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Category
Opinion

Perspectives and reflections that challenge, question, and inspire.

As coronavirus spreads, everyone needs a rocking chair

Panic and anxiety are two emotions experienced with the coronavirus pandemic. Both are underlying characteristics in a grief cycle. And self-isolation or self-quarantine may cause depression or denial of social responsibility to slow the spread of the virus.
by Gail Trauco March 23, 2020 Updated March 23, 2020

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil: a Lenten meditation on COVID-19 in New Orleans

"Whenever we get to the here-on-out, will the decisions we make be based on the hope that a pandemic doesn’t happen again? Or will they be based on the reality that it can, with the understanding that no one should be in such desperate positions as some of us are now in?"
by Lydia Y. Nichols March 19, 2020 Updated March 19, 2020

In moments of uncertainty, let us grown-ups not forget that this world belongs to children

Children, particularly small children, need to understand the sudden transition in their daily routines because of COVID-19. And they need our grace, support, and respect (yes, respect, as a human being), especially during times such as these.
by Victor Jones March 18, 2020 Updated March 18, 2020

Mardi Gras with the safety on

"Jamming 1.5 million humans into the same party space that struggled to accommodate half a million in 1970 is, put simply, unsafe."
by Jules Bentley March 13, 2020 Updated March 13, 2020

The case for a Resilient and Renewable Portfolio Standard

"It’s standard operating procedure in politics these days to deride bold policy reform as “pie-in-the-sky,” or a “pipe-dream.” This requires a willful ignorance of the fact that visionary policy, driven and shaped by grassroot movements, has always been the engine that moves our democracy forward."
by Benjamin Nugent-Peterson March 12, 2020 Updated March 11, 2020

CPRA: It doesn’t have to be this way

"Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is missing the greatest opportunity in the state's Coastal Zone, namely combining storm and flood protection with the expansion of renewable, fauna- and flora-based, Coastal Zone industries."
by John Dale "Zach" Lea March 5, 2020 Updated March 5, 2020

Planners talk about resilience in the face of climate change. We need to start using a different R word.

In our Plan-A world, architecture and planning has become focused on the idea of “resilient” design. But continuing to talk about “resilience” in the face of ever-worsening projections is its own form of climate denial.
by Steven Bingler and Martin Pedersen February 26, 2020 Updated February 26, 2020
Louisiana_state_flag

Louisiana’s death penalty violates conservative values

I used to believe the death penalty was justified. I have since learned that capital punishment actually violates many of the conservative principles that I hold dear, such as fiscal responsibility, limited government, and valuing life.
by E. King Alexander February 10, 2020 Updated February 10, 2020
Fishing boats

Listen up, Congress: Here’s how to support Louisiana’s working waterfronts and local seafood

Showcasing Gulf seafood and making a profitable living on the water are both becoming more and more difficult. But there may be good news on the horizon.
by Ryan Prewitt and Lance Nacio January 30, 2020 Updated January 30, 2020
Black and white hands clasped

White fears, black people: voluntary segregation and how to stop it

by The Rev. William Barnwell January 28, 2020 Updated January 30, 2020

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