Serpas. “We want a completely new landscape free of people who came up in a NOPD culture of abuse and terror,” said organizer W.C. Johnson. Johnson said that while he is pleased the Department […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu's environmental office on hold during oil spill
With an environmental disaster imminent off the Louisiana coast, the New Orleans government’s web page on “Coastal Restoration” is blank – as is the seat for the mayor’s director of Office of Environmental Affairs. While it’s noted on the city’s home page that the site is being redesigned, the page for Coastal Restoration is tabula […]
Posted inEnvironment
Worth thousands of words
It’s hard to describe photos of a disaster as “beautiful,” so let’s just say that the photo editors at boston.com have captured and compiled an impressive set of 40 photographs that document the oil disaster in the Gulf.
Posted inEnvironment
Effectiveness of BP training may be lost in translation
A special oil-spill class set up by BP Tuesday to train Vietnamese fishers in their native language went poorly, with translators giving up just minutes into the four-hour session, and bilingual audience members struggling to fill the gap, one observer said. Those attending got the necessary certification and are qualified to be called into service […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
The I.G. wants YOU!
Responding to what he said was the public’s tremendous desire to help, New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux said Tuesday that his office is starting a volunteer Citizen’s Reserve force. He said he envisions, among other things, training people to observe public meetings and asking them to send reports to his staff. Volunteers also could […]
Posted inEnvironment
Uneasy living in Lafitte
Last week, The Lens traveled to Lafitte in Jefferson Parish to talk with fishers whose livelihoods may be severely hampered, if not suspended by the BP oil spill. On that day, May 4, the oil hadn’t invaded lakes and estuaries that far in from the Gulf, nor had shrimping, crab-catching and fishing been closed down […]
Posted inLand Use
Rosy view of blight meets Central City's bleak reality
Reginika Tasso snorted at news that the number of vacant houses in New Orleans dropped over the past year by nearly 9,000 to a new post-Katrina low of 50,100. “Really…” the Central City-raised Harvey resident intoned. Did they count the house where I used to stay, asked Tasso, giving an incredulous eye to the reporter […]