Dedicated bus and bicycle lanes are among ideas central to the “complete streets” approach to multimodal transportation systems. Photo credit: Flickr/Eurist e.V. By Matthew Rufo, The Lens contributing opinion writer | In recent years, New Orleanians have witnessed a transformation of their streets from motor vehicle speedways to multimodal havens for a variety of users. […]
Category: Opinion
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
No, Buddy, the sweater is just plain nerdy looking. Man up, dude
On Oct. 24 Presidential aspirant and former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer tweeted, “My campaign manager wants to spoof the Herman Cain ad. Yay or nay?” Buddy, Buddy, Buddy… you don’t announce a spoof – least of all do you want to be caught polling about whether to do it. The surest way to drain the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
On Levees.org birthday, we’re thankful for its years of myth-busting
Halloween 2005 must have been particularly scary in New Orleans. Most of the city was desolate and rotting, having been drowned two months earlier by a cataclysmic engineering disaster. Scores of corpses still lay in wrecked homes, awaiting an unhappy discovery. Political leaders doubted whether the stricken city would (or should) ever recover. Adding insult to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Tigers and Saints are fine, but nothing beats a ball game like this
“But then it got beautiful.” — St. Louis Cardinals right- fielder Lance Berkman. 1. I like nearly all sports, in the right dosages. But if you forced me to choose only one sport to watch for the rest of my life, I’d smile and answer: baseball. Yes, I’m one of those eggheads who loves to […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Like Vitter, Nungesser opted for racist ads, not serious proposals
Notice which way the flow is now heading. In the final week of the race for lieutenant governor, candidate Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish, thought he would win if he carried both Orleans and Jefferson parishes. Well, he did carry both — Jefferson easily, Orleans by a nose — but still lost to […]
Posted inOpinion
Relax oversight? How about protecting us from oil's ravages?
The BP explosion: Accidents will happen — and continue to do so. By Anne Rolfes, The Lens contributing opinion writer | Last Monday began with a bang. On my way to work I learned that Senator David Vitter and Rep. Jeff Landry were at it again — planning to meet with officials in the regional […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Looking for Democrats on the gridiron sidelines
This election weekend was full of historic landslides. Gov. Bobby Jindal coasted to another term with over two-thirds of the vote. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand received a jaw-dropping 90 percent mandate. Most impressively, though, the LSU Tigers and New Orleans Saints dominated Auburn and Indianapolis by a combined score of 107 to 17. The […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Come on, Buddy! Take my advice or I’m going to occupy Hawaii
Nobody’s listening to me. Presidential candidate Buddy Roemer won’t heed my advice to stage a fight with Occupy Wall Street protesters. And the local Occupy Nola movement refuses to focus their message, as I suggested.
Posted inOpinion
RTA lists worthy projects; let's be sure they're well designed
TIGER III dollars would link and extend streetcar service. By Stephen Crim, The Lens contributing opinion writer | With applications due at the end of the month for TIGER III grants for transportation infrastructure, the federal government will soon be playing Santa Claus to transit agencies around the nation. As in the past, the New […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Dardenne, Nungesser race for lt. governor gets down and dirty
Jay Dardenne: incumbent. Photo by Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. Billy Nungesser: challenger. Photo by Gage Skidmore. Three weeks ago I thought I’d be the only one to plumb the lurid depths of the lieutenant governor’s race between Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser and incumbent Jay Dardenne. But, happily, pundits of all stripes have jumped […]