In an ongoing lawsuit, plant opponents say a 2015 council resolution shows that the approval of a new plant may have been predetermined. But City Council utility advisers say opponents are misinterpreting the resolution.
Councilman Jay Banks was criticized at the meeting after it was revealed that he recently worked for one of the council's utility advisers, a fact that does not appear in Banks' financial disclosures.
A resolution to repeal the City Council's approval of a $210 million Entergy power plant in eastern New Orleans will be withdrawn. A new resolution will impose a $5 million fine and require cost protections, maintenance requirements.
A nearly 20-year-old agreement, resulting from a lawsuit, means that the RTA shares about half of its hotel taxes with tourism interests. Councilwoman Kristin Palmer wants all that money going to public transit.
The report says New Orleans should get at least $12 million more annually from the hotel taxes, and that all 16 hotel taxes should be reexamined by the state legislature.
A 2014 law set to take effect next month could leave only one clinic in the state. This week, lawyers seeking to overturn it tried to delay an appeals court ruling upholding it. They were denied. Now, the only place for them to go is the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lawyers for groups opposed to the plant say the company botched an application for a state permit renewal. State agency should not grant it, they argue.
The council approved the controversial $211 million gas plant in a 6-1 vote last year. But three council members have concluded that an "astroturfing" scandal, uncovered by The Lens, disrupted the process. They're offering a resolution to repeal the vote.
Software package can track movement and identify objects and people. The suite also includes "predictive policing" software, but officials say the city isn't using it.
Palmer's proposal would tie residential Airbnbs to a homestead exemption. Rules in non-residential districts would depend on a building's size.
