Sheriff Marlin Gusman has hit back at remarks made Thursday by a member of the mayor’s new advisory group on plans for Gusman’s new jail. Former Chief Judge of Criminal District Court Calvin Johnson told The Lens yesterday that jails have been used as “an economic development tool in Louisiana over the last 30 years,” […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mayor announces new group to offer recommendation on jail
Mayor Mitch Landrieu today announced the membership and goals of a new jail advisory group, which will deliver a recommendation to his office on the “optimal” size of a planned new jail complex. The mayor signed an executive order convening the group yesterday, and charged it with giving him a written recommendation and report by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Public not invited to city meeting on key jail issue
The City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee met this morning to discuss inmate-release issues that could have an effect on the size of the city’s planned new jail, but it’s unclear whether adequate public notice was given about the meeting under the state’s open meetings law.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
For Jindal, it’s better to be lucky than accountable
For a part-time governor, Bobby Jindal sure enjoys more than his share of luck. Not so much the “tipped-football-splits-the-uprights” lucky, more like a “self-serving-ambition-meets-opportunity” lucky. Jindal’s received high marks for his administration’s posturing response during the oil gusher disaster. Most Louisianans seem to agree with Times-Picayune columnist Stephanie Grace, who wrote back in May that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics, Investigations
City hasn't touched $10 million for courthouse repairs approved in 2000
City officials haven’t fully answered why they continue to sit on a $10 million pile of taxpayer money approved by voters a decade ago for courthouse repairs.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Landrieu says a redeveloped Iberville could be “one of the greatest neighborhoods”
A day before the first public meeting on a proposed redevelopment of the Iberville public housing complex, Mayor Mitch Landrieu endorsed the concept of a sweeping transformation of the Treme neighborhood. He told an audience at an affordable-housing conference today that Iberville’s proximity to streetcar lines, the French Quarter and the city’s medical district make […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Fielkow’s newsletter on city site pushes NORD initiative
City Council President Arnie Fielkow has issued a newsletter on the taxpayer-financed city website that urges readers to vote for an upcoming ballot initiative, but he says his actions don’t violate state laws against using public funds to influence an election. That’s because the newsletter, written by his communications director, didn’t cost anything beyond what […]
Posted inEnvironment
Council wants city to get rid of remaining FEMA trailers
More than five years after Hurricane Katrina forced thousands of New Orleanians to take up temporary residence in FEMA trailers, City Council members say it’s time for Mayor Mitch Landrieu to enforce pre-Katrina laws barring mobile homes and remove the last remaining trailers from the city. “People don’t like having these trailers right next to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
Consultants at first questioned “urgent” tag of new hospital
Consultants who helped former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin secure $75 million in federal Katrina recovery grants for the construction of a new Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lower Mid-City initially questioned the legality of using federal disaster recovery grants for a project that would not be complete until seven to 10 years after the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Garden District Assocation criticizes citizen-input plan
One of the city’s better-organized neighborhood associations is opposing a proposed citizen-participation program, saying it is too bureaucratic, too expensive and too restrictive. The Garden District Association took issue in a letter last week with a draft of the Citizen Participation Project, which seeks to give voice to residents throughout the city by establishing a […]