On Tuesday at 5:45p.m., a 10-year old boy was shot in the face and leg at his birthday party. Bullets sprayed the gathering at Simon Bolivar Avenue and Clio Street, killing a 5-year old girl and a 33-year old woman. A few hours earlier, two assailants had robbed and killed a 58-year old man in […]
Category: Opinion
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Let’s hope T-P treats readers better than it treated its employees
The Times-Picayune opinion page should razz its ownership for the way it handled plans to cut staff and shrink to a three-days-a-week paper. The inside account of the T-P restructuring story, as reported by Kevin Allman at Gambit, reveals a lack of professionalism among the paper’s new decision-makers: Gambit spoke to more than a dozen […]
Posted inOpinion
The New Orleans dilemma: Is it hip to be so very, very 'hip'?
Congratulations, New Orleanians! The April 2012 Travel & Leisure magazine has voted you the fourth hippest city in America! If only we could pin down what “hip” is supposed to mean, we could feel even prouder. There is, of course, a great deal of confusion about what defines “hip,” and the definition also appears to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
The axe falls: Life without that daily dose of ink on paper
It took 10 hours for The Times-Picayune to run a story about today’s big local news, which the New York Times broke last night: New Orleans will soon be out of a daily newspaper. The awards-winning Times-Picayune, one of the most-read papers in any metropolitan market, announced that it will reduce its delivery and sales […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
GOP strategist saw gay marriage shift gaining momentum
More straights are marching under the gay rights banner. credit: Creative Commons In light of my last post on President Obama’s repositioning in support of gay-marriage rights, I found this recent GOP strategy memo fascinating. It’s from President George W. Bush’s 2004 pollster, Jan R. van Lohuizen. Within a few years of Bush’s re-election victory […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Obama catches gay marriage trend, but what about Louisiana?
Last week President Barack Obama publicly unveiled his now fully “evolved” belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Media reports called his announcement a “watershed move.” I disagree. While Obama’s statement might be historic, it merely follows a watershed change in American attitude that occurred over a year ago. It’s important to remember […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Why the hurry, Congressman? A legal payoff lay ahead
Lee Zurik’s Fox 8 report on allegedly fraudulent oil leases owned by Gov. Huey Long’s “Win or Lose” corporation, worth hundreds of millions in royalties over the years, and passed down to Long’s friends and descendants, is a fascinating investigation. Remember that Long, the Kingfish, rose to fame campaigning against Big Oil. But once in […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Earl updated: Don’t tweet or blog what you can wink or nod
Earl Long: close-lipped Eight years ago, I was up at odd hours of the night, helping my wife care for a newborn. After a bit of noodling on the internet I discovered and joined the wonderful (and wonderfully small) community of South Louisiana bloggers. We discussed politics and current events and mocked the stupid things […]
Posted inOpinion
What's with City Hall's ongoing campaign to kill District Councils?
The New Orleans City Council will soon vote on the future of citizen participation in our city. It’s an ideal mandated by both a post-Katrina amendment to the City Charter and the city’s long-overdue master plan. But despite overwhelming popular support, it appears to be in grave peril.
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Local acro-gymnasts go for glory in Orlando World Championships
Acro-gymnastics demands a partnership that combines strength and technical precision with the musicality of dance. credit: wikipedia As work continues on the longer-form topics mentioned in previous posts, here are two notes about local sports news: 1) New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson purchased the New Orleans Hornets basketball team last week, having convinced NBA […]