Government & Politics
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has a mandate — Now what? | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – The Landrieu campaign credited its strong showing to door-to-door canvassing rather than TV ads.
Which neighborhoods supported Mayor Landrieu’s re-election? | Uptown Messenger – A vote analysis shows widespread support for Mayor Mitch Landrieu, but it wasn’t as evenly distributed as in 2010.
Chronic Failures of Louisiana Secretary of State’s Website Raise Serious Questions About the Integrity of Elections | CenLamar – Blogger Lamar White wonders how WWL-TV’s election consultant Greg Rigamer was able to project winners and losers Saturday night while the Secretary of State’s website was down.
This is an important question. I’ve noticed in the past few elections that WWL has been noticeably ahead of the other networks with voting results. Still, being ahead didn’t prevent Rigamer from making a remarkable blunder when he projected an outright win for Sheriff Marlin Gusman. Presumably due to WWL’s projection, Gusman came out early and delivered a tentative, pre-victory speech. When Gusman ended up with only 49 percent of the vote, Rigamer didn’t hedge and said he “made a mistake.”
Criminal Justice
Hotly contested police detail system moves forward amid legal challenge | The Advocate
The venom seems to flow freely between Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration and the city’s police unions over a key feature of the wide-ranging reform deal the mayor signed with the federal government in July 2012 — namely, putting New Orleans’ age-old and lucrative police moonlighting industry under new management.
State says it has execution drugs as judge orders it to reveal plans for Sepulvado | The Lens – It appears that Louisiana will use the same drug that was used in a prolonged execution in Ohio.
Electric chair could return | The Advocate — Amidst the controversy over the upcoming lethal injection of Christopher Sepulvado, state Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie, said, “I’m going to bring back the electric chair.”
Louisiana must cancel this planned execution: James Varney | NOLA.com
What’s happening right now in Louisiana is a very slippery business and something no American should be comfortable with. …
The legal safeguards we pretend absolve us with capital punishment aren’t even being followed here. Louisiana is trying to kill a man in bad faith. That is unconscionable.
American Zombie: Nagin Trial | First Impression – Blogger Jason Berry, who is attending former Mayor Ray Nagin’s corruption trial, reviews some of his past reporting on the scandals that may result in a long prison term for Nagin.
Environment
Drilling and Able | NOLA DEFENDER – NOLA DEFENDER discusses coastal restoration with author John Barry, who is leading a lawsuit against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies.
Hedging their bets: Oil industry giving more Senate race funds to Landrieu than to Cassidy | The Town Talk – So far the incumbent is taking the lion’s share of donations from the oil and gas industry.
Schools
‘Teacherpreneurs’ vie for ed-tech startup funds in ‘Shark Tank’ scene | CNN.com – An education incubator called 4.0 Schools, headquartered in New Orleans, invited teams of teachers to come here and refine their innovative ideas on education. For example, Eric Nelson of Minnesota engages his students in global politics with a teaching game modeled after fantasy football.
For special education students, diplomas, jobs increasingly elusive | Hechinger Report – An examination of how special education students have been ill-served by the state of Mississippi’s regular school systems.
Land Use
New owners look to demolish former corner store, build two new homes on Nashville | The Lens – “A former Uptown corner store is being considered for demolition at Monday’s Neighborhood Conservation District Committee meeting.”
$4.8M in Sandy Relief Money Went to Fund Luxury Apartment Tower in New Brunswick | New Brunswick Today – With new developments surrounding New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s involvement in lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, there are renewed questions about how Superstorm Sandy relief money was spent.
Millennials are Saving St. Louis, and Why We Need More of Them | nextSTL – Alex Ihnen, who owns the nextSTL website, argues that an influx of Millennials deserves credit for repopulating inner St. Louis.