It’s been a rough few weeks for the vice president of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. First, Naaman Stewart was the public face of the group as it struggled to explain how and why it got an award of $800,000 in taxpayer money from the city. Now the sheriff is auctioning off his […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
More anti-abortion Catholics back healthcare bill
U.S. Rep. Ahn “Joseph” Cao, who represents most of New Orleans, still has not decided whether he will vote for or against President Obama’s historic healthcare reform bill. As, I wrote yesterday, his objections to the bill pivot on his belief that the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill has loopholes that permit the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Congressman Cao still a ‘no,’ vote hinges on abortion flap
In November, U.S. Rep. Ahn “Joseph” Cao, who represents most of New Orleans, bucked his party and was the lone Republican vote for the House of Representatives version of the healthcare bill, after aligning himself with anti-abortion Democrats. Negotiated by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the “Stupak amendment” was restrictive enough to allay the concerns of […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
“Balance this city”
Oh! Another day, another shameful story of institutional and individual police terror and racism in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Sunday, The Times-Picayune added new details to the mysterious death of Henry Glover, whose remains were founded in a burned car last seen being driven by New Orleans police officers. Meanwhile, The Advocate in Baton […]
Posted inLand Use
Senate action helps chances for New Orleans housing
Just a couple weeks ago, affordable-housing proponents had little hope that developments to replace the public-housing complexes torn down after the levee failures would materialize. A damning federal assessment of the Housing Authority of New Orleans stated that, “Two of HANO’s Big Four the former Lafitte and B.W. Cooper projects mixed-income deals are in jeopardy. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Comments underscore sad reality of broken NOPD
It probably didn’t shock Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu Thursday night when the residents of New Orleans told him and his transition task force on the NOPD that they want a police superintendent who has such rare qualities as “integrity,” “a background in diversity,” and “a successful track record.” It was likewise probably not too surprising when […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Despite initial confusion, gift to Zulu is alive and well
New Orleans City Council member Cynthia Hedge-Morrell introduced an ordinance Thursday to pay Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club at least some of the $800,000 the mayor awarded them on Lundi Gras. In the days following the surprise announcement, neither city officials nor Zulu leaders who submitted the application knew whether the money would be […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Pivotal period for Cao as final health care vote nears
The pressure is officially on U.S. Rep. Ahn “Joesph” Cao to vote for healthcare reform. Over the course of the week, President Barack Obama has barnstormed the country for his comprehensive healthcare package with firebrand speeches outside of Philadelphia and St. Louis reminiscent of his campaign, in an attempt to get his signature legislation over […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
The Lens interviews Spike Lee
The Lens recently visited the Rampart Street studio and office space of Spike Lee, who’s been in the city the past month filming a sequel to his HBO documentary “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.” He’d just gotten back from Houston, where he was interviewing people displaced by the federal levee disasters, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Federal consent decrees have reformed police departments
The FBI has confirmed seven separate civil rights investigations into unjust NOPD conduct. Seven. It is a situation so shameful and so infuriating it is becoming difficult to find new ways to condemn it. Any officers responsible for acts of brutality should be punished and I hope that, finally, they will. You could simply isolate […]