Mayor Ray Nagin announced his decision in January to close city offices indefinitely on Friday, groans were heard far and wide. Need a construction permit? That’ll have to wait until Monday. Want to file your homestead exemption? Talk to a City Council member? Hold those thoughts. It seemed like the only people not rolling their […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Landrieu: Those who quit chief search were throwing bricks, not building bridges
Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu reiterated Wednesday the position that his transition team is a private effort not subject to state sunshine laws and that the public has no right to see the names of all 75 applicants for police chief. Commenting on the four members of his 21- search team who quit in frustration over the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
What do you want to ask Landrieu about chief search?
Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu plans a 3:30 p.m. press conference today to discuss his controversial search for a new police chief as well as other matters related to his transition. What would you like The Lens to ask him? Send you thoughts in an e-mail to editor@TheLensNola.org and we’ll do our best to get them answered. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council president seeks oversight for economic development loans
City Council President Arnie Fielkow plans to introduce an ordinance this week that would require council approval for all loans from the Urban Development Action Grant fund, increasing public oversight of a development subsidy most recently awarded to Zulu organization and the Inspire entertainment complex in the Seventh Ward. The UDAG program is a loan […]
Posted inEnvironment, Investigations
Lucrative stimulus contract for green jobs in New Orleans goes to group with least to offer
By Brentin Mock – staff writer – A federal program to weatherize homes of low-income families had been a fairly low-budget, low-profile affair in Louisiana. Then the stimulus program came along.
Posted inCriminal Justice
It ain’t hot potato: Landrieu must clutch chief search
Danatus King of the NAACP Baty Landis of Silence is Violence Gina Womack of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children Norris Henderson of VOTE These are community leaders and important stakeholders in efforts to reform our criminal justice system and repair our broken police department. They were all named to Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu’s 21-member […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
IG releases annual report wrapping up tough year
The Office of Inspector General completed 15 of the 22 investigations it opened in 2009, according to an annual report the office submitted to the city Tuesday. “Most of the investigations concerned relatively minor matters. However, The Crime Surveillance Camera inspection revealed multiple evasions of competitive requirements, and generated suspicions of corruption in contract administration,” […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Facebook rhetoric reveals mindset of beleaguered NOPD officers and supporters
The Police Association of New Orleans held a fund-raiser over the weekend supporting Special Operations unit veterans Capt. Jeff Winn and Lt. Dwayne Scheuermann and the police officer union’s rapidly depleting legal defense budget. Winn and Scheuermann are under federal investigation in connection with the death of Henry Glover, whose remains were found in the […]
Posted inLand Use
City has $9 million more for economic development
After doling out nearly $3 million in loans for an expansion of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club headquarters and an entertainment complex on St. Bernard Avenue, the city of New Orleans has about $9 million left in its Urban Development Action Grant fund for revitalization projects in low-income neighborhoods. “We have $12 million […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu transition team: We're not required to follow state sunshine laws
Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu’s spokesman said late Monday that the transition team “strives to follow” the state open-meetings statues, “though it is not required to do so by law.” Spokesman Todd Ragusa was addressing a point raised earlier Monday by Norman Francis, Xavier University president and one of two leaders of Landrieu’s task force to vet […]