By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | With less than a month to go before the deadline for a final round of federal stimulus transit funding, city officials are pushing to extend the proposed Rampart Street/St. Claude Avenue streetcar line all the way to Poland Avenue, on Bywater’s downriver edge. On a visit to […]
Category: Government & Politics
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Censorship of inmate mail at Orleans Prison alleged in civil rights lawsuit against Gusman
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | Orleans Parish Prison inmates can receive bodice rippers and The Times-Picayune by mail, but not serious novels or a periodical on prisoner rights, according to civil-rights attorneys who have filed a suit against Sheriff Marlin Gusman alleging censorship. Acceptable to whom? Plaintiffs argue that Gusman’s definition of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Deputy jailed on rape, kidnapping charges
Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that the deputy had a court appearance on Monday. In fact, the District Attorney’s Office has until Nov. 9 to accept or refuse charges; a court appearance is not scheduled. By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer| An Orleans Parish sheriff’s deputy was arrested Friday on […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
As the Saints open season, Mayor Landrieu throws support behind sports district
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | At a final budget town hall meeting Wednesday in the French Quarter, Mayor Mitch Landrieu threw his support behind a new special taxing district in downtown New Orleans. “We are trying to conceptualize what the district should look like and who the major players are,” Landrieu told […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Robinette’s silence on River Birch must also have been golden
For the past six years, talk radio host Garland Robinette lectured local public figures about the importance of perception. Many would appear on Robinette’s “Think Tank” program after a news report linked them to controversy, in order to “clear the air” and tell “their side of the story.” They’d use the forum to convince Robinette’s […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Smooth roads not cheap: City says it spends $1 million to rebuild each one-block stretch
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | It costs $1 million to reconstruct a one-block stretch of city street in New Orleans. You read that right. That covers work from asphalt down to the muddy subterranean, and from sidewalk to sidewalk, including stormwater catch basins and curbs, Deputy Mayor Cedric Grant told the City […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
VAYLA study reveals student concerns about quality of education at six city high schools
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | Those with the greatest stake in the city’s educational system – its students – came together today with criticisms and recommendations for reform. In what it’s calling the most extensive student-led evaluation of the New Orleans public school landscape since Hurricane Katrina, members of the Vietnamese American Young […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use, Opinion
Oops. Roofless Treme transplant now missing rear wall as well
Already stripped of its roof and detailing, the rear wall of the Treme shotgun fell off over the weekend. Photo by Karen Gadbois. By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Most have been stripped of their roofs and architectural detail. Some have had upper stories cut off in order to squeeze them under electrical […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City Council learns about open-records laws as they prepare to appoint interim member
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | The New Orleans City Council’s commitment to openness and transparency wavered a bit Thursday as it considered the process to fill the soon-to-be-open seat of Arnie Fielkow. At least three of the seven council members wondered whether it is a good idea or necessary to make public […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Lower 9th Ward residents tell mayor to speed progress or lose their votes at next election
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | A week after Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced he will spend $45 million on street repairs in the Lower 9th Ward, residents said the Landrieu administration has many more promises left to deliver on. “If you expect residents to return, there must be faster progress on the infrastructure […]