The federal government awarded the Audubon Commission $7.6 million to repair Katrina damage to the Louisiana Nature Center. After years of delays, a new report recommends that the feds rescind the funding. It also notes that the repairs are the city’s responsibility because it owns the land, not Audubon.
Category: Government & Politics
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Central City languishes just a short walk from the glitzy Superdome
The city has spent a lot of money fixing up the parts of the city that Super Bowl visitors will see. But just a short walk from the Superdome, Central City is still dealing with the double-whammy of Hurricane Katrina and generations of poverty.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Report: Louisiana’s poor pay higher tax rate than the rich
More than twice as much of their income, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Investigations
Bad news for Jindal: Florida, Texas rely heavily on property and biz taxes
Gov. Bobby Jindal has pointed to Florida and Texas as models for his plan to cut income taxes and rely more on sales taxes. But those states rely heavily on two taxes he dislikes: business and property taxes. Would Louisiana rely on a “one-and-a-half-legged stool”?
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Nagin’s weird ride: from showboat to search for anonymity
“Simply put, the Ray Nagin of 2013 is almost unrecognizable as the man who swept New Orleans off its feet in 2002,” writes Gordon Russell.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
How the news of Ray Nagin’s federal indictment unfolded
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted Friday on 21 charges of corruption. Here’s how the news developed online: [View the story “How news unfolded about the federal indictment of Ray Nagin” on Storify] How news unfolded about the federal indictment of Ray Nagin Storified by The Lens· Fri, Jan 18 2013 13:11:20 It […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Few details so far on how Jindal would pay for income tax cut
The governor would have to raise about $3 billion a year in order to abolish income taxes in Louisiana. As his administration figures out how to fill that gap, business groups are warning against raising sales taxes too high or wiping out their own tax exemptions.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Free expression or feds’ folly: Comment-gate likely to widen
Have other courthouse insiders posted inappropriate comments on NOLA.com?
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Cutting income tax is the easy part; filling the gap is trickier
Who’s going to pay? That’s the quandary Bobby Jindal and his allies in the state Legislature will face as they seek to dramatically reshape the state’s tax code this year. Jindal said that he wants the Legislature to take the far-reaching step of abolishing personal-income and corporate taxes during the session that begins April 8. […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Economist: Jindal plan to raise sales taxes would hurt the poor
Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to take the dramatic step of abolishing the state income tax on individuals and corporations, offsetting the revenue loss by raising sales taxes by 3 percentage points. That would push the total tax rate in New Orleans to 12 percent, raising concerns that his plan will shift the tax burden from […]