The adult daughter of a finalist for New Orleans police chief shares a house with one of the NOPD officers who was present at a Mid-City bar when off-duty colleagues allegedly beat a group of city transit workers, an event that is the subject of a FBI civil rights investigation.
Author Archives: Ariella Cohen
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu administration to take data-driven approach
Mayor Mitch Landrieu plans to boost efficiency at City Hall with a data-driven performance-management system modeled after one pioneered in Baltimore, his top appointee said Tuesday. Landrieu’s quantitative approach to governing, something long advocated by open-government advocates, came out during a news conference announcing the creation of new deputy mayor positions and the appointees to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Like spring training, hope springs eternal on inauguration day
Stevens On the first day of New Orleans’ first white mayor in 32 years, City Hall felt remarkably free of the racial tension that for the past five years has become as much of a fixture in the building as the faux tiles on the walls spelling out the city’s street names. Far from the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Recovery contractor wants to work more closely with city
The CEO of the company managing most of New Orleans’ 600 recovery projects has recommended to Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu that he speed up rebuilding by breaking down walls between city bureaucrats and contracted project managers particularly in the area of financial planning. Under its contract with MWH Americas, Inc., the city pays hourly rates for […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu team giving boot to top Nagin administrators
With barely more than a week left before taking office, Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu sent letters Thursday notifying top officials in the administration of Mayor Ray Nagin that their services would no longer be needed come May 3. Transition team spokesman Todd Ragusa would not say who received the pink slips, saying only that the notified […]
Posted inLand Use
City’s share of VA hospital revealed: $107.4 million
To build the new Veterans Affairs hopsital, the city can take take money from a recovery loan program that’s no higher than the value of the old VA hopsital (above) – but that appraisal hasn’t been released publicly. New Orleans will kick in $107.4 million for the construction of a new Veterans Affairs hospital in […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City is $8 million behind in payments to contractor MWH
The city is seven months — and $8 million dollars — behind on payments to the company managing most of its recovery projects, according to a letter sent Wednesday by the company to New Orleans Inspector General Edouard Quatrevaux. The letter was part of the city’s official response to criticisms of the company’s billing practices […]
Posted inLand Use
City Council suprised to learn of revolver money used for proposed medical district
A new financial commitment for the proposed medical district in Mid-City will leave a $25 million hole in a revolving loan fund given to the city from the state to jump start recovery. The appropriation was described by one of Mayor Ray Nagin’s top lieutenants, Chief Technology Officer Harrison Boyd, during a City Council budget […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
If you worked at City Hall, you’d be home now
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 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 […]