Martin Wine Cellar is asking the city for permission to demolish its old Uptown location on Baronne Street, along with five nearby structures. The Neighborhood Conservation District Committee will consider the demolition applications at its Feb. 1 meeting and make a recommendation to the city’s Safety and Permits Department. The request includes, four corner properties, […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Affidavit for undercover film maker
The story seems to be everywhere, but few sites have posted the affidavit that led to the arrest of gonzo journalist James O’Keefe and three others. Working with a hidden camera, O’Keefe and Hannah Giles posed as a pimp and prostitute seeking advice from ACORN employees. Their videos led to tremendous outrage and a congressional […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
One voice: A man-in-the-office-building survey on the mayoral election
Mitch Landrieu wants us to vote for him. That was the message a Lens reporter got this morning from the New Orleans mayoral candidate. “He saw me there, shook my hand and said ‘Will you vote for me?’ ” the reporter told The Lens this morning, speaking from a cell phone as the reporter exited […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Who's more distracted?
Today in a front-page story, The Times-Picayune reported on a survey by pollster Dr. Silas Lee that found 63 percent of New Orleanians expect the Super Bowl and/or Mardi Gras to be a “major distraction” from that other February event, citywide elections. No freakin’ duh. That’s like asking whether you dress differently when it is […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City hasn't said what recovery projects are delayed by council's questions
Grandstanding is a tradition as old as politics itself. Knowing that, The Lens was not surprised to hear the city’s deputy chief administrative officer accuse inquisitive City Council members of holding up progress at Thursday’s City Council meeting. As we wrote Friday, deputy CAO Cynthia Sylvain-Lear wanted the council to roll over a list of […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
New Orleans politicians look to bask in glow of popular, and not so popular, athletes
Saints win! Fans swoon! Politicians think: How do I get me some of that popularity? It’s no secret that New Orleans is stricken by Saints fever and hallucinations. Only every once in a while can a team coax an already sports-obsessed city to go all the way, to untether itself from professional dress codes on […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
2 Louisiana companies buck intent of Supreme Court ruling
Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling lets corporations, unions and interest groups spend on ads for or against candidates without making financial disclosures. Some corporations, including at least two in Louisiana, have decided to voluntarily report to the public their political expenditures nonetheless. Well in advance of this week’s decision, the Center for Political Accountability had […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council delays $600 million spending plan
What does two weeks mean to the city’s recovery four and a half years after Katrina? A whole lot – if you ask the Nagin administration. Or at least that was the argument made by Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Cynthia Sylvain-Lear at a City Council meeting Thursday. Sylvain-Lear was attempting (unsuccessfully) to convince the council […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Forgiveness as policy
As Haiti struggles to pull itself together, French finance minister Christine Lagarde is pushing to expedite a cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in Haitian government debt. Haitian historian Alex von Tunzelmann said, “For all of the 19th century and most of the 20th century, Haiti was unable to develop normally” because of crushing debt. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Supreme Court ruling permits more direct corporate influence on elections
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down decades of campaign finance law in a controversial 5-4 decision. Ruling that Congress cannot limit the political speech of corporations and labor unions, the Court overturned precedents established by prior courts in 1990 and 2007. The decision renders moot many of the laws governing outside spending established by […]