Government & Politics
Landrieu proposes far-reaching changes in how city employees are hired and evaluated | The Lens – Rules that control hiring, promotion and discipline would be rewritten.
Bobby Jindal’s health care jalopy: Robert Mann | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Jindal’s alternative to Obamacare is a beater, according to pundit Mann, who says the governor hasn’t lived up to his reputation as an innovative policy wonk.
Jindalcare | National Review Online – Jindal can’t catch a break. Conservative blogger Ramesh Ponnuru reviews the plan and says, “Replacing Obamacare with this plan would probably result in millions of people losing their coverage, and I think that would doom it.”
America’s New Brainpower Cities | Newgeography.com – With influx of new college graduates, New Orleans becomes a top “new brainpower” city.
Environment
Oil and gas interests have no better friend in Baton Rouge than the combative Sen. Adley | The Lens – Gas and oil interests have been good to Robert Adley, and as a senator, Adley has been unfailingly good to them. He insists the Flood Protection Authority lawsuit seeking damages for coastal destruction is illegal. The bills he’s moving would make sure of that.
When The Levee Breaks … Us: Upgrading Portland’s levees could cost $100 million no one seems to have | Willamette Week – Levee district members near Portland worry that they won’t be able to afford $100 million in maintenance to keep levees up to minimum standards. The New Orleans metro area faces $20 million per year in similar expenses.
The City and the Sea | Orion Magazine – New Yorkers are creating artificial reefs and dune forests to make their coastline more resilient.
Criminal Justice
Sheriff says he credited city for $200,000 in ankle-monitoring overpayments | The Lens – Sheriff Marlin Gusman says city has been made whole for errors identified in report from Inspector General’s Office.
Schools
Jindal does turnaround on standards | The Advocate
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s endorsement of a bill to scrap Common Core and let state lawmakers have the final say on education standards came on the same day that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation released a video that included a pro-Common Core quote from Jindal.
Karl Zinsmeister: The Charter School Performance Breakout | Wall Street Journal – An author of a new book on charters says the most recent studies show that charters are outperforming conventional public schools.
Land Use
Is New Orleans the new San Francisco? | Offbeat – Publisher Jan Ramsey writes: “We don’t want to turn into a city of rich and super-rich people who think their money gives them privileges and power that they don’t deserve, just because they have money. We don’t want to be New York or San Francisco.”
AirBnB Starts Collecting Hotel Tax in SF. Is NOLA Next? | Canal Street Beat – As the short-term lodging rental service gains in popularity, it might force participating landlords in New Orleans to pay the city’s 13-cent room rental tax.