Update 9/1: Clarkson issued a statement Wednesday night stating that she is “sorry that there were a handful of people in the crowd that didn’t appreciate what I’ve done for them.” By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | Marguerite Blunt, 91, remembers the 1950s as a time when she couldn’t enter restaurants through the […]
Category: Government & Politics
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Diminished black middle class a sobering factor in assessing progress since Katrina
By Ariella Cohen, The Lens staff writer | A tone of triumph and hope characterized a forum of academic, nonprofit and governmental leaders held Monday at the University of New Orleans to mark the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Yet despite the overall positive message, concern about the city’s shrinking black middle and upper class […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Land Use
City bulldozes Gert Town neighborhood pool but without securing committee's OK
Workers on Monday prepare to haul off the demolished dome that once covered the Gert Town Pool. Photo by Karen Gadbois By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Ignoring a committee’s request for more information about redevelopment plans, the Landrieu administration on Monday bulldozed the Gert Town Pool. The pool, housed within a distinctive […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Catch Rising Tide VI on webcast
Rising Tide, the annual conference for New Orleans bloggers and others interested in the not-so-new-anymore media takes place Saturday. If you can’t make it to Xavier’s University Center, you can watch the webcast here. For those who can make it, the staff of The Lens would love to talk with you. Stop by our table […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Investigations
Drivers rejoice: FEMA and city find a way to start fixing neighborhood streets damaged by Katrina floodwaters
Tens of millions of new federal dollars are about flow into neighborhoods to fix one of the least sexy but most widely felt problem since Hurricane Katrina: The streets we love to hate.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics, Schools
Juvenile jail to stand just across the street from relocated McDonogh 35 High School
The juvenile jail will remain at a location adjacent to Bayou St. John and the planned home of McDonogh 35 High School. By Steve Beatty, The Lens staff writer | Despite concerns from some neighbors, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said this week that the city will rebuild its juvenile jail where it now stands – right […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Corporations are candidates, too — so let’s see those logos
Buddy Roemer. Photo by Gage Skidmore Last week at the Iowa State Fair, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney told an audience that “corporations are people.” Some in the crowd scoffed at the claim, but that’s a silly reaction since the proof was standing there on stage, speaking to them. I mean, what more evidence does Romney have […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Jo Ellen Smith announcement was premature, though School Board hopes to buy site
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | City officials were quick to announce the sale of Jo Ellen Smith hospital to the Algiers community at a public meeting last week – but the Orleans Parish School Board says it hasn’t quite made the deal yet. Councilwoman Kristin Giselson Palmer told a crowd at the […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Jagger never goes out of style, except maybe in this weird ’80s video
Here’s a pop-culture stray thought to start off your week. Look at this snippet from a recent Tampabay.com article: All hail Mick’s hips. At 68, Michael Philip Jagger is the hottest — or at least the oldest — sex symbol of the summer.Not one, but two current radio hits celebrate the wiry, wiggly, prominently lipped […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Schools
Audubon Charter gets temporary digs in Gentilly after lead levels scuttle earlier plan
By Jessica Williams, The Lens staff writer | Students at Audubon Charter School will have a temporary home next year after all. The school is slated to move by January to the old Jean Gordon School site on Chatham Drive in Gentilly while its Broadway campus undergoes a $14 million renovation, expected to take two […]