By Ariella Cohen, staff writer – In the Garden District, a decaying Prytania Street church is on the market for $1.8 million after years of neglect by its owner. In eastern New Orleans, Lincoln Beach lies fallow, tides from Lake Pontchartrain washing over its debris-strewn shore. Still farther east, rusting roller coasters hover over Chef […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Nagin withdraws request on Chevron Building
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has withdrawn his request to use FEMA money to relocate New Orleans City Hall. The move represents a backtrack for the mayor, who in recent months stood up against opposition from the City Council and the public to push for the municipal headquarters to move to an office complex that […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Q&A: Getting down and dirty with soil contamination
Howard Mielke, a researcher for the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research Center, has been collecting soil samples in New Orleans since the late 1980s. Much of what we understand about lead contamination in soils, both locally and abroad, was culled from studies conducted by Mielke, particularly during his time at Xavier University before Hurricane Katrina. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Tough times for Tom Arnold
At qualifying, District C City Council candidate Tom Arnold was viewed as a significant contender. As the incumbent tax assessor for Fifth District starting in 1985, Arnold has been a political fixture on the West Bank since Van Halen’s heyday. Given his position, Arnold has been a successful ward heeler, helping his son get elected […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council looks to hamstring Nagin on Chevron Building
The New Orleans City Council on Thursday is set to consider an ordinance to prevent Mayor Ray Nagin from buying the Chevron Building and renovating it into a new City Hall. Introduced Jan. 7, the ordinance is the latest move in a game of political Stratego that has visibly pitted the administration against members of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Toxic-soil cleanup slowed by dense bureaucracy
Even before Hurricane Katrina, scientists had established that the soil across New Orleans was laced with an alarming amount of lead, which can cause a range of health problems, particularly in children. The 2005 failure of the federal levee system then sloshed a nasty stew across the city leaving behind a new layer of danger […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Let’s hope the second time is a charm
New Orleans officials again are taking bids to oversee and manage a long-awaited grant program for grocers serving low-income communities. Known as the Fresh Food Retail Initiative, the $7 million federally funded program was stalled last month when U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials, who are providing the money, balked at the city’s bidding process. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Let’s hope the second time is a charm
New Orleans officials again are taking bids to oversee and manage a long-awaited grant program for grocers serving low-income communities. Known as the Fresh Food Retail Initiative, the $7 million federally funded program was stalled last month when U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials, who are providing the money, balked at the city’s bidding process. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
I have evidence, I'm told
Politician X is the worst human being imaginable, but if it turns out he or she is not, so be it. We need a name for this. Monday, City Council attorney Steven Lane denied the existence of any e-mail containing a racist slur, refuting Police Superintendent Warren Riley’s assertion that Councilwoman Stacy Head used the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
John Georges: "I am you"
Mayoral candidate John Georges says he knows what it’s like to run an operation such as New Orleans City Hall. After all, he reasoned recently, many of his 1,000 employees at Imperial Trading and his other companies are single mothers making about $10 an hour – plus benefits! “We have what I believe the culture […]