Ten weeks into the oil gusher, Coast Guard officials claim more oil response assets are “urgently” required, and their need for more skimmers approaches “critical mass.” What a timely assessment! Can Professor Prompt award them all honorary degrees for foresight? And then the Obama administration informs us that the screening process to assess offers of […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Juveniles face sexual abuse in state prisons, report says
More than 16 percent of youth incarcerated in Louisiana’s largest juvenile jail told federal officials that they were sexually abused while imprisoned, according to a report issued Thursday by a New Orleans nonprofit. The rate of abuse reported at the Swanson Center for Youth in Monroe is higher than the national average of 12 percent, […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Missing money … still missing
Update: City Council President Arnie Fielkow has asked New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux to investigate the missing $16.7 million from the city’s Urban Development Action Grant program, he said Thursday. After a month of investigation, City Hall officials have failed to find documentation of $16.7 million loaned by previous administrations to private businesses but […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City is missing $17 million from business loan program
More than $16 million in loans given to private businesses from the city’s largest economic development loan fund is missing, according to internal city documents. A summary of the city’s Urban Development Action Grant program shows that only $2.35 million out of $26 million from one particular round of loans has been repaid. Another $7.3 […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
BP bankruptcy is a real fear
After meeting with BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg on June 16, President Obama said he was “absolutely confident BP will be able to meet its obligation to the Gulf Coast and to the American people. BP is a strong and viable company and it is in all of our interests that it remain so.” The stock […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Direct AeroMexico flights from New Orleans to Mexico City have been cancelled
Tuesday update: Political unrest in Honduras, the swine flu epidemic in Mexico and resulting travel advisories took a toll on the demand for flights out of New Orleans, said Michelle Wilcut, spokeswoman for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The now-canceled direct AeroMexico flights, which had a final destination to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, also […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Can Mabus save us?
Though President Obama’s highly anticipated oil-gusher speech was widely panned, he made an important commitment to restoring Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. If kept, this expensive, long-term promise – made before a national prime-time audience – might be the most significant commitment a president ever made to the Pelican state. Here’s the relevant excerpt from Obama’s Oval […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Jindal needs to engage in more than a war of words
Weeks ago, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Sen. David Vitter’s call for the government to treat the response to the Gulf Coast oil gusher as it would a war. Here’s a representative quote: “[W]e need the federal government and BP to intensify their efforts and treat this oil spill like a war. We need to be […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
More Senate candidates courting Tea’d off voters
Let’s see how various fringe candidates in Louisiana are intending to ride the Tea Party wave to electoral success. 1. Remember David Duke? Well, he’s planning a comeback, and he thinks it might be a promising time to begin a 2012 Presidential run. In preparation, he recently posted a video “Message to the Tea Party” […]
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. Library needs makeover – Louisiana’s Office of Facility Planning and Control is taking bids for the Phase I – 4th Floor completion of the Earl K. Long Library at University of New Orleans. […]