Environment
BP tells 5th Circuit to throw out private oil spill settlement if business claims rules aren’t fixed | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – “The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals should throw out a multi-billion-dollar settlement of private claims against BP stemming from the April 2010 Macondo well blowout if a lower court judge refuses to require businesses to prove their losses were caused by the accident and spill, a BP attorney argued Monday.”
Mississippi’s Gulf Islands Restoration | Gulf Latitudes – Author and boating enthusiast Troy Gilbert writes about little-known islands that function as important storm barriers off the Mississippi coast. Concern that the islands would succumb to erosion prompted a nearly $500 million effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
With Few Official Resources, a Community Builds Its Resilience From the Ground Up – Next City | A commentary by Lens contributor Nathan Martin connects the resilience of urban communities to the resilience of the city’s flood protection barrier. Here’s some background on the column, which is part of a series on resilient cities by 10 writers in as many cities.
Schools
White Gets an Earful | Louisiana Educator – Louisiana edu-blogger Michael Deshotels, reports on a meeting yesterday at the Capitol where state lawmakers and education leaders discussed concerns about Common Core education standards. Deshotels is a Common Core skeptic, and would like to see less rhetoric about “rigor,” and more evidence that shows the new standards will be effective.
Some charter schools aim to break old patterns | The Hechinger Report – Some of New Orleans open-enrollment charters have succeeded in maintaining a student body that is demographically diverse.
When a group of Mid-City residents proposed four years ago to open a school that would be racially and economically diverse, they were greeted with doubt.
Skeptics thought Morris Jeff Community School would end up like most other public schools in New Orleans: almost entirely African-American and low-income. … Today, a small but growing number of charter schools is challenging that skepticism, and proving it wrong.
NOCCA is making strides and breaking ground | The Louisiana Weekly – The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts has much to celebrate on its 40th anniversary:
The State Department of Education recently announced that the prestigious arts high school received the classification of “A” for its innovative Academic Studio full-day academic program. (NOCCA) is one of 187 schools across the state to receive this distinction. NOCCA is one of three high schools in Orleans Parish to receive an “A” grade and the only open-enrollment high school.
Land Use
Talk of reusing Charity Hospital building is familiar to preservationists | The Lens – “In 2010, Mayor Landrieu even wrote a letter of support to the Supreme Court Chief Justice fully endorsing the court’s plan to build on Duncan Plaza. Now the mayor wants to change direction and force the judges into the Charity building against their will. It seems the city needs the guaranteed funding stream the courts can provide for the Charity Hospital Civic Center to become a reality.”
Garbage in, garbage out: ‘Grand vision’ for French Market junks tradition | The Lens – This opinion piece by C.W. Cannon, who teaches New Orleans studies at Loyola University, reminisces about the French Market’s earlier incarnations and wonders whether a planned makeover is mindful of the market’s real history.
Government & Politics
Again, 911 call center says operators are too busy answering NOPD detail calls | The Lens – “The city’s 911 call center operators must wade through dozens of calls every day from police officers looking to clock their private details and other calls not related to emergencies – and it’s hampering operators’ ability to route emergency calls to a police officer, council members argue.”
Districts Look Funny for Good Reasons | LaPolitics – Pundit John Maginnis opines that of course Louisiana’s Congressional districts are weirdly drawn— politicians were involved:
What would suit redistricting reformers — and provide more business for geospatial software companies — would be for states to follow the lead of California, which has an appointed non-partisan board to draw congressional and legislative districts. That might happen in Louisiana some time after it happens in every other state, and perhaps not then.
A con-profit reckoning? | American Zombie – Blogger Jason Berry links to the news about questionable non-profit expenditures that may have been used to improperly benefit friends and relatives of a former and current Jefferson Parish Councilman. From there he springboards to speculations and provocative links — a post full of intriguing worm-holes.
Criminal Justice
LSU lab working to account for the hundreds of missing persons in the state | WWL-TV – LSU FACES laboratory is trying to create a comprehensive database for unidentified and missing people in Louisiana.