Land Use
Culinary school among options for ArtWorks building, but will the price pay the debts? | The Lens – The ArtWorks building has been appraised for $4.5 million, but local and state governments have loaned the project more than $9 million.
But price won’t be the only factor, Hines said. Because the loans were intended for an arts nonprofit, the winning bidder also must include a “public purpose” and an “arts” component.
City’s inability to sell Lower 9th Ward lots rekindles debate | The New Orleans Advocate – A key question of Katrina rebuilding resurfaces: “If community outcry kept the urban planners from drawing a green dot over much of the Lower 9th Ward back in 2006, what will prevent the low-demand neighborhood from slipping into green oblivion now?”
Illegal Breeders | Faubourg St. John – This post argues that “the underground business of unregulated, unlicensed breeding is a net drain on the New Orleans economy. It is increasing the misery for animals whose only ‘fault’ was to be born to an irresponsible owner. “
Environment
Louisiana’s grand bargain? | Gambit – Opinion writer Clancy DuBos posits several interesting points here, including the possibility that the state Master Plan to restore the coast will cost almost double its $50 million price tag. He also argues that coastal restoration may be expensive for oil and gas companies, but a global settlement would provide them the opportunity to remove lingering uncertainty about liability in the future.
Environmental groups create ‘Green Army’ to take on key La. issues | The Advocate – At a meeting in Baton Rouge, retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore makes the case for Louisiana environmentalists of all political stripes to unite under a common reform agenda. I previewed this growing movement in a column last month.
Offshore safety chief delves into the data | Fuel Fix – Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Brian Salerno grants a long interview to the Houston Chronicle’s “Fuel Fix” after denying requests by WWL’s David Hammer for interviews on offshore safety.
Government & Politics
Analysis: Jindal in shadows of flood rate fight | Associated Press – Gov. Bobby Jindal has delegated the handling of controversial flood insurance rate increases related to the Biggert-Waters Act to his coastal czar Garret Graves. Jindal has “made no appearances on national TV news shows to talk about flood insurance and written no guest editorials for newspapers around the country, like he’s done on other matters, some of which have no bearing on Louisiana.”
Riser beat Riser | Forgotston.com – At his blog, political observer C.B. Forgotston offers a scathing enumeration of the reasons for state Sen. Neil Riser’s stinging defeat to businessman and fellow Republican Vance McAllister in Saturday’s 5th congressional district election. Most of them are related to Riser listening to Jindal and playing a “dirty, rotten, old-school” political game,” Forgotston writes.
New Orleans City Council budget hearings end not with a bang, but a whimper | The Lens – Friday afternoon’s session focused on Safety and Permits and one of its divisions, the Taxicab Bureau. Reforms for the city’s cabs were discussed, but there was no mention of the recent dustup that led to a Taxicab Bureau inspector being suspended after being accused of assaulting a tour guide.
Schools
Parents returning to school to help children with Common Core-inspired homework | Hechinger Report – Parents and students are adjusting to new Common Core standards, which aim to encourage critical thinking rather than rote rule-following. One example: learning to solve mathematical equations in several different ways in order to encourage the understanding of concepts.
Caution to the Wind: Dirty Horns are the Clarion Call for Microbes | Body Horrors | Discover Magazine – How often are school marching bands’ brass instruments cleaned?
Criminal Justice
Study: Odds Of Being Murdered Closely Tied To Social Networks | NPR
A study by two Yale University sociologists titled Network Exposure and Homicide Victimization in an African American Community found that some accepted metrics of vulnerability to becoming a homicide victim — such as race, membership in a gang or physical proximity to a murder victim, are less important than one’s social network.
Why I stand with the immigrant workers who rebuilt New Orleans: Bill Quigley | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Loyola University law professor Bill Quigley writes an op-ed in support of workers protesting tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. So far, the story has received well over 300 comments.
These mothers and fathers — members of the Congress of Day Laborers at the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice — are standing up for justice and risking being deported from the United States. They risk being separated from their children, many of whom are U.S. citizens.