When a parent goes to prison, a child pays the price
Louisiana spends too much of its budget on criminal justice while ranking low in healthcare, education, infrastructure, and economic wellbeing. We could redirect those resources.
Category
Opinion
Perspectives and reflections that challenge, question, and inspire. This category features thought-provoking essays and commentary from writers, community members, and photographers offering insight into the issues, ideas, and experiences that shape New Orleans and beyond.
It takes all of us to help our unhoused neighbors
To further expand services for our neighbors in New Orleans, START CORP is working to develop a new clinic at the former St. Jude Community Center on North Rampart Street.
Silence from Smitty’s Supply, EPA’s lagging response leave lasting stains
While Gov. Jeff Landry was quick to denounce the speed of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-led clean-up, he's silent in holding Smitty's Supply itself accountable for the explosion, fire and recovery.
Success for whom? Twenty years of school reform.
The writers, an educator and a parent who works as an advocate within schools, contend that the state takeover removed Black teachers who provided continuity and did not improve academic outcomes for Black students who too often changed schools frequently.
Whatever we want to achieve in our city can be undermined by the lack of public safety
In recent months, public officials rushed to the microphone to take credit when the crime rate dropped. Will they now rush back to the microphone and take blame when the crime rate rises?
Smoke and mirrors in cannabis zoning
In New Orleans, marijuana dispensaries — like the one opening soon in our community — can be granted a permit without any neighborhood notice. And in Louisiana, unlike other neighboring states, dispensaries can open up next to a library, elementary school, church, or daycare.
Keep the Guard in reserve. Build on what works.
If a limited deployment is ordered, there are ways to do this right, Arthur Hunter writes. Guard personnel could assume tasks to increase public safety by putting more officers on streets, and improve our infrastructure by attacking the places that invite crime.
Casting votes for sustainability
In this city surrounded by water, we need to know each candidate’s position to address New Orleans’ environmental vulnerabilities, says the writer, an urban designer and educator who has long focused on water issues in the city.
New Orleans was not disposable after Katrina; its children are not disposable now
"We knew that our city was worth investment and protection," writes Cierra Chenier. "The same must be true for our children."
Power out, profits gone: how Louisiana’s grid failures harm local businesses
Lost Coyote restaurant in Treme was on track for its first record-profit day during Memorial Day weekend, when a sudden blackout brought it all to a standstill.
