The Lens contacted Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office recently to discuss her role in the oil spill response. In an interview with Tom Michaels, the senator’s legislative director, and Aaron Saunders, her communications director, we discussed campaign contributions from BP and from the maker of the dispersants and whether drilling for oil continues to be a […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
…and the rig you rode in on
The late, great Ashley Morris struck a chord with displaced Louisianans when he wrote his famous FYYFF post three months after Katrina and the federal flood disaster. It was a perfectly timed rant that resonated among bloggers focused on New Orleans, and passionately expressed their common frustrations. FYYFF became a touchstone within the local blogging […]
Posted inEnvironment
Scenes from the spill: Grand Isle
As Louisiana experiences week eight of the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe, globs of crude continue to wash into Grand Isle. Instead of fishers and sunbathers, workers hired by the oil giant raked contaminated sand occupy the shore, raking the toxic sand and removing it in plastic bags. Wetlands scientist Michael Massimi of The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Oil companies tax our coast; it’s time we tax them back
Bienvenue en Louisiane! We’re still calling ourselves the Pelican State, but who knows what the future holds? Louisianans identify with pelicans because they are unique, non-extinct birds that seem to coast through life and eat lots of fresh seafood. We admire them because when times get tough, pelicans will prick their breasts and feed their […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
The Small Print
We scan The Times-Picayune’s legal ads so you don’t have to. Here’s a look at some selected items from the past week.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City gets reprieve to spend balance of grant money
After sitting on most of a half-million-dollar grant for nearly two years, the city of New Orleans has convinced the Rockefeller Foundation to give it another three months to spend the money on getting citizens more involved with government. Without the extension past Monday’s expiration, the city would have had to return the unspent balance, […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu letting sun shine on city contracting process
Mayor Mitch Landrieu today announced a series of “sweeping reforms” to city contracting designed to bring a new level of cooperation, transparency and equity to the process. The awarding of these contracts had been an opaque process, frequently criticized by City Council President Arnie Fielkow as well as many civic and good government groups. The […]
Posted inEnvironment
Alternative for dispersants to break up oil hampered by politics and bureaucracy
Fewer controversial oil-spill issues exist right now than the use of dispersants. Specifically, environmentalists, residents and clean-up workers are concerned about BP’s use of petroleum-based Corexit brand, which is more toxic than many of the alternatives approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is only 55 percent effective on the type of oil gushing […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Without bolder action on spill, greatness to slip from America
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 […]